I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 413 Joseph the Carpenter (middle)

Because he was still a helper, a large part of Joseph's income had to be given to his craftsman, and he had to raise three children and a wife. In difficult times, there are not many opportunities to generously come up with a large Aiju to have a happy meal. It is not the first time that he and this elder, the elder Guy, have met. They have the same philosophy in some places. , a rather dangerous idea, what is a plate of pork sausage when the worst outcome is expulsion or even worse?

Joseph barely refused, he dragged the plate and ate it in big gulps. It was like grinding and oiling work, but it was the most laborious and most painful. Polishing required strength, or the kind of strength that required concentration and control. Needless to say, oil, whether it is primer or paint, will cause great damage to the eyes - in this era, occupational diseases are very common, and it is common to see a person and know what he is doing. .

   Joseph's eyes were often bulging, red and trembling, all due to the poisoning of paint.

He knew it was because the good clergyman and the witch doctors—they called the women in the army in awe and feared them, and some, like his craftsman and Barrow, even wanted to take them To be dragged out and burned to death, so as not to bring disaster, of course, this is impossible, and no one can rush into His Majesty's army camp.

While chewing the sausages, Joseph considered whether he should buy a pair of glasses that can block poisonous gas as suggested by the priest and the witch doctor, but it would take at least ten Acupuncture, and he couldn't get it for the time being. But if his work does get the king's approval and approval, as he and his wife promised, they can at least open a textile workshop of their own, without the constraints of craftsmen and guilds... a pair of glasses is nothing. Yes, but then does he still need glasses, he can also become a craftsman.

Guy is much older than Joseph. At nearly fifty years old, he has already climbed to the peak that an ordinary craftsman can climb, that is, the position of the guild elder. It is impossible to become the leader of the guild. , after all, this position has been passed down by the Du Bo family for almost two hundred years. But once he gets older, especially when he is in his position, he can also see some things that young people and the helpers and apprentices at the bottom can't see.

  The guild is like a person, once immature, young, strong, and now has entered the age of old age, beginning to rot and stink.

The earliest guilds were actually founded by merchants. In order to unite against the exploitation and extortion of nobles, the most prosperous time was in Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries. At that time, Italy was full of free cities, and city councils were run by merchants. Control, guilds even have their own armies or mercenaries, and battles between cities are not uncommon. Later, from the commercial guilds, the industrial guilds established by the handicraftsmen after the next were better than the blue - ironically, this is also the war of the oppressed against the oppressor.

  The merchants, after obtaining their rights from the nobles and kings, turned around and inflicted the hardships they had suffered on the handicraftsmen.

At that time, craftsmen had to buy more and more expensive raw materials from merchants, and then sell them to another merchant at a lower and lower price. Because of the control and suppression of commercial guilds, all prices were fixed, and the quality The same goes for the weight. The craftsmen find that their craftsmanship and time are becoming more and more worthless. In the worst case, the wages of the workers can only support themselves, and they cannot even fill the stomachs of their wives and children.

   Along with oppression, there is always resistance, and handicraft guilds came into being. Take Paris as an example. Two hundred years ago, there were only 100 handicraft guilds, but now there are 350 guilds. To say it will be alright? There is no doubt that at the beginning, it brought hope to the craftsmen. The handicraftsmen who held hands and made a sound together became the biggest enemy of the commercial guild. After a fight, the craftsmen finally had a relationship with The equal power of merchants—their raw materials are negotiated by the guilds with the merchants and purchased at a reasonable price to ensure the quality and quantity; similarly, the commodities that the merchants need are also negotiated by the leaders of the various guilds, the price is negotiated, and then Allocated to the underground workshops; the guild leaders of the craftsmen must also be eligible to participate in the election of members, the guild is allowed to have a certain amount of force, etc. Of course, the guild must also ensure the quality and delivery of the goods. Delivery time, this need not be mentioned more.

In addition to the above, the members of the guild can also receive a lot of care. For example, according to the rules of the guild, craftsmen should be like brothers and sisters, and unfair competition and false accusations are prohibited. If a guild member is sick Now, depending on the situation, the guild will pay for his household for about three months. If he dies, his wife will be the "sister" of the other guild members. They will not only bury him, but also support his children. , and even if a guild member is going on a pilgrimage, there will be two accompanying people, going together and returning together.

In the absence of complete and healthy legal rules and enforcers, the guild did play an unquestionable role, and it is not surprising that it can quickly grow into a behemoth, but Guy must say that after anything becomes valuable , as fermented lees attracts flies, so too do power-seeking or dictatorial actions grow rapidly in the dark—especially guild leaders from respected elders—that is, those who are either gifted, courageous, or just and stern. When people transfer to their children, it is not surprising that people are selfish.

The Dubo family, the head of the woodworking guild in the city of Orleans, is a clear example. Dubo means a person who lives by the forest in French. People with such a surname are either lumberjacks or hunters. Of course, the Dubo family is The former, they first served the lords near the Loire, and later migrated to Orleans as freemen, still doing their carpentry work.

Although he hadn't seen it before, Guy heard from his father that Du Bo, the fourth guild leader of Orleans, was indeed a good man. Although his craftsmanship was not the best, he was a devout believer and a fair member of parliament. , when he was in office, there was nothing to blame, and when he died, a city's carpenters were mourning him - so much so that his son bribed another candidate in a later election. At that time, the members of the guild didn't care too much. It didn't matter whether the leader was a person with outstanding craftsmanship. What they wanted to see was whether he could bring benefits to them.

  What they don't know is that once the door of sin is opened, it can never be closed again.

Du Bo's son should be a businessman. No one knows how to "buy and sell" better than him. He receives money from the merchant and also from the craftsman - in order to prolong the help and apprenticeship period; and even collect money from the latter two, if they don't want to bury the most profitable years in the craftsman's workshop. In addition, apprentices are promoted to helpers, and helpers are promoted to craftsmen.

   He also collects money from foreign carpenters, otherwise they can't have a foothold in Orleans, because carpenters who are not in the guild are not allowed to have a foothold in the guild.

Not only that, he not only controlled the buying and selling of raw materials and finished products, to this day, his descendants are still controlling the development and application of new technologies, new machinery and even new tools, to put it simply, even with better tools and skills. , as long as Dubo doesn't allow it, all the wood workshops in Orleans can't be used. If the carpenters designed and built a new spinning wheel like Joseph's, without Dubo's permission, not only would they not be able to sell it, but they would not even be able to make and experiment...

   That's why Joseph kept his new spinning wheel surreptitiously at home instead of keeping it openly in the workshop.

  Although the king's edict is still hanging on the public rack in front of the city gate.

   "How are you doing 'Top'?" Elder Guy asked.

Joseph had emptied his plate, and he cautiously took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth: "I've made twelve 'tops. Sir, you can spin very fast with one stroke.'" He rolled his eyes and looked around, It's past the good time to eat, and there aren't many people around them: "But always make a noise when 'playing', my neighbor is Barrow, you know, a mean little guy."

   "I already knew from my nephew that His Majesty will arrive at Orleans within a week at the earliest, and then I will take you to meet His Majesty."

   "I don't know what to say," said Joseph. "I swear to St. Joseph that whatever the king has given me, I will give it to you as a gift."

   "If your work can win the king's favor," Guy glanced at him: "I'll get what I deserve, so don't worry, I'm not a greedy person like Dubo."

"When...of course, I...I'm just, Mr. Guy..." Joseph blushed and stammered, but Guy just waved his hand: "I can't go to the gray-and-white apartment too often, But I still have to take a look before I ask for an interview."

   "That thing is huge, sir."

   "Then I'll buy a piece of furniture from you. Is the wardrobe okay? You can transport it to my warehouse by the river."

"...Okay." Joseph hesitated for a moment. He didn't dare to reveal the new spinning wheel for many reasons, the most likely of which was that it would be taken by the craftsman or the guild leader as his own - this kind of thing is very common , and also in order to avoid follow-up troubles, the latter is very likely to come to a hundred, so many carpenters and apprentices in Orleans, it is strange that there are one or two less.

Joseph dared to take the risk, first because the king gave too much, a handsome bounty, a workshop (including deeds and production equipment), and, if he wanted, to Paris and Versailles— Joseph's talent is outstanding, why he has not yet become a craftsman, because the guild now requires that a craftsman must have a workshop and tools, and a deposit is required. Once his spinning wheel is approved by the king, he will have it all; Second, it is because Elder Guy is a rare good person. Although he is strict and harsh, he strictly implements the system of apprenticeship for up to three years and assistant for up to two years in his workshop. With the money from the craftsman, he will also give a loan. He has been a craftsman for 30 years and has already provided seven craftsmen to the guild.

This is also the reason why Du Bo keeps slandering. The longer the apprentices and helpers spend in the workshop, the more benefits the guild will get and the less obligations they have to pay. After all, only the craftsmen are the official members of the guild. Therefore, although Elder Guy has made some progress in hollowing and splicing recently, he has not been able to obtain the guild's permission, so he cannot use it on furniture and picture frames, nor can it be sold to customers.

Elder Guy also slowly turned from protesting and accusing to silence, but his silence was not because of giving up - he was just looking for an opportunity to pull the Dubo family down from the position of the guild leader, but to do this It is not easy. Several generations of Dubo people have built a dense and heavy net. In Orleans, no one can resist them, and even the leaders of other guilds will be related to interests or because of reasons of grief. to suppress them.

   But if it's possible for them to come before the king...

   "Then that's it, on Thursday, I'll send those tops and wardrobes to your warehouse," Joseph said.

   Then he got up and left quickly, Elder Guy drank a glass of ale slowly before leaving the tavern.

  ———

What neither Joseph nor Guy knew was that during their meeting in the tavern, Joseph's neighbor Barrow ran out of the room like a wiggly-nosed, whiskered mouse into the dim corridor, where he He listened to Joseph's room door for a while, but he couldn't hear what was going on inside—it was a common practice for helpers to secretly do private work in his own room. After all, the remuneration for private work was his own, but he could not hear what Joseph did That kind of thing... but he guessed it was something very complicated.

   He stood outside the door and thought for a while, but the sound inside was always very regular, bang bang bang, squeak! Pong pong pong, squeak! Pong pong pong, squeak... His heart is like a hundred cats are scratching, what the **** is this thing?

Finally, he didn't care about the greasy and dirty hallway, and leaned down to look at the crack of the door, but he smelled the smell of fresh wood. The crack of the door was also blocked by the newly nailed wooden strips. He was almost certain that there must be something inside. big guy! Somehow, a large piece of furniture custom-made by a customer, otherwise Joseph wouldn't have to cover this gap - it's okay to help a worker do a little work in private, but if it's a big deal, the craftsman can kick him out of his workshop!

   late late late...

   (end of this chapter)