Chapter 13 Transaction
Joseph left two guards to keep an eye on the bank manager to prevent him from leaking the information, and led everyone out of Haverey Bank.
Arden said anxiously: "Your Highness, I will lead people to arrest Guizot."
Joseph raised his hand to stop: "Guizot only gave Similion 30,000 livres. There is no evidence to prove that he was involved."
"Then arrest Similion, and perhaps he will reveal Guizot."
Joseph did not expect that the mastermind behind it was the Paris Police Chief. He could not help frowning and thinking deeply. Guizot's identity was special. As long as he refused to admit it, it would be difficult to convict him based on Similion's confession alone.
Eman glanced at the dim sky and said to Joseph: "Your Highness, it's getting dark. Let's go back to our residence first."
When Joseph heard this, he had an idea: "It was almost dusk when Valian was arrested, so the news should not reach the city hall tomorrow morning, right?"
Arden nodded: "He is just a gangster. No one must care about him."
"That's good!"
Joseph quickly got into the carriage, lay on the small table, wrote a letter, and handed it to the captain of the guard:
"Viscount Kesaud, please send someone back to the Palace of Versailles to hand this to Her Majesty the Queen. You must be quick!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
At four o'clock in the morning, Count Hermann, Queen Marie's secretary, yawned and came to the Saint-Antoine district police station together with Antoine, the secret police commissioner.
Before the two of them could greet each other, Joseph enthusiastically brought hot cocoa and pulled them to sit down.
"Your Highness is so anxious to ask us to come. Is there something important?"
"I do have something to trouble you two." Joseph leaned forward and began to describe his plan.
Herman's eyes widened: "If this is not done well..."
"Leave it to me, there will be no accidents." Antoine looked very confident, "His Highness's method is very good. I am ready to add this matter to the training course of the secret police."
Joseph bowed to them and said, "Then I'll help you two."
"It is our honor to serve His Highness."
…
At dawn, Guizot yawned and got into the carriage. He threw his cane to the servant and waved lazily: "Let's go."
The carriage started slowly and bumped along the gravel road. Guizot's home was still some way from the city hall. He was about to lean on the seat and take a nap when he suddenly heard the coachman's urgent cry of "oooh" and the car suddenly stopped.
"What's going on?" Guizot opened the car window irritably, trying to see what was going on, but the car door was suddenly opened.
Three strong men wearing torn leather hats and black armor, smelling bad, appeared outside the carriage.
Guizot's bodyguard hurriedly went to draw his sword, but the Dussac knife on the opposite side was first placed on his neck.
A man with a thin face and protruding joints shook his head outside the car and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, get out."
The servants and bodyguards got out of the car in a hurry. Guizot was about to move, but was restrained: "Don't move."
Then three strong men jumped on the carriage. The man with the knife closed the door and said to the coachman:
"Keep walking and act like nothing happened."
The carriage started again, and the look of fear on Guizot's face immediately disappeared. He leaned back and said in a cold voice:
"Are you Valian? Who asked you to come here?"
Yes, as the police chief of Paris, he still had some impressions of the leaders of the well-known big gangs in Paris. The man in the middle with half of his left ear missing was the second leader of the Black Sheep Gang who he had met once last year.
Valian glanced at the thin middle-aged man sitting on the left, lowered his head, and said vaguely:
"Let...let my men talk to you."
The thin man rubbed the stubble on his face with the knife, looked sideways at Guizo and said:
"Sir Guizot, our boss wants to negotiate a deal with you."
"You?" the latter smiled disdainfully, "What qualifications do you have to make a deal with me? Get out of my carriage!"
The thin man seemed not to have heard, and kept talking to himself:
"As for the twenty thousand livres, you will regret it if you don't listen."
Guizot said in a long voice: "Twenty thousand livres? I don't know what you are talking about."
"Why do you have to hide it?" The thin man smiled, "Cimilyon went to the Technical Academy with our boss and talked about a lot of things when he was drunk, such as the mission you gave him."
"This waste!" Guizot muttered, turning to look out the window, "No matter what it is, go and tell Similion."
"No, he has no control over this matter. The boss wants you to pay us the twenty thousand livres directly."
Guizot seemed to be amused: "What crazy talk are you talking about?"
"You must have heard that a large number of royal guards have recently arrived in St. Anthony District. Now no one dares to cause trouble there."
Guizot's expression changed slightly: "So?"
"I'm afraid what Similion asked for will be difficult to accomplish, whether it's us or the Hoth Gang." The thin man held out two fingers, "But our boss wants to earn those 20,000 livres."
Guizot smiled: "You don't do anything and you still want money?"
"No, it's not that I won't do it," the thin man said, "It's that I just do something big, something that can be worth twenty thousand, and then stop after I'm done."
Guizot was immediately interested. He heard about the royal guards sweeping away gangs in the Saint-Antoine district. He was worried about this. Hearing this, he suddenly became interested: "What are you going to do?"
"What are our plans?" The thin man shook his head, "No, it's what you want us to do."
Hearing this, Guizot stopped holding his tongue and said with a ferocious smile:
"If there is something that can bring shame to the police in the Saint-Antoine district, make it appear on the front page of all newspapers, and make all Parisians talk about it for a year! I can consider giving 20,000 livres directly to you."
The thin man thought for a while and said, "Then we find an opportunity to sneak into the police station in St. Anthony District, kill ten policemen, and then set fire to the police station. What do you think?"
"That's a good idea." Guizo rubbed his chin with a smile on his lips. The police station was burned down, and the Crown Prince still didn't lose his face? The City Commissioner will be very satisfied and say, "Just do it!"
The thin man nodded and said word by word: "I'll repeat the agreement again. You pay 20,000 livres to hire us to kill ten policemen and burn down the police station. Is that right?"
Although Guizot felt that this statement was a bit strange, the content was indeed correct. He just thought it was a gangster who couldn't speak, and nodded subconsciously: "Yes, that's it."
"No one forced you to make this decision, right?"
"What? Of course not."
The thin man raised his eyes and stared at him, smiling: "I'm curious, Mr. Guizot, why would you spend such a large amount of money to do something that has no profit at all?"
Guizot's face darkened: "Idiot, this is not what you should ask! Now, get off the bus immediately and go back to St. Anthony District to do what you should do!"
"Well, it's really time to get down to business." The thin man smiled and put away the Dussac knife, took off his ragged leather hat, tore off his beard, then pulled out a cast iron handcuff from behind and shook it at him, "Guizot , you are suspected of conspiring to murder police officers, burn down the police station, and threaten the safety of the crown prince. I formally arrest you in the name of the royal police."
The royal police is the elegant name for the secret police, which is equivalent to the FBI in later generations. It has very powerful powers, including direct arrest.
The new book has set sail. I beg you to collect it, recommend it, and comment. Please give me your support. The young author is grateful!