I Am Louis XIV

Dunkirk is a port city, well known to everyone. There are wide canals and canals linking it to the sea. Small stones are laid on its roads, and there are canals on both sides of the road, because seawater can be introduced for washing. Here It is actually cleaner than other cities in France, but no matter how clean it is, the smell in the city at this time is always quite unsatisfactory.

As we said before, Dunkirk is like a helpless virgin, scrambled by robbers, and its ownership is always changing, so there is no pure French here, and there is no pure French. There are no pure Spaniards or Englishmen in Flanders, and the people here don't care who they are. In short, whoever occupies this place is their master, especially those who have nothing. There are also some mercenaries who have taken off their shoulder straps and discarded their weapons-they are crowded on both sides of the road, waiting excitedly, because whether it is a king, a bishop or a marshal, when they first step here, they must There was a glorious entry into the city, and during the ceremony, they would throw coins in exchange for cheers and submission.

This was the first entrance ceremony that the young king had experienced. Louis naturally hoped for perfection, but he also begrudgingly spent money needlessly in order to show generosity, but the Bishop insisted that this ceremony was the same as they had in Paris before. The banquet held is a way to demonstrate national power just like the ball, so it is indispensable. The Viscount Turenne, who is mainly a general, also expressed his approval, so they discussed for a long time about the ratio of gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins in the coins— —In contrast, Mr. Bishop is not worried about the pension and subsequent medical expenses of the soldiers that the king is worried about. You must know that until the death of Louis XIII, there were still veterans from the Battle of Three Henrys (Note 1) coming Ask the bishop for the arrears.

But everything in the world always comes and goes. Before the war, Mr. Bishop intentionally handed over his intelligence network to the king. Of course, the king cannot be stubborn on these issues. They have determined the ratio of gold, silver and copper After 1:10:1000, Louis changed course and asked Monsieur Bishop who accompanied him into Dunkirk, besides Monsieur Bishop, Viscount Turenne and his confessor Abbot La Riviere, who were indispensable In addition to the characters, and the musketeers, is it possible to arrange some soldiers who have performed bravely in this battle to follow their ranks?

This is not quite in line with the tradition. The bishop hesitated for a while, but he thought that there were not many people in the court this time. After removing Viscount Turenne and some priests headed by himself, the status of the remaining people was not high. That's it - he glanced at Viscount Turenne. Viscount Turenne started as an ordinary soldier in his uncle's army. Of course, he also understood the soldiers' thinking to some extent, and he immediately agreed.

After that, they entered Dunkirk on horseback or in a carriage; whether the king accepted the key from the mayor in the square or in the city hall; Whether he is qualified to sit at the king's lower head, and whether the Prince of Condé should appear, and so on, was entangled until dusk. The king didn't care much when it came to the second question. He hoped to ride a horse, but the bishop and Ti Mr. Rainer thinks that he should take a carriage—from a safety point of view, a carriage is indeed safer than a horse.

At this time, Louis was thinking about those soldiers. He thought of the red uniforms of the New Model Army, which were indeed very beautiful. Then he thought of the mottled and chaotic clothes of the French soldiers. At this time, the French army did not provide uniform uniforms. From military uniforms to some equipment, the soldiers need to prepare by themselves. Some guys who are good at planning are okay, and some people can’t remember things at all before they happen, or people who are cash-strapped for various reasons can only get cheap ones. What, some were cheated by odious merchants, so it was hard to blame them, the king asked Bontang to call Colbert, and then asked if Colbert could, in the few days before the entrance ceremony, serve the two Fourteen soldiers with the same outfit?

In men's clothing at this time, commoners used to wear shirts, coats, trousers, socks and shoes, and nobles were roughly the same, the difference was the texture and decoration of the clothes, and some small modifications, such as fat sleeves, cuffs and necklines lace and embroidered garter belts, etc., but these are not what Louis wants to see on the soldiers. What he needs are soldiers, not actors or musicians. He made his request to Colbert. Of course, as Every time, although it was difficult, the minister who was born as a businessman agreed without hesitation.

He is now managing his personal finances for Cardinal Mazarin. Although some people are laughing at him being exiled by the king to the bishop, Colbert knows very well that when he stands beside the bishop, he is only closer to the king than before. After all, at that time there was a robed nobleman above him, Nicholas Fouquet who was a supervisor. This Mr. Fouquet was jealous and hated Colbert, because the king's repeated actions undoubtedly compared They, although Fouquet was one step ahead by virtue of his own identity, Colbert was always a huge threat.

Colbert knew that Fouquet had slandered several times in front of the king, saying that he had taken refuge in the bishop; Being so stiff, maybe he really wants to become a victim in the struggle between the two powers.

But Colbert also knows that the king's favor towards him is almost entirely based on his understanding of the king's will and his dedication. The job that the king entrusted, only the guillotine or the gallows awaited him.

His king was merciful, but he was never merciful to those who failed him.

So every time he worked for the king, Colbert would plunge into it with a frightening enthusiasm, and this time was no exception. He found a dark ink blue that met the king's requirements from the businessman he was familiar with that night. Heavy crisp satin of black and silver, white linen and gold silk ribbons, handsome calfskin heeled boots.

After that, he asked all the tailors he could recruit to make it day and night. On the one hand, there are clanging silver crowns, and on the other hand, prisons and whips. Anyone with a little brain knows how to choose. Fortunately, the king asked the soldiers to focus on clothing. Texture rather than decoration, so they reduced the production of a lot of lace and decorative belts. After the finished product came out, Captain Sebastian Vauban was the first person to try it on. He held his head high and appeared triumphantly. In front of everyone, it looks like a gorgeous pheasant.

It can be said that the king has reduced the color as much as possible, but people at this time will regard simplicity as a shame. If the king really uses gray, grass green or brown as the main color of the military uniform hundreds of years later, I am afraid that the future Recruiting would be met with great resistance - so what was presented was a dark blue satin jacket, puffy trousers, and knee-length black boots, over which a silver long coat hung on the chest. A cross embroidered with gold, and then from shoulder to waist, across a bright red shoulder strap, plus silver buttons and gold brooches, a wide-brimmed hat with ostrich feathers, can not help but make people full of desire - at least For those chosen soldiers.

This costume was presented to them by the king.

When the twenty-four people were neatly dressed, standing behind Viscount Turenne with muskets on their shoulders and swords on their shoulders, even the bishop couldn't help but nodded slightly.

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And in this town of only 3,000 people, as Mr. Bishop said, any stranger will attract the attention of others, but what if... it is not a stranger?

Few people pay attention to a woman sheltering in a monastery, especially if she is bloated and old. In other words, people pay more attention to her fat body and swollen face. As for others, it seems that she is always hidden under the scarf The color of her hair and eyes, who remembers, she didn't even have a lover, the priests hired her because she had donated a sum of money to the monastery before, and because she could save a lot of trouble, they were very happy Absurd, but the demonic incident at Loudun fifteen years ago--Father Grandy was there accused by an abbot of the abbot as the spokesman of the devil, because before that his love affairs had brought him many enemies, So after several repetitions, the priest was still burned to death after suffering countless tortures-this made the French priests involuntarily dignified.

It was just such an old woman who hardly had contact with anyone except the priest's orders. In many places, there would be such an old woman who lived alone. After seeing the king's soldiers walking through the streets of the town , she went back to her little room, closed the door, lit the candle stubs given to her by the priests, and then raised her legs in a stretched posture that did not match her age, lifted her skirt, and looked from inside Pulled out a silver-plated dagger, held it at himself, first the cotton stuffed in his cheeks, then with the spirit-soaked liner to dust off his face--mixed the powder of charcoal with the powder of oatmeal It was something that would make the face black, yellow and rough. She smiled at herself in the mirror, inserted the dagger back to the original place, and began to untie the coat on her body. Under the coat, there were balls of bread. She took a bite out, put them in a basket, and slowly removed the petticoat. It may be hard for anyone to imagine that there is such a beautiful thing under the loose petticoat. She took out from her suitcase a new silk underwear, a dark red cotton skirt, and a lace bonnet, all that a girl of modest means could afford. .

At this time, the sky was dark and there were fewer people on the street. She carried the basket and walked towards the camp of the guards.

Note 1: War of the Three Henrys (War of the Three Henrys, 1587~1589), the last religious war in France in the late 16th century. Henry I de Lorraine, 3rd Duke, and Huguenot leader, King of Navarre and presumptive heir to the French throne, Henri de Bourbon of Bourbon (later Henry IV, founder of the French Bourbon dynasty )