Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Yes, after Charles' 12 million franc loan was deposited, the High Court lifted the investigative ban on Charles-Bolton Bank.

To others, it seemed just like an ordinary investigation that lasted seven or eight days. Banks of that era often engaged in irregular operations, and being investigated was quite normal, yet no one knew that Charles had nearly lost half of his fortune because of it.

Ford signaled everyone to be quiet and continued, "As it stands, the government already has the conditions to abolish the tax farming system. But, we have not completely failed yet!"

He turned to the British banker nearby, "Next, we will implement Mr. Godemid's suggestion, using tax documents as a bargaining chip, to try to secure the salt tax, liquor tax, tobacco tax, and market tax."

The taxes he mentioned were basically the most profitable types, and although the market tax was not high, it could facilitate the sale of some shady items in the name of tax collectors.

Mr. Hope immediately nodded in agreement, "You're right, as long as we all stick together, we can definitely get the government to allocate these taxes to us.

"So, now we need to collect as many tax documents as possible here at the association."

He then looked at a middle-aged man with burn scars on his face, "Mr. Lafaitte, the tax documents previously managed by Charles will now be organized by you."

"Understood, Mr. Hope."
Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Under the persuasion of Ford and Hope, everyone felt that there was still business to be done in tax farming next year, and thus the previously diminished spirits were revived, starting to discuss how the limited tax farming shares should be distributed.

Unlike the confident giants of the Tax Farmers, the other several thousand lower-level Tax Farmers in France—especially those who only had tens of thousands or even just a few thousand, and could only obtain tax farming rights through pooling resources—were plunged into panic and anxiety.

Because the Tax Farmers Association had repeatedly assured them that they could negotiate with the government to continue tax farming next year, they had always held onto their money, ready to pay the tax once the tax-farming agreement was settled.

However, Charles' sudden public endorsement of tax reform and his loaning all his tax money to the French Government caused a huge stir.

This action by a major player in the association clearly indicated that the government's decision to cancel the tax farming system was irrevocable.

These small Tax Farmers basically had no investment experience. They were used to habitually putting their money in tax farming and receiving returns each year.

Now, with the sudden declaration of tax reform, they were thrown into disarray—no one told them that the association was planning a gamble with tax documents, and even most of the Tax Farmers at Lavoisier's level, those independent Tax Farmers managing around hundreds of thousands, were unaware because obviously, the more people who knew, the harder it was to keep a secret.

As the end of the year approached, without any notice from the association about this year's tax farming amount, the small Tax Farmers started looking for their own solutions.

In reality, the options left for them were only to buy government bonds, to deposit in banks, or to purchase land.

But all of these options yielded much lower returns than tax farming. Especially buying land, which took time to select appropriate plots, and after purchasing, they had to manage it themselves, which might even lead to losses.

Silvie Feno was one such Tax Farmer.

In fact, his main business was running a glass shop, and he could only invest 7,000 francs in tax farming every year.

At the moment, he was gathered in a café on the west side of the city with seven or eight partners—they pooled money to farm a quarter of the city's business tax—discussing the plans for next year.

"I think we only have the option to buy government bonds now. I heard that the interest rates for next year's bonds will drop even further, so it's better to buy before the end of the year."

Immediately someone shook their head, "The interest on the bonds is too low. Unless we buy those with terms of over ten years, but if we urgently need money during that period..."

Feno sighed, "I wish we could invest in the Industrial Development Fund. I heard this year's returns could reach 13%."

A partner beside him looked distressed, "Unfortunately, the Industrial Development Fund no longer accepts small-scale subscriptions. We can't pool together 200,000 francs. It would have been great if we had invested last year when 1,000 francs could buy in."

"The big shots at the association really screwed us over!" someone complained, "Last month, old Arsen approached me to invest in his textile mill, and I turned him down to wait for the tax farming agreement."

Just as they were at a loss, the café's door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man with curly brown hair walked towards them, waving a newspaper, "Gentlemen, have you seen the government announcement?"

"Eric, you're late," Feno greeted him, "What announcement?"

Eric pushed aside everyone's coffee cups and spread the newspaper on the table, "This morning's news, to compensate for the loss of the Tax Farmers, the government has set up a 'Tax Reform Fund.'"

He pointed at the newspaper, "It's only available to Tax Farmers, and the amount cannot exceed the tax farmed."

Feno immediately asked the key question, "What about the interest?"

"The same as the ten-year bonds. Plus, if the government's tax revenue situation is good next year, there will be dividends! Oh, and this fund can be redeemed as early as six months."

Feno and the others' eyes lit up upon hearing this.

They hadn't expected the government to be so considerate! Although the returns from this fund were far less than tax farming, it was the best investment option they could find at the moment.

The gentleman beside them quickly stood up, "We need to act fast! Look, it's limited, and it might be sold out if we go there late."

With this news, everyone quickly left their coffee money, and according to the instructions in the newspaper, hurried to the bank managing the fund.

Of course, this Tax Reform Fund was Joseph's way of attracting the floating capital of the Tax Farmers.

He was well aware that the big players of the Tax Farmers Association only accounted for 40% of the total tax farmed, and the remaining 60% of Tax Farmers, after the abolition of the tax farming system, could potentially have nowhere to invest their funds.

This fund offered somewhat higher returns than commonly seen in the market, but also much less than the interest from loans to financiers.

As for things like "only available to Tax Farmers" and "limited amounts", those were just promotional strategies. The French Government was in urgent need of funds, and if someone wanted to make a large subscription, naturally, an "insider" would appear to help them through the back door.

And just as Joseph had anticipated, the Tax Reform Fund was introduced and in just 10 days, it had sold 37 million francs.

That was only the sales in Paris and the surrounding provinces—once more distant provinces received the news, this number was bound to rapidly increase.

...

As Paris underwent vigorous tax reforms, Corsica also welcomed the elections for this session's provincial Congress.

Unlike in previous years, where Paul led the Restoration Faction's dominance alone, this year's election saw four very powerful factions vying for a position.