Louis XVI: "The King is Dead, Long Live the King!" Le roi est mort, vive le roi!
I became Louis XVI on May 10, 1774.
France, Versailles Palace.
"...In summary, France is currently on the brink of bankruptcy."
Finance Minister Terray calmly foretold the kingdom's financial ruin.
"Grandfather died suddenly of smallpox, we lost most of our colonies after the defeat in the Seven Years' War, the treasury is nearly bankrupt just from maintaining our dignity, and the class system is on the verge of collapse. Terray, can this be salvaged?"
Possessed out of nowhere into such a monumental crisis. What kind of ordeal is this, not even in some distant otherworld... Well, regardless, I am Louis XVI now. If I sit idle, it'll end with the guillotine just like in the original history.
"It can be salvaged. For starters, raise taxes on the Third Estate and focus on mercantilism—at the very least, we can settle the reparations from the Seven Years' War."
"Raising taxes on the commoners..."
The historical Louis XVI probably went with taxing the Third Estate here. But there's no reason to repeat an answer already known to be wrong.
"Terray, let me ask once more. What must be done for a sustainable salvage?"
"The surest way is to impose taxes on the First Estate clergy and the Second Estate nobles."
Indeed, taxing the vested interests is the easiest path. But in any era, the elite never hand over their money willingly. When they had private armies, they rebelled; without them, they sabotaged. In this time... assassination or revolt, perhaps?
"Any other measures?"
"Cut the royal budget. For example, switch to buffet-style meals to reduce food costs. Trimming just the spices for banquets could save eight million livres annually."
Banquets. Fine to cut those. I don't know 18th-century etiquette anyway. To the outside world, I'd appear as a frugal monarch. From my perspective as Louis XVI—no, as myself—there was no reason not to slash the royal budget. It provided moral justification and political capital. That's where popular support truly comes from, after all. Lavish waste builds authority only to a point; too much, and it erodes it instead.
Definitely... class resentment, wasn't it? Being pushed into student council in university is paying off here. Back then, I hated hearing complaints about booze I didn't even drink.
"Then cut it all. Beyond that, what else in the Versailles Palace or national maintenance costs can be trimmed?"
"There are still plenty of places money flows out. Royal guard salaries, army upkeep, state facility management, and so on. Forty million livres will drain from the royal treasury each year."
"Don't speak in vague terms—give me total revenue and total expenditure."
"Main revenues are the taille land tax from the Third Estate and colonial trade. Even that's sharply reduced since we lost most of New France in the last Seven Years' War. Thus, annual national revenue is roughly 372 million livres, while expenditure is 399.2 million livres—a massive deficit at around 6% every year. On top of that, the reparations to Great Britain from the Seven Years' War and to Prussia are separate. The annual deficit alone is 27.2 million livres. Bond interest hasn't even been tallied yet. The previous finance minister hid so many ledgers that finding them all will take years."
"This... we're done for."
Even a 1-2% fiscal deficit sparks talk of national ruin and demands for fiscal health. But 6%? That's not on the brink—it's already ruined. I'm no history major, so details escape me, but I know the French Revolution started over money troubles. They called the Estates-General to fix it, failed, and it spiraled into revolution.
"Terray, cut the royal budget to the limit that preserves royal authority and my safety. Not just banquets—jewels, perfumes, hunting. Slash it all."
"As Your Majesty commands."
But we can't settle for such soft measures. At a 6% deficit, even austerity on austerity would still leave us in the red.
"Impose the taille on the First and Second Estates too. Noblesse oblige. If they want noble treatment, let them fulfill noble duties."
"Understood."
Tax hikes it is, then. And conveniently, there's a perfect class to tax.
"Oh, and cut the Third Estate's land taille by ten percent. Their rates are too high."
"As you command... but is that truly wise, sire?"
"Revenue will drop, yes? It's fine. Cover it from the First and Second Estates. Impose pet taxes like the rabbit tax and pigeon tax to crack down on what irks the Third Estate."
Yes, crackdown.
"You didn't mishear. Tax the First and Second Estates at punitive levels. Collect all the back taxes they owe, with that mindset."
"The clergy and nobles will revolt fiercely."
"Then let them leave the country. I am the king. Isn't it the duty of any noble living in France to respect the divine authority of the sacred Bourbon dynasty bestowed by God?"
That's the beauty of this era. You could actually tell them to get out if they didn't like it.
"As you command. Thus, the final royal budget cuts—simplified menus, partial demobilization, banquet cancellations—will reduce it from 38 million livres to 6 million. We'll impose the taille, rabbit tax, pigeon tax, and more on the First and Second Estates to balance the books."
Terray departed, and I jotted down the history of the French monarchy on a blank sheet.
'When was the guillotine? Before 1800... Tennis Court Oath starts here too. Ah, that Robespierre fellow—execute him at the first chance for purges.'
I wrote down what I could recall, but progress was sluggish. A typical Korean liberal arts grad wouldn't know the French monarchy in detail. My French history knowledge ended with the Bastille, Versailles storming, and the Statue of Liberty painting. Middle school world history? Urban I or II calling the Crusades—that's my last memory.
'Enlightenment thinkers must have been treated as subversives then...'
I remembered Marie Antoinette was actually innocent and good-hearted, wrongly killed by Jacobin purges. Or was it the Girondins? Anyway, post-Revolution power struggles wrecked France, Napoleon rose and overturned everything. Surrounded by monarchies, France became Europe's public enemy; furious Napoleon schooled the continent, became emperor, then fell at Waterloo to Britain.
History is written by victors, but even Napoleon got poor press in his later years—tricked by Russia, fleeced by Britain. Still, if a loser's biography makes him legendary, he was undoubtedly the era's greatest general.
...Wait, Napoleon?
"You there! Summon the military personnel officer!"
The officer in uniform entered my office at my call.
"Bring me Napoleon Bonaparte from Corsica at the Army Officer Academy."
"Yes, Your Highness. As you command."
The officer looked puzzled but obeyed without question. Minutes later, he returned with shocking news.
"No matter how we searched, there is no Napoleon Bonaparte."
It was shocking to me, precisely.
"What? No—never mind. Don't search. Forget I said it. Looks like the ink smudged. Sorry for the wild goose chase."
"Pfft, it's my honor. May I take my leave?"
"Yes, go ahead."
Once the officer left, confusion engulfed me.
'What? Louis XVI, but no Napoleon? Is this some France-like parallel world?'
As I floundered in bewilderment, someone requested entry to the office.
"Sire, it's the valet to the Corsican governor. I just heard 'Napoleon Buonaparte'...?"
He barged right in and delivered an even greater shock.
...What? Am I not the king? Can some mere messenger waltz into the king's chamber?
"Napoleon is indeed the son of Carlo Buonaparte from Corsica. However, the boy was born in 1769—he turns five on August 15. Does he have any connection to the army? As a noble, he'll likely enter the Army Officer Academy soon... Shall I tell the army to remember Bonaparte?"
Uh, wait—what? Five years old? Napoleon is a kid!
"No. No. The records must be wrong. Forget it."
I decided to leave Napoleon alone for now. Tampering with his childhood might create a Napoleon unlike what I expected. As countless scholars emphasize, you don't mess with a child's formative years.
But it was odd. I clearly remembered Napoleon in the French Revolution...
"Sire, it's the Finance Minister. May I enter?"
"Yes, come in."
As I sank into thought, Terray returned after reforming the tax system.
"I've just announced the tax reform: taxing the clergy and nobles while cutting commoner taxes. Word will spread across France in days."
"Mm. You're not here just to report that."
He'd returned quickly—must have gone smoothly.
"Yes, the magistrates of Paris's high court—the Parlement—resisted the taxes."
"The magistrates?"
"Indeed. Even magistrates are second, third, or fourth sons of nobles. They claimed, 'The fighting Second Estate has fulfilled its duty to the nation from birth.' They then invoked veto against the new tax policy, declaring they could not accept it. 'Not even the king can infringe on our ancient rights handed down for centuries!' they said."
"I expected as much. How much resistance?"
Of course—if the nobles had complied, there'd have been no revolution to begin with. But if even half obeyed—no, a third— we could douse the immediate fire. Slowly raise tax revenue, pit factions against each other, build my power base...
"All of it."
"All?"
"Yes. No one accepts the new tax policy."
Ha, these bastards.
"And the Third Estate?"
"They gladly accepted the tax cut."
"I can hear the cheers from here. So, with the Third Estate cut, what's the new revenue and expenditure?"
"Including the cut, total expenditure around 401.71 million livres, revenue 372 million. Massive deficit. If 11% of the First and Second Estates comply, we could balance it... but that's optimistic. Realistically, expect a confirmed annual deficit of 35.1 million livres."
Headache. I tried the nice way.
Won't work. Gotta sweep them all out within three years.
"I see. What's the current treasury?"
Divert just ten million livres for loyalist cultivation, stirring conflicts, divide and conquer...
"About 20 million livres. Bankruptcy next year. And last year's poor harvest has caused nationwide food shortages. Church relief will prevent starvation, but it'll solidify the Church's influence even more."
Ah, right. This is Hard Mode.