Industrial espionage
The French Reserve Bank is now a major shareholder in the seven banks owned by Ludo and his associates, and can access their accounts at any time. 💋🏆 💥💲
Joseph happened to recall that a few months ago, a teenage girl with delusions of grandeur had mentioned that several Bank of France had made large investments in the United Kingdom Textile industry. So he looked it up and found that all seven banks were indeed among them.
Upon hearing this, Marquis Ludo sprang up from his chair.
He's been so preoccupied with Necker's case lately that he's completely forgotten about investing in the United Kingdom!
Even the vagrants in Paris knew that Britain and France were at odds, and that the United Kingdom had seized France's Colony in India and North America. Now, he was using France money to invest in the United Kingdom; to put it bluntly, it could almost be considered treason.
Marquis Ludo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, staring at the tips of his shoes in a panic, and said, "Your Highness, this... this is a mistake. I will immediately withdraw all the United Kingdom investments."
"Oh, and then all of it will be put into the Industrial Development Fund!"
Joseph flipped through the documents in his hand, gesturing for him to sit down. "Hmm, with a fixed annual interest rate of 15%, plus profit sharing, the return will definitely exceed 20%."
Ludo turned pale with fright and was about to plead for mercy again when the Crown Prince said, "Such a good investment doesn't need to be withdrawn immediately, but it must be used to its fullest potential."
Ludo asked cautiously, "You mean...?"
Joseph gestured for him to sit down again. "You don't need to be so nervous."
"You and the Count Capeville have invested a total of over 20 Livre in the United Kingdom Automatic Loom industry, making you major shareholders."
"With such a large investment, it's perfectly reasonable for shareholders to go to the United Kingdom to check on the business operations, isn't it?"
Marquis Ludo cautiously rested half his backside on the chair and nodded, saying, "Yes, it's very reasonable."
"Very good," Joseph smiled. "I need you, as a shareholder, to go to the United Kingdom and bring me back several of the latest Automatic Loom, along with some technicians familiar with their structure and workers who can operate them."
Marquis Ludo's mouth gaped open, and after a long pause, he finally managed to squeeze out, "You... you want me to become an industrial Spy?"
Joseph waved his hand and said, "That's not quite right of you. France invested a lot of money in the United Kingdom; shouldn't they at least verify whether the technology they invested in is truly that advanced?"
"Oh, I'll send someone from the Police Intelligence Division with you. You just need to use your shareholder status to find out about the United Kingdom factory; they'll handle the rest."
Ludo had spent his entire life counting money in his bank; he had never done anything like this before. As he hesitated and struggled with this thought, he saw the Crown Prince's eyes turn cold.
Getting involved with the United Kingdom looms might get you caught, but at most you'd spend a few years in prison, maybe even get bail. But if you don't go, you'd be in the Bastille right now.
Marquis Ludo swallowed hard and nodded helplessly, "Very well, Your Highness. I'll go to the United Kingdom right away and bring back what you need!"
When he returned home, Count Capefier and others rushed over to ask what the Crown Prince wanted with him.
Marquis Ludo was going to be an industrial Spy, and naturally didn't want too many people to know, so he could only claim it was some banking matters.
The other banking magnates didn't suspect anything; instead, they presented their proposed solutions for dealing with Necker and asked him to study them together.
Marquis Ludo was preoccupied with the matter of the United Kingdom looms and his mind was elsewhere; he merely nodded absently.
Four days later, three unassuming Carriage out of the Bastille, circled around Paris, and finally left the city from the east under cover of night.
Behind them, a man dressed as a postman rode at a distance, occasionally leaving trail markers.
The three Carriage eventually headed Northeast, carrying the Necker family.
He ultimately decided to be exiled to Lorraine, since it was closer to Switzerland and his friends Switzerland might be able to take care of him.
The sweltering wind outside the car window blew on his face, making him feel incredibly frustrated. All his years of hard work had ended up like a rat, slinking away from Paris in the middle of the night.
It's all that bastard Calonne's fault! He gritted his teeth, thinking viciously: I swear, I will make you suffer even more than I did!
The following evening, the convoy arrived in Sommedieue. Lange, the special agent from the Police Intelligence Division in charge of the escort, checked the time and, seeing that it was too late to reach the next town, ordered his men to rest at the City Hall's inn.
After settling Necker in, Lange played cards with his men in the outer room of the house.
Shortly after, a special agent from the Police Intelligence Division entered the room and whispered a few words in his ear.
Lange nodded, grabbed a bottle of liquor from beside him, and started drinking with several of his men. At the same time, the agents guarding the back of the house also began to drink.
After it got completely dark, a dilapidated Carriage stopped on the road opposite the Sommedieue City Hall, and several men dressed as merchants got out of the carriage.
The "postman" immediately lowered his head and walked over, whispering, "Good opportunity, those Secret Police are all drinking."
The "merchant" nodded, signaling his accomplices to grab their weapons, get out of the car, and climb over the wall from the east side of the City Hall.
The streetlights had long been blew out by the "postman," and the three "businessmen" easily pried open the gate and sneaked into the City Hall.
These men were all experienced assassins who found Necker's room silently and then found the Secret Police drunk and staggering.
The leader beamed with delight, lit a torch, nimbly bypassed the guards, and winked at his accomplices behind him.
Several men drew their swords, gently pushed open the door to the inner room, and then rushed in, stabbing Necker on the bed more than ten times before stopping.
The lead assassin brought a torch to the bedside, confirmed it was Necker, and immediately signaled his men to retreat.
They hadn't expected to complete the 30,000 Livre mission so easily. While they were already planning how to enjoy this huge sum of money when they got back, they had already left the City Hall.
"Etc!"
The leader suddenly stopped. Years of experience as an assassin made him sense a dangerous aura. Before they could react, dozens of torches suddenly lit up around them.
In the flickering firelight, all that could be seen were the dark, Flintlock Gun.
Marquis Ludo had not expected his operation to go so smoothly.
He had only been in the United Kingdom for two days when, under the enthusiastic guidance of a Textile manager, he toured the entire Automatic Loom industry.
He then spent a large sum of money to bribe two technicians responsible for repairing looms.
After making some preparations, Prosper from the Police Intelligence Division led his men to steal an Automatic Loom overnight—this thing was fixed to Waterwheel and could not be disassembled intact without the help of a professional technician—and transported it to the port of Dover via the United Kingdom inland waterways, where it was loaded onto a ship that was already waiting there.