Chapter 632: 541 "The Devil" Joseph

Chapter 632: Chapter 541 “The Devil” Joseph

After an unspecified amount of time, Brian, who stood off to the side, cautiously spoke up, “Your Highness, if this displeases you, then I shall go back and tell them to abandon their vain hopes.

“After all, these evildoers do not qualify for His Majesty the King’s pardon.”

Joseph’s heart stirred upon hearing this. Yes, he had been thinking in the manner of a later, civilized society and had forgotten that this was the age of royal power.

Why should he reason with those men?

He represented the royal power, he was working for the nation’s benefit, and there was absolutely no need to be polite.

Let them first taste the iron fist of royal authority, then talk about terms!

...

It was merely a case of him playing the “villain” this time, just for tens of millions of francs. To say nothing of playing the villain, even becoming Satan would not be an issue.

He then looked at Brian with a smile and shook his head, “No, please tell them to come here tomorrow afternoon.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

Brian had not expected the Crown Prince to agree so easily. Just as he was about to take his leave, he heard Joseph add, “Oh, and Archbishop, the one million francs they gave you, just pour it all into the Industrial Development Fund. If it stays with you, I’m afraid Mr. Mara will see it and be unable to resist.”

Brian sighed inwardly. Though somewhat reluctant, he knew that holding onto the money was indeed too hot to handle. And as His Highness had said, with such a large sum, the people from the Official Investigation Bureau would certainly chase after him like mad.

However, Joseph’s next words made him beam, “Nevertheless, you will receive half of the annual dividends of that money.”

Rewards where rewards are due, punishment where punishment is due. Brian had chosen not to greedily take the money for himself, so encouragement was in order.

Brian bowed earnestly, “Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness. May Jesus bless you.”

One million francs placed in the industrial fund would yield an interest of over a hundred thousand a year, half of which would amount to fifty or sixty thousand. And that was with the previous year’s earnings not being too good; surely, that number would only increase in the future.

The following afternoon at two o’clock.

Baron Morrel, the negotiating representative from the Tax Farmers Association, said with a smile, “Your Highness, so as Archbishop Brienne previously mentioned, each of our seven families will contribute ten million francs to buy national bonds and pay a fine of one million francs.

“Mr. Laboucher, Baron Depelego, and the other six people, each buying four million francs in national bonds and paying a fine of five hundred thousand.

“What do you think of this…”

Joseph’s face darkened as he let out a cold snort, “Humph, things were completely different then compared to now, Baron.

“The guillotine is now set up, and the tax bureau has deployed so many people to investigate, do you still think you can settle it as easily as before?”

Morrel and Viscount Ford exchanged glances and quickly changed their offer, “You’re right. Perhaps we could double the fine to express our sincerity!”

They had anticipated before coming that this time it would not be easy to get through, so they had agreed on a price in advance and then left it to the negotiating representative to haggle.

In their view, it was a business deal; though they would surely take a loss, business was business, and there was always a point to cut the losses.

Seeing that the Crown Prince was only looking at the teacup in front of him and not saying a word, Morrel gritted his teeth and said, “Your Highness, then we’ll double the fine again. This is virtually all the liquidity we have.”

After a few seconds, he spoke again with difficulty, “Then, the interest on the national bonds could be halved, would that be acceptable?”

Suddenly, Joseph laughed, set down his teacup, and looked at the few tax farming giants in front of him, speaking unhurriedly, “Let me lay out my proposal. Oh, and there’s no room for bargaining.

“First of all, there’s no need to buy any national bonds. Viscount Ford, Mr. Hope, Baron Morrel… Each of you will pay a fine of ten million francs. Mr. Laboucher, Baron Depelego, Godemid… Each of you a fine of five million francs. The fines for the other major Tax Farmers will range from one to three million each.”

The few Tax Farmers gasped in shock.

National bonds were essentially loans, which had to be repaid with interest no matter how much was borrowed. Based on their previous discussions, the bottom line was at most not to pay interest. But now, the Crown Prince had directly switched it to fines, with no principal to be expected at all!

Viscount Ford stood up immediately and shouted, “Your Highness, you are leaving us no way out! So much money will bankrupt us!”

“This is all ill-gotten wealth, sucked from the blood of countless poor citizens of France. It should righteously be surrendered!” Joseph glanced at him coldly and pointed toward the door, “Those who feel they cannot accept, please leave.”

Ford and the others exchanged grim looks, silent.

After a moment, Morrel hesitantly stood up and spoke, “Your Highness, if… if I am willing to pay the fine, can I still receive a Pardon Letter?”

“Pardon Letter?” Joseph feigned surprise, “Did I mention such a thing just now?”

Morrel became anxious, “Your Highness, I am prepared to pay ten million francs, surely that can persuade His Majesty the King to pardon me?”

“You have committed numerous crimes, paying a fine is only natural,” Joseph said indifferently, “After this, what punishment you shall receive will be decided by the trials at the High Court.”

“You can’t do this!” Morrel protested loudly, even forgetting his manners.

If their criminal evidence was unearthed—which was almost inevitable—the court would most likely sentence them to death or at least decades of imprisonment. And judging by the Crown Prince’s intention, bribing the judges was out of the question.

Ford also stood up angrily, “Your Highness, you’re going too far. In this case, we might as well not negotiate at all.

“Humph, at worst, we serve our prison sentences, but I swear, neither you nor the government will get a penny of it!”

“Oh, really?” Joseph glanced at him with a smile, “You at least have a case of tax document forgery against you, and the tax bureau can arrest you at any moment on this ground.

“You’re most welcome to hide that illegal gain, but I am convinced that, in the end, you will reveal the whereabouts of that money.”

Ford laughed too, “Your Highness, might as well be straightforward, I might be sentenced to death by the High Court, why then should I surrender the money?”

“Because being sentenced to death isn’t the worst part,” Joseph suddenly adopted a gloomy and low tone, “I’ve heard from the intelligence bureau that they have a unique method of torture—

“They bury most of a prisoner’s body in the ground, then make an incision in his head and pour mercury drop by drop into the cut.

“As the mercury keeps falling, the prisoner will itch unbearably, causing him to struggle fiercely for relief.

“His body will wriggle upwards like a snake, continuing to squeeze upward…

“But his skin will be held in place by the ground, and soon, his body will shoot out from the skin like a meatball!”