I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 248 The right to speak is determined by the decision (continue to ask for monthly votes)

Duke Dulfo's nephew Rolle slapped the armrest of the chair hard and glared at the frustrated nobles in front of him: "It's useless for everyone to complain here!"

He pointed to the new-style nobles gathering in the square outside the window: "We cannot let those guys destroy the ancient traditions and let them deceive Her Majesty the Queen!

“We have to fight them to make sure our birthright is not violated!”

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 about our own interests. When more than ten people stood up, "Yes, let His Majesty make the decision for us!"

"We can't let those young people run wild!"

"Let's go, I'm going to scold them..."

Rohr left the banquet hall immediately and walked downstairs. Many old nobles followed him along the way.

By the time they arrived at the Marble Courtyard, three to four hundred people had gathered.

Luo Er and his leaders bumped into the new-style nobles who were listening to the speech, and immediately asked loudly: "What on earth do you want to do?"

"You are also nobles yourself, why do you want to desecrate the honor of nobles?"

The young man who was standing next to the lion-headed statue on the palace wall and gave a speech shouted back: "The rotten privileges should have been abolished long ago!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Do you want the nobles to be like the sans-culottes on the street?"

"The nobles are already comfortable enough, why don't you go see those poor peasants..."

"Their poverty stems from laziness and stupidity. What does it have to do with us..."

"You are the ones who are lazy and stupid!"

"How dare you insult me! I will fight you!"

"Then come!"

Soon, the argument turned into insults and then escalated into a physical altercation.

Not to be outdone, both sides began to fight each other. The battlefield also gradually moved from the limited space of the marble courtyard to the square of the Palace of Versailles.

Soon, the number of people on both sides exceeded a 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. There are also people who imitate the common people and pick up rotten vegetables and clods of soil and throw them at each other.

Joseph stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor of the South Hall, watching with interest the battle with French characteristics in the square.

If this was the case in Russia or Prussia, if they dared to make such a fuss in the palace, the king would have sent guards to disperse the two sides, and the leader would have been sent to prison. But in Versailles, this was just normal political activity.

Eman also came over, looked out the window and said: "Your Highness, it seems that our side does not have the advantage."

He is the person closest to the crown 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?"

Emang's doubts were quickly answered. As carriages parked outside the Palace of Versailles Square, a large number of well-dressed people, but not as sophisticated as the aristocrats of the Palace of Versailles, poured into the square. Under the guidance of a dozen young people, they quickly joined the emerging aristocracy.

Joseph took the tea cup from Eman and signaled to the new people: "Look, everyone has forgotten that nobles in robes are also nobles."

The so-called "robed nobles" refer to those who spend money to buy noble titles, and the corresponding hereditary nobles are called "sword nobles".

The former has always been looked down upon by the latter, being called the nouveau riche, and most of them cannot live in the Palace of Versailles. Therefore, they had few opportunities to get involved in the "collective political activities" of Versailles.

But in terms of heads alone, there were many more of them than the sword nobles.

Others ignored them, but Joseph did not forget them. Historically, the core backbone of the French army was this group of people, and their combat effectiveness was unparalleled.

So more than half a month ago, he asked Mirabeau to mobilize the robe-clad nobles to be ready to reinforce the confrontation in Versailles.

In just over an hour, the size of the "battle group" on the side of the rising nobles had exceeded two or three times that of the opposite side, and people were still arriving to join.

Moreover, most of these nobles in robes have judicial and business experience, and their eloquence and physical agility are much higher than those of the gentlemen in the Palace of Versailles.

The tide of the battle turned around in an instant. The old nobles were pushed back steadily, and were finally pinned in a corner of the marble courtyard. They barely resisted with their backs against the wall of the Palace of Versailles, and their momentum became weaker and weaker.

Finally, after Rohr was hit on the forehead by a lump of dirt and withdrew from the battle with a grin on his face, the old nobles began to collapse.

Half an hour later, only people from the emerging aristocracy were left in the square. They cheered excitedly and rushed towards the Petit Trianon Palace with several leading nobles, expressing to His Majesty their full support for Vicomte Chantal's motion.

This is the French political tradition - the right to speak is determined by the situation. The French Grand Prix of that year has repeatedly proven this.

Obviously, the old nobles were completely defeated in the battle just now.

Of course, this was a situation that only occurred due to Joseph's deliberate connivance. If the momentum was not right, he would immediately mobilize his guards to disperse the gathered nobles.

He is not as easy to talk to as Louis XVI and Queen Marie.

In fact, despite all the fun these nobles were having, only a few hundred guards were needed to make them go home and rest.

Outside the gate of the Little Trianon Palace, Queen Mary was surprised that there were so many people who supported the abolition of the privileges of the nobility. She hurriedly expressed in public that the bill would be approved and a decree would be formed as soon as possible.

The crowd immediately burst into cheers, and then they all bowed and praised the queen. They almost drowned the queen with such high hats as "savior of suffering", "angel-like kindness", "the people will always remember your gift".

That night, on the second floor of the Palace of Versailles, in Duke Mouchy's living room, more than a dozen nobles were discussing gloomily.

"They actually brought so many lowly guys to the Palace of Versailles to cause trouble!"

"But Her Majesty the Queen seems to have promised them that she will abolish the traditional rights of the nobles."

"They are so powerful that His Majesty cannot resist the pressure..."

Although these big guys will not directly participate in the petitions and confrontations like 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 to mobilize the local nobles..."

Duke Dulfo thought and shook his head: "No, it's difficult for us to outnumber those liberals. They can gather thousands of people just by giving a speech on the street."

"What do you mean?"

"We have to give full play to our advantages." Duke Dulfo looked at everyone, "Although our numbers are small, we are more influential in the Palace of Versailles.

"Those guys can only petition in the square, but our letters will appear on the queen's desk, and we will even go directly to her tea room to speak in person!"

[Note 1] Sans-culottes: a term given to urban civilians during the French Revolution. The main components of the sans-culottes are small craftsmen, small traders, small shopkeepers and other working people, including some wealthy people. They were the main force of urban revolution and participants in several armed uprisings in Dage. At that time, it was popular among French aristocratic men to wear tight short trousers and stockings below the knees; civilians wore trousers without culottes, so they were called culottes-less men. It was originally a derisive term for the common people from the nobles, but soon became synonymous with those who ordered their lives.