I

  Chapter 964 960 [Eastern Covenant Revolution]

  How many states there are in the Italian region is hard to say, but the six main forces have always been very clear.

  First, the Papal States.

   Regarding this peculiar country, the most classic evaluation is: Although the Pope is unable to unify Italy, he has enough power to prevent others from unifying it.

  Second, the Principality of Milan.

  When other states in Italy were still in the city-state republic, Milan took the lead in realizing the lord autocracy.

   Third, Florence.

  The system of this state is constantly changing, and finally, with the support of Spain, it also became a principality a hundred years ago.

   Fourth, the Republic of Genoa.

   This product belongs to the vassal of Spain. A hundred years ago, the Spanish royal family went bankrupt and the German bankers lost their money. Genoa took the opportunity to lend money to Spain, continuously obtaining American silver, and opened a golden age that lasted 70 years. With the reduction of silver production in the Americas, the Spanish royal family went bankrupt many times, and Genoa also fell into decline.

   Fifth, the Republic of Venice.

   About 200 industrial and commercial families constitute the oligarchy of Venice. The chief administrative officer is elected, and nobles and powerful citizens form a parliament, which is then handed over to the affairs officer to handle government affairs. It has a large number of overseas territories and has fought the Ottomans for 90 years. Sometimes there is a truce, sometimes peace talks, sometimes cooperation, all the while losing territory.

  In addition, due to the abolition of priestly privileges, the Pope issued an excommunication order against Venice. Although the Republic of Venice regarded the excommunication order as bullshit, it also caused it to be politically isolated in Italy. Even though the excommunication order has been lifted through French intervention, political isolation persists.

   While the states are isolating Venice, they also need Venice to resist Ottoman expansion. Probably there was a rascal in the village, and the villagers didn't want to play with him, but they applauded vigorously and cheered. They were happy to see him fighting with the rascal in the next village.

   Sixth, Naples.

   This thing is a bargaining chip for the marriage between France and Spain. Both parties have suzerainty over Naples. It is either controlled by France or Spain. It is currently controlled by Spain.

  It has a vast territory, a powerful navy, and a high degree of centralization.

  Among all the Italian states, Naples has the heaviest taxation and miscellaneous taxes, and the exploitation of the middle and lower classes is the most serious. Therefore, in the subsequent revolutionary war for the unification of Italy, a revolutionary wave first appeared in Naples.

  Naples City, inside a leather shop.

Antonio, the owner of the shop, said to the gathering: "We have summed up several reasons for the failure of the uprising more than ten years ago. First, the leaders of the uprising cannot act arbitrarily, otherwise it will cause internal division; second, the French royal family is unreliable. They agreed to support the uprising. , but only want to usurp the fruits of our uprising; third, you cannot trust the Spanish king and the governor, you must kill the governor!"

  Naples is a kingdom whose king is held concurrently by the King of Spain.

Thirteen years ago, the governor of Naples announced a tax increase. The fishmonger Masaniello led the riots, and the lawyer Genoino secretly fanned the flames. The slogan of the riots was: "Long live the King of Spain, we don't want taxes, and the unpopular government (Governor) goes away." open."

  The governor was forced to participate in negotiations and accept various demands. The fishmonger Masaniello was appointed as "the most loyal leader of the people" and formed a people's government.

  Things are going too well, and the fishmonger is quickly corrupting. He betrayed the original intention of the uprising, and after taking power, he acted arbitrarily and even killed opponents at will. Before the governor took action, the people's government began to depose and arrest him, fled to a monastery and was killed.

  The lawyer who planned the uprising, as the new leader of the people, ended up wearing a pair of pants with the governor. After the death of the tyrannical fishmonger, he was regarded as a hero by the people, and then went on to set off riots and killed the lawyer who usurped power. The new leader of the people continued to suppress the uprising, the common people continued to uprising, and the uprising wave spread to Sicily.

  An arms dealer became the leader of the people and announced the formation of the Republic of Naples, secretly gaining the support of the French royal family.

  France directly dispatched the navy, and the French Duke of Guise was elected Duke of the Republic of Naples. This old man has intensified his exploitation of the people, and the uprising has spread in all directions. In the end, Spain dispatched a large army, the French duke ran away, and the leader of the people (arms dealer) was executed.

The owner Antonio said: "What we will carry out is not an urban riot, but a revolution. Neither the kings of Spain nor France can protect our rights. They only know how to tax continuously. We must establish a republic and form a republic assembly. , to formulate the laws of the Republic. The parliament can retain the nobility, but all people, such as lawyers, businessmen, and craftsmen, can be elected to the parliament, and they must occupy two-thirds of the seats! Now, let Carlos, the lawyer, explain to us the "Oriental St. "Yue" (the Italian version of "Datong Ji")."

   "Da Tong Ji" began to be secretly spread in the UK a few years ago. After being banned by Cromwell, it spread to France and then to Italy.

  With the popularity of "The King of Kings-The Biography of the Great Chinese Emperor", "Datong Collection" was reprinted many times by the Venetian bookseller who didn't think it was a big deal. Scholars in Naples, as if they had found a treasure, continued to revise "Datong Collection" according to the actual conditions of their country.

Lawyer Carlos stood up and said: "The Eastern Covenant is a revolutionary book written by His Majesty the great Chinese Emperor. Twenty years ago, China was under the rule of the brutal Ming Dynasty. The Chinese people there are the same as our people in Naples. , had to face endless heavy taxes, and years of natural disasters made them unable to survive. His Majesty the great Chinese emperor led the people's uprising, overthrew the brutal Ming Dynasty, and established the Datong Dynasty of equality, justice, and prosperity..."

"In faraway China, the emperor is wise, and the officials are selfless. Officials are held by highly respected scholars. Any corruption will be severely cracked down. Every child in the family can have the opportunity to learn. Every literate All the people have the opportunity to be an official. The emperor protects the interests of scholars, businessmen, craftsmen, and farmers. Even beggars have disappeared, and everyone is living a happy life like heaven..."

"According to the description in "The King of Kings-The Biography of the Great Emperor of China", shoemakers in Nanjing can even afford silk. Even apprentice shoemakers are educated in reading and writing, have a decent salary, and don't have to bear high taxes. ..."

  Most of the revolutionaries who participated in the party had never read these two books. At this moment, their eyes lit up, and their faces were full of longing and longing. How wonderful it would be to be in a distant eastern country, and how happy it would be to live there.

  Carlos lawyer continued: "The "Eastern Covenant" records all the revolutionary ideas of the Chinese emperor. The Chinese emperor believes that the people are the foundation of the country, and the emperor and officials are only in charge of the country for the people..."

"Although we established the Republic of Naples in the last uprising, the four leaders of the people and one Duke of the Republic all abandoned the revolution. Therefore, Naples cannot have a king, duke, and leader of the people, because none of us Neapolitans can be like China. The emperor was so wise and selfless..."

"The emperor of China is a philosopher king, he is omniscient, he is noble in morality, and he is noble in soul. If Naples is next to China, after our uprising, the emperor of China should rule. But we are too far away from China, we You can only choose the consul yourself. Each consul cannot be hereditary, and must have a term of office, and the power is restricted by the people's assembly..."

"Let's talk about another idea of ​​the Chinese emperor. He believes that all people are born equal. Nobles and merchants are equal, merchants and craftsmen are equal, peddlers, fishermen, and farmers are all equal. You must ask, farmers are ignorant even if they can't read, why? Can you be equal to nobles? His Majesty the Emperor of China said that people have status and personality. Status is not equal. Some people are born nobles, and some people are born farmers. But personalities are indeed equal, no one is more noble..."

"Equality of personality is absolute. The difference between a bad person and a good person is that the bad person is polluted and his morality becomes despicable. Therefore, when we establish a republic, we must protect the interests of the good person and make more people good. If a government is Bad ones, good people cannot guarantee their interests, and more people will become bad people..."

   "The Emperor of China said that the interests of all people must be guaranteed. After the establishment of the Republic, we should formulate a law, a law for all the people."

"In the decadent Ming Dynasty, the worst were nobles and landlords. We must learn from the Chinese emperor. All bad nobles and landlords must be killed. Their money is used for the financial expenditure of the Republic. Their land, To distribute to poor peasants..."

"His Majesty the Emperor of China, at the beginning of the uprising, he formulated fair and strict laws. We should also formulate laws. I am a lawyer. Today, everyone comes from various professions. You can make suggestions. I will draft the laws of the Republic, and then we will Constantly adjusting and revising…”

  The common people here really can't live on.

  Their king is also the king of Spain, and a governor is sent to govern. The oppression of the people is only a little better than that of the colonies. Moreover, there are nobles here, and the common people face double oppression.

  As for the nobles, they also faced suppression from Spain, and many nobles wanted to make a revolution.

  With the spread of the "Eastern Covenant", with the city of Naples as the center, the revolutionary trend of thought quickly spread to the whole country, and there were even revolutionary organizations in Sicily.

  More and more petty nobles and businessmen connive or support the revolution, and some even join in personally. With the addition of nobles, the drafted laws of the republic were also revised, and the republic protected the interests of progressive nobles.

  The nature has obviously changed, from a revolution of the whole people to a revolution of the bourgeoisie and citizens, and the majority of farmers in Naples were once again abandoned.

   Just when Britain and France were married, the Naples Revolution broke out, known as the "Oriental Covenant" revolution in history.

  This revolution was forced to be launched in advance, because the governor of Naples became alert, declared the revolutionaries to be treasonous parties, and dispatched troops to hunt them down.

  The rebel people stormed into the Governor's Palace, hanged the Governor, and then opened the prison to release the prisoners.

   On the second day of the revolution, the Republic of Naples was announced and the People's Assembly of Naples was formed.

  Antonio, the owner of the leather shop, was elected as the first consul of the Republic. Carlos, the lawyer, was elected the first speaker. A large number of nobles and businessmen, serving as members of parliament, essentially stole the fruits of the revolution.

   Immediately, revolutionary riots broke out in the major cities of Naples one after another.

  Aristocrats from all over the country formed the army of the Republic, and merchants provided financial support to gather in the city of Naples urgently, because the Spanish army came from Sicily.

  Spain did not have many troops stationed in Sicily, and was completely defeated by the People's Army of Naples. Affected by this, part of the Naples navy rebelled and declared to join the Republic of Naples.

  The Republic of Naples initially gained a firm foothold, but splits appeared among the revolutionaries.

  The citizen class, represented by artisans and merchants, contributed a lot in the early days of the revolution, but now they are rejected by the parliament. The middle and low-level representatives should account for two-thirds of the original parliamentary seats, but now only one-third is left.

  The Spanish king, who was in dire financial straits, was unable to send out an army expedition at all.

  The king urgently borrowed from Genoese merchants for war, but those Genoese merchants had long distrusted the Spanish royal family, which had repeatedly gone bankrupt. After finally raising part of it, the military expenditure was still not enough, so the King of Spain asked the Dutch businessman for a loan.

  The Dutch businessmen didn’t borrow this time either. They have been cheated several times by the Spanish royal family’s bankruptcy.

   Who can afford to renege on debts as soon as they go bankrupt?

  So, the Spanish king could only increase taxes in the colonies, and Mexico and the Philippines were messed up. The local colonial officials ignored the royal family even more, and intensified smuggling to make money to make up for the losses caused by the king's tax increase.

  Spain's suppression of the Naples revolution may take another year or two to form a good army.

  At the same time, King Louis XIV of France also set his sights on this place because he also has the right to inherit the King of Naples. The Republic of Naples announced the abolition of the throne, which also affected the king of France. Louis XIV even wanted to destroy it, and then declared himself the king of Naples.

  But once this is done, war with Spain is inevitable in the future, and Louis XIV dare not act rashly.

  The establishment of the Republic of Naples aroused violent repercussions in the Italian region, and the spread of the "Eastern Covenant" became even faster. In Sicily, revolutions also broke out, and Spain had to quell the chaos in Sicily first.

  (end of this chapter)