Although Pan Wei could not communicate in French, she had already memorized these two words.
In 1270 AD, the French government issued a decree: "No one is allowed to dump sewage or feces from the windows of the buildings, otherwise they will be fined."
More than a hundred years later, the French government once again issued a decree: "If you shout three times, 'Pay attention to urine and urine,' you can dump urine and feces from the balcony window."
Hundreds of years have passed, and this decree has become a habit and integrated into the lives of French urban people.
Pan Wei jumped up and down to get away, and then looked up upstairs. The woman upstairs was also looking at him. The woman thought that Chinese people were very rare, so she smiled and winked at Pan Wei, and then a bucket of feces and urine poured out of the window.
Down.
Pan Wei quickly covered his nose and walked away, muttering: "Barbarians from other countries don't understand any etiquette."
Of course, there are excrement workers in Paris, but the number is seriously insufficient, and priority is given to excavating the cesspits of aristocratic and wealthy merchants.
In the 17th century, progress had already been made. Stone pipes were built on the outer walls of the castle and drained directly into large cesspits on the ground. The excrement workers then transported the excrement outside the city.
For example, the Louvre, where the king lives, went even further and dug an underground tunnel leading to the Seine River. However, the underground tunnel was often blocked, and it might be blocked for ten and a half days. During this period, it was a disaster. Because the underground tunnels in the Louvre were often blocked.
There are so many people that they can pull several large carts in a day. If they can't be discharged, they just dump them, and even dump their feces and urine in the Louvre Museum.
In 1670 AD, a scholar summoned by the king wrote: "Thousands of piles of excrement can be seen near the Louvre, even inside and outside the palace, in the aisles and behind doorways, and almost everywhere.
People smell the foul smell, which is caused by the natural needs of those living in the Louvre and the officials who work in the Louvre every day..."
There are 29 toilets in the entire Palace of Versailles.
It was definitely enough at the beginning, but by the time of Louis XIV it was no longer enough.
This Sun King completely centralized power, and a large number of officials came to the palace to do business every day. He also liked luxury and enjoyment, and constantly increased the number of slaves in the Louvre. At its peak, there were tens of thousands of people living in the palace.
Tens of thousands of people use 29 toilets, but there are basically only one or two squatting spaces, and some are reserved for kings only. What is the difference between this and no toilets?
If officials were in a hurry, they would find a doorway in the palace, take off their trousers and open them directly.
In some places, the king does not allow open defecation, so he will have people mark the sign of a cross. Anyone who dares to defecate and urinate will be disrespectful to Jesus.
But the Louvre was still too smelly, and Louis XIV couldn't stand it, so he built the Versailles Palace in the suburbs.
At this time, Louis XIV had not yet taken office. Although the Queen Mother had increased the number of servants, there were only a few thousand people in the palace. How can I put it? Although defecation in the open is very common, at least it will not cause a pile of shit every three steps. The Chinese envoy lived in
It's barely acceptable inside.
But no one dares to wander around, especially in remote places. If you are not careful, you will step on "land mines".
Pan Wei returned to the Louvre and wrote all the information he had gleaned into a work report. He also shared the secrets with his brothers. For example, the newborn son of a certain Marquis was the son of a certain young retainer.
Young men from minor aristocrats were sent to live in the homes of big aristocrats at the age of fourteen or fifteen.
Their life enlightenment teacher is probably their mistress. It is normal for a mistress with a dissolute personality to survive like this all her life and sleep with dozens or hundreds of young men.
Listening to these stories, Cai Yuncheng felt hot all over and at the same time he despised the European aristocrats. He wrote:
"In European countries, people don't know how to dry their excrement, so even in the palace, excrement and urine are flowing everywhere. The workers who dig out excrement are scarce and extremely low-level. They are diligent in cleaning every day, but they still can't finish it. However, European ladies are all dissolute by nature, and people who secretly live around don't know what to do.
There may be some chaste and martyr women who are alien and not very gregarious... All European countries are barbarians. Civilization has not flourished and they have not been civilized, so they are not worth mentioning."
"I heard today that selling officials is a common practice in France, which is actually the essence of the reform. The system in France is like the Warring States Period, when princes enfeoffed various places and often refused to obey the king's orders. However, the king selling officials is just like the reforms in other countries, which appointed officials, scholars, and merchants to
He is trying to seize the power of the princes. Such an act has never been seen in the history of the country, and it is difficult to predict the consequences..."
"There are small countries in Europe that have been usurped by merchants. In countries as large as the Netherlands, a duke originally ruled, but he was deposed because of his youth. There are seven provinces in the Netherlands, with a total of 28 mayors, most of whom are shareholders of the East India Company. The shareholders control the place
, and then elect a parliament, which will govern the country through consultation.”
"The battle between England and the Netherlands lies ahead. The defeat of the Netherlands lies in the disunity of the people. The merchants of the seven provinces have different interests and restrain each other. There are also cronies of the duke who lead the battle but do not listen to orders, and sit back and watch the naval commander defeated and killed..."
"I have found out the details. In that land of Italy, there used to be many merchant states. They were originally principalities or princely states. The merchants incited the people, expelled the princes and became autonomous. The system of parliamentary governance, I privately translated as 'republican system'
'.The land and its people can all be sold. The merchants seek personal gain and abandon the public interest."
"We, the Confucian sages, often distinguish between righteousness and benefit, and also distinguish between great righteousness, small righteousness, great benefit, and small benefit. How can this be far-sighted? The European merchant republics, who used the pretense of being democratic, had small righteousness but not great righteousness, and small benefit.
No big profit."
"The power of merchants must not be allowed to go unchecked. All European republics have learned from the past. Merchants pursue profits, and their desires are endless. They seek profits today and the country tomorrow, treating the country and the people as if they are nothing. Louis XIII, the late king of France, the old French
Richelieu, the prime minister, pursued reforms to become stronger, and the country has become the most powerful country in Europe. However, it is not enough, merchants have flourished, and the king's power is becoming more and more powerful. The king continues to take power, and the officials and merchants have become one, and the day of struggle is not far away...
"
Although Cai Yuncheng came from a poor background, when he was a graduate student, he followed a tutor in the History Institute.
In addition to helping the tutor every day, I concentrate on reading history books and comparing them with reality. This guy is extremely sensitive to social systems. Now he has traveled to various countries and seen various systems. His horizons and thinking have been completely opened.
He even vaguely anticipated the French bourgeois revolution.
From a macro perspective, the bourgeoisie's rise to power does indeed begin with historical progress.
But for the people living in capitalist countries, it is simply like hell. "Das Kapital" was born in Europe, and it did not come out of thin air. The people really have no way to live. Just like the rise of Britain, primitive accumulation is not only for the external world
Plunder is also accompanied by internal oppression.
During the Opium War, British child workers could only live an average of two or three years after entering factories. Even if they survived four or five years, they were basically useless.
While child laborers are dying tragically in large numbers, many young men and women are unemployed. Because the wages of adult male workers are several times that of female workers, and the wages of adult female workers are twice that of child laborers. Why should adults be employed in jobs where child labor can be used?
Worker?
The people at the bottom work hard to have babies, and when they are seven or eight years old, they can send them to work. They have to raise a few more babies, because they will be scrapped after a few years of working.
He worked until he was seven or eight years old. His parents were already very kind. The youngest child laborer was only four years old. The child was young and could just clean the factory chimney, but the older child couldn't get in.
Cai Yuncheng is familiar with Confucian classics and combined with the actual situation in Europe, he has deeply understood what "businessmen pursue profit".
However, Cai Yuncheng took things for granted and forgot the difference between a big country and a small country.
The republics in Europe at this time were all small countries. In slightly larger countries, such as the United Kingdom, the republic would not work, and one Cromwell could dissolve the parliament.
If it hadn't been for the Industrial Revolution, which had soared the power of the bourgeoisie, the French Revolution would have never been successful. Because merchants were short-sighted and lacked real leaders, it was almost impossible to stick together. They might be able to usurp the throne in a small place, but in a big country, it was just pure manipulation.
What a deadly act! Even if the king is overthrown, the aristocratic warlords who take advantage of the opportunity can kill these merchants until they are bloody.
Cai Yuncheng's prediction of the French bourgeois revolution was purely inaccurate. He ignored the difference between big and small countries, and at the same time did not know about the industrial revolution. These two wrong conditions led to the correct conclusion.
In the conference room of the Louvre.
Officials from China, France and Portugal sat together to discuss business matters.
The Portuguese envoy has been here for almost a month and arrived in Paris earlier than the Chinese envoy. As for the purpose of the envoy, of course it is to declare the treaty between China and Portugal. Since China recognizes Portugal's independence, should France also recognize it?
After many days of consultations, Prime Minister Mazarin said: "In accordance with the wishes of the Queen Mother and Her Majesty, France can recognize Portugal's independence and the legal authority of Joao IV. However, Portugal's ports in Africa and India must provide access to French merchant ships.
Full opening. In addition, Portugal must exempt French merchant ships from entry tax at Nagapattam Port on the southeast coast of India."
"Of course." The Portuguese envoy smiled.
News has just been sent back from the east that the Dutch East India Company is attacking Nagapattam Port. The south and north of this port are all Dutch colonial ports, and they can be connected as long as they are captured here.
The Dutch army is rubbish, and because of continuous battles, it could not defeat the port after being surrounded for several months. The Portuguese defenders, with less than a hundred people, successfully repelled the Dutch army. Now France requires this port to be tax-free, and Portugal will go along with the flow and agree. Maybe
You can also get help from France.
Similarly, France is also following the trend.
Because Portugal has lost all its North African colonies and France can no longer get involved, so there is no need to treat Portugal as an enemy.
In the presence of the Chinese envoy, France and Portugal were about to sign a treaty.
The Portuguese envoy pushed further and said: "Your Majesty has no engagement contract yet. Our Majesty has two princesses who also have no engagement contract. How about..."
"Don't talk about this anymore!" Mazarin interrupted immediately.
A treaty between France and Portugal was reached, and China and France soon signed it. There was nothing special about it, it was just that the two countries opened their ports to each other.
China's farthest port is in Malacca, and France's farthest port is in West Africa and Canada. What's the use of opening ports to each other? Even without a signature, Malacca is open to the outside world, as long as the port tax is paid honestly.
In addition, the French royal family is also generous. After the Chinese envoy proposed to buy horse breeds, they directly said that they did not need to pay for it.
The Queen Mother has sent officials to carefully select twenty Percheron horses. Ten males and ten females, all good horses, will be presented to the Chinese emperor for free.
This kind of war horse is specially used for heavy cavalry. Even if the heavy cavalry withdraws from the stage of history, it can still be used for transportation and agriculture, because it is originally a heavy draft horse.
After signing the contract with France, the Portuguese envoy quietly found Lu Tianxiang and Zhang Ruifeng.
“Dear Chinese envoy, our Majesty has another proposal,” said the Portuguese envoy. “As long as the royal families of the two countries get married, apart from Nagapatam Port, China can choose any of Portugal’s colonial ports in India as a dowry.
"
Dowry at the port?
Neither Lu Tianxiang nor Zhang Ruifeng dared to make the decision and refused, and immediately said: "After we return to China, we will inform His Majesty."
Bombay, India, is the dowry given to a Portuguese princess when she married the British King!
The Portuguese princess could not get married, and the restoration of the British king was also in an embarrassing situation. In addition, the British wanted to expand in India. The two parties hit it off and successfully married. Bombay, India, became a British colony in a muddle.
John IV was crazy about royal marriage, and the colonies would give him whatever he asked.
It is estimated that Zhao Han will agree, it is just a marriage, and he did not say that he must be a queen, and he can just marry a Portuguese princess as his concubine.
To show their sincerity, the Portuguese envoy also brought a list of colonies. China could choose from a handful of Indian ports, but the one closest to Malacca refused to be given.
