The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 895 Who can be spared by the razor?

In the second year of the Crimean Campaign, Louis XIV found himself in a dilemma:
If we continue to fight against the Qi army, we will suffer an unprecedented defeat and cruel revenge from the enemy.
If the French accept the Ukrainian Grand Duke's peace proposal, they will lose control of Crimea, lose Eastern Europe, lose the glory of Rome, and lose everything.

Lenzekis, a rising political star on the European continent, gave the following peace proposals to the French:

France must recognize its status as a defeated nation, immediately and unconditionally withdraw from the Crimean Peninsula, withdraw from Eastern Europe, and stop interfering in Eastern European affairs;

Completely disarm the French, dismantle the army, and maintain an army of 50,000 men in the country;
ceding Alsace (except the Belfort region) and eastern Lorraine (including the fortress of Metz) to the Grand Qi;
The military industry in France was dismantled and shipped to London and Kyiv;
Destroy large-caliber artillery, destroy all kinds of hot air balloons and airships, and sink all warships;
British, Ukrainian, and Qi will become the French mother tongue, and no one will be allowed to use French in public;

Improve the living conditions of French serfs, prohibit the buying, selling, and harming of serfs, and formulate and strictly enforce labor laws (such as the eight-hour workday);

A total of 500 million francs was paid as military reparations to various countries.

~~~~~~
Lian Zekis managed to restore his country with the support of London and Tianxin City. He took advantage of the power of others and claimed to be a big man who dominated the world.

This time, without waiting for the British and Qi people to speak, he made peace requests to the French first.

As for ceding French territory, given Qi's democratic system, the officials of Tianxin City would never occupy a single inch of French territory. Therefore, Alsace and Lorraine would most likely remain with Ukraine.

The conditions offered by the Grand Ecumenical Union Zekis are quite harsh.

Not to mention the Sun King, even no French person could accept it.

When Louis XIV learned about the "peace agreement" proposed by Lenzekis, he did not react excessively.

He was not very fond of this Slavic brother who had once surrendered to the Rakshasa, and could even be said to be dismissive of him.

The Sun King found several clergymen who were planning to go to Macau and asked them to convey his peace request to the State of Qi.

"The door to peace talks between France and Qi is not closed. To reduce casualties on both sides, I believe it is time for peace talks. For the sake of peace, France is willing to hand over all of its North American colonies to Qi and directly pay Qi a considerable amount of war reparations."

At the same time, the Sun King warned those warmongers (mainly the British) not to undermine the friendly relations between France and Qi, not to add fuel to the fire, not to shoot themselves in the foot, and not to go further and further down the wrong path and become historical sinners.

~~~~~~~~~
After sending the missionaries away, the Sun King looked back at his great-grandson (Louis XV) and murmured:
"Trust in the wisdom of future generations. I'll leave the problems I can't solve to you."

Louis XV shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he was powerless.

Louis XIV sighed: "I am old, and the sun will eventually sink below the horizon."

This was the 72nd year of the Sun King's reign. Over the past seventy years, the Sun King led the Allies to defeat Peter I and the Russians he ruled, becoming the overlord of Europe.

Under his rule, France's national strength reached an unprecedented peak.

He built a magnificent palace of Versailles.

Under his care and guidance, a large number of scientists and artists sprang up like mushrooms on both sides of the Seine, making Paris the center of Europe for a time.

But now, everything will come to nothing.

"Child, trust in your wisdom...Go down."

Louis XV withdrew silently.

The guard officer stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, Lady Mary awaits an audience."

"Mary? The Mary from Venice?"

The guard was slightly stunned. Over the years, more than one Marie had come to the Louvre to look for the emperor. The streets of Paris were full of shameless women, all claiming to be the Sun King's lost lover...

"I think so."

Mary Mancini.

A legendary lover of the Sun King, also a rather tragic one. This is also the first lover of the Sun King recorded in history.

The story dates back to 1688.

That year the Sun King fell seriously ill, and at this time Marie approached the Sun King and aroused his interest.

Marie Manche's beautiful appearance and talented conversation attracted the Sun King's great attention, and the two of them naturally got together.

The young Sun King was so immersed in beautiful love that he wanted to marry Marie, but his mother, Queen Anne, strongly opposed it.

Queen Anne expelled Mary from the palace and forcibly separated the lovers.

After Louis XIV came to power, he ordered Marie to be summoned several times, hoping to rekindle his relationship with his first love.

However, fate played a trick on her. By then, Mary had drifted to Italy and married in Venice. It was said that her husband was a stingy tea merchant.

"Is she alone?"

The guard said cautiously: "Your Majesty, and her Italian husband, they, seem to be in very bad condition..."

"Oh." The Sun King remained silent.

Last year, Italy suffered a drought, and no crops were harvested anywhere, whether in the mountains or on the plains. It is said that olive oil in Venice was sold for ten francs a bottle.

The Sun King put away his thoughts and returned to reality.

"Give them some money, bread, and meat, and let them go."

The guard officer didn't move.

"Sire, the Italian merchant says he doesn't want the devalued franc, he doesn't want bread, he wants gold coins."

Since the war with Qi, the franc has continued to depreciate. Half a year ago, half a franc could buy a baguette, but now it can only buy one-tenth of a matchstick.

Thinking that the Qi people not only dealt a heavy blow to France militarily but also defeated him economically, the Sun King became angry.

"Get them out, now!"

The attendants sent Marie Mancini away.

After some tossing and turning, Louis XIV closed his eyes and realized that he was old.

He convinced himself to believe in the wisdom of future generations, but he could not leave these troubles to the next emperor.

Dilemma.

According to the Paris Razor Law, whether it is the king or the minister, as long as they lose power, they will not be spared and will be punished by the razor.

Who does the razor spare?
There is an unwritten rule on the execution platform that if a blindfolded prisoner can jump up and escape at the last second before the guillotine falls from mid-air, it is considered a miracle and his sins will be forgiven by God.

Unfortunately, among the more than 30,000 prisoners whose heads were chopped off by razors, it seemed that no one could accomplish this miracle.

Miracle, come and save France.

The Sun King is like a dim sunset, about to burn out the last ray of life.

~~~~~~~
When the news of the French army's defeat in Crimea reached Paris, the French were shocked but had to continue expanding their military and preparing for war.

The Minister of Finance proposed reinstating the "official tax," which had been suspended, to provide sufficient funds for the French army. This tax caused great resentment among the capitalists who had paid to buy official positions. According to the tax, all those who bought official positions would have to pay an annual tax ranging from 3,000 to 30,000 francs, depending on the rank of the official.

In the past forty years, during the reign of Louis XIV, the sale of official positions and titles had made an outstanding contribution to making up for the fiscal deficit.

There are countless people who buy official positions.

How can they agree to collect taxes from this group of people now?

With the judges of the Paris High Court as their spokesperson, everyone began to openly resist the orders of the Sun King and the Minister of Finance.

The French High Court required that all newly levied taxes and financial laws be reviewed and registered: at the same time, the supervisors stationed in various provinces by the royal government were revoked; no one could be arrested without giving reasons, and those arrested must be brought to court for trial within 24 hours; the collection of poll taxes was prohibited, tax farmers were punished, and overdue taxes were exempted, etc.

The Paris Parlement had always had the power to register or reject the king's decrees, so the bourgeoisie united around the Parlement to challenge the king's despotism.

The Sun King's condition worsened.

In March 1722, the French army suffered a series of devastating defeats on various battlefields and the situation was critical.

Fortunately, the Sun King fell ill and died before he could witness the fall of France.

An era has come to an end.

On March 1722, 3, the 9-year-old Louis XV began to rule the country. The first thing he did after taking power was to solemnly and sincerely mourn his great-grandfather Louis XIV.

Then peace talks began with Da Qi.

However, Tianxin City's attention was focused on the emperor's wedding and there was no intention to negotiate with the French.

On the eighth day of the third month in the fifth year of Jingyan, the emperor's wedding was held in Tianxin City.

George II's daughter, Princess Mary, officially became the fifth queen of the Great Qi Dynasty as a tool for political marriage.

~~~~~~~~~
On their wedding night, Mary asked the emperor:
"Why didn't Qi promote the French-developed razor? I heard you have many opponents."

Liu Fan said seriously, "We used to have more cruel punishments. The French razor pales in comparison. So there's no need for it."

Mary asked curiously, "For example?"

Liu Fan said calmly: "Likely torn apart by a chariot, like a thousand cuts, like a beheading..."

The British princess gasped.

"Oh my God, the place where the people of Qi lived before was simply hell."

Liu Fan retorted, "It's still the same now." He thought for a moment and added:

"This is the tenth level of hell. It used to be the eighteenth level."

Mary blinked in confusion.

The little emperor explained:

"This land isn't like Europe. It's the worst place on Earth. Here, people have nowhere to escape. The winner takes all, and the loser is doomed. So, from small things like entrance exams to big things like dynastic struggles, it's all a life-and-death battle."

"Your Majesty, you have a very low opinion of Da Qi."

Liu Fan stared at Mary and smiled: "So you regret coming to Tianxin City?"

Mary didn't want to talk anymore, so she reached out to turn off the light to make the freckles on her face less obvious.

She secretly untied her tutu and prepared to help her husband go to bed. In British terms, this was to fulfill the king's obligation to reproduce.

However, Liu Fan was not very interested in the emperor's obligations, at least not now.

Mary was a little embarrassed. She dressed neatly, stood up and made a cup of coffee for the emperor. While talking, she secretly poured some powder into the cup.

"The French want freedom from the rule of Louis XIV or Louis XV. Can you help them?"

Liu Fan picked up the coffee and drank it all in one gulp.

"Freedom must be fought for by oneself. If they cannot send the tyrant to the guillotine themselves, I cannot help them. Besides, I cannot represent the Great Qi..."

~~~~~~~
When the little emperor was chatting and laughing with the Queen of England.

The long-awaited "Crimean Just War Tax" passed Congress.

This means that citizens of Da Qi will be charged at least 20% in personal income tax to support the intensifying war in Europe.

For those on the brink of bankruptcy, this is like the end of the world.

So the rebellion broke out again.

In a dozen cities, people took to the streets to protest against the war and against Congress.

They marched and demonstrated and rampaged.

The officials who came to suppress the protest shouted in the street:
Da Qi has given you protection, freedom and security, saved you from the suffering of war, and ensured that you have enough food to eat!
You are eating Da Qi’s food and want to destroy Da Qi’s bowl, you bunch of scum!

People burst into deafening shouts:

"No one gives us food, not the emperor, not the ministers! You're a bunch of corrupt officials! You're constantly making money by fighting wars! You raise taxes at will, building warships one day and airships the next, and you never disclose your accounts! You're still trying to raise taxes? Go to hell!"

In early May, Prime Minister Kang Guangxu passed away.

Just like a building losing its pillars, the little emperor felt pressure he had never felt before.

The cabinet, which has lost its core, has made missteps in dealing with the fiscal deficit.

Several ministers acted on their own initiative and blamed the military deficit on the emperor in order to appease public anger - after all, the young emperor had no power to control the situation.

In July, Liu Fanmari spent her honeymoon in Nagasaki.

A Japanese newspaper published a news report that Emperor Jingyan's wedding cost 80 million Qi yuan.

Eighty million Qi Yuan, this figure is roughly equivalent to half a year's tax revenue for Tianxin City.

When the news reached the country, the whole nation was in an uproar.

Countless newspapers fiercely criticized the court and Liu Fan, comparing the young emperor to Emperor Yang of Sui and Emperor Wu of Han, saying that he was even more extravagant than these two.

Angry people took to the streets, demanding the abolition of Emperor Jingyan and the abolition of the Great Qi imperial system.

Autumn arrived, and Liu Fan curled up in the palace, feeling an unprecedented chill on the back of his neck.

The razor spares no one.

(End of this chapter)