Chapter 923 Beacon
Brussels, Belgium.
This was once one of the most prosperous commercial cities in Europe, and it was once the region with the fastest economic growth except Luxembourg.
However, with the beginning of the Luxembourg Restoration War, Belgium lost a large area of territory, the entire Flemish region was recovered by the Netherlands, Western Luxembourg returned to Luxembourg, and Namur and Liege became the Principality of Liege.
Four-fifths of the country was lost, and the remaining one-fifth became a French protectorate.
French King Louis-Philippe had to take care of his face when he was still in power. After all, King (Grand Duke) Leopold I of Belgium was his son-in-law.
The officials in France did not dare to mess around just for the sake of the eldest princess, but this time, the other time.
Belgium, which has lost its access to the sea, is completely dependent on the French market, and the French obviously don't want the Belgians to make this money.
What France needs is a market and cheap labor.
Coupled with the impact of the economic crisis, many national enterprises in Belgium have collapsed, workers have lost their jobs in large numbers, and agriculture has become even more miserable.
Belgium as a whole is one of the countries most severely affected by potato late blight in Europe. Coupled with natural and man-made disasters, the crop has been nearly wiped out on many occasions.
All industries are in decline and the people are in dire straits. This is the most suitable word for Belgium at this time.
What made matters worse was that after the fall of the Orleans Dynasty, the French Provisional Government chose to be completely inappropriate.
In the past there were just some unequal tariff agreements and trade barriers, but now the tax collectors of the French Provisional Government were ready to take over the tax office.
Even more egregious than this are the so-called French advisers. Leopold I never hired a French adviser, but they have actually occupied the Brussels Parliament.
These people did not regard Leopold I and his staff as human beings at all. Not only did they completely ignore them, they even openly claimed to launch a great revolution in Brussels to let Belgium accept the advanced ideas of France.
The most important thing is that these people are not just talking, they are really recruiting people to stage a coup.
In the Royal Palace of Brussels, King Leopold I opened a corner of the curtains, and the sunlight shone on his somewhat pale face.
He has not left the palace for a long time. There is no special reason but he is simply under house arrest.
Even the Belgian Palace Guard was forced to disband, and King Leopold I acquiesced in this approach of the French Provisional Government Commissioner.
There is no way, the situation is stronger than the people.
The bustling and lively streets outside the palace have disappeared, replaced by countless slogans of "Long Live France" and a mess.
The tall and burly French officials have serious faces. They are uniformly dressed in dark blue uniforms and have tricolor emblems on their chests, giving people a sense of arrogance.
The style of these people is even more arrogant and domineering. Although the locals are also French-speaking residents, these guys do not consider the Belgians to be their own people. They only regard them as second-class citizens or monkeys who can speak French.
The French are merciless when it comes to taxing, and both those who can afford to pay taxes and those who cannot afford to pay taxes are treated as prisoners.
They often break into merchants' shops, factories, and even residential buildings to conduct random searches or arrest those they find suspicious.
The French show no mercy to those who are dissatisfied or who try to resist. At this time, the huge open-air prison outside Brussels is the best proof.
Those caught there were either directly executed and left dead in the wilderness as a warning; or they refused to plead guilty and were imprisoned in an open-air prison until they died; It was buried deep underground due to an accident.
(This has been mentioned many times in the book, so I won’t go into details here about the general environment of the mine at this time.)
Life is not easy, coupled with the exorbitant taxation of this group of people. Businessmen complained, and ordinary people suffered terribly.
They organized one after another and protested to the government, demanding the expulsion of these arrogant French people.
However, at this time, the Belgian government had basically lost its functions, and the original Belgian army was incorporated into the Foreign Legion by the French.
The Belgians are not bloodless. They have tried everything from kidnappings and assassinations to large-scale uprisings.
However, Belgium is too small for the behemoth France.
King Leopold I looked at the mess outside the window and made a decision. After getting dressed, Leopold I walked straight out the door.
"Your Majesty, we cannot let you leave without the order of the special commissioner. Please understand."
King Leopold I looked at the soldier who had sworn allegiance to him, and he just walked straight out.
Leopold I was born as a soldier and had been a king (grand duke) for so many years, so he naturally developed the aura of a superior.
The soldier unconsciously took two steps back. When he came to his senses, Leopold I had already walked some distance away.
This soldier once admired Leopold I who liberated Belgium, but at this time he had defected to the French and became an officer of the French Foreign Legion.
Although he also speaks French, he can only join the Foreign Legion. After all, he is only a Belgian, but he is still very proud.
At this time, he raised the rifle in his hand and pointed it at his former idol.
The former boy finally succumbed to the foot of the devil called reality. When faced with millions of German allied troops, when the French were tyrannical in Belgium, when his wife left him, when he faced his own desperate need for food. As a child his dream died.
"Stop! Otherwise I will shoot!"
Leopold I just turned around and glanced with pity at the young man he had lifted up with one hand, and then strode out.
The soldier who had sworn allegiance to Leopold I, the captain of the French Foreign Legion, was staring in disbelief as his comrade, who had been with him day and night, stabbed him in the stomach with a knife.
The scene was repeated throughout the palace as Leopold I appeared on the palace balcony.
Soon a salute exploded over the palace, and the lifeless city seemed to come to life again.
The Belgians began to attack the arrogant French officials and their lackeys, using guns, knives, clubs, stones, their teeth and fists, and everything they could use.
Regardless of whether they were men or women, young or old, no matter when or where, the Belgians in the capital Brussels began to attack the French crazily.
Gunshots and explosions continued, and Leopold I just stood on the balcony of the palace overlooking it all.
The Belgians did catch the French off guard at first, but the reputation of the French Foreign Legion cannot be overshadowed.
These professional soldiers quickly organized a counterattack, and the Belgians had to pay several times the price to kill a "French".
He knew that if he did not resist, Belgium deserved to perish and his people deserved to be slaves to the French.
"French people? Don't you like revolution? Then I will show you revolution!"