Central Bank of France
In the interrogation room on the third floor of the Bastille. 💞💣 ♠🐟
Calonne, satisfied, finished organizing Necker's statement and glanced at Necker out of the corner of his eye, saying, "Mr. Necker, thank you for your cooperation. Now, my task is complete. The rest is up to you and the Royal House representative."
As he was speaking, the door opened, and several Secret Police escorted a Nobility wearing silver-rimmed glasses and a magnificent blue coat as he entered.
"Look, Count Herman is here."
Calonne rose and exchanged greetings with Herman, giving up the presiding judge's seat. However, the latter did not sit down, but instead took a document from his assistant and placed it in front of Necker.
"Mr. Necker, according to the information reported by the Interrogation Committee, the total amount you embezzled was Livre."
He looked at Calonne as he spoke, and the latter immediately nodded to indicate that the amount was accurate.
Count Herman continued, "Her Majesty the Queen, as promised, has decided to give you a lenient punishment, so the fine is only 2 Livre. Therefore, the total is..."
"11,927,000 Livre," Calonne answered with a smile.
"Oh, yes. Thank you, Viscount Calonne."
Herman then turned to Necker and said, "So, all you need to do now is return the stolen money and pay the fine, and you can leave here."
"Her Majesty the Queen has also granted you the special privilege of choosing between Lorraine and Foix."
He patted the documents on the table. "Look, this is the Pardon issued by His Majesty."
In Necker's case, exile to mainland France would definitely be considered a pardon.
Necker had long since given up any thought of resistance. He picked up a pen and paper and wrote down an address and a string of numbers.
He handed the paper to Herman, dejectedly saying, "Go here, there's a Safe. Inside are bank documents and withdrawal instructions. Here's the password."
"I'm not sure if it's enough for 12 million Livre, but it should be over 10 million... that's really all we have."
The Royal House representative took the paper and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your cooperation. You'll have to stay here for a while longer until the money is fully paid out. Also, I must inform you that any shortfall will likely have to be offset by your properties and Manor."
"Whatever you want..."
Herman left, Calonne pouted somewhat discontentedly. He hadn't expected Necker to only be exiled in the end; he had thought the guy would at least spend a few years in prison.
Little did he know, Joseph had no intention of letting Necker off so easily.
Necker's predecessor as France Minister of Finance was Jacques Turgot, a highly capable economist. During his tenure, he laid the foundation for France's capitalist economy through a series of Finance reforms, a period hailed as France's 18th-century economic "golden age."
After Necker took office, he quickly halted Turgot's reform policies and instead relied on massive borrowing to maintain Finance, ultimately plunging France into a debt Abyss.
How could Joseph simply exile such a "parasite"? The France tradition of leniency and lenient punishment for the upper class would not work for him!
Of course, everything depends on Necker returning all the money, and at the same time, the Royal House cannot be branded as fickle.
Royal Palace.
The Duke of Orléans stared at the newspaper in his hand, his face ashen—almost every newspaper in Paris had published the announcement of the France Industrial Development Fund.
Aside from some basic information about the fund, this announcement mainly clarifies the composition of the fund's sole management body— the Fund Committee.
The committee has a total of 10 seats. Six seats are elected by the clients who have invested the most, one seat is held or appointed by the Minister of Finance, one seat is appointed by the French Reserve Bank, and the last two seats are appointed by the Royal House.
All matters related to the fund are decided by the committee, and the Royal House and the government have no right to interfere. Of course, what he didn't know was that Joseph had left a "back door" here—the largest investor was the French Government, followed by his Crown Prince, and then the Royal House, so he could get at least 4 of the 6 seats. Adding the Royal House's existing 2 seats and the French Reserve Bank's 1 seat, it would ensure that he had absolute control over the fund.
The Duke of Orléans tossed the newspaper aside in frustration.
He anticipated that the bank's malicious bankruptcy would trigger panic among the Nobility, and he also foresaw that the French Government would be unable to pay the Nobility ' investments. He only needed to wait for the Nobility to unite and force the Royal House to submit, thus ending the Necker Case.
He never expected that the government would create an "Industrial Development Fund"! With just one concept, it "absorbed" all the money that the Nobility had invested in the banking industry, thus quickly calming Nobility panic.
When he first heard about the fund, he even planned to use the story of the "Mississippi Company" to lead the Nobility to associate it with a "scam".
However, when he saw the "fund disclosure" information, he immediately knew that this method would not work.
The management and operation model of the "Industrial Development Fund" is extremely transparent. It's managed through a committee system, allowing Investor to check accounts at any time. Investor can also form an independent Review Committee, and any losses will result in immediate return of the investment...
There was absolutely no loophole left for exploitation. This was inevitable, as subsequent funds had developed for so many years that most obvious loopholes had been plugged, and Joseph only needed to copy them.
The Duke of Orléans knew very well that if he couldn't leverage the power of the Nobility, the banks involved in the Necker Case Guild be wiped out one by one. And if he failed to save these major banks, his influence within the Banking Guild would plummet.
What's even more embarrassing is that he himself has tens of millions of Livre in investments and is stuck in several troubled banks.
He couldn't help but sigh. Was he going to have to switch his investment to that Industrial Development Fund too?
The door opened, and the butler Donadien, entered, bowing and saying, "Master, all the guests have arrived."
The Duke of Orléans nodded, rose wearily, and walked toward the second-floor Hall.
The towering gate was pushed open by the Guard, but the scene behind it chilled him to the bone—besides the dozen or so members of the Banking Guild, only seven or eight Nobility were present, standing sparsely in the empty Hall.
Just a few days ago, when he rallied the Nobility to protest the Necker Case by refusing to borrow money from the government, the place was packed with people, and there was hardly any room to stand.
People's hearts have fallen...
When the people in the Hall saw their "backbone" arrive, they quickly gathered around and bowed to him.
Just as the Duke of Orléans was about to say something to boost morale, the Marquis Ludo spoke up anxiously, "Duke Grace, I heard from a friend that Necker's interrogation is over, and he must have told you everything."
He glanced behind him. "What are we going to do?"
The Duke of Orléans had naturally known about this for a long time. If he had a way, he would have used it already; why would he have waited until now?
Seeing that he remained silent, Marquis Ludo cautiously asked, "Do you think we should go and negotiate with the Royal House?"
The Duke of Orléans looked helplessly at the Crystal Chandelier overhead, just as someone came in and whispered something to the butler, who immediately reported to him, "Sir, we've just received word that a large number of Police are heading to the City Trade Bank."
The owner of the trade bank Delachapelle, turned pale and ran out without even saying goodbye.
In the streets and alleys of Paris, people are talking about the recent series of bank failures.
"The City Trade Bank was also seized today; I wonder if it will go bankrupt."
"It's as certain as the sun won't fall. The bank managers have all been arrested; I even saw the Police stuffing them into Carriage at noon."
"It's said that many other banks are involved in the case, and it's unclear when it will end..."
"My God, my 60 Livre in the bank are just gone!"
"What? Don't you read the newspaper?"
"Reading the newspaper?"
"The newspaper said that the bankrupt banks have been acquired by the France Reserve Bank, and previous deposits can be withdrawn from the French Reserve Bank."
"Really?! You're not kidding, are you?!"
"The newspaper says that you only need to submit an application, and you can withdraw the money in a maximum of half a month. Alternatively, you can transfer it to French Reserve Bank deposit."
"That's great, thank you! I'll apply right away!"
Versailles Palace.
Joseph is reviewing the latest acquisition report.
Recently, the French Reserve Bank has completed the acquisition of four bankrupt banks and is currently inventorying accounts and receiving various assets.
The number of French Reserve Bank Paris alone has suddenly increased to more than a dozen, but most of them haven't even had time to change their signs.
Joseph frowned as he looked at the report's mention of staff shortages—primarily a severe lack of management personnel.
Those bank executives involved in the Necker Case have basically all been arrested, and the French Reserve Bank simply cannot provide so many managers at the moment.
This was only because he intentionally slowed down the bombing of the banks involved. If he had bombed all thirteen banks at once, most of France's financial market would probably have been thrown into chaos due to management issues.
"The foundation is still not solid enough." Joseph shook his head inwardly. It seemed that it would take at least half a year to absorb all these financial assets.
However, time is not an issue. No one is willing or dares to compete with the French Reserve Bank for these bankrupt banks.
Although the French Reserve Bank doesn't have much money, its shareholder lineup is enough to scare away any competitor— the King and Queen each hold 5%, the Prince of Condé 4%, and the Count of Artois 4%. The Minister of Finance, the Minister of the Interior, and the head of the Secret Police also have shares. Of course, the largest shareholder is the Crown Prince of France.
However, in order to establish the France Industrial Development Fund, the France Treasury has now become a major shareholder of the French Reserve Bank.
After Joseph himself made a large additional investment, the shares of the other shareholders were diluted to some extent. The current shareholding structure is as follows: the French Government holds 40%, the Crown Prince 41%, the King and Queen each hold 4%, Condé and Artois each hold 3%, Mono holds 2%, and Brienne and Robert each hold 1.5%.
After acquiring four major banks, the French Reserve Bank's nominal assets have reached an astonishing 190 million Livre!
However, the vast majority of these were loans to the government. The bank's debt was transferred to the Industrial Development Fund through agreements with the Nobility. In other words, the French Reserve Bank now owes the Industrial Development Fund hundreds of millions of Livre.
Fortunately, the agreement stipulates that funds cannot be withdrawn within five years; otherwise, the Development Fund would almost immediately collapse.
Going forward, the France Finance will invest in various industrial sectors under the guise of Development Fund, with all of this money used to repay loans from the French Reserve Bank.
The French Reserve Bank then transfers these investments to the Development Fund, and when the investments generate returns, the Development Fund also receives returns.
In this way, France Finance spending will no longer flow entirely into the pockets of Banking Capital, but will instead be used to support industrial development. The profits from industry will then feed back into the Finance, truly creating a virtuous cycle.
Of course, this is just Joseph's theoretical design, and many problems will certainly be encountered in actual operation, but this is an unavoidable lesson in industrial development.
At the very least, after the French Reserve Bank takes over the loans of the bankrupt banks, it will renegotiate loan agreements with the French Government, significantly reducing loan interest rates.
As for the specific amount to be reduced, Joseph plans to have Brienne calculate the total amount of loans obtained by the French Reserve Bank after the entire acquisition is completed, and then calculate what interest rate would allow France to maintain a balance Finance and its expenditures.
Then the new agreement was signed based on this interest rate.
In any case, it will be far lower than the current interest rate of over 15% for France Finance loans.
After acquiring the 13 banks involved in the case, Joseph's next plan was to leverage the sheer size of the French Reserve Bank French Reserve Bank —though it had no cash, its loan balance was astronomical—to gradually control the France financial industry and eventually transform it into France's "central bank."
This process will certainly encounter some administrative problems and resistance from existing Banking Capital, but if it can be completed smoothly, then the French Royal Family, or the Crown Prince of France, will firmly grasp the financial lifeline of France!
Joseph had just signed the operational plan submitted by the manager of the French Reserve Bank and was pondering when it would be appropriate to ignite the next bank when Eman knocked lightly on the door and said, "Your Highness, Archbishop Brienne has arrived, along with three bankers."
"Oh? A banker?" Joseph, somewhat surprised, but still stood up and said, "Please take them to the Reception Room."
Before long, in the spacious Reception Room, Brienne and the others bowed respectfully to the Crown Prince. Brienne then gestured behind him, saying, "Your Highness, please allow me to introduce you. This is Marquis Ludo, this is Count Capeville, and this is Monsieur Boislandar."
Joseph narrowed his eyes. He had been frequently reviewing the Necker Case materials lately and was very familiar with the banks involved. These three men were the owners of three of those banks. They also had another identity: leading figures in the French Banking Association.
He invited them to sit down and asked with a smile, "May I ask what brings you here to see me?"
Upon hearing this, Marquis Ludo and the others were so moved they almost cried.
Unable to save them, the Duke of Orléans decided to compromise with the government, or rather, beg for mercy.
However, they couldn't even find anyone to beg for mercy. First, they went to the Secret Police, only to be told they were just cooperating with the arrest. Then they went to the Police Department, and followed that to a mysterious department called the Police Intelligence Division, only to be told they were just following orders.
Next, Marquis Ludo and his associates went to the High Court and the Interior Administration System, but to no avail. Finally, they went to the Ministry of Finance and, after paying a considerable amount of "bribes," learned that the real mastermind behind the Necker Case was His Crown Prince.
Afterwards, they spent another sum of money and, with Brienne's guidance, were finally able to meet the Crown Prince.
Marquis Ludo said very nervously, "Your Crown Prince, what we did with Necker was a very serious mistake, no, a serious crime! We have deeply realized our mistake."
We dare not ask for your forgiveness, but only wish to make amends for our previous mistakes.
"Merciful Your Highness, from this day forward, we are your most humble Servant. With just a nod of your hand, we will do whatever you ask without hesitation!"
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