บท 2: Chapter 2: Beginning of the Regency
A/N: Small error on my part, I didn't put the months in chapter 1, I won't put the days for simplicity's sake, but if you want to know, chapter 1 took place on 16 September 1380. The beginning of this chapter takes place the day after chapter 1 (17 September).
September 1380 France
We went to Paris with my brother on horseback accompanied by a dozen knights who acted as escort. I was finally going to discover 14th century Paris, which I imagine to be very different from modern-day Paris. After all, from what little I've seen of Melun and the villages we pass through, Paris must be dirty and made up of fragile half-timbered houses. Something I shall have to change during my reign.
The journey on horseback was shorter than expected. But the journey through Paris to the royal residence took longer than expected because of the crowds of Parisians who, hearing the news of my accession to the throne of France, cheered me throughout the journey as the bells of the churches and Notre-Dame were rung in honour of my return to Paris and the death of my father the king.
~~~
Royal residence - Paris
"His Majesty King Charles VI!" announced the guards as I entered the throne room.
"Your Majesty, we have to organise your father's funeral and your coronation until the regents arrive," said my late father's advisors.
"All right, my father's body will rest in the Necropolis of St Denis alongside my mother and his heart will rest in Rouen Cathedral as he had wished. If you don't mind, we'll bury him at the end of the month and my coronation ceremony will be held at Notre-Dame de Paris at the beginning of October, after my father's funeral.
"Then we'll have to prepare the body as soon as possible majesty and why do you want to break with tradition and not have yourself crowned in Reims?" They replied
"So send for the bishop of Paris to give him the last rites, if he hasn't already done so, and start preparations for his funeral! For tradition's sake, the capital is in Paris and not Reims, so the people of Paris will be able to attend." I replied, believing that this measure would mark my authority and set me apart from my predecessors.
"Now that we've settled that, do I have to wait for the regents to arrive before I can see my tutors?" I asked. I wanted to organise my time with them as quickly as possible so that I could complete my weekly quest, +1 in health isn't useless after all.
"No majesty, but perhaps you should choose a new master of arms now that you are king, your current master Messire de Béhuard is after all the vassal knight of your uncle the Duke of Anjou. But if not, Monsieur de Creney is here and ready to receive you so that you can resume your lessons.
"You are right, send for the Constable de Clisson, he will be my new master of arms and will teach me perfectly the arts of war, having fought with du Guesclin. As for Monsieur de Creney, I'll go and meet him straight away if you'll allow me. And find new tutors for my brother Louis. I said, before going to my tutor's lessons.
~~~
October 1380 Royal residence - Paris
The coronation ceremony had gone well, as had the first few weeks of my new life. My uncles had arrived a few days earlier and were starting to argue about who should be in charge. Fortunately, they weren't too interested in me, which left me free to do what I wanted.
First of all, I had been able to freely define my schedule with Messieurs de Creney and de Clisson, so I was able to carry out my weekly quest without too many worries, apart from the fact that my advisors and the regents were a little reluctant to see me running around Paris.
In addition, I have begun to form a "praetorian guard" with the support of the Duke of Bourbon, the only regent to be loyal to me and not to think of his own interests ( A/N : in fact, it does, since the Duchy of Bourbon's survival depends on the support of the French crown, but it is nonetheless the Duchy most loyal to the crown), by recruiting orphans my age and giving them a knightly education: they learned to read, write and count with the monks and to fight and command with the Duke of Bourbon's knights. With the war, many of them had lost their parents, so this prevented them from becoming bandits and causing trouble in the capital later on, and I gained loyal people to protect me above and beyond feudal laws. Eventually, I planned to make the best of them my generals, while the others would remain my praetorian guards and be able to offer me their views on military matters.
I also tried to do the same thing with the orphaned girls and the boys who were less inclined to fight, but on a smaller scale and in the greatest possible secrecy, because I wanted to turn them into spies: not only to pass on information but also to assassinate my enemies, in particular the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Anjou, my uncles.
Finally, I was trying to build up a network of loyal followers among the nobles and other decision-makers in Paris. On the one hand, in order to complete my quest for the regency and on the other, in order to have loyal advisers once I was emancipated.
"Your Majesty, are you asleep? Could you recite the declension of rosa for me?" reprimanded my tutor, Monsieur de Creney.
There's no point in continuing with Latin, and French should unite the regions of France.
"Rosa, Rosa, Rosam, Rosae, Rosae, Rosa for the singular and for the plural Rosae, Rosae, Rosas, Rosarum Rosis Rosis... And I was thinking!" I replied
...
I've just remembered that the Duke of Anjou used the crown's money to pay off his debts just before he claimed Naples at the start of the original me's regency. Although not seeing him in France any more pleases me a great deal, going after my money does not please me at all. To try and stop him I have to talk to my father's advisors and the president of the Paris parliament Jehan Pastoret.
"Monsieur Pastoret!" I called as I entered his office.
"Yes Majesty?"
"What are the necessary conditions for you to introduce a law?"
"Well, you need the majority of the Regency Council to agree, which is difficult if you ask me. He replied
"In that case, could you do me a favour? A favour I won't forget, of course?"
"Yes Majesty" he said, with an ulterior motive visible enough for me to see.
"Good. You will propose a bill prohibiting the use of the treasury for personal purposes without a valid reason for the good of the kingdom, in which case the offender will be guilty of treason. You will have the support of the Duke of Bourbon and the Duke of Berry". I ordered
"Yes Majesty
Although I do indeed have the support of the Duke of Bourbon, that of my uncle the Duke of Berry is not a given and can only be given temporarily in exchange for favours. So I think that an exemption from paying tax for the duration of the regency should suffice, since he is not the one targeted by the new law I want to introduce.
...
Now that I've got my uncle's backing, it's time to move on.
Maybe I need to start thinking about which technology to buy first, as I'm already familiar with the principle of crop rotation, agriculture isn't a priority.
"Shop
Shop :
List of features:
...
List of skills:
archery, one-handed swordsmanship, two-handed swordsmanship, leadership, stewardship, espionage, unarmed combat, self-defence, ...
List of technologies:
Unlocked :
Blast furnace: hydraulically-assisted furnace fuelled by coal, enabling greater steel production through the use of moulds. Design plan and location of coal and iron deposits. Cost: 50,000 ecus, 5Pts
Cement and concrete: making concrete and cement. Cost: 30,000 ecus
Printing works: design plan for the 15th-century printing works. Cost 30,000 ecus
I don't have any points at the moment, so for the time being I'll have to say goodbye to the blast furnace, even if I can afford to get the technology. On the other hand, cement and concrete and printing are very accessible and I'll be able to get a return on my investment very quickly. On the one hand, I'll be able to overhaul urban development in France using cement and concrete. Secondly, printing will enable me to spread the use of the French language and begin to reduce the influence of the Church by printing Bibles in French.
A/N: And that's the end of the chapter. As far as the cost of technology is concerned, it may change in the future as I'm not very familiar with the 'purchasing power' of the time and the average income of a nobleman in France and the income of the crown. I've tried to take account of your feedback (Alternatehistory and Questionable Questing) and the writing style has changed a bit: let me know what you think.
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