The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 644 The Great Revolution Is Coming
"Oh my God, this country is finished, this country is finished!"

The Matignon Palace, not far from the Palace of Versailles, was the office of the French government at that time. The chief cardinal ministers of all generations often worked and even lived here.

The person who made the desperate cry in the Matignon Palace was none other than the French Finance Minister Jacques Necker.

To be precise, Jacques Necker was not the Minister of Finance, because according to the tradition of the Kingdom of France, non-Catholics could not be ministers.

Jacques Necker's father was Prussian and his family were Protestants, so he could not serve as Minister of Finance.

But the kingdom needed him, so Louis XVI specially created a position of treasury manager for Jacques Necker.

At the same time, in order to allow Jacques Necker to improve the financial situation of the Kingdom of France as soon as possible, Louis XVI did not appoint another chief cardinal after the resignation of the former chief cardinal Etienne Brienne.

Thus, Jacques Necker became a special case in which he did not become the top leader of the government (chief cardinal minister or finance minister), but was actually the top leader of the government.

What made Jacques Necker, the minister who was regarded as the savior of France, break down and cry out in grief was not the successful formation of the National Assembly by Sieyès and others.

Instead, all the high-ranking clergy of the first class joined the National Assembly.

This dealt a fatal blow to the royal government, the king, and the nobles, who were already unable to control the situation.

The source of power for the Kingdom of France, or for that matter for the whole of Europe, comes from two sources.

One is blood relationship and the violent power attached to blood relationship; the other is the divine power granted by God.

Both of these are indispensable, and together they constitute the sacredness and legitimacy of the aristocratic tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years.

Therefore, in countries such as England, where changes first occurred, religious reforms must have begun first, and political changes only began after the sacredness given by God was taken into their own hands.

In France, which was relatively unaffected by the Reformation, not only were senior clergymen the first class, who were Brahmins, but France also retained the establishment of dioceses with real power.

The archbishop of the diocese is higher than the local nobles, and the district bishop can also be promoted to cardinal, becoming the highest authority besides the king.

For example, the previous Chief Cardinal, Etienne Brienne, was the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Toulouse before taking office.

Since there were parishes and senior clergymen also held government power, tithes were naturally unavoidable.

This medieval evil, still in force today, is one of the heaviest burdens on the French peasant.

"Those foolish clergymen thought that by going over to the Third Estate they could preserve what they had; they thought that the best that could be done in France would be to weaken the king's power so much that Louis the Great would have less power than George III.

They thought that no matter who was in power, no one could shake the glory of God, and they were just changing their collaborators.

However, they forgot that even if the bloody storm of England's constitutionalism could be treated as if it did not exist, the first thing that collapsed before England's overall constitutionalism was stabilized was the existence of the Catholic Church in England.

The French church is completely dependent on the power of the French royal family, and complements the royal family and the nobility. Without the royal family and the nobility, they would never be able to maintain their current status. "

The one who was shocked and cursed was Charles Victor Maupe, the son of René Maupe, Marquis de Morangelle, a good friend of Jacques Necker and the Auditor-General of the French King's Commission.

"Your Excellency, I am leaving this country. I can already smell the danger."

Charles Victor Maupe was very alert because if something bad happened, the institution called the King's Council, but actually the Supreme Court of France, would be very likely to be the first to suffer.

"Jacques, you should leave too. You can't save this country. It's rotten to the core. No one can save it. Everyone is waiting for the Bourbon dynasty to collapse!"

Charles Victor Maupe made a sincere invitation, but Jacques Necker, who was the first to shout "It's over", had calmed down. He looked at Charles Victor Maupe and shook his head slightly.

"The people still love His Majesty the King; they have just lost their patience and are eager to see results.

I will go to see His Majesty the King and explain the current situation clearly. As long as His Majesty is willing to let the nobles make concessions, the country can still be maintained."

As soon as Jacques Necker finished speaking, Charles Victor Maupe, who felt that he had persuaded everyone he needed to, turned around and left without the slightest hesitation.

Jacques Necker looked at Charles Victor Maupe's back, feeling a little touched and a little more confident.

As things stand now, the senior clergy of the first tier have already surrendered, and the waves they have created have frightened many nobles of the second tier, Charles Victor Moppou being a representative example.

If we were to advise His Majesty the King now and get the nobles who are most stubbornly opposed to the Estates General to make concessions, the chances of success would definitely increase greatly.

However, when Jacques Necker arrived at the Palace of Versailles, he did not expect to be questioned first.

The nobles, led by Queen Antoinette and the king's brother, Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, who later became the restored Charles X, vented all their anger on Jacques Necker.

Because the proposal to establish a three-level parliament was proposed by Jacques Necker.

Jacques Necker had assured these nobles that the kingdom's financial problems could be immediately solved as long as the three-level parliament was convened.

However, now that not a penny has been paid, the situation has become even more chaotic. This is not a third-level parliament, it is clearly a Pandora's box.

"This is not my problem, this is your problem!" Jacques Necker shouted angrily. He looked at King Louis XVI and said:

“Your Majesty, since we have decided to convene the Estates General, why do we need to invoke a law that is more than a hundred years old?

Why can't we have one member, one vote, so that the three classes can unite and solve the kingdom's financial problems?"

"The king's power is granted by God, while the lord's power is passed down by Jehovah through the king's hands, and is passed down through the noble bloodline." The king's younger brother, Count Charles Philippe of Artois, loudly retorted:

"The nobility of the nobility is innate. If we don't have the power of two votes per person, then wouldn't our voice in Parliament be less than that of lowly merchants and hired workers?
So, is this Kingdom of France ours, or does it belong to those lowly people? "

Charles Philippe's words aroused loud echoes from the nobles. They all felt that they had made an exception and allowed these third-class people to enter the parliament, which was already a great favor.

But these unruly people are not only ungrateful, but also dare to demand more power.

"Minister, look, this is the bill passed by the so-called National Assembly. They even dare to set a spending limit for the royal family!" Queen Antoinette raised her eyebrows and looked extremely angry.

"Does the Kingdom of France belong to His Majesty the King or to those unruly people? Ministers and nobles will never give in again!"

What a joke! To restrict the funding of Queen Antoinette, who has always loved luxury and paid the most attention to ostentation, isn't this more painful than killing her?
Although her extravagance was nothing compared to the huge amount of money the French government spent elsewhere, she was a very obvious target and could easily be manipulated to arouse public outrage.

Unfortunately, this person didn't think so at all. Instead, she felt that she was wronged.

It is obvious that the huge debt of the Kingdom of France was caused by the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, and the large-scale construction of the navy. It has nothing to do with her, Antoinette. Why should her expenses be reduced?

After hearing what the queen said, and knowing that this man had never considered the consequences, Jacques Necker could only turn his attention to King Louis XVI.

This queen is ignorant and has cerebral palsy. Your Majesty, you will never...

"The National Assembly is illegal. They are demanding cuts to royal expenses and that everything be spent according to budget funds. This is something I cannot tolerate."

Jacques Necker let out a long sigh. It turns out that Your Majesty the King also has cerebral palsy!
It's already this time, and you're still concerned about your family expenses. Don't you want the Bourbon dynasty's centuries-old foundation and the huge French Kingdom anymore?
Is the anger of the Third Estate and the risk of a riot not worth a small amount of royal expenditure? Antoinette, who had long been unhappy with Jacques Necker, seemed to know what he was thinking. The Queen said with a hint of pride:
"The army is gathering towards Paris. Some people's conspiracy will not succeed. The three-level parliament must be convened as requested by the king!"

Mist grass!

Jacques Necker was completely numb.

What about the army? Where did those soldiers come from? They are all from the third class. Even the middle and lower-level officers were trained by wealthy families in the third class.

You want to use them to bloodily suppress their parents, brothers, children, friends, teachers and lovers. What are you thinking?

It would be better if the army did not come. If the army came, they would choose to join the three-level parliament.

By that time, the Third Estate, in addition to the newly established National Assembly, will also have military power, and no one here will have a good ending.

However, Jacques Necker suddenly thought that these nobles would not be so stupid as to seek their own death.

"The troops heading towards Paris are all mercenaries, right?" asked Jacques Necker.

"Yes, most of them are mercenaries, including His Royal Highness Prince M, who just arrived in Brussels. He will also send the Seris Guards, who just defeated the rioters."

The Count of Artois said this with a sense of superiority, as if the king had reached the point where he could only hire mercenaries to suppress his own people, which was something to be proud of.

Well, this time we have really gone far. Brother Mo San is probably considered one of the earliest members of the anti-French alliance.

Fortunately, there is still room for improvement. As long as the third class does not control the army, everything is still possible.

Jacques Necker left in a hurry. This time he was going to the National Assembly to see if he could get them to lower their demands and not provoke the king, especially the queen, over royal expenses.

However, when Jacques Necker hurried from Versailles to Paris, he discovered a large number of young people dressed in cadet uniforms and carrying weapons rushing to Paris.

A few minutes later, Jacques Necker was struck by lightning, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Oh no, he forgot about these military cadets!
The number of these people must be over 30,000, and most of them have not found a position in the army.

For many of them, their entire families grit their teeth and support them to go to school, hoping that they will succeed and repay their families.

Jacques Necker only needed to think about it briefly before he could smell the resentment and dissatisfaction contained therein.

No, we must not let the king anger these cadets, otherwise we will be doomed.

Thinking of this, Jacques Necker rushed to Paris to consult with several core figures of the National Assembly.

But when they arrived in Paris, they learned that the main leaders of the National Assembly had already rushed to the Palace of Versailles in the morning. They were going to convene a meeting of the National Assembly directly in the palace.

Jacques Necker wanted to rush there immediately, but it was already dark, so he could only stay in Paris for one night.

But that night, something went wrong.

The city of Paris has become like a powder keg. Not to mention the head of the royal government like him, even ordinary nobles dare not stay in Paris.

The people of Paris couldn't find anyone who could solve the problem, so when they saw Jacques Necker's carriage coming back, they would never let him go.

A large number of people flocked over and asked Jacques Necker to give an explanation as to when the Estates General could be convened fairly.

Jacques Necker had no answer to this question at all and could only pretend to be deaf and dumb. It was not until the fourth day that a city guard arrived, dispersed the surrounding Parisian citizens, and escorted Jacques Necker to Versailles.

But when he arrived at the Palace of Versailles, he immediately became numb again.

It turned out that after the National Assembly went to the Palace of Versailles yesterday, they were blocked by royal mercenaries and could not enter the palace, so they had to return to Paris.

Good man, is he walking the dog?
Because the functions of the French government, especially in Paris, were severely paralyzed at that time, Jacques Necker was like a blind man.

After receiving the news, Jacques Necker did not dare to delay for a moment and rushed to Paris again.

When Jacques Necker arrived in Paris in the afternoon, what greeted him was not the National Assembly going to Versailles again, but a bolt from the blue.

It turned out that King Louis XVI knew that the National Assembly would hold a meeting in the Salle des Nations chosen by them after returning to Paris, so he asked the court carpenters to destroy the Salle des Nations and turn it into a decoration site in advance, on the pretext that he would also give a speech there.

This made the members of the National Assembly extremely angry, and they moved to the Royal Tennis Stadium not far from here to hold their meeting.

At this time, it was drizzling and the Royal Tennis Stadium could not accommodate more than 500 members of the National Assembly, so many people simply stayed outside.

The cold raindrops cannot stop the third class from pursuing their passion for freedom and equality.

In the drizzle, all the parliamentarians and onlookers agreed that they would never stop fighting and would never dissolve the National Assembly until a French constitution was formulated.

"free!
“Human rights are born of nature!
"The Third Estate is neither pigs nor dogs, nor are they slaves!"

"What does the Third Estate have? They have nothing!

What does the Third Estate want? They want everything, they want everything that is rightfully theirs! "

The overwhelming roar from the crowd was a response to dissatisfaction with exploitation and enslavement, and a demand for their own rights.

The rain was getting heavier, but the enthusiasm of the people was getting higher and higher. They were reluctant to leave for a long time, chanting "What is the Third Estate?" written by Sieyès.

'What does the Third Estate have? They have nothing!'

"What does the Third Estate want? They want everything!"

"They want everything that's rightfully theirs!"

"It's over, everything is over!" Jacques Necker repeated his declaration three times and ran back to the Palace of Versailles with a deathly pale face.

This time, he did not hesitate and warned Louis XVI and others in person that they must follow the requirements of the National Assembly and must limit royal spending.

Louis XVI had long been extremely dissatisfied with Jacques Necker due to the slander of the nobles around him, especially Queen Antoinette and his brother Charles Philippe, Count of Avatou.

Immediately, Louis XVI ordered the removal of Jacques Necker from all his posts.

Jacques Necker left the Palace of Versailles in the pouring rain without saying anything.

The last channel for Louis XVI to communicate with the third estate disappeared.

The fuse for the storming of the Bastille has been lit.

(End of this chapter)