The famous French Bachelor's School

Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (1585-1642), a French cardinal, a famous political activist and diplomat, served as Prime Minister of France from 1624 to 1642 and the father of the French Navy [2-3] ; internally, he was committed to restoring and strengthening the weakened feudal autocracy, while externally, he was committed to seeking French hegemony in Europe.

In 1628, he led his troops to capture the fortress of La Rochelle, an important stronghold of the Huguenots. The following year, he deprived the Huguenots of the political and military privileges they originally enjoyed. He then revoked the power of opinion of the High Court of Paris and executed or exiled a large number of rebellious aristocrats.

In 1635, the Institut de France was founded and the University of Paris was expanded. In order to counter the Habsburgs, he used flexible tactics to promote a Franco-British alliance against Spain in 1625. Supported Danish, Swedish, and German Protestant princes in fighting the Holy Roman Empire and led France into the Thirty Years 'War in 1635.

Suppressed the "hillbilly" uprising in 1637 and the "bare-footed" peasant uprising in 1639. Send ombudsmen to various places to strengthen the central government's control of local administrative, judicial and financial powers.

Empress Dowager cronies

Richelieu was born in Paris on September 9, 1585. His father, Francis Duplessi, was a small aristocrat in Boyado. He participated in the French religious wars from beginning to end. He was first a favorite of Henry III and later became a subordinate of Henry IV. Richelieu himself studied military affairs and theology at the Military School and the Galvy College. In 1606, Henry IV nominated Richelieu as bishop of Luzon, the poorest and smallest diocese in France. In 1608 Richelieu went to Luzon.

After Henry IV was stabbed to death in 1610, he was succeeded by his son Louis XIII. Louis was then nine years old, and his mother Mary de Medici was regent. However, the actual ruler was Mary's favorite Concini (Italian). This was an ignorant man who was ignorant and incompetent. Due to his corruption, incompetence and extravagant extravagant expectations, the French treasury was exhausted. Catholic and Huguenot aristocrats took the opportunity to attack the Crown.

In 1614, the aristocrats insisted on convening a three-level council in an attempt to use it to expose the incompetence of the royal government in order to weaken the royal power. However, representatives of various cities supported the king, and the aristocrats 'plan failed. Soon after, the meeting was ordered to be dissolved. Despite this, due to civil strife among the aristocrats, national taxes surged, farmers and citizens could not bear the hardships, and France's international prestige and foreign trade were also greatly damaged. These political consequences were only overcome after Richelieu came to power.

When the Third-level Council was held in 1614, Richelieu was elected to the Third-level Council as a representative of the religious community, and began his career as an official.

Richelieu actively supported the court during the Third Council, which attracted the attention of the Queen Regent. After the Council was dissolved, he continued to stay in Paris. Because of his ability to negotiate with opponents of the government, Richelieu was appointed secretary of state to the king in 1616.

At this time, the government of the Queen Regent adopted a policy of concession and compromise both internally and externally: internally, when the nobles caused trouble, the government used the method of giving land and property to seek temporary reconciliation, which not only failed to solve the problem, but also caused the nobles to become more greedy. Richelieu opposed concession, and he took a strict attitude towards the nobles. In addition to assembling the army to deal with the joint resistance of the nobles, he also announced the crimes of embezzlement of public funds by the famous nobles Condé, Nevar, Langerville, Meiena, Braun, and Vendome.

On the external front, in the face of the old enemy of the powerful Habsburg Dynasty (to which both the German Emperor and the Spanish King belonged), the regent government did not fight, but adopted marriage to resolve the conflict between the two countries. As early as 1612, it was agreed to marry Spain, and the two countries worked together to maintain peace in northern Italy. The pro-marriage policy towards Spain not only aroused fear and dissatisfaction among the Huguenots in the country, but also aroused anxiety among France's allies during the era of Henry IV, such as the Netherlands, Venice, Protestant princes in northern Germany and some small Italian princes.

The governor of Dauphin Province, Lesdigueye, was dissatisfied with France's compromise diplomacy. He did not wait for the government's consent and sent troops to northern Italy to help Savoy resist Spain. Richelieu did not hold the governor accountable for sending troops without authorization, and sent envoys to Germany, the Netherlands, England, Switzerland and other countries to explain that he would not affect France's consistent foreign policy against the Habsburg royal family. This changed France's policy of submission to Spain. Richelieu's actions show that he is a reliable successor to Henry IV's domestic and foreign policies.

In April 1617, Louis XIII, dissatisfied with his mother's regent, launched a coup d'état with the support of his close confidant Duke of Luyne (1578-1621), and Marie Medici was banished to Blois. Concini was killed.

Richelieu was exiled to Avignon. Here he wrote the book "The Main Principles of the Defense of the Catholic Faith", for which Pope Gregorius XV promoted him to the rank of cardinal on September 5, 1622.

King's favorite

The Empress Dowager conspired to escape from Blois. Louis XIII's government, unwilling to take drastic measures, decided to recall Richelieu (1619) to persuade the Empress Dowager not to do so. Richelieu completed the task successfully, and the Empress Dowager agreed to move to Angers, with Richelieu serving as her chief advisor. In September of the same year, the king and the Empress Dowager met, and the mother and son were reconciled, which satisfied Louis XIII and considered Richelieu indispensable.

On December 14, 1621, Ruina, a close confidant of the king, died, and Richelieu gradually gained important positions. He entered the cabinet in April 1624 and took over as prime minister in August.

The main policy that Richelieu proposed to Louis XIII was: to destroy the Huguenots and the rebellious nobility at home; to increase the international status of the French king in Europe externally. In the Political Testament, a book summarizing his political activities throughout his life, Richelieu declared: "My first purpose is to exalt the king", which is to flatten the nobility and strengthen the autocratic monarchy. "My second purpose is to glorify the kingdom", which is to enhance the status of France among the nations of Europe.

Calm down internal troubles

Domestically, Richelieu fought relentlessly against the hostile forces among the nobles.

As early as 1620, nobles dissatisfied with the court gathered around Queen Mary to plan a rebellion. It was agreed that the Duke of Langeville would control Normandy, the Duke of Vendome would control Brittany, and Angers himself would control the River Royal. Lohan owns Boyadu, Epannon owns Angouleme, and Meena owns Keene; they are also preparing to contact the Huguenots to express their support.

Faced with this powerful rebellion, Louis XIII, under the influence of Richelieu, took firm measures to send troops to suppress it. The aristocratic armed forces were vulnerable and quickly collapsed. At that time, Richelieu believed that the Huguenots were the biggest enemy of the royal power, because according to the Edict of Nantes, the Huguenots could occupy more than 200 castles across the country as guarantees for the king to fulfill the edict, and these castles formed a state within a state. In order to concentrate the country's efforts against the Huguenots, he treated the rebellious aristocrats leniently and pardoned most of them.

In 1620, the Huguenots convened a meeting in La Rochelle to demand the full realization of the provisions of the Edict of Nantes regarding the political privileges of the Huguenots. The king refused this request and sent troops to the West in April 1621. The Huguenot castles on both sides of the Royal River were captured one after another. Only the Huguenots in Montauban, under the command of their leader Duke Lohan, resisted tenaciously.

In 1622, the court negotiated with the Huguenots. A peace agreement was reached on October 9, stipulating that no further national conferences of the Huguenots would be held in the future. Except for the cities of La Rochelle and Montauban, all the castles occupied by the Huguenots would be taken back by the central government. However, the Huguenots 'freedom of religious belief was still preserved, and Richelieu was determined to completely eliminate the Huguenots and the rebellious aristocrats.

In 1628, the royal army attacked La Rochelle from both land and land. Despite the support of the British navy, the city was occupied and the walls were demolished.

In 1629 Richelieu concentrated his forces to deal with the Huguenots led by Languedoc Rohan. Under the pressure of the army, the Huguenots completely succumbed, their castles were demolished, and Rohan was exiled to the Republic of Venice.

On August 29, 1629, Richelieu's army entered Montauban. Although Huguenots still enjoyed freedom of belief, they have since converted to Catholicism.

While eliminating the Huguenots, Richelieu was also engaged in the struggle to root out the rebellious nobility in his country.

In 1626, the rebellion of Gaston, Duke of Orleans, the king's brother, was uncovered. The nobles implicated were General Donanno, who was arrested and died in prison, the Duke of Vendome and the young nobleman Charley were arrested and imprisoned, and the Duchess of Chevrooze was exiled to Lorraine. In December of the same year, a conference of celebrities was held to discuss further measures to stop the rebellion. It was stipulated that French citizens should not communicate with foreign envoys, even those of the Pope. If they took up arms and resisted, they would be stripped of all their duties. Defamation is strictly prohibited. No one shall gather an army, raise arms, or tax the people without a court decree. These proposals were passed quickly and became decrees.

In 1630, the Empress Dowager Marie Medici opposed Richelieu and was exiled to Constance. The following year, the Empress Dowager fled to the Netherlands. Her son Gaston, Duke of Orleans, led his army back from Lorraine and called for the overthrow of Richelieu. Only the Duke of Montmorency responded.

On September 1, 1632, he was defeated at Castanaudari and executed by the court. All the nobles involved were severely punished one by one, most of them were executed, many feudal castles were demolished, and many provincial governors of noble origin were replaced. The feudal separatist forces across France suffered a heavy blow.

The last noble rebellion of the Richelieu era took place in 1642, and the chief element was the Marquis of Simmars. This man became Richelieu's confidant from 1632, and in 1638 Richelieu recommended him to Louis XIII, and soon became a favorite of the king. But in 1642 he conspired with Gaston, Braun and others to overthrow Richelieu, secretly colluding with Spain. After the conspiracy was exposed, Simmars was executed, Braun was arrested and imprisoned, and Gaston was reduced to public office.

In order to consolidate autocratic kingship, Richelieu reused a system that had been in place as early as the 16th century. That is to say, an imperial auditor is dispatched to each province, who is directly responsible to the Central State Council. The imperial envoy implements the central orders and has great power. The province's judicial, administrative, financial, police and other powers are all under his supervision. This official position cannot be sold, transferred or inherited. It can be appointed and removed by the central government at any time. By sending imperial envoys, the country will be unified and centralized, and the autocratic monarchy will be more stable.

Manipulating war

In foreign relations, although Richelieu himself was a high-ranking Catholic monk, he put France's national interests first and never allowed religious sentiments to influence his foreign policy. From the perspective of France's national interests, he regarded not the Protestant countries as the main enemy, but the Catholic Habsburg royal family as the most dangerous enemy.

Since the late 15th century, the Habsburgs in Germany have intermarried with the royal families of various countries through "marriage diplomacy" and inherited many territories. Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, and several territories in the south and north of Italy were under Habsburgs rule. After the discovery of the new route, the entire of Latin America also fell into the hands of the Habsburgs. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the Habsburgs were the most powerful political force in Europe, and France was in danger of being eaten under their siege.

In order to break through the siege, King François I of France and Charles V (King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor), the head of the Habsburg royal family, fought four wars in northern Italy in the first half of the sixteenth century, and even allied with the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman. Henry IV saw that war between France and the Habsburg royal family was inevitable, and he actively prepared for war militarily and diplomatically, but the war was postponed due to assassination. The final overthrow of the Habsburg royal family's European hegemony and the elevation of France's international status were completed through the "Thirty Years' War" in the hands of Richelieu.

In the early 17th century, the German emperor of the Habsburg royal family, with the support of the Spanish king and the Pope, joined forces with German Catholic vassals to launch a war to eliminate the Protestant vassals and unify Germany. In the early days of the war, the Habsburg royal family achieved a major victory. The army of the emperor and Catholic princes occupied the Czech Republic, and the army of Spain occupied Palatine. This situation not only scared the Protestant princes of Germany, but also caused anxiety in Protestant countries such as Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden.

Richelieu would never allow the Habsburgs to strengthen. But at this time, the civil strife in France had not yet ended, and it could not send troops to participate in the war. It could only fight diplomatically.

In 1625, under the persuasion of France, Denmark, the Netherlands and England formed an alliance. With French funding, Denmark sent troops to Germany to help the Protestant princes oppose the emperor and turn the German Civil War into an international war.

Denmark was defeated in 1626 and withdrew from the war in 1629. The emperor's power expanded to the Baltic Sea, posing a serious threat to Sweden, a powerful northern country. Richelieu took this opportunity to encourage Sweden to enter the war. Because Sweden was at war with Poland at this time, it was impossible to withdraw.

Richelieu sent Shanas to mediate, and in September 1629 Sweden and Poland reached a truce, clearing the way for Sweden to send troops to Germany.

In July 1630, with the support of German Protestant vassals, King Gustav II of Sweden sent troops to occupy the German coastal area of Pomerania, and joined forces with the German Protestant vassals, Duke of Saxony and Marquis of Brandenburg, to defeat the allied forces of the emperor and Catholic vassals led by Count Tilly.

On January 13, 1631, Richelieu signed the Treaty of Bavald with Sweden, stipulating that the King of Sweden would lead 30,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry to attack Germany, and that France would subsidize Sweden 1 million miles per year. In order to keep Germany divided, Richelieu persuaded Catholic princes, especially the Bavarian elector Maximilian I, to separate from the emperor and remain neutral.

In 1631, Gustav Adolfo defeated Tili in Bretonfield, and in 1632 he pursued the victory and killed Tili on the Leh River. In November of the same year, the Swedish army fought against the emperor's mercenaries led by Wallenstein in Lutzen. The Swedish army won a small victory, but Gustav II died in battle. The king's death weakened the fighting effectiveness of the Swedish army. After that, the armed forces of the Habsburg royal family turned to the offensive, and in 1634, the Swedish army was defeated at Nettingen, and the situation deteriorated sharply. To prevent the Habsburgs from unifying Germany and dominating Europe, France had to enter the war openly. By this time, the civil war in France had ended and there were no worries. So Richelieu signed the Treaty of Cambrian with Swedish Prime Minister Oxensteiner in April 1635, and both sides agreed not to make peace with the enemy alone.

In May 1635, France declared war on Spain (it was not until 1638 that it declared war on the emperor). The French army headed for the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Alsace and Lorraine in four routes. The French army entered the war and changed the situation of the war. It successively captured Roussillon, Catalonia in Spain and Turin Italy. In 1640, the Dutch Navy completely wiped out the Spanish fleet; later, the Swedish army under the command of Lennart Torstensen defeated the Emperor's army. The Habsburgs 'military disadvantage became increasingly evident.

The Thirty Years 'War ended in 1648 with the defeat of the Habsburgs and the victory of France and Sweden.

The Peace of Westphalia signed in 1648 strengthened the power of German princes and further weakened the emperor's position. Without the consent of the princes, the emperor had no right to declare war, make peace, tax, or conscript. The weakening of the Habsburg Emperor's power and the continued division of Germany were in France's interest.

In addition, France also received the Alsace and Lorraine regions on the Rhine River, and the Roussillon region in Spain. In addition to receiving territories such as Western Pomerania and Bremen, Sweden also received large reparations. From then on, the hegemony of the Habsburg royal family in Western Europe declined, and the hegemony of France took its place. Although Richelieu had been dead several years by this time, the victory of the war was a foregone conclusion before his death, so the victory in the anti-Habsburg struggle was still due to his planning.

Internal affairs construction

Richelieu himself was a monk aristocrat. Although he was very strict with the rebellious aristocracy, he still regarded the aristocracy as the pillar of the autocratic monarchy. While severely punishing the lawless aristocracy, he still employed a large number of "saber nobles" as diplomats, government officials at all levels, and especially military personnel at all levels. Richelieu also trusted the bourgeoisie. During his reign, the number of officials from the "robed nobility" was increasing. To reward the development of French industry and commerce, Richelieu practiced mercantilism and supported French merchants in organizing trading companies to compete with Dutch merchants overseas [3]. Expanded the French Canadian colonies, occupied Guinea and the Antilles, and used diplomatic means to find raw materials and sales markets for French merchants in Turkey, Iran, and Russia.

In terms of international politics, the three basic strategies he formulated for France became the basic strategic direction of France in the next hundred years:

1. Divide and disintegrate the German states

2. Push the land border to the west bank of the Rhine

3. Forcefully enter the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, establishing extensive colonies

This strategy seems too radical today. But in the 17th century, this imperialist strategic thinking was truly forward-looking.

In Richelieu's era, it was the working people of France who suffered the most under the autocratic monarchy. The countless money used in internal and external wars was extracted from their blood and sweat. In the face of the people's suffering, Richelieu had no sympathy at all. He also compared them to mules and said that they must endure humiliation. When Richelieu died, the national tax had been pre-collected for three years. Under intolerable circumstances, the French people had no choice but to take risks. As early as 1624, a peasant uprising broke out in Kelsey, demanding tax cuts. In 1631, a people's uprising broke out in Provence. Between 1635 and 1637, people's uprisings took place in Keene, Boyado, Rimsin, Angumwa, Sandonges, Gasconi and other places. In 1639, the "Barefoot Party" uprising occurred in Normandy. The insurgents killed tax collectors and burned tax bureaus, which was huge. Richelieu brutally suppressed these uprisings, but was unable to stop the people's uprisings from continuing. Richelieu fought all his life to consolidate the French absolute monarchy and defeat the Habsburg hegemony in Europe. Before his death, he still did not forget to advise the king on how to treat his officials and how to govern correctly. Richelieu died in Paris in 1642.[4]

Richelieu actively strengthened the construction of state power. To this end, he established ministers in the central government, who exercised real power under the leadership of the Prime Minister. This made the aristocratic power body "Council of State" useless. He also transformed the imperial envoys temporarily dispatched to local governments since the 16th century into governors, who were appointed and removed by the king. Their official positions could not be bought, sold, transferred, or inherited. The judicial, administrative, and financial powers of the provinces are under the control of the governor, and they are in full compliance with the central government. Through this system, the central government's binding force on local governments has been greatly strengthened. In order to facilitate local control, Richelieu also set up post stations across the country.

In the West, French Cardinal Richelieu in the 17th century pioneered modern diplomacy that "the interests of the nation and state are paramount [5]." Although Western culture has elements of democracy and human rights, its core contains the sense of racial superiority of white supremacy. It advocates democracy and tolerance at home, and pursues Darwinism of the weak on the weak in foreign exchanges. Therefore, the essence of modern diplomacy is that nation-states pursue the maximization of state power in accordance with certain rules of the game around the world. Its guiding ideology is that national interests are paramount. As he himself said,"In national affairs, power is truth. "Justice is just the coat of power, although good people are unwilling to admit it.

However, in fact, despite preaching "democracy and tolerance", in terms of ideology and culture, Richelieu still implemented measures that were beneficial to strengthening the monarchy. He first established a system of censorship of the press, and in 1630 founded the first newspaper in French history, Le France. It was used as a tool of public opinion in centralized politics. The establishment of the Institut de France was another important move by Richelieu to control ideology and culture. The Academy was the first official cultural institution in French history to attempt to regulate activities in the cultural field.

social impact

Richelieu, Prime Minister of Louis XIII. He led France to resist Austrian military intervention and strengthen sovereignty by weakening the power of aristocrats and puritans. He also ordered the establishment of the University of the Sorbonne (later the University of Paris) and facilitated the establishment of the Institut de France. In 1635, Richelieu, Prime Minister of King Louis XIII of France, founded the Academy of France, aiming to attract leading French literary and ideological leaders to defend and promote the French language and culture. This famous cultural palace has always reserved only 40 chairs, or 40 lifelong academicians. Only the number of academicians vacated after their death can they vote for a by-election. Therefore, the selected academicians are called "immortal"[6]. After the establishment of the college, French literary and artistic masters Racine, La Fontaine, Montesquieu, Chateaubriand, Hugo, Lamartin, Merrime, Dumas Jr., etc., who are familiar to people all over the world, successively entered the room and became "immortal". With the progress of the times, the French Academy has integrated the promotion of French culture with the pursuit of cultural diversity, and has gradually developed into France's highest honorary institution that transcends the limitations of the political system and the times.

Main achievements

During the 18 years of Richelieu's rule, France solved the Huguenot armed separatist regime that had plagued the country for nearly a century. The great aristocrats that had been rebellious for hundreds of years were also effectively controlled and could no longer be lawless.

The victory of the Thirty Years' War allowed France to break through the encirclement of the Habsburg family, and the advantages of the Habsburg family in the world were gradually lost. The French Bourbon royal family became the most powerful royal family in Europe, and France overtook Spain to become the new hegemon of the European continent.

France had its first ocean-going navy, its first colonial trading company, its first official newspaper, its first official post office, and its first Royal Academy (French Academy).

The military has been modernized, the government has been bureaucratic, and the country has been centralized.

He was also an unprecedented diplomat. Richelieu was the first to break free from the shackles of royal marriage and religious factions. He shouted the principle of the supremacy of national interests. His foreign policy tore Germany to shreds and dragged Spain into doom, allowing France to maintain its land superiority for nearly two hundred years.

person evaluation

As a prime minister, Richelieu can only be described as great, and he is undoubtedly the most successful politician in the history of France and even Europe.

As an individual, Richelieu was very complicated. Even he himself claimed to be not a good person, and he did not even behave like a Christian.

In the early years, Richelieu District welcomed flattery and curry favor with powerful people.

In his later years, he was arrogant and arrogant.

Richelieu was cunning to the point of despicability and harsh to the point of brutality. He regarded strategy as a legitimate means of gaining power and cruelty as a necessary quality of governance.

He will always treat the enemy more cruelly than the enemy treats him.

Richelieu was fishing for fame and self-importance. He would not allow anyone to criticize himself. In addition to detecting enemy situations, the intelligence agency he established was to arrest all opponents. During his rule, Paris was full of spies, and everyone was in danger for fear of going to prison in the Bastille.

Richelieu held countless positions without a salary, but everyone knew that he was rich enough to rival the country. He owned huge church assets, and he was also the largest shareholder of the French colonial trading company. The cardinal promoted integrity, but he also loved luxury.

The king was overthrown by him, the queen mother was expelled by him, the queen was suppressed by him, the prince was exiled by him, the duke was executed by him, and the entire royal family and even the entire French kingdom were breathless under his oppression.(I wonder how Henry IV would think of Richelieu in heaven) The cardinal was no longer a powerful minister but a tyrant, the first tyrant unprecedented or successor in French history.

At the same time, Richelieu also had another side of humanity. He longed for friendship and talent, and never hesitated to reward and care for his cardinals.

He was jealous and envious of Gao Naiyi, the number one talent in the French literary world at that time.

Richelieu regarded himself as a literati. He encouraged the development of cultural undertakings, created dramas himself, and wrote good prose. However, at the same time, he established a cultural inspection agency and bribed royal literati to sing his praises.

Richelieu's willpower can be said to be unique. His health was not very good and he had many enemies at home and abroad. It was unimaginable to be able to do such a great task in such an environment without steel-like willpower. He had experienced countless times in his life. Assassinations, but all were cleverly avoided.

In his later years, he felt the loneliness and loneliness after being a great minister, so Richelieu cared deeply for his relatives, and his political opponents even attacked him for having an inappropriate love affair with his niece.

Richelieu loved small animals, especially cats. He kept hundreds of cats in his cardinal's mansion. After the lights were turned off at night, the whole mansion was full of shining cat eyes, like a devil's cave. (The cardinal's purpose of keeping cats is also to prevent assassins)

"A hundred years ago, your bloody killing would make everyone tremble. A thousand years later, everyone in history books will sing praises of your decisiveness in killing. This is history.¡»

Machiavelli once said in "The Prince": Between an admirable leader and a feared leader, capable people should choose the latter. Richelieu undoubtedly did it. In that era, Richelieu became a terrible pronoun. Everyone was afraid of him, which became the norm and was the most suitable appearance for a politician. At that time, there were only two types of people who were not afraid of Richelieu, one was called fools and the other was called heroes. But there were no heroes more outstanding than him in that era, and only fools who were not afraid of Richelieu!

After Richelieu's death, in stark contrast, the people poured into the streets to cheer the death of the great devil, and even set off fireworks. His former enemies all secretly wept and rejoiced. Richelieu's greatest enemy, Spanish Prime Minister Olivarez once commented that the French prime minister was the most outstanding politician since the birth of Christ, and the most feared opponent.

France will never find another man like Richelieu, who has had mixed reviews, his reputation, his hegemony, his stability and enlightenment.

He once tore Germany apart without a single soldier. If it had not been for Frederick the Great's subsequent strengthening of Prussia's capabilities and Bismarck's iron-blooded diplomacy, Germany might never have been able to escape the cage designed by Richelieu.

It was actually two hundred years later, during the reign of Napoleon III, the Bourbon Dynasty had been destroyed for a long time.

Machiavelli once said that a good politician should possess the characteristics of a fox and a lion: cunning and majesty go hand in hand. There is no doubt that Richelieu did it. It is said that his eyes are like a falcon, and just staring at his opponents can make him submit. And he is also heroic and magnificent, and he is a man who strategizes thousands of miles in his actions.

The Kingdom of France under the rule of the Cardinal has taken on a completely new look. This ancient feudal kingdom has begun to enter a modern development process. It should be said that Cardinal Richelieu was the biggest promoter of France's move towards modern civilization, but at the same time he was also the creator of France's dark autocratic rule.

Cardinal Richelieu was such a complex and great figure, but for hundreds of years this great man was not judged justly.

After the reign of Louis XIV, France entered the period of king dictatorship, and subsequent kings rarely talked about Richelieu, because they could not be sure of him. Such officials did not conform to the etiquette of absolute monarchy, and they could not deny him, because the system they followed was created by Richelieu.

After the development of the Enlightenment, the people criticized the prime minister even more. People blamed Richelieu for the injustice of society, the corruption of the state, and the cruelty of the rule of law. Voltaire and Rousseau all scoffed at him.

For decades after the Great Revolution, the French people had a negative attitude towards Richelieu, who was regarded as a representative of national darkness, feudalism, and oppression, and a sinner for France.

This situation changed in 1871. Those familiar with European history knew that Prussia had completely defeated France under the leadership of the iron-blooded prime minister Bismarck, and the German Empire, which had been disintegrated for more than 200 years, was reborn in an instant. This country overwhelmed France and became the new hegemon of the European continent.

Only then did the French realize that it was the foreign policy of the Richelieu era that divided Germany, and that France could maintain its comparative advantage for more than two hundred years. The Bismarck who led Germany was so similar to Richelieu, just as cunning, just as brutal, and just as majestic.

The French began to re-examine their own history. Although Richelieu ruled France during a period of internal and external troubles, the people were in dire straits, but it was the most glorious period of the country. France tore Germany apart and destroyed Spain. It was at this time that the glory of the Louis XIV era began, and all of this was completed under Richelieu's rule.

The current French history books have redefined this great man.

Richelieu, Cardinal, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of France during the reign of Louis XIII.

The greatest, most resourceful and most ruthless politician in French history.

In fact, the cardinal himself made the most just definition of himself before his death. When the prayer priest asked him if he would forgive the enemies in his life, the old man who was called the devil by the world replied with his last strength, I have never had an enemy, unless it is an enemy of the state.