I Am Louis XIV

It’s just that no one will remind the king. For example, Prince Condé and others have made big mistakes that are almost unforgivable. Some other veterans of the Louis XIII period felt that a young king made such a mistake. Not only is it understandable, but it is quite pleasant, no, it is not that they are gloating, but that Louis has shown the self-control and willpower of an adult since he was a toddler, and even in some places He was also quite independent and thoughtful, and did not have the deformities that children usually have (people at the time believed that children were disabled adults). This made Louis XIII, who had waited for 23 years for an heir, very happy, but it also Let his courtiers be a little disappointed - when His Majesty the King can do almost everything well, no matter how good the courtiers are, it is difficult to be highlighted.

So the king's occasional whimsy was tolerantly indulged in this ambiguous mood, except for Colbert who was so numb that he could hardly put on a frowning face. By the way, his wife gave birth to him again the year before last. Daughter, that is to say, he has to find a third duke husband for his daughter. The king’s meaningful smile made him frightened. Recently, he even deliberately avoided being alone with the king, for fear that the king would say to him: " My dear Monsieur Colbert, I have seen a suitable and eminent marriage for your little daughter."

At that time, will he still have to shirk? This is absolutely impossible! As the son of a cloth merchant, he has worked so hard to fight until now, isn't it just to change his family and wear noble robes? It's just that he felt that there seemed to be no east, west, north... only south in the direction he could move forward.

At this time, Colbert didn't know that there was a motto: do your best, and then die. But if possible, he would engrave it on the board and hang it on his chest so that the king can see it all the time...

Fortunately, the king also understood the principle of never fishing in a marsh. As soon as Colbert entered the meeting room, he felt relieved immediately when he saw a crowd of people inside.

It turned out that today is the day when the Duke of Luxembourg, who went to Spain as an envoy, returned to Paris and asked to see the king. In order not to let the duke of Luxembourg, who was not good at speaking, repeat twice, the king made what he thought should be related to the future Spanish policy. All the courtiers and generals were summoned to the chamber.

The size of the conference hall is considerable, even if there are more than 20 people seated here, it is not too crowded. The problem is that some people will always be distracted by the conspicuous reliefs on the wall, or feel embarrassed, because this conference hall was originally The royal lady belonging to Louis XIII, although this royal lady is more similar to a necessary decoration, she is still hated by Queen Mother Anne. After the death of Louis XIII, this lady was expelled from Paris , the room was left vacant—it stands to reason that if the king needs a meeting hall, he should choose another more solemn place, or completely renovate this suite.

Then, having said that, yes, the king has no money, and even if he had, he would not want to spend it in this place-although the Louvre had to undergo some renovations after two riots, it was mainly on the facade, and There are the residences and main activities of the queen mother, the king, and the king's brother, such as this room... The king just ordered to replace the original frivolous vermilion thick silk curtains with dignified royal blue velvet curtains, and replaced the picture frame In the portrait (that is, the portrait of the royal lady as the model), it will be considered complete if some of the furniture he likes are moved here.

I don’t know if Bangtang deliberately narrowed it down. Although the seat of Prince Condé is very close to the king, behind him is a statue of the goddess of spring. The imaginative buttocks are facing the back of Prince Condé's head, so that people who see this scene either turn their faces away and smile secretly or turn their eyes away in embarrassment, but this is really just a small joke. The acting prince didn't notice, but the Duke of Luxembourg felt a little unwell. He lowered his head and coughed twice.

"I wish you good health," said the King.

The Duke of Luxembourg stood up, bowed to the king, and then sat upright under the king's gesture.

"Okay," said Louie kindly, "tell us now what you saw in Toledo."

—————

In 1561. King Philip II of Spain transferred the capital of Spain from Toledo to Madrid, and Toledo's status has since declined. However, as a strategic fortress and a religious holy place, it is of course impossible to completely abandon it. Therefore, Although Philip IV died in Madrid and was buried in the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo in the small town of El Escorial near Madrid, the Queen Mother insisted on holding a high mass in the Granada Cathedral in Toledo The enthronement ceremony of the new king Carlos II was also held here, and Spanish nobles and envoys from various countries naturally gathered here, but how many people with ulterior motives among them were beyond the reach of the poor widow and her son. Got it.

As we said before, the Duke of Luxembourg was originally the most loyal friend and righteous brother of Prince Condé. They were brought up by the same mother and had a deep relationship before. When Condé was in Spain, he was also in Spain. When de Condé returned to France, of course he would not have the slightest hesitation, but the king chose him as an envoy because the duke made a lot of friends in Spain when he was with Prince Condé in Spain. , In addition, because Prince Condé tried his best to obtain the title of Duke of Luxembourg for him, which caused dissatisfaction among some people. When there was no battle for him to contribute, the king simply sent him abroad as an envoy.

The Duke of Luxembourg maintained a prudent and sober attitude under the reminder of Prince Condé for this task. He did not forget that the current queen of France is the daughter of Philip IV, that is to say, the current Spanish king Carlos I's sister, and Spain does not practice the familiar "Salik inheritance law", that is to say, daughters have the same inheritance rights as her children-although Queen Teresa has already married before she married France. Signed the renunciation of inheritance, but...

When the Duke of Luxembourg arrived in Toledo, it was overcast and rainy. Toledo should not have been rainy in this season. Thinking of the enthronement ceremony three days later, one could not help feeling ominous. What does it mean... The Duke of Luxembourg went to meet some of his friends. As Spaniards, they were worried about the future of Spain. What Carlos II took over from Philip IV was not a strong and prosperous country. On the contrary, Spain is inexorably declining, losing first Holland, then Portugal, then Roussillon, Foix, Artois, and Lorraine, no longer having America alone, and being contained in Indonesia by Holland , was threatened by France again in Europa.

And now its king is only four years old.

The first wife of Philip IV was not Maria Anna of Austria, but Elizabeth of Bourbon, the daughter of Henry IV, the eldest daughter of Louis XIII, and the aunt of Louis XIV. There used to be two sons and six daughters between them. Unfortunately, except for Princess Teresa who married Louis XIV, the other children died young. When Elizabeth died, he married Anna of Austria, and they had four children. The eldest daughter, Margaret, had proposed marriage to Louis, but finally married the Holy Roman Emperor Leigh. Obold I, and the other two children also died early, leaving only the youngest son, who is now Carlos II.

When he saw Carlos II, even the Duke of Luxembourg couldn't help being astonished and desolate by his appearance. It was an ignorant, ugly beast cub with a deformed face and low intelligence. From his small, twisted eyes, it was revealed that he was the same age as the French Dauphin Louis, but when Louis could start riding a pony, he couldn't even walk by himself, and he couldn't even sit crookedly. Appearance - the King of Spain sucking milk from his nurse every few minutes while the Duke of Luxembourg visited him was jaw-dropping, with all the conversations being handled by the Queen Mother, Carlos II Either drowsy or incoherent, but everyone in the room tried to pretend he didn't exist.

The Duke of Luxembourg had to leave in a hurry, and that night, he received a letter from Don Juan Jose, the Duke of Spain, the illegitimate son of Philip IV, who wanted to have a meeting with him.

This Mr. Don Juan can also be said to be a stranger to the French. The Duke of Luxembourg even fought against the Viscount Turenne under his command in the dunes outside Dunkirk. The last chance for hegemony also made Prince Condé and Duke Don Juan a prisoner of the king. In Dunkirk, Don Juan received preferential treatment in line with his status, and after the negotiation was over, he was taken by his father and the king. After being redeemed, this defeat did not have a big impact on him, or in other words, it was not so big that he continued to control a part of the army that could pose a threat to the new king.

His intentions are obvious. Although the illegitimate child is destined not to become a king, he can become the de facto ruler. It is just a false name. He doesn't care. Part of the interests of Spain.

The Duke of Luxembourg could not decide this kind of thing, he could only remain silent, but Duke Don Juan did not think that this was something that an envoy could decide, all he needed was for the Duke of Luxembourg to convey this meaning to the French king.

"But this kind of thing is not of great benefit to France." After hearing the words of the Duke of Luxembourg, Prince Condé said first, regardless of whether the king will support an illegitimate son and a traitor, the conditions agreed by Don Juan are before he takes control of Spain. It is almost impossible to achieve, and besides... "What do you think of Carlos II's physical condition?" Louis asked the Duke of Luxembourg.

"It's not ideal." The Duke of Luxembourg said cautiously. In fact, it was obviously weak. This majesty is only two-thirds of the height of the French Crown Prince Louis. Not to mention thin, he always leans his body like Who pressed an extremely heavy thing on one of his shoulders—he could barely stand on his own during the enthronement ceremony, kneeling on the mat and sitting on the throne, it is said that he Putting on the crown (which was wrapped in a thick layer of velvet to suit the small head), complaining that it gave him a headache, although a startled attendant immediately stopped him, this kind of Bad omen——For Europeans who believe in the divine right of kings, when they ascend the throne, the king complains that the crown robe is too heavy, the crown has small thorns, or other things make him uncomfortable. Things like this, such a king or queen, will soon be relieved of their heavy responsibilities due to various reasons... and return to the kingdom of heaven.

"His parents are too close in blood." Louis said, although his relationship with Teresa's twin cousins ​​was close enough, but fortunately they already had a healthy child, which made Louis feel at ease a lot, although He never approved of this kind of close blood marriage, but as the bishop said, the marriage of the king is also the marriage of the country. They must first consider the country, even more than the value of ethics and morals. -Philip IV Not only did Carlos II marry his niece, but his own mother was also a member of the Habsburgs. After the multi-layer superimposition, Carlos II's unsatisfactory performance was completely expected.

Some ministers could not understand the king's intentions, because Queen Teresa gave up the right to inherit the Kingdom of Spain before she got married, and only Colbert felt a little chilled.

In the past few years, he and the king have been supporting business, developing industry, expanding and cultivating new agriculture. In places where people can't see, the king can be said to be making money every day. If he spends all the money on himself, then don't It is said that there is one Louvre, even ten Louvres have been built. But the people's livelihood, war and armaments are the three abysses, they are constantly devouring countless gold and silver, and transforming them into the power in the hands of the king - as the king's treasurer, Colbert will certainly not forget, Trey Queen Shakespeare also failed to deliver a dowry. The Spaniards seemed to "forget" this matter, and the king never pursued it. Some people thought it was because the king was deceived by the "Spanish woman". The king revealed this...

But did the king really forget it, or did he deliberately not mention it for the queen's dignity?

or……