Chapter 63 Gradually Leveraging the Political Sector

"Another thing is that not long ago, the Laville Bank and the Laborde Bank suddenly wanted to terminate the loan that had been cooperating with the government for a long time, which almost caused the national debt to default.

Joseph said and looked at Fouche: "These two banks will only lose profits if they refuse to lend, so there must be other reasons that prompted them to do so. I need to know the inside story."

Fouche immediately leaned forward and said: "Yes, I will investigate it as soon as possible."

"By the way," Joseph added, "There are some clues that I think may be useful.

"When I wanted to work in the financial system, the Duke of Orleans tried his best to obstruct it. In the end, Her Majesty the Queen had to let me go to the City Hall.

"Later, when I took over as assistant to the Minister of Finance, Archbishop Brian was worried that I was inexperienced and asked him to preside over all financial affairs, but the Duke of Orleans insisted that I be responsible for government loans. "

"Then the bank refused to lend." Fouche's men who were taking notes paused, "It seems that we have to investigate the Duke of Orleans in detail."

He paused, looked at the words "Duke of Orleans" on the notes, and frowned slightly: "Your Highness, the Duke of Orleans has many privileges. At present, the Police Intelligence Department is a department under the Police Bureau, and it only has the authority of the police. You know, as a police officer, you are not allowed to ask about the affairs of the Royal Palace. "

"Please continue."

"I think that if the Police Intelligence Department can borrow some of the authority of the royal police, at least the authority of the postal department, then the progress will definitely be much faster."

Joseph gave him an approving look. In fact, he was also thinking about this matter. Fouche thought the same as him.

"I will find a way to do this."

He nodded to Fouche, and then emphasized: "However, the Police Intelligence Department cannot only rely on authority to obtain intelligence, and cannot be a simple replica of the royal police. Relying on intelligence skills and building a huge intelligence network is the foundation."

Fouche immediately touched his chest and bowed his head and said: "Yes, Your Highness! "

At night, a large veil was set up on the lawn on the north side of the Palace of Versailles. The melodious sounds of bagpipes and accordions floated in the air, mixed with bursts of laughter, filling the air with relaxation and peace.

This is an open-air cocktail party.

Joseph doesn't like to participate in such social activities. Usually, there are only all kinds of rumors and jokes here. He just shows up and leaves quickly.

However, Robert, the chief of the secret police, happened to be here today, so he stayed a little longer.

At a small table in the corner of the cocktail party, Robert held the wine glass and said with difficulty: "Your Highness, you know, there is really no precedent for this kind of thing. This may have to be discussed at the cabinet meeting..."

Joseph interrupted him with a smile: "Please rest assured, I will report to the King and Queen. And the royal police have nothing to do with those cabinet ministers. ”

He had to inform the queen of such a big thing as establishing an intelligence agency, otherwise he would run into the secret police during the mission and the two sides would have to fight.

“But…”

Joseph saw that he was evasive and sighed in his heart - the secret police was the greatest power in Robert's hands. Although he had the favor of giving him stocks last time, it seemed that it was not enough for him to give him some privileges.

He had to take out the bait he had prepared in advance:

“Count Robert, I actually always feel that the royal police have been treated unfairly.”

Robert was stunned. The topic jumped a little far, and he couldn't help but wonder: “Your Highness, are you talking?”

Joseph said righteously:

“The royal police are always responsible for the safety of France and have made many great contributions to France, but until now they are just a small department under the Ministry of Police. This is too unfair!

"I think the Royal Police should have been independent long ago and become a department on par with the Ministry of Police, and should not even be under the jurisdiction of the Minister of the Interior!

"In fact, the Royal Police is directly commanded by His Majesty the King, and there is no need to be related to the interior system."

At this time, the French police and intelligence systems were still mixed together, and according to convention, they were both affiliated with the interior system. In fact, until the reign of Emperor Napoleon, the intelligence system was not completely separated from the police, and sometimes the head of intelligence would also be in charge of the police system.

As a result, the job level of the secret police was greatly restricted - as a department under the Ministry of Police, you can't be higher than the position of the Chief of Police, right?

Robert's eyes lit up when he heard this. If the secret police could be independent from the interior system, wouldn't his position jump from the so-called "State Counselor" to "Minister of Intelligence" or "Minister of Security", attending cabinet meetings!

He quickly suppressed his excitement and asked:

"Your Highness, is what you said the Queen meant, or..."

Joseph smiled and said, "Oh, it's the consensus of me and Count Monod. "

Robert was a little surprised: the Minister of the Interior is nominally the direct superior of the secret police. If he agrees to the independence of the secret police, the resistance to this matter will be reduced by more than half, and with the support of the Crown Prince, the chances will be even greater.

He looked at Joseph cautiously: "Has Count Monod promised His Highness?"

"Not yet." Joseph shook his head, but his tone was firm, "I can guarantee that he will agree."

The funds for the secret police are from the king's private treasury, and are completely not subject to the jurisdiction of the interior. In fact, it is very useless for Monod.

And many of Joseph's future fiscal revenue plans will involve interior affairs, such as real estate development, public transportation and the like.

These projects are the real interests of the Minister of the Interior. Joseph is sure that in the face of these interests, Monod will not hesitate to let go of a piece of chicken ribs.

And Joseph will use these interests to maximize the political sector for his own use.

Robert narrowed his eyes slightly, and his intuition from years of intelligence work told him that the Crown Prince was not just talking casually.

He hesitated for a moment, then raised his glass and smiled sincerely: "Your Highness, the Police Bureau collects intelligence for the safety of France and serves His Majesty the King, which is completely consistent with the goals of the Royal Police.

"I think that in many ways, everyone can cooperate and support each other."

Joseph also smiled: "For example, sharing some small powers."

"That's right."

Joseph gently touched his glass with him: "To the future Minister of Intelligence. ”

……

Hartley, the British ambassador to France, finally received a reply from London.

He used a letter opener to cut open the envelope, took out the code book he kept close to his body, and carefully translated and read it in accordance with the content of the letter.

The letter talked about a lot of his recent tasks, but the last two points made him pay special attention.

The first is to confirm the real attitude of the French crown prince towards Britain as soon as possible, whether he has a pro-British tendency as the legend says. If so, try to win him over and use him to influence France's policy towards Britain.

The second is to increase the French crown prince's disgust for Prussia as much as possible, and try to make him take a tough attitude towards Prussia.

The French crown prince's rejection of Prussia is very clear. He once said at a cabinet meeting that "France and Prussia must have a war." So as a troublemaker on the blue planet, how could Britain not stir it up?

Thanks: The old man Wang overnight gave this book a generous reward! The little author is very grateful, mua mua!