A terrifying financial "black hole"

Seeing Necker's terrified expression, Calonne squinted with a satisfied smile, as if he'd just drunk a cup of Cocoa cocoa with lots of sugar on a cold day, and flipped through the case files. "Hmm, next, shall we 'discuss' your agreement with Clasney Bank six years ago, or with Vincent Trade Bank seven years ago...?"

Necker suddenly slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair, his bloodshot eyes bulging as he roared, "Calonne, what right do you have to interrogate me? Do you think I don't know what you've done? I'm going to expose you! Expose you! Even if I go to jail, I'll drag you down with me!"

Calonne watched Necker with ease, and after he finished venting, he pulled a document from his pocket, waving it around with a smile, and said, "You don't need to expose me; I've already confessed everything to the Royal House. Look, this is His Majesty the King's Pardon; my exile is over."

"Furthermore, I will not be held accountable after I return all the unreasonable gains."

Necker was stunned. "This, how is this possible..."

Calonne laughed even harder, "Do you know what the biggest mistake you've ever made in your life is?"

"It's a serious underestimation of the Royal House's capabilities. Oh, and you even privately published Royal House expenses, shifting all the blame for Finance problems onto the Royal House family."

"But I have chosen to remain steadfastly loyal to the Royal House. Therefore, it is now I who am interrogating you."

"Alright, let's continue..."

At the Royal Palace, the Duke of Orléans finally received the news he had been waiting for.

"Lieutenant Colonel Laville said that the person who sent the poisoner has been silenced forever, and the trail will not lead back to him. Nor will it implicate you."

After speaking in a low voice, the butler Donadien glanced at the Duke of Orléans's slightly relaxed brow, and handed him a small scroll of paper sealed with Sealing Wax: "This was just sent from the Secret Police."

Since Necker's arrest, the Duke of Orléans's informants have been sending him daily updates on the Bastille.

The Duke of Orléans unfolded the note and found that there were many more words this time. He quickly read it through and his face immediately turned ashen.

There were already more than a dozen banking tycoons in the Hall, all of whom had connections with Necker, and they were there to discuss countermeasures. When they saw the Duke of Orléans ' expression, they hurriedly surrounded him.

"Your Duke, has something happened?"

"How's Necker doing? Any news?"

The Duke of Orléans simply tossed the note to them and stared out the window without saying a word.

Count Isaac picked up the note and exclaimed in surprise, "Why is it Calonne who's handling the case? Has he returned from exile?"

He paused for a moment, then slipped the note to Viscount Beranger was standing to the side.

The latter glanced at it only once, then, as if burned, slammed the note onto the table—it stated that his bank's loan dealings with Necker could no longer be concealed. At this moment, the Police and Secret Police were likely on their way to his house and the bank.

"My secret has been found out, what am I going to do...?"

Although the others were eager to see the contents of the note, no one dared to reach for it, as if it were a venomous scorpion that could sting at any moment.

Beranger is finished; who knows if he'll be next?

Seeing the crowd's trembling silence, Count Isaac quickly rallied them, shouting, "Don't be afraid! With so many of us, we're sure we can find a way!"

He looked at the Duke of Orléans, their pillar and support. "You agree, Your Duke?"

More than a dozen pairs of eyes immediately turned to look at the Duke of Orléans.

The latter also felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that if he retreated even a step, it would be tantamount to declaring a complete defeat in the struggle against the Royal House.

No, there must be a way...

The veins on his forehead bulged, and his palms were sweaty; he had exhausted all his methods and was now completely out of options.

Suddenly, he remembered Isaac's words and muttered, "So many of us... so many people."

His eyes suddenly lit up again. Ah yes, how could he forget his biggest advantage—the number of people!

Even if the Royal House uses Necker to get leverage over the major banks, so what? As long as they have enough people and make a big enough fuss, the Royal House will still have to compromise!

The Duke of Orléans immediately turned and pointed at Beranger, saying, "You will immediately confess to all your crimes publicly, and then declare your bank bankrupt."

"No!" Beranger's face turned green. "What are you trying to do?"

"Set the forest ablaze, plunge the people into terror." A cold glint flashed across the Duke of Orléans's face. "Forget about debts and claims, forget about debt transfers, just leave the mess of bankruptcy to cause headaches for everyone else! Oh, and not only declare bankruptcy, but also publish the bank's accounts."

Why?

Count Isaac's eyes darted around, and he immediately grasped the key point. "The funds on the Beranger Bank's books are definitely insufficient to pay depositors and the Nobility who invested. After declaring bankruptcy, they will inevitably be eager to get their money back!"

Marquis Ludo's eyes lit up as well. "But most of the bank's money has been used for lending, and most of it is government loans, which can't be recovered in the short term. And people who can't get their money back will definitely go crazy."

The Duke of Orléans nodded smugly. "More than half of the great Nobility of the Versailles Palace have money invested in your banks. If you tell them, the Royal House will investigate even more banks, and they will all go bankrupt like the Beranger Bank, and they will never get their money back."

"What do you think those Nobility will do?"

Isaac sneered, "They'll keep the King and Queen up at night!"

"That's right!"

Seeing the excitement on everyone's faces, Beranger stammered, "Then... what should I do...?"

The Duke of Orléans stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and reassured him, "Don't worry, once this is over, I'll find a way to get you out of prison and give you some money. Perhaps then you can go back to your old ways."

The next morning, while Fouche's men and Secret Police were still auditing the accounts at the Beranger Bank, Viscount Beranger, along with a group of the bank's senior executives, confessed to all the illegal dealings between the bank and Necker in front of numerous reporters, and voluntarily surrendered some of the illicit gains—leaving the bank's accounts completely empty.

Beranger Bank then declared bankruptcy, and bewildered Police, after seizing the bank, arrested Beranger and the bank's executives.

The sudden news, spread rapidly throughout the Versailles Palace thanks to the efforts of those in the know. Suddenly, the Nobility were all anxious, nervously asking each other, "Did you invest in that bank?"

Then, the inside story of Beranger Bank's bankruptcy was revealed— Necker had engaged in many illegal transactions with the bank, and now that Necker has been arrested, these things have come to light.

Then, someone with "well-informed" information brought even more alarming news— Beranger was not the only bank that had done business with Necker; with Necker's trial in the Bastille, who knew how many more banks would be in trouble.

That evening, dozens of anxious Nobility gathered in the Hall of the Royal Palace, gazing expectantly at the Duke of Orléans, who was offering them advice.

"These banks are involved in bribery and illegal transactions, and will face hefty fines," the Duke of Orléans said with a worried expression. "Therefore, no one will be willing to acquire these banks, because no one is willing to bear the additional fines."

A Nobility said with a distressed expression, "Then how am I supposed to get my money back from the bank...? I've heard that the Clasney Bank is also in trouble."

"Yes, please help us think of a solution! We've heard that over ten banks have been swindled by that guy Necker."

"My God, that's half of my fortune!"

"If the bank goes bankrupt, all the money I've saved over a decade will be gone..."

Seeing that he had stirred up enough trouble, the Duke of Orléans pretended to be embarrassed and said, "Actually, I've also invested a lot of money in the bank."

"If the interrogation of Necker continues, then more than a dozen banks will definitely go bankrupt one after another."

"So, unless the trial is suspended, no one can save our money."

"Yes!" someone immediately echoed, "The interrogation of Necker must be stopped."

"We should recommend that the Royal House exile him!"

"However, it's said that the evidence is conclusive this time, and the Royal House probably won't agree..."

The Duke of Orléans immediately pointed to the speaker. "Viscount Prudhomme is right. We must unite and put some pressure on the Royal House to stop Necker's interrogation."

"But how can we put pressure on the Royal House? Even the High Court listens to the Royal House now."

The Duke of Orléans smiled. "Just listen to me, that's how we'll do it..."

Paris.

In the office of the Industrial Planning Bureau, Joseph looked at the report in his hand, his face full of undisguised joy.

Beranger pleaded guilty, and his bank declared bankruptcy.

Joseph had thought he would put up a fight, perhaps by offering a guilty plea or a renegotiated loan agreement as bargaining chips in exchange for a reduced sentence or even a pardon.

Joseph was planning to use this to "rip off" the bank, but he didn't expect the bank to invest directly.

Beranger Bank went bankrupt, it didn't even deal with its debts and claims, and no other bank was willing to take over. All the debts became bad debts, meaning that the French Government was completely free to avoid repaying the loans it had taken out from Béranger.

After all, the contract was signed with Beranger Bank, and there are currently no bankruptcy laws or liquidation laws, so the contract can be terminated if one party "dies".

That's a loan of a whopping 35.2 Livre!

That's it, wiped clean.

This sense of satisfaction was far more intense than Joseph's hard-earned $35 million to pay off the loan.

It's a feeling of exhilaration, like finding money while walking.

He did the math on his fingers. Calonne had said there were 13 banks involved in illegal transactions with Necker. Even if they all had the same loan amount as Beranger Bank, once they were all dealt with, the government debt would be reduced by 500 million Livre!

Faster than robbing someone!

Moreover, Beranger Bank is only a small bank; a large bank like Clasney Bank might have loans of hundreds of millions of Livre!

While France's debt crisis is not entirely over, things are much easier overall, and the dawn of a complete solution to the debt problem may be on the horizon.

After enjoying the relief of dealing with the debt for a while, Joseph put down the documents, but vaguely felt that something was amiss.

Is something wrong?

Seeing the bright sunshine outside the window, he decided to take a walk in the yard and ponder the problem.

However, as Joseph reached the entrance of the Planning Bureau, she faintly heard a woman sobbing from a corner office, and another voice comforting her.

"Luckily you withdrew money last month and bought those two dresses, otherwise you would have lost even more."

The woman choked up, saying, "But there were still 80 Livre in the bank... How could it suddenly go bankrupt?"

"I heard it was those damn banks that made deals with corrupt officials for a little dirty money, and they got caught."

"What should I do? That's the money I need to repair my house..."

"Alas, what can be done? My neighbor lost even more than you, it seems like 100 Livre."

Joseph was taken aback by what he heard, and immediately realized that something was wrong.

Banks don't just keep all their money; a significant portion comes from depositors and Investor!

When a bank goes bankrupt, the government doesn't have to repay the loans, but ultimately, they are the ones who bear the losses.

Although the France people's trust in banks plummeted to rock bottom after John Law's Mississippi Company scandal led to a massive default by the Royal Bank, resulting in a very low savings rate.

For example, his France Reserve Bank took more than four months to attract less than 200,000 Livre in deposits, but this amount of money would cause huge problems for ordinary people.

And then there's the money the Nobility invested in banks, which amounted to a much larger sum.

Some banks even have more than half of their assets coming from wealthy Nobility, and they then lend that money to the government to earn interest.

While they won't struggle to make ends meet due to investment losses, the money they've used is all legal and clean.

While the government debt has indeed decreased by four or five hundred million euros, the sudden appearance of such a large financial black hole in France is bound to lead to social chaos.

Thinking of this, Joseph couldn't help but frown.

It seems this enormous debt must slowly "evaporate" rather than die suddenly.

But how do you do it?

Just as he was pondering how to minimize the impact of the bank's bankruptcy, he suddenly saw two Carriage drive into the Planning Bureau's courtyard.

The carriage door opened, and Brienne's entourage got out first, setting out the steps.

Before he could open the car door, Brienne had already impatiently pushed it open and stepped out himself. He saw Joseph coming towards him, hurriedly stepped forward to bow, and then said, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"

Joseph frowned and asked tentatively, "Could it be related to the bank's bankruptcy?"

Brienne nodded. "You've heard? Yes, the Beranger Bank collapsed so suddenly that many Nobility suffered heavy losses. It's said that some lost millions of Livre as a result."

He took a deep breath and said, "Meanwhile, many more Nobility, fearing the sudden collapse of other banks, gathered at the Petit Trianon, requesting Her Majesty the Queen to issue Edict to end the trial of Necker."

Joseph sneered, "I originally intended to help them minimize their losses, but if they try to blackmail His Majesty about it, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Brienne wiped the sweat from his brow and said urgently, "Your Highness, this matter is likely to be very troublesome."

"I've heard that the Nobility are planning to form an alliance, saying that if the interrogation of Necker doesn't stop, they won't lend the government a single penny!"

Thanks to: Under the Mirage City, Sitting and Watching the Wind and Frost of a Hundred Thousand Years, and Book Friends 20210621185415959 for their generous rewards for this book! The young author is very grateful!

(End of this chapter)