The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 108 Europa Universalis ([-])

June 1725, 6, Palace of Versailles.

Just when the Sino-British War broke out and the situation in Europe suddenly fell into turmoil, more than 3 officials, attendants and servants in the entire Palace of Versailles were busy preparing for a grand royal wedding. "Urgent" matters are put aside for the time being.

Yes, King Louis XV of France, who is only 15 years old this year, is about to marry his queen and work hard to give birth to a new heir for this powerful country, thus transforming into a real man.

Speaking of which, Louis XV's choice of queen was extremely controversial and almost caused a war between France and Spain.Because, as early as 1721, Louis XV was engaged to Mariana Victoria, the daughter of King Philip V of Spain and his cousin.However, the 11-year-old king had little interest in his three-year-old fiancée. He felt that this "little loli" who only made noise and cried was too boring.

Coincidentally, the new Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Louis IV Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon, was also worried about the heir to the Kingdom of France.He was worried that the frail Louis XV would die without an heir at any time, and the position of king would fall to the Prince of Orleans, and he might lose the hard-earned position of prime minister.After all, Princess Mariana Victoria of Spain is still a child, and it will be a long time before she has children for the French royal family.

Moreover, the future queen's status as a Spanish princess and her cousin relationship with the king made the Duke of Bourbon feel that this marriage had too many hidden worries for himself and the royal family.The Duke of Bourbon hoped that Louis XV could marry an adult princess who could give birth immediately, and that the princess's natal family should not be too powerful and would not affect the Duke of Bourbon's own status and France's foreign policy.

For the Duke of Bourbon, it is not easy to find a suitable queen for King Louis XV. First of all, the queen must be of childbearing age, because as of now, the position of the French Crown Prince has been vacant for 10 years. Most French people are uneasy about the demise of the royal family.

Secondly, politically, the power of the queen's natal family cannot damage France's internal and external political environment. In Europe, royal marriages are often accompanied by military alliances and diplomatic bargaining, and can also affect domestic partisanship.Religiously, he must also be a Catholic, because the French king has always regarded himself as the most devout Catholic king in the world.

In the end, it is best that this queen has no blood relationship with the French royal family. The current decline of the French royal family is ultimately caused by the incest marriage between the great Sun King Louis XIV and his wife, Queen Maria Theresa.

Taking into account the above factors, the candidates in the Duke of Bourbon's heart were eliminated one by one.However, in February, there was a sudden change in the selection of the queen.

The mistress of the Duke of Bourbon proposed an unexpected candidate to the troubled prime minister: Marie Leszynska, the daughter of Stanislaw I, the abdicated king of Poland.Stanislaw I only had two daughters. The eldest daughter has passed away, and the second daughter Marie Leczenszka was 22 years old at this time and was in the best childbearing age.Both father and daughter are devout Catholics and have no blood relationship with the French royal family. The most important thing is that the abdicated king has no power in France and has very little international influence. He only has the false title of king. In other words The future queen and father-in-law were completely dependent on the French government.

After hearing this, the Duke of Bourbon immediately realized that he had found the best candidate for the queen.

So the Prime Minister decided to make a decisive decision and the matter must be done as soon as possible.First, the French government returned Louis XV's original fiancée, the Spanish Princess Maria Anna Victoria, who had been living in the French court for several years, back to her home country on the grounds that she could not give birth to a child for the royal family in time.

The Duke of Bourbon turned a deaf ear to the protests and dissatisfaction of the Spanish royal family.Then the French royal family gave a betrothal gift to Stanislaw I, who was living in seclusion in Alsace, France, and proposed to King Louis XV's daughter.

The countryless king was so shocked after receiving the betrothal gift that he could not believe that the golden egg falling from the sky - and it was a huge golden egg - would happily hit him on the head.Therefore, the French royal family's proposal was accepted immediately.

Mary Lechenszka, who was the candidate for the Queen of France, couldn't believe her ears after her father told her this situation.She and her father had been entertained by the French royal family, and had also met Louis XV. In her eyes, the young French king was a wealthy, unattainable, and untouchable top dignitary.

The betrothal gifts of the French royal family were all available, including the most luxurious clothing, jewelry, and jewelry. The Duke of Bourbon promised Stanislaw I that as long as the marriage was finalized, the woman would receive a property of 25 livres as the head of the state. You can also get an annuity of 2 livres plus an expensive real estate.The Duke of Bourbon did not want any complications, so he hoped to finalize the marriage as soon as possible.

Compared to the impatient Duke of Bourbon, Stanislaw I was actually more anxious than him and hoped that the marriage could be realized immediately to complete the marriage with the Bourbon royal family.

Compared to the titular King of Poland, who was only used by the Swedes as a puppet to rule Poland, there is nothing more important than being the father-in-law of the King of France!Well, maybe one day in the future, with the support of his son-in-law, he can return to Warsaw and get back the lost crown of the King of Poland.

As a result, this "two-love" marriage began to be organized in an extremely fast process. Starting from the French royal family's proposal in February, the preparations for the wedding were completed in just a few months, including the venue. After the selection, invitation of guests, preparation of dresses and jewelry, and the steps of the wedding ceremony, the wedding date was finally determined as September [-]th, and this royal wedding that will affect the entire Europe was officially held.

In order to demonstrate the power of the French Kingdom and set off the luxurious atmosphere of the royal family, this upcoming wedding will inevitably cost a huge amount and push the already extremely empty French finances into the endless abyss.

In the past few months, the Duke of Bourbon, apart from being busy with the preparations for the wedding, his greatest energy has been racking his brains to raise funds.He and fiscal adviser Emiliano Ortiz Duverne are constantly creating new government jobs in the hope of selling them at high prices.

What, the great Kingdom of France would do such a despicable act as betraying its lord?
In fact, in France, which is absolutely authoritarian, buying and selling official positions is nothing new.As early as the 16th century, French kings converted many positions into some form of private property for sale in order to increase their income.

After paying a special tax, the buyer can sell the position again or pass it on to descendants.Such positions are called purchasable positions, and those who purchase them can obtain many benefits, such as prestige, legal privileges, modest interest income, and the legal right to lead some public affairs.

There are a wide variety of positions available, from judicial positions, to mayorships in large cities, to sales tax collector positions.Some positions give their owners exclusive rights to sell a particular product in certain towns or regions.

Whenever France was in financial trouble, the king and his favorites would create hundreds of new jobs out of thin air, and the "secondary market" for buying and selling these jobs would become extremely active.Middlemen used political connections at court to buy new positions and then resold them at a markup.

Although, in many cases, these new positions themselves had no power, or were duplicates or decentralizers of old positions, the system brought considerable revenue to the royal family and the national treasury, and allowed middlemen to make substantial profits. French society has formed an intricate and huge interest group.

This results from the fact that the material wealth, political privileges, and social status of these office holders depend on whether these purchasable positions are allowed to continue to exist and their acquiescence in the illicit market in which these positions can be resold.

Rough statistics show that from 1688 to 1715, frequent wars caused France's expenditure to surge.During this period, nearly 700 new positions were sold with a total value of more than 8300 million livres, but only 3300 million livres entered the treasury.In order to organize the expensive wedding, the Duke of Bourbon successfully persuaded the young king Louis XV to abolish a large number of the original positions and then sell them at a higher price.Although this move brought more income to the royal family, it was also viciously cursed by "the public".

The Duke of Bourbon completely ignored the criticism from many nobles and officials. As long as he managed the wedding well, pleased the king, and increased the revenue of the treasury, even if he was scolded, it would be nothing.It doesn't hurt to be loyal to the country and bear some infamy. It won't make him lose a few taels of meat, right?
Economically, although the Duke of Bourbon continued the "reform and opening up" policy of the Prince of Orleans, he was relatively conservative and strengthened the management and control of the country.Although the French economy has developed greatly, it is very unstable. Speculation is prevalent, resulting in frequent imbalances between supply and demand. Currency depreciation has caused price increases, and the living pressure of ordinary urban residents has increased.

The Duke of Bourbon cracked down on speculation, but also discouraged private investment.He tried to pass laws to force workers' wages and basic prices of goods. Although the idea was good, the method was clumsy and completely unpopular.The Duke of Bourbon, who was born in a noble family, did not understand economics, and the result was only a blockage of the French economy.

In order to increase fiscal revenue, the Duke of Bourbon decided to implement a new tax system, not only for the third-class commoners, but he also planned to cover the first-class clergy.This move was firmly opposed by the clergy and some big nobles who had common interests with the church. The new tax system soon became a major controversy for the French government, making the ambitious Duke of Bourbon very anxious.

"Your Excellency, this is a gift from the State of Qi to Your Majesty." With a look of shock and surprise on his face, Financial Advisor Duvernet handed a gift list from the Embassy of the State of Qi to the Duke of Bourbon. "Compared to Europe, In other countries, the gifts given by the people of Qi can be regarded as generous!"

“黄金王冠和王后冠各一副、精美宝剑两柄、豪华马车三辆、印度钻石六颗、汉洲珍珠十二颗、象牙制品六十副、东方瓷器一百件、精致丝绸两百匹、顶级东方茶叶三百担，以及齐国皇室礼金……400万里弗（1里弗约为4.5克白银，即1两白银约等于8.3里弗）！”

The Duke of Bourbon's eyes widened and he looked at the list of gifts on the gift list in disbelief, especially the gift of 400 million livres, which made him speechless.

400 million livres, which would have to be obtained by selling about forty government jobs.

You know, the budget for the planned royal wedding celebration in September is about 300 million to 400 million livres, but the people of Qi suddenly received a gift of 400 million, which can not only completely cover the entire wedding budget, but also have There is a surplus, leaving some pocket money for His Majesty the King.

Not to mention, the gifts on the gift list are also valuable, estimated to be nearly one million livres.

The people of Qi are really extremely generous. Compared with the gifts that European monarchs gave them, they are simply incomparable!

"Did the Minister of Qi say something?" Duke Bourbon calmed down a little, put the gift list on the table, and then asked softly.

"In addition to expressing the most sincere blessings to His Majesty on behalf of their emperor, the Minister of Qi did not talk about other matters?"

"Did they mention that special taxes were levied on Qi's goods?"

"No."

"Then do they speak of war with England?"

"No." Duvernet shook his head and said, "They seem to be very satisfied with our Kingdom of France maintaining its current policy of neutrality in this war, and have no other extravagances."

"Haha..." Duke Bourbon laughed, "Compared to the calmness of the people in Qi, the people in England are full of fear and anxiety. In the past few months, the Earl of Philin from England has tried every means to meet the king. Your Majesty, they just hope to persuade us, the Kingdom of France, to side with them in this war. They even tried to lure us to fight against the Qi State and completely drive the Qi people out of Europe. But the problem is, what can the English give us? what?"

The Duke of Bourbon has been pursuing great-power diplomacy since he became prime minister. He does not believe that France and Britain can cooperate for a long time. In addition, he is deeply jealous of the backstabbing and attacks on France during the War of Spanish Succession.Thus, relations with Britain were alienated over the years.

As for the joint attack on Spain with England a few years ago, it was nothing more than to prevent the Bourbon relative from gaining power in Italy and threatening France's southeastern border security.At the same time, it was also a warning and deterrent to Philip V who coveted the throne of France, allowing him to honestly continue to be his King of Spain.

Throughout France's hundreds of years of history, England has stood on their opposite side several times, often teaming up with some of its European partners to attack it.Before Louis XIV died, he warned future generations that they must be careful of this island country hanging alone in the Atlantic Ocean. When the Kingdom of France strives to realize its "natural borders" and establish European hegemony, it will deal the most fatal blow to France. .

Now, Qi, which dominates the Indian Ocean region, wants to teach England a lesson, and France is naturally happy to see what happens. It would be best to deal the heaviest blow to this island country, so that it cannot recover and can no longer threaten France's northwest coastal areas, let alone in the northwestern coastal areas of France. When France conquers Europe in the future, it will jump out from time to time, wave the sword in its hand, and stab France in the back.

In this war, France's best choice is to remain neutral for the time being, wait and see the direction of the war between the two countries, and at the same time peek at the development of the situation in Europe, waiting for the best opportunity to realize France's greatest interests.

After taking office, the Duke of Bourbon, who was a soldier, deliberately strengthened France's military construction.During the Regency period, due to economic contraction, the French army was once reduced to 3 men, and was later strengthened to 5 due to the conflict with Spain.After the Duke of Bourbon came to power, he doubled it again and restored the standing army to 10. In his opinion, this was in line with the status of the Kingdom of France.

If the situation in Europe changes drastically, France will not mind sending out its troops to completely resolve the issue of the Principality of Lorraine that was shelved more than ten years ago.

I heard that Austria is preparing to launch a war against the Ottoman Empire. So, can France also take advantage of the situation and enter Italy?
The people of Qi are not only generous, but they are also a stirring stick thrown by God, stirring up the calm situation in Europe. Maybe they can create an excellent opportunity for France to re-establish European hegemony.

(End of this chapter)