I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 383 The King's Parade (6)

The person who came was of course the Duke of Vendôme. He was invited by the king to come and complete the next parade with the king. For his failure to convince the Duke of Saint-Simon, this former enemy and colleague, Louis XIV was not too concerned. He cares—he said from the bottom of his heart, he hoped that the Duke of Saint-Simon would not change his original mind. After all, among the countless hands that pushed Louis XIII to a dead end, the Duke of Saint-Simon had a pair, although Louis XIII was also at fault (standing in the courtier's stance), but it would be absurd to say that Louis XIV was less obsessed with the deaths of his father and king.

There is a reason why the Duke of St. Simon is so arrogant and stubborn. Like many nobles who are unwilling to submit to the king, he thinks that in his own territory, he has a network of contacts and an army, and is not bewitched and seduced by the king, even if he cannot be on an equal footing with the king, Being able to negotiate with the king, especially someone like the Duke of Saint-Simon, who has a hidden power, he has already found out that France's current wealth and tranquility are just a flash in the pan - neither the United Kingdom nor the Holy Roman Empire can look at France. Continue to be bigger, no, it should be said, they will not even allow France to retain its present glory.

  War is inevitable, so Louis XIV must appease France before the war to ensure that there will be no accidents when he is fighting outside.

Unlike the Duke of Vendôme, the Duke of Saint-Simon is not a Bourbon, he doesn't even look like a Frenchman, doesn't care if there is an English master, he doesn't mind watching France torn apart so that he can be fair Instead of continuing to linger on the small territory, he took out the strength in his hand. He reached out to a lot of people who were smart enough to see that Louis XIV was numbing and draining them.

"Certainly," said the Duke of Saint-Simon in his mansion with his co-conspirators, "if we wish to leave the domain, gentlemen, the king will, of course, arrange for us a prominent position and a considerable income, and we may Enjoy all night long, and spend a whole day in comfort on the bed, but the problem is, these are different from our territories, these are given to us by the king, he can give us, and he can take it anytime, anywhere, Give it to another man, but our territory is different, and that cannot be taken away by the king."

"But our territory really doesn't give us much," said an accomplice. Everyone in the room was wearing a black velvet mask, but this was just to hide it. After all, they were all acquaintances, the territory of the speaker. It's just a deserted swamp, saline soil, and woods that don't provide much income, even if he keeps increasing the tax, and since the king's touring troupe is flying in all directions like dandelion seeds, he wants to charge the tax increase. It is impossible to put the blame on the king.

In this era, there is very little entertainment for the common people. If they come to a mobile troupe, they will not be willing to give up time and some small money, and the actors of the troupe will definitely tell a new story about Paris or Versailles before the performance, okay Let people know what kind of decisions and plans the king who is thousands of miles away has made. As in the past, one day the lord arbitrarily appointed a sun tax or rainwater tax, but it is no longer the king's order. .

And in addition to this, the primary education popularized by the king's clergy also taught a large number of students who could at least read simple words. They may still be farmers or craftsmen, but they will go to the taverns and cafes of the town to see newspapers, and then retell the contents of the newspapers to the people in the village.

   And the Jesuit priests, who had become the king's mouthpiece, helped the king open schools, and were not shy about telling people what they wanted to know. This made many nobles feel sad, because the feudal system of Europa destined the people in the lord's territory to belong to their rule, that is, the so-called vassals of my vassals are not my vassals - in other words, the subjects of my subjects It is not my subject, but now Louis XIV has taken the place of the prince and ruled over the people of France. While the people worship and admire the king, of course they will not continue to support the lord who is always exploiting him.

   "So we're going to negotiate with the king," said another, "if he still wants our support in the next war."

   "I don't think Louis XIV needs our support," said the former: "He now has a sufficient standing army."

   "Oh, you misunderstood me," said the man brazenly: "Our Majesty may have no enemies in France, but he has quite a few enemies outside France..."

   "Are you suggesting that we treason?" said the third.

   "I want to negotiate," said the gentleman. "I think we should ask the king to convene a third council." He said, and looked at the Duke of St. Simon.

The three-level council first appeared in France in the twelfth century. After the kingship was strengthened, like Louis XIV today, the French king not only hoped that his will could be from top to bottom, but also hoped to hear the voice of the bottom. Not to cherish the people, but to ensure that their base of authority is not shaken. Therefore, at the beginning, the three-level council served the king. Once the king wanted to fight a war, or build a castle, palace, etc., he would convene representatives of the three levels—nobles, priests, and commoners to “listen”. their opinion.

But the commoners soon found out that the so-called three-level meeting was just mocking, deceiving and perfunctory them, for example - if the king wanted to fight, and so was going to triple the poll tax, he would call the delegates in a seemingly fair and just manner The three-level meeting, but it is impossible for the poor people to be on an equal footing with the nobles and priests. The three-level meeting basically discusses their own, and then submits their ideas to the king. The problem is, generally speaking, the church and the nobles do not pay taxes, the only people who need to pay taxes are the commoners, so the petition letter of the commoner is often a piece of waste paper, and even the king agreed at the third-level meeting to lower the commoner. The demand for the poll tax turned out to be unresolved.

Since Louis XIV came to power, this kind of three-level conference called democracy is actually exploitative has not been held again. Louis XIV does not need it, nor does the ordinary people need it. It is the king who has been working hard from the very beginning. What has been done, and what has been done, this is the reason for the fears of the nobles - go on, and an illiterate peasant can call out that I am French, and when I am a subject of the king of France, their authority is also It will only exist in name only. At that time, even if they stay on the territory, they may not continue to bless their current glory.

   This gentleman asked for a third-level meeting to be held again, and the idea he held was clear to everyone present, because it was originally only a third-level meeting established by the king in pursuit of financial assistance.

In 1357, because John II was captured by the British and needed to pay a large ransom, the then crown prince Charles had to convene a three-level meeting to seek help, but at this time, the nobles and priests took the opportunity to attack, and they approved the financing. The funds were redeemed by the king, while putting forward very strict requirements - the conditions are as follows:

  1. The representatives of the three-level council are allowed to participate in the king's imperial council.

  2. Reorganize the administration and remove unpopular officials.

  3. The third-level meeting has the right to hold a meeting every three months without the approval of the king.

  4. Conference delegates are inviolable.

This clause undoubtedly directly infringed on the interests of the king. After John II came back, he no longer recognized most of the clauses. In 1439, because of the foreign war, the king won the power to levy new taxes without a three-level meeting. , the third-level meeting is only in name only, until Louis XIII, Louis XIV period, the third-level meeting can only occupy a place in the records and books.

   "But Louis XIV is not captured by the English now," said a gentleman jokingly. "In fact, he has a guard of fifty thousand people who are moving with him."

"Of course we wouldn't be foolish enough to go to war with the king and his army," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "but the king has a bodyguard, and his ombudsman, judges, and those so-called lackeys have an army? No, they don't, And we, every gentleman here have knights and our own courts, and we have the right to defend our homeland from anyone..." He paused: "And, fate is uncertain, no one knows what God's When will the punishment come, especially for those who have risen to the top."

The people in the room couldn't help but whisper to each other. The Duke of St. Simon's meaning is very clear. They may not directly target the king, but they will make some small troubles that make the king have to compromise, such as the king's garrison camp, the king's marching road, The king's depot, the low-ranking officials whom the king has promoted - the king can't even blame them for these losses, because there is never any chance of their involvement in these matters.

   "But the king will be very angry." The man who had been standing by the window and did not speak suddenly interjected.

"Anyway, the result is the same," said the first speaker. "We are all people who can't go into Versailles anyway, and the king will devour us one day in order to gather power and wealth, but if our Willed enough, as long as the king has enemies outside of France, he will have to appease us, and we can leave something for our posterity."

   "You said that none of us are qualified to walk into the Palace of Versailles," the man standing by the window asked, "Then how can we ensure that no one will be lured by the king to defeat them individually?"

"That's why I have called you together," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "don't worry, we have many companions, and every French province and city has them, like stars on the table, we only need a unified alliance , organized action, not headless scrambling left and right, doing something in vain—people," he raised his voice slightly, "all we have to do now is wait and prepare, obey orders, as long as Holy Rome As soon as the imperial army appears on the border, we will act immediately, but be careful, don't leave any clues, don't have any connection with foreigners, and don't let the king have the opportunity to execute you for treason!"

   "We only speak to the king of France!" said one gentleman, self-righteously, but only for a few dry, wry smiles.

   "This gentleman is quite right," said the Duke of Saint-Simon: "We speak only to the king of France, reconvene the Council of the Third Order, and take back our power!"

   He was talking about the four points mentioned above. If Louis XIV had to compromise, then the nobles would be eligible to directly participate in political affairs like members of the British Parliament and may directly oversee the king in the near future.

After the duke finished speaking, in order to encourage the accomplices present, he also took out a bottle of Bordeaux Sauternes noble rot wine. I can't help but sigh - after 20 years of business, Louis XIV, just like his name Sun King, spread his light to every corner of the world, no one can escape his influence, even if the Duke of St. Simon has decided to cooperate with the king. Divided, but he took out wine and wine utensils - bright and bright glass wine glasses decorated with multi-faceted patterns, let's not talk about it for the time being, only the noble rot wine of Bordeaux Sauternes, noble rot wine first appeared in Hungary, no more than 30 years ago. Years, but Louis XIV only drank the wine offered by the merchants. His first reaction was not to ask the merchants to send more of this wine, but to send spies to find out how to make this delicious wine and let the wine gardens The masters tried to make this fine wine - and needless to say, the Bordeaux Sauternes region successfully replicated this mellow sweet wine ten years ago and managed to become another king's wallet.

This kind of thing does not only happen in one place. Therefore, the French people will not join the ranks of opposing King Louis XIV of France. The poll tax in France has not changed since Louis XIV came to power, and because Louis XIV vigorously advocated In industry and commerce, ordinary farmers can make money as long as they do part-time labor in their spare time. The mere poll tax is not difficult for them at all. While feeding themselves, their wives, children, and children, they can also enjoy coffee, tobacco, a little wine or Ale, they thank God more than once for having such a good king... It's not an easy thing to incite the people. Therefore, even if the Duke of St. Simon's plan was the last resort, it was their only way out.

Worryingly, he drank the noble rot from his glass, said goodbye to the duke, and walked out of the secret mansion alone--perhaps because each had his own mind, and no one was acting with him--and almost the others, too, He got on the carriage without raising his head, pulled the curtains, and thought hard in the dark, wondering if he should take the last step.

  When the carriage stopped, he was still surprised that he had returned to the hotel where he was temporarily staying so quickly. The place where they met was quite remote. Then, he seemed to remember something and suddenly pulled the curtain of the carriage.

  The dark blue sky light outside the car curtain covered the desolate field like a stream of water, and two muskets were facing him unabashedly.

   (end of this chapter)