Descending On France 1780
Chapter 315 - 308 Frost’s foresight is really admirable.

Chapter 315: 308 Frost’s foresight is really admirable.

Anning accepted an investment of five hundred ounces of gold, which, in Paris, was like dropping a bombshell.

At once, everyone in Paris, young and old, was abuzz with discussion.

Suddenly, the balance of power in the whole of Paris underwent subtle changes.

One of the most noticeable changes was that the balls and salons at Maraisson Castle suddenly became popular.

Before, only those acquainted with Josephine would attend Maraisson’s salons, but now, as soon as Josephine entered the grand hall, she found it filled with strangers.

Josephine thoroughly enjoyed this attention and flitted about the salons and balls every day, quickly becoming Paris’s leading socialite.

Aside from these "opportunists," many in Paris criticized Frost, accusing him of accepting bribes.

But some immediately countered: How could General Frost, the great savior of France, not be entitled to a few gold bars? And what is Paul Balas but a nobody? With all his ill-gotten wealth, it’s better in the hands of General Frost than with him.

The two factions argued endlessly in the streets and bars of Paris, their disputes sometimes escalating to duels or brawls, igniting great excitement.

As for the "steam revolution" that Anning proposed in several articles, hardly anyone cared—though that’s not entirely accurate, as those in Paris who might have shown interest had already been saved from Paris by Frost.

For instance, Lavoisier had left Paris almost a year ago and was now in Marseilles researching smokeless gunpowder.

Nevertheless, gentlemen who were not in Paris were not entirely unaffected by these matters, with one individual paying particular attention.

FouchE, far away in Lyon, was not as sensitive to news from Paris as Balas was. The crafty old fox feigned disinterest in Paris, neither having newspapers brought from Paris by special courier nor arranging regular letters to describe the situation in Paris and have them quickly delivered by horse.

FouchE appeared to be a Special Commissioner who was genuinely uninterested in affairs in Paris, solely focused on his duties in Lyon.

But that didn’t mean he had stopped collecting information from Paris—his methods were just more covert.

He found reasons to invite for meals everyone who came from Paris, and during these meals, the sly fox subtly memorized every detail about Paris, indirectly probing for issues he was interested in but which others had not mentioned.

Of course, FouchE also read Parisian newspapers, although he would receive them much later.

That day, FouchE was looking through Parisian newspapers that had arrived days late and suddenly saw an article attacking Frost.

The article, entitled "Is the Saviour of France Really So Noble and Pure?", was signed by Camille De Mulan.

In this article, De Mulan furiously criticized Andy Frost for reportedly accepting five hundred ounces of gold as an investment from Balas and promising him dividends, saying this was akin to accepting a bribe. He lamented that Frost too had been corrupted, leaving only the uncorrupted Robespierre standing tall.

But at the end of the article, De Mulan asked: "Is Robespierre truly incorruptible? Who knows when this man, wielding the power of life and death over the whole of Paris, will reveal his true nature?"

After finishing the article, FouchE reconfirmed the byline, then laughed.

The gentleman from Paris who delivered the newspaper asked with curiosity, "Why do you laugh, Special Commissioner?"

Fouché: "Take a look at the byline of this article. This is the person who once incited the Patriots alongside Frost to storm the Bastille, and he’s known Frost for a long time at the Jacobin Club.

"This indicates that the once solid Jacobin Club has begun to fracture."

The visitor from Paris immediately showed a knowing smile: "Are you saying that your chance has arrived?"

Fouché: "If General Frost is a wise man, he will understand that in this situation, someone like me can be trusted more than those who come together because of the same ideal.

"Because my actions are based on my judgment and interest in the future situation, I am predictable and controllable. I won’t become enemies over differences in approach or understanding."

The visitor from Paris nodded in understanding, then asked: "So, are you planning to return to Paris?"

"No, not yet. It’s best to go back after Frost’s wedding. If I go now and get involved in something, that would be more loss than gain."

The visitor from Paris then asked: "Then, Mr. Fouché, what do you think of this steam revolution that Frost mentioned?"

Fouché: "Talleyrand should be more familiar with it; he is in the UK right now. Ever since the British began using steam engines on a large scale for coal mining and driving spinning machines, their economic competitiveness has increased significantly.

"Unlike us who are in dire poverty, the British government is awash with wealth. It’s not just from the blood of the colonies; the steam engine played a huge role in it.

"So don’t ask me what I think about Frost’s imagination of a steam revolution; you should ask me what I think about the UK, and my answer is that Frost is doing right by it. Look at the UK to recognize the trend of the future.

"I really admire Frost’s vision and foresight."

Fouché, as if forgetting that Frost couldn’t hear him at this moment, spoke with full and abundant emotion.

**

The great debate unfolding in the streets and alleys of Paris had an additional effect: Andy’s newly opened bank was overflowing with people. This bank now had "double insurance": one was Frost’s enormous prestige, the other was the five hundred ounces of gold that Balas had just given.

Anning also specially organized a big event, where the troops escorted a wagon filled with gold bars through most of Paris, depositing the gold bars into the vault of the bank.

The dazzling gold blinded many people’s eyes, and the publicity effect was maximized.

Of course, storing all the gold in the vault made Anning a little worried; after all, he had also read John Khan’s "Hardcore Fierce People" series, and he knew how outrageous thieves could be.

So Anning arranged for soldiers to take turns guarding the vault, and every time they changed guard, they had to recount the quantity of gold bars.

The strict rules and regulations quickly spread through word of mouth by the soldiers guarding the gold, which, in turn, further reinforced the Parisians’ desire to deposit money.

When the bank first opened, there were not nearly as many people coming to deposit gold. At that time, Anning had arranged for dozens of shills, but in the end, only one real depositor deposited their gold.

At that time, all the shills wanted to applaud together.

And now, the entrance to Anning’s bank was as busy as a marketplace, with queues just for depositing gold.

When gold and silver began to gather steadily in Anning’s hands, he decided to move to the next step.

He planned to issue a new kind of paper money, to replace the banknotes.