Chapter 246 Daily Activities at Versailles (Please vote for me)
Chapter 247 Daily Activities at the Palace of Versailles (Please vote for me)
A young man in his twenties continued:
"Are you talking about drought and cold winter? Lord Count.
"No, that's not the main reason." Mirabeau waved his hand vigorously, "The food shortage is due to the nobles not paying attention to farming. They only stay in the Palace of Versailles and even forget where their territory is. This caused the land that could originally produce 18 bushels to only produce 12 bushels! It was they who stubbornly refused to sow potatoes. Even a backward country like Prussia did not have a famine as severe as France's because they had potatoes..."
At the table not far away, Venio was also making an impassioned speech:
"The peasants' meager harvest has to be taken away by their lords using mills and ovens. And the hunting grounds of the nobles occupy a very vast land, and not a single grain of wheat will grow there!
"Businessmen want to transport grain to places where food is scarce, but they have to face roadblocks that can be seen everywhere... We must petition His Majesty the King to correct these unreasonable things in order to avoid riots!"
The nobles beside him nodded:
"Yes, let's go together to plead with His Majesty the King!"
"Please Your Majesty issue a decree to help those poor farmers."
"We must unite and raise our voices for the poor people!"
"Let's go see His Majesty tomorrow..."
Today's France has been influenced by Enlightenment ideas for many years. Even in the Palace of Versailles, there are many aristocrats who accept the ideas of Rousseau and Voltaire. Especially among young people, it has almost become a fashion.
Therefore, after a little guidance from Mirabeau and others, countless young people responded enthusiastically.
As for the conservative nobles, they have long been accustomed to these sounds and just pretend not to hear them. If they argue with the emerging aristocrats because of this, they will most likely be defeated - in terms of debate level and theoretical reserve, they are far from the opponents of young people steeped in Enlightenment ideas.
Early the next morning.
The young nobleman who had had a heated discussion with Venio for most of the night last night stood in the middle of the marble courtyard, loudly preaching the views he heard last night.
Around him, at first, there were only a few dozen nobles who had made appointments at the dinner. Gradually, more and more people gathered, and soon there were four to five hundred people gathered around to listen to his speech.
Seeing this, a guard hurriedly asked Brian for instructions:
"Archbishop, there are many people gathered in the Marble Courtyard, you see..."
Brianne had already received the instructions from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and immediately waved his hand and said:
"They are just gathering gently and don't need to interfere too much."
After more than forty minutes, the young man saw that the lineup was almost large enough, and he immediately waved vigorously:
"Let us petition Her Majesty the Queen to cancel the privileges of the lords and value the survival of the peasants!"
Yes, even though he himself is a noble, he can demand the abolition of noble privileges without hesitation.
This is France in this era.
The crowd immediately burst into cheers of approval and followed him towards the Petit Trianon.
And as their shouts spread, more nobles joined their ranks.
Of course, more young people are tightly restrained by their parents and are not allowed to get involved in these rebellious behaviors. On this day, many people were beaten severely by their father because of this matter.
As the head of France, Queen Mary has long been accustomed to the collective petitions of the nobles - they will have such troubles almost every few months for various reasons.
She listened patiently to everyone's submissions, and then kindly expressed that she would seriously consider it.
But she didn't realize that this time it was just a warm-up...
At the cabinet meeting the next day, Brian placed a document in front of the queen after asking her for some routine duties.
"Your Majesty, this is a motion by the Montpellier Municipal Commissioner, Vicomte Chantal, to cancel some of the lord's privileges."
"Abolish the privileges?" Queen Mary immediately thought of those who came to petition yesterday and opened the document doubtfully, "... Therefore, I implore your Majesty to cancel the hunting, pigeon raising, rabbit raising, and fishing privileges of the nobles. Reduce the hunting ground area and reduce the hunting grounds to Reclaim land for arable land to increase food production…
"Abolish the Lord's Court. Today, the Lord's Court is completely out of date, and a large number of lords have lived in Versailles for a long time, and they are simply unable to preside over judgments... In view of the good operating experience of the courts in cities such as Paris, all disputes should be brought to court...
"Farming requires a lot of labor for farmers. After that, if they have to work for the lords, it will lead to neglect of care of the fields and thus reduce food production. Therefore, the farmers' obligation to work for the lords should be cancelled...
“The farming contract between the lord and the tenants should not be voided by the lord’s unilateral decision, but should be signed under the supervision of the court. The tenants can choose to leave the land they originally cultivated...
"Serfdom has seriously affected..."
Queen Mary read it patiently and couldn't help but frown slightly.
What this bill talks about are proposals to abolish the privileges of the nobility, especially land-related privileges, ranging from corvee service to the lord's judicial power, to hunting and breeding privileges, as well as mill and oven taxes, etc.
And the reason given was high-sounding - it was to increase food production and avoid the recurrence of the riots that spread throughout the southern provinces.
The queen turned to look at Brian:
"Archbishop Brian, these rights are traditions that have lasted for hundreds of years and are a symbol of the dignity and status of the nobles. Perhaps we should not focus on these insignificant things."
Brian immediately said:
"Your Majesty, these are not insignificant. Viscount Chantal is right, traditional privileges have a direct impact on this riot."
Joseph had told him before that this matter would not involve the church's privileges, and the church's support for the abolition of the lord's privileges would also enhance the church's prestige.
Therefore, he did not hesitate at all when promoting this bill.
Mirabeau said from the side:
"Your Majesty, since the British abolished some of their privileges, the country has become significantly stronger."
He just changed the concept secretly.
Britain's strength comes more from its colonial and industrial development, but it did cancel some aristocratic privileges in the process, which is just a coincidence in time.
Talleyrand, acting foreign minister for the time being, also agreed.
Joseph is the initiator and will not object.
The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Household Registration had not yet understood the situation, so they had to remain silent.
Queen Mary hesitated again and again, feeling that the impact of this matter was too great, and finally rubbed her forehead and announced that we would discuss it another day.
Joseph didn't intend to get it done in one go.
In fact, even if the queen does sign this decree today, the nobles whose interests have been harmed will definitely try to get it back.
In the final analysis, this matter must be overcome by the old aristocratic forces. Today's motion is just to lure the snake out of its hole.
That afternoon, Vicomte Chantal's motion was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, causing the entire Palace of Versailles to explode.
Thanks to: Xi Zhanpeng and Zzzlu for their generous rewards for this book! The young author is so grateful, hmm!
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