Father Mavie

Chapter 345 The Freedmen's Decree (Please Subscribe!!!)

The sky was gray, and there was a thin drizzle of rain. The luxurious carriages drove across the street and stopped beside the Senate Square street where the statue of Peter the Great stood.

The door of the car opened, and a group of well-dressed men in aristocratic attire got out of the carriage, took the leather bag handed over by the butler or the coachman, and walked towards the Senate building on foot.

Today is May 5, the day of the Senate General Assembly.

Since it is a General Assembly, members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords will attend together.

Mosk also sent a representative, that is, O'Hare whom Ma Wei met at the celebration banquet earlier.

O'Har twirled his beard, straightened his waist, stood beside the carriage and straightened his dress. After double-checking that he was well-groomed, he took out a bottle of red perfume from his purse, and sprayed it twice in front of him. , Then he took a step and strode into the spray of perfume.

According to Katerina's order, he came to observe today, because Archbishop Henry made a sudden move, which led to the postponement of policies and bills that should have been proposed at today's meeting. Both Katerina and Mavie wanted to see whether Archbishop Henry was How to restrict the aristocracy.

If nothing unexpected
There will be a good show today.

The dog bites the dog's hair, of course O'Hare will not jump out at this moment to disperse the firepower, and having the noble faction and Archbishop Henry confront each other is the ending he most wants to see.

Walk into the majestic Senate building, follow other congressmen, step up the stairs, come to the conference hall on the second floor, and sit on the stepped chair on the right.

O'Hare is a member of the House of Lords. Strictly speaking, the House of Lords should be called a 'committee' and the House of Commons is called a 'Duma'. As an aristocrat, he is different from the House of Commons, which has a large number of members. He belongs to the elite class and decision-making class. , with legislative voting rights.

The Senate was established by Peter the Great. Since Peter the Great's reforms had just begun, the power of the Senate was more inclined to the House of Lords, that is, the aristocracy. He died before he could further reform.

It is precisely because of this that the bill proposed by the House of Commons must be passed by the House of Lords before it can be signed by the King to take effect. It can only be regarded as a display.

What really has the right to speak is the House of Lords, where O'Hare is located.

But today
At the Senate meeting, a special 'guest' was ushered in.

Archbishop Henry.

Paul I was unable to attend today's conference, and a seat was added next to the seat originally reserved for him. When O'Hare entered the hall, he saw Archbishop Henry sitting there at a glance.

It seems that Her Highness Katerina is right. His Majesty the King is really going to be emptied.
O'Hare took out a white handkerchief from his outer breast pocket, folded it into a square, and put it on his lap. The other congressmen did the same after they took their seats. Whenever the congressmen waved their handkerchiefs, it meant that they agreed with the speaker's proposal.

This is a habit from the Kingdom of Windsor. When Peter the Great established the Senate, he referred to the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Windsor. This is also a symbol of his desire to carry out large-scale reforms in the Kingdom of Windsor.

As the door was closed heavily, the air was immediately covered by the smell of perfume. Different types, different concentrations, and different flavors of perfume were intertwined, as if a pot was stewed, floating around in the hall, like a palette without color.

Because he is the representative of the Grand Duke of Mosk, Ohar has two votes, and sits in the front and middle position. Next to him are Duke Ivanovic, Duke Tbilisi, and Count Shirkov. , everyone's position is fixed, divided according to their status.

Prince Ivanovich was talking with the Duke of Tbilisi in a low voice. O'Hare pricked up his ears and was about to eavesdrop, when there was a knock on the king's seat on the second floor.

"Everyone, His Majesty the King is unable to attend today's meeting due to physical discomfort, and I will act on my behalf."

Archbishop Henry looked down, glanced at the members of the parliament with different expressions, and said in a deep voice: "At the same time, he entrusted me to propose a brand new bill to the Senate, the Freedmen's Act."

Pulling out a speech that had been prepared long ago, Archbishop Henry read aloud: "In view of the severe situation that the Romanov Kingdom is currently facing, I, the King of the Romanov Kingdom, Paul I, formally propose the following proposals to the Senate. "

"[-]. From now on, the Romanov Kingdom will abolish serfdom, and farmers will enjoy personal freedom and general citizenship rights."

"Second, landlords are not allowed to buy, sell or exchange peasants."

"[-]. Peasants have the right to own property, to hold public office, to litigate, and to engage in industry and commerce."

Listening to the content of the "Free People's Decree", the members of the House of Commons sitting on the left looked at the members of the House of Lords opposite, and most of their eyes fell on Duke Ivanovic in the middle.

To their surprise, Prince Ivanovich did not show an angry expression, but calmly reached into his arms and took out the
a cigar.

ignite.

The tense members of the House of Commons breathed a sigh of relief. They thought that Duke Ivanovic was going to shoot Archbishop Henry, but after thinking about it carefully, they realized that it was impossible. This is a Senate meeting, and guns, swords, etc. are not allowed to be carried. injurious weapon.

It really started
O'Hare took a deep breath, took out a hand-rolled cigarette, and borrowed a fire from Duke Ivanovic next to him.

He was nervous, even more nervous than Prince Ivanovich.

Compared with the calm and composed Duke Ivanovich, the Duke of Tbilisi next to him was not so beautiful, his face was darkened, his eyelids were half raised, and he looked like someone who owed him millions of rubles and planned to renege.

"Buying and selling farmers will be an illegal act, and no one or any force may violate it." Archbishop Henry finished reading the content of the "Freedman Act", put down the speech, and asked: "This is the proposal made by His Majesty the King to the Senate. If there is any objection If so, please submit immediately."

There was a dead silence in the hall, except for the misty smoke.

"Is there no objection?" Archbishop Henry looked at Duke Ivanovich: "Then let's start voting."

At this moment, Prince Ivanovich glanced back at a certain nobleman who was sitting behind, and the nobleman immediately stood up and said loudly: "I don't object to His Majesty's proposal to abolish serfdom, but I would like to ask Ladies and gentlemen, if serfdom is abolished, how will our rights be protected?"

"We have all made great contributions to the Romanov Kingdom, and we have achieved our status today, all through hard work! We have shed blood for the kingdom, and we deserve a good resettlement!"

"Now that there are no serfs, who should cultivate the land under our name? I think His Majesty the wise King must have considered this. He will not let us old people lose their loyalty to the kingdom, right? Archbishop Henry ?”

Archbishop Henry's expression changed a few times, and he fell into deep thought.

He is indeed fully prepared, but well prepared refers to the priests and monks ambushing around the Senate, not to respond to sudden questions.

Originally, he planned to bloodbath the Senate today, but judging from the current situation
The aristocracy seems to have softened?

Thinking of this, Archbishop Henry temporarily suppressed his murderous intentions, and asked: "Of course His Majesty the King has considered your needs, but he wants to hear your opinions first."

"My opinion is very simple!" The leading nobleman waved his arm vigorously: "Supporting His Majesty the King's abolition of serfdom is a manifestation of our loyalty to the kingdom! But at the same time, the kingdom should also issue a new decree to ensure that we Rights and interests! For example, all the land is owned by the landlord, although farmers can own a certain amount of land, but they must pay a ransom to the landlord in exchange for farming qualifications!"

"At the same time, the land owned by each farmer is limited. If he wants to cultivate more than the specified amount of land, he has to pay more ransom on the basis of taxes. Correspondingly, all the crops and harvests produced by the farmland belong to the It is owned by the peasants themselves, and there is no need to pay other fees to the landlords!"

"Archbishop Henry, this is my personal opinion!"

After the nobleman finished speaking, Duke Ivanovic slowly picked up the folded white handkerchief on his knee and raised it symbolically.

Aristocratic leaders such as the Duke of Tbilisi and Count Shirkov also made the same move.

With their statement, white handkerchiefs were raised in the seats of the House of Lords, and only a few people did not move, including O'Hare.

However, the number of people in favor has far exceeded two-thirds, and whether they express their views has no effect on the result.

Archbishop Henry pondered for a long time, thinking that since serfdom has been abolished, there is no need to hold on to these places. Comprehensive reforms will only lead to greater resistance.

If you can't do it, naturally you don't do it.

He finally nodded:
"Okay, I think His Majesty the King will agree to your request."

(End of this chapter)