Secred du Roi

It was a snowy March day in Sweden's capital of Stockholm

*Ding ding*

A wooden door opened and a bell was heard.

A lanky man looked up from his counter and eyed the new person that just entered his small pub.

A coat, furs, and a tricorne. Definitely not a noble and neither a peasant, a merchant probably.

The man shook off the snow that was glued to his boots and took off his leather tricorne and went towards the barkeeper.

"Good afternoon. Can I get Beer?"

The new customer said and the barkeep nodded his head and quickly gave the man a pint of beer.

"Of course sir., here you go"

The customer looked at the beer and slowly drank from it enjoying the taste of the alcoholic brew.

And then he suddenly put a white envelope on the table.

The barkeep looked around, there were some people in the small of his, but nobody was paying attention to him, so he quickly took the envelope open and hid it behind the counter, he quickly read through it and then looked at the man and soundlessly opened a drawer next to him and took out another envelope.

"La couronne du roi brille." (The King's crown gleams)

Said the barkeeper.

"Dans l'ombre, le royaume rêve." (In shadows, the kingdom dreams)

The man replied and the barkeeper gave the man the envelope.

The man quickly finished a beer and gave a couple of pennings to the barkeep.

"Thank you for the beer. Do you know where I could find a place to rest for tonight?"

"Certainly, just walk to block to the right and you should see a building with a dark green door, that would be the inn where you could stay."

The customer lightly bowed, thanked the innkeeper, and left the pub.

As he left the pub he put on his tricorne and went to the inn to get a room.

After having supper he went to his room which had just a bed and a drawer, he sat down in his bed and put the candle on the drawer as he opened the envelope. 

He read through the contents which weren't that many just his orders to bribe some people and then the names of the said people.

After reading it then burned the paper and quickly went to sleep.

The next morning our man got a carriage filled with some goods and rode the stone streets of the Swedish capital.

He wrote to his first target Swedish barracks where his first target was located, a man named Farman Eriksson a noble so low down the perigee of Swedish nobility that you could call him a commoner, yet he was still a noble, so the man in the carriage had to prepare, first, he should scout around. 

He rode through the barrack and he saw the Swedish soldiers doing some drills their blue and gold uniforms contrasting with the white snow of a cold March.

He looked at the courtyard and he didn't see his target so he stopped nearby and as a patrol of soldiers came his way he stopped them.

"Excuse me, dear gentleman, I'm Renaud Charron a merchant from France, and I wonder if you know any good inns nearby?"

The leader of the group looked at the merchant and nodded.

"It's that building."

He pointed at a house just about 100 meters away.

"Thank you, sir. By the way, may I intrigue you with some of my items? I have French wine from Burgundy, Italian clothes, Spanish jewelry, and a German flintlock pistol that I managed to buy from a German officer, though I have no ammo for it nor gunpowder."

The group of soldiers looked at each other and the leader just sighted

"5minutes max"

And so Renaud sold alcohol to the soldiers, one of them bought cheap jewelry for his loved one, while the leader got a box of collisions.

After that Renaud traveled some more and sold more of his weres until came the evening and Renaud made his way to the inn that the soldier during the day pointed at, as he entered he saw that it was quite packed already, the most of the clients being soldiers. 

He went to the counter ordered some ale and just started drinking as he looked around, he saw the leader of the soldier group sitting with other soldiers which conveniently included his targeted man Farman Eriksson. So he positioned himself that way that the soldier who bought from him would notice him.

And when he did Renaud with a friendly smile lifted his ale in a greeting.

Soon he saw him talking with his fellows and Renaud just observed them.

More minutes passed as Renaud eyed his target while making some small talk with other customers and even flirted with some of the women and staff.

Soon enough Farman stood up and went to him.

"So I heard you were a merchant."

"And a good one at that."

Renaud smiled.

"Funny too."

Farman replied.

"Either way one of my friends says you have something interesting to sell."

Renaud begins to think.

"I have some rare things, a mirror from Venice, Italian clothes, French wine that I bought from one of the counts from Burgundy."

The merchant listed his wares to the soldier.

"What about something German?"

Renaud smiled at the Farman's words, his smile was one of the hunters that finally found easy prey.

"I have one of Prussian stock actually, if you are interested we can go check it out, my cart is nearby."

Farman frowned.

"What would be the price?"

"I don't know yet, sir. We can figure out the price once you look at it, maybe it will not be up to your taste."

The soldier agreed and after a couple of minutes, the two of them went out of the inn and walked down the evening roads, while Renaud spun his tales of how he traveled, what he saw, what he bought, and what he sold, each word of his was carefully crafted to make him appear as good as the best merchants come.

Soon they reached a cart and Renaud had a wooden box in his arms and as he opened there it laid a Prussian cavalry officer flintlock pistol.

It was of dark wood fishing with golden ornaments and even a golden trigger guard, the gun was in pristine condition, not used even once.

"I bought it from a Prussian officer for a hefty sum, here you can even take it out."

Farman did just that he took the pistol in his hands and began inspecting it he couldn't find any scratches or spots of wear and tear on the gun and the wood finish was really smooth.

"Though I have no ammo or gunpowder for it, I think for an officer like yourself getting these things, wouldn't be a problem."

The soldier just nodded.

"It is an excellent gun, so how much do you want for it?"

"Hmm, I think I would like to do an exchange with you instead?"

"What kind of?"

"How about I give you this pistol...and wait a bit."

Renaud then quickly rummaged around his cart and brought out a very small box as he opened it was full of silver riksdalers.

"This and I will throw in some French golden jewelry for about 30 guns from you."

Farman instantly narrowed his eyes at the merchant and Renaud spoke quickly.

"Don't worry my next stop is Finland and I want to sell these guns around the border with Russia because there are talks about some underground resistance movements near the border on the Russian side, so I think it's a win-win, you will get a pistol befitting of a newly appointed Fanrik and you will get more gold than you will receive in 3 years, plus I will be selling these guns to people who are fighting against the Russians and I will make sure that no traces will be tracked back to Sweden."

Well Renaud knew that Farman would accept as he was already corrupt this was more of a game to see how much Renaud was willing to give him, plus nobles liked to brag about gold and unique items and this gun would definitely make him stand out.

The Fanrik stood silently looking at the ground, then at the gun, seemingly deliberating something in his mind.

"I can see why you grandly talk about yourself now. Fine, meet me tomorrow evening."

Renaud smiled and then gave a small bag of coins to Farman.

"Here this is a small bonus from me, for our future collaboration, it should definitely pay for drinks and more tonight."

Then our humblest of French merchants bid farewell to the Swedish officer and went his way.

Renaud was happy with himself, it was an easy job, as his target was already known for taking bribes, but he took bribes from smugglers and his own soldiers, it was the first time Farman received such a dangerous offer, so there was always a chance that he would not agree as letting one or two smugglers was not the same as stealing guns and selling them to a foreigner.

Now all Renaud has to do is take the guns, write a letter to one of his superiors, and then give the weapons to another servant of the French crown.

TIME SKIP

"Presenting the French ambassador Sir Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes!"

The French ambassador then bowed before the seated man on his throne.

"I'm Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, here to represent His Majesty Louis XV of France and Navarre as his ambassador to the Swedish court. It is my utmost pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty Gustav III of Swedes and the Grand Prince of Finland."

The King of Swedes eyed the French ambassador who was dressed in a navy blue tailored coat. Beneath, he had a crisp shirt with delicate lace accents at the cuffs that complemented his refined attire. Tailored trousers and polished leather shoes were adorned on his legs, while subtle jewelry, such as a golden signet ring adored his pinky finger.

Gustav liked the new French ambassador who came here 5 months ago during March.

Gustav had written a couple of letters to Louis XV urging him to replace the French ambassador with a more competent one, while the previous ambassador was decent he was not cut out for the plans that Gustav had in mind, and it showed while the previous ambassador managed to buy a couple of nobles to support the King, while Charles Gravier in 5 months managed not only to gather a group of nobles to his side and even more he was working together with the leaders of the ''hats'' Fredrik Axel von Fersen and Carl Gustaf Pechlin to undermine the plebian based "Caps" faction.

Versailles gave 1 million livres for that and "Hats" had to promise to strengthen the King's power in the constitution.

With the help of the French, they won against the "Caps" but after the victory, they did not fulfill their previous commitments. Fredrik Axel von Fersen and other leaders of the party had done nothing for the crown unless Carl Gustaf Pechlin, with a group of his supporters, joined the opposition and declared his accession to the "Caps". Pechlin's group caused a break in the party of the "Hats" and made it impossible to introduce any changes to the constitution. Moreover, the representatives of Russia, Denmark and England protested in Stockholm against attempts to strengthen the royal power in Sweden.

Focusing on the French ambassador once again, the King of Swedes stood up and gently stepped down from his throne

"It's good to see you, ambassador. Please follow me."

Charles Gravier bowed as both of them went behind the throne through a wooden door.

Once they entered they already saw around 20 men present, some were nobles loyal to Gustav III, but most were courtiers and officers of Gustav III's personal guard, that's where he found most of the support for his cause.

"Gentlemen, thanks for gathering here."

Gustav said as he took a seat and then the most senior members of his circle took a seat along Charles Gravier, while others left standing.

"While I'm glad that all of you managed to come, sadly we have to talk about some bad news. We received once again a letter of protest from English, Russian, and Denmark ambassadors, and the "hats" had revived the old disputes between the nobility and three lower estates. Quarrels between the representatives of the nobility and three lower estates completely dominate the court now. While the "Caps" are making a resurgence. It is probably an open secret that Ivan Ostermann the Russian ambassador is helping them."

Gustav concluded. And it was true because he knew that the Russians even were the ones who urged Denmark to go to war with Sweden, only being stopped by the threat of war from France and Spain.

"Yes, your Majesty. But even the English started to invest in the "Caps" while the "Hats" were paralyzed with their internal bickering and fighting with the "Caps"."

One of the Courtiers said and everybody who was engaged in the politics of Sweden nodded.

"There are even whispers that the caps want to enable for all non-nobles the right to hold all state offices, including the so far restricted for the nobility right to sit in the State Council."

Another beckoned while the King furrowed his brows, he led countless attempts to make both parties reconcile, but he was betrayed by either "Caps" or "Hats" that wouldn't hold their end of the agreement and to be honest, he was afraid of the Russian ambassador to because the same ambassador came to him and proposed an alliance with Russia, while he declined because he wanted to make an alliance with France, he knew that then the same idea was passed down to the "Caps" and if they will take power than Gustav knew that the Russian ambassador will have his way.

So obviously, Gustav III was not going to tolerate the governments of the "Caps" and the highly influential Russian Ambassador to Stockholm. 

When he realized the impossibility of reconciling the interests of the nobility with the aspirations of unprivileged classes, he decided to hold a coup d'état that he planned in France. 

"What about our alliance with France?"

One of the military officers said and all eyes were now on the French ambassador among them.

"I'm sorry to say we will not enter an official alliance till His Majesty Will not be fully in power. For that reason, His Majesty Louis XV is willing to send 3 million livres if you are willing to speed up the coup d'état. As our King put it: It would be most beneficial for France if there was the monarchy in Sweden. If instead of wasting money and encouraging venality, money would be given to the king who would use it in the way appropriate to him"

The gathered men fell into silence, 3 million livres was a big sum of money and they could do a lot with it.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Excuse me, your Majesty, my lords, there is a man claiming to be from France and he has urgent news for Sir Charles Gravier."

A soldier said as he bowed.

Charles Gravier's eyes widened as nobody should have known that he was here in a meeting with the King and his supporters.

"Excuse me, your Majesty, sirs. I only told the most trustworthy of my location in case of emergencies."

He said as he quickly went out and went out.

He saw the man claiming to be from the embassy.

"La couronne du roi brille." (The King's crown gleams)"

And now Charles Gravier knew how the man knew where he was, he was a member of Secret du Roi.

"Dans l'ombre, le royaume rêve." (In shadows, the kingdom dreams)

Charles replied.

"Excuse me for disturbing the meeting, my lord, I'm Renaud Charron, I have a piece of good news for the King of Swedes."

He said as he gave the letter and as he bowed he left.

So Charles went back and once he was inside all eyes were on him once again.

"Gentlemen, Your Majesty. I have great news in this letter."

He then gave the letter to the King and the King read through it.

"Magnus!"

The King called out and a man named Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten stood up.

"Your Majesty?"

"We will go with your plan, we managed to secure the alliance of Borga and Sveaborg garrisons along with Helsinki, make your preparations and depart to Finland immediately"

The man bowed to the King.

"I will leave after this meeting."

"Good good, now we have to wait and keep the Hats afloat or our plans will go to waste."

"Now then Since Finland is secured, we need to strengthen our position in Sweden, especially around Stockholm. Any ideas?"

"Your Majesty, while the "hats" are bickering and ruling ineffectively, we still should keep them afloat and give them our full support as then there is less chance that our coup will be detected and the present chaos of our politics will make the reactionary forces slow to react to our movements, we could effectively take power in but a few days."

"Good thinking. Though I need some eyes to watch over the Russian and English movements, report to me anything suspicious."

The men nodded at the King's words and they would send some spies or even bribe the ambassadors' staff to give them information.

"Your Majesty, I think you should not forget public support, I have made some plans to bring the public support to your side, thus after we take power we will not have to worry about a mob forming and falling to anarchy."

The Gustav III nodded at the words of one of his advisors. 

Then not to be outdone other men gave their own ideas

"What about employing mercenaries?"

"I strongly advise against it, it would be better that we would take power with our own hands, that way we will be seen as having the support of the Swedish people."

"Your majesty, what about..."

And so the plotting began and in a year's time the coup began.

It started with revolts in Finland with Jakob Magnus Sprengtporten leading the charge, securing Finland in a matter of weeks and sailing with 900 men to Helsinki, while loyal regiments rose up in Kristianstadt. When the Secret Commission led by "Caps" received a message about Kristianstadt being blocked by government troops, it decided to strengthen the Stockholm garrison with the Uppland regiment and ordered Prince Charles to return immediately to the capital. The king was secretly informed that the leaders of the "Caps" intended to imprison him as soon as the Uppland regiment invaded Stockholm. Yet the young King was not afraid and on the evening of August 18, 1772, he threw a lavish party in his castle. Then, he invited all guests to the theatre palace to listen to the Swedish opera "Peleus and Thetis". The same night he started preparations for the coup in the capital. He sent all important documents to the embassy of Spain, signed an order to arrest members of the State Council, and then came out to accompany the bourgeois guard in its night patrol around the city. On the morning of August 19, 1772, he gave in the castle lodge a rousing speech to the officers of the guard who, together with two companies of soldiers, went over to the side of the conspirators. The Royal Guard started to occupy the arsenal, arrested members of the State Council, and took control of all important buildings in the city. The Admirality assured the king of its support and fidelity. Conspirators met with no resistance at all. The bloodless coup was joyfully welcomed by the residents of the capital. For two days (August 19 and 20) Gustav III, accompanied by a mounted unit of the Guard, was visiting different places around the city, giving speeches to the citizens of Stockholm and taking an oath of allegiance from the army and various magistracies and in August 22nd Jakob Magnus Sprengtporten arrived with 800 men from Finland further desensitize any reactionary forces from making any moves and so the public order was upheld for the entire month while Gustav and his advisors rewrote the constitution and giving all the powers to the King thus the age of Liberty that lasted from 1719 to 1772 ended and Gustav III took full control, while Russia was powerless as it was embroiled in a war with the Polish Bar Confederation and a war with the Ottoman Empire.

Then the king summoned a plenary session of the Riksdag in the Stockholm castle. The estates' meeting place was surrounded by the army so that members could not show the slightest resistance. While speaking in the Riksdag the king gave a speech. He outlined the causes that made him violently overthrow the existing system.

"It is a sad but well-known truth that the state had been torn apart by hatred and discord… You know how that division had contributed to the anger, the anger to the revenge, the revenge to the persecution, and the persecution to new revolutions which, finally, had turned into a chronic disease consuming and degrading the entire society. Those revolutions had been tormenting the country because of the ambitions of a few people, streams of blood had been shed by different parties while people had been, out of necessity, victims of those disagreements of which they had cared little but which consequences they had been suffering most. Thus, freedom, the most noble of human rights, had been changed into an aristocratic, unbearable despotism of the ruling party". 

Later in his speech Gustav III drew attention to dangers that were threatening Sweden on the part of its neighbours.

 "If internal affairs of the country are so endangered, how terrible are its foreign affairs… I hoped that my efforts to make peace between parties would free you out of those shackles which foreign gold and native hatred had put on you and that scary examples of other countries would be a dangerous warning to you, all in vain, though". 

The king expressed his future intentions with words

"You are very wrong if you suppose that I am looking here for something other than freedom and rights. I promised to lead-free people; this promise is even more sacred for me as I made it myself. I am far from violating freedom and I just want to restrain parties' despotism and replace the lawlessness that had been ruling the kingdom with a wise and just government like the one that had been provided by Sweden's ancient laws and had worked in the days of my famous ancestors the Gustavs and Charleses, the Vasas and Wittelsbachs as well as the reigns of Gustav I, Gustav II Adolf and Charles XII".

A/N: Guess who is back baby.

Well I managed to get a new chapter out after ages *insert "it has been 84 years here"*

Hopefully, people liked this chapter and I'm finally happy to present to you Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, I really think he was one of the best diplomats and foreign ministers that Louis XVI and France had and I will heavily rely on him in the future and now I think I will have just another chapter of nothing (as there is no interesting event going on apart from the first partition of Poland-Lithuania in 1772) and then we will jump to the Death of Louis XV and the coronation of Louis XVI.

Btw I will be on our discord at around 1 am CET so about in an hour you can join vc and talk to me directly 

DC: https://discord.gg/SUeu6Ddejz