On November 2, 1789, on this day, hundreds of invitations were sent from Sanssouci Palace to all parts of Prussia. Each of these hundreds of invitations represented a person with a certain reputation in various parts of Prussia.
Nobles or officials. The issuance of these invitations instantly caused waves throughout Prussia.
The location of this meeting of nobles was located in the royal palace of Brandenburg, and the time of the meeting was postponed to December 10 because William had to ensure that most of the nobles could arrive in Brandenburg on time to attend the meeting.
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This meeting can be said to be unprecedented in the history of Prussia. Prussia is not like France. Even in the Middle Ages, the Teutonic Knights, the predecessor of Prussia, did not have the habit of holding large-scale representative meetings. During the period of the Knights, they often
When preparing for battle, some famous knights would be invited to brag together. After the grand leader announced the war decision and boosted morale, the mighty knights would often end their bragging with a roar and rush out of the meeting room to kill people.
Under such circumstances, neither Prussia nor the Teutonic Knights had the habit of convening a large number of people and constantly arguing. William's decision to convene a large-scale meeting of nobles is unprecedented in Prussian history.
When the invitation letter was delivered to Rocks, the prime minister's face became very sad. The old prime minister knew that with the issuance of this invitation letter, William decided to completely take the government into his hands.
To be honest, Rocks was very worried about William's series of actions. Although in the previous wars, each time ended with William's victory. But Rocks knew that William was too young, and youth meant radicalism.
, and being too radical for a country is not a good thing!
William thinks that his radicalism is not very obvious, but the so-called authorities are obsessed with it, and bystanders know clearly. Standing next to William, Rocks sees more than William.
Although the Danish War allowed William to obtain the crown of the Danish King, Prussia gained new territories, and the Prussian army received a large amount of military expenditures. Prussia's navy also developed by leaps and bounds.
But the damage was also obvious. Tens of thousands of Prussian soldiers were killed or seriously injured as a result of this war. And because of the expansion of the new army, a large number of young Prussians left their hometown and joined the army. In this way,
The young and middle-aged have left the land. But farming is still the main occupation now. After the strong laborers leave the fields, the burden of life undoubtedly falls on the old, weak and women. This situation is a great blow to the original farming system.
damage, and will also worsen social security.
In addition, in terms of Prussia's finances, part of the previously seized Danish royal property was returned to Frederick VI because of Lilissa's face, and the other part was invested in the construction of the Prussian army.
Although the three new divisions do not seem to have used gold coins from the Prussian treasury, the army does not just have to be established. Soldiers need military pay, weapons and equipment need maintenance, and even war horses need special fodder. Originally,
The annual maintenance cost of the Prussian army is an astronomical figure. And the three newly expanded divisions have aggravated the situation.
In addition, William liberated the serfs in Prussia. Although this action gained William the love of the liberated serfs and greatly improved William's personal prestige, William's actions also harmed the interests of the landowners and nobles in Prussia.
With the changes of the times, there are two types of nobles in Europe. One is the landed nobles. As the name suggests, these nobles all own their own land. On their own land, they are kings, and for the serfs on their own land, they are kings.
, nobles have the power of life and death.
The other type is the landless nobles, which can be understood literally. These nobles do not have much land, but most of these landless nobles are engaged in business activities. Although they do not have land, they also accumulate wealth through their own privileges.
A lot of wealth.
Of course, there is another name for the landless nobles. They are contemptuously called the nouveau riche by the landed nobles.
William's action of liberating the serfs undoubtedly offended the landed nobles, because he freed the serfs from the serf owners' estates. But in contrast, William also received support from the landless nobles, because most of the liberated serfs entered the
Landless nobles worked in factories or workshops.
Although William had been mentally prepared to offend the landed nobles, he did not expect that he could win the favor of the landless nobles. In Locks' view, this was William's intention. (Okay, lie down.
Also shot)
As a traditional Prussian aristocrat, Rocks was naturally a landed noble, and although his family's title was low before he became successful, it had been passed down for hundreds of years. In such an environment, although Rocks tried his best to
He wanted to act fair, but when facing the landless nobles, Rocks still showed contempt.
In Rocks' view, although William only wanted to expand the army, a series of actions showed that William was not willing to just expand the army. The young king also wanted to let Prussia follow the path he wanted. But William
A series of policies were interpreted as William's hope to fight against the landed aristocracy by supporting the burgher class and the landless aristocracy. Originally, Rocks smiled at these remarks and did not care at all.
But now, Locks has other ideas. William's idea is too radical. In addition, he also heard from William's mouth that William hopes to take advantage of the civil strife in France and Russia. This news is very important to Locks.
Just can't believe it.
Due to its geographical location in Europe, Prussia is hostile to the great powers. Now, although Prussia has fought its way out, its national strength is still weak compared to France and Russia. Under such circumstances, Prussia's top priority should be
It is about developing oneself rather than thinking about competing with European powers!
Unfortunately, Locks' proposal was not approved by William.
After thinking for a while, Rocks felt that he needed to take some actions to make William return to his lost ways, at least to make William temporarily give up the idea of expanding the army. Three divisions had just been expanded at the beginning of the year. Under such circumstances, Prussia needed a certain amount of strength.
Only time will give you the power to expand your army.
It is completely impossible for William to use the things in the treasury at the bottom of the box. Rocks thinks that the things in the treasury are the last straw for Prussia. Rocks will never allow William to use them without authorization.
That batch of supplies.
Later that day, dozens of fast horses rushed out from Locks' mansion. These fast horses carried Locks' hope and rushed to various parts of Prussia!
And William has a panoramic view of all this! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)