Chapter 1441 “A Gentleman’s Magazine”

In 1786, due to the signing of the Treaty between Britain and France, the tariffs on British goods imported from France were reduced, causing British goods to flood the French market, which hit the French industry, which was not as competitive as the British, and caused a large number of workers to lose their jobs. This led to strong dissatisfaction among workers and factory owners.

Historians believe that this treaty exacerbated social conflicts on the eve of the revolution.

Napoleon's new tariff policy was contrary to the 1786 Treaty. The tariffs on British goods flowing into France were very high. This may have made merchants in Rouen and other places very happy. They could obtain large amounts of cotton without worrying about being blocked by the Royal Navy.

Go to new sea areas for activities.

British businessmen may be unhappy about this, and Georgiana plans to tell Sir Merry that France's taxes are higher, so they can have more money for public works and buy British steel.

Although France is rich in iron ore, it has less than 40 iron smelting plants, and its scale of industrialization is far inferior to that of Britain.

Before the peace between Britain and France, British iron products were mainly sold to the United States. Napoleon himself was inclined to build large-scale public projects. Originally, he was still a little financially strapped. He sold famous paintings in the Louvre and turned the dung mountains outside the city into fertilizer.

After leaving the factory, he had a little more money, but he was still short of money.

Not only did he raise tariffs, but the new constitution stipulated that only the top 600 celebrities could become members of the House of Representatives.

This was what the three-tier parliaments wanted to discuss most in the old days. Common people and the bourgeoisie paid so much tax, but the nobility enjoyed various tax exemptions. However, no results were discussed at the three-tier parliaments. Later, the third-tier parliament simply gave up the privileges.

The class was thrown away, and a National Assembly was established to discuss it. At this time, Sieyes took off his clerical robes and changed from the second level to the third level.

Napoleon did not just risk Georgiana's life to make the Senate listen to him. He handed over part of the power of the Legislative Yuan to the senators, and the number of people in the Tribunal was reduced by half, leaving only 50 people. Even though Sieyes remained

He is the Speaker of the Senate, and he has also been sidelined.

She valued the three levels of courts in Sieyes. The countryside before the Revolution still retained the democratic characteristics of the Middle Ages. Often when city officials or when discussing a certain public matter, they would ring the church bells and call the peasants to stand on the porch.

There was a meeting in front of the meeting, and both poor and rich people had tickets to attend. There was no real consultation or voting at the meeting, but everyone could express their opinions, and a notary was invited to make a certificate in the open air.

Collect different speeches and record them in meeting minutes.

These officials who come to the parish are roughly divided into two categories, one is tax collectors, and the other is trustees. Tax collectors are responsible for collecting taxes, while trustees represent the governor in maintaining public order and other matters, such as organizing self-defense forces, national affairs, etc.

Engineering, and some common law enforcement.

Even the Paris High Court does not separate the executive and the judiciary. Judges control prices just like market managers. During this special period, the Special Criminal Court can deal with night theft, homicide, arson, counterfeiting of currency, inciting rallies, and illegal carrying of weapons.

For crimes that cannot be appealed, and other disputes such as property and taxation, it is best to send prosecutors and judges to counties, towns, and communes to deal with them. "Good people" and "thugs" must be treated differently, and the current Justice Rainey cannot do that.

this matter.

But Sieyes first told Georgiana that the church bells were gone now. They were used to mint money during the Revolution, and the church did not have the right to ring the bells freely.

Secondly, during the Lyon uprising, Robespierre sent Couton to suppress it, but Couton was a bit soft. From November onwards, the revolutionary commissioners in charge of the Revolutionary Tribunal became Colot and Fouche.

The executions doubled. In four months, more than 1,600 people were executed. Napoleon had seen the bloody scenes when he was an artillery captain. On average, at least 10 people were executed every day.

After the Republican Army entered Lyon, Barras ordered the execution of hundreds of rebels. During the Vendée War, a large number of military commissioners executed a large number of "bandits". More than 2,000 people were rescued and executed in Angers alone. Sieyes was very scared.

This time the cleanup of "bandits" became the same as during the Reign of Terror.

Georgiana did not persuade the former director. Robespierre was once called a "model of virtue", but what was left on his epitaph?

Talleyrand was called the lame devil, Lafayette was called the knight errant, Mirabeau was called the mad genius, and Madame Roland, the wife of Judge Roland, was called Queen Roland.

There are not many records of her husband, and perhaps she also knew that her husband's support for free trade in food did not really solve the problem of famine.

Farmers and landowners are not in a hurry to harvest the harvest of wheat in the fields, because the value of the coupons depreciates too quickly, and who will exchange grain for waste paper.

Georgiana chatted with Sieyes again about several people who were kicked out of the tribune this time, Pierre Cabaniss, Antoine Desti de Tracy, history professor and editor Dominique

· Gala, the constitutionalist bishop Henri Grégoire, the writer Pierre-Louis Gangnet, and the lawyer-politician Count Jean-Denis Lanrenay, she hoped that Sieyès would invite them to her home.

.

Sieyes asked her why, and Georgiana smiled and told him that it was because these people respected the late Marquis of Condorcet, and she happened to sponsor a student who was doing optical experiments using the theories of the Marquis of Condorcet.

Sieyes didn't quite believe her, but he still agreed to her request, and then left her villa and returned to the Palace of St. Luke.

After Sieyes left, Georgiana took down a book from the bookcase in the next room. It was the French version of "The Wealth of Nations". The translator was the Marquis de Condorcet. It also had many annotations by him. This book

The book is exactly the same as the "Wealth of Nations" that Napoleon read.

Condorcet, like Adam Smith and Turgot, believed that free trade in grains could alleviate famine. Turgot promoted Condorcet's policy everywhere, and he even gave it to Pierre Dupont de Nemours.

Wrote a letter.

When the crisis began, Turgot's first policy was to provide jobs and wages for the poor.

He proposed the establishment of a "charity office and working group" and requested central financing support to supplement local resources. He believed that "real poverty" should not only receive assistance, but also be "respected", and he worried about bringing the poor together to distribute soup or bread

It would "embarrass" some poor people because such behavior is akin to recognized begging.

The aim of the Institute of Philanthropy is to "make money circulate among the people" through effective "public works" such as paving roads and improving public spaces.

At that time, the head of the Ministry of the Interior provided 20,000 livres for public works and 80,000 livres for the purchase of food for those who could not work. Dougall suggested that this ratio should be reversed, and that it would eventually be spent on road construction, city wall defense and teaching spinning skills.

85,000 livres were spent on food, and 36,000 livres on food.

The second policy was to increase supply. When the crisis worsened, borrow money from merchants to support imports within the province. At that time, merchants had no experience in long-distance trade, and transportation costs were ridiculously high in times of prosperity and peace. Turgot borrowed money from the central government

One-tenth of the additional resources were used as bonuses, compensation and interest for grain imports. However, once the grain entered the province, most of it flowed back into the usual trade channels, and was eventually hoarded by speculators and did not flow into consumers.

hands, preventing the establishment of normal trade.

The third policy is to reduce taxes on the poor and impose emergency taxes on the rich, amending state taxes on the poorest small owners who have sold furniture, animals, and clothing to survive, but the charity working group will receive support from wealthy owners.

Supported by mandatory donations.

The fourth policy is that in the early stages of the crisis, the landlord responded to the dismissal of tenant farmers or tenants. When the price of grain rose to 150% above its ten-year average price, rent must be paid in currency, that is, coins. The law should assist tenants in times of shortage.

This is humane and fair.

"What are you looking at?"

Georgiana patted her chest and looked back at the person who spoke.

"Looking at the intelligence collected by Madame Gensley." She handed the stack of papers sandwiched in "The Wealth of Nations" to Napoleon. "The policies of Tourguet, Louis XVI's finance minister, lifted Limousin from the famine of 1770

The harvest was the worst in the 18th century."

"Do you also support free trade in grain?" Napoleon looked at the information.

"Unless I'm crazy, I just think this information is very useful. You donated 22,000 francs to the shelter in Lyon. 176,000 francs should be used for public works and 44,000 francs to buy food for those who cannot work."

, who did you put in charge of this matter?”

"I'm not free." He put down the book and put his arm around her waist. "Didn't I say that only I can enter this house? Who was the man who left just now?"

"Don't you even know Sieyes?"

"What did he tell you?"

"I hope he builds the three levels of courts he gave you in the constitution, but he seems to be afraid."

"This is the person from the Directory." Napoleon showed a charming and elegant smile again. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"I asked him to invite some friends who you kicked out of the Baominyuan." She bravely said.

"What do you want to do?"

"Overturn the verdict for the Marquis of Condorcet." She quickly showed Napoleon what she had seen written by the Marquis of Condorcet.

“If religion is only reserved for people, it will not be passed down, and therefore society will be abandoned in a world without a foundation of moral systems and without certainty, just like the late ancient Romans, when the spiritual world of mankind will be robbed.

Regardless of its beliefs and even opinions, left to the mercy of chance, the human spirit will be immersed in a sea of ​​uncertainty."

"You want those who oppose the church-state agreement to support it instead?" Napoleoni smiled frivolously.

"Every citizen has a place in the government." Georgiana whispered. "Even those in the opposition must have a chance to discuss."

"I would rather have them quiet," Bonaparte said with some arrogance, "especially the priests."

"Should I be quiet?"

"I like your chirping, come here." He held her shoulders, sat on the sofa, and then let Georgiana sit on his lap. "Starting next month, all soup kitchen directors will go to Shapta every month.

I’ll take 12,000 francs, and see if he will accept your method.”

"I want to tax horse-drawn carriages. Turgot's policy mentioned reducing taxes on the poor and increasing taxes on the rich. They would definitely not be happy if they were directly forced to levy taxes. Moreover, the horse-drawn carriage industry can be restored."

"Won't your British friends be unhappy if I raise customs duties?"

"I can tell them that you can buy steel by raising tariffs, but you can't keep making them suffer. This peace is hard-won."

"Dupont's family opened a gunpowder factory in the United States to provide gunpowder for the Americans." Napoleon said calmly, "The quality of American gunpowder is extremely poor, so they sent saltpeter to France for processing and then bought it back."

Georgiana didn't know what to say.

"You can tell this news to the British. Before the Treaty of Amiens was signed, I asked them when the land of Tipu Sultan would be returned to the Indians. Ceylon has already been given to the British. If the Duke of Orange wants compensation

The gold is also given by the British. I don’t need Ceylon, but only if they spit out the land of Mysore.”

Georgiana lost the ability to think.

"I know the prisoners of war are living a miserable life, but I refuse to trade you for those 70,000 sailors. Do you know why?"

She didn't answer.

"You are a good omen. I used to be a Corsican speculator. Now I am an angel of peace, a majestic hero, and a restorer of public order. Now I want a navy. What do you think I should do?"

"You can't want everything." She said tremblingly, "You will become a tyrant."
To be continued...