I Am Louis XIV

The previous chapter was completed with a thousand words.

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Although in name, this is a solo trip between the king and the royal wife Lavalier, in fact, it is impossible for only them and the guards. This alone only refers to the queen and other (if any) royal wives As far as Queen Dowager Anne stayed in Paris, most of the court and court, from Philip, Duke of Orleans, to the most humble maids of flowers and trees, followed the king and poured into Fontainebleau. It is the king's palace, which has developed into a fairly mature village and town, so that these dignitaries and servants will not have nowhere to stay.

For example, Prince Kong Dai and others even have industries nearby.

Speaking of Prince Condé, the reason why the king asked Philip to invite him to Fontainebleau was also to try to appease his anger—compared with Lorraine, the king felt that a title that would soon disappear was not worth paying attention to , but it is very different for the sword-wielding nobles headed by Prince Kong Dai. The king suspects that they are just worried that once this example is opened, the king will sell the titles by dozens like a cabbage vendor in the market. Go, after all, this king may be the most generous king in the history of France-if the previous king wanted to fight, the only way was to tax the people, or seek the support of the nobles, so as to make some political and this king, unwilling to submit to his subjects, nor to squeeze his people, when he brazenly went to war on two fronts (Spain and the Church of Rome), wanted to push the stone of Sisyphus alone. Ball (note 1). In this regard, the nobles have some admiration, some lament, more regret or contempt, because they think that in the end, the king will either be crushed to death by this heavy debt because of exhaustion, or have to take back the favor bestowed on the people , leading to almost destructive consequences, just like Charles I in the past-it is useless to be kind to those fickle and despicable civilians. They have no morals, no loyalty, and even less a sense of responsibility.

Louis has never said a word about this. It is useless to discuss the so-called popular sentiment with them. The sword-wielding nobles and even the robed nobles are regarded as nouveau riche, let alone ordinary people. It is only when education is not popularized. It is true that he only relies on these nobles. There is a saying in the East that "the warehouse knows the etiquette, and the food and clothing know the honor and disgrace." This sentence is not wrong at all. When the people are still struggling with hunger, their animal nature must It is more than human nature, and when they can be satisfied and believe that they can continue to be satisfied, they will slowly begin to develop the most basic sense of morality, and they must develop loyalty to the king and the country. It’s not enough—at least, it has to reach the level of the current Versailles people. They will learn, think, and accept the ideas instilled in them by teachers when they have no worries about food and clothing or even have more income than expenditure.

Therefore, the words of Prince Kong Dai and others are not wrong, but Louis absolutely cannot accept a group of chaotic people and a country that will never be stable.

Compared with other places, Alsace and Lorraine have become the two best test sites. First of all, they stood on the standpoint of the enemy of France a few decades ago. The people there, from the bottom of their hearts, Said that in Louis's heart, it cannot be compared with the French in Versailles or even in other places; secondly, the chaos there is inevitable, and the subsequent brutal suppression is also necessary, and after that, no matter how strange demands appear, there As long as the people are not squeezed to the point where they cannot survive, they will definitely accept it. This is much better than implementing the New Deal in other places in France; in the end, it is the discovery of Varo Vesalius. It has rich coal and iron resources, mature animal husbandry industry, handicraft industry, glass, porcelain, and dye industries that can be developed in the future... The king does not need to invest too much in it, as long as the output of Lorraine is guaranteed to be used by Lorraine. .

Thinking of Varo Vesalius, the wizard was finally summoned by the king and became an imperial physician again, but his direction obviously went wrong, so now this imperial physician is just a name, and he is more in the in his private research institute.

So it may be a good thing that he didn't accompany him this time, because the king also summoned the Duke of Mortmar-in view of the fact that the Duke will definitely bring his stepdaughter to the court, so that the king can fulfill his promise and will The daughters of the lady of unknown origin were formally introduced to the palace - the lady was said to have given birth to the heir of the Duke of Mortmar seven years ago, a healthy boy.

The king roughly estimated that neither the duke nor the lady wasted any time. He met Varo and his wife when he was about to grow up. At that time, Varo's eldest daughter was only five years old, and the youngest was still alive A toddler, the other was still in the mother's womb. Not long after they left, Varo Vesalius and his wife met the Duke of Mortmar, who acquired the lady by despicable means. , immediately sent envoys to Paris to bribe the king—with money and loyalty, and for Louis at that time, no, even for Louis now, the Duke of Mortemare was indeed more important than Valo Vesalius.

Although the process by which the Duke of Mortemar acquired Madame Vesalius was indeed vicious and shameless, his love for her was also real, or, for those who did not know the inside story, in fact, what he did A large part of it was driven by Mrs. Vesalius' succubus blood-the king didn't know what to say about it. Was Mrs. Vesalius wrong? She is one of the marriage tools specially cultivated by the Mancini family. She lacks a sense of independence, but she is very obedient. She obeys the family, obeys Varo Vesalius, and of course she can obey Duke Mortemart... There was nothing to be done; was the Duke of Mortemar to be blamed? For today's people, he is unforgivable, but the problem is that when he did these things, he may not be clear-headed; we can't blame Varo Vesalius, he is desperate to protect his own Family - If you go back to the roots, it seems that you can only blame the Mancini family.

But the Mancini family will definitely not care about this little problem.

The king smiled softly, and his younger brother Philip looked at him curiously. If other ministers would have kept silent, they would not have speculated about the king's behavior, let alone ask, but Philip's courage came from Because of his brother's tolerance, he asked without hesitation, "I just remembered a bunch of fools." The king said. Then he nodded behind him, "Everyone, I want to have a few words with my brother alone."

A large group of people who followed behind them immediately bowed their knees or bowed, and sent the king and his brother to the Grand Gallery of Francois I with their eyes.

We said before that the Palace of Fontainebleau existed as early as the twelfth century, but at that time, like the Louvre, it was a strong fortress, and the person who built it was Louis VI, but later, the big nose Francois I, Henry IV, and Louis XIII all lived here, and the palace has been rebuilt and added repeatedly until it looks like this.

This is a huge building with a gray-black roof, scarlet chimneys, and soft milky-yellow stone brick walls. It is solemn and elegant. On one side of the palace is an extremely quiet dark blue lake. The octagonal pavilion, with sweet and clear spring water gushing out continuously, the word Fontainebleau is derived from "Meiquan". When Louis VI decided to build a castle here, he also had the idea of ​​​​using the water source here-but for For Louis XIV, the best thing was that when he rebuilt Fontainebleau and added sanitation facilities, he didn't have to think about water supply.

The Grand Gallery of Francois I they are walking towards, as the name suggests, was built by Francois I. From the waist down, this gallery is beautifully carved walnut wall panels with gilt borders and marble walls above. A niche surrounded by portraits and pillars, in which are colorful oil paintings with rich materials-these oil paintings come from Italian and French painters. At that time, Francois I admired the Italy of the Renaissance very much, so it was Two famous painters were invited from Italy to build this large gallery for him.

It is precisely because this gallery was built by François I that as far as people can see, there are many curvaceous salamanders, most of which are represented as being born in the fire-this involves the ancient legend of Europa According to legend, this bright-skinned salamander was born from the first flame of firewood that did not rot for seven years. Because it can conquer the fire, it was regarded as a symbol of lasting loyalty. Francois I used salamanders as his symbol, so there are salamanders everywhere.

"What are you going to choose as your symbol?" Philip also noticed, and he asked in a brisk tone. "I haven't decided yet," Louis said frankly, "maybe it's... a cat?"

Philip thought for a while, and showed an unflattering expression. The king laughed, and the atmosphere between them became more relaxed. "And you, Philip," Louis asked, "what kind of animal do you want?" As a symbol?"

"I want to choose the lion," said Philip.

Lions and cats are both cats, but their strength and impression in people's minds are very different. To be honest, if Louis hadn't been cultivating Philip's courage, he would never dare to say that in front of the king Yes, people have always regarded lions as kings among animals, and many kings also have lions on their coats of arms, but Louis believed that what Philip expected was the courage and strength of lions, not ambition.

"Very well," Philip heard his brother say, "then I may give you a license to use lions in your arms and banners."

This sentence made Brother Wang shudder, not because he believed in his elder brother, but because he—"I don't have such expectations!" He said eagerly: "It's just an idea!"

"I know," the king put his hand on his younger brother's shoulder comfortingly, and after finding out that his younger brother was still a little shorter than himself, although he was strengthened by milk and plenty of meat, he said with relief: "I understand you I mean," he patiently stroked his younger brother's tense back, "but I feel from the bottom of my heart that a lion is very suitable for you."

"The Lion shall be yours, Sire," said Philip, "forgive me for my ramblings."

"I've already made up my mind." Louis said. For a moment, he even wanted to joke and insisted that his symbol was a cat, but seeing Philip's appearance, he might immediately choose a rabbit as his symbol, so it still doesn't work , "I choose the sun."

"sun?"

"Yes, brother, the sun."

"But the sun..."

"The sun is undoubtedly the strongest," said Louis. "When it is hot, people fear him, when it is warm, people long for him, and when it is gone, people miss him-Philip, It’s everywhere, it’s omnipotent, and that’s what I hope I can achieve.”

"It will not be," said Philip. "You are now. I fear you, but I long for you, and I will miss you when I leave you."

"I hope my people can do the same, but there is a long way to go." Louis took his brother's arm and walked forward. The gallery is so beautiful and grand, but compared to this gallery, Francois I is more important in humanities and on the battlefield. Achievements are the ones that deserve the most praise.

"I think you already know that."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I need to go to Lorraine alone."

"I, Your Majesty, please let me go."

"But mother would prefer you to stay in Paris."

"She worried about my safety as much as my ambition."

"I fear your comfort just as much, but I don't think you have ambitions."

"I have ambitions, Your Majesty, I have, but not for things that have never belonged to me, my brother, when I was still wearing a skirt, I expected to serve you, and you also promised me."

"Yes, I gave it to you."

"Then honor it."

"Maybe one day I will regret today's decision."

"If you don't make this decision, you will feel regretful when you see your younger brother can only spend the last sliver of life among the court and women."

"Well, you're threatening me."

"Let's take it so," said Philip. "And are you going to accept the threat?"

"You know perfectly well that I am never in danger."

"I think you can make an exception."

"You will not be greeted with flowers, but with swords."

"I love flowers, but swords make my blood boil just as much."

"You're embarrassing me."

"You are lying, Your Majesty," the younger brother said happily, "You will not be embarrassed. Although Lorraine is full of dangers, at least I will not face a powerful army immediately. I can learn how to become a soldier there." A qualified general, I think, you should have chosen a good teacher for me."

The light ahead suddenly changed, and Louis looked up, only to find that the large gallery had come to an end, and what greeted them was the suite of the Duchess Eptain, the royal wife of François I, and the Bronze Hall was through here—because It is named after the bronze sculptures on both sides of the fireplace. The daily dance is held here. Through the hall, there are the first hall, the second hall and the study of Henry IV. Here the two brothers could not help but stop for a long time, because Louis XIII is Born here - because according to tradition, in order to ensure that the royal family's bloodlines are not confused, the queen must give birth in public, so Henry IV gave up this room, and their father can be said to have given birth at Henry IV's desk. First cry.

He took a deep breath: "I still remember how you were when you were born, Philip."

Philip obviously didn't believe it, but Louis smiled. He knew that he was Louis XIV when he was still a baby, and he was worried about his own destiny. The Sun King is certainly prominent, but his career as a king is not the same Fortunately, France in the mid-seventeenth century can be described as internal and external troubles. He still remembered that when he was finally allowed to visit his younger brother Philip, it was not far from the death of Louis XIV. Time disappeared.

How lovely Philip was at that time. Although the queen mother always called him the most beautiful little girl with ulterior motives, it was not all lying. Compared with Louis, Philip was more slender and delicate, and looked more gentle—— — On the surface, since Felipe Mancini, the younger brother Philip's swordsmanship has become more fierce and fierce. His shirt is full of strong muscles. If anyone underestimates this noble prince, he must Suffered grievously - it is said that a poor fellow who was too frivolous, and perhaps heard some wrong information, said something so stupid that he was sadly crushed by his mount when he was drunk. s things.

,

His father originally wanted to appeal to the king, but a well-meaning person told him about Felipe and Mancini's fate-this can only be said to be a secret, anyway, after Mr. Marquis thought about it all night , replaced his heir with the second son, and sent the eldest son who caused trouble to recuperate elsewhere, but he should never appear in front of the king and his brother again.

Note 1: Sisyphus is a character in Greek mythology, similar to the more tragic Oedipus King, Sisyphus is the founder and king of Corinth. He even kidnapped the god of death for a time, so that there would be no death in the world. In the end, Sisyphus offended the gods. In order to punish Sisyphus, the gods asked him to push a boulder up to the top of the mountain, but because the boulder was too heavy, it rolled down the mountain before reaching the top of the mountain, and all previous efforts were wasted. Just do it over and over again and without end--the gods see no more severe punishment than to perform such futile and hopeless labor. Sisyphus's life was slowly exhausted in such an ineffective and hopeless labor.