章 99: Chapter 99: A Thief in the Night

Chapter 99: A Thief in the Night

After an entire morning of cabinet meetings, the ministers were visibly exhausted.

Queen Marie was about to announce a break so they could have lunch and resume afterward when Brienne quickly said, "There is one last agenda item."

The Queen sighed inwardly and lowered herself back into her chair.

Brienne looked at Monnot and said, "Count Monnot believes that, given the current poor state of the textile, steel, and glass industries, a dedicated department should be established to manage these sectors and work to reverse the situation."

Queen Marie, too tired to think much about it, directly asked the Prime Minister, "Archbishop Brienne, what do you suggest we do?"

This matter had already been discussed beforehand. Brienne immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I propose the establishment of an Industrial Planning Bureau specifically to handle these industries. Count Monnot would no longer need to manage these matters, freeing up his energy to focus more on press censorship."

The Queen, thinking it wasn't a major issue, nodded and asked, "And who do you think should be in charge of this department?"

Joseph had been waiting for this question. He stood up and said, "Your Majesty, leave it to me. It should be a good opportunity for me to gain experience."

…

At the Palais Royal, Duke Orléans looked at the British Ambassador with confusion. "Are you saying you've already discussed the trade negotiations with the Prince?"

"Indeed," Hartley nodded with a smile.

"Then do you know what he said at the cabinet meeting?" Duke Orléans scoffed. "He wants Britain to lower tariffs on French wine imports to below 10%. Ha! He's clearly joking..."

Hartley hesitated for a moment but then spoke truthfully, "Your Grace, as far as I know, the British Parliament has, in principle, agreed to this request and has instructed me to finalize the negotiation schedule with your government."

Duke Orléans was stunned. "How could you agree to such terms?"

As he spoke, he suddenly heard shouts from outside the door. "Catch him! He's running that way!"

"Get some men to block the corridor! My God, he's as slippery as a squirrel!"

"Aah—"

"Watch out! He's a skilled swordsman..."

The butler quickly entered the room, locking the door behind him, and then bowed to Duke Orléans. "My Lord, a thief has broken in. The guards are pursuing him. You are safe here."

Duke Orléans frowned, though he wasn't particularly surprised. Many different kinds of people came to the Palais Royal every day, and it was easy for a thief to slip in. However, he was curious about the commotion, as the guards still hadn't caught the thief.

Soon, a guard, panting heavily, knocked and entered, reporting to the butler.

The butler quickly informed Duke Orléans, "My Lord, it seems the thief stole something from your document room and has just escaped from the Palais Royal."

"That damned scoundrel!" Duke Orléans' face darkened immediately. The document room contained many important papers, yet despite the heavy security, the thief had managed to get away. He immediately ordered, "Deploy more men. You must catch him!"

"Yes, My Lord."

Soon, over a hundred fully armed guards streamed out of the Palais Royal, disappearing into the last rays of the setting sun.

Meanwhile, five carriages sped down the wide cobblestone street of Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris.

This was the Prince's "moving" convoy.

Yes, Joseph realized that after taking on the responsibility of managing industrial affairs, he had far too many tasks to handle. Traveling back and forth between Paris and the Palace of Versailles each day would waste too much time. So he decided to buy a house in the Louvre district of Paris, which would serve as the office for the "French Industrial Planning Bureau," and he moved his personal and office belongings there to reside permanently.

As he rode in the carriage, Joseph silently pondered how he could quickly raise a substantial "grain fund."

He had roughly calculated before that, with a 30% grain shortfall, even if prices remained stable, he would need to purchase at least 60 million livres worth of grain to barely get through 1788. And that didn't include the cost of building granaries and covering losses.

As for 1789, it might be difficult to buy grain even from abroad, as this was a global climate anomaly that had caused widespread famine from Europe to Asia. If the famine was not handled properly, the starving people would have no choice but to turn to revolution...

Joseph first thought of loans, but given the French government's current credit, securing such a large amount of money in a short time would be extremely difficult, and even if they could, the interest rates would be exorbitantly high. Issuing bonds was another option... but forget it, any bonds that could be sold had already been sold by the Finance Minister, leaving nothing for him. Developing new technologies to make money wouldn't generate enough in time, if at all. So he needed fast money, and a lot of it...

As his mind raced, he suddenly heard the crack of gunfire in the distance, followed by the sound of shouting. The carriage slowed down immediately.

After a moment, a guard reported from outside the window, "Your Highness, it seems there's a thief being chased up ahead."

"A thief? With that much gunfire?" Joseph found it odd. "Is it a gang of thieves?"

"No, Your Highness," the guard replied. "Apparently, it's just one person."

"One person causing this much commotion?" Joseph asked again, "Are the police involved in the chase?"

The guard shook his head. "No, Your Highness. It's the guards from the Palais Royal."

Duke Orléans' men?

Several more gunshots rang out in the distance. Eman quickly instructed the driver to reverse and steer the convoy away from the commotion.

Just as the convoy turned into a side alley, a dark figure suddenly leaped down gracefully from the roof on the right side.

The figure's hands and feet found purchase on the window ledges, using them to slow down. Seizing the moment as the carriage passed, the figure smashed through the window and swiftly leaped inside.

In one fluid motion, the figure steadied themselves by placing a hand on the small wooden table inside the carriage, quickly assessing the situation in the candlelight: there were only two people inside, one of whom was a seemingly harmless young boy.

Moving swiftly, the figure drew a short dagger from their waist with their right hand and swung it toward the blond man sitting across from the boy.

The figure didn't intend to kill but planned to use the dagger to take the man hostage, forcing him to help them escape the pursuit. However, the dagger had barely moved an inch when a flash of steel appeared, and a short sword was already pressed against the figure's throat.

The blond man said in a stern voice, "Don't move, or you'll die!"

The figure froze, and the dagger in their hand was quickly disarmed by the blond man.

The blond man was about to call for the guards, but the boy sitting opposite raised a hand to stop him. The boy then asked the intruder, "The men from the Palais Royal were chasing you, weren't they?"

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