If in another twenty years the French royal family welcomes Chinese envoys, they will most likely use Chinese-style sedan chairs.
At that time, royal families from various European countries were competing for the luxurious decoration of carriages.
But Louis XIV found a unique way and created a sedan with carved gold, silver and silk, which instantly outshone a bunch of carriages. Even the bearers who carried the sedan were dressed in Chinese costumes and screamed every time they left the palace.
What a cool one.
"Charlie, you have been to China, and you stay with the distinguished guest." Mazarin ordered.
"Yes! Prime Minister!"
D'Artagnan happily accepted the order, led his guards forward, and escorted him with the Chinese guards, which immediately aroused the resentment of the other French guards.
Mazarin is the traitor that everyone calls for beating, and d'Artagnan is Mazarin's lackey.
When Mazarin stepped down for the second time, d'Artagnan also lost his official position. Instead of leaving Mazarin, he became Mazarin's retainer.
Now that Mazarin was Prime Minister again, he overcame all objections and appointed d'Artagnan as Captain of the Birdhouse Guards.
Of course, friendship is friendship, and the money to buy an official position can still be paid.
Mazarin was very generous and was willing to give d'Artagnan a discount. Later, d'Artagnan sold his position as captain of the guard for a full 80,000 livres. Because of the discount, he made a lot of net profit, so he scraped together the money.
Buy the position of Captain of the Guards Infantry Company.
"Da da da da!"
More than a dozen carriages advanced slowly, with guardsmen leading the way, and Chinese guards and d'Artagnan leading troops to protect both sides.
Parisian citizens stood on the street to watch the excitement, but they could not see the Chinese nobles in the carriage. They could only focus on the Chinese guards, and the peculiar guard helmets became the focus.
Mazarin rode in the same carriage as Zhang Ruifeng, and a translator sat next to him: "Your Excellency the Ambassador, the Queen Mother and Her Majesty the King are receiving you at the Louvre. A grand banquet will be held here, and hundreds of nobles have been waiting for a long time. If you all
If you like hunting, you can go to Versailles on the outskirts, where there is the hunting palace of the late king."
The Palace of Versailles has not yet been officially built at this time. There is only a wooden house in the forest, which is specially used by the French royal family to rest during hunting.
"Everything is well done." Zhang Ruifeng said with a smile.
The Louvre is only a few hundred meters away from the Seine River, and you can reach it in a blink of an eye after getting off the boat.
Queen Mother Anne stood at the front, holding the 15-year-old Louis XIV. Hundreds of nobles gathered together to accompany the royal family and wait for the arrival of the Chinese envoy.
The failure of the two rebellions of the Duke of Condé caused the local powerful factions in France to completely lose power. The lords of various provinces have moved to Paris to settle down, building a large number of villas in the suburbs, and the territory taxes are specially used for them to squander in the capital. This is similar to the Japanese shogunate.
It's almost like letting the lords settle in the capital to prevent rebellion and strengthen centralization of power.
The two sides introduced the main characters to each other, and Louis XIV's eyes kept turning on the Chinese envoy.
The young king felt that he had been cheated. The styles of clothes worn by the Chinese were different from those made by French tailors, so he decided to ask the tailor to make a few new sets.
The grand dinner was scheduled to be held on the next day. The Chinese guests were tired from the trip and had to rest at the Louvre for a day.
After the nobles dispersed, the palace minister arranged for the Chinese envoys to stay. Not long after the rest, Queen Mother Anne took her son and took the initiative to come to Lu Tianxiang, Zhang Ruifeng and others to invite the Chinese guests to visit the palace collection…
Queen Mother Anne pointed to a box and said: "I asked top French craftsmen to make this. Does China have such technology?"
"Although it is exquisite, it is rarely seen in China." Lu Tianxiang replied with a smile.
It is a treasure chest inlaid with gold filigree, using gold and silver wire to outline the pattern, and then inlaying jewelry such as gems. It looks golden to the eye, rich and luxurious, but it is also very tacky, densely packed with gold wire, and has the same aesthetic as Qianlong.
Hearing that it was rare in China, Queen Mother Anne's vanity was satisfied and she said to Lu Tianxiang: "If Her Royal Highness likes it, I can give you a gold and silver filigree product as a gift when you return to China."
"Thank you very much." Lu Tianxiang said following the words.
After visiting this room, Queen Mother Anne pointed to a certain wall: "This is a jade mosaic from Italy, which is now popular throughout Europe. I have specially set up a mosaic studio. Although it is not perfect yet, as long as it continues
In a few years, it will definitely surpass that of Italy.”
"It's really beautiful."
The Chinese envoys found it hard to complain. They didn’t know what the materials of those jade stones were. They were colorful and colorful. After being made into mosaics, they were put together into complex patterns on the wall.
What’s so cool about this thing? It’s actually popular all over Europe.
Then, we visited the porcelain showroom.
Blue and white porcelain, imitation Ru porcelain, multicolored porcelain... are densely packed everywhere, and there are even porcelain vases half as tall as a person.
Pan Wei came from a wealthy family and was accustomed to all kinds of porcelain. He couldn't help but lower his head and curl his lips, because many of the collections here are mid- to low-end items in China.
"Hey, what is this?"
Pan Wei walked to a porcelain plate, which was held up by a wooden base inlaid with gold and silver.
Queen Mother Anne said: "This is a Chinese porcelain plate collected by my late husband. The purchase price at that time was 10,000 livres (1,040 taels of silver)."
"Can I touch it?" Pan Wei asked.
"Of course." Queen Mother Anne smiled.
Pan Wei carefully picked up the porcelain plate, and the more he looked at it, the weirder it became.
The main pattern of the porcelain plate is a deer and crane pattern, and the background pattern also has pine trees, which indeed belongs to the Chinese theme.
But the deer, the crane, and the pine trees look awkward no matter how you look at them. The pattern is divided into two layers, the inside and the outside. They are so densely packed that there is not much space left at all. Chinese people will feel confused when they see it.
Turning over and looking at the bottom of the plate, Pan Wei almost laughed out loud. There was actually the logo of Qumisha Studio there.
The Chinese mission had seen this sign when they visited Persia before. Many of the porcelain used by the Persian royal family came from this studio.
Three words: knockoff!
In order to make money from Europeans, Persian porcelain craftsmen used Chinese elements such as deer, cranes, and pine trees, and at the same time catered to European aesthetics, making the patterns complex and dense. Such nondescript things were exactly what European aristocrats liked.
Willing to spend huge sums of money to buy Chinese goods.
Until now, the French royal family is still kept in the dark, thinking that this is a Chinese porcelain plate.
Pan Wei pointed to the sign of Persia Studio, winked at Cai Yuncheng, and smiled and said to the Queen Mother: "This kind of porcelain plate is extremely rare in China. This is the first time I have encountered it."
Queen Mother Anne was even more happy, feeling that her late husband had made the right purchase...
Lu Tianxiang said: "When he came to Europe this time, His Majesty the Emperor of our country prepared five pieces of porcelain as gifts to the most friendly countries. Thanks to the hospitality of the Queen Mother and His Majesty the King, we plan to give one of them to France."
"That's great. Please thank His Majesty the Emperor of China on my behalf." Queen Mother Anne said happily.
The old lady couldn't wait, so Zhang Ruifeng asked the female official to bring the porcelain.
Louis XIV looked at the wooden box curiously and unpacked the layers one after another. It was a porcelain bowl imitated by Ru.
Ru kilns have long since disappeared, but imitations of Ru porcelain are blooming everywhere. Especially after Zhao Han lifted the ban, people can also buy them legally, and the technology of imitating Ru porcelain has become more and more sophisticated.
The bowl in front of me is the best imitation Ru porcelain. It is also sold at a high price in China and it is impossible to export it overseas.
There is no pattern, just pure azure color, which is exactly what Song Huizong said, "After the rain, the sky is clear and the clouds are clear."
Louis XIV was stunned, and after a long time he said: "I seem to see the clear sky after the rain."
Pan Wei flattered: "His Majesty the King has good eyesight. This kind of porcelain is the clear sky after the rain. In ancient China, there was an artist emperor who was inspired by the clear sky after the rain. He wrote a poem and asked the craftsmen to painstakingly develop it, and finally he had this kind of porcelain.
Plant your porcelain."
Queen Mother Anne watched intently, wondering how to return the gift.
I am afraid that such a unique thing cannot be bought for tens of thousands of livres. The price unit should be calculated in one hundred thousand. One hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand? Three hundred thousand?
Three hundred thousand livres is thirty thousand taels of silver!
But it is worth it, no matter how much money is spent, the worst is to create a few more official positions and then let Prime Minister Mazarin sell his official position.
Historically, Louis XIV was a master of selling official positions, and took the initiative to create countless messy official positions. 14,000 livres can buy the steward of the capital, responsible for managing the lumber stevedores at the port and square in Paris; 9,000 livres can buy the steward of Rouen.
, responsible for managing the woodworkers in Rouen; 400 livres can buy pig tongue inspection in Rouen, which involves using a small stick to pry open the pig's mouth and inspect the pig's tongue to determine whether it is diseased.
Now the Prime Minister is still selling his official position and secretly sharing the spoils with the Queen Mother.
When Louis XIV comes to power, a special agency for selling official positions will be set up. Since buying and selling official positions is a legal business, the government has reason to levy taxes, with the tax rate ranging from 10% to 25%.
Investing in official positions is just like investing in real estate. It can be inherited and transferred. For some popular official positions, you can not only make money, but even have room for appreciation. Just pay taxes to the government when the official position is transferred.
There are also taxes to be collected when buying and selling official positions. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty even called him an expert when he saw it!
After dinner, Queen Mother Anne called the Prime Minister over and asked: "The Emperor of China has presented a work of art of extraordinary value. What kind of gift should we give in return?"
Mazarin replied: "You can't give gold back directly, that would be too vulgar. You must call on craftsmen to create a unique work of art. Only such gifts can show your French temperament. How about... why not choose two of the most powerful and powerful BMWs?"
Build the most magnificent carriage again. The ornaments on the carriage must be in Chinese style, and must be decorated with gold and inlaid with the rarest and most beautiful gems."
"This is a good idea, I'll leave it to you to handle." Queen Mother Anne said, she had great trust in the Prime Minister.
The people thought Mazarin was a traitor, but in the eyes of the Queen Mother, Mazarin was a loyal minister. He could not only help her make money, but also eliminate her political enemies and settle the local nobles who opposed the royal family.
As for the life and death of ordinary people, what does the Queen Mother of France have to do with her?