I Am Louis XIV

Although Charles I was beheaded, but from the point of view of people at this time, especially the position of the king, Louis must admit that he did nothing wrong on the Majesty of the Seas. Britain is an island country. The army only has a navy, and other countries can shrink back when faced with threats from enemy countries. As long as Britain is cut off from its supply lines, its economy and people's livelihood will be destroyed. This is how the British navigation regulations came into being. Not only for the Netherlands, but also for any country engaged in third-party trade. This requires strong naval support. In the first Anglo-Dutch war in 1652, although Britain won the war, it also clearly exposed A weak underbelly, it's not invincible.

Charles I saw this earlier than anyone else. In the pamphlets sent by Louis's secret agents, there are several books about the King of the Seas, one of which is dedicated to describing the hull decorations of the King of the Seas. ...including, but not limited to, figureheads, cabin and mast engravings, and the ubiquitous motto. The King of the Seas took a full year and nine months to build. It was the largest warship at that time. It weighs more than 1,600 tons and has three decks. It is said that the original designer only prepared 80 guns for it, but Charles I insisted on increasing it to 102 guns. The lower deck and the main deck Thirty guns were mounted, twenty-six on the upper deck, twelve on the forecastle, fourteen on the half-deck, ten bow guns and some stern guns, which can be said to be fully armed. After the first ship was completed, it immediately participated in various naval battles, and made a lot of contributions.

The ridiculous thing is that although this warship has made great achievements in battle, it became one of his crimes in the trial of Charles I, because he plundered too much money from civilians and businessmen for the construction of this warship. Filled with righteous indignation, he not only convicted him, but also beheaded him like a thief, but the warship built with the tax money collected by the king was merciless. Not only in the first Anglo-Dutch war, Cromwell This warship was dispatched to the main battlefield, and it was seldom parked quietly in the dock after that, but at that time, its crown sail had been taken off and replaced with the mark of the Lord Protector. The sailors above also wore Cromwell's red jacket.

In today's battle, Louis also saw that the crown sail was hung up again, and all the places changed by Cromwell returned to their original appearance. The symbol and expectation of the monarch set sail again and appeared on the battlefield In the end, its deterrent power remained the same as before, or in other words, its deterrent power has never disappeared, whether it belongs to the rebel or the king, but the coats of sailors and officers have changed the color of the shoulder straps, or Bright vermilion, it is obvious that Charles II is now afraid that it will be difficult to raise funds to change the clothes for the soldiers.

This is the disadvantage of a king who has a parliament choking his throat. He can never guarantee the loyalty of officials and generals to him. After all, their salaries are not taken from the king. The king whose power is firmly in his hands must also bear the weight of his ambitions, but after witnessing the power of the Ocean Monarch, he still couldn't help short of breath and clenched his hands—when thermal weapons were limited to artillery and When using muskets, the hull materials are limited to wood and a few copper plates. The tonnage of the ship can almost be said to be the sharpest weapon of the fleet. Even if Louis is only overlooking from a high altitude with the eyes of birds, he can still see the ocean. How the Sovereign destroyed the Dutch warships like a crush-even if it didn't fire shells, its shadow was enough to cover the average ship under him. It is conceivable that if he was on these warships, he only looked at the Sovereign of the Seas Facing the huge body that was crushed by him, he couldn't help but tremble with fear. This is not a question of bravery or not, but the fear of giants in human instinct.

It's a pity that the ships of the British Navy at this time are no longer as powerful and agile as before. The King of the Seas can only be said to have barely restored their last dignity, ensuring that the fleet will not be completely defeated. Thinking of what Charles II once complained to him-he said that when his father Charles I decided to levy taxes to build a fleet out of national honor and security, as a king, he decided to build a fleet. His ministers and nobles say that his loyal and affectionate subjects will be greatly encouraged and promoted...The subjects are willing to contribute to the earmarks of the ships...they support the King generously and selflessly decision……

But when the fleet was built, the Monarch of the Seas was completed, and one victory after another was won, these "loyal and affectionate" subjects resented the king again, and they forgot what the king built Those of the fleet also forgot the cheers they made when they saw the fleet enter the sea, and only cursed at their thin clothes and thin porridge, but in fact, even Oliver Cromwell was enshrined by them as the protector of the country Lord, the burden on them is not much lighter, otherwise where would Cromwell's new model army come from?

This is the people, Louis said to himself. There is an old saying in the East that is true. They are like rivers or oceans, which can support the huge ship of the royal family, and can capsize it under deep water at any time.

The king absently held little Luciano in his arms, lost in thought.

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Such problems continued until the king returned to Paris, and the problems that were directly in front of him like omens seemed to be an example of this sentence-the Duke of Lorraine was so happy to stay in Richelieu that he didn't even think about it. He was so willing to go to the Louvre, and he was busy going to see him until the king came back. After all, his request still needed a clear answer from the king.

If you say you don’t want to take back Lorraine, that’s nonsense. Not to mention that the Lorraine region is a buffer zone for the conflict between France and the Holy Roman Empire. It’s impossible for Louis to miss this opportunity just because of its vast area and great significance in inheritance. . Not to mention, Lorraine also has huge output such as planting, animal husbandry, and quarrying. The ale and cheese here are very famous, and the production of wool can also bring considerable benefits to everyone, but at any time, as long as this land Still following the policy of focusing on agriculture, according to the request of the Duke of Lorraine, to collect taxes worth one million livres when he still owns Lorraine will undoubtedly exhaust the last of the people there Efforts—don’t think that this one million livres is one million livres. This is just the part that the Duke of Lorraine got, and it’s unknown how much of it will be spent, whether explicit or hidden.

Louis seldom speculates maliciously on others, but the Duke of Lorraine—in his dying condition, it is hard to say whether he will be full of resentment towards everyone, towards his brother, towards the king, and even towards his father. The courtiers and the people, he is about to go to see God, and he doesn't care what will happen afterwards. In this case, why wouldn't he let himself live his last days happily, of course, if he can give him happiness while being happy? Of course he is willing to bring a little trouble to his brother and the king, and the people of Lorraine are the trouble he wants to leave for the king or his brother.

Those people who have almost been deprived of their last trace of vitality, whether it is the king or the duke, if they want to collect taxes from them, they have only two ways to go, either die themselves or let others die.

But it will take at least three to five years until Lorraine, which has been exploited to the limit, returns to life. During this period, can the king or the duke just support these despicable civilians in vain? Even if they are willing to endure this kind of torture for this large territory, what about officials in Lorraine, priests, where do they get their salaries? There are also churches, official residences and shops, the construction and repair of docks and warehouses, etc. The money needed to maintain the operation of a territory is incalculable, and these funds may exceed the one million livres requested by the Duke of Lorraine. you.

The behavior of the Duke of Lorraine can be said to have no good intentions, and the judges of the high court couldn't help talking endlessly. This may be the biggest deal since the king officially took power. If it is done well, the king's authority will be raised to a higher level. If they don't do well, the king's previous achievements will inevitably be much dimmed. They have suggested to the king that they should give up Lorraine. After all, even if Lorraine doesn't take it back, it will still be the territory of France. But if the king can't handle the million miles Foer's question, in case Lorraine rebels - this is very possible, then the Holy Roman Empire may take advantage of the opportunity to enter, and it may be that Lorraine may directly lean towards the Holy Roman Empire.

It is not unreasonable for these judges to worry, but Louis has decided that he will take Lorraine and solve the five-hundred-year-old bone in the throat of the French king. Now that he understands the Duke of Lorraine's thoughts, he can find a solution The best way - he summoned Colbert, Colbert is a businessman, and he has been to Lorraine, and even if he didn't, he can find people who often do business with Lorraine to find out about Lorraine's reality.

"Do you think," asked the King, "that it would be possible to save the million livres from being a burden to the people of Lorraine?"

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Colbert took the order, and the king checked the letters from Dunkirk. With the assistance of wizards and cement, the construction of the dock has come to an end. Many of them have hardly left the inner world, and their understanding of the outer world is limited to the descriptions of the elders or other people, while those who have the courage and ways to go to the outer world There are very few wizards who can enter the court, and most of them are just in the countryside, relying on magic to do some unbearable things, just like Varo Vesalius, he can also be said to be a potion master when he was in the other world However, in the watch world, they are mixing those love potions that everyone knows well. Firstly, it is because of the lack of raw materials, and secondly, because only this kind of potion can be swallowed recklessly.

For these wizards, the condition of the watch world is of course very bad. No, it should be said that before Louis started to transform, from the Louvre to the whole of Paris, it was not much better. Sanitation facilities, only nobles and wealthy merchants can have servants—there are many bad things in the other world, but it is better than having soul servants (that is, humanoid puppets working in the wizard's field as Louis saw), they Not only are they responsible for heavy field work, but they are also responsible for doing things that wizards don't bother to do. In the other world, wizards at least have tidy streets, small but at least sanitation facilities, clean water and food, if not that A truly incompetent wretch, who can still afford to hire a soulless servant to clean the room and take care of the housework, this is already equivalent to a small nobleman or businessman in the watch world, such as the Duke of Colonna , but also enjoy the enjoyment that surpasses that of a king.

But in Dunkirk, the residences prepared for wizards were also rebuilt by the king. They have water (one of them is still hot!), bathrooms, and toilets. Clean and rich food can be guaranteed. There are also lovely girls (although they think they are just a bunch of weird scholars) and generous salaries. The last two points are absolutely impossible to give them in the current world, and they can't help but feel uneasy, but after the construction of the dock is over , where can they go back?

Moreover, returning to the inner world means that they have to go to the exchange office to pay back the money. In the watch world, it can be said that it is quite a sum of income. After arriving at the exchange office, only two-thirds or more of it falls into their hands. At least, they have to face the narrow room and the empty life... So Milady came to ask if the king had anything else for them to do.

The king does have them, but he wrote to Milady that they don't exist for the time being, and let these wizards go back to the inner world first.

It is of course possible to continue to use these wizards, but the contempt of the wizards towards the mortals of the surface world is deeply rooted. If the king hires them again, it is hard to say whether they will breed the idea that the king must rely on them. Only let these wizards understand, I am not unique, but must be, and it is possible for them to obey.

Immediately afterwards, the king wrote another letter to Rong Ke, his teacher in the inner world. When Rong Ke had money, the first thing he did was to buy a small scabbard owl as his communication with the king. Tool, this little owl is so small that it can be hidden in a fist, and it is also very smart. The downside is that it can't carry things that are too heavy and too big, and it flies slowly, but this kind of spotted owl is the most common in the inner world. Yes, and because the body is too small and full of bones, it is rarely hunted, but it is safe. The king rolled up a piece of paper, tied it to the little owl's leg, fed it a piece of chicken, and let it go out.

Just a few minutes later, Bangtang respectfully knocked on the door and asked if the king had time to visit the queen mother once.

For the queen mother, Louis has always respected him very much, and since Louis officially came to power, the queen mother will not call him away from the study unless it is important.

Louis went to see the Queen Mother. Although this princess from Spain has reached the age of having grandchildren, she still looks beautiful and behaves elegantly. Compared with Queen Teresa, who is also a Spanish princess, she is somewhat inferior. But it's hard to say, after all, the queen mother's husband has gone to see God, but the queen's husband is like the rising sun.