Versailles Palace.
In front of the Petit Trianon, over a thousand nobles looked up at the balcony of Marie Antoinette's tea room on the second floor, crying out in despair:
"Your Majesty, are you going to abandon us?"
"For the sake of God, please have rcy and glance at your loyal servants. They are pleading for just a bit of your kindness."
"Your Majesty, we only ask for the most humble, centuries-old traditional inco..."
"Your Majesty, we beg for your rcy..."
Since the official announcent of the land redemption plan yesterday, it took less than a day for these nobles to organize themselves and begin a massive petition. Behind the thousand petitioning nobles, even more eyes were watching closely—ready to rush in as reinforcents at the first sign of the Queen's wavering stance.
Their unity was driven by the fact that the redemption plan truly threatened their interests. According to the plan, the paynts made by farrs to redeem eight years' worth of annual dues would go to the original landowners. Although this was much better than the rumored two-year redemption plan, allowing nobles with other sources of inco to grudgingly accept it, many "poor" nobles began to worry about their future livelihoods.
In Marie Antoinette's reception room, a few other high-ranking nobles were pathetically complaining to her, including the king's brother, the Count of Artois. Marie Antoinette kept reassuring them, but eventually, she was so overwheld that she signaled to her lady-in-waiting, the Countess of Polignac, and whispered:
"Please find the Prince. Oh, but don't bring him here—ask him to wait for in the study."
She guessed that her son might have been too eager to quell the unrest and thus leaned too much toward the farrs in the redemption plan, causing the nobles' dissatisfaction. She needed to discuss the plan with her son and then figure out how to compensate the nobles.
It was normal for young people to make mistakes—otherwise, what would parents be for? Now it was her turn to step in and help her son clean up the ss!
Barely ten minutes after the Countess of Polignac left the reception room, she returned and whispered to the Queen:
"Your Majesty, the Prince has returned."
As Joseph's carriage slowly ca to a stop in the Marble Courtyard, he could already hear the wave of noise coming from the direction of the Petit Trianon. He rely smiled calmly, knowing that this situation was expected—it would have been strange if the nobles hadn't stirred up trouble.
Mirabeau, who had been eagerly awaiting him, imdiately approached, followed by a man in a black robe, around fifty years old—the Archbishop of Paris, Beaumont. Both n bowed to Joseph and then followed him as they walked toward the Petit Trianon.
"Are your preparations in order?" Joseph asked Mirabeau.
"Yes, Your Highness, everything is ready."
"You've done very well," Joseph nodded in approval, then asked, "How many families of those three hundred 'spendthrifts' have shown up?"
"At least one representative from each family is present, including influential figures like the Count of Orne."
"Good, that puts my mind at ease."
Joseph then turned to Archbishop Beaumont. "Thank you for coming all this way."
Beaumont smiled broadly and waved it off. "When you give an order, I must take it seriously. Besides, what you asked aligns with the Church's duties."
To get the old nobles to accept the land redemption plan, royal pressure alone wouldn't be enough, nor would it be possible to support them through state finances. Joseph understood that in politics, it's essential to build a strong coalition of allies. His most solid political base was undoubtedly the capitalist nobility. So, even before returning from Luxembourg, he had instructed Mirabeau to secretly contact key figures among the capitalist nobles to prepare for supporting the land redemption plan.
Moreover, the redemption plan was inherently designed to greatly benefit the capitalists, so when Mirabeau gathered them, they quickly rallied in support. As for the Church, Joseph had refrained from touching its "cake" to minimize resistance to the land policy. Therefore, when faced with pressure from the old nobles, the Church naturally had to contribute its efforts.
Of course, Joseph wouldn't expect the Church to work for free—offering incentives was always the most effective way to ensure soone's full commitnt.
As the three of them conversed quietly, they soon arrived at the open space in front of the Petit Trianon vegetable garden. Of course, it wasn't very open at that mont; so petitioning nobles had even trampled the Queen's vegetables.
The nobles quickly noticed Joseph's arrival, and one of them called out, "Please, Prince, help us convince Her Majesty to modify the land redemption policy."
Joseph made his way through the crowd, quickly reaching the stone steps at the entrance of the Petit Trianon. Smiling at the nobles, he said, "Actually, I'm the one who led the drafting of this land redemption plan. I don't think anything needs to be changed."
Marie Antoinette had just stepped onto the balcony when she heard her son's words, and she imdiately thought, "This isn't good." Joseph was still too inexperienced. In situations like this, where the nobles were unhappy, it would have been better to shift the bla onto others, like Brienne and his team, so that he could step in as the diator. It looked like she would need to step in to help him smooth things over...
As expected, the nobles began to stir with unrest. Quickly, soone turned their frustration toward Joseph, saying, "Your Highness, the nobility is the foundation of France. You cannot abandon us like this!"
"You're treating us unfairly!"
Joseph looked around at them, still smiling. "No, I've always followed the teachings of the King and have never forgotten you."
A nobleman shouted, "Your Highness, your redemption plan will leave us destitute!"
"Of course, it won't," Joseph replied calmly. "In fact, you will be wealthier than before!"
The noise among the nobles grew louder—this seed like an insult to their intelligence. How could they be wealthier when their annual dues would be cut off in eight years?
Joseph, however, remained unhurried, saying, "Don't just focus on the land itself—it doesn't generate much inco. You need to look further ahead. When the farrs own their land, they will be more diligent in cultivating it, leading to higher yields. But the farrs won't have enough livestock or fertilizer, nor can they afford to repair irrigation systems. Oh, and you all know that even the most basic steam-powered water pump costs 6,000 livres.
"Furthermore, advanced farming techniques are difficult to master and need soone to teach them. The harvested grain must also be transported to the cities for sale. Even if a farr knows that grain prices in Lyon are 40% higher than in Tours, they have no ans to transport it there."
He paused, giving the nobles ti to digest his words, then continued, "So, they will need soone to help them with all of this. But, of course, this isn't sothing a few individuals can manage—it requires companies, large-scale companies."
(End of Chapter)
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