"Then please tell me, Your Majesty, what changes or reforms do you want to make?"
With what William said so explicit, Rocks had to bite the bullet and say it, but William knew that Rocks was really cunning and cunning. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, but he still let himself say it.
"In a sense, I think that for the happiness and stability of the Prussian people, Your Excellency, Duke, I think serfdom should be swept into the garbage dump of history. Looking at the powerful countries such as Britain and France, they all abolished serfdom.
The other side has received heartfelt support from the people, and this support will evolve into an important factor in the balance of power between the two sides during the war," William said calmly.
But after listening to William's words, Locks didn't speak. He held his forehead and thought quietly. William saw this and did not interrupt Locks' thinking.
"Your Majesty, we must realize that the reason why Britain will become better after abolishing serfdom is that they plundered the wealth of the world's colonies to support national reforms, so that the interests of the ruling class or aristocratic class were not harmed.
Below, serfdom will be completely abolished.
But our situation in Prussia is not the same. In Prussia, even His Majesty’s royal estate has a large number of serfs, not to mention other nobles. Under such circumstances, if His Majesty liberates the serfs, then the aristocracy will
The interests will be greatly damaged. In other words, no nobles will support your majesty's policy, unless your majesty can find another interest chain for the many nobles in the country that can make up for the damage caused by the liberation of serfs.
In addition, if serfdom is really abolished, the nobles will not be willing to use their wealth to hire former serfs to work for them. Even if there are hired serfs, they will be in the minority, and most serfs will not be able to be hired.
So where can these serfs survive after leaving their serf owners? These former serfs must find a way to survive, but at present, Prussia does not have the ability to accommodate such a large number of free labor forces.
In other words, these serfs will not be able to find jobs and will not be paid, so in order to survive, it is inevitable that these serfs will do some unexpected things." Rocks said the above after thinking for a period of time.
these words.
When William listened to the first half of what Rocks said, he was shocked. He was worried that Rocks would also oppose his reform ideas. But after listening to it, William knew that Rocks thought more than he thought, because he
I have never thought about how to resettle the serfs after they were liberated.
I originally thought that after the serfs were liberated, the original serf owners would hire these serfs, but it was right to think about it. During the serfdom, serfs did not need to be paid for work, and they only needed to keep the serfs from starving to death.
But once serfdom is abolished, serf owners will need to spend money to hire serfs to work for them, and most people must be unwilling to pay this fee.
And Prussia did not exist like factories in later generations. Such a large number of serfs with nothing to do and no source of livelihood would definitely bring turmoil and even rebellion to Prussia.
I just choked it and let it go. The more I thought about it, the bigger my head got. William felt that his head was hurting so much. When he thought about the consequences of rashly abolishing serfdom, William broke out in a cold sweat.
Seeing William whose face was turning blue and white, Locks sighed in his heart. This little king was good at everything but a little too presumptuous. Thinking of this, Locks said:
"Actually, Your Majesty, the abolition of serfdom is history, Your Majesty, and I understand it, but most of the nobles do not understand this truth. The current external environment of Prussia seems peaceful, but in fact it is extremely dangerous.
I believe that your Majesty’s military reform ideas are very correct. After the military reform, Prussia can use the sword in its hands to compete for more interests, and these interests are the bargaining chips for the nobles to compromise."
After Rocks finished speaking, William's face looked much better. At least Rocks still thought about himself, which made William very happy.
Thinking of the Danish strategy he had prepared, William said:
"Lord Rox, do you think a Denmark can satisfy the appetite of the nobles in the country?"
Hearing William's words, Rocks shook his head and said:
"Your Majesty, you must know that Prussia has many nobles, and Denmark alone cannot satisfy the appetites of these people. My suggestion to Your Majesty is to establish a Baltic Sea Alliance led by Prussia after capturing Denmark. I want to consolidate the Baltic Sea region
After turning the region into a stable back garden for Prussia, Your Majesty will have the strength to abolish serfdom."
After listening to Rocks' words, William frowned. He did not expect that Denmark was not enough but the interests of the Baltic Sea coast were also added. By joining Prussia and defeating Denmark, the choke points in and out of the Baltic Sea would be controlled by Prussia.
Just by collecting the fees from ships, it is a huge amount of income, not to mention the economic benefits it will bring to the Baltic Sea coast. Even people who don't understand economics know how big a benefit this will be.
In order to abolish serfdom, is it necessary to transfer such huge benefits to the aristocracy? William thought suspiciously.
Obviously, when Locks saw William's frown, he knew that William was weighing the gains and losses in his heart. Locks said without hesitation:
"Your Majesty, you must understand that this is actually an exchange. When you liberate the serfs from the land of the nobles, the nobles who rely on the land to maintain their luxurious life will definitely resent you very much, so you will
Another kind of interest is needed to appease this resentment, and what interest is most suitable, I think, is the interest of the ocean.
Over the years, news has emerged that the nobles of Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands and other countries have obtained huge wealth by relying on maritime trade. These news have deeply stimulated the nobles of our country. As long as our country can defeat Denmark, it will be displayed in front of these nobles.
It is a treasure house with an open door. When the time comes, all it takes is a gentle nod from His Majesty, and greedy people will definitely turn their targets to the sea regardless of the land."
Well, William admitted that he was convinced by Rocks's rhetoric. It was right to think about it. At the moment, Prussia has not yet controlled Kattegat, and there are still many nobles engaged in maritime trade. Every year, Denmark
levy high taxes.
Once Prussia conquers Denmark, those envious nobles will definitely pounce on it like hungry wolves, fearing that they will not exchange land for the sea.
It seems that after the initial training of the army was successful, Denmark was the first place used for training, but that was the original plan, wasn't it?
I don’t know how things are going in the army right now. It seems necessary for me to go and have a chat with Prince Henry, William thought.
Duke Locks, who was sitting aside, saw that the expression on William's face became soothed and took a sip from his tea cup. Everyone has their own thoughts, and Locks was no exception. You must know that Locks is in Silesia.
There are hundreds of households of serfs in my farm. If serfdom is abolished, wouldn't I also suffer great losses?
Of course, if His Majesty insists, Rocks will still support it. Apart from being a little impulsive, this little king is the seed of an excellent king. Even Frederick the Great may not be as good as this little king, at least Frederick the Great
At this age, I have not achieved such great achievements.