Chapter 520 The royal family’s precious possessions
Less than ten minutes after Fulco and other senior officials from the State Administration of Taxation left, Brian followed Eman hurriedly into the room, bowed to Joseph and said, "Your Highness, there is a difficult matter that I'm afraid you need to handle."
"Oh? What happened?"
Brianne said with an embarrassed look on his face: "It's Her Majesty the Queen. She summoned Baron Breteuil and me this morning and talked about the fact that tax collectors always forge documents. What your Majesty means is that this matter does not count. It’s serious, just fine me some money, and there is no need for prosecution in the High Court.”
Joseph was a little surprised: "Why would your Majesty suddenly get involved in this matter?"
Brian came closer and said: "Your Highness, I heard that it was the Count of Artois who always interceded for the tax collectors in front of Your Majesty. In addition, it seems that Your Majesty received an expensive diamond crown, and De Bernina The Countess also mentioned that the Palace of Versailles will undergo some renovations in the near future.”
Joseph suddenly frowned - these tax collectors were quite powerful. They could even invite the king's brother and the queen's personal maid to go directly to the queen.
If mom really wants to interfere in this matter, it will really be a bit troublesome. After all, forging documents is indeed not a serious crime. It is not surprising that she revealed the matter lightly because of the face of Count Artois and the maid.
At present, the verification of the tax collectors' accounts has not yet begun. Once the case of forged documents is eliminated, the "banking industry consolidation" period must be extended, otherwise the tax collectors are likely to escape with huge sums of money obtained from French blood. Go abroad.
The consolidation of the banking industry has lasted for more than half a month. Any further extension will definitely have a negative impact on the French economy.
Brian said: "Your Highness, you are the only one to persuade Her Majesty the Queen now..."
Joseph nodded and motioned to Eman to get his coat for him.
He was still somewhat confident in persuading his mother, but the temptation of the expensive diamond tiara and renovating the palace was definitely not small, so he probably had to spend some time talking.
When he saw the Palace of Versailles Square from a distance, his heart suddenly moved and he narrowed his eyes slightly.
Even if I convince my mother this time, Count Artois can definitely go to her to force her again. My mother has a very good relationship with her brother-in-law. If one of them fails to hold back and signs the pardon, it will be troublesome.
Therefore, we have to solve the problem at its root.
The carriage stopped. Joseph got out of the car, but instead of heading towards the Petit Trianon, he turned towards the residence of the Count of Artois.
The Count of Artois was obviously a little surprised by the visit of the Crown Prince. He and the Countess Maria Josepha came out to welcome him and saluted: "Dear Joseph, why are you here? We are preparing to go camping. It should be quite interesting. Would you like to join us?"
Joseph nodded to them and smiled: "Let me guess, was it called by Viscount Fuld or Mr. Hope?"
Count Artois was startled for a moment, then let Joseph into the room, frowning slightly and said: "What do you want to say, Your Highness?"
Joseph did not go around in circles, turned to look at him and said: "Dear uncle, you seem to have had a lot of contact with the Taxpayers Association recently."
Count Artois smiled: "I have a personal relationship with Viscount Forde. Why does His Highness suddenly care about this?"
Joseph nodded: "Well, then he should have shown considerable 'sincerity' in asking for your help, right?"
Count Artois's expression changed. He heard that the crown prince had been increasingly involved in government affairs recently, but he was more impressed by Joseph as a young nephew, so he said with an elder look:
"Your Highness, I don't know what you heard, and I don't want to comment on it." Joseph's tone became colder: "Dear uncle, the investigation of the Tax Owners Association is of great importance. Let me give you a suggestion. , don’t get too involved.”
Count Artois did not expect his nephew to warn him so rudely. He immediately narrowed his eyes and said rather rudely: "Your Highness, this seems to be none of your business, right?"
Although he does not participate much in state affairs, he is the brother who has the closest relationship with the king, Queen Mary's best friend, and the uncle of the crown prince. He has a very high status in the Palace of Versailles, but he is not afraid of the crown prince.
The most important thing is that the tax collector always gave him a favor fee of 1.5 million francs to help settle the small case of forged documents.
The Tax Owners Association also gave Her Majesty the Queen a huge gift. This matter must be easily solved, and then the huge sum of 1.5 million yuan was obtained.
How could he spit out all the fat in his mouth just for a few words from the crown prince?
Joseph picked up the hot tea that the Countess had just brought and said word by word: "Your actions will cost France hundreds of millions of francs. I am not here to discuss with you. You must stop getting involved with those tax collectors." "
"My dear Joseph, I don't know what you are talking about. But I don't need you to tell me what to do with my personal relationship."
Joseph smelled the aroma of tea and said calmly: "You have shares in the Bank of France, Paris Angel Company, and a large number of industrial development funds. These incomes are enough for all your expenses, and you even have a lot of surplus."
He glanced at Count Artois: "It doesn't seem cost-effective to have your stable income affected for a small amount of money from the tax collectors' association, right?"
The latter was suddenly startled: "What does this mean, Crown Prince?"
Joseph said: "You know, I control the Bank of France and Paris Angel Company. There are many ways to dilute your shares. I can discount the dividends from the Industrial Development Fund and even your annuity."
Count Artois suddenly panicked. He currently gets nearly 1.8 million francs in income every year from various dividends and annuities. If this money is affected, then he will really cry to death.
"No, you can't..."
Joseph placed the tea cup heavily on the table and said in a deep voice: "Your income from dividends and the like is based on the prosperity of France.
"But you want to destroy your own foundation for a small profit!"
He reprimanded sternly. Count Artois blushed and lowered his head to listen, as if Joseph was his elder.
After a long while, Count Artois finally said with difficulty: "But, I have promised Viscount Fuld to intercede for him..."
Joseph glared at him coldly, even though he was talking about this, he was still stubborn!
He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If you still insist on intervening in this matter, I can only ask the Notary Investigation Bureau to persuade you."
"Don't! You, don't do this! We have something to talk about!" Count Artois has heard about the behavior of the lunatics in the Notary Investigation Bureau - as a top noble, he usually does a lot of dirty things.
(End of chapter)