I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 230 Traitor

For a moment, people in the streets were filled with indignation: "Have you heard? There is a coppersmith's daughter in the Marais District who was targeted by two nobles. Not only was she humiliated by them, but in the end the coppersmith's entire family was killed!"

"It is said that one of them is the son of the Minister of the Interior. Because the guy didn't want to share the girl with another noble, he sent someone to burn him to death."

"It was so cruel. But why did he kill that poor girl and her family?"

"Don't you understand this? That guy killed a nobleman, which is a felony! If the girl says that the two men fought for her, the police will definitely suspect him. This is called destroying evidence."

"These damn nobles don't take human life seriously at all!"

"They all deserve to go to hell!"

…

Joseph frowned as he read the newspaper report about the arson by the son of the Home Minister. This time it was about Mono himself, but this guy didn't dare to blatantly force the newspaper not to publish the news.

How did this news leak out? He immediately summoned Fouche again.

It didn't take long for the Police Intelligence Division to submit preliminary investigation results - someone had directly reported the ins and outs of Mono's son's instigation of the arson to the police station and major newspapers.

Under questioning from a large number of reporters, the police department had to summon Monod's son Anthony. Although he was quickly released because the evidence was not sufficient, with the help of reporters, he has become the target of public criticism.

But who actually released the news is unknown.

Joseph looked at the report and thought, is he a relative of Viscount Amber? Or someone secretly investigating this matter?

At this moment, Eman quickly walked in, leaned towards him and whispered: "Your Highness, Count Monod wants to see you."

Joseph frowned. Mono could only come here at this time for one thing, but the nature of the matter was extremely bad, and there was no way he could excuse him.

He shook his head and said: "Let him go back."

"Yes, Your Highness."

…

Palais Royal.

The butler happily entered the Duke of Orleans' study, turned back and closed the door carefully before saluting: "Sir, as you expected, the Minister of the Interior went to the Queen, the Crown Prince and the Chief Minister successively, but it seemed that none of them could See you."

"This is natural." The Duke of Orleans said proudly, "This matter is so big that even the queen can't protect him."

He looked at the housekeeper again: "By the way, those two guys from the Maletdu family didn't say anything, did they?"

The butler bowed and said: "We in the Bastille are watching, I'm afraid they don't dare to talk nonsense."

"Very good." A smile appeared on the Duke of Orleans' face, "If this idiot Mono hadn't killed the coppersmith's family, things might not have gone so smoothly."

Yes, the so-called "Arson Case of Viscount Amber's House" was planned by him.

After learning that his heir was suffering from syphilis, he went crazy and wanted to take revenge on Joseph and the royal family.

It happened that a few months ago he learned that Monod's son and Viscount Amber were eyeing a common girl at the same time.

In his opinion, Mono is an important political force in the royal family. If he can be used well, he may be able to find the loopholes in the royal family.

So he searched among the people around Anthony, and finally selected Anthony's "horse boys" - the run-down little aristocrat Mallet brothers.

After controlling the two brothers through some means, the Duke of Orleans instructed them to try to intensify the conflict between Anthony and Viscount Amber.

Anthony had been an illegitimate son for more than ten years, and six months ago he suddenly became the heir to the title of Monod. The change in status made him immediately drifting off.

More than half a month ago, after drinking, he went to the house of a girl named Celine, intending to "have fun" with her, but he learned that she had been kidnapped by Viscount Amber and taken to his villa to play with.

Under the instigation of the Mallet brothers and the influence of alcohol, he flew into a rage and ordered the Mallet brothers to snatch Celine back.

The two brothers had already received instructions from the Duke of Orleans and immediately reported the matter to the latter.

The Duke of Orleans realized that this was a good opportunity to drag Mono into the water, so he sent people to burn Viscount Amber's house with them.

The rest of the plot basically progresses according to his design.

The Maletdu brothers captured Celine back to Anthony's residence and proudly told the latter that they had burned the blind Amber to death.

Anthony was so frightened that he sobered up for the most part, ran home in a state of pee and told his father about the incident.

Mono was also horrified. He originally wanted the Mallet brothers to run away, but he didn't expect that these two idiots were caught by the police - of course this was their intention.

Then, he went to the cell to meet the Mallet brothers, but the two insisted that Anthony ordered them to set the fire. Anthony was so drunk that day that he only knew that he asked them to snatch the woman back, and he didn't remember anything else at all.

In desperation, Mono promised the Mallet brothers huge benefits and asked them to bear the crime. He then bribed the High Court judge to execute the two men as soon as possible.

And this was exactly what the Duke of Orleans wanted.

It's just that Mono was more "outstanding" than he expected, and he killed Celine's family because of his guilty conscience.

…

At night.

A black carriage quietly drove into the villa of the Interior Minister.

Monod watched suspiciously as the person took off his hood, revealing the face of the Duke of Orleans. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that you have encountered some troubles recently." Duke Orleans said, "Won't you invite me in to sit down?"

"No need, this has nothing to do with you..." Mono did not forget that the person in front of him was his political opponent.

"In this case, your son will probably be captured by the palace guards soon. [Note 1]" Orleans smiled, "And you will probably be implicated and dismissed from your post."

Mono's face turned pale and he said, "I will ask Her Majesty the Queen for forgiveness..."

The Duke of Orleans immediately interrupted him: "I heard from friends at the High Court that the Crown Prince went to the High Court the day before yesterday and jailed Judge Croet for review.

"Yesterday, your son's case caused a lot of trouble in the city. Don't you think there is any coincidence in this?"

Of course, all coincidences were arranged by him. After learning that the Crown Prince had gone to the High Court, he immediately sent people to release inside information about the arson case to the police station and newspapers.

Mono was stunned for a moment, and then thought that neither the royal family nor Brian wanted to see him in the past two days. Is this really an arrangement by the Crown Prince?

He also remembered the last time the bank went bankrupt. The Crown Prince seemed to be very dissatisfied with him. After that, he weakened the authority of the internal affairs system several times. Until the most recent matter of immigrating to Tunisia, he was skipped directly and handed over to Mira. Wave is in charge.

Now, something happened with his son again.

He froze on the spot in despair, muttering: "It's really him..."

The Duke of Orleans leaned into his ear at the right time and whispered: "There is only one person who can help you now, and that is me."

Mono was startled and hurriedly dismissed all the servants, took him to his study, closed the door, and immediately asked anxiously: "What can you do to save Anthony?"

The Duke of Orleans smiled and said: "It's very simple. I will help you kill the two arsonists. If there is no evidence, I will find a way in the High Court so that your son will not be involved in this case."

Monod's eyes widened immediately: "But they are now in the Bastille..."

Since the last time Necker was poisoned by the jailer in the Bastille, Joseph took advantage of this and ordered the commander of the Bastille, the Marquis de Launet, to strictly rectify the management of the prison. Now let alone killing prisoners there, Even getting some inside information is very difficult.

Duke Orleans said calmly: "Please believe that I have this ability."

Monod's eyes flashed with hope. He stared at the Duke of Orleans and hesitated: "But why do you want to help me?"

The Duke of Orleans held out a finger: "One million livres."

Mono was startled for a moment. He had been embezzling for many years. He did have so much money, but he would definitely suffer a lot.

However, his son's life and his own future were more important. He nodded immediately: "Okay, within a month, I will send this money to the Royal Palace, and the rest will depend on you..."

The Duke of Orleans smiled and shook his head: "Oh, dear Francois, you misunderstood.

"I mean, I'll help you solve the case and give you another million livres."

Mono took a step back in fear when he heard this. As a political veteran, he immediately realized the other party's intention.

But he still gritted his teeth and said those words: "So, what do you need me to do?"

The Duke of Orleans' eyes flashed fiercely: "It's very simple, join me in confiscating the royal scepter!"

He was not afraid that Mono would spread this word at all, not to mention that the latter was in danger and would not commit suicide. Even if he did say it, it would be okay. He only needed to simply deny it.

In fact, many ambitious nobles in the Palace of Versailles knew what the Orleans line was planning, and even used him as a political force to balance the royal power.

Mono wiped the cold sweat subconsciously and just lowered his head and said nothing.

The Duke of Orleans did not rush him, and just watched quietly.

After several minutes, after weighing, comparing and calculating over and over again, Mono finally raised his head: "How sure are you?"

The Duke of Orleans seemed extremely candid: "You should know how serious the food shortage is in the country now."

"Yes, but it can be maintained for the time being."

"That's because there are a large number of 'strategic grain reserves'." The Duke of Orleans said coldly, "If we try to make these grains disappear, the whole of France will soon fall into chaos."

Mono's back was covered with cold sweat, and he swallowed hard: "What's next?"

"I will invest a lot of money and use the chaos to create a new political landscape. You know, there are many people who are not willing to be lonely. All they lack is an opportunity.

"For example, those military officers. They have been very dissatisfied with the royal family's actions recently."

Mono fell into deep thought again. After a long time, he suddenly showed a bright smile: "In addition to the military, there are also those great nobles."

"Please give me your opinion."

"Do you remember the Mills' Service Act?"

"Yes."

"This winter is very cold, and more than half of the country's rivers are frozen." Mono spoke very fast, "So a large number of mills cannot be used. According to the report I received this month, more than 60 mill owners have been The bill takes away the right to mill tax. As we go into the depths of winter, this number will increase rapidly."

Most of the mills in this era were driven by waterwheels. Once the river water froze, the mills could not be used.

In previous years, rivers across France would rarely freeze for two consecutive months, but under this year's extreme weather, many rivers in France will freeze until March next year!

The unavailability of the mill was also one of the important reasons for the Great Famine in 1788 - the proud French had to grind wheat into flour and make bread. Especially in big cities, many people starved to death due to lack of bread.

Joseph's original intention was to use this bill to prompt the great nobles to purchase steam engines to transform their mills. However, those stingy and short-sighted nobles still acted according to their experience in previous years. Even if the parish bank provided loans, they were unwilling to spend money to install steam engines.

In the end, many people lost their mill taxes because their mills could not be used for more than two months.

Mono smiled and said: "I think the nobles who have lost their mill tax will definitely hope that there will be a force that can make the royal family bow their heads."

The Duke of Orleans nodded happily: "You are really insightful."

“More than that,” Monod continued, “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was too anxious to implement Tunisia’s immigration policy, and he also provided very favorable immigration conditions.

“There is a lot of cheap fertile land in Tunisia, oh, it can even be said to be free land. As long as you farm there for ten years, you can become a landowner.

"This caused many people who originally planned to buy farmland to go to Tunisia instead, causing land prices in France to fall. Although the magnitude is not too high, you know, those nobles who hold hundreds of hectares or even more land , the losses will be huge."

Any small price fluctuation, if multiplied by a huge base, will inevitably result in a staggering amount.

Seeing the look of approval on Duke Orleans' face, Monod immediately added: "There are still many people who are dissatisfied with the royal family's policies, and I am very familiar with this aspect."

He suddenly touched his chest and bowed: "If you can allocate me a small position of chief minister in your new cabinet, then you will have my loyalty, Your Royal Highness the Regent."

The Duke of Orleans nodded without hesitation: "Of course, no one is more suitable for this position than you."

Mono was immediately overjoyed and saluted again: "Your great cause will surely succeed!"

His only son was about to be imprisoned or even beheaded. And he is likely to be implicated and end his political life. This is absolutely unacceptable to him who is used to enjoying power.

At present, he can only keep his son and his own status by joining the Duke of Orleans' camp.

And according to the Duke of Orleans, his chances of success are very high.

Because after Monod heard the Duke of Orleans say the plan, he immediately thought of a brilliant idea that could greatly increase the latter's success rate.

He originally planned to use this strategy in exchange for the position of chief minister, but he didn't expect that the future regent would have fulfilled his wish just now after he casually showed off his abilities.

[Note 1] At the end of the 18th century, the police forces in various European countries were unavailable, and the army was the main force in maintaining law and order. Especially in cases involving big nobles, the royal family basically sent guards to arrest people—ordinary armies did not dare to arrest them.