I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 876 The Crown Prince and the Little Intelligence Officer

Paris West New District.

In the former royal hunting palace, now the headquarters of the intelligence agency, Fouché's calm eyes swept over the subordinates in front of him:
"So, no one has good news for me today, is that right?"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gave him a week to find out who was behind the shorting of the franc. Today is already the third day, but he still has no clue.

Blanche, the leader of Operation Team 3, stammered:
"Director, those who applied to exchange gold are all clean... We did arrest a few people who instigated citizens to exchange gold, but we couldn't find out anything. You know, those lawyers are very troublesome..."

Fouché's eyes turned cold, and he looked at the consultant in charge of finance: "Mr. Scott, what is the total amount of gold that needs to be exchanged?"

"Fourteen million francs, Mr. Director. That's the data from the French Reserve Bank. Other banks should have three or four million."

Fouché suddenly seized Blanche by the collar and roared:
"1 million francs! Enough to buy three Louvre Museums with some left over! Could this much money have grown from the ground?!"

Prosper of the first action team whispered: "Commander, we started from the source of funds. But the initial money did not go through any bank, nor did it come from factories or big investors..."

It is impossible for such a huge amount of money to flow without leaving traces. The intelligence agency has long kept a record of people or companies with more than one million francs in France. If their money moves, it will be quickly discovered here.

Fouché slammed his fist on the table, and his knuckles immediately bled: "Or do you want to tell me that a magician conjured up 1 million?

"Investigate the illegal organization for me! Also, contact the Notary Investigation Bureau to see if anyone has embezzled or misappropriated funds!"

Scott, the financial consultant at the side, suddenly thought of something and said carefully: "Director, speaking of the huge amount of banknotes, I think of a possibility."

"Say it!"

"When our country was negotiating the second phase of the Seine-Rhine Agreement, it provided high-value loans to some southern German states."

Fouché's eyes lit up: "How many?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to ask the Minister of Finance for the exact amount..."

Two days later.

Stuttgart, the capital of the German state of Württemberg, is located adjacent to the middle section of the Rhine River.

In the spacious hall of the palace, Crown Prince Lucifer Eugen of Württemberg stammered to the French officer in front of him:

"Captain Pellier, I promise to explain to you the purpose of the loan...

"But you know, the accounts are very complicated and it will take some time to sort them out. Perhaps you can come back in a month, no, 20 days?"

Pellier smiled calmly, as if he was the royal family, and the sixty-year-old crown prince in front of him was just an ordinary merchant: "Don't bother you, I will bring people to check the accounts myself."

"No, no, this will interfere with the normal operation of the bank," Lucivede Eugen said anxiously, "I promise that I will give you a satisfactory answer in a week."

"I don't have much time." Captain Pellier stood up and put on his hat. "You have two choices now. Either give me authorization to access your country's financial accounts. Or, let General Massena's army handle this matter. They are about, uh, less than a hundred kilometers from here."

Cold sweat suddenly broke out on the forehead of the Crown Prince of Württemberg.

The fact that Massena defeated more than 100,000 Allied forces in Luxembourg has long been a nightmare for all German states.

Although the French government has repeatedly reiterated in recent days that Massena's army came to punish the "evil Austrian invaders and their accomplice Bavaria" and would never threaten the "German states coerced by Austria."

But who can guarantee such a thing?

After crossing the Rhine, the French army only needed to turn north and reach Stuttgart in two days. After all, this was a huge sum of nearly 10 million francs.

The French soldiers would certainly not refuse to make the trip.

By then, Württemberg might become "Austria's accomplice."

Lucivede Eugen swallowed his saliva and bowed his head to the French Intelligence Officer, "Okay, I understand. I'll let Mr. Arnold come right away. He will be responsible for the loan."

Two hours later, Arnold, Wurttemberg's special financial adviser, handed a stack of documents to Pellier and explained nervously:

"These 220 million francs are used to buy French fertilizers, sugar and other goods... These are 15 francs invested in the quarry... The last two are agreements for a Mr. Banks to loan 700 million francs to the Stuttgart Bank. He, he specifically asked for banknotes..."

Pellier glanced at him, pulled out the agreement document at the bottom, and his eyes suddenly fixed.

The loan amount is 700 million francs, the term is six months, and the interest rate is 12.5%. Early repayment can reduce the interest.

"Who is he?" Pellie waved the document in his hand.

"I, I only know him as a lumber merchant."

The French agent sneered: "Do you think I'm a fool? Frankfurt Bank dares to lend a huge sum of 700 million to a businessman of unknown origin? Or, do you want General Massena to come and talk to you?"

Lucivede Eugen on the side spoke with difficulty: "Captain Pellier, he was recommended by the British Consul in Stuttgart..."

Palace of Versailles.

Joseph glanced at Fouché with a gloomy face: "You actually sent people to the royal palaces of Württemberg, Augsburg and other countries to threaten them!

"Do you realize how much of a diplomatic storm this will cause?"

He picked up the report in front of him and slammed it on the table again.

His established strategy was to stabilize the German states and keep them as far away from Austria as possible.

Fouché sent agents to intimidate them, saying that Massena's troops would march into their capital just to investigate the loan.

Fouché bowed his head deeply and said, "I am really sorry, Your Highness. But they do have problems, and I am worried that it will be too late to investigate secretly..."

Joseph exhaled and picked up the report again: "Please tell me what you have learned."

"Yes, Your Highness," Fouché said hurriedly, "All clues point to Britain. They obtained a total of 2 million francs in banknotes from Württemberg, Augsburg, Upper Hesse and other countries at high interest rates.

"You know, there was a war between our country and Shinra before, and these countries thought the war would last for a long time, so they all accepted the deal made by the British."

Joseph frowned slightly. France had previously provided 3 million francs in loans to the Seine-Rhine Pact countries in two batches, all in paper currency. Unexpectedly, more than 3% of the loans became the British "ammunition" for shorting the franc.

He looked at the investigation report.

The British promised Württemberg an interest rate of 12.5%, Augsburg 13%, and Hesse as high as 16%.

You have to know that this is 6 months' interest. If converted into annual interest rate, it would be as high as 25% to 36%!

(End of this chapter)