Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 825 - 88 - This Is Politics

Dragging his weary body back home, Ledyard let out a sigh of relief. It was easy to cheat someone, but fooling a group of old slickers was not so simple.

If he had a choice, Ledyard would never have taken this thorny job, even if it meant he could access a wider network of people.

The more he understood, the clearer Ledyard saw the cruelty of this circle. Nobility also had to compete, and those without power, wealth, or lands were just empty titles in practice.

Of course, even if one had nothing but a noble title, as long as they set aside their pride, they would still live better than ninety-nine percent of ordinary people.

Generally speaking, as long as one abandoned their bottom line, it was very simple to get rich. For instance, by marrying into a family of nouveau riche.

As long as one had a hereditary title recognized by mainstream society, the nouveau riche of America would flock to them, offering houses, cars, and money with ease.

In fact, Ledyard was also one of those down-and-out aristocrats, otherwise, he wouldn’t be acting as the go-between in trades of power for money.

Any noble with a bit of family wealth would not engage in such dirty work. While it seemed profitable and could gather extensive connections, it also insulated them from high society.

No matter how good the surface relationship was, the positioning as a "white glove" already determined that they were from different worlds.

Should any mishap or danger occur, an existence like Ledyard’s could easily become disposable at any moment.

Compared to the big shots hidden behind the scenes, Ledyard was the one who was most nervous. If the imprisoned Jewish capitalists began talking, whether the big shots behind him would be affected was uncertain, but Ledyard definitely couldn’t escape.

The housekeeper reminded him, "Baron, someone delivered a secret letter this afternoon, insisting that it must be handed to you personally, saying the contents were of great importance."

He casually took the secret letter, checked it for any signs of tampering, and assured it was unopened, Ledyard finally broke the seal.

After a long moment, Ledyard asked seriously, "Did the messenger say anything else?"

The housekeeper shook his head, "No. The messenger seemed very anxious; after repeating a few times that the letter must be given to you, he left immediately.

By the way, when he left, he got into a gray car; he must be quite wealthy."

In those days, there weren’t many brand names, and the clothing industry was still into custom-making. Without a deep investigation, it was hard to identify at first glance.

The best way to judge someone’s financial status was still to look at what they rode. Anyone who could afford a car that cost thousands, even tens of thousands of Divine Shields was definitely not ordinary.

Ledyard nodded, and his forehead wrinkled even more. After hesitating for a while, he slowly said, "Prepare the car, I need to go out."

There was no choice, the content of the letter was too shocking. Despite no direct threats, the undertone of "if I’m going down, I’ll drag you with me" was clearly conveyed.

The Jewish capitalists might be in prison, but the contingencies they left behind were not all severed.

No one knew if any of these contingencies included leverage over their "deals of power and money." If that was the case and it got out, Ledyard was certainly doomed.

Since the power brokers behind the scenes could silence the capitalists in prison, they could just as easily kill him, the middleman.

In fact, the hereditary noble title passed down from his ancestors played a significant role in Ledyard’s survival.

After all, killing him would attract the attention of the Austrian Government and also violate the rules of the game within the nobility circle. Otherwise, Ledyard would have been silenced long ago.

...

Within Vienna Palace, the undercurrents stirring in the country did not escape Franz’s notice.

Perhaps three or five corrupt officials would not draw the attention of the intelligence department, but how could there not be a few spies within such a large group as the Jewish people?

Their ability to round up the illegal Jewish capital group in one fell swoop was the best proof. The division of Jewish groups inside Austria owed much to the intelligence department’s efforts.

Looking at the report in his hand, Franz’s expression was terribly solemn. Had the evidence not been in front of his eyes, he wouldn’t have believed that Jewish capital could reach into the high levels of government.

Initially prepared to let some things slide, Franz had now changed his mind. For the Empire’s long-term stability and order, it was better to solve the problem once and for all.

"I never knew how many worms there were in the Empire until I looked into it, given the current special circumstances, I’ve decided to establish a special task force.

It will be led by Count Witters, the Deputy Finance Minister, with Paul Bodise, Director of Internal Affairs of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and Deputy Director Albertti of the Police Department serving as deputy heads, to thoroughly investigate these lawless capitalists and the umbrellas that protect them!"

Establishing a task force wasn’t surprising, but this personnel arrangement puzzled everyone. Finance Minister Mark-Leo-Von-Joseph objected, "Your Majesty, professional investigators are needed to handle cases.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Police Department should take care of it. Count Witters, the Deputy Finance Minister, has no experience in this area; having him in charge might be a mistake…"

Professional jobs should be done by professionals; that was the consistent policy of the Vienna Government. This kind of cross-disciplinary action rarely happened.

If it were any other job, even one mildly related to the Finance Ministry, Mark would happily fight for opportunities for his subordinates—after all, it could expand the Finance Ministry’s influence.

But this time was different. The Finance Ministry reaching into the judicial system was a frightening thought. As a seasoned politician, Mark didn’t believe this was the Emperor’s true intention.

Franz smiled slightly and handed over the intelligence report: "Take a look at this data, and you’ll understand why I made such appointments."

A moment later, Mark’s face darkened. The list of involved parties covered various departments of Austria, and they held significant power—it was practically a ’Small Cabinet’.

This could be said to be the biggest money and power trading case in Austria in the recent thirty years, involving the largest amounts, the highest levels of personnel, and the most severe consequences.

If this information could be confirmed, then the Vienna Government would face a major political shuffle.

Unfortunately, in this money and power trade, these individuals didn’t get their hands dirty directly; there was no evidence of collusion with capitalists for illegal gains on the surface.

The existence of their money and power trades was deduced because these individuals repeatedly used their authority to provide conveniences for these capitalists, including suppressing many cases involving themselves.

Such actions had effectively become the protection umbrella for criminal forces.

Knowing is one thing, but Austria is a country of laws. Without solid evidence, even if it is Franz, he couldn’t just take these officials down and charge them with crimes.

Of course, not being able to charge them doesn’t mean there’s no way to deal with them—after such a significant incident, the hat of ’dereliction of duty’ could still be put on their heads.

But that was meaningless; unless dereliction of duty led to severe consequences, at most these individuals would be sent home to look after their grandchildren and wouldn’t be charged criminally.

Franz now having these individuals in charge of the investigation was essentially fighting poison with poison.

The existing charges were already enough to send that group of capitalists to prison. With so many watchful eyes on the outside, no matter how lenient they were, they couldn’t just let these people go.

Prison was not an easy place nowadays; even if they escaped the death penalty, an exile order could just as well make these pampered individuals not survive.

For example, being exiled to the icy, snowy Alaska to mine gold; or to the desert to plant trees; or to the colonies to build railroads.

Incomplete statistics show that criminals sent to Alaska to mine gold have an average lifespan of only 2.7 years, and in gold mines with harsh climates, it might be less than three months;

Those sent to desert for greening had an average lifespan of only 2.6 years, with some regions averaging only half a year;

Comparatively, those building railways had the longest lifespan—never more than five years, and generally after two or three years, the people would be worn out.

The cause of these disasters, besides the harsh natural conditions, was more due to officials blindly pursuing achievements, willing to leave these godforsaken places quickly, ignoring the physical safety of the criminals.

Being sent to such deadly places and pushed to the brink by individuals who used to make money together, anyone would feel disgruntled.

In the face of death, whether or not to betray these traitors to secure a chance at a reduced sentence is something a normal person would know how to choose.

Franz may not have criminal evidence against these bureaucrats, but that doesn’t mean these capitalists don’t have any—it’s if these bureaucrats don’t want to be unlucky, then they have to kill these capitalists first to silence them.

How exactly to achieve this and whether they can succeed or not—that has nothing to do with Franz.

As long as the two groups start to fight, no matter who wins or loses, some issues hidden in the dark will gradually surface, and then they can be dealt with according to Austrian law."