Baron Gaisan, the assistant to the Municipal Commissioner of Caen City, gripped the newspaper in his hands firmly. Despite the chill of mid-April, fine beads of sweat formed on his temples.
The headline on the front page of the newspaper boldly read, "Official Investigation Bureau takes action, uncovering corruption among over 40 senior officials."
He saw in that article that high-ranking officials, including the Governor of Poitou and the Municipal Commissioner of Poitiers, had been arrested. The second and third pages of the newspaper were full of details about their corruption.
Since all of these 40-plus individuals were senior officials, with the lowest position being that of a judicial assistant in the city hall—equivalent to a Deputy Mayor—and none of the lower-ranking officials would dare to present any remonstrance to the Palace of Versailles—the shock was tremendous, and the entire nation was watching the affair closely.
Yet what made Gaisan so nervous was not the positions of these people, but rather their commonality.
Through his own bureaucratic circles, he had already found out that these 40-plus individuals had all expressed opposition to the abolition of the Tax Farmers system to the Palace of Versailles.
It couldn't be a coincidence!
Thus, it was clear: the exposure of these people's corruption was the Royal Family's punishment! It seemed that the Royal Family's determination to reform the tax system was immense, not sparing even Governors to "deal" with them.
Baron Gaisan thought of the remonstrance he had sent to the Palace of Versailles half a month ago and immediately felt cold all over.
He had accepted a bribe of 8,000 francs from the Tax Farmer Eurydice, promising to "make suggestions" to the government on his behalf, opposing the cancellation of the Tax Farmers system.
He had thought it was a simple remonstrance, something he had done many times before. Especially during the time when the Duke of Orleans was alive, he had opposed various things, like tax reforms and Necker's arrest, without any issue.
But he had not expected this outcome.
Over 40 officials arrested... Gaisan violently threw the newspaper to the floor, stood up abruptly, and ordered his servant to leave the house.
His hands were not clean either—indeed, no official's hands were clean. Once the Official Investigation Bureau came knocking, it was very likely he wouldn't just lose his position but could even end up in prison!
Therefore, he must devise a method to deal with this situation immediately. The only solution he could think of was to unite with other officials opposed to the tax reform and escalate the situation further. As long as there were enough involved parties and loud enough voices, even if the Royal Family was displeased, they couldn't possibly punish so many officials at once.
"Damn that Eurydice!" he cursed, ready to step out the door when he saw his butler approach quickly, handing him a letter.
"My lord, this just came back from Paris. It seems there was an issue with the postal system there."
Gaisan was startled—wasn't this his own remonstrance against the tax reform?
He hastily tore open the envelope and saw the letter inside intact, a surge of euphoria overwhelming him.
Now he was no longer part of the anti-reform camp, and the Official Investigation Bureau would not come after him!
With utmost speed, he went to the fireplace, throwing the letter into the flames.
After thinking it through, he immediately went back to his study, picked up a pen, and wrote a letter fully supporting the abolition of the Tax Farmers system, instructing his butler to send it to the Palace of Versailles.
The stance of the Royal Family was crystal clear. To not take sides now would be utter foolishness. Compared to the trivial interests offered by the Tax Farmers, retaining his official position was far more important.
In a luxurious villa in the Southern Suburb of Paris, Ford was discussing next year's tax capital in a relaxed manner with a few magnates from the Tax Farmers Association.
"Sales of goods to Germany and the Mediterranean coast have greatly increased since last year. I estimate that the total tax revenue this year could increase by about 80 million francs," Fankevich caressed his wine glass, "The government is sure to ask us to increase the tax capital. I suggest we raise next year's tax capital by 50 million francs."
Hope immediately shook his head, "You are being too generous. We have to collect taxes in Luxembourg and the Southern Netherlands, which will greatly increase our costs, so the tax capital should at most be raised by 30 million francs."
Ford smiled and said, "We just need to underreport this year's tax accounts, how would the Finance Minister know the amount by which the tax revenue has increased? Therefore, our proposed negotiation for the tax capital should remain the same, at most increasing by..."
As he was speaking, his confidant butler knocked and entered, to which he showed some displeasure: "Mr. Geoffroy, is there an emergency?"
"Yes, my lord. Look at this." The butler presented him with the latest edition of the Paris Commercial News.
Ford's expression changed drastically after a glance at the headline, snatching the newspaper, "The Austrian's daughter has been so bold, arresting over 40 officials who opposed the tax reform!"
He handed the newspaper to Hope, "We need to do something quickly."
Those arrested officials had all taken their money, although it was their subordinates who had delivered the bribes, but it was still best to try to save them.
Hope was somewhat surprised that the Official Investigation Bureau had found evidence of so many corrupt individuals so quickly, but soon he revealed a smile, "No worries, it's only a matter of 40 or so people. We have invested millions of francs in this affair, and there will be many more remonstrances piling up on Her Majesty the Queen's desk. Is she really going to put hundreds of officials in jail?"
Fankevich also laughed, "That would make the entire bureaucracy of France stand with us."
Ford, not reassured, said, "Should we allocate more funds to involve more officials?"
"Your suggestion is helpful."
After a brief discussion, they decided to allocate an additional 200,000 francs to bribe more officials and escalate the matter.
However, that very afternoon, their informant in the Palace of Versailles brought news. Her Majesty the Queen had only received a little over 40 remonstrances, and due to an accident in the postal system, some letters were burned in a warehouse, while many others had been sent back to their places of origin.
Hope and the others exchanged glances, dismayed by the unexpected turn of events. This limited the group opposing tax reform to those 40 or so people, making it more likely that the later officials would immediately distance themselves from them!
Sure enough, soon some of the officials who had previously taken their money returned it, and the agents they sent to bribe officials were invariably turned away without exception, some even being thrown out by the officials themselves.
A few days later, more news came from the Palace of Versailles. Officials everywhere started to express support for tax reform, especially those who had previously taken their money, almost excessively eager.
And in that day's newspaper, headlines like "Tax Reform Gains Widespread Support, Tax Abuses to be Corrected" were prominent, with quotes directly from the officials who expressed support for the reform.
Soon, more officials began to follow the trend. Supporting tax reform had become the political correctness among French bureaucrats.
But if things continued this way, even if Mala could take care of the first batch of officials opposing the reform...