I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1447 Fatal Counterattack
Count Ulfelt frowned, his expression serious, and said:
“If this happens once or twice, I can still cover it up for you, but if it continues, I might also be investigated.”

Federer was the tax official who was strangled to death last month in a small town east of Vienna.

Holz gave a flattering smile:

"Everyone knows those secret police wouldn't dare investigate you. Okay, I promise I'll find another way to teach those guys in the tax bureau a lesson."

Count Ulfeldt was the former permanent chairman of the Vienna Council for Political and Economic Affairs. Although he has now stepped down, one-third of the upper echelons of the council are his people.

He is also Federer's "old friend" and partner.

As the two were talking, a short, elderly man with droopy eyelids entered the hall, surrounded by several tax farmers. The people immediately fell silent and bowed to him, saying, "Your Excellency, Baron."

"You've arrived."

Yes, although the gathering was held at the Count of Ulfeldt’s house, the most important person was Baron Arnstein—the former president of the Vienna Tax Farmers’ Association.

Arnstein sat down at the long table on the east side of the hall, gestured to the crowd, made some polite remarks, and quickly got to the point:
"The main reason for gathering everyone here today is to discuss our future."

He looked around at the tax farmers present: "I know that recently, everyone may have been a little anxious and resorted to some special methods, and even people have died."

"The information I received from Schönbrunn Palace is that the young royal secretary..."

The middle-aged man next to him whispered a reminder: "It's Metternich."

“Yes, Metternich, he’s a tough guy. He suggested that the emperor mobilize thousands of secret police to arrest those involved in the attack on the tax collectors.”

Holtz scoffed dismissively, "Hmph, who's afraid of him?"

Baron Arnstein glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "You should have noticed that Bernhardt didn't come today. In fact, he's already at the Hofburg."

The Hofburg Palace houses Austria's largest prison, where important court prisoners were held.

Bernhardt was a tax farmer with relatively little influence, and the others initially assumed he hadn't received an invitation, but they never expected that he had actually been arrested.

A murmur rippled through the hall: "What did Mr. Bernhardt do?"

"It seems that Favoritten's matter is related to him."

We have to find a way to get him out!

"That's right, we're all in the same boat now..."

Favoritten is a suburb of Vienna. Last month, three tax officials there were seriously injured in a beating.

Baron Arnstein raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet: "Our goal is to get the Emperor to change his mind, and while your current approach may cause some trouble for the tax officials, it will be difficult to completely reverse the situation."

"It might even give Metternich an excuse to attack us."

Immediately, someone exclaimed excitedly, "Are we just going to admit defeat like this?"

"This is a business that has been in our family for hundreds of years, and I will never give it up!"

"As you know, I need to obtain tax-inclusive rights to pay interest to investors..."

Baron Arnstein frowned: "I'm not asking you to give up, of course, but we have to use the right method."

He pointed to the middle-aged man sitting on his left: "This is my best friend, Mr. Alexandre Barryon. He gave me some very good advice, please listen to it as well."

Barryon smiled and stood up, nodding to those around him, and said in accented German, "I have been working with Baron Arnstein for over a decade, and this situation is indeed a bit troublesome."

“I think we should make good use of our advantages, which obviously don’t involve fighting and killing, but rather…” He gestured as if counting money: “Funds. What we need to do now is to sell off Austrian government bonds as soon as possible and recoup our investment in the Vienna Bank.”

"Currently, the empire's finances are in dire straits, and it won't be long before the emperor misses our tax farming revenue."

Upon hearing this, the tax collectors shook their heads: "But the interest from government bonds is my only source of income."

"The emperor can hold out for at least six months. What do we do during that time?"

"Yes, this will bankrupt us too."

Some even looked at Barryon suspiciously and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you seem to be a Gaul?"

Barryon nodded readily: "That's right, I live in Reims, but most of my business is in Vienna and Prague. You can trust me completely."

"Okay, now I'll answer everyone's questions."

"First of all, the empire's finances absolutely cannot last six months. In fact, I estimate that His Majesty the Emperor will compromise with us in at most two months."

"How is this possible?"

Barryon smiled and said, "Perhaps you haven't heard the news yet, but the Imperial army suffered a defeat in Switzerland."

"His Majesty the Emperor will soon need a large sum of money for military expenses in order to send reinforcements to Basel."

Another gasp rippled through the hall: "The Basel people are really that good?"

Are you sure this information is reliable?

Barryon nodded: "In a few days, news of the defeat will come back."

The defeat of the Austrian army by Gehrmann occurred three days prior, and Vienna had already been informed of the military situation, but under the orders of Franz II, the news was kept secret throughout Austria.

Holz suddenly frowned and said, "What if the Emperor chooses to stop interfering in Swiss affairs?"

Barryon was clearly prepared: "So we need to make it impossible for him to retreat."

"Many of you here know important figures who can influence the Schönbrunn Palace. You can ask them to persuade the Emperor to take a hard line."

"In addition, some public opinion manipulation..."

After he finished speaking, all the tax farmers nodded in agreement.

Barryon continued, "As for the returns after everyone recovers their funds, I recommend buying some railway bonds from Italy or South Germany. Although the interest rates are not as high as those of the Imperial bonds, the difference is not significant."

"Most importantly, these bonds are in high demand, and buyers can be found quickly when funds are needed. If you want even more stability, you can buy French railway bonds, which can even be liquidated directly on the Marseille Stock Exchange."

"Of course, if you want to avoid the hassle, you can buy some food and stock up. Styria has suffered from drought, and the wheat harvest has been greatly reduced. Food prices will soon start to soar."

A portly tax farmer waved his hand and said:

"Only Styria experienced a production reduction nationwide, so it won't have a significant impact on grain prices."

Barryon smiled and looked at him, saying:
"Nobody knows for sure how much food is in short supply. As long as everyone believes there's a food shortage, food prices will inevitably skyrocket. And the disaster in Styria just happens to give us an opportunity to 'tell a story'..."

The next morning, Miss Gloria sent her maid to ask her piano teacher for leave, while she went straight to Lucas's residence.

As soon as the door opened, the girl whispered very quickly:
“My dear, I overheard Father’s party last night, and someone said that the Imperial Army suffered a crushing defeat in Switzerland.”

(End of this chapter)