Now we have finished talking about the story of Newton, a great scientist. In fact, human history in our period is still dominated by wars. But before we start talking about wars, let’s take a look at some kings.

First, let’s take a look at Louis XIV. He is called the Sun King. But why is Louis XIV called the Sun King? This is because when Louis XIV became an adult, both his words, deeds, daily life and the clothes he wore

, are extremely elegant and majestic. Louis XIV was also a man who loved great achievements and liked people to call him the Great Emperor. He chose the sun as his special symbol because the sun is the brightest of all celestial bodies.

.When people saw Louis XIV sitting high on a gilded throne, radiant with glory, how could they not bow their heads and worship him?

But we must talk about Louis XIV, which reminds us all of French perfume. In fact, the reason why the French perfume industry is so developed is Louis XIV. Why? What follows?

Let's all come and talk about this matter together.

In fact, the French did not take baths in the past, and even the king was no exception. In fact, this matter has already been mentioned in the chapters where we discussed the Black Death. However, until now, the country’s top officials and even the nobles have not

Yes, they still maintain their old tradition, that is, not taking a bath. So the current French high-level officials are that they would rather change several sets of clothes a day than use soap to take a bath. In fact, what should I say about this matter? The King

They are all like this, let alone farmers, right?

And have you ever thought about a very serious problem, that is, in the summer, in our modern world, if a person does not take a shower for a long time in a densely populated area, he will definitely have a very, very unpleasant smell. Anyway,

As for today's modern people, many people cannot stand this smell at all. In fact, during this period in France, people also couldn't stand the stench caused by not taking a shower.

But why don't these French people take a bath? In fact, they think soap is poisonous, so they often don't take a bath. Now we can imagine how unpleasant the smell on their bodies is. In fact, Louis XIII once

He was called the Stinky King by others, but this is the king! Kings don’t take baths, but this is tradition. It’s not easy for us people to say anything about this matter now. So when Louis XIV was on the throne, he

He didn't want others to smell the stench on his body caused by not taking a shower for a long time, so he used a lot of perfume, rinsed his mouth and hands with water mixed with wine, and then wiped with a dry cloth sprinkled with perfume.

As for King Louis XIV, he was very particular about perfume. He asked people to prepare a perfume that he liked every day. Not only did he use it himself, he also ordered his subjects not to wear perfume.

They were not allowed to go into public places, after all, it was too smelly, and they had to change their perfume from time to time. In fact, it was precisely because of this that the French perfume industry developed rapidly.

In fact, the story we talked about above is just an anecdote about Louis XIV, which is really insignificant compared to his life. Next, let’s take a closer look. Louis XIV was born because of the early death of his father.

, so he inherited the throne when he was five years old. At this time, the Queen Mother Anna was ostensibly in charge, but the actual power was in the hands of Prime Minister Mazarin. The young Louis XIV experienced the process of being governed by the court nobles and assets.

The class-led Fronde movement, which rebelled against the high-ranking officials, fled Paris with the high-ranking officials and was hunted down. In fact, this incident was crucial to Louis XIV's final personal power, strengthened the royal power, weakened the power of the High Court, and suppressed the nobility.

Their political strategies have a profound impact.

In 1661, after the death of the powerful Prime Minister Mazarin, Louis XIV began to take charge of the government. He did everything personally and said that he was engaged in the king's profession. As soon as he came to power, he sentenced the arrogant financial director Fouquet to life imprisonment.

, and then began to attack the authority of the High Court, and set aside a power institution that was a link between the monarch and the people. Through these various measures, the central autocratic royal power was unprecedentedly strengthened. In the 50th year of his pro-government,

For five years, from 1661 to 1715, France once dominated Europe. In fact, this period was later called the century of Louis XIV by Voltaire.

In the domestic economic field, Louis XIV implemented Kolber's mercantilist political strategy, vigorously built infrastructure, lowered tax rates, rewarded industrial production, and actively engaged in foreign trade, creating the prosperity of the French economy.

Louis XIV had the largest and most powerful standing army in Europe since the Roman Empire. In 1672, the number of the army reached 120,000, and in 1690 it exceeded 300,000, which was almost equal to that of other European countries.

The total number of troops! Relying on this army, Louis XIV defeated France's traditional enemies Germany and Spain, and formed alliances with many European countries, putting France in a dominant position, which resulted in no

Obstacles could limit the young king's movements.

At this time, it seemed that only the Netherlands, a powerful trading country, could rival France, but it was dominated by branches of the French royal family. In the field of thought and culture, Louis XIV vigorously promoted the idea of ​​divine right of kings, declaring that I am the country.

, established supreme authority, and he was called the Sun King among high-level officials. At the same time, Louis XIV also provided funding for literature and science. He successively established the French Academy of Sciences, the French Academy of Architecture and the Comédie Française, and built

The magnificent Palace of Versailles.

During the reign of Louis XIV, classical drama, aesthetics, architecture, statues and even painting art all flourished, with figures such as Molière, the founder of French dramatic art, Boileau, the classical art esthetician, and the fable writer La

Fontaine, architectural artist Claude Bellot and many other art masters.

From here it is not difficult to see that when Louis XIV was on the throne, he gave all the people of France a very huge space for development. However, Louis XIV's powerful rule also caused a very profound social crisis. He

During the fifty-five years of his reign, he fought thirty-two years of wars. The continuous foreign wars and extravagant palace expenditures depleted the French people's human and financial resources. In the later period of his rule, France actually experienced outbreaks one after another.

A large-scale uprising broke out. From this, it is not difficult to see that Louis XIV was actually a very extravagant man, but he was a king. As long as there was an uprising, he also had a very powerful army that could suppress it at any time.

So it’s really hard to comment on this matter. Say he is bad, right? He has made the whole of France a powerful country. Say he is good. The people in France are also miserable, so this matter cannot be said.

It is clear that in the end in 1715, Louis XIV, who once dominated for a while, died amid the complaints of the people.

Next, we will continue to learn about the kings of each major country. Why do we need to continue to understand? In fact, you may also be able to guess that the biggest war in our human history is about to begin. It is absolutely crazy!

Then let’s take a look at Russia. During this period, Russia was the home of Peter the Great. In fact, Peter the Great was one of the most outstanding czars in Russian history. He won for the Russians access to the sea that had been dreamed of for generations. His reforms

It also put Russia on the road to modernization and becoming a powerful nation.

Russians generally regard beards, a God-given accessory, as a sign of great pride. Having a wide, dense and complete beard is considered a sign of majesty and dignity. But in order to change this social trend, Peter decided to

Let’s start with the beards of Russians. He announced that cutting beards is the obligation of all residents, and he personally cut off the beards of some senior officers. However, this kind of beard has become a social custom and has been passed down from generation to generation, so

Peter's actions were unacceptable to the people, but Peter was the emperor, so the senior officers felt hatred in their hearts, but they did not dare to say anything treasonous.

So Peter's reforms must have met with great resistance, so Peter thought of another way, and he set up a beard tax. This is a disguised way of telling everyone that you can grow a beard, but you have to spend money to buy it.

Wealthy businessmen generally had to pay a large sum of money for growing beards, that is, one hundred rubles per year. Lords and officials had to pay sixty rubles per year. Other residents had to pay thirty rubles. And peasants had to pay every time they entered or left the city.

One kopeck. There is also a specially made metal plate as a receipt for paying the beard tax. Bearded people hang the small plate around their necks. On the front of it is the mark of short sideburns and beard, and at the same time it says

There is a sign saying tax must be paid.

How should we understand this? Anyway, if you have money, keep it. If you don’t have money, cut it off. We must absolutely believe that in our world, absolutely no one will fight with the money in his pocket to the end.

, isn’t it good to keep this money in your own pocket? You have to pay such a high tax just for your beard, right? However, Peter still considered the farmers in this matter. The farmers’ beard tax is obviously horribly low.

.But this is just a small episode in the reforms of Peter the Great.

Next, we will have a more detailed understanding and analysis of Peter the Great. In fact, Peter was born in 1672. When he was ten years old, he was already supported as the second tsar, his half-brother.
Chapter completed!