Make France Great Again-Chapter 937 - 928: A Minister Devoted to Both Public and Private Interests
Jerome Bonaparte’s attitude towards Achille Fuld greatly surprised Marcel Yale.
Marcel Yale, who initially thought Emperor Jerome Bonaparte would fly into a rage upon hearing Achille Fuld’s conspiracy, did not expect such a light-hearted conclusion.
Since His Majesty the Emperor had already decided not to delve further, Marcel Yale saw no need to pursue the matter.
After all, there was no deep-seated hatred between him and Achille Fuld.
In essence, he was just a sharp blade in the hand of the Emperor.
Whoever His Majesty the Emperor needed him to strike, he would strike.
Of course, if a blade doesn’t see blood, it will eventually rust.
Therefore, Marcel Yale believed that for the National Intelligence Bureau to maintain strong deterrence, it must remain bloodied at all times!
Nothing is more suitable for nourishing this blade than the blood of ministers.
At present, Emperor Jerome Bonaparte did not seem willing to act against Achille Fuld, leaving Marcel Yale somewhat disappointed, and he had to leave the study room on Jerome Bonaparte’s orders.
Watching Marcel Yale’s departing figure, Jerome Bonaparte muttered quietly: "You all truly are worrisome!"
After speaking, Jerome Bonaparte continued to lower his head and work.
...
Time flew by, and it was already mid-August, with temperatures in Paris growing increasingly hot.
In such weather, even if the residents of Paris opened all their windows, they couldn’t resist the intense heat.
Not to mention Jerome Bonaparte, who was working in his room; sweat from his forehead already dripping onto the documents before finishing reading one.
After leaving his hand on a document for a moment, he could see a rather obvious mark upon lifting it.
At this moment, he was contemplating whether to head south to escape the heatwave, and return to the Tuileries Palace once it ended.
After all, in such extreme heat, Jerome Bonaparte found it difficult to concentrate on work.
Just as he was considering whether to head south to evade the heat, Bashirio appeared in Jerome Bonaparte’s study, reporting the news that Minister of Finance Achille Fuld was seeking an audience.
"Please invite him in!" Jerome Bonaparte ordered Bashirio.
"Yes!" Bashirio turned around to invite Achille Fuld upstairs.
After a while, Finance Minister Achille Fuld stood at the door of Jerome Bonaparte’s study and said: "Your Majesty!"
"Come in!" Jerome Bonaparte waved his hand, inviting Achille Fuld to sit opposite him, then inquiring about the reason for Achille Fuld’s visit to the Tuileries Palace.
Achille Fuld informed Jerome Bonaparte that he was there to inform him that the Ministry of Finance had already drafted the proposal to "thoroughly investigate the debt issues of medium and large banks," and that the Bank of France had obtained "most" of the board’s support.
Now all they needed was Legislative Corps’ approval for the proposal, and their Ministry of Finance could join with the Bank of France to inspect and evaluate the liabilities of medium and large banks.
If His Majesty the Emperor required, they could also write a report after the inspection and submit it to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Let me see!" Jerome Bonaparte extended his hand, saying to Minister Fuld.
Fuld handed the proposal document to Jerome Bonaparte, who flipped through the contents submitted by Achille Fuld, page by page.
After reading Achille Fuld’s report, Jerome Bonaparte praised Achille Fuld: "Minister Fuld, you’ve written well!
However, I hope the content of the proposal can be implemented practically!"
Jerome Bonaparte had seen too many proposals that were well written but completely perfunctory when it came to actual execution.
Take neighboring Britain as an example; even though they’ve already stipulated a ten-hour workday and banned child labor in their constitution.
When it comes to actual enforcement, not to mention 10 hours, working 13 to 14 hours is common practice.
If the technological tree of the electrical era wasn’t yet developed, British capitalists would definitely raise the work market to 15 or 16 hours a day.
The matter of child labor is even more so; as long as the employed don’t admit they are child labor, they can avoid the ban.
Moreover, following the child labor ban, the monthly salary of child labor in Britain was further compressed.
Britain’s policies not only failed to produce results but instead had adverse effects.
Law is dead, but people are alive!
Of course, the situation in France wasn’t much better, and in some respects was even worse than Britain.
Jerome Bonaparte did try contemplating improvements, but sometimes the more improvements were attempted, the more counterproductive they became.
If France legislated to ban child labor, it would be a death sentence for the lives of child labor.
Because the wages of an ordinary French worker for a family of three can barely maintain the cost of living.
If the share for child labor was removed, an ordinary working-class family would struggle to continue living.
In circumstances where survival itself is impossible, the workers of France will prioritize self-control in childbirth.
Numerous child laborers will die as a result, a conclusion Jerome Bonaparte is eager to see.
Drifting off the topic, Jerome Bonaparte hopes Achille Fuld will strictly enforce policies after the approval of the Legislative Corps.
"Your Majesty, rest assured! I will personally oversee it!" Achille Fuld replied to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Very well!" Jerome Bonaparte took a pen from the pen holder, signed his name, and then handed it back to Achille Fuld, saying, "You can take this document to the Legislative Corps!"
After receiving the document, Achille Fuld stood up and left.
At noon on the third day, Achille Fuld represented the Ministry of Finance at the Bourbon Palace.
On the main podium of the Bourbon Palace, Achille Fuld reported to the Legislative Corps in a calm yet firm tone about the necessity of auditing the domestic medium and large banks’ debts (to prevent blind speculation and distorted development in the French market).
Representatives of the Legislative Corps all agreed after hearing why from Minister of Finance Achille Fuld.
Only a few representatives raised doubts about Achille Fuld’s proposal, though their skepticism was not about the proposal itself, but whether Achille Fuld could truly examine the debt situation of France’s mid-sized and large banks.
Achille Fuld firmly responded that as long as the Legislative Corps gave them time, they could uncover all the issues.
Ultimately, the Legislative Corps agreed to Achille Fuld’s debt audit of the medium and large banks by a relative majority (with many representatives abstaining).
With the authorization from both Jerome Bonaparte and the Legislative Corps, Achille Fuld immediately dispatched the Ministry of Finance’s most professional accountants and financial practitioners to audit the debts of mid-sized and large banks in Paris.
Their first target was the Rothschild Bank.
When Alphonse Rothschild heard that Achille Fuld’s proposal was passed, he realized Fuld would not let this opportunity slip.
Thus, Alphonse Rothschild ordered his subordinates to speed up the sale of the remaining railway bonds and futures, using the proceeds to cover losses in some projects.
After all, not every project is a guaranteed profit. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
He also borrowed some money from the Frankfurt Rothschild Bank as a precaution.
After this operation, the Rothschild Company did not face major issues.
Achille Fuld naturally moved on from the Rothschild Bank to the next target.
While Alphonse Rothschild secretly rejoiced, some bankers formerly under the Rothschild banner sent him requests for help.
They shared their troubles with Rothschild and hoped Alphonse Rothschild could help them through tough times.
Seeing the bankers asking for help, Alphonse Rothschild frowned and asked what was going on.
It soon became clear that they, indeed, faced varying levels of debt crises.
(A bank without bad debts does not exist!)
Though these crises did not threaten the banks’ existence, they feared Achille Fuld could wield his power to bankrupt them.
Achille Fuld did not even need to act; he merely needed to disclose their debts to the public.
At that time, countless depositors would demand withdrawals, risking bankruptcy due to liquidity issues.
The bankruptcy of a large bank often happens in a day, even within an hour.
Before a bank truly faces bankruptcy, no one knows how much capital it still has available.
Therefore, they hoped to borrow from the Rothschild Bank.
Alphonse Rothschild, faced with their requests, wished to help but lacked any means.
While Rothschild Bank evaded the audit, its crisis was not over.
If he lent the money to these bankers, the audit team led by Achille Fuld would surely return.
If he chose not to lend, these bankers would inevitably harbor resentment.
This complicated the situation.
Perhaps Achille Fuld intended for them to reach such a dilemma.
Moreover, this matter was not something they could present to His Majesty the Emperor.
The Emperor himself supported the bank debt audits, and approaching him would equate to admitting severe debt issues.
Alphonse Rothschild declined their requests, and the bankers left the Rothschild Mansion filled with disappointment.
Over the following month, the Ministry of Finance’s audit team visited numerous banks without finding severe issues.
The bankers who sought help from the Rothschild Clan complained inwardly about Alphonse Rothschild while cozying up to Achille Fuld.
This caused Rothschild to once again find itself in a passive position.
