Chapter 369: Rebellion against Tiangang (please vote for me)
In front of the Parliament Building of the Southern Netherlands.
When Karl II met the Marquis of Wellesley, he thought that the latter had brought him news that London was determined to reinforce Brussels, and he was so excited that he almost burst into tears.
However, the Foreign Secretary poured cold water on him:
"Dear Marshal, my personal position is very much in favor of sending troops to reinforce you immediately, but... to tell you the truth, the East India Company has encountered some troubles in the Far East, and the empire's main energy is currently invested there. Maybe early next year , you can wait until the reinforcements are sent by the Congress. Of course, the Congress will definitely give you full support in terms of military expenses and weapons."
This time, not only Karl II, but also the Speaker of the Southern Netherlands, Van de Noort, was anxious:
"My Lord Marquis, you may have understood the situation in Brussels. If we cannot defeat the French as soon as possible and wait for Austria to mobilize its troops, Brussels will be difficult to hold, and the revolution will fail..."
Marquis Wellesley glanced at him, his voice a little cold:
"Personally, I don't quite agree with your revolution. But now we have a common enemy to deal with. Oh, shall we just stand in the square and discuss things?"
"No, no, we have prepared a sumptuous banquet for you." Vandernot hurriedly motioned to the Parliament Building, "Please come in quickly."
In the banquet hall, Marquis Wellesley glanced at the dejected officers on both sides of the long and narrow dining table, turned to Karl II and said:
"Marshal, are you saying that because the French army only has 14,000 troops, you need to ask Parliament for help?"
Before Karl II could say anything, General Bronkhorst, the Dutch commander on the side, said first: "My Lord Marquis, you don't know something. The French are equipped with an amazingly powerful musket, and they The cannons appear and disappear, posing a great threat to our army. "
The Foreign Secretary sneered and shook his head. In his opinion, this was just an excuse for the Dutch to make excuses for their incompetence.
He tapped the table with his spoon irritably. He originally came to Brussels to see the military advantages here so that he could use them as bargaining chips. Unexpectedly, the chips were not found, but there was a group of people waiting for him to persuade the parliament to wipe their ass. …
Vandernot suddenly clenched his fists with indignation and said:
"We should mobilize the French people to carry out a revolution together and overthrow that tyrant!"
Next to him, the new commander of the National Guard, General Ortelius, immediately agreed:
"Yes! We have many revolutionaries in Lille, Artois and other places. We can let them lead the revolution of the French people! Fight for their freedom and rights..."
The two vented their words but attracted the attention of Marquis Wellesley. He looked at Van de Noort and whispered: "You mean, there are people from the Revolutionary Party of the South Netherlands in France?"
"That's right." The latter nodded, "In order to escape the persecution of the Austrians, our revolutionaries often hid in northern France. Over the years, we have many footholds there, and we also have good relations with the local liberals. ”
Marquis Wellesley's eyes suddenly lit up:
"How many people can you mobilize to incite...call for revolution in France within half a month? And how many people can you mobilize to respond?"
Van de Noort said immediately: "We now have more than 40 people across France. If necessary, we can immediately mobilize 200 revolutionaries to go to France."
Historically, the Revolution in the Southern Netherlands was supported by the French Grand Order. The two sides have very close ties. The Southern Netherlands often draw "sponsorship" from French nobles who are sympathetic to the revolution, so many of them are permanently stationed in France. Vandernot thought for a moment, then hesitated and said:
"But the revolutionary momentum in France in the past two years... has not been very good. Many people who used to hold revolutionary attitudes have turned into advocates of the tyrant. Especially ordinary farmers and citizens in France, after the tyrant gave them some charity After all, they have become content with the status quo, so now is definitely not a good time to help France launch a revolution."
Marquis Wellesley glared at him impatiently and said displeasedly: "In your poor vocabulary, there is no other way to call the king of a country except 'tyrant'? Even if we don't like Louis Sixteen, but you also need to maintain basic courtesy towards him.”
"Uh..." Vandernot then remembered that all he relied on were countries under the rule of monarchs, and could only nod awkwardly, "Yes, yes, I'm sorry."
Marquis Wellesley narrowed his eyes, tapped the dinner plate with his spoon, and said in a deep voice:
"In fact, France is currently experiencing a powder keg. If your people can take advantage of this opportunity, they may not be able to set off a storm in France!"
The Governor of Hanover and the Dutch commander beside him immediately looked over in surprise when they heard this.
There was a hint of pride in the Marquis of Wellesley's tone: "You should have heard that the French government wants to abolish the traditional taxes handed over by farmers to lords, but it has not announced details on how to let farmers buy land. plan."
Karl II subconsciously said: "So?"
"This is your chance to plunge France into turmoil!"
Several other people looked at each other in surprise, obviously not understanding what the British Foreign Secretary meant.
The Marquis of Wellesley caught a glimpse of their expressions and sighed helplessly: "Think about why the French didn't announce their land purchase plan?
"Because it is too difficult for both parties involved in this matter - the nobles and the peasants to reach an agreement.
"The nobles want the peasants to pay a huge amount of money to maintain a luxurious life for themselves and their descendants, while the peasants hope to get the land without paying a penny. They are absolutely willing to hang each other on the gallows for this! "
Speaking of which, Wellesley was definitely a strategist, and he could see the key to the problem at a glance.
Historically, the Feuillants were the first to form a government after the French Revolution, that is, the constitutional monarchists. And it was precisely because they formulated a land redemption policy that favored the nobility, requiring farmers to redeem feudal taxes, and paying a price of up to 30 years of land income, that they aroused dissatisfaction among the peasant class and eventually drove the Feuillants out of power.
The later Girondins abolished all feudal taxes, but recognized taxes on lands not entrusted by the king. The farmers were still dissatisfied with this, because a large amount of land had been bought by nobles or capitalists at low prices before, but now they had to pay a high redemption price for it.
So the Jacobins raised their arms and, coupled with the famine that happened to happen at that time, the Girondins resigned sadly.
It was not until the Jacobins forcibly burned the land deeds of all nobles and sold the land cheaply to peasants that the land problem in France was basically solved.
However, the reason why the Jacobins were able to handle this matter was based on the fact that most of the nobles at that time had their heads removed. It is equivalent to using the wealth of the aristocratic class to satisfy the interests of the peasant class.
In France right now, the aristocracy is still very strong.
(End of chapter)