The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 310 In Paris and the Louvre

Surt had no choice.

After several years of head-on confrontation with the Ming army and experiencing the battle when the Ming occupied the Rhine region, France knew that France was no match for the Ming.

The key point is that General Napoleon has already signed his abdication and directly asked himself to obey the Ming Dynasty and the Bourbon royal family.

The crown prince of the legitimate Bourbon dynasty has returned, and he is obviously going to become the king by right.

Soult ordered his army to hand over the defense zone to the Ming Dynasty.

Soult himself, carrying documents signed by Ming officers, led the officers and soldiers who wanted to follow Napoleon to Antwerp and took a ship to Königsberg.

Officers and soldiers who were willing to follow the Bourbon royal family and stay in France would be taken over by Ming officers in command and management.

But more soldiers simply dropped their weapons and went home.

The main force was responsible for taking over the French army's control of the border, and Tian Yiming escorted Louis Joseph across the border to Paris.

There are already a small number of four-wheeled armored vehicles and two-wheeled motor vehicles in the Ming army, but they are currently mainly used as weapons rather than tools for traveling and transporting troops.

In addition, the process of this team going to Paris was also a declaration that the Ming Dynasty was escorting the Bourbon royal family back.

On the way, they were also responsible for notifying, taking over, and disbanding the army of the former Napoleon French government, and also leaving time for the news of Napoleon's abdication and the return of the Bourbon royal family to spread.

So they don't need to, or even can't, rush to travel now.

The entire team waved flags, honked electric horns, and slowly moved towards Paris at a speed of more than ten kilometers a day.

The straight-line distance from the border between Belgium and France to Paris is less than 200 kilometers, and most of the area is plain. The terrain will not affect the marching speed and there is no need to take detours.

But it took Tian Yiming and Joseph half a month to reach Paris.

For half a month, Ming Dynasty bombers continued to drop leaflets in and around Paris.

The content is the promises made by the Ming Dynasty and the Bourbon royal family to the people in Paris and surrounding areas.

The new king will abolish all privileges of the nobility and the church, transform the nobility and church personnel into state civil servants, and pay their salaries from state taxes.

This was the agreement Joseph made with the exiled French nobles with the support of Ming officials.

The French high-ranking nobility was originally concentrated in Paris and was no longer the traditional feudal lords of medieval Europe, so this change was more in name than in reality.

In the eyes of many French and European nobles, the practice of the court directly paying salaries to the nobles was equivalent to entrusting the fiefdom to the court for management.

The imperial court was equivalent to a tax farmer, and the salary given by the imperial court was equivalent to contracting the tax collection within their original territory.

In addition, these nobles had been in exile for more than a decade, and they did not have high expectations for the possibility of regaining their land.

The key was the tough demands from the Ming Dynasty, which forced them to make some concessions and prevent them from retaliating as they wished.

On this basis, the new king also promised that the new French court would uniformly measure the land across the country and then divide it equally among all French farmers.

The new king will also sign laws to protect everyone's private property.

In the future, trade between France and Ming Dynasty will be open to all French merchants, and the royal family will no longer monopolize the related profits.

These Bourbons' promises were equivalent to suppressing all exiled nobles and church organizations, while promising to protect the interests of farmers and merchants.

In fact, it was a recognition of the benefits and wealth they had gained during the Great Revolution and that there would be no retaliation against them.

Louis XVI in this world was assassinated, and did not directly commit "treason" as in the original history.

Louis XVI also continued to extract money from the nobles to buy food for disaster relief through trade with the Ming Dynasty, so his reputation was not as bad as it had been in history.

The key point is that the assassination made him a tragic figure, which naturally brought with it an emotional orientation of being pitied.

Ordinary people in Paris and even in France accepted that Louis XVI was the legitimate king.

During the Great Revolution in this world, there were politicians calling for the crown prince of Louis XVI to be welcomed as king.

Now Napoleon has signed the abdication document, and Louis XVI's legitimate crown prince has returned, and he has generously given up large-scale fundamental interests.

When Tian Yiming escorted Joseph to Paris, they were warmly welcomed by the citizens of Paris.

The Ming Dynasty's two-wheeled motor cavalry led the way, and several open-top four-wheeled motor vehicles carried Joseph's brothers and their wives and other French nobles.

The streets were filled with Parisian citizens. Joseph, wearing French aristocratic clothing custom-made in Antwerp, waved to the crowd with a smile on his face.

However, the families of Joseph's brothers and many French nobles were very disappointed at this time.

Ugly and low buildings, dirty and narrow streets, the fishy smell in the air, and the disheveled yet extremely excited crowd in this environment.

These scenes made both the Joseph brothers and their families feel very uncomfortable.

Although both of them are French, they have lived in Daming City since childhood, and in the Palace of Versailles when they were even younger.

They had no idea what the city of Paris, France was like.

Although they knew from the servants' introductions, newspapers and books that big European cities were definitely not clean, they already had some psychological expectations.

However, the actual situation in Paris still significantly broke their expectations.

This largest city in France, and even once the largest city in Europe, was much dirtier and messier than they had imagined.

But in order to maintain a good public image, Joseph had to keep smiling and not show any disgust.

It was not until Joseph entered the Tuileries Palace in Paris and was no longer being watched by the people outside that he revealed a rather tired expression.

But Joseph's long journey as king had just begun.

Joseph wanted to control the situation in the French court and among the people, and to rebuild the political and economic order of France.

The key is that this new French order cannot be of the old Bourbon style, nor can it be of the new revolutionary France or the Napoleonic Empire style.

We can refer to the experience of the Ming Dynasty, but we cannot be completely Ming-style.

Many of the Ming Dynasty's traditional cultural systems are very different from those of Europe and France, and are even completely opposite.

For example, in terms of marriage and love systems, adultery was a serious crime in the Ming Dynasty, but it was a common phenomenon in France.

At the same time, we must be careful in dealing with the Ming Dynasty and maintain an appropriate relationship with it.

Joseph quickly gathered himself together and stood at the door to welcome the princes and officials of the Ming Dynasty who came in later.

Zhu Jingjian, the sixteenth prince of the Ming Dynasty, got off the car in front of the door of the main hall of the Tuileries Palace and stood in front of the door looking at the outlines of the surrounding buildings.

Then he turned around, bowed to Joseph and his wife at the door, and said with a smile:

"Congratulations! You have lived in a foreign land for sixteen years and finally returned to your hometown. You have also become the king directly."

Other Ming princes and officials also bowed to Joseph casually or seriously and said a few words of congratulations.

No matter how many difficulties France may face in the future, King Joseph's position is now basically determined.

As long as we follow the Ming Dynasty's guidance, there shouldn't be any major trouble.

Joseph quickly bowed in return:
"I thank the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty for his great grace, and thank the princes and gentlemen of the Ming Dynasty for giving France the opportunity to rectify the chaos and allowing me to return to my homeland."

Joseph invited everyone to come in and take a seat, and to visit the French palace.

Then, accompanied by Ming officials, Joseph brought the returning French nobles to summon the French government officials left behind by Napoleon, as well as officials from the Paris City Hall and more famous businessmen in Paris.

Let all these people participate, and organize the new cabinet and various ministries of the royal government with reference to the Ming Dynasty's system, to be responsible for handling administrative affairs across France and the Paris region.

At the same time, he asked the Ming officers and the officers left by Napoleon to form a Privy Council to be responsible for reorganizing and reforming the existing French army.

Zhu Jingjian and other Ming dynasty princes visited Paris and its surrounding areas accompanied by their respective teachers and guards.

Zhu Jingjian first went to the Louvre, a French museum converted from the Bourbon royal collection.

The Louvre was opened to the public during the Republic, but was closed again after Napoleon's coronation.

Napoleon did not intend to convert the palace into a residence again, but to make comprehensive renovations and expansions to the entire museum.

So far, the renovation work has not been completed, so it is temporarily closed.

But this does not affect the visit of the princes of the Ming Dynasty.

During the European war that lasted for more than ten years, Napoleon and his other generals looted a large number of treasures and artworks from European countries. Most of these things are placed in the Louvre.

During the Revolution, France and Paris were in a state of near anarchy for a time, and the Palace of Versailles outside the city was continually looted.

The most magnificent palace in France was almost reduced to ruins.

After the French revolutionary government gradually established its ruling order, it sent the remaining treasures and artworks from the Palace of Versailles to the Louvre.

The Palace of Versailles itself was largely abandoned.

The Palace of Fontainebleau was less damaged, and Napoleon had intended to restore it, but the work was not yet completed.

In addition, there are original collections of the Bourbon royal family.

During the French Revolution, the revolutionary government also collected various treasures and works of art from the public and stored them in the Louvre.

Zhu Jingjian followed his three brothers around the Louvre:
“Although these things are barbaric, some of them look pretty good, and they are quite exquisitely made, and they use a lot of good things.”

Most of these European treasures and artworks are collections of royal families in various countries. Even if they are different from the Ming Dynasty style, they can still be seen to be precious.

After hearing this comment, the other princes simply agreed without any rebuttal.

Then Zhu Jingjian continued:
“Although these things are now placed here, many of them do not belong to France.

"Once the monarchies of other European countries recover, they will surely come to ask for these things, right?"

When the eldest prince Zhu Jingkun heard this, he couldn't help but ask back:

"Sixteenth brother, do you have any ideas?"

Zhu Jingjian smiled and said:
"I think we should arrange for everyone to move out. As for what to do next, whether to return it to those European monarchs, that's up to our father to decide."

Zhu Jingkun frowned and said:

"The Emperor did not allow us to interfere in local affairs. He only allowed us to visit and learn about the situation in Europe."

Zhu Jingjian continued:

"My father's real intention should be to prevent us from asking local officials for things directly, or even to prevent us from colluding with local officials.

"If we have any ideas, we should report them directly to the emperor and ask for instructions. The emperor has asked us to report back regularly, right?"

Zhu Jingkun reacted:

"That's true..."

So after the visit to the Louvre, the four princes each wrote a report.

The eldest prince suggested returning these things to their original countries as a gift from the Ming Dynasty, but on the prerequisite that the other party must pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

The Sixth Prince suggested that those items that did not belong to France be moved away and sent to the Ming mainland as trophies for exhibition.

The tenth prince suggested moving everything away.

The sixteenth prince Zhu Jingjian is very powerful. He wants these things himself.

Zhu Jingjian wrote a report to his father, suggesting that a European museum be established in the Ming-occupied area in central Europe to manage these treasures and artworks from all over Europe.

Zhu Jingjian himself served as the king of the region and was responsible for coordinating and managing museum-related work.

Zhu Jingjian still wanted to be king. While visiting various places these days, Zhu Jingjian had already explained the climate of western Europe to the residents of Antwerp.

I know that the weather here is generally warm in winter and cool in summer, but the biggest problem is that there is too little sunlight and crops don't grow well.

Zhu Jingjian felt that the overall environment here was acceptable, but the place where he would live would definitely have to be rebuilt, just like the Ming City of Antwerp.

Therefore, Zhu Jingjian didn't care about the existing local urban environment. The dirtiness and messiness of these cities had nothing to do with his future palace.

On the other hand, the tacit cooperation between Ming Dynasty and Napoleon in taking over their own territory on the battlefield was gradually noticed by some well-informed and politically sensitive European officials.

In particular, the events of Napoleon signing the abdication document and the Ming Dynasty escorting Louis Joseph back to France were publicized with great fanfare.

There was no way to hide the fact that Napoleon accepted the Ming Dynasty's enthronement and became the King of Poland under the Ming Dynasty.

The monarchs of various countries realized that the Ming Dynasty and Napoleon were already negotiating the division of spheres of influence in Europe.

They immediately could not help but arrange for envoys to go to Antwerp and Hamburg to complain and accuse the Ming officials.

Wang Tingzhen and Yang Yuchun, who were in charge of the negotiations, took into account all aspects of the situation.

The Ming Dynasty had taken over the occupied areas outside mainland France and Poland, and Napoleon also led the Poles to basically restore the territory of 1771.

The two felt that the time was ripe and there was no need to delay any further.

Wang Tingzhen then formally invited monarchs of various countries to arrange representatives to come to Antwerp before February 1, the 15th year of Tiangong to discuss the aftermath of the European war.

Among them was the new King of Spain, Ferdinand VII (also known as Ferdinand VII, translation problem).

Ferdinand VII of this world is much luckier than the one in history.

After Napoleon and the Ming Dynasty officially went to war, neither side continued to interfere in the Spanish Civil War.

Napoleon didn't want to waste his strength in Spain, and the key point was that he didn't have time to organize large-scale operations in Spain.

The Ming Dynasty had no interest in mainland Spain. Since it had already controlled the American land it wanted, it would be useless even if the mainland Spanish government did not accept it.

The key is that Zhu Jianxuan knew that this Spanish Civil War would be a big pit, so he did not allow the army and officials to intervene directly.

Only allow the Mediterranean and Atlantic navies to operate around Spain, attacking and destroying all Spanish navies and all merchant ships that go out to sea.

After Spain has settled its own turmoil and formed a new, more stable court, we will then negotiate and sign a treaty with those in power.

With the support of the Spaniards and the Spanish nobles and guards who followed him, Crown Prince Fernando of Spain rebelled against the current king and queen.

In the original history, Fernando was placed under house arrest after meeting with Napoleon, not long after he forced his father to abdicate through a coup.

This is a world that Ferdinand VII does not control without Napoleon, and the current king is still the King of Spain.

But Spain's domestic problems remain unresolved.

Ferdinand VII was not a wise monarch, and the Spanish people had very limited knowledge of him before the Civil War.

The key point is that the original king and queen, as well as their favorite minister Godoy, were too unpopular.

Simply by attacking Godoy, the crown prince gained widespread support.

The Spaniards could no longer stand the current king and wanted to try a new one.

The legitimate crown prince is the natural candidate for the new king, so they instinctively support Fernando's succession to the throne.

This Spanish Civil War had the nature of a bourgeois revolution, but it was not entirely endogenous. It was triggered by the war with the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty forcibly seized the American colonies, the Spanish royal family's largest source of income disappeared, and the people's source of precious metals was also cut off.

This directly led to the near collapse of Spain's politics and economy, which the bourgeoisie and the old and new aristocrats could no longer bear.

These problems were too complicated. Fernando, with limited ability, became king, but was unable to solve the problems both at home and abroad in Spain, and the situation in Spain remained in chaos.

Fernando didn't even know what to do with Godoy.

Fernando himself certainly wanted to execute Godoy directly, and most of the nobles and bourgeoisie also instinctively demanded the execution of Godoy.

They all believed that it was the treacherous minister Godoy that caused Spain's current failure.

But Ferdinand VII now had to consider that Godoy had participated in almost all negotiations with the Ming Dynasty and was the person in Spain who was most familiar with the Ming emperor and politics.

Godoy himself also loudly proclaimed that the relationship with the Ming Dynasty was related to the survival of Spain, and they themselves were the people who were most familiar with the Ming Dynasty, and they could not die now!

If the Ming people come into contact with them in the future and they want to continue communicating with Godoy, Godoy’s death may make them unhappy.

Ferdinand VII was like this, hesitating, looking ahead and behind, full of worries, and ultimately he couldn't do anything well.

Now that he received the invitation sent by Wang Tingzhen, Fernando VII felt relieved.

(End of this chapter)