I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 242 Greed

The death of General Reuter was even more incredible to the Dutch than the tragic fate of Prime Minister John de Witte's brother, and the still unknown descendant of Orange, William III. They couldn't even believe it, thinking it was a French The rumors spread with the British, but not long after, the ships of the coalition forces at sea towed back the "Seven Provinces" with broken masts and burned sails, that is, General Reuter's flagship, this ship accompanied Reiter. For more than ten years, the general has witnessed countless victories he brought to the Netherlands, but just after the naval battle that decided the fate of the Netherlands, it took on the task of transporting the master's remains back to the Netherlands.

The general died after being hit by a cannonball in the cabin, and the shards of the wall that splattered hit the vital point. His death came so quickly that he was only allowed to leave a few words in his last words, "Holland! Netherlands! "He was completely breathless after shouting two words like that - his death was like a strong wind that dispelled the courage of every Dutchman, and Reuter's death was not only the result of the war between the Dutch fleet and the Allied fleet. The end was also the end of the French-Dutch War.

The dead Reuter probably did not expect that his death was still betrayed by the merchants in Amsterdam. No, this was not their original intention. It was just that when they met the French king, it was obvious that the situation in the Netherlands was already in ruins. The merchants were still complacent and did not worry about the loss of their assets in Amsterdam. If they were ordinary people, they might have let it go. After all, in this day and age, the merchants had a low status, but Louis XIV was always careful - he let himself spies went to investigate the actions of the Amsterdam parliamentarians, and it turned out that they were transferring government assets to their ships without anyone knowing, or not just government assets, but also those that take hundreds of years or more to accumulate. Reputation gained in exchange for real money.

It is not surprising that the MPs have made such a decision. For them, once Amsterdam is invaded by the French, or becomes a vassal of the sea, these precious metals continue to remain in Amsterdam, and may become enemies in time. The spoils, it is better for them to take them all away now, so that the new Dutch government can still gain the recognition and support of other countries on another continent. After all, they hold a lot of bonds and capital.

Of course Louis would not allow it to fall short, and he immediately thought that even if Reuter was an extraordinary general who could see through this trap, he would still have to step in, unless he wanted to see Holland destroyed from his own hands, He couldn't be so ruthless. At the last moment of his death, he was still worried about his country. It is also possible that these two cries were his last mourning for the Netherlands, because he knew very well that his death would lead to the destruction of the fleet. The destruction, the destruction of the fleet, will inevitably kill the last hope of the "coachman at sea", and the Netherlands will not come back.

   And Louis XIV finally won a big victory over Holland.

  ——

Such a victory also made France's enemies panic and anger at the same time, especially Leopold I, who made a mistake because of his youth and recklessness. In order to make up for this mistake, he had to keep silent, but this It was his second mistake, after Louis XIV captured Flanders, he did not stop, his saber pointed at Holland without hesitation, and it was only then that Leopold I realized that he had It would be so stupid that he ignored the secret covenant that remained in the hands of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and united countries and principalities with such interests as Denmark or Brandenburg, intending to threaten this. Louis XIV. At the same time, he continued to send envoys to lobby important figures in the French court and court, trying to get them to persuade Louis XIV to give up his ambitions for the Netherlands, at least not so urgently - this kind of voice is not uncommon in Louis' ears, the Queen Mother, Meng The Duchess of Ponceier had written letters full of anxiety, asking about the situation of the war, and in the streets of Paris and at salon banquets, there were often voices against the war. Spain, the other princes of the Holy Roman Empire except the Archbishop of Cologne, as well as Denmark, Switzerland, etc., are all arguing their borders, making a gesture of war at any time - there are sporadic but continuous riots in the Flanders area, and the occupied Undercurrents surging in Dutch cities, there is no lack of the young emperor's handwriting.

It can be said that in this battle, as long as Louis hesitates a little, he will be the one who loses. If he fails, his fate may not be any better than that of William III. The reputation of the king and the country will fall to the dust. It will immediately turn its face and ruthless, and the countries next to it will inevitably take advantage of the fire. The previous victory is just a wedding dress for others, and the heavy debt will destroy all the French. The king who has lost his authority is not qualified to continue to dictate government affairs. , and French aristocrats and officials will definitely re-enable the "tax package system" in order to repay their debts, and the tax package system is one of the evil policies that induced the French Revolution a hundred years later.

To put it simply, the original intention of the tax package system is that the king will hand over the right to collect taxes to people he trusts, and these people will send generous taxes to the treasury according to the agreement. Seeing this, people may say, then this What is the advantage of the official position? - And the reason why those merchants would be so happy to borrow large sums of money from the king or the duke is precisely this. Once the king and the duke are unable to repay the debt, they can justifiably ask them to use the tax-paying officials. positions to offset.

Of course, these tax-paying officials from businessmen, in order to seek profits, need not say much about how they can exploit the commoners, and the commoners only know that they are officials of the king, even if some people know the inside story, but to the businessmen Wasn't it the king who borrowed? What would be the debts of kings for wars and pleasures that they should bear?

  Under such thinking, anger and unwillingness are easily accumulated, and once they reach the point of overflow, the raging fire they ignite can easily burn down an entire country.

  ——

   Of course, the current king of France has no such worries.

In the civic hall of Amsterdam City Hall, tables and chairs have been removed, and hundreds of oak boxes have been piled up. The corners of these boxes are reinforced with iron bars and locked, but now they are all open and full of Gold and silver, some are coins, some are blocks or bars, the sun shines into the room from the glass window, illuminating them, the unique texture and luster of gold and silver makes Madame Lavalier hold her breath, this kind of It felt like the second time on her, the first time when she was brought into the Louvre.

   "Yes," said Louis, "that's not all, but I've always wondered what it's like to walk among the wealth of fifteen thousand merchant ships."

"What do you think?" Madame Lavalier couldn't help but ask her back. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were bright. She had never shown such a smile and attitude before. Knowing that she is not happy, but today, that gloom and more disturbing things are gone from her, and even the face that is not coquettish shows the brilliance of a woman who is immersed in love.

"Very good, my lady," said Louis. In the previous decades, the Dutch had almost regarded the sea as their pasture, and their merchants were the best shepherds, and they were constantly buying from the sheep they traded. The group draws blood and feeds itself back, making this small country gradually become the giant it is now - Norwegian wood, Danish fish, Polish wheat, Russian fur, Italian wine, French ceramics and lace, Arabia and South Asia Spices from India, cotton from India, wool from Flanders, and silk from Theris all became weights and even weapons in the hands of Dutch merchants. With their accumulated wealth and reputation, they opened the Bank of Amsterdam, the goods of the merchants. The price needs to be set here, the securities of the trading company are quoted here, and even the loans of kings and emperors are fixed here with the final number.

Now it belongs to Louis, to the King of France--though the Duke of York thinks he should be entitled to a part of it, but Louis' messenger has only said a word, and he decides not to waste time and speech here in vain, and hurried back to London Now - I hope that when he goes back, he will be able to catch up with the Queen's birth, so that he can witness the birth of his nephew as soon as possible, Louis thought badly - the box he opened now is enough to pay him for Flanders. Well, for all the costs of the two wars against Holland, as he promised, all the soldiers who took part in the battle against Amsterdam could return triumphantly after filling their wallets with gold and silver coins.

Oh, I forgot to mention, Colbert and his subordinates were rushing in, and Louis thought to himself that the de facto Chancellor of the Exchequer would be ecstatic—the king's pledge of Fontainebleau was also a secret witness. For one, he looked like he was going to faint at any moment...and since that day the last few hairs of our venerable Monsieur Colbert have fallen out, fortunately by this time Paris has begun to revere the wearer. Wig, he was able to maintain dignity in front of courtiers.

Although war can easily ruin a king's property, the benefits are undoubtedly considerable. The problem is... Although the Marquis of Lois knew that he should not disturb the king at this time, he still had to ask the king how he wanted to deal with those who might be more than Colbert. The merchants and bankers who came faster, who had invested a large part of their assets in the Bank of Amsterdam and the Stock Exchange, and now that they belonged to the King of France, must have been furious.

Louis could not admit that thousands of merchants and bankers would be completely destroyed, and many more suffered heavy losses - after all, the Dutch East India Company used to account for half of the world's trade, but would Louis do this? ? No, he won't go fishing, if it's just for the territory, the Netherlands isn't worth his gamble, but the thing is, he can't just open the door to the vault and let people exchange money as they want - the Netherlands has lost all credibility now , the Bank of Amsterdam is an empty shell. If he backs down, it will form a terrible run. I am afraid that the precious metals here are not enough to be exchanged. After all, there is still money in circulation outside. He can't even open the stock exchange. The value of some securities will fall as wildly as the tide recedes from the levee.

"Let them go to Paris," Louis leaned down and grabbed a handful of gold florins from the box, then opened his hands and let them fall between his fingers, and for a while, a clear and moving voice was heard: "Go to France The Royal Bank exchanged their bonds."

  ——

The Royal Bank of France is a behemoth standing on the skeleton of the Bank of Amsterdam. In 1672, the French king conquered the Netherlands, and the Netherlands became a member of the French provinces. Before the collapse of the Netherlands, Dutch parliamentarians and officials planned to carry government assets. They fled and established a government-in-exile in the colony, but they not only failed to escape, but also let General Reuter, the last hope of the Netherlands, die in the battle to aid them - thus, all the wealth of Amsterdam was for the French King Louis XIV. All, there were countless people who couldn't sleep because of it, they didn't know whether the money they deposited in the bank of Amsterdam could be cashed, you must know that the kings of the past, let alone such trophies, even if they were loans from merchants , once it cannot be repaid, there will also be delays and denials, and there are not a few banks that have failed in history.

King Louis XIV of France has always been known for his kindness and leniency among his people, but he is not so with his enemies, or the people of other countries. He once said an impressive sentence: "One who cannot make A king who is hated by the people of other countries will not be a good king." And his actions afterward seemed to support this statement, so those people at that time were desperate that their money could never be cashed again.

What surprised people is that the king not only captured the Netherlands, but also took on the problems left by the Netherlands. Fourteen days or fifteen days after he won Amsterdam, Paris established the Royal Bank of France. All those who once held Amsterdam Bank bonds and notes can exchange their arrears at their discretion, and this "discretionary" is quite subtle, and it directly relates to France's previous relations with other countries - countries that are friendly to France, and even allies, such as Britain, Sweden, no doubt, can cash at will, while other countries, which are neutral in this war, such as Portugal and Russia, can exchange a part, and the time is uncertain, as for the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, Denmark, Switzerland, etc. ...their bonds and notes are probably...the so-called Schrodinger bonds and notes...

  The king's whimsy didn't stop there. The stocks issued by the Amsterdam Stock Exchange belonged to the Dutch East India Company and the West India Company. The newly established Paris Stock Exchange was also willing to take over, but the price was regrettable. Then, there is another way, which is to convert it into the French royal property in proportion, such as glass, ceramics and dyes.

  The result can be said to be happy, those worried stockholders are no longer in the dark, and the king of France owns the Dutch East India Company and West India Company, two fat chickens that lay golden eggs.

  The Dutch, to be precise, the French Hollanders once said with great annoyance that the Netherlands was plundered twice by Louis XIV—and that is true at all.

   (end of this chapter)