(This chapter is not yet complete. Please pardon me, esteemed readers, and refresh the page after half an hour. My sincere apologies!)
Charles looked at the Crown Prince with bewilderment and protested, "Your Highness, all my business dealings are legal. Where is it that I have funded the Rebel Army?"
"Please turn to the last page."
Joseph gestured towards the document in his hand, "Helros Steel Company is responsible for transporting weapons from Holland for the Rebel Army.
"And the Ghent City Hall has long been under the jurisdiction of the Rebel Army's Congress, providing them with a large amount of logistical supplies.
"That Mr. Clifford there is part of the Rebel Army..."
Charles' complexion changed drastically, and he hurriedly defended, "Your Highness, I truly had no knowledge of their ties with the Rebel Army. My bank was merely making routine loans."
Joseph knew that Charles had little to do with the rebellion in Brabant; however, given that Vandernoot's forces controlled much of the Southern Netherlands at that time, and Charles had three banks there, it was difficult to avoid financial interactions with them.
Indeed, as he suspected, the intelligence agency soon found some connections between the banks owned by Charles and the Rebel Army—now that the Southern Netherlands was back under Austrian rule, and the Walloon Region was under French administration, investigating these matters was not difficult.
In fact, these transactions listed in the document had all resulted in significant losses for Charles. For instance, Helros Steel Company went bankrupt after the Rebel Army's defeat, flushing tens of thousands of Levas in loans down the drain.
Yet these loans had indeed occurred and could serve as leverage against Charles.
"I am very willing to believe you," Joseph seemed to console Charles. "If you really did not know, the High Court will soon lift the asset freeze."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness," Charles quickly stood up and bowed, then nervously asked, "When might the court lift the freeze?"
"That depends on the progress of the intelligence agency's investigation. If it's fast, perhaps your innocence can be proven in a month or two. However, the Rebel Army destroyed many documents before surrendering, so it might take half a year or even longer to come to a conclusion."
Charles almost burst into tears, "Your Highness, you must help me prove that I have no connection with the Rebel Army!"
Although he started his business in the Southern Netherlands, he later focused his business efforts in France, where the market was larger and the profits were higher.
And in his assets, sixty percent of the funds were managed by him on behalf of other nobles, for which interest had to be paid at all times. Not being able to use the assets for even two months, let alone half a year, would be financially crippling.
Moreover, he had to consider the situation of his banks. If word got out that his assets had been frozen, it would inevitably lead to depositors rushing to withdraw their money—who knew if Charles Bolton, the bank owner, had committed some serious crime? It was obviously safer to secure one's money first.
The last thing anyone running a bank wanted was a bank run, which almost certainly spelled bankruptcy.
"You must trust the intelligence agency, or perhaps pray that they can find evidence quickly."
"No, please, you must help me..."
"I'm sorry, I truly cannot assist you," Joseph stated as he stood up, signaling the end of their meeting. "Let's leave it here for today, Mr. Charles. I still have to deal with tax reform matters."
Upon hearing this, Charles tensed up, now understanding why the intelligence agency might be targeting him—the Tax Farmers Association had been painstakingly obstructing the government's tax reforms. Previously, he and Morrel had pretended to provide a loan to Archbishop Brienne to delay the government's fundraising efforts. Now that the French Government had secured enough funds to maintain its operations for the first half of the next year, it had the confidence to reprimand him.
Thinking this, he hurried over to Joseph, bowing his head, "Your Highness, the government is going to undergo tax reform, during which funding shortages are very likely.
"Furthermore, while the intelligence agency is investigating, it is a waste to just let my assets sit there. Perhaps I could offer a loan to the Finance Minister to help him better navigate the transition period."
Joseph seemed indifferent, waving his hand, "I have read Archbishop Brienne's report. The funds for the tax reform have been adequately raised, there's no need for you to bother."
Charles urgently said, "Your Highness, unexpected situations might arise during the tax reform. If Archbishop Brienne had even more funds, it would be easier to manage.
"I am willing to provide a low-interest loan of 12 million francs to aid the government's tax reform. This could also prove that I have no ties with the Southern Netherlands Rebels, and I hope that the intelligence agency can speed up their investigation a bit."
Joseph sighed, "Let me ask Archbishop Brienne if he needs the funds."
He knew that Charles' annual tax revenues were roughly 10 million francs, plus an additional 2 million legally, which was almost all the funds he could come up with.
Charles seemed greatly relieved and quickly bowed in gratitude, "Thank you, Your Highness, I-"
The British Army's commanders would attend the Governor's Council and become its members, while the regional commanders would join the Provincial Councils and become members. The councils had numerous secretaries,_each responsible for some departments, which gradually evolved into various ministries of the Central and Provincial Governments.
In the county-level government, the tax collector was the main officer, handling not only tax collection but also administrative and judicial matters. Furthermore, there was a Chief of Police, specifically responsible for maintaining social order. Additionally, there was a police station, tasked with maintaining public order and carrying out repressions.
Government officials were selected from among company employees, who initially often held two posts simultaneously. After Hastings became Governor, the company employees were divided into commercial and administrative employees, and one individual could no longer hold both positions. Administrative employees thus became officials, managing taxes, justice, and administration, and their promotion was based on seniority. The Act of 1793 passed by the Congress confirmed this principle, statingathy in India, all major civil positions below counselor must be held by company contract officials. In 1800, he set up William Fort College in Calcutta to train company administrative personnel, but it was not successful. In 1806, Haileybury College was established in England.
The Goldschmidt family had frequent contacts with the Bischoffsheim family from Mainz, and together with Monaco's wealthiest Bartolomeo family, they collectively managed Bischoffsheim, Goldschmidt & Cie Bank, which merged in 1863 to become the predecessor of BNP Paribas—Credit Mobilier of France.