I Am Louis XIV

The visitor was of course the Duke of Vendôme. He was invited by the king to complete the next tour with the king. Regarding his failure to convince the Duke of Saint-Simon, this former enemy and colleague, Louis XIV was not too optimistic. Care - speaking from the bottom of his heart, he hopes that the Duke of Saint-Simon will not change his original mind. After all, one of the countless hands that pushed Louis XIII to his death was the Duke of Saint-Simon. Of course, Louis XIII also made mistakes (standing on the subject (from his standpoint), but it would be absurd to say that Louis XIV was less concerned about the death of his father and king.

There is a reason why the Duke of Saint-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 controls the connections and troops, and is not subject to the king's bewitchment and temptation. 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 secret power, he has already discovered that France's current prosperity and tranquility are just a flash in the pan - neither Britain nor the Holy Roman Empire can look at it France continues to grow bigger, no, it should be said, they don't even allow France to retain its current glory.

War is inevitable, so Louis XIV must pacify France before the war begins to ensure that there will be no accidents when he fights abroad.

Unlike the Duke of Vendôme, the Duke of Saint-Simon is not a Bourbon. He doesn't even look like a Frenchman. He doesn't care whether there will be an English master. He doesn't mind watching France fall apart so that he can be honest. We must use all our strength instead of lingering on a small territory. He contacted a lot of people who were smart enough to see that Louis XIV was paralyzing and consuming them.

"Of course," said the Duke of Saint-Simon to his co-conspirators in his mansion, "if we are willing to leave the territory, gentlemen, the king will certainly arrange for us a prominent position and a considerable income, we can We can enjoy ourselves all night long, and we can also spend the whole day comfortably on the bed. But the problem is that these are different from our territories. These are given to us by the king. He can give them to us and take them away anytime and anywhere. Give it to another person, but our territory is different, and that cannot be taken away by the king.”

"But our territory really doesn't give us much." A co-conspirator said. Everyone in the room wore a black velvet mask, but this was just a cover-up. After all, they were all acquaintances. The speaker's territory It's just a deserted swamp, salt marsh and forest, which doesn't provide much revenue. Even if he increases taxes again and again, it can't be done. And since the king's traveling troupes are flying in all directions like dandelion seeds, he wants to be charged with raising taxes. It was no longer possible to put the blame on the king.

In this era, civilians have very little entertainment. If a mobile theater troupe comes, they will not give up their time and some small money, and the actors in the troupe will definitely tell a new story about Paris or Versailles before performing. Let people know what kind of decisions and plans the king thousands of miles away made. Just like in the past, one day the lord designated a sun tax or a rain tax as he pleased, but said it was the king's order. .

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

And the Jesuit priests have also become the king's mouthpieces. While they assist the king in opening schools, they are not shy about telling people what they want to know. This makes many nobles feel sad, because the feudal system of Europe is destined that the people in the lord's territory should be ruled by them. In other words, the so-called vassals of my vassals are not my vassals - in other words, the vassals of my subjects are not my vassals. The subjects are not my subjects. Now Louis XIV has taken over the place of the princes and ruled the people of France. While the people worship and respect the king, of course they will not continue to support the master who is always exploitative and excessive.

"So we have to negotiate with the king," said another, "if he still wants our support in future wars."

"I don't think Louis XIV necessarily needs our support," said someone before: "He already has a large enough standing army."

"Alas, you misunderstood me," the man said shamelessly: "Our Majesty may not have any enemies in France, but he has many enemies outside France..."

"Are you suggesting we commit treason?" said a third.

"I want to negotiate," said the gentleman. "I think we should ask the king to convene the Estates-General." He said, looking at the Duke of Saint-Simon.

The Estates-General first appeared in France in the twelfth century. After the royal power was strengthened, like Louis XIV now, the French king not only hoped that his will could be heard from the top to the bottom, but also hoped that the voices at the bottom could be heard. Not to care for the people, but to ensure that his authority base is not shaken. Therefore, at the beginning, the three-level meeting 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 common people, "listen to "Their opinions.

However, the common people soon discovered that the so-called Estates-General was just mocking, deceiving and perfunctory them. For example, if the king wanted to go to war and was therefore prepared to triple the poll tax, he would summon the representatives in a seemingly fair and impartial manner. A meeting of the three estates was held, but it was impossible for the poor people to be on an equal footing with the nobles and priests. The three levels of the meeting of the three estates basically discussed their own affairs, and then submitted their ideas to the king. The problem is that generally speaking, the church and the nobility do not pay taxes. The only people who need to pay taxes are the common people. Therefore, the petition of the common people is often a piece of waste paper. There are even cases where the king agrees to lower the level of common people at the meeting of the three estates. The request for a poll tax turned out to be nothing.

Since Louis XIV took office, this kind of three-level meeting, which is called democracy but is actually exploitative, has not been convened again. Louis XIV does not need it, and ordinary people do not need it. Communication from top to bottom is what the king has been trying to do from the beginning. This is the reason for the panic of the nobles - if this continues, an illiterate peasant can shout that I am a Frenchman and a subject of the King of France. Their authority It will only exist in name only. At that time, even if they stay in the territory, they may not continue to protect the current glory.

This gentleman asked to convene the Estates-General again, and everyone present knew his thoughts, because originally the Estates-General was only established by the king to pursue financial aid.

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 meeting of the three estates to seek help. However, at this time, the nobles and clergy took the opportunity to attack, and they approved the financing. In order to redeem the funds, the king put forward very stringent requirements - the conditions are as follows:

1. Allow representatives of the Estates-General to attend the King's Royal Council.

2. Reorganize administrative management and remove unpopular officials.

3. The Estates-General has the right to meet once every three months without the approval of the king.

4. Delegates at the meeting shall be inviolable.

This clause undoubtedly directly infringed on the interests of the king. After John II came back, he no longer recognized most of the contents of the clause. In 1439, due to foreign wars, the king seized the power to levy new taxes without going through the Estates-General. , the Estates-General existed in name only. By the time of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, the Estates-General could only have a place in records and books.

"But Louis XIV is not captured by the British now," a gentleman said jokingly, "In fact, he still has 50,000 Guards who are following him."

"Of course we would not be foolish enough to go to war with the king and his army," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "but does the king have a bodyguard, and do his censors, judges, and those so-called lackeys have an army? No, they don't, And we, every gentleman here has a knight and his own court, and we have the right to defend our home from anyone..." He paused: "Besides, fate is unpredictable, and no one knows God. When will the punishment come, especially for those low-level people?"

The people in the room couldn't help but whisper among themselves. Duke St. Simon's meaning was very clear. They might not target the king directly, but they would cause some small troubles to force the king to compromise, such as the king's garrison camp, the king's marching road, The king's armaments storehouse, the low-level officials he promoted - the king couldn't even blame them for these losses, because they had never been able to interfere in these matters.

"But the king will definitely be very angry." The man who had been standing by the window without speaking suddenly interrupted.

"Anyway, the result is the same," said the first person to speak: "Anyway, we are all people who cannot enter the Palace of Versailles. In order to accumulate power and wealth, the king will one day devour us, but if our The will is strong enough that as long as the king has enemies outside France, he will have to appease us so that we can leave something to our descendants."

"You said that none of us are qualified to enter the Palace of Versailles," the person standing by the window asked: "Then how can we ensure that no one will be tempted by the king and defeat each other?"

"This is why I have called you together," said the Duke of Saint-Simon: "Don't worry, we still have many companions, in every province and city in France, just like the stars, we only need a unified alliance , organized action, instead of mindlessly fighting around and doing some futile things - everyone," he raised his voice slightly, "all we have to do now is wait and prepare, obey orders, as long as the sacred As soon as the Roman Empire’s troops appear on the border, we must take action immediately, but be careful not to leave any clues, do not have any contact with foreigners, and do not give the king the opportunity to execute you for treason!”

"We only speak to the King of France!" one gentleman said, thinking he was being witty, but only received a few dry, wry smiles.

"This gentleman is right," said the Duke of Saint-Simon: "We speak only to the King of France, reconvene the Estates-General 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 British MPs and might directly oust 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. When the amber liquid and mellow and strong aroma attracted people's admiration, the people leaning against the window were surprised. I couldn't help but sigh - after twenty years of operation, Louis XIV, just like his name, the Sun King, spread his light to every corner of the world, and no one could escape his influence, even if the Duke of Saint-Simon had decided to marry him. The king divided, but he took out the 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. Just the noble rot wine of Bordeaux Sauternes. The noble rot wine first appeared in Hungary, only a few years ago. Thirty years later, Louis XIV had only tasted the fine wine offered by the merchants. His first reaction was not to ask the merchants to send more such wine, but to send spies to find out how to make this delicious drink and how to make it. Winery owners tried to make this kind of good wine - needless to say later, the Bordeaux Sauternes region successfully copied this mellow sweet wine ten years ago and successfully became another money bag for the king.

This kind of thing happens in more than one place, so the people of France will not join the team against the French King Louis XIV. The French poll tax has not changed since Louis XIV came to power, and because Louis XIV strongly advocated In industry and commerce, ordinary farmers can make money as long as they do part-time work in their spare time. The mere head tax is not difficult for them at all. In addition to feeding themselves, their wives, children and children, they can also enjoy coffee, tobacco, a little wine or Ale, they thanked God more than once for giving them such a good king... It is not easy to incite the people. Therefore, even if Duke Saint Simon's plan is fundamentally bad, it is their only way out.

He drank down the noble rot wine in his glass with worry, said goodbye to the Duke, and walked out of this hidden mansion alone - perhaps because everyone had their own thoughts and no one acted with him - almost everyone else did the same. In this way, he got on the carriage without raising his head, pulled up the curtain, and thought hard in the darkness, wondering whether he should take the last step.

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

The dark blue skylight outside the car curtain covered the desolate wilderness like water, and two muskets were pointed at him unabashedly.