Chapter 32 Chaos

Initial industrialization is a long-term investment project, and Selim is not impatient about it.

Moreover, the Venetian has already shipped the spinning jenny and steam engine to Egypt and Constantiniere.

The only uncertainty is whether Matthew Bolton will agree to the Sultan's request.

Selim walked to the window and tore off a page on the calendar. It was already July 14th.

The yellow Gregorian calendar page fell down and was immediately blown out of the window by a gust of wind, fluttering in the air.

This was a gift from Louis XVI during a correspondence. Now it seems that this page is like Louis XVI's fate at this time, swept by the wind of revolution, and no one knows where it will go.

When Selim was slightly sad for Louis XVI, Paris in the West had fallen into chaos.

The three-level meeting held in Versailles on May 5th did not ease the contradictions between the major classes in France.

When many participants arrived at the Palace of Versailles, they could not find a room that could accommodate nearly a thousand delegates. People were in disorder and complained everywhere, which seemed to indicate the failure of the meeting.

The extravagant court life of Louis XVI shocked and disgusted the representatives of the third estate who witnessed it, but this did not reach the bottom of the French king. He had more outstanding operations.

The representatives of the third estate who attended the meeting were required to enter in black clothes. Their dress was dwarfed by the priests' vestments and the nobles' ostentatious silks, satins and velvets.

There was no highlight in the whole meeting. The king's speech was long and dull.

The speech of Necker, who was once respected by the French people and regarded as the savior of the economy, was a disaster. ̢̜̳̱͈̹͓͛͜ḩ̷̻̩͍̱̗͔̺̏̓͊̀͂̀ͅṵ̵̙̻͉̦͙̗̥̉̓̓͊̑̂̑x̸͍̘̳͂͊̂̊̀͊̕͘.̷̹̦̆̆c̶͙͈͚̽̄̈̎̒͜ó̶̧̧̝̳̠͇͕̺̲̹̔̈́̃͝͝m̷̽̂̌̋̃ ̗͓̌

He just kept complaining about the poor economic situation in France without proposing any solutions.

But when Honoré-Gabriel-Ricty, Count Mirabeau, a representative of the Third Estate from Provence, stood up, all the participants were alert.

They looked at this extremely ugly man with a huge head and scarred face step by step on the podium with suspicion, vigilance, or expectation.

In fact, some people will definitely question why Count Mirabeau, as a nobleman, is the representative of the Third Estate.

This is actually due to his character. Count Mirabeau is a man who hates evil and often clashes with local nobles in Provence.

When the Third Estate of Provence chose representatives, Count Mirabeau said this in his speech.

"Well, I'm a mad dog, which gives you more reasons to choose me. My fangs can quickly solve despotism and privilege. "

The overly frank speech made it easy for Count Mirabeau to become the representative of the Third Estate in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.

In this three-level meeting, he led the renaming of the Third Estate to the National Assembly.

But Louis XVI did not seem to care about the radical behavior of the Third Estate, although historical records show that he was scared to death.

On May 23, Louis XVI announced in the Imperial Conference that all future votes would not be based on the number of people but only on the level, and the three-level meeting could only discuss tax issues rather than privilege issues.

At the same time, the King of France emphasized that all future reforms should be in accordance with the king's will, not It was the people's demand.

After announcing all this, the King of France left the meeting room like a proud peacock, leaving only the representatives of the Third Estate looking at each other in bewilderment.

On July 11, Necker was dismissed.

Despite his poor performance during the meeting at Versailles, he was still regarded as a man who could create miracles.

So when the news reached Paris, people were shocked, the stock market plummeted, the stock exchange was closed, and riots spread throughout the city.

The French Revolution, which was later hailed as the birthplace of modern thought, began to break out in Paris and gradually spread to the provinces.

Now, Louis XVI was really scared, and he summoned the army (a total of 1 6 regiments, most of them Swiss mercenaries) to maintain order, but they were attacked by a rain of stones in the Place Louis XV.

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Near the Tuileries Palace, a cavalry unit was also bombarded with garden chairs.

At the same time outside the palace, a young lawyer named Camille Desmoulins called on the people to take up arms and set up barricades.

He twisted chestnut leaves into a simple cap badge and inserted it on his hat.

This move soon became a symbol. From then on, if the citizens of Paris wanted to walk on the street without being spitted, they had to wear such a cap badge.

And something more dangerous was happening. The Parisian citizens with a fine tradition rushed to the Invalides and dragged away at least 10 cannons and 28,000 muskets.

In the early morning of July 14, they marched to the Bastille.

Built in the 14th century, the Bastille was originally a military fortress used to protect Paris during the Hundred Years' War. It was declared a national prison in 1417.

Although there were only a dozen prisoners in the entire prison at this time, it was still the Bastille after all.

It stood gloomily in the center of Paris, like a huge thundercloud, reminding people of the power and majesty of the king at all times, and issuing a terrible warning to those who dared to offend him.

By around 10 a.m., about 900 people had gathered outside the Bastille.

The prison warden, the Marquis de Launay, had only two days of food supplies, and there was no water in the prison.

He knew that he could not resist the siege, but he refused to hand over the guns and gunpowder he was responsible for, and waited for instructions from the Palace of Versailles.

However, as members of the old revolutionary district, the citizens of Paris did not intend to wait any longer.

In the afternoon, the attackers rushed into the courtyard outside the Bastille, and the situation was in chaos.

The Marquis de Launay had no choice but to try to negotiate surrender.

But while he was negotiating, the drawbridge suddenly fell.

The excited Parisians rushed in and grabbed him, dragged him to the street outside, and then someone stabbed him in the abdomen.

Looking at the dying Marquis de Launay, the Parisians thought that the atmosphere had been set, and it would be impolite if you didn't die, so they beheaded him directly.

Poor Marquis de Launay, his head was cut off and paraded through Paris with a spear.

There was no resistance. The Bastille fell.

As for Louis XVI, he had been hunting all day and was not at all panicked.

After returning to the palace, facing the officials' wishes to report, Louis XVI chose to go directly to bed and focus on a healthy life.

The next morning, Louis XVI finally learned the news.

"Is it a rebellion?"

Louis XVI asked the Duke of La Rochefoucauld sleepily.

"No, your majesty," the duke replied, "it's a revolution."

Suddenly, Louis XVI seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation.

He jumped out of bed, dressed with extraordinary speed, and hurried to inform the National Assembly and order the withdrawal of troops from Paris and Versailles.

The king's decision was warmly cheered by those present, and a delegation of 90 people immediately went to Paris with the good news.

General Lafayette, a hero of the recent American Revolutionary War, read aloud to the people gathered in front of the Hôtel de Ville, the speech that the king had just delivered at Versailles.

He was appointed as the commander of the militia to maintain the stability of Paris. Not long after, the militia was transformed into the National Guard.

They were required to wear the red and blue cap badge representing Paris, and later added a white one symbolizing the king.

However, under the initial stability, a turbulence is surging deeper, which will not only sweep across France, but also sweep across Europe and the world.

Please read and collect it.