I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 135 Go ahead, Pika...er, Mr. Mara! (asking for double monthly pass)

Joseph immediately thought of the group of bankers who invested large sums of French funds in England, and couldn't help but feel bitter. If the dirty information about these guys can be found out, it will not only be very satisfying, but also effectively rectify the financial industry.

But Joseph was immediately discouraged. There were still too many targets in the banking industry, and these people were not government officials. If the Impartial Investigation Office was asked to investigate them, Marat, a "friend of the people," might also have objections.

It would be great if there could be a representative of the banking industry who was also an official...

Thinking of this, his eyes suddenly lit up, there really was such a person!

Although he is no longer an official, he was the finance minister for a long time before and was closely connected with the banking industry. Oh, to be precise, he is a banker himself.

The period when Necker was in charge of France's finances was the beginning of France's path of no return from relying on high-interest loans to maintain its finances. The finance ministers after him wanted to get out of this vicious cycle of borrowing new debt to repay old debts, but they were forced to continue borrowing because of the pressure of high interest rates.

A chill flashed in Joseph's eyes. Judging from Necker's various operations, he had no problem before going to hell.

Now let the Impartial Investigation Office investigate this guy. Firstly, it can divert Mara's attention. Secondly, if something is really discovered, a large number of unscrupulous banking giants may be implicated in the future.

Early the next morning, Joseph asked Emman to go to the Chancellor of Finance's office and transfer all the financial information that Necker had when he was the treasurer (he was Swiss and could not be named directly as Chancellor of Finance, but his authority was not reduced at all). Files, loaded onto four trolleys.

Joseph ordered Kesode to send personal guards to escort these files to the office of the Impartial Investigation Office.

Sure enough, without Joseph's explanation, Marat came by himself at noon the next day.

Joseph still treated him the same way.

First, he complained that Necker maliciously increased fiscal expenditures by colluding with banking giants, and then borrowed large amounts of money from banks and transferred high interest rates to the banks. Then, describe the serious harm caused by the national financial crisis to the French people.

Finally, it points out the direction of development for "Piranha" - go ahead and tear Necker apart for the sake of the French people!

But this time Marat seemed extremely hesitant: "Your Highness, please forgive me, Mr. Necker has a very good reputation. When he was in charge of the country's finances, the balance of payments was almost balanced. You won't think it's because he has disclosed the royal family's His extravagance and waste, and deliberately discredit him."

Joseph smiled. Necker was indeed very good at packaging himself. When the Three Estates Meeting was held in history, all three estates were very fond of him. Even Louis XVI regarded him as a savior.

But as a person who is familiar with history, Joseph is quite clear about what this guy has done.

"Mr. Marra, villains don't have the word 'bad guy' written on their faces. The Impartial Investigation Office is trying to see through the superficial disguise to find out the real shady story inside."

Joseph leaned forward and whispered: "Do you know where the first loan for the government came from after Necker became the treasurer?"

Mara obviously had a rough look at the financial files. He opened his notebook and glanced at it: "It's a Swiss bank..."

"That's right." Joseph nodded, "Then did you know that this bank was opened by Necker and his friends?"

Mara was startled, then shook her head.

Joseph said coldly: "In other words, the first thing Mr. Necker did after taking office was to get a big business for his bank, and the interest rate was quite high.

“There’s more you don’t know.

“For example, when Mr. Necker was young, he cooperated with his British banking friends and mobilized large amounts of funds to resell grain between Britain and France, causing grain prices to skyrocket at that time.

"For another example, in order to become the treasurer of the treasury, Mr. Necker used hundreds of thousands of livres, plus shares in his own bank, to bribe many senior officials..."

Mara could no longer hold back, stood up and said: "Your Highness, I will find out all this, but it may only prove that you are biased against Mr. Necker."

Joseph smiled and nodded: "I look forward to you bringing more justice to the French people."

Marat bowed and was about to leave when Joseph said again: "Oh, by the way, Mr. Marat, did you just say that the financial balance during the Necker period became stable?"

"Yes, Your Highness, this is true."

"The fact is that the so-called balance of payments is based on excess loans. The interest on the loans is not obvious in a short period of time, so the balance of payments situation seems good, but the interest will snowball. The harm is It will not appear until more than ten years later. In other words, a large part of the current fiscal deficit comes from his loans at that time."

"Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness." Mara saluted again, turned around and left with some excitement.

Drawing Marat's attention away from the French Guards, Joseph summoned Baron Breteuil, hinting that he could be more lenient in reviewing the officers of the French Guards.

It was the Crown Prince and Archbishop Bourian who supported Breteuil to the position of Minister of Justice, and since it was a matter of reviewing military officers that was not good for him and easily aroused hatred, he immediately agreed.

…

Over at the French Guards barracks, the number of letters reporting officers suddenly decreased, and the review speed of the military police department immediately accelerated a lot.

After the Marquis de Saint-Priest received the news, he was quite surprised that Berthier really had such great energy, so he simplified all the procedures, signed the letter of appointment almost immediately, and promoted Berthier to lieutenant colonel. and was appointed commander of the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the French Guards.

However, just after noon, Berthier came to him and said that he had encountered a small problem.

"So, what does your best friend want?" Saint Priest asked with a frown.

"Ah, that's it. He has a younger brother who just graduated from the military academy and is currently just an ordinary second lieutenant." Berthier repeated the crown prince's request, "He hopes that his younger brother can serve as a battalion commander in the French Guard."

The Marquis of St. Priest let out a long sigh. He had already given away his cows, so how could he still be reluctant to part with a rein?

He immediately nodded and said: "Just do as he said. You ask him to go as soon as possible..."

"He studied cavalry command, so he hopes to be in a cavalry battalion."

"Okay, okay! Whether it's the cavalry or something else, let's do it." St. Priest rubbed his forehead vigorously. He was already numb at this time and just hoped that this nightmare would end soon.

Berthier acted quickly. After being promoted to regimental commander, he immediately came to the French Guards camp with Dubois and Quesoud's cousin Odolic and began to select his troops.

Thanks to Mr. Mu Nanhua for his generous reward for this book! The young author is grateful!