The public opinion boomerang

Joseph continued, somewhat excitedly:

"I have read many of your articles, and I always found it strange that as a Freedom Fighter, you never attacked the dirtiest, most corrupt, and darkest parts of Paris. It wasn't until I read your article that I realized I had misunderstood you."

Marat blinked in confusion:

"What do you mean by the most corrupt and darkest place?"

Joseph clenched his fist and said:

"Of course, it's the High Court! It's rife with money and power deals, constantly creating wrongful convictions. Judges use the suffering of victims as a means to enrich themselves; it's the source of all the misery for the people of Paris!"

He did not slander the High Court in any way. Numerous historical records show that at that time, the High Court was the most corrupt place in France, bar none!

As judgeships have become increasingly hereditary and their power has grown, winning or losing a case has become a contest of bribing judges.

As a result, many people at the bottom of society would rather seek help from gangs than go to court when they encounter problems.

It wasn't until Napoleon and cracked down on the Judiciary that the courts began to become a little cleaner.

Marat frowned. He was very well-informed and naturally knew about the dirty dealings within the High Court.

Compared to the High Court, the bureaucrats in other departments are as innocent as underage girls.

Joseph continued:

"Your article was excellent, vehemently denouncing the High Court's shameless obstruction of the Tax Law and exposing their dirty deals with the Nobility!"

Marat felt somewhat ashamed upon hearing this. His article had only mentioned that the bill was beneficial to the State Finances, and the court did not have sufficient grounds to reject it. There must be some hidden reason for the three consecutive rejections of Registration.

But it's far from the level of "outrage" that Mr. Xavier described.

Joseph seemed to be giving a speech to himself:

"Because the High Court holds the power to censor publications, no Newspaper Office has ever dared to expose their evil deeds, but I have decided to declare war on them!"

"Even if my Newspaper Office is shut down, even if I'm imprisoned, I will have no regrets! At least Mr. Marat fought alongside me!"

Marat listened to his impassioned Declaration, he suddenly felt like a complete coward.

Because subconsciously I knew that writing about the High Court would be difficult to pass censorship, I unconsciously avoided that area. So much ugliness and injustice was buried under lies because of this cowardice.

Young Mr. Xavier is the real fighter!

Joseph, seeing Marat's expression, thought to himself that everything hinged on this moment. He took a deep breath and said:

"Mr. Marat, I know this is extremely dangerous, and I would completely understand if you chose to retreat. But I will fight to the very end for the France people!"

Marat felt a rush of heat to his head, and he abruptly stood up, clenching his fists tightly, and said earnestly:

"I will fight alongside you to expose the crimes of the High Court! To restore Judiciary and dignity to the people!"

Police Intelligence Division Headquarters in the Western Suburbs of Paris.

Accompanied by Fouche and other high-ranking Police Intelligence Division, Joseph walked briskly past rooms marked with signs for "Intelligence Team," "Action Team," and "Resource Team," and entered the supervisor's office at the end of the corridor.

The Police Intelligence Division is growing rapidly. Fouche just gave him a brief report. Now the entire Police Intelligence Division has more than 400 "police officers." Informants are also spread throughout Paris.

Important departments such as City Hall, courts, and Embassy have established complete intelligence networks that collect and summarize intelligence on a daily basis.

In terms of intelligence gathering capabilities, even the Secret Police by seven or eight times, wouldn't dare say they can surpass the Police Intelligence Division.

Joseph sat down at his desk, first praising Fouche and the others for their excellent work, and then began assigning tasks:

"The Police Intelligence Division must investigate the corruption and criminal activities of the High Court Grand Justice and other important officials within one month!"

In fact, he could have simply sent someone to instruct Fouche on these matters, but since it concerned his own political future, he decided to come to the Police Intelligence Division in person to show that he took it seriously.

"And Duke of Seville, Earl of Serulier..." He looked at the slip of paper in his hand and read out more than a dozen names in a row. They were all the Nobility that Sumiyar had mentioned in the Cabinet Meeting who supported the removal of Brienne.

"These people must also be thoroughly investigated, whether it's raping women, evading taxes, or even injuring Servant —investigate everything you can find!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Joseph then recited a string of blocks and house numbers to Fouche:

"This is Marat's address."

Fouche asked in confusion:

"Is that Jean- Paul Marat? A stubborn anti- Royal House."

Joseph nodded:

"He's considered 'one of us' for now. You can have your subordinates act as his informants, handing him any dirt they find on the High Court."

He had just successfully guided Marat, the "Piranha," towards the High Court. The "Piranha" would bite even more fiercely if its prey was wounded.

The Paris High Court.

In the Grand Justice' lounge on the second floor, Grand Justice Vezinier threw a wad of newspapers at the face of the official in front of him, angrily saying:

"What on earth are you doing? How could you let something like this pass censorship!"

The official carefully picked up the newspaper, unfolded it, and saw that it was a copy of the Paris Business Daily, with the headline on the front page being "The Dangers of Hereditary Judgeship of the High Court."

He frowned, then looked at the News and Pictures behind him; the front page read "Discussion on the Scope of the High Court's Powers."

He hurriedly defended himself:

"Count Weijinie, there's nothing wrong with these articles. I read them carefully yesterday, although there are some suggestive or misleading contents..."

The judge next to Weijinie, with a Hook-Nosed Judge, frowned and said:

Are you sure?

The official in charge of press censorship stammered:

"Perhaps I can have them change the title."

Weijinie said with a gloomy face:

"Your review standards could be stricter!"

The official immediately bowed his head and replied:

"Yes, sir, I will certainly ensure that similar articles never appear again."

Weijinie turned to the judge beside him:

"Let Rene take some men to that Newspaper Office and shut it down on some random pretext."

"You're right, I'll go and tell him right away."

Two hours later, more than thirty Publication Police, armed with batons and shields, surrounded the front and back entrances of the Paris Business Daily Newspaper Office.

Although the Publication Police are called "Police," they are not under the jurisdiction of the Police Department, but rather like bailiffs, and are subject to the dispatch of the court.

Rene, the head of the Publication Police, led several men into the Newspaper Office, grabbed a worker, and asked sternly:

Who is in charge here?

The worker pointed nervously to Denico's office. Rene, stormed into the office, and pointed at Denico, shouting:

"Are you in charge here? Have everyone assemble in that open area immediately; I need to conduct a full inspection!"

However, before Denico could reply, Rene heard a whistle coming from outside the Newspaper Office.

Rene turned around and saw more than a dozen Police in blue uniforms running in, accompanied by whistles.

He approached with a puzzled look, and bowed to the leading Police, raising his hat in salute.

"Excuse me, are you here to arrest a criminal?"

The Police glanced at him and said coldly:

What are you doing?

Rene produced the court documents:

"This Newspaper Office may contain contraband; I've been ordered to search it!"

The lead Police ignored it and said:

"Have your people leave the Newspaper Office immediately."

Rene blinked and held up the court documents again:

"I am executing a command, please..."

The lead Police waved his hand, and the Police behind him immediately formed two lines. The front line pointed their Riot-Control Fork at the police officers in charge of Publication Police. The back line cocked their Musket.

Rene stared at the dark muzzle of the gun, shrinking back in fear, but still shouting defiantly:

What do you want?!

The lead Police smiled:

"My mission is to prevent any outsiders from interfering with the Newspaper Office's operations. Get out of here immediately!"

Rene tried to struggle, but then he saw another team of Police arrive and surround the Publication Police at the door.

His Publication Police usually did things like searching for prohibited books and shutting down Newspaper Office; they didn't dare to confront the Public Order Police and all obediently huddled together.

Rene nodded hastily:

"Okay, okay, let's leave."

Immediately afterwards, he and several dozen of his men slunk out of the Newspaper Office.

Joseph anticipated that the High Court would resort to underhanded tactics against the Newspaper Office, so he had already informed Besançon beforehand.

The latter simply built a Police Box across from the Newspaper Office, and doubled the number of Police patrolling the nearby streets, instructing them to ensure the Newspaper Office could operate normally.

After Rene returned and reported the situation, he was severely reprimanded by his superior. He had no choice but to bring more Publication Police to the Newspaper Office, only to find that there were already Police with guns drawn blocking the Newspaper Office, and they could not even get close to the gate.

The following day, several articles in Paris Business Daily and News and Pictures were indeed rejected, and the newspapers had to fill the empty pages with some insignificant articles.

That afternoon, numerous Pamphlets published the articles that had failed censorship, along with a commentary titled "The High Court Tramples on Freedom of Publication."

Another Pamphlets's first page was titled "Shocking! Publication Police! Their purpose is..."

The two Pamphlets were filled with incredibly exciting and entertaining stories, and because they were very cheap, they quickly sold tens of thousands of copies, circulating throughout the Paris Street.

Two days later, as the contents of the Pamphlets gained traction, journalists and publishing industry figures began to protest in front of the High Court, demanding that freedom of publication not be interfered with, that the article in Paris Business Daily contained no prohibited content, and that it should pass censorship.

Other journalists took to the streets to speak, criticizing the High Court for using violence and threatening a Newspaper Office that had no problems.

The people of Paris had long been extremely dissatisfied with the corrupt High Court, and many gathered around the speaker, enthusiastically echoing his sentiments and occasionally cheering loudly.

Although regulations prohibit unauthorized speeches in Paris, the Paris Police have been ordered to turn a blind eye to any speeches involving the High Court and not interfere.

Begging for first-time subscriptions!

The author is extremely grateful and will try to update more today, only asking for first-day subscriptions.

(End of this chapter)