I Am Louis XIV

Viscount Turenne's birthday was in September, but he held a grand banquet at the end of October and invited people from North Holland to attend, which indeed caused quite a stir.

In the Netherlands, Viscount Turenne is even more powerful than William III, the last heir of the Orange family, because the Dutch and people elsewhere feel that William III lacks the courage that a man should have and is completely in the hands of the British. Puppet, but to be fair, William III was not the kind of cowardly, cowardly person who was afraid of death, otherwise he would not have gone to London alone to claim the money owed by Charles II to the Orange family.

If I must say it, William III just committed a common problem among young people, which is recklessness, rashness, and trusting others too much.

Later, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a long time, during which he was cut off from his supporters. As a result, his supporters either dispersed or switched to supporting others. His becoming Duke of Utrecht caused another incident. This aroused the disgust of many fierce-tempered people, who believed that William III colluded with Charles II to sell the Netherlands to England and France.

Even if he raised the banner of the Orange family this time, some people still thought that he was serving as a pawn for Charles II rather than inheriting the legacy of his father and brother.

As a result, a strange statement emerged. In the Netherlands, Viscount Turenne was actually more convincing than William III. He was a descendant of the Orange family, but he was also a minister of King Louis XIV of France. Loyalty is also a rare virtue.

But here we still have to say, don’t think that North Holland will be calm. In addition to Charles II’s conspiracy, it also involves the dissatisfaction of Dutch businessmen and parliamentarians with the French.

As we all know, Louis XIV was very tolerant to his people and would not raise taxes even if he went to war. This favor even extended to his newly conquered territories. But the policy towards merchants can even be said to be extremely harsh. Merchants really loved and feared this king - the various new products developed by Louis XIV's craftsmen and scholars certainly made them rich. , and even became the building blocks for them to knock on the doors of other palaces and nobles. But when the Sun King formulated the laws for merchants, he was also strict and meticulous, leaving almost no gaps. The sentencing was extremely harsh, and he was often beheaded or hanged.

If these merchants could barely endure it, then what they found unacceptable was the various privileges that Louis XIV had withdrawn. Different from another continent, in Europe, because kings must borrow money from merchants when fighting wars (sometimes just for squandering), and nobles follow the example, so although merchants have a humble status, they often have various special powers—— They were given to them by kings and lords to repay their debts.

Remember the tax collector who has disappeared in France? ,

To give a simple example, the merchants bought Orleans' taxes for thirty years from the king, but the king's officials did not collect them for them, but they sent people or collected them themselves. When they signed the contract with the king, Orleans' annual tax was only equivalent to 50,000 livres. When they went to collect taxes, the tax would suddenly increase to 500,000 livres. The price difference of 450,000 livres went directly into the merchant's pocket, and the king had no way of commenting.

What is ridiculous is that when the people were unable to make a living due to heavy taxes and even started riots, they still identified the king as the culprit.

Although it’s true to say that…

France's tax farming system was banned immediately after Louis took office, and then there were various others. As long as there were privileges related to people's livelihood and state affairs, His Majesty the King would take them back no matter what. To this end, he also sacrificed a lot of personal interests—— But he thinks it's worth it.

Therefore, when His Majesty the King begins to rule North Holland, his policies will inevitably make Dutch businessmen feel uncomfortable and dissatisfied.

"The Netherlands is a country of merchants."

Where this sentence comes from is now impossible to verify, but no one will deny that this sentence is true. When the Netherlands was still under Spanish rule, whether Spain wanted to garrison troops, divide regions, or set up governors, the Dutch accepted it without any objection. But when the Spaniards wanted to impose taxes they considered "excessive," they kicked you out.

They founded the country in 1588 not because of any ambitions, but just so that the merchants could continue to do their business safely and smoothly. But we all know that no matter when and where, letting a group of profit-seeking businessmen govern the country will not make the country prosperous and stable. When they were at war with the British, they did not stop doing business with the British. , when fighting with the French, they did not stop doing business with the French. With such a government and officials, even if there are ten or a hundred Leuts, it will be of no avail.

These people may have thought that under the rule of the King of France, they could still amass wealth as much as they had before, by any means or by any means. After all, every king was like this, but Louis XIV was a majesty who knew businessmen extremely well. How unscrupulous these people can be - for businessmen, the value of anything can be calculated in terms of money, love, family affection, honor, faith, dignity and even life... They always present themselves as confident knights, As if he didn't take anything seriously - this is normal. How ordinary people view a chair or a cup is how they view others.

For nearly a thousand years, the people of Judah who are good at doing business have been discriminated against and expelled, and it is not without reason.

With such a lesson in mind, the first reward Louis XIV asked Vicomte Turenne to bring to North Holland was a copy of the "French Commercial Code" that had been supplemented and refined several times.

This business law is like a shackle around the neck of a businessman.

Even thoughtless animals will feel uncomfortable and want to break free when they are shackled, let alone humans. The people of North Holland have now slowly recovered from the pain of losing their country. After all, they did not establish a country. But a hundred years later, Louis XIV was not a cruel king.

It is the former "nobles" who feel increasingly unbearable. In the Netherlands today, there is no parliament, no chamber of commerce, and no guilds. All the power they once had is in the hands of Viscount Turenne, and profits are The reduction is inevitable, and what is even more irritating is that these considerable flows have become funds used by Viscount Turenne to strengthen the army and ships. Although merchants can sell the ropes to hang themselves when necessary, But isn’t that because they didn’t get the money?

When receiving the invitation from Viscount Turenne, some people with ulterior motives did think of finding excuses not to go to the banquet - Charles II had only done such a unique trick, and they were really worried that Louis XIV would follow suit, but soon Obviously, this is not something they can decide whether they want to or not.

The only thing that made them feel at ease was that many representatives of poor people were invited to this party.

In their mouths and perceptions, Louis XIV has always been a hypocritical person. With these people around, the French may... not be so shameless...

————

"Idealist." Viscount Turenne commented, and then when he didn't get a reply, he remembered that Villar was already at sea.

Today, those people who are incompatible with those luxuriously dressed and jeweled guests, although they are also invited, are completely contrary to the people around them. These good people with radical ideas have already possessed the initial, crude national consciousness, just like before. General Leut, who already regarded the Netherlands as a country and an ideal worth sacrificing, and with this idea in mind, they had the honor to become as little annoyance to the Viscount Turenne as those merchants.

Despicableness and nobleness are sometimes not good ways to identify friends and foes.

At this time, De Boer, an "idealist" and a "nationalist", and the businessman Schon were standing in the foyer, admiring the only decorations in the foyer with others.

French commercial law protected by a glass box.

Although the binding of this commercial law is exquisite, it is not worthy of people looking at it for so long. However, as soon as Viscount Turenne arrived in Amsterdam, he enshrined this classic in the foyer where everyone can see it, which is really meaningful-except for the Netherlands. In addition to the businessman's intimidation, it may also be because the book contains a gift message and signature written by His Majesty the King himself, because Viscount Turenne originally did not want to live in the Royal Palace of the Netherlands. It was Louis XIV who specifically requested that he do so. Do.

The most important thing is that although this palace is regarded as a palace because Louis XIV stayed here, it was originally only the city hall and court of the Netherlands. Only Viscount Turenne dared to accept the king's kindness.

"What do you think the governor-general meant by hosting this banquet?" DeBoer heard someone ask not far away.

"If you just want money," his friend replied. "Then it's nothing."

"It also depends on whether he is seeking wealth for the king or himself."

"Hopefully it's the latter."

"Hopefully it's the latter."

Hearing such echoes from the people around him, De Boer couldn't help feeling disgusted. He walked straight to another secluded corner and didn't enter the hall until someone invited him.

The Dutch Royal Palace is also known as the Dam Palace. As the name suggests, it stands on a dam. It does not even have a foundation, or what people usually think of as a foundation, but is supported by more than 13,000 wooden piles. . Such a building is a miracle, and the Dutch regard it as a matter of pride. However, they did not expect that it would transform from a city hall into a palace within fifty years of its completion.

De Boer's surname means "farmer". According to tradition, he should have been a farmer. However, after the main economic pillar of the Netherlands changed from agriculture to commerce, De Boer also became a sailor, and then moved to Reuil. He became a soldier under General Leut. Whether it was unfortunate or lucky, he did not die in the sea during General Leut's last battle. Therefore, he believed that it was God who gave him a new mission.

Just drive the French out of the Netherlands!

In the past few years, his career was relatively smooth. With his hatred for the French and the king, many opponents joined his camp. There were also many supporters in the countryside, cities and ports, but As time goes by, there are fewer and fewer people in his team. Apart from Viscount Turenne's "combing" as meticulous and frequent as a grate, the French rule is not as harsh as the people imagine - people, He has always been the most docile. As long as you give him a chance to survive, he will not easily have the idea of ​​rebellion.

When the number of people who voluntarily left exceeded the number of people who were captured and executed, DeBoer had to admit that he had failed.

But a failure did not dishearten De Boer, and new funders appeared, but what they asked De Boer to do, and faced with De Boer's tone and posture, De Boer could not help but feel disappointed. Thinking of the people he met in the army and the Chamber of Commerce - those people were simply more hateful than the French!

The businessman Schön noticed DeBoer, and DeBoer probably did not know that his working capital also contained a pound of silver belonging to Schön. Schon is different from De Boer. As a Judah - of course, he will not admit it in front of others. His father is a Protestant and his mother is a Judah. ​​According to Judah law, he should be a Judah, but he Knowing that the Jews did not have a good reputation in Europe, they always regarded themselves as Protestants.

Anyway, change your faith if necessary.

Schön was a pure businessman and an elder of the Amsterdam shoemaking guild. Although the Amsterdam shoemaking industry is not the most developed, as long as it is a guild, it is destined to make a fortune. As an elder, he already owns three workshops, two stores, and a boat. Before the war started, he was expecting to make a fortune. Becoming the guild president means that his family can take a step further.

Of course, we all know what happened next. Louis XIV has always hated guilds. In addition to the fact that guilds were so greedy that they even wanted to interfere with the king's industry, it also greatly affected the progress of industry and commerce - for example, Schön's shoemaking industry had no guilds. With permission, craftsmen are not allowed to modify materials, styles, dyes, etc., nor can they easily accept orders from other places or accept other suppliers, nor can they set their own prices and find buyers.

The guild may have ensured the safety and interests of craftsmen in the beginning, but over the centuries, various stereotypes and customs, almost all set up for profit, have turned this huge system into a lifeless one. In prison, smart people, hard-working people, or simple people not only cannot benefit from it, but will suffer and be punished. However, those villains who know how to flatter, bribe and frame have a shortcut to heaven.

What's more, these guilds have developed to this day and have their own laws, their own troops, and their own officials. In the two Fronde riots, the guilds played an important role in helping the evil, and Louis XIV has never forgotten it.

There were no guilds in France, and certainly not in Holland.