I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 544 Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be fine!
Subsequently, the high courts of several provinces in France also publicly announced the trials of several tax farmers. Although most of them have not yet been sentenced, the names of the defendants alone are enough to shock everyone.

Ford, the head of the General Association of Tax Farmers, Barlot, the great banker of Paris, and Pellier, the second president of the Marseille Chamber of Commerce...

Except for Ford, no one even knew that the others were tax farmers. Now, everyone finally understood who the real controller of the tax farmers was.

As Borore was sentenced to death, everyone fell into ecstasy - eradicating the mastermind behind the scenes was far more exciting than beheading hundreds of tax collectors.

Led by Paris, people in various places took to the streets to celebrate spontaneously, which shows how much people hate the tax farmers - especially in recent times, when the government's tax bureau began to take over the tax collection work, they formed a sharp contrast with those in the previous tax farmers.

The tax officials all speak in a kind tone. They don't have the habit of waving sticks while talking, and they will not make things difficult for merchants or factories. They collect taxes according to the tax law.

Although the Jacobins such as Robespierre were more idealistic and sometimes acted too radically, their belief in building an equal and free country for the people and maintaining social justice was unambiguous. This made them very different from the previous officials, at least they would not make money as their goal.

Therefore, the tax bureau quickly won high praise from the people. The reputation of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who presided over the establishment of the tax bureau, grew day by day, and people became more supportive of the royal family.

On the second floor of the Tuileries Palace, Fulcot, the director of the tax bureau, was reporting on the collection of fines: "...At present, the total amount collected is 4 million francs. Those who have paid in full include Baron Morel, Baron Pellier... and seven others. The others are still raising money."

Joseph nodded with satisfaction - according to previous estimates, the total fine this time would definitely exceed 1 million francs. Basically, it was like turning the pockets of the big tax farmers upside down.

As for the more than half that was confiscated, he was not in a hurry, after all, the amount was too huge. This was because the tax farmer had prepared the tax money before, so he could take out so much at once. Otherwise, even if there was a family property of tens of millions, it would be very difficult to take out two or three million immediately.

At least there is no need to worry about government funding for the first half of the year, and there is even a considerable surplus.

Joseph said to Fulco, "I will ask the High Court to make a judgment on Morel and others as soon as possible. I believe that the speed at which others pay their fines will be much faster."

For a tax farmer like Morel who is more cooperative, the sentence can naturally be lighter, which can also set an example for other tax farmers.

Fulco continued, "Your Highness, as for Hope and Vankiewicz's assets, they have not yet been fully investigated. However, Hope's various funds left in the country should not exceed 4 million francs, and Vankiewicz's should be around 6 million."

Joseph suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice: "I have asked Archbishop Talleyrand to send a diplomatic note to the Netherlands. These two guys will have to pay the fine and stand trial sooner or later."

He had received reports the previous week that the two Dutch tycoons, Hope and Van Kiewicz, had fled France, most likely under the protection of the Dutch embassy.

According to intelligence analysis, Hope should have a substitute who is still in the Dutch Embassy.

The Dutch Patriot Party originally represented the bourgeois forces. It is not surprising that they would protect the financial tycoons after they came to power.

However, the Patriot Party stood against France in the Brabant Uprising in the Southern Netherlands last time, and now they have done this again. They must be given a good beating in the future.

Joseph felt a little distressed when he thought of this. Hope and the other two took at least 10 million francs from his fine. This was all his own money!
He was feeling sad when he suddenly heard a mixture of music including lute, bagpipe and snare drum coming from outside the window, and many people were singing loudly along with the music.

(The picture above is a lute)
(The picture above shows a bagpipe)

The melody was very familiar, and Joseph curiously went to the window and looked down. He saw a small "band" holding various musical instruments leading the way on the street south of the Tuileries Palace, followed by six or seven hundred people. They held a large number of straw figures in their hands, singing loudly as they walked, with a very happy look on their faces, as if they were celebrating something.

When the group of people came closer, Joseph finally saw the portrait on the scarecrow's face clearly. Although the painting was crude, he could still make out Borore's facial features.

Then he heard the singing from the crowd -

Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be fine!
People are repeating today,

Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be fine!
Even if the tax farmer is tyrannical, everything is possible!
The target is the hateful tax-farmers,

We march forward, singing "Hallelujah!"
Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be fine!
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once said,

As if the prophet had predicted it,

Humming my little tune,

People said happily:

Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, even if it is

They robbed us of all our money and everything was possible!
Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be fine!
Robespierre and Duport singing in the café,
Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be fine!
Let us look forward to the good days to come!
The people of France used to keep silent.

Now the tax farmer says, "I admit my mistake!"
Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be fine!
The Dauphin guides us,
Break down unfair taxes,
Let the peaceful life come back!

……

Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be fine!
Send the tax farmers to the scaffold!

Ah! Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be fine!
Hang the heads of the tax farmers on the street lamps!
Joseph listened for a while and suddenly remembered that this was the famous song "Ah!a Ira" during the Great Revolution in history. It also has another name, called "Street Lamp Happy Song".

When Louis XVI fled and was stopped by the National Guard, the citizens of Paris sang this song as they escorted him to the Tuileries Palace. Of course, the lyrics at that time were basically denouncing the king's defection, but now they have been changed to criticize tax farmers.

I originally thought that if my father had not defected in this life, this song would have disappeared in the long river of history, but I didn't expect it to "stubbornly" appear again.

Soon, the celebrating team met up with another group of people at the street corner. The number of people suddenly increased to thousands, and they marched towards the Louvre Square in a mighty manner.

Just as Fulco had finished what he needed to say, Joseph immediately changed into an inconspicuous black coat, got into the carriage, and followed the parade with great interest.

(End of this chapter)