I Am Louis XIV

Because he was still a helper, a large part of Joseph's income was given to his master craftsman, and he had to support three children and his wife. Sometimes he had to let a few crowns out to support his brothers and parents for a while. Difficulties, there are not many opportunities to generously take out a large crown to have a hearty meal. It is not the first time he and this elder—Elder Guy have met. They have the same similarities in some places. Philosophy, a rather dangerous one, what is a plate of pork sausage when the worst outcome is deportation or even worse?

Joseph almost didn't refuse, he dragged the plate and ate it in big mouthfuls. It was like grinding and oiling, but it was the most strenuous and painful work. Grinding required strength, and it was the kind of strength that needed to be concentrated and controlled. Go up Needless to say, oil, whether it is base oil or base paint, will cause great damage to the eyes-in this era, occupational diseases are very common, so common that when you see someone, you know what he is doing of.

Joseph's eyes were often swollen, red and swollen, and tremored, all because of the poison of the paint.

He knew this because of the good old priest and those witch doctors-they called the women in the army, they were in awe and fear of them, and some, like his craftsman and Barrow, even wanted to take They were dragged out and burned to avoid disaster. Of course, this is impossible, and no one can rush into His Majesty's barracks.

While chewing the sausage, Joseph considered whether he should buy a pair of glasses that can block poisonous gas as suggested by the priest and the witch doctor, but it would cost at least ten crowns, and he couldn't get it out yet. But if his works are indeed appreciated and approved by the king, as he and his wife promised, they can at least open a textile workshop by themselves without being constrained by craftsmen and guilds... A pair of glasses is nothing What's the matter, but does he still need glasses at that time, he can also be a craftsman.

Guy is much older than Joseph. At nearly fifty years old, he has already climbed to the peak that an ordinary craftsman can reach, that is, the position of the elder of the guild. It is impossible to become the leader of the guild. , after all, this position has been inherited by the Du Bo family for almost two hundred years. But once he gets older, especially when he is in his position, he can see things that some young people and low-level helper apprentices cannot see.

The guild is like a person, once immature, young, and strong, and now he has entered the old age, and has begun to decay and stink.

The earliest guilds were actually created by merchants. In order to unite against the exploitation and extortion of nobles, the most prosperous time was Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries. At that time, Italy was full of free cities, and the city councils were organized by merchants. Controlling, guilds even have their own army or mercenaries, and battles between cities are not uncommon. Later, from the commercial guilds, the industrial guilds founded by the handicraftsmen turned out to be better than the blue ones. The irony is that this is also a war between the oppressed and the oppressors.

Merchants took power from nobles and kings, and turned around to inflict the sufferings they had suffered on craftsmen.

At that time, handicraftsmen had to buy more and more expensive raw materials from merchants, and then sell them to another merchant at a lower and lower price. Because of the control and suppression of commercial guilds, all prices were fixed, and the quality The same is true of weight and quantity. Artisans find that their skills and time are becoming less and less valuable. In the worst case, the wages of workers can only support themselves, and they can't even fill the stomachs of their wives and children.

Along with oppression, there is always resistance, and craftsmen's guilds emerged as the times require. Taking Paris as an example, there were only 100 craftsmen's guilds two hundred years ago, but now there are 350. How about a guild? Undoubtedly, at the beginning, it brought hope to the craftsmen. The handicraftsmen holding hands and making voices together became the biggest enemy of the commercial guild. Merchants have equal rights—their raw materials are negotiated with the merchants by the guild, and purchased at a reasonable price to ensure the quality and quantity; similarly, the commodities needed by the merchants are also negotiated by the leaders of the various guilds, and the price is negotiated. Then they are assigned to underground workshops; the leaders of the handicraft guilds must also be eligible to run for councilor elections, and the guilds are allowed to have a certain amount of force, etc... Of course, in contrast, the guilds must also guarantee the quality of their products With the delivery time, this need not be mentioned.

In addition to the above, members of the guild can also receive a lot of care. For example, according to the regulations of the guild, artisans should be like brothers and sisters, and unfair competition and frame-ups are prohibited. If a guild member is sick Yes, depending on the situation, the guild will pay for his household for about three months. If he dies, his wife will be the "sister" of other guild members. They will not only pay for his funeral, but also support his children , Even if a guild member wants to go on a pilgrimage, there will be two companions accompanying him, going together and coming back together.

When there are no complete and healthy laws and regulations and executors, the guild has indeed played an undoubted role, and it is no wonder that it can quickly grow into a behemoth, but Guy must say that after anything becomes valuable , Just as fermented distiller's grains attract flies, power-seeking or arbitrariness also breeds rapidly in the dark-especially guild leaders from respected elders-that is, some who are either talented, courageous, or just It is not surprising that strict people are transferred to their children, people are selfish.

The Dubo family, the leader of the woodworking guild in the city of Orleans, is the most vivid example. Dubo means a person who lives by the forest in French. A person with such a surname is either a lumberjack or a hunter. Of course, the Dubo family is The former, who first worked for the lords near the Loire, later migrated to Orleans as freemen, still do their carpentry work.

Although he had never met him before, Guy heard from his father that Dubo, the fourth guild leader of Orleans, was indeed a good man. Although his handicraft work was not the best, he was a devout believer and a fair member of parliament. , when he was in office there was nothing to blame, and when he died a city of carpenters mourned him - so much so that his son bribed another candidate in a later election At that time, the members of the guild didn't care too much. Anyway, it doesn't matter whether the leader is a person with outstanding craftsmanship. What they want to see is whether he can bring them benefits.

What they don't know is that once the door of evil is opened, it can never be closed again.

Du Bo's son should be a businessman. No one knows how to "buy and sell" better than him. He collects money from the merchant and from the craftsman-in order to extend the life of the helper and The duration of the apprenticeship; more money from the latter two, if they do not want to bury the most profitable years in the workshop of the master craftsman. In addition, apprentices are promoted to helpers, and helpers are promoted to craftsmen with money.

He also charged money to the outside carpenters, otherwise they would not be able to gain a foothold in Orleans, because carpenters who were not in the guild were not allowed to gain a foothold in the guild.

Not only that, he not only controlled the trading of raw materials and finished products, but to this day, his descendants are still controlling the development and application of new technologies, new machinery and even new tools. Simply put, even if they have better tools and skills , as long as Dubo does not allow it, all the carpentry workshops in Orleans cannot be used. If the carpenters designed and built—such as the new spinning wheel built by Joseph, not only could they not sell it without Dubo’s permission, but they couldn’t even make and test it...

This is why Joseph hid the new spinning wheel secretly at home instead of putting it openly in the workshop.

Although the king's edict is still hanging on the public notice stand in front of the city gate.

"How are you doing with 'Spinning Top'?" Elder Guy asked.

Joseph had emptied his plate, and he cautiously took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth: "I've made twelve 'tops. Sir, they can spin very fast with one twitch.'" He rolled his eyes, looked around, It's past a good time to eat, and there are not many people around them: "But there is always noise when 'playing'. My neighbor is Barrow, you know, a very mean villain."

"I already know from my nephew that His Majesty will arrive in Orleans within a week at the earliest, and then I will take you to meet His Majesty."

"I don't know what to say," Joseph said. "I swear to St. Joseph that whatever the king has given me, I will thank you for."

"If your work can win the king's favor," Guy glanced at him: "I will get the reward I deserve, so don't worry, I'm not a greedy person like Dubo."

"When...Of course, I...I'm just Mr. Guy..." Joseph blushed and stammered, but Guy just waved his hand: "I can't run to the gray mud too often apartment, but I still have to take a look before I ask for an audience."

"That's a big thing, sir."

"Then I'll buy a piece of furniture from you. A wardrobe is okay. You can transport it to my warehouse by the river."

"...Okay." Joseph hesitated for a moment. He didn't dare to disclose the new spinning wheel. There were many reasons, the most likely of which was that the craftsman or the leader of the guild would take the opportunity to take it as his own—this kind of thing It is very common, and it is also to avoid subsequent troubles. The latter is likely to be settled. There are so many carpenter helpers and apprentices in Orleans, so it is not surprising that one or two are missing.

Joseph dared to take this risk, firstly because the king gave too much, a considerable reward, a workshop (including the deed and production equipment), and, if he wanted, he could go to Paris and Versailles— ——Joseph has outstanding talent, why he has not been able to become a craftsman? It is because the guild now requires that a craftsman must own a workshop and tools, and a deposit is required. Once his spinning wheel is approved by the king, he will have it all Second, it is because Elder Guy is a rare and good person. Although he is strict and demanding, in his workshop, he strictly implements the system of no more than three years for apprentices and no more than two years for helpers. He will also give a loan for the money to become a craftsman. He has been a craftsman for 30 years and has provided seven craftsmen to the guild.

This is also the reason why Du Bo keeps complaining. The longer the apprentices and helpers spend in the workshop, the more benefits the guild will get, and the fewer obligations they will have to pay. After all, only craftsmen are full-fledged members of the guild. Therefore, although Elder Guy has recently made some progress in hollowing out and splicing techniques, he cannot use it on furniture and picture frames because he has not been able to obtain the permission of the guild, nor can he sell it to customers.

Elder Guy also slowly turned from protest and accusation to silence, but his silence was not because of giving up—he was just looking for an opportunity to pull the Dubo family from the position of guild leader, but to do this It's not easy. Several generations of Dubo people have built a dense and thick net. In the city of Orleans, no one can resist them, and even the leaders of other guilds, because of related interests or the death of rabbits and foxes. reasons to suppress them.

But if it is possible for them to come before the king...

"Well then, on Thursday, I'll send those tops and wardrobes to your warehouse," said Joseph.

Then he got up and left quickly. Elder Guy drank another glass of ale slowly before leaving the tavern.

—————

What Joseph and Guy didn't know was that when they met in the tavern, Joseph's neighbor, Barrow, ran out of the room like a mouse wagging his nose and whiskers, and ran into the dark corridor. He leaned against the door of Joseph's room and listened for a while, but he couldn't hear what was going on inside - it was also common for helpers to secretly do private work in his room, after all, he was paid for private work, but he couldn't hear what Joseph was doing. Something of the sort...but he guessed something very complicated.

He stood outside the door and thought for a while, the sound inside was always very regular, bang, bang, bang, bang! Bang bang bang, squeak! Bang, bang, squeak... It was as if a hundred cats were scratching in his heart, what the hell was this?

Finally, regardless of the greasy and dirty corridor, he lay down and looked at the crack of the door, but he smelled the smell of fresh wood—the crack of the door was also blocked by the newly nailed wooden strips, and he was almost sure that there must be something inside. Same big guy! A certain, large custom-made furniture, otherwise Joseph would not have to cover up this gap—it is understandable for the helper to do some small work in private, but if it is a big business, the craftsman can drive him out of his workshop!

late late...