Chapter 247: The Right to Speak Is Determined by Making a Fuss (Continue to Ask for Monthly Votes)
Chapter 248: Determine the right to speak by making a fuss (continue to ask for monthly tickets)
Duke Durford's nephew, Roll, slammed the armrest of the chair and glared at the frustrated nobles in front of him: "It's useless for everyone to complain here!"
He pointed to the new nobles who were gathering in the square outside the window: "We can't let those guys destroy the ancient traditions and let them deceive Her Majesty the Queen!
"We must fight them to ensure that our innate rights will not be destroyed!"
He stood up and waved: "Don't be a coward here, come with me to find Her Majesty the Queen, she will listen to us.
After all, it is related to their own interests, and more than a dozen people stood up immediately, "Yes, let His Majesty decide for us!"
"We can't let those young people make trouble!"
"Let's go, I'm going to scold them..."
Roll took the lead and walked out of the banquet hall and walked downstairs. Along the way, many old nobles followed him.
When they arrived at the marble courtyard, three or four hundred people had gathered.
Roll and his men collided head-on with the new nobles who were listening to the speech, and immediately asked loudly: "What on earth do you want to do?"
"You are also nobles, why do you want to blaspheme the glory of the nobility?"
The young man who was standing next to the lion head statue on the palace wall and giving a speech shouted back: "The corrupt privileges should have been abolished long ago!"
"What are you talking about? Do you want the nobles to be the same as the sans-culottes on the street [Note 1] to be satisfied?"
"The nobles are already comfortable enough, go and see those poor peasants..."
"Their poverty comes from laziness and stupidity, what does it have to do with us..."
"It is you who are lazy and stupid!"
"How dare you insult me! I want to duel with you!"
"Then come on!"
Soon, the argument turned into a verbal abuse, and then escalated into a physical conflict.
Both sides were unwilling to give in and began to mobilize their own people. The battlefield also gradually shifted from the limited marble courtyard to the Versailles Palace Square.
Soon, the number of people on both sides exceeded one thousand, and it was still increasing.
Although no serious bloodshed occurred due to the intervention of the guards, the curses had spread throughout the Palace of Versailles. Some people also picked up rotten vegetables and dirt and threw them at each other like ordinary people.
Joseph stood in front of the French window on the second floor of the South Palace, looking at the French-style battle in the square with interest.
If this happened in Russia or Prussia, if someone dared to make such a fuss in the palace, the king would have sent guards to disperse both sides and sent the leader to prison. But in the Palace of Versailles, this is just a normal political activity.
Emman also came over, looked out the window and said: "Your Highness, it seems that our side is not dominant."
He is the person closest to the prince, so he naturally knows what is going on here.
Joseph smiled slightly: "Don't worry, Mr. Mirabeau's main force has not arrived yet."
"Main force?"
Emman's doubts were soon answered. As carriages stopped outside the square of the Palace of Versailles, a large number of people dressed elegantly but not as complicated as the nobles of the Palace of Versailles poured into the square. Under the guidance of a dozen young people, they quickly joined the new nobles.
Joseph took the teacup handed by Emman and gestured to the newcomers: "You see, everyone has forgotten that robed nobles are also nobles."
The so-called "robed nobles" refer to those who have paid for the title of nobility, and the corresponding hereditary nobles are called "sword nobles".
The former have always been looked down upon by the latter and are called nouveau riche, and most of them cannot live in the Palace of Versailles. So they rarely have the opportunity to be involved in this kind of "collective political activities" in the Palace of Versailles.
But if you count the number of people alone, they are much more than the sword nobles.
Others ignored them, but Joseph did not forget. Historically, the core backbone of the French Revolution was this group of people, and their fighting power was not covered.
So more than half a month ago, he asked Mirabeau to mobilize the robed nobles and be ready to reinforce the confrontation of the Palace of Versailles at any time.
In more than an hour, the size of the "battle group" on the side of the emerging nobles has exceeded that of the other side by two or three times, and people are constantly coming to join.
Moreover, most of these robed nobles have experience in justice and business, and their eloquence and physical flexibility are much higher than those of the masters in the Palace of Versailles.
The situation of the battle suddenly changed, and the old nobles were pushed back step by step, and finally pressed into a corner of the marble courtyard, with their backs against the wall of the Palace of Versailles, barely resisting, and their momentum became weaker and weaker.
Finally, after Roll was hit on the forehead by a lump of earth and withdrew from the battle circle with his teeth bared, the old nobles began to disintegrate.
Half an hour later, only the people on the side of the emerging nobles were left in the square. They cheered excitedly, surrounded a few leading nobles and rushed to the Petit Trianon Palace to express their full support for Viscount Chantal's proposal to His Majesty.
This is the political tradition of France - the right to speak is determined by the noise. The French Revolution of that year has repeatedly proved this point.
Obviously, the old nobles were completely defeated in this battle.
Of course, this was a situation that would only occur if Joseph deliberately indulged. If the momentum was not right, he would immediately mobilize the guards to disperse the gathered nobles.
He was not as easy to talk to as Louis XVI and Queen Marie.
In fact, although these nobles were having fun, they only needed a few hundred guards to make them go home and rest.
Outside the gate of the Petit Trianon, Queen Marie was surprised that there were so many people who supported the abolition of the privileges of the nobility. She said in public that she would approve the bill and make a decree as soon as possible.
The crowd immediately cheered, and then bowed to the queen and praised her, almost drowning her with high hats such as "the savior of suffering", "angelic kindness", and "the people will always remember your gift".
That night, on the second floor of the Palace of Versailles, in the living room of the Duke of Mushi, more than a dozen nobles were discussing with gloomy faces.
"They actually brought so many lowly guys to the Palace of Versailles to make trouble!"
"But Her Majesty seems to have promised them to abolish the traditional rights of the nobility."
"They are so powerful that Her Majesty can't stand the pressure..."
Although these bigwigs will not directly participate in the petitions and confrontations during the day, they are always paying attention to the development of the situation.
A middle-aged noble said: "We must find more people to balance the situation!"
"Yes! I can go to my hometown and mobilize the local nobles..."
The Duke of Durfu thought and shook his head: "No, it is difficult for us to have more people than those liberals. They can gather thousands of people just by giving speeches on the street."
"What do you mean?"
"We must play to our strengths." The Duke of Durfu looked at everyone, "Although our number is small, we have more influence in the Palace of Versailles.
"Those guys can only petition in the square, while our letters will appear on the Queen's desk, and we can even go directly to her tea room to make suggestions in person! ”
[Note 1] Sans-culottes: The name for urban civilians during the French Revolution. The main components of the sans-culottes were small handicraftsmen, small vendors, small shop owners and other working people, including some rich people. They were the main force of the urban revolution and the participants of several armed uprisings during the Revolution. At that time, French noble men were in favor of wearing tight short chaps and stockings below the knees; civilians wore long trousers without chaps, so they were called sans-culottes. It was originally a mocking name for civilians by nobles, but soon became a synonym for revolutionaries.