章節 79: Chapter 79 Declaration of War
Sumial and Virzhin immediately looked towards the Duke of Orleans. They had made a thorough plan, but they did not expect such a situation to arise.
According to the usual pattern of political struggle, when they suddenly attack, the unprepared Brian can only have two responses.
First, he accepted the defeat and directly announced his resignation.
Second, he tried to shirk the blame and wait until the cabinet meeting was over before looking for political help to break the situation.
And I have been prepared for a long time. More nobles will be mobilized to unite the banking industry to put pressure on the queen. In the end, I am waiting for Brian to be dismissed.
However, who knew that Brian would fight back on the spot!
The Duke of Orleans frowned and said coldly: "Archbishop Briand, you were unable to do anything to promote the tax bill before, how come you are so confident all of a sudden?
"France's financial situation is extremely serious. If you still fail to pass the bill after two months..."
Brian glanced at Joseph out of the corner of his eye, and when he saw his affirmative look, he suddenly became worried and said loudly: "Duke Orleans, how do you know that my previous attempts to test the High Court were not part of the plan?"
He is also a veteran in politics, and he can tell the truth with his mouth.
He looked at Queen Mary again and said resolutely: "Your Majesty, if the tax bill has not been registered in two months, please exile me to Corsica!"
France has a tradition of exiling high-ranking officials who have made mistakes, but they are usually exiled to remote towns such as Lorraine or Perpignan. Exiling to an island outside the mainland is a very severe punishment.
In fact, Brian had expected that he would be dismissed sooner or later, and he was originally prepared to accept it calmly, but for some reason, he had a hunch at that moment that the crown prince could really get the bill passed!
He was not willing to let his political life end, so he immediately made a decision - believe in the crown prince and take the gamble.
When the Duke of Orleans saw the Queen's hesitation, he immediately said loudly: "There is no need to waste another two months. Mr. Necker should be asked to save France's finances immediately!"
Joseph smiled calmly: "May I ask the Duke of Orleans, is Mr. Necker confident that the tax bill will be passed within two months?"
The Duke of Orleans hesitated. He himself was one of the leaders in blocking the tax bill, so he could only shake his head: "Probably not..."
Joseph nodded to the Queen: "Your Majesty the Queen, since Mr. Necker can't do it, and he doesn't give the confident Archbishop Brian a chance, isn't this unwise?"
Orleans said anxiously: "Your Majesty, Archbishop Briand will only worsen the financial situation!"
Joseph immediately said: "Only by passing the tax bill can the financial situation be improved. And Mr. Necker can't do anything about it."
In fact, he also knew that charging more taxes on the nobles would be better than nothing for the French finance, but this bill was an important symbolic event in the contest between the royal power and the big aristocratic group! Whoever loses will be severely defeated on the political battlefield.
Therefore, this bill must be passed!
Queen Mary watched the two people quarreling with each other, and couldn't help but rub her forehead tiredly, and folded her hands feebly on the conference table in front of her. The weight of these national events was still too heavy for a woman like her.
Her eyes wandered back and forth between Joseph and the Duke of Orleans. Although the former seemed to make more sense, the latter was a minister with rich political experience, and his opinions might be more worthy of reference. For a moment, she didn't know who to listen to. .
Suddenly, she saw her son's anxious and worried, yet confident eyes.
Feeling his unique youthful vitality and his heroic spirit in fighting against difficulties and obstacles, it was like his most perfect dream.
Queen Mary almost followed a mother's instinct without hesitation, raised her hand and said: "I have decided that within these two months, Archbishop Briand will still be in charge of financial affairs."
The conference hall fell silent, and she looked at Brian again: "I hope you can bring good news in two months. If not, please remember your promise."
After she finished speaking, as if she had exhausted all her strength, she motioned for the meeting to end, and she took the lead in walking towards the golden door with the support of the maid.
Joseph looked at her back and thought to himself: Thank you, I will definitely give you a strong France and a peaceful and happy rest of my life.
The Duke of Orleans walked past him and showed a caring smile like an elder: "Your Royal Highness, it seems that you still need to accumulate political experience. For example, this time, you seem to trust Archbishop Brian too much, which is terrible. Not a mature..."
Joseph nodded: "So, you think Archbishop Brian can't succeed?"
The Duke of Orleans showed a conceited smile: "I know the Archbishop too well. He does not have the ability to get the bill passed. He will continue to waste France's precious two months."
Joseph blinked and smiled slyly: "Then let's make a bet, do you dare?"
"Tell me, what are you betting on?"
Joseph held out two fingers: "If Archbishop Brian can get the tax bill passed by the High Court within two months, you will donate one year of your annual gift to the national treasury."
The Duke of Orleans' annual salary is 3 million livres, which is definitely a huge sum of money.
The Duke of Orleans said: "What if he fails to do it?"
"I will also donate a year's gift."
Several cabinet ministers around him couldn't help laughing when they heard this. The crown prince's annual salary was less than 300,000 yuan a year, so this bet was a good one.
"Humph." The Duke of Orleans snorted coldly, turned around and left.
Joseph hurriedly said: "Well, it seems you really don't dare to bet with me."
He deliberately said it as if he wanted to make a lot of money with a small amount, just to show that he was guilty.
As expected, the Duke of Orleans stopped and looked at him with cold eyes: "Okay, I will make this bet with you."
Joseph immediately signaled to the cabinet ministers next to him: "You are all our notaries."
...
Joseph first went to the Chancellor of Finance's office, communicated with Brian, and briefly explained his layout, mainly to make him feel confident.
Now that the interests of the two are tightly tied together, there is no need to worry about Brian leaking secrets, and at the same time, he can also mobilize his political power to cooperate with him.
After coming out of Brianna, Joseph got on the carriage and went straight to Paris.
Now that he has officially declared war on the big aristocratic group, this battle must be fought beautifully. He can rest assured that many things must be personally ordered by him.
He looked at the dense forest and skyline outside the car window and felt his heart surge. This battle would be a battle to establish his authority in the political arena. From now on, he would face a wider world.
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