The direct consequence of the conversation between William and Locks was that the Prussian government intelligence agency increased its funding by 200% to spy on Joseph II's physical condition. In addition, Locks also initially ordered the cabinet to draft a plan as soon as possible next year.
The military expansion plan can be completed by the end of the year.
In December, Brandenburg became even more prosperous. Groups of nobles with their respective entourages gathered in Brandenburg from all over Prussia. Their only purpose of coming this time was to attend the Prussian noble meeting.
William's definition of this Prussian noble meeting was to "unify domestic thinking, unite people of all ethnic groups, improve social systems, and carry forward the spirit of a strong country." William felt that it was necessary to organize the meeting of nobles into a people's congress in later generations. You will not see the people's representatives.
Aren’t all the representatives in the conference elected by the people? Their only role is to shout long live such-and-such party, and then act like puppets when filling out the ballot papers for President Nani.
Although it is just a form in the eyes of some people, this form is very necessary. You must know that no matter which dynasty or generation the government will find some excuses to praise themselves and confuse the people at the bottom, but some excuses are called
I am skilled in the business, but I am just not proficient in some entrustment businesses.
William hopes to make these trustees familiar with the business as soon as possible through the noble meeting. Moreover, in this era, the nobles are the backbone of society and have a good reputation in the society. Once they are familiar with the business, these noble trustees will be of great benefit to William's career.
No harm done.
The arrival of the nobles has greatly prospered Brandenburg's market economy. Some people may wonder how it is possible for just a few hundred nobles to drive the entire Brandenburg economy? Those who say this must not have read it.
After going to Downton Abbey, as a nobleman, how dare you go out alone, without any bodyguards or maids? And what's more, you have the nerve to only have a carriage? There are only a few carriages and a few guards.
Do you dare to say hello to other nobles while walking?
In addition to the nobles who originally lived in the Brandenburg area, there are no fewer than 250 nobles who came from all over Prussia this time, and even the smallest of these families are nobles with hundreds of acres of manors, and some
The families of the great nobles even owned thousands of acres of fertile land.
Under such circumstances, the nobles' family assets are naturally rich. In order to maintain the honor of the family, how can the nobles show themselves as poor at such a time? Naturally, each of them brings his own servants and a large number of people.
Items, some nobles even brought their families. Because in their opinion, such an opportunity is rare.
These nobles poured into Brandenburg. And some nobles from slightly more remote places naturally had money in their hands to make purchases, and the indispensable dances and banquets among the nobles also made the Brandenburg market more popular.
The value of various precious ingredients and high-end fabrics has doubled.
On December 10th, on this day, in the Brandenburg Palace, Prussia held an unprecedented meeting in history. This meeting was called the first Congress of Nobles!
The largest palace in the palace was filled with hundreds of chairs, and in the center of the palace was a throne. It is worth mentioning that because of William's bad taste, this large and gorgeous throne was now covered with pavements.
A piece of tiger skin was put on, and the tiger's head was at the foot of the throne. What made William regretful was that the tiger skin was not a white tiger. Otherwise, it would make him look even more powerful.
When the nobles began to enter the palace first, they were all shocked by the tiger skin spread on the throne. Of course, the nobles were not scared by the value of this tiger skin. You must know that although tiger skin is relatively precious
Things, and a complete tiger skin is worth twice as much, but for some big nobles, it is normal that tiger skin is precious, but it is not impossible to get it.
The main reason for being frightened was that when the nobles walked into the palace, they suddenly saw a huge tiger head facing them with its mouth wide open and sharp teeth exposed. People would be a little scared. There was also the need to spread the tiger skin.
On the throne, no one has ever seen it before.
If William hears these words, he will definitely despise these nobles. If you don't show off the tiger skin on your body, who would know it is tiger skin! This is like walking at night in brocade clothing, no one else can see it. Then why should I buy brocade clothing?
Before William traveled through time, he had always had two things that he had always dreamed of seeing. One was the "Jade Seal", the world's treasure carved from He's jade since the Warring States Period, and the other was when he saw the Deer Cauldron.
The white tiger skin throne where Wu Sangui sits.
What makes William regretful is that there are no tigers distributed in Europe, let alone white tigers. Because white tigers are mainly produced in Yunnan, China and Southeast Asia, William has no way to get it yet. Even this tiger skin is from King George of England.
It was a gift given by King IV to William to congratulate him on his accession to the throne. It had just been dug out of the warehouse by William not long ago.
The nobles entered the palace one after another, and without exception, everyone's conversation turned to the tiger skin on the throne. Seeing that almost all the nobles who were supposed to come to the palace had arrived, Prussia headed by Rocks
Cabinet officials appeared outside the palace gates.
When a royal attendant stood outside the gate and announced loudly, "The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia, Duke Rox, has arrived," the entire palace suddenly became quiet. Then all the nobles had a tacit understanding and walked at the palace gate according to their respective titles.
There are two rows on both sides of the red carpet that extends under the throne.
When Rocks appeared at the gate, the nobles in the palace all bowed and saluted as Rocks advanced, except of course the group of nobles standing at the front.
There were about twenty nobles in this group who did not salute Rocks. Most of them were around sixty years old. Even the youngest one looked to be in his fifties and the oldest one was already in his eighties.
Years old, and the lowest rank among them is a marquis, and the highest rank is a prince.
Although there are several people in this group whose titles are equal to or even higher than that of Rocks, Rocks is the prime minister of Prussia, the person in power second only to William. Therefore, naturally he cannot be regarded based on his title, even the prince.
You must be obedient and arrive before Rocks arrives, otherwise, is an idle prince more important than the prime minister of the government?
Seeing that these people did not salute him, Locks' Lianshan was not surprised at all, because many of them were his good friends, and of course there were also many political opponents among them, including those who had been ousted by Locks.
Several dukes were among them.
Rocks smiled and saluted these top Prussian nobles. Seeing Rocks' actions, even many of these nobles were Rocks' former political opponents and had to return the salute politely.
After Rocks walked down the red carpet, he came to the side of these nobles.
For any activities held by the nobles, the host often does not need to arrange them in advance. This is because the nobles already have a set of unspoken rules. Take the seats in the palace for example. Those closest to the throne must be the powerful nobles, and those closest to the door
It must be a small noble. And the seats of the big nobles are much larger than those of the small nobles, and even the distance between the seats is larger. The meeting was held in a hurry, except for some sensitive people.
Nobles, most of the nobles thought that William had never had a good chat with the nobles after being on the throne for so many years, so he took this opportunity to communicate with the nobles to unite their thoughts, and by the way, let the nobles pay homage to His Majesty the King.
.The above reasons are actually exactly what was written in William’s invitation letter.
"Hilmas, we haven't seen each other for many years. It's really not easy for you to come here this time!"
"Haha, Rocks. I'm sorry you still remember me. Yes, it's really not easy to come back to Brandenburg. I thought I would die in Wroclaw forever. This is all because of you.
What a blessing!"
As he said this, the old noble named Hilmas and Rocks both laughed. It seemed as if the two were old friends for many years, but nobles over thirty years old knew that the two were called
It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a life-and-death enemy. Rocks was able to ascend to the throne of finance minister after ousting Hilmas.
"Haha, Locks, isn't it? We haven't seen each other for more than ten years, think about how time flies! We old friends miss you so much!"
The speaker was Venelos, who was also one of Rocks' political opponents. When Rocks was competing for the position of deputy prime minister of the kingdom, he had made many stumbling blocks, but Rocks later found out and found another opportunity to trick him.
He did so and has been staying at the manor in Koszalin in West Prussia ever since.
Just as everyone gathered around Rocks, an eighty-year-old nobleman suddenly coughed. Hearing his cough, even Rocks took off the hypocritical mask on his face and became very respectful.
"Mr. Dopno, are you in good health? I hope you can forgive me for not being able to visit you recently."
"Haha, my body is like this anyway. You also know the old injuries from back then. Thanks to Your Majesty's blessing, I have been able to survive until today. I understand that you are busy. If you take time out specifically to visit me, then I
I still need to train you!"
Hearing this joke, Rocks also smiled. Seeing this scene, the former Hilmas suddenly felt unhappy.
At that time, he and Rocks were the same age, and they joined the Prussian army almost together. Later, both of them also returned to work in the government. The Prussian government at that time was in urgent need of a large number of capable and experienced officials due to the devastation of the Seven Years' War.
, and Rocks and Hilmas won the praise of their superiors with their outstanding performance, and this superior was none other than Dopno.
For a period of time, the two could be called Dopno's right-hand man. But what they didn't expect was that Dopno's career would also rise rapidly. In 1764, Dopno became the Prime Minister of Prussia. At that time, Prussia had just graduated from power in seven years.
After the war ended, in order to restore Prussia's strength as soon as possible, Dopno decided to replace the government's finance minister.
At that time, Hilmas's title was already Marquis, no better than Rocks. Hilmas' family was a wealthy and large aristocratic family in Prussia. In terms of background, Hilmas was much better than Rocks.
.
However, due to the family's upbringing environment, Hilmas' character can be said to be vigorous and even impatient, while Rocks' temperament is very calm. Dopno regarded both Hilmas and Rocks as financial officers.
Candidates for ministers were put forward, but he also told Frederick his evaluation of the two.
After that, considering that Prussia had just ended the war, it needed to seek stability in order to better restore its strength. In addition, Locks had followed Frederick. The king also believed in him, so the position of finance minister fell into Locks' pocket.
You must know that everyone was unanimously optimistic about Hilmas at the beginning. Even Hilmas himself thought he was a sure shot. But when the appointment came out, everyone was shocked.
Hilmas was very dissatisfied with all this. After Rocks ascended to the position of Minister of Finance, Hilmas led his people to unite some big nobles to embarrass Rocks. From then on, the two were inseparable.
. However, in 1773, Rocks consolidated his own foundation and won over some nobles before decisively attacking Hilmas. Hilmas, who was the Minister of Education of the Kingdom at the time, was defeated and resigned sadly.
Among the many nobles present, the one whom Locks respects the most is the Duke of Dopno. If it weren't for the comment the Duke gave him, I am afraid that it would not be him but Hilmas who would become the Kingdom's Finance Minister.
After Rocks entered the scene, the chatter among the nobles in the palace became much less frequent, which also made the palace begin to become solemn.
After a while, I only heard
"The beloved of God, defender of the northern territory of the Holy Roman Empire, His Majesty King William of Prussia and Denmark has arrived!"
"Woo......"
Along with the sound of singing promises, the moment the palace door opened, the trombone players outside the palace door played their trombones one after another.
William walked in with a smile on his face, followed by Buell, Henry and Ferdinand.
The moment he walked into the palace, the nobles regardless of their status lowered their heads. Wherever William went, the nobles bowed even lower.
At this moment, there was no other sound in the palace except the sound of trombones. At this moment, William felt very good about himself.
Along the red carpet, William walked straight to the throne. When he sat down on the throne, the sound of the trombone stopped suddenly, and the nobles also ended their salutes and raised their heads again.
As the heads of the Prussian military and close relatives of the royal family, Henry and Ferdinand undoubtedly stood beside Lockes. Buell, as the royal steward, still stood by William's side.
"I am very happy to be able to see all the ministers of the Kingdom in Brandenburg today. Since I came to the throne, I have not been able to visit you due to busy schedules. Please forgive me!"
The moment William finished speaking, under the leadership of Rocks, the nobles in the palace shouted:
"I don't dare"
"Okay, okay, you don't have to stand anymore, please sit down!"
Hearing William's voice, the nobles came to their own chairs and sat down according to their pre-arranged rankings.
"We won't say much else this time. Let Mr. Rocks introduce to you the development of Prussia in recent years on behalf of our government. Let's treat it as a government report!"
As he spoke, William looked at Rocks, and when he heard what William said, Rocks stood up again before covering his buttocks. He walked to William's lower body in a few steps and took out a document and read it out loud.
"It has been ten years since His Majesty King William came to the throne in 1779. These ten years have been an extraordinary decade in the development of Prussia. We have effectively responded to the serious impact of the economic crisis, and the liberation of serfdom has made great contributions to the social development of our country. Since 1780, China's grain output has achieved "nine consecutive increases"; China's social productivity and comprehensive national strength have significantly improved, people's living standards and social security levels have significantly improved, and its international status and international influence have significantly improved. .
Through the Austro-Prussian War in 1780, the domestic counter-insurgency war and the Prussian-Russian War in 1781, and the Danish War in 1788, our country has created an elite division that dares to fight, fight, and is brave and good at fighting. Three times at the same time The war has made all ideologies in our country highly unified, and all classes have united around the regime with His Majesty the King as the core.
Under the leadership of His Majesty the King, the government has deeply implemented the strategy of strengthening the country through talent. Focusing on high-level and highly skilled talents, it has strengthened the construction of various talent teams and vigorously strengthened cultural construction. It has invested nearly 200,000 gold thalers in the construction of various Large colleges and schools. As of this year, the enrollment rate of six-year compulsory education for Prussian children is 96%, and the admission rate to major colleges and universities is 75%. In particular, the establishment of the Brandenburg Military Academy has opened up a new world for talent education in our country. Chapter. In addition, public cultural facilities covering cities and towns across the country have been initially completed, and museums, libraries, and cultural centers (stations) have been fully open to the public free of charge. Philosophy, social sciences, physics, chemistry, literature and art, etc. have become more prosperous, and the cultural industry has developed rapidly. ? Important progress has been made in the protection of cultural relics, the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage, and cultural exchanges with foreign countries have become more active.
The government insists on putting the interests of the people first and strives to protect and improve people's livelihood. We regard employment as the top priority to protect and improve people's livelihood. With the liberation of serfs in recent years, more and more people have poured into cities and towns. In such a situation Under the circumstances, the government has implemented active employment policies. It has strengthened the employment of key groups, improved skills training and skill levels. In recent years, a total of 367,000 gold thalers have been invested in special funds to pave the liberated serfs. In addition, the Prussian State Bank has used The special small loans have maintained the overall stability of the employment situation and ensured social harmony and development." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly votes, and your Support is my biggest motivation.)