The comer, of course, was the Duke of Vendôme, who had been invited by the king to complete the rest of the parade with him, and Louis XIV was not too concerned about his failure to convince the Duke of Saint-Simon, a former enemy and colleague— From the bottom of his heart, he hoped that the Duke of Saint-Simon would not change his mind, after all, among the countless hands that pushed Louis XIII to his death was a pair of the Duke of Saint-Simon, and although Louis XIII was also at fault (from the point of view of a courtier), it would be absurd to say that Louis XIV was less concerned about the death of his father and the king.

There is also a reason why the Duke of Saint-Simon is so arrogant and stubborn, he, like many nobles who are unwilling to submit to the king, thinks that in his own territory, he has the connections and the army, and is not subject to the king's demagoguery and temptation, even if he cannot be equal to the king, he can negotiate with the king, especially a person like the Duke of Saint-Simon, who has a hidden power, he has already found out that the current wealth and tranquility of France is only a flash in the pan— Neither Britain nor the Holy Roman Empire could have watched France continue to grow great, and no, it should be said, they would not even allow France to retain its present glory.

War was inevitable, so Louis XIV had to pacify France before the war began, so as to ensure that there would be no accidents when he was out fighting.

Unlike the Duke of Vendôme, the Duke of Saint-Simon was not a Bourbon, he didn't even feel like a Frenchman, he didn't care if there would be an English master, and he didn't mind watching France fall apart so that he could show his power in the open, rather than continue to linger on the small territory. He contacted a number of people who were smart enough to see that Louis XIV was paralyzing and consuming them.

"Of course," said the Duke of Saint-Simon with his accomplices in his mansion: " If we are willing to leave the realm, gentlemen, the king will certainly arrange for us a prestigious position, and we will have a good income, and we may enjoy ourselves all night, and we can spend the whole day comfortably in our beds, but the problem is that these are not the same as our domains, these are what the king has given us, and he can give them to us, and he can take them from us whenever and wherever he wants, and give them to another person, but our domains are different, and they cannot be taken away by the king. ”

"But there's really not much that our territory can give us. One of the conspirators said that everyone in the room wore black velvet masks, but this was only for the sake of cover-up, for they were all acquaintances, and the speaker's domain was only a barren swamp, saline land and woods, which did not provide much income, even if he repeatedly increased his taxes, and since the king's itinerant troupe flew in all directions like dandelion seeds, it was impossible for him to blame the king for the tax increase.

In this era, the entertainment of the commoners was scarce, and if a mobile troupe came to them, they would not be reluctant to spare time and some small money, and the actors of the troupe would certainly tell a new story about Paris or Versailles before the performance, so that people could know what decisions and plans were made by the king thousands of miles away, as in the past, when the lord appointed a sun tax or a rain tax as he pleased, but said that it was no longer a matter of the king's orders.

In addition to this, the universal primary education of the king's clergy also taught a large number of pupils, who could read at least simple words, perhaps peasants or artisans, but who would go to the taverns and cafes of the towns to read the newspaper, and then retell the contents of the newspaper to the people in the villages.

The Jesuit priests had also become the king's mouthpiece, helping him to open the school and telling the people what they wanted to know. This made many nobles feel sad, because the feudal system of Europa doomed the people of the lord's domain to be ruled by them, that is, the so-called vassals of my vassals are not my vassals - in other words, the subjects of my subjects are not my subjects, and now Louis XIV has overstepped his authority and replaced the princes, ruling the people of the whole of France, and the people worship and worship the king, and of course will not continue to support the lord who is always exploiting.

"So we have to negotiate with the king. Another said, "If he still wants our support in the war that follows." ”

"I don't think Louis XIV necessarily needs our support," said the man who came before him, "and he now has a standing army." ”

"Alas, you have misunderstood me," said the man cheekily, "our Majesty may have no enemies in France, but he has many enemies outside France......"

"Are you suggesting that we commit treason?" said the third man.

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

The Estates-General first appeared in France in the twelfth century, and after the strengthening of royal power, like Louis XIV today, the king of France wanted not only his will from the top down, but also the voices of the lowest voices, not to cherish the people, but to ensure that his authority was unshaken. So, in the beginning, the Estates-General served the king, and when the king wanted to go to war, or to build castles, palaces, etc., he would gather representatives of the three estates—the nobles, the clergy, and the commoners—and "listen" to them.

However, the commoners soon found out that the so-called Estates-General were only mocking, deceiving, and perfunctory to them, to give a chestnut - if the king wanted to go to war, so he was going to raise the poll tax by three times, he would summon the delegates to the Estates-General seemingly fairly and justly, but it was impossible for the poor people to be on an equal footing with the nobles and the clergy, and the three estates of the Estates-General basically discussed their own and then submitted their ideas to the king. The problem is that, generally speaking, the church and the nobility do not pay taxes, and the only people who need to pay taxes are the commoners, so the plebeians' love letters are often just scrap paper, and there are even cases where the king agrees to the plebeians' request to reduce the poll tax at the Estates-General, but it fails.

Since Louis XIV came to power, this kind of Estates-General called democracy and exploitation has not been convened again, Louis XIV does not need it, and ordinary people do not need it, and the king has been trying to do it from the beginning, and has done it, and this is the reason why the nobles are panicking. If it continues, when an illiterate peasant can say that I am French, and that I am a citizen of the King of France, their authority will be extinguished in name only, and even if they remain in the territory, they may not continue to bless the present glory.

The gentleman asked for another Estates-General, and the idea was clear to all who were present, because it had only been a Estates-General set up by the king for the purpose of seeking monetary assistance

In 1357, because John II was captured by the English and had to pay a large ransom, Charles the Dauphin had to convene a council of the Estates-General to seek help, but at this time, the nobles and clergy took the opportunity to attack, and while they approved the financing of the king, they made very strict demands - the conditions were as follows:

1. Delegates of the Estates-General are allowed to attend the King's Council.

2. Reorganize the administration and dismiss unpopular officials.

3. The Estates-General shall have the power to meet on their own every three months without the king's approval.

4. The conference delegates are inviolable.

This clause undoubtedly directly infringed on the king's interests, and John II no longer recognized most of the clause after his return, and in 1439, because of foreign wars, the king seized the power to levy new taxes without going through the Estates-General, and the Estates-General existed in name only, and by the time of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, the Estates-General could only have a place in records and books.

"But Louis XIV has not been taken prisoner by the English now," said one gentleman, jokingly, "and in fact he has a garrison of 50,000 men with him." ”

"We certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to go to war with the king and his army. "But does the king have an army, his procurators, the judges, and the so-called lackeys?, no, they don't, and we, every gentleman here, have knights and their own courts, and we have the right to defend our homeland against anyone......" He paused: "Moreover, fate is unpredictable, and no one knows when God's punishment will come, especially for those who are petty people." ”

The people in the room couldn't help but talk to each other, the Duke of Saint-Simon understood very clearly, they might not be directed at the king, but they would make some small troubles that the king had to compromise, such as the king's garrison camp, the king's marching road, the king's armament warehouse, the king's low-ranking officials - the king could not even blame them for these losses, because they had never been able to interfere in these affairs.

"But then the king must be very angry. The man who had been standing by the window without speaking suddenly interjected.

"The result is the same anyway," said the first speaker, "and we are all people who cannot enter Versailles anyway, and the king, in order to amass power and wealth, will one day devour us, but if our will is strong enough, as long as the king has enemies outside France, he will have to appease us, and we will leave us with a little for our children and grandchildren." ”

"You say that we are not qualified to enter the Palace of Versailles," the man standing by the window asked, "and how can we ensure that no one will be lured by the king and defeated by each other?"

"That's why I'm calling you together," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "don't worry, we have many companions, every province and city in France, and we just need a unified alliance, organized action, and not a headless rush to the right and right and do something futile — everyone," he raised his voice slightly. All we have to do now is to wait and prepare, to obey orders, and as soon as the troops of the Holy Roman Empire appear on the border, we must act immediately, but be careful, do not leave any handles, do not have any contact with foreigners, and do not give the king the opportunity to execute you for treason!"

"We speak only to the King of France!" said one gentleman, who thought he was witty, but only a few dry wry smiles were given.

"This gentleman is right," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "we speak only to the King of France, to reconvene the Estates-General, and to reclaim our power!"

If Louis XIV had to compromise, the aristocracy would be entitled to participate directly in political affairs, as the British MPs did, and possibly in the near future.

After the Duke finished speaking, in order to encourage the accomplices present, he also deliberately took out a bottle of Bordeaux Sauternes noble rot, and when the amber wine and mellow aroma attracted people's admiration, the people leaning against the window could not help sighing—in twenty years of business, Louis XIV, just like his name 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 separate from the king, but he took out wine and drinking utensils— Bright glass with multi-faceted pattern decoration aside, Bordeaux Sauternes alone, noble rot first appeared in Hungary, only 30 years ago, but Louis XIV had only drunk the fine wine offered by the merchants, and his first reaction was not to ask the merchants to send more of it, but to send spies to find out how to make this delicious wine, and let the winegrowers try to make this good wine- Needless to say, ten years ago the Bordeaux Sauternes region managed to replicate this sweet wine with a mellow taste and became another of the king's purse.

This kind of thing happens in more than one place, so the people of France will not join the opposition to King Louis XIV of France, the poll tax in France has not changed since Louis XIV came to power, and because Louis XIV strongly advocated industry and commerce, ordinary peasants can make money as long as they do short-term work in their leisure time, the poll tax is not difficult for them at all, they can enjoy coffee and tobacco, a little wine or ale in addition to feeding themselves and their wives and children, they have thanked God more than once that they have such a good king...... It's not easy to incite the public. Therefore, even if the Duke of Saint-Simon's plan was a fundamental decision, it was the only way out for them.

Worriedly, he drank the noble rot from his cup, took his farewell to the duke, and walked out of the secret mansion alone—perhaps because there was no one to act with him—and so did the others, who got into the carriage without raising his head, drew up the curtains, and pondered in the darkness whether he should take the last step or not.

When the carriage stopped, he was still wondering how quickly he had returned to the inn where he was staying, and the place where they would meet was quite deserted, and then, as if remembering something, he pulled back the curtain abruptly.

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