Charles in despair

Charles looked at the Crown Prince with suspicion and protested, "Your Highness, this is all legitimate business. How could I possibly be funding the rebels?"

Please turn to the last page.

Joseph gestured to the documents in his hand. "Helios Steel Company is responsible for transporting weapons from the Netherlands to the rebels, as well as repairing firearms."

"The Ghent City Hall has long been under the control of the rebel Parliament and has provided the rebels with a large amount of logistical supplies."

"The Mr. Clifford behind him has been working for the rebels..."

Charles's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly explained, "Your Highness, I... I had no idea about their relationship with the rebels. My bank was just making normal loans."

Joseph naturally knew that he should have nothing to do with the Brabant Revolution, but at that time, Van der Noot's power had controlled most of the Southern Netherlands, and Charles had three banks in the Southern Netherlands, so it was difficult to avoid financial dealings with them.

As he expected, the Intelligence Bureau quickly discovered some connections between Charles's bank and the insurgents— Southern Netherlands had now returned to Austria rule, and Wallonia was under France administration, so investigating these matters was not difficult.

In reality, for Charles, the transactions on the documents were all huge losses. For example, Helios Steel Company went bankrupt after the Rebellion failed, and the tens of thousands of Livre in loans went down the drain.

But since the loan did indeed go to Helios Steel Company, that could become a tool to deal with Charles.

"I'm willing to believe you," Joseph said, seemingly trying to reassure Charles. "If you truly were unaware, the High Court will soon lift the asset seizure order against you."

"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness." Charles quickly rose and bowed, then asked nervously, "How long will this take?"

"That depends on the Intelligence Bureau's investigation progress. If things go smoothly, it might take a month or two to prove your innocence. However, those rebels destroyed a lot of data before surrendering, so it's possible that it might take six months or even longer to get any results."

Charles nearly burst into tears. "Your Highness, you must help me prove that I really have nothing to do with the rebels!"

Although he started his business in the Southern Netherlands, he later shifted his focus to France, where the market was larger and the profits were higher.

Of his assets, a full 60% were funds entrusted to him by other Nobility for management, and these funds required constant interest payments. Even if he couldn't access these funds for six months, just two months would be enough to cause him severe financial distress.

In addition, he also had to consider the situation of his banks. Once news of the seizure of his assets spread, it would inevitably lead to a run on deposits—who knows if the owner of Charles-Boughton Bank had committed some serious crime? It would certainly be safer to withdraw the money first.

The worst thing for a bank to encounter is a bank run, which almost certainly means bankruptcy.

Joseph said calmly, "You should trust the Intelligence Bureau, or you can pray for them to find evidence as soon as possible."

"No, please, you must help me..."

"I'm sorry, I really can't help with that," Joseph said, rising to see him off. "Let's end our conversation here for today, Mr. Charles. I have to attend to tax reform matters."

Upon hearing this, Charles's heart tightened; he immediately understood why the Intelligence Bureau was targeting him.

Tax Farmers Guild go to great lengths to obstruct government tax reforms. He and Morel had previously pretended to offer Brienne a loan to delay the government's fundraising efforts. Now that the French Government has secured enough funds to sustain operations for the first half of next year, it's confident enough to punish him.

He hurriedly turned to Joseph, bowing his head, and said, "Your Highness, the government is about to carry out tax reform, and there may be a shortage of funds during this period."

"While the Intelligence Bureau is conducting its investigation, it would be a waste for my assets to just sit there. Perhaps I could lend them to the Minister of Finance to help him better navigate the tax reform phase."

Joseph waved his hand dismissively, saying, "I've read Archbishop Brienne's report; the funds for tax reform have been raised sufficiently, so you don't need to worry about it."

Charles said urgently, "Your Highness, unexpected situations are bound to occur during tax reform. Archbishop Brienne has more funds and can deal with them more easily."

"I am willing to provide a low-interest loan of 12 million Franc to contribute to the government's tax reform. This will also prove that I have no connection with the Southern Netherlands Rebels. I only hope that the Intelligence Bureau's investigation can proceed a little faster."

Joseph sighed and said, "Then I'll ask Archbishop Brienne if he still needs a loan."

He had previously had the Intelligence Bureau investigate, and found that Charles's annual Tax Farming Income was around 10 million Franc, plus another 2 million Franc, which was basically all the funds he could come up with.

Charles, overjoyed, bowed deeply in gratitude. "Thank you, Your Highness. I will go and fetch Archbishop Brienne..."

Reims.

At 6:30 p. m., two young Taxation officers walked out of the Tax Bureau, preparing to return to their residence.

However, as soon as they rounded the street corner, two dark figures quickly followed behind them.

The tall Taxation official seemed to notice the commotion and turned around to see a wooden stick coming straight at his head.

He hurriedly grabbed his companion and tried desperately to dodge backward, but he was still too slow. The stick struck him hard in the cheek, knocking him to the ground, and he felt a wave of dizziness.

On the other side, the shorter Taxation official was pulled to the side by him, and the wooden stick that attacked him grazed past his ear and hit his shoulder.

The Hood assailant behind him immediately swung a stick and chased after him, snarling, "Get out of the Tax Bureau, or I'll interrupt your..."

However, a sudden, loud explosion drowned out all the other sounds.

The attacker's body was struck as if by a giant hammer, and he was sent flying backward instantly.

Another attacker, who was about to continue beating the tall Taxation official, was also startled by the loud noise. He turned around and saw his accomplice lying motionless on the ground, his chest covered in blood, clearly shot.

He immediately saw the Pistol in the short Taxation official's hand, and in terror, dropped the stick, turned and ran, his voice trembling as he cried, "You... you killed him..."

Despite the pain in his shoulder, the Taxation officer dropped the empty Pistol, then drew another from his right waist, engaged the safety, released the flintlock clip, aimed at the fleeing attacker, and pulled the trigger.

Another loud bang, and blood gushed from the back of the fleeing Hood man. He collapsed forward, his eyes wide with disbelief—he had only struck him with a blunt object, and the man had fired a shot right away...

The short Taxation official lowered his gun and said coldly, "According to the law, anyone who attacks Taxation official can be shot dead on the spot!"