I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 118

< Gordius' Knot >

When a great tiger disappears from the forest, the wolves that had been holding their breath become rampant.

With Duke Louis Christian of Orléans heading to the New World, a significant power vacuum emerged in the central political arena of France.

This was because even older figures like Duke Choiseul had stepped down and retired.

No matter how powerful someone may be, if they are across the Atlantic, some people tend to think they are not so scary.

Originally, Auguste or Louis XV should have filled this void, but Louis XV had been feeling weak lately, and Auguste lacked control over the nobles.

Of course, figures like Maupeou and Turgot were still formidable, so the opposition did not immediately run wild.

Still, it was clear that those who had been silent were starting to test the waters.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, the domestic situation has been fully reorganized, but the problem lies in the New World.”

It was a remark from a certain noble.

Auguste glanced at the empty throne and clicked his tongue softly.

“That is an issue that His Majesty has already decided on, so wouldn’t it be better to speak to His Majesty?”

“The physician’s opinion was that His Majesty should not exert himself with such debates. Wouldn’t it be better for us to reach a consensus first and then convey it to His Majesty?”

“That is true, but… I don’t see any particular problem in the New World.”

“It is true that His Highness Christian has accomplished much, but there are voices saying that he has been given too much authority. Giving him military and diplomatic power is practically the same as making a country independent.”

A story that could not have been dared to come out if Christian were present came out without hesitation.

Turgot, who had been listening quietly, pointed out that.

“If you really think there is a problem, shouldn’t we call Christian and have a discussion?”

“No, well… he must be busy with his duties.”

“Then shouldn’t we just stay still? Is it right to slander someone who is doing their best for France when they are not even here?”

“Oh! Who slandered him? We are just discussing whether too many privileges have been granted.”

“I’m sorry, but that is generally the consensus in society for what is called slander.”

As no conclusion was reached, the vassals who had been expressing critical opinions pointed to one person who had been silent until now.

A nobleman who had lost everything because of Christian.

It was Duke Chartres.

“What do you think, Duke?”

“That’s right. Duke, aren’t you a patriot who cut off even his family for the sake of his country? We would like to hear your opinion.”

Duke Chartres let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.

That’s because the title ‘patriot’ was a word that nobles had been using to mock him.

A ‘patriot’ who sold his father to save his own life.

After mocking him like that, there was no way he would be happy to be praised like that now.

“Well… I will refrain from speaking. I don’t want to cause trouble by opening my mouth rashly.”

“Huh… well, I understand.”

The nobles clicked their tongues and talked among themselves again.

“His Highness Christian must have his own thoughts, but when you think about it, even England failed to colonize the New World. No matter how much resources we pour in to raise them, what if they cause a fuss to become independent like the United States?”

“That’s right. I heard that they are accepting Indians as citizens, but even if the Indians are quiet now, will they remain silent later? Of course, they will demand independence.”

Auguste couldn’t say anything.

Various rebuttals came to mind, but it was obvious that the nobles would pick on his words again anyway.

The nobles were quick-witted enough not to say such things when Louis XV was correcting them.

Auguste had no choice but to realize it by now.

If he insisted, the Crown Prince would eventually follow the nobles’ opinions.

That’s how he was being seen.

“From the beginning, Indians have low intelligence and barbaric cultures. No matter how much opportunity we give them, it is obvious that they will not be tamed.”

“That’s right. If we really want to accept Indians, we should use their labor as a source of food supply…”

Knock knock.

At that moment, someone loudly knocked on the door leading into the Hall of Mirrors.

Auguste and all the nobles turned to look.

“Who dares to interrupt a sacred meeting?”

Marquis de Launay, the governor of the Bastille [a royal prison in Paris], who had been talking incessantly, raised his voice.

“I told you not to disturb the meeting unless it was an urgent matter!”

“The Governor-General of New France and Duke of Orléans, Prince Louis Christian, is entering.”

“……What?”

The nobles froze at the unexpected words.

And looked back at Auguste.

But even he nodded blankly, as if he hadn’t expected it.

“O-Order him to come in quickly.”

“Yes.”

Creak.

Beyond the slowly opening door, the person who had been the subject of the meeting walked in without hesitation.

The faces of the nobles, who had been divided into two sides and fighting, were filled with mixed emotions.

Christian deliberately slowed his pace and slowly scanned the faces of the nobles gathered in the hall.

The nobles, led by Marquis de Launay, who had been excitedly talking, immediately closed their mouths as if nothing had happened.

Rather, some of them greeted him with friendly smiles and bowed deeply.

“Oh, Your Highness the Duke! If you had given me notice in advance, I would have gone out to meet you in person.”

“You must have worked hard to come from that far away.”

Christian didn’t even answer and slightly nodded his head.

Soon, he arrived in front of Auguste and greeted him politely.

“I apologize for not sending notice in advance as I came in such a hurry. I am sorry for the confusion.”

“If you came in a hurry, of course, you could do that. Did you come after seeing my letter?”

“Yes. I heard that Your Majesty was not feeling well, and I could not wait for contact there with peace of mind.”

“It’s not that serious, but I guess I made you worry more than necessary. Still, His Majesty will be happy to hear that you have come.”

Auguste smiled brightly, as if the expression he had before was a lie, and patted Christian’s shoulder affectionately.

Then, he looked around the hall and smiled sarcastically.

“Come to think of it, the meeting was suddenly interrupted earlier. What were we discussing?”

“……”

Silence in the room.

Auguste pointed to Marquis de Launay and spoke to him.

“Didn’t you say that the authority given to the Governor-General of New France was excessive?”

“Your Highness. That is, well……”

Marquis de Launay looked around urgently.

But no one tried to make eye contact with him.

Christian slowly turned his head to face Marquis de Launay.

“Your Highness! It’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t mean to say that……”

“I understand roughly.”

Christian clicked his tongue and cut off the Marquis’s words.

Then, he indifferently withdrew his gaze again.

“I am well aware that there are many voices of dissatisfaction, so let’s set a date later. But before that, I would like to see His Majesty and say hello. Is that possible?”

“Of course. Then let’s end today’s meeting here. And let’s make sure that Marquis de Launay and other nobles attend the next meeting.”

“……”

Not a single one of the nobles, who had been so high-spirited just 10 minutes ago, continued to speak.

※※※

Versailles Palace, the bedroom of the king who holds all the wealth and power of France.

“Auguste made an unnecessary fuss and made you suffer from afar.”

Louis XV’s complexion, whom I saw in a year, certainly did not look better than before.

Still, he certainly didn’t look seriously ill or in danger.

But Louis XV is now almost 70 years old.

In this era, 70 is practically the age of 90 in modern times.

There is no guarantee that he will be okay tomorrow if he is okay now, and there is no guarantee that he will be healthy next year if he is healthy this year.

“I heard that you have been feeling tired lately, so there are days when you cannot take care of state affairs. So I couldn’t help but worry.”

“Wouldn’t it be a problem if you came and went all the way here when you are busy?”

“It’s okay. I came after roughly setting the important framework. And when I actually saw the situation here, I thought it was a good idea to come.”

Louis XV smiled bitterly.

He got up from the bed and poured himself a cup of coffee.

“I see you saw the nobles making a fuss.”

“Yes. Actually, I was roughly expecting this to happen. Still, I thought they wouldn’t openly spout nonsense if Your Majesty was healthy.”

“As I get older, I feel that my body is not the same as before every year. And not only me, but the nobles seem to be keenly aware of that.”

I sat on the chair in front of the bed and roughly explained the situation from earlier.

“It seemed like my brother was suffering a lot. But when I think about the future, I also think it’s fortunate that you are experiencing this kind of experience around now.”

“As you can see, you must not be careless even if you have great power. The ones who have the attribute of trying to squeeze in even if you show a little gap are those.”

“It will be okay for now. They will become quiet as if nothing happened when Your Majesty recovers your health.”

Louis XV frowned and let out a sigh full of annoyance.

“I can’t be doing this here, but my heart is heavy. Now that France has seized an opportunity that will never come again, I must create a slightly better environment for Auguste and you.”

Even though the victory in the last war gave us a brief respite, the fundamental problem that plagued France has not disappeared.

No matter how much debt has been reduced, when you think about it, it is only back to the level before the Seven Years’ War.

France’s debt was still incredibly high, and its income was not good enough to easily repay it.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. Either way, it is difficult to maintain debt at a stable level with the current method. Even if that happens, it is obvious that it will return to its previous state as soon as we repeat the war a few times.”

“···Turgot said something similar.”

“Yes. And then France will naturally try to collect taxes from the lucrative New World to make up for it. If that happens, we will only repeat the failure that England committed. Perhaps if we maintain the current state as it is, such a future will surely come?”

If that really happens, England will support New France, which is trying to become independent, and everyone will fall into a swamp of a war with no winners, where everyone loses.

In the end, without fundamental problem improvement, the victory of this war and the development of the New World are nothing more than a delay.

Louis XV’s old eyes darkened as he understood that point.

“Then what should we do… Should we absolutely not wage a large-scale war in the future?”

“How wonderful would it be if there was a world where war did not happen? But that will not happen. Then there is only one answer. We must fix the reason why the current France is running a chronic fiscal deficit.”

“Numerous economic experts have tried to improve it so far, but everyone has failed. Will that be possible for you?”

“Of course.”

The king’s eyes widened at my immediate answer.

Even though it was my word, I felt a slightly suspicious gaze as if it was hard to believe this time.

Of course, even if I tried to solve this problem economically, it would be clear that I would fail.

That’s because this was a problem that had no answer when approached economically in the first place.

Then how should we solve a problem that cannot be solved by the logic of economics?

What else can I do?

I said there is no answer? When there is no answer, you don’t have to find the answer. If you keep trying to solve a problem that you can’t solve, it won’t work.

If you can’t solve it, don’t solve it. If there is no answer, don’t look for the answer.

End