King's Landing in France

Chapter 78 Manifesto and Bread

One day at the end of August, in the manor on the outskirts of Paris, there was the sound of rumbling guns.

An Ning held the binoculars and looked at the target in the distance. Several impact points landed far away from the target.

Before An Ning could comment, Fanny behind her said first, "It's too bad that the accuracy is so poor."

"No, Fanny." An Ning shook her head, and turned to look at her maid, "This group of people have only received artillery training for a month, and it's a victory if they can fire the cannon."

An Ning paused, and added: "If you can fire a cannon without hurting yourself, it is a victory."

Fanny: "Is it okay to have such a low requirement? The current situation is so chaotic..."

It is true that the situation is very chaotic, and it will be even more chaotic in the future.

At this time, it is a great thing to have an army loyal to oneself.

An Ning looked at Fanny and said with a smile, "Do you think such an army is unreliable in a chaotic situation? You're overthinking it. This is the artillery of the National Guard, not my own private soldiers."

Fanny: "Isn't it?"

"Of course not. Don't say such things in front of outsiders."

"Of course." Fanny lowered her eyes and put on a humble look, "Even if my mouth is rotten, I will never say these words in front of outsiders. However, although you don't regard them as your own private soldiers, But I’m afraid they themselves don’t think so. I’ve heard more than once from your appointed non-commissioned officers that they only recognize the captain.”

After An Ning captured the Bastille, he was promoted to captain by Lafayette.

"Did they say that?" An Ning glanced at the maid, "That's because I gave them extra military pay. At the current price of bread, without the extra military pay, their whole family would go hungry."

While speaking, An Ning's promoted sergeant Jean Pole ran over, saluted An Ning, and reported loudly: "All the guns have been fired, please give instructions!"

"Bring everyone back. Remember to clean the cannon," An Ning ordered.

"Yes!" Jean Paul saluted again, turned and left.

Looking at the back of this "popularly elected" sergeant, An Ning couldn't help but want them to shout "Zhong! Cheng!" when they saluted.

No way, the film "Fifth Republic" has no other advantages, but it is powerful.

Fanny interrupted An Ning's reverie at this time: "Now the price of bread has risen again. Although our bread is provided by the Duke, there is no need to worry for now, but if the price of bread continues to rise, Paris may..."

An Ning interrupted Fanny: "Don't worry, it's almost September now, there will be no major disasters this year, and the grain harvest will be bumper. By then, the price of bread will come down."

Fanny: "Is it too late?"

"It's only been a few months. According to my estimation, there will be at most one large-scale commotion in Paris." An Ning said confidently.

It is true that there was only one large-scale riot in history before food prices came down.

If An Ning remembers correctly, it should be in October.

It's only August, so early.

An Ning: "I'm going to the Palace of Versailles to attend a meeting, let the groom drive the car out."

The manor where An Ning lives now belongs to the Duke of Orleans, and the Duke lent the house to An Ning together with his servants and grooms, so now he doesn't have to take a taxi to the Palace of Versailles.

Of course, the location of this manor is not easy to find a rental carriage - the manor is already outside the city, even outside the scope of the Thiers city wall planned to be built in 1846.

Such a remote estate, surrounded by completely empty fields, and shrubs and woodlands that belonged to the Duke of Orleans, so that An Ning had enough space to practice his artillery.

Of course, this is also related to the shorter range of the current cannons. At this time, artillery drills do not require such a large venue.

In such a wilderness, there was naturally no place to find a taxi, so An Ning took the Duke's carriage to the venue instead.

The Duke of Orleans specifically ordered that the family coat of arms be removed from the carriage.

Originally, the Duke said that he asked the carpenter to get an emblem exclusive to An Ning on An Ning's carriage, but unfortunately, as the son of a cobbler, An Ning did not have an emblem that could represent him.

In the end, the Duke ordered the carpenter to carve An Ning's initials, AF, on the carriage.

To be honest, this abbreviation makes An Ning feel awkward no matter how he looks at it, and feels like he will be short of water at any time.

Not long after An Ning ordered Fanny, the carriage engraved with the words AF appeared in front of him.

The coachman looked sad, seeing that An Ning just bowed hastily.

An Ning couldn't help asking, "What's the matter, Fred?"

Fred was the driver's name.

"Sir, it's not about bread! My wife and I work in the manor, so we don't have to worry about bread, but my younger brother is just a painter. No matter how hard he works recently, the whole family can't get enough to eat.

"I know the grown-ups at Versailles are worrying about more important things, but can't they use a little bit of their talents to help us with the bread problem?
"Monsieur, you are the hero of the Bastille, advise him!"

An Ning pouted, thinking that if the gentlemen of Versailles said there was a solution, then there was indeed a solution, as long as the people who are currently hoarding bread and grain open warehouses to release grain, the solution will be solved.

But the problem is that it is the gentlemen who are meeting in Versailles who are hoarding food now.

Of course, An Ning couldn't tell the truth like this, so she sighed and patted Fred on the shoulder: "Tell your brother, everything will get better in late October. Food prices will drop by then."

Fred frowned, with an expression of disbelief on his face: "Just wait for more than a month?"

An Ning nodded: "Well, yes."

Fred smiled: "Great, it's almost the end. I'll send you a message to my brother when I send you to Versailles, telling him the good news!"

Tranquility is a bit unpleasant.

He opened the door of the carriage and got into the carriage, and waved to Fanny, "I'm leaving."

"Bon voyage." Fanny waved off with a straight face.

An Ning closed the car door, and Fred waved his whip: "Drive!"

The carriage started slowly.

**
When they arrived in Versailles, as soon as they entered the imperial conference hall, which was usually used for meetings, Dandong came over excitedly and held An Ning's hand: "You are here! I heard from Mounier that today the final approval of the" Declaration of Human Rights, equality, liberty and fraternity will be realized on the land of France!"

An Ning said, "But there is no bread."

Dandong froze for a moment, then rubbed his nose in embarrassment: "This... bread is just a temporary difficulty. With the official signing of the August decree, the countryside will calm down. Farmers harvest this year's crops, and the price of bread will increase. Back to normal."

Robespierre leaned over and scolded: "His Majesty the King is just procrastinating not to sign the August decree. If you want me to say, we should take more resolute actions."

An Ning: "How could he sign it? As a king, signing the decree means that he also gave up his feudal power. Was he still the king at that time?"

Robespierre: "Of course! The King of England also gave up a considerable part of his feudal power and handed it over to Parliament, but isn't he still the King of England?"

It can be seen that the current Robespierre is not the radical republican who was later, and any radicalization will have a process.

Robespierre is now clearly in a less radical phase.

At this time, the speaker Mounier, elected by the National Assembly, stood on the podium: "Everyone! Today we are going to vote on the final draft of a great declaration! What is sent to you now is the final version of the Declaration of Human Rights." ! We have an hour for the final discussion!
"In one hour, we will vote on this manifesto!"

An hour later, the National Assembly unanimously adopted the Declaration of Human Rights.

Mirabeau stood up and shouted: "Long live! Long live liberty, equality, fraternity! Long live the tricolor emblem! Long live the declaration!"

An Ning also shouted Long Live along with the crowd, but what he couldn't get rid of was the worry-filled face of the coachman Fred just now.

The declaration is of course very important, as it laid down the basic principles of the legislation of most countries in later generations, and is a great progress in human history.

But the Manifesto will not bring bread, and the people of Paris will soon be hungry, and will take actions that will shock even the respectable gentlemen present.

(End of this chapter)