monarch

On October 1556, 10, the decree of tax increase was issued in the Netherlands as expected. However, the scale of this tax increase was beyond everyone's expectations: there are many types of taxes and high tax rates. , are unprecedented in the history of the Netherlands.In addition to the abhorrent stamp duty, for as many as 5 kinds of goods, the Spanish authorities have begun to impose tariffs ranging from 39% to 15.00%, and the tax rates of 30.00 kinds of goods already on the tax list have generally increased by three to three percent. eight percent.

What made the merchants even more indignant in this edict was the clause prohibiting direct trade between the Netherlands and the American colonies. In anyone's eyes, this was a naked act of robbery: ordinary sugarcane syrup In the West Indies, a thousand pounds is only worth five ducats, but molasses of the same weight and quality can be sold for fifteen ducats through the hands of the Spaniards.

Discontent spread like an uncontrolled wildfire in the dry autumn meadows through the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands, especially in the seven Protestant-majority northern provinces.

The revenue stamps went on sale on October [-], the day after the edict was promulgated. On this day, protests of various sizes were held in all cities and towns in the Netherlands.In Amsterdam, the protest eventually turned violent. The tax office building responsible for selling stamps was completely destroyed by a group of angry local businessmen and citizens. The Spanish tax collectors were dragged out of the office by their hair.The clothes on their bodies were stripped off, and then the citizens covered their bodies with tar and chicken feathers, and led them to parade through the streets.Local Spanish officials tried to maintain order, but were thrown away with paving stones dug from the road, and finally had to resort to the local garrison to temporarily calm the situation.

In official documents, the Spanish authorities claimed that Her Majesty the Viceroy was appalled by "the criminal tendencies instigated by a small group of people in some provinces".These poor Spanish representatives did not understand that the violent confrontation in the Netherlands today has developed from an individual behavior to a group action.As for arbitrarily considering those who make trouble as "a small group of people", this is really a big mistake.In the past few decades, every unpopular measure of the Spanish government may indeed damage the interests of only a small group of people, but if the female governor and her advisers take these interests in a single incident Add up the "small handful" that have been violated, and they will find that the Spanish government has pushed the majority of social classes against itself.The Spaniards are surrounded by a vast ocean composed of countless "small groups", and the governor and her advisers are just an isolated island in this vast ocean.

Let us return to Brussels, the capital of the Netherlands. It has been a whole week since the announcement of the Stamp Duty Decree. Although the streets outside have been turned upside down, everything is still the same in the Doge’s Palace in the center of the city. It is an independent star system, and each planet in it travels according to its own orbit, and is not affected by external disturbances at all.Everything is like a precision clock, running step by step.

The clock now points to nine o'clock in the morning, which is the hour when Her Majesty the Viceroy wakes up in the morning.

In front of the governor's bedroom door, His Highness's housekeeper knocked lightly on the door, then turned the golden handle on the door, opened the door and walked into the room.

The Doge's room was very dark, with the shutters and windows tightly closed, and heavy curtains blocking any light that tried to sneak into the bedroom.On the farthest little table burns an ever-burning oil lamp, whose tiny flame casts dim shadows out of proportion to its size on the wall.

The female governor opened her eyes, and from the curtain above the big bed that was fluttering and swaying due to the airflow brought by the housekeeper's footsteps, one could hear the lazy sigh of a person who just woke up from a comfortable sleep. Hum.

"Is that you, Madame de Caballero?" asked the Viceroy.

"Yes, Your Highness." Mrs. de Caballero drew the curtains, and pushed all the windows and shutters open, allowing fresh air from outside to flood into the room, replacing the unhealthy carbon dioxide in the room.After finishing this, she drew back the bed curtain and curtseyed to the female governor.

The female governor stuck her upper body out of the quilt, leaned her back on the soft duck down pillow, and her black hair spread out behind her.The governor of the Netherlands, the Duchess of Parma, is 34 years old this year. Although she has always been well-maintained, after two marriages and two children, the ruthless years and never-ending sorrow are still in her heart. That shiny face left marks that were hard to ignore.

Marguerite de Palma, known before her marriage as Margaret of Austria, was the product of a drunken passion as the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V.Her mother was a maid of a French aristocratic family, and in the era when the story happened, it was considered a sign of good hospitality to let the maids of the family serve the high-status male guests.After a night of spring breeze with the still young Emperor Charles V, the maid was secretly conceived. However, it was not until Margaret was five years old that Charles V recognized her existence and sent her to Austria for education , and her guardians are the emperor's aunt and sister, the two previous female governors of the Netherlands.Then she was first betrothed to the nephew of Pope Clement VII, Alessandro de' Medici, and after Alessandro was assassinated, she married the grandson of Pope Paul III, the Duke of Parma. Vi Farnese, she bore twins to the duke.

Since the accession of Emperor Charles V 40 years ago, the viceroys of the Netherlands have been female members of the House of Habsburg, partly to make the rule of foreign dynasties less aggressive in the Netherlands Sex, a woman as a ruler is obviously easier to be accepted by the Netherlands than a foreign prince who shows his strength; The territory also greatly reduces the possibility of family members using this territory to cause chaos.Therefore, when the aunt of the Duchess of Parma and the previous female governor of the Netherlands resigned, Philip II logically appointed his half-sister to fill the vacancy.

While the female governor was still awake, Mrs. de Caballero walked out of the room, and after a while she returned to the room again, holding a silver plate full of women in need. Documents and correspondence from the Governor.

The Viceroy got out of bed, and she pointed to the dressing table, motioning Mrs. de Caballero to put the things on the plate there.

Mrs. de Caballero arranged the papers and letters on the tray on the dressing table according to the order of the viceroy.When everything was tidied up, the Viceroy put on a pair of silk slippers and yawned as she walked towards the dressing table.

She sat down at the dressing table, and as the maids filed in to dress the Governor, she picked up a silver paper letter cutter and began to read the letters and papers.

"There's another commotion in The Hague." The female governor looked at the wrinkles on her face that gradually spread from the corners of her eyes to the surroundings in the mirror with a frown. Individuals were seriously injured."

Madame de Caballero exclaimed, "My God!" She quickly crossed herself, "This is really terrible. What happened?"

"A reckless customs officer shot a boy who was throwing rocks and glass at his windows, and in a flash the whole city turned against us, first the merchants, then the lawyers, and the longshoremen and neighbors Apprentices in the factory, they started throwing stones at the government building. Next, an officer on duty lost his composure and shot into the crowd, that's it." The female governor threw the letter on the table restlessly, "These reckless guys are still giving me trouble... As if the situation isn't chaotic enough!"

"I also heard some outside discussions." Mrs. de Caballero moved closer and whispered into the ear of the female governor, "It seems that this tax increase is really unpopular. I heard my servant say, There are already many people discussing the revolution in the streets, and some agitators are distributing leaflets, and many others have joined the underground society against Spanish rule, and even the servants in the palace."

The blood on the female governor's face faded a little, "I have already told Philip that such an approach will only benefit some local people's plan for independence, and we are creating more and more opponents... But he doesn't even say what his aunt said. If you can’t listen, will you still listen to my opinion?”

Two maids stood behind the female viceroy, putting on her a hairnet studded with pearls.

"Although I am the female governor of the Netherlands, I have no power in my hands. I am just Philip's clerk here. He gave orders in Madrid, and I will execute them here. In the end, the resentment of the Netherlands They all gathered on me... No wonder my aunt wants to resign no matter what she says!"

"It seems that the edict of this taxation will be implemented anyway." Mrs. de Caballero put on two diamond earrings for the female governor.

"Otherwise, what should I do?" The female governor spread her hands, "Spain's financial situation has become appallingly corrupt, but there is no room for reduction in military expenditures. In addition to using various methods to make money, my brother's advisers are still What can be done? Unless there is some ability to turn stones into gold, I am afraid that Jesus Christ will be helpless even when he comes down to earth."

"Will there be a revolution?" Madame de Caballero asked uneasily.

"I hope not." When it came to the topic of revolution, the female governor's mood became even more depressed. "Now they have begun to resist, and one step forward from resistance is revolution. Once a revolution breaks out, in order to deal with this New wars, tax increases elsewhere, it's a vicious circle. Where will the Netherlands follow next? Basque Country, Catalonia, Milan or Naples? Who can predict? ...the flesh of the whole country is covered with malignant sores, and if one is not careful, it will burst open one by one."

The female governor was fully dressed. She stood up and went to the window to breathe the fresh air outside. The wind blowing in from the window had already brought a bit of bitterness. Obviously, the silent period between autumn and the coming winter The struggle is over, and the cold winter is coming to the Netherlands.In the garden of the palace, on the vaults and on the tips of the iron fences, there are still dewdrops left in the morning, and they are sliding down all the way, leaving faint traces behind them, like a carriage passing by. The ruts left after the mud.Apparently the bleak sun hanging limply in the sky was not strong enough to dry up the dew in so short a time.

"I hope the cold snap of winter can calm the minds of those plotting rebels." The female governor looked at the blue sky outside and said to herself.

Now that the doge was dressed, the men were allowed into the doge's chambers.The first person who came in today was probably in his early 40s, wearing a rather exquisite silver-gray suit with dull gold embroidered on it. This was Baron de Matisse, the most trusted advisor of the female governor, from Italy to From Spain to the Netherlands, he has been serving at the side of the female governor.

"Your Highness." Baron de Matisse saluted solemnly.

The Viceroy didn't look back, she just looked at Baron de Matisse's reflection in the large mirror across the room.

"What's the matter with you? What's the bad news? You've brought me bad news these days." The female governor played with the ring on her finger, "There is indeed some bad news, Right?"

"I am sorry to have left such an impression on Your Highness." Baron de Matisse said, "Unfortunately, however, I have to say that your guess is correct."

The Viceroy finally turned around.

"There are some Dutch nobles in the waiting hall, and they request your audience."

"My reception?" The female governor frowned, "What's the matter with them?"

"They want to present you a joint petition from the nobles of the Netherlands, requesting the Spanish government to abolish all unreasonable taxes and trade restrictions."

"Petition?" The female governor's eyelids twitched uneasily, "How many of them are there?"

"There are forty nobles in the waiting room, Your Highness."

"Forty?" The female governor seemed slightly relieved, "Although it is indeed a lot, it is not too much."

"But there are four hundred names on the petition they are going to present to you."

The female governor's complexion suddenly sank, and the lines on her face gradually became hard, mixed with the usual arrogance of a nobleman, which is what she often shows when she is angry.

"There is one more thing to tell Your Highness," Baron de Matisse noticed the gloomy mood of the female governor, and his actions and words became more cautious, "The nobles who came to petition you... quite Some disheveled."

"Dirty clothes? What do you mean, like the penitent ascetics, wearing coarse shirts and bare feet, and whipping themselves on the back as they go?"

"Most of them are Protestants," replied the Baron de Matisse dryly.

"Of course I know." The female governor let out a snort from her nose.

"If Your Highness doesn't want to see them, I can go out and tell those people that you are not feeling well today, and it is inconvenient to meet with you." Mrs. De Caballero volunteered.

"It's not necessary." The female governor replied, "I don't see them today, and they will come again tomorrow. Can I never see them? Since they want to see me, then come."

She turned to the Baron de Matisse again, "You haven't finished talking, what kind of disheveled clothes are these people?"

The baron hesitated to speak, "Your description just now is generally correct, but there are some minor deviations."

"It seems that you don't intend to talk about it." The female governor said coldly, "Then I'll go and see for myself."

She raised her head and strode out of the gate. The maids hurriedly lifted their skirts and followed behind the female governor, like a group of ducklings following a mother duck.