I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 567 "Luxury Lineup"

Fouché bowed again and continued, "Excuse me, Your Highness, but investigating this matter requires a high level of expertise in the fields of trade, economics, and contracts. If the Intelligence Department were to investigate, it might take three months, or even longer."

Mirabeau immediately said anxiously: "This is too long, it will cause a large number of orders to default!"

Fouché looked at Joseph and said, "Your Highness, if you allow someone to assist the Intelligence Bureau, I believe this time can be shortened by half."

"Oh? Who is it?"

"Viscount Calona," Fouché said, "He is a top expert in economics and trade, and is very familiar with all kinds of shady operations... Oh, please believe that I am sincerely complimenting him.

"As far as I know, he went to Lorraine earlier this year to 'treat a backache' and hasn't returned to Paris yet, so it's a good opportunity for him to go to Germany."

Joseph nodded slightly. As the former finance minister, Kalona's professional ability was beyond doubt. At the same time, his extensive experience in corruption and bribery had accumulated a wealth of experience in breaking the law.

At the same time, he is relatively loyal to the royal family, so this job can indeed be assigned to him.

As for why he went to Lorraine, it was probably because he bought some properties there during his exile, which needed to be taken care of regularly.

"Okay, I'll write to him and ask him to help you investigate."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Fouché paused, then said hesitantly, "Your Highness, if I can call on another person, perhaps the investigation can be completed within a month."

Joseph sighed. "You should have finished your sentence at once. Who is he?"

"Franz Anton Mesmer."

"Huh? What does he do?"

Mirabeau on the side coughed lightly and said awkwardly: "Ahem, Your Highness, that is a damn liar."

"Yes, a liar." Fouché nodded, "But he is also a doctor of medicine and a genius."

As he briefly recounted Mesmer's experiences, Joseph gradually remembered this man - the so-called founder of hypnotherapy, a con man who deceived kings and beggars.

Seven years ago, Mesmer came to Paris from Vienna, claiming to have invented a "magnetic therapy theory" that could cure all diseases.

According to his theory, there is a magnetic field circulating inside the human body. If the circulation process is blocked, people will get sick. He can use a magnetic iron rod to adjust the magnetic field and thus cure the disease.

Later, he found it troublesome and simply said that he was a "magnetic person" and could perform treatments with his hands.

Because of his superb "acting skills" and eloquence, he deceived many people into believing in his "magnetic therapy".

Soon, his clinic became a gathering place for sick nobles.

But Mesmer was not satisfied. In order to cure more patients, he asked the nobles to sit around a large wooden barrel, saying that he had injected magnetism into the water and the patients would be cured after sitting for a while.

He then turned his attention to the civilians.

Because the number of patients he could see was limited, he began to take in apprentices, claiming that the apprentices could also gain his magnetism.

As a result, more than 400 "magnetic doctors" appeared in Paris in a short period of time, making millions of livres for Mesmer.

Until he treated Louis XVI.

His Majesty the King, with his meticulous logical analysis ability as a "science and engineering geek", believed that this was not very scientific, so he organized a group of experts including Lavoisier, Le Roy, Franklin and other great scholars to verify the authenticity of magnetic therapy.

With such a luxurious lineup, Mesmer's scam was finally exposed and he was thrown into prison. However, many people insisted that they were cured by Mesmer. After research, scholars found that they were relieved of their pain by psychological suggestion. Eventually, hypnosis therapy was developed from this, but that is another story.

Fouché’s choice of this person is very “professionally matched”.

Mesmer was an Austrian who was very familiar with the local area and was also an expert in deception, which made him a perfect match for Kalona's expertise.

"Okay, you can go to the First Prison and take him out now." Joseph said.

……

Austria.

In an inconspicuous little house in the northern suburbs of Vienna, Kalona repeatedly flipped through the documents in front of him and frowned at the intelligence officer beside him, saying, "No matter from the legality, scale, and operating conditions of these companies, or the negotiation and signing process of the orders, there are no problems.

"The price of the goods on the order, as well as the delivery date and other information, are also very reasonable. There should be no bribery..."

This is not surprising. As the president of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, Klestil is experienced in trade, so it is natural that his plan is flawless.

"All deposits have been paid in full." Kalona said, picking up the newspaper beside him and looking at the advertisements on it. "Even the products they ordered in France are already being advertised. From my professional point of view, these are indeed normal trade.

"Perhaps, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really guessed wrong this time?"

Mesmer, who had a deep look in his eyes and looked like a scholar, suddenly whispered, "My Lord Viscount, I think if we can't find any flaws in the evidence, we might as well throw it away..."

Kalona rolled his eyes at the liar. He had also been cheated out of tens of thousands of livres by "magnetic therapy" in the past.

"What a joke. If not evidence, then lies?" He mocked. "Well, go and try to deceive those people and let them tell you, 'Yes, I actually have a conspiracy.'"

Mesmer lowered his head and said carefully, "You misunderstood. What I meant was that we should not collect evidence, but directly confront those companies for real."

"what are you saying?"

"My theory at the beginning was about magnetic therapy. Even the members of the Academy of Sciences could not find any problems with it," Mesmer said. "But then Mr. Lavoisier asked me to treat blindfolded patients and did not allow me to make any sound. I was exposed immediately."

"so what?"

"Why don't we pretend to be a buyer, a big and generous buyer, and do business with the companies that placed the orders. And then do this..."

Upon hearing this, Kalona and the intelligence officer looked at each other and nodded in surprise.

three days later.

"Viscount Plummer" from Oedenburg came to the Manharz Trading Company, which was the shell company of Baron Graz, in a luxurious carriage with a dozen followers.

Mesmer, disguised as Viscount Plummer, was very stylish. From the moment he entered the door, he kept giving tips to all the workers and servants he saw.

When he met Gratz, he immediately said that people in his hometown were very fond of French products and wanted to buy all the French goods in Gratz's hands, and that the contract could be signed immediately - he had found Gratz after seeing the advertisement in the newspaper.

Graz refused without hesitation.

It's not that he doesn't want to make more money, but for such a large transaction, the other party will definitely have many employees involved, and will have a lot of contact with his warehouses, stores, management, and even drivers.

In this case, no matter how perfect his design is, he cannot ensure that there will be no mistakes.

(End of this chapter)