After finalizing the plan, the three of them chatted in the living room for some time.
The recent performance of the National Silver Company of Corsica in the market naturally shocked Duke Choiseul, so he has been asking Lawrence about this company.
Although the market value of this company has far exceeded the entire property of Duke Choiseul, as a traditional and conservative nobleman, Duke Choiseul still has little interest in participating in these business activities.
Moreover, for a political figure like him, power is far more important than wealth, so he did not covet the huge sum of money in Lawrence's hands.
However, the financial resources displayed by the financiers during this carnival gave Duke Choiseul a lot of ideas.
"To be honest, I really didn't expect it."
Duke Choiseul said with emotion:
"The funds in the hands of those businessmen are so rich that they can raise tens of millions of livres and invest them in the financial market in just a few days. Alas, it would be great if this money could be used to alleviate the fiscal deficit. Maybe I should give
They impose heavy taxes."
"Well, I don't think that's a good approach."
After hearing this, Lawrence shrugged, shook his head and said:
"After all, only a handful of top financiers have strong financial resources, and most investors are just middle-class citizens. If you transfer the financial pressure to them..."
If the Duke of Choiseul had really adopted such a radical and unfair method, Lawrence estimated that the process of the Revolution would have been advanced by at least ten years.
"Okay, okay, what you said makes sense. This will cause turmoil." Duke Choiseul curled his lips and did not take this idea to heart.
Lawrence glanced at Duke Choiseul, sighed and said:
"If you are really worried about financial problems, you might as well attack the nobles and clergy. Their property can buy most of France. Even levying a per capita tax on them can give France a big sigh of relief."
"Oh! Don't be silly, Lawrence."
Duke Choiseul laughed and said as if he had heard a joke:
"If I attack the financiers, at most it will trigger a riot in the city of Paris; but if I attack the nobles and clergy, I will trigger a rebellion that will spread throughout France. In less than a month, the rebels will be able to reach Paris.
Below the city."
General Jacques Philippe on the side nodded, looked at Lawrence seriously and added:
"Even the generals of Île-de-France will join the rebels. After all, they are also great nobles."
Lawrence shook his head helplessly, not intending to argue with them on this issue, so he said:
"Sorry, I was stupid."
The Duke of Choiseul was a great nobleman himself, so of course he would not take advantage of himself.
Even if he has the consciousness to sacrifice his own interests for the interests of the country, his political allies will not be as noble as him.
Whether it is the high courts in various places or the nobles and bureaucrats in the Palace of Versailles, they are on the front line of opposing fiscal reforms.
Even Lawrence had to admit that the current political and financial situation in France is a dead end, which cannot be solved by one person's hard work.
A bottom-up revolution is only a matter of time.
"I see it's not too early either."
Duke Choiseul drank the last sip of hot tea, exhaled a sigh of relief, stood up and said:
"It's time for me to go talk to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who happens to be in Paris as well. Governor Bonaparte, when are you going to take action against Jean Du Barry?"
"Without further delay, we will start this evening." Lawrence also stood up and said.
"Very well, I will send you the order from the Foreign Secretary before tomorrow morning."
Duke Choiseul licked his lips excitedly, grinned and said:
"That old bastard, Richelieu, I will personally tell him to get out of Paris and Versailles."
...
After leaving the Duke of Choiseul's residence, Lawrence did not rush to attack Jean Du Barry, but went straight to the headquarters of the Bank of Commerce of France.
"It's an honor to see you again, Monsignor Bonaparte."
After Mr. Montmartre learned that Lawrence had arrived, he quickly greeted him personally, invited him into his office, and said with a smile on his face:
"Please take a seat. Why are you here in person...?"
Since the last meeting at the Paris Stock Exchange, Mr. Montmartre, after being reminded by Lord Melly, has clearly understood that he and Monsignor Bonaparte are completely tied to a ship.
Once the fraud of the National Silver Company is exposed, the French Commercial Bank, as the stock agent, will suffer an unprecedented credit crisis.
The consequence of that is most likely that this leading bank will completely go bankrupt and disappear from the Paris market, and Mr. Montmartre himself will be reduced from a multi-millionaire to a poor man at the bottom with huge debts.
However, if the National Silver Company can really sustain itself, Mr. Montmartre will be able to extract unimaginable profits from it.
Therefore, his life was already in the hands of His Excellency Bonaparte, and Mr. Montmartre had no choice but to obey Lawrence and try his best to meet all his demands.
Lawrence sat in a soft and comfortable sofa chair and asked casually:
"Is there anything happening in the market these days about National Silver Company?"
"The situation..." Mr. Montmartre thought for a while and said skillfully:
"Everything is stable. It's just that some investors yesterday raised doubts about the Ajaccio silver mine report you disclosed, thinking that the report contained fictitious elements."
"Oh? What happened next?"
Lawrence asked not surprisingly.
When the report was first disclosed, the reveling investors did not have much time to analyze it in detail. Now that they have calmed down and read the report, they will naturally be shocked.
Mr. Montmartre smiled and pulled out this morning's newspaper, handed it to Lawrence and said:
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "The geologist you invited is very dedicated, and his name is Academician Geta. He teamed up with more than a dozen scholars to publish a statement in the newspaper, which is completely
It eliminates investors’ doubts.”
Lawrence glanced at the contents of the newspaper, nodded with a smile, and said casually:
"He is indeed very dedicated. Could you please send him a check for five thousand livres? Just say it is a bonus given to him by the board of directors."
"Oh, okay, okay." Mr. Montmartre quickly took out the memo and wrote down Lawrence's instructions.
"in addition"
Lawrence continued to give instructions:
"I need to borrow a few people from you. It won't take long."
"Borrower? What do you need?" Mr. Montmartre asked in confusion.
"Your auditors need to be the best."
Financial institutions like the Bank de France must have their own audit departments.
Especially for large-scale industries, if the industry's financial revenue and expenditure and data reports cannot be effectively reviewed, it is almost inevitable for employees to be corrupt and take bribes.
"Auditor? Oh, of course, no problem."
Although Mr. Montmartre didn't know why Lawrence suddenly asked for this, he quickly stood up and ran outside the office to explain to his secretary.
Soon, the secretary returned to the office with two middle-aged men wearing white shirts and gold-rimmed glasses.
Mr. Montmartre pointed to the two auditors and introduced to Lawrence diligently:
"This is the oldest and most experienced auditor in our bank. I pay them a salary of eight hundred livres every month."
He then snapped at the two auditors:
"Hey, Tommy, Laon, salute Mr. Bonaparte quickly. I think you two must recognize this name. Mr. Bonaparte needs you to work for him for a period of time. Don't screw it up for me, do you understand?
"
"Yes, sir."
The two nodded quickly and then nervously bowed deeply to Lawrence.
Of course, the two of them knew this Monsignor Bonaparte, who was famous in the financial and political circles, and they were both anxious and honored to know that they had to work for this big shot.
Lawrence also smiled and nodded to the two of them. Since they are the best auditors of the Commercial Bank of France, there is no doubt about their ability.
"Then I'll take my leave. You two, please come with me."
...
To be continued...