The Fox of France

Chapter 77: Unexpected Fortune

Joseph didn't panic upon hearing the news. He furrowed his brow in thought and said, "Carnot, it's not convenient to talk here. Let's go to my office."

Joseph and Carnot entered the office together.

Carnot sat at the table next to Joseph's desk, while Joseph closed the door and took a seat in front of Carnot.

"Carnot, has someone already bought the Clavierel Bank's certificates at a discounted price?" Joseph asked.

"Do you know about this? Yes, someone is buying the bank's certificates at a 30% discount. Joseph, should I sell some of mine? I don't want to incur a 30% loss, but I'm worried that the losses might grow if I don't act," Carnot said, frowning.

Joseph didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Carnot, do you have any spare cash on hand?"

Carnot didn't quite follow Joseph's line of thought and assumed Joseph was offering financial assistance. He replied, "Not much, but I can manage for now. Joseph, I remember you have several siblings to support of course, Napoleon can help you to some extent now..."

Joseph chuckled, "Thank you for your concern, but I think you may have misunderstood me."

Joseph glanced around to ensure no one else was in the office, and then he lowered his voice and continued, "Carnot, what I mean is, if you have any extra funds beyond what you need for daily expenses, including money in other banks that you can access, withdraw it all and try to buy Clavierel Bank's certificates as much as possible."

"What?" Carnot widened his eyes and stared at Joseph. Finally, he reached out to touch Joseph's forehead as if checking for illness. "Joseph, are you feeling okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine," Joseph assured him. "Carnot, my point is, who knows better than us about which regions the uprisings are affecting the bank? Have the uprisings in various places grown significantly in the past few months?"

Carnot seemed to catch on. "The uprisings have increased somewhat in the last few months, but not significantly."

"Yes, and with uprisings happening everywhere for almost a year now, Mr. Clavierel should be quite familiar with the market situation," Joseph said. "While he might not be the Napoleon of the financial world, he's at least a respectable Viscount. If there was a sudden crisis due to common and foreseeable risks, leading to bankruptcy and the inability to honor deposits, Carnot, do you think it's likely?"

Carnot was taken aback, "So, you're saying all these rumors are false? Clavierel Bank isn't really in trouble? Then why is Mr. Clavierel doing this?"

"Because many of the people buying those certificates are Mr. Clavierel's own associates! Wait and see; it won't be long before certificate prices drop to 60% or even 10%. Mr. Clavierel will buy them back at those low prices, and then the certificates can be redeemed as usual. And then do I need to explain further?" Joseph said.

"Is that even allowed?" Carnot trembled, clenching his fists. "Aren't they robbing the people? What about justice and the law?"

"Stay calm, Carnot. We... we won't be breaking any laws," Joseph reassured him.

"No, I can't stand idly by and watch such unscrupulous actions!" Carnot exclaimed. "Joseph, let's go find General; he should be able to stop this."

Joseph hesitated. He knew that going with Carnot would likely make General Lafayette suspicious, believing Joseph was instigating Carnot's involvement in military matters. Yet, he had already fallen out of favor with Lafayette, and another offense wouldn't matter much. In his mind, if further offending Lafayette meant gaining Carnot's friendship, it was worth it.

"Carnot, calm down," Joseph said. "Do you think the General is unaware of all these events happening throughout Paris? Do you think he'll interfere in such matters? Mr. Clavierel is a man of influence, and the General needs his support to control the current situation. If the General takes action against this, he'll stand against a significant number of people who support Mr. Clavierel, and it will come at a considerable political cost. The General cannot afford to do that."

Carnot paused, realizing the complexity of the situation. Finally, he said, "Joseph, what you're saying makes sense. But I can't just sit back without trying."

"Then I'll go with you," Joseph offered.

Carnot had already calmed down and said, "Joseph, you stay behind. There's already some misunderstanding between you and the General. Going now might only worsen it. I'll go alone."

Joseph sighed and sat back at his desk to resume his work.

About half an hour later, there was a knock at the door.

"The door's unlocked, come in," Joseph called out as he lifted his head from his paperwork. Carnot pushed the door open and entered.

Joseph stood to greet him and then closed the door behind Carnot.

"So, how did it go? What did the General say?" Joseph asked.

Carnot replied, "Just as you estimated. But his reason is that I lack evidence."

They both fell silent for a moment. Then Carnot said, "Joseph, you mentioned earlier that we could buy those certificates. Well, how much money can you put in?"

"Carnot, you?" Joseph questioned.

"Rather than letting those unscrupulous people take all the money, why don't we intercept a portion? With money in our hands, we can at least do some good. In Mr. Clavierel's hands, it can only harm more people," Carnot explained. "I used to read 'Friend of the People' in the past, and that man named Marat used to say we should hang all the bankers from lampposts. I thought he was too extreme at the time, but now it seems he may have had a point. Our government is too lenient with these people!"

Carnot wasn't an expert in financial matters, but he was exceptionally skilled in mathematics, so he quickly grasped the concept. In the end, he told Joseph, "Joseph, I can contribute around 4,000 livres. But I'm too busy to handle the logistics, so I'll leave that to you."

Joseph replied, "Carnot, are you saying that I'm not busy? Your workload is about half of what I used to manage when I led the Red Army. Back then, you had time to spare for writing research papers, and now you're saying you're too busy?"

"Maybe I'm pursuing a young lady," Joseph joked.

"Really? What kind of young lady?" Carnot inquired.

"No, no, I was just joking," Joseph quickly denied.

"I see. Well, maybe it's time for you to find a young lady. With your talents, hasn't any lady fallen for you yet?" Carnot asked. "Do you want me to introduce someone to you?"

Joseph declined, "Not for now. I think it's not the right time for romance until the political situation in France stabilizes."

From Carnot, Joseph obtained 4,000 livres. He also borrowed 6,000 livres from Lavasix the chemist, not his nephew. Adding his existing 5,000 livres, Joseph had a total of 15,000 livres to invest in the speculative activity.

The subsequent events unfolded just as Joseph had predicted. In the following two weeks, Clavierel Bank's certificates rapidly devalued in the market, dropping from 80% to 70%, 60%, and finally causing a panic, falling below 20%. At the lowest point, certificates were worth only about 14% of their face value.

Joseph seized the opportunity and invested his 15,000 livres when the certificates dropped to 20%, which would later become 14%. Days later, Mr. Clavierel announced that he had successfully navigated the crisis and could fully redeem all the certificates. Joseph's original 5,000-livre certificates had transformed into 75,000 livres. After deducting the 20,000 he gave to Carnot and the 6,000 he owed Lavasix (including interest), Joseph had quietly earned 44,000 livres.

"In times of chaos, making money is too easy," Joseph remarked. "No wonder people risked the guillotine for it."