The Tax Farmers Guild's counterattack

Several seconds of silence filled the room before Charles looked up at Fuld and said, "It seems the government is going to forcibly abolish the Tax Farmer System. So... what should we do?"

If the French Government does manage to raise 200 million Franc, it will be able to sustain its Finance expenditures for about six months, during which time taxes will continue to be collected, thus creating a virtuous cycle.

In this situation, the government no longer needs to consider the opinions of the Tax Farmers Guild, and tax reform can be completed with just a decree from the Cabinet.

An old man on the left side of the table shook his head, as if muttering to himself, "Even with 200 million Franc, the French Government will still be under financial strain with such a major reform."

"Perhaps we should negotiate with Brienne as soon as possible to offer him a loan at a higher interest rate."

We absolutely cannot give up like this!

Harper immediately interrupted him loudly, then looked around at everyone and said, "Borrowing from the government will at most get you slightly higher interest rates than Government Bonds. Are you willing to only do such small businesses?!"

All the Tax Farmer Magnates showed signs of resentment.

Although their apparent profit from tax-paying was only 16%-20%, they actually reaped many hidden benefits. For example, they took advantage of the collection of tobacco and Salt Tax to sell counterfeit tobacco and inferior salt. They also used the differences in local tax rates between different provinces to exercise a certain degree of trade control.

Including these incomes, their return on investment will exceed 25%.

To reduce the rate of return to only a single-digit percentage would be worse than killing their entire family.

Baron Morell gritted his teeth and said, "Damn the French Government! This is a business my family has run for generations. If they won't let me cover the taxes, I'd rather invest the money in the United Kingdom! I've heard that the Gas Lamp project in London yields a 15% return."

His words immediately drew a chorus of agreement. "You're right, I'm also moving my business out of France."

"We must unite and not yield to the French Government!"

"The Netherlands stock market is pretty good too; I've been wanting to try it out for a while now..."

Harper raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, as if summarizing the matter. "Let Viscount Brandt try again, increasing the Tax Farming Income to 540 million Franc. If that still doesn't work, we'll leave France."

These tycoons have no homeland; they only leech off different countries. If they can control the economic lifeline of a country, they can enjoy wealth forever.

For example, the Wallenberg, which controlled Sweden, and the Sassoon Family, which controlled eastern Ottoman territory, were among the most prominent. This also includes the Rothschild, Morgan, and others who rose to prominence later.

Just then, Borolei stood up and said disdainfully, "After all that talk, you're just saying you can't do anything about the government and are just trying to escape."

Seeing everyone looking at him, he immediately revealed a fierce expression. "We have abundant funds, connections, and resources. Why not instill fear in those who dare to challenge us? We can certainly teach the French Government a lesson!"

Seeing this, Morel's eyes flashed with a sly glint. He immediately feigned admiration and exclaimed, "You're right! We need to demonstrate our strength too. You're the best at this; everyone's counting on you!"

Borolei immediately retorted arrogantly, "Hmph, just you wait and see."

As the meeting drew to a close, Bank of England Gordmide hesitated for a long time before finally looking at Harper and cautiously suggesting, "Mr. Hope, we actually have a very useful 'weapon' at our disposal. At the very least, we can get the French Government to share some of our tax revenue."

"Oh? You mean?"

Taxation documents.

He uttered only two words, which instantly plunged Harper into deep thought, before he slowly nodded. "You're right. The French Government hasn't collected taxes for over a century. Without our information, they wouldn't even be able to determine how much tax to levy on those cunning merchants!"

Gordmide nodded. "We can also teach factory owners and merchants to lie. For example, we can have them say that they pay quarterly or semi-annual taxes, or that they have reached a tax reduction agreement with previous Tax Collector."

"Without our registration documents, the new Taxation officials will be embroiled in endless arguments and sophistry. Even if they forcibly collect taxes, it will inevitably provoke the anger of taxpayers."

Harper's eyes lit up. "When the government's Tax Bureau is in disarray, we can negotiate with them to help restore tax Tax Bureau in exchange for a share of tax revenue or the right to levy certain taxes."

Seeing that his opinion had been supported, Gordmide immediately added, "Then, we need to have all the Tax Farmers gather their Taxation documents immediately and have the General Association keep them safe."

"On the other hand, we also need to draft some rough, even erroneous, documents to appease the French Government."

"You're a genius!" Harper exclaimed, then looked at Delphi and the others. "Let's do it that way. Mr. Gordmide's method will guarantee everyone a minimum profit."

North-central France.

Orleans Province.

The Duke of Orléans once made this place his base of operations, investing huge sums of money, so that it was one of the best in France in terms of both agriculture and commerce.

The newly appointed Director of the Orleans Tax Bureau Lemair, was originally full of ambition and ready to make a name for himself here. However, at this moment, he was nervously watching the two people covered in blood in the room.

The two men were Vincent, one of his Taxation inspectors, and Vincent's assistant.

The doctor directed the Servant to lift the injured onto stretchers, and after a brief examination, briefed the arriving Police: "The taller gentleman has a broken left arm, the other's injuries are slightly less severe, but both have clearly been struck with blunt force. The good news is that neither should be in life-threatening danger; now I must go and provide them with further treatment."

"These bastards!" Lemair gritted his teeth, looking at his unconscious subordinate. "They actually dared to attack an official!"

The Police standing nearby immediately looked at him and said, "Chief, do you have any leads on the murderer?"

Lemair nodded. "On our third day in Orleans, we received a threatening letter. They threatened to make us resign immediately or else we'd regret it."

"We didn't pay much attention at the time, just thinking it was a prank. Unexpectedly, the day before yesterday, François and Garcia from the bureau were attacked from behind on the street. Fortunately, there were passers-by nearby, and their injuries were not serious."

"And today, Mr. Vincent has met with a vicious attack."

As he was speaking, a police officer rushed over and handed a wad of paper to his superior. "This was just found in the injured person's pocket."

The latter looked at the note, frowned, and read aloud, "Go back immediately, or next time it won't just be one arm."