I Am Louis XIV

The Duke of Orleans is still struggling to support him. He believes that the king will never give up on him easily, but people in Paris and the whole of France are whispering, because after learning that the Black Death broke out in Nancy in Lorraine, The first thing the king did was to block the road and ordered all the territories and villages from Lorraine to the south and north to enter a state of martial law. On the new avenues, the methods of detecting, preventing and blocking the Black Death jointly written by the king's doctors and bachelors were spread to every corner-these roads were one of the brilliant achievements of the king in the past three years, and they also made France One of the culprits of the empty treasury, starting from Paris, spreading westward to Le Havre, northward to Artois, Verdun, westward to France Comte, northward to Orléans, though not yet guaranteed It leads to anywhere, but at least it guarantees that every province has a road that can be used for fast horses. This road is now almost a lifeline for the people-the governor still brings the king's soldiers, if there are officials Or if the lord does not cooperate, they have the right to arrest the latter. In the worst case, they are allowed to execute criminals by the king-this kind of behavior, if it was placed more than ten days ago, would have been criticized by others, but at this time , as long as there are people with a little brain, they will not talk nonsense about it. In fact, although some of the requirements of the supervisors involve places that the lords do not want to let people set foot on, or secret materials, they obediently took them out , just want to be able to get a shelter in Paris.

Yes, just as people from Lorraine flocked to Nancy, people from other places mentioned above are also heading to Paris—they believe that where the king is, it must be safe—after all, in this era, There is still a saying that the king treats scrofula (tuberculosis) for his subjects by touch. Louis himself has performed such a ritual, but even if Saint Louis is reborn, he may not dare to touch the black silk patient. Do you want to accept these The nobility became a problem for the king.

It is conceivable that if they refuse, those people must harbor resentment, but if they accept it, not to mention whether some of them will

There are carriers of plague seeds, just the population—these people will not just come alone, they must bring their families, servants and soldiers, and Paris cannot carry so many people, so the king said, "Let them go Versailles."

The idea of ​​building a new palace in Versailles has been around since Louis was a boy, not only because the people of Paris had betrayed their king twice, but also because the people of Versailles respected and were more loyal to the king. , or the population, the population of Paris has been drastically reduced due to the riots. The problem is that after several years of reproduction and migration, Paris is overcrowded again. If the king had not expanded and sorted out the city of Paris before, such a population density Sooner or later there will be a plague.

Louis' original idea was to extend the boundaries of Paris outwards, just like how people hundreds of years later, in order to accommodate tens of millions of people, will continue to include the towns around the city into their arms. The meaning of re-establishing a city of Versailles, he just wants to not only move the palace to Versailles after the completion of the Versailles palace, but also connect Versailles and Paris, so that Versailles will become the moon city of Paris, and wait for Versailles and Paris. The places between Paris gradually prospered, so the area of ​​Paris naturally expanded to Versailles—but he didn't expect that the Palace of Versailles had just taken shape, and he had to stuff thousands of nobles into it.

But there really isn't a better place for these people than Versailles. First of all, in addition to the king's palace, Versailles also has apartments built by the king for workers and designers. These five-story houses can be built because of the cement. Although they are ugly, they have doors, windows, and The most basic furniture, and even public bathing and sanitation facilities, can be used to supply those servants and soldiers; secondly, although Versailles is not far from Paris, it is not so close that it is within reach. It is surrounded by forests It is not an exaggeration to say that if a plague breaks out here, as long as the road is cut off, no one inside will be able to get out.

Finally, if you have not forgotten, Versailles was bought by two consecutive kings, Louis XIII and Louis XIV, even including those swamps and forests, so they are the lords here, what happened in this territory , the people in this territory must abide by their laws.

But what makes people disturbed is that the king never mentioned the Duke of Orleans who was besieged in the castle of Fowlerville in Nancy, never said that he would send troops to encircle those mobs, and did not hold a high mass to pray for his brother Philip, so as to seek God's blessing. Bless—don't talk about what the queen mother did, what people wait and see is the king's attitude, and they can't help guessing, does the king have the intention to destroy such a talented younger brother? The lessons learned from Gaston, the former Duke of Orleans, is right in front of us. Louis XIII fell from his horse and was seriously injured. This is the harshest sentence that can be given to a blood prince), and while the Duchess of Gaston and her daughters are still mourning for him, the court has never stopped the music and laughter. Well, the two His Majesties are very willing to watch him die.

Is the title of Duke of Orleans so ominous? Or Gaston's curse?

Louis walked alone in the Louvre, now the Louvre is no longer glorious, and there are traces and smells of lime water everywhere—fortunately, for the repair of the Louvre and the construction of the Palace of Versailles, Paris has accumulated a lot of lime, Now they are all used to prevent epidemics, but what people don't know is that those mixed with lime also come from magic medicine crystals extracted by wizards in the other world. This crystal comes from the invention of Varo Vesalius , was first used to detect ore components, then used to make dyes, and later it was found to be toxic, and finally a wizard researched that it can also be used as a healing potion.

For the wizards, this kind of experiment is quite novel, because for the previous people in the other world, they seldom delve into something, just like a magic spell. Once it is invented, what the instructor requires the students is not Uncompromising, read and do it meticulously, the same is true for potions, as for tracing the source - only the wizards of the big family can possibly touch the mysteries inside the door. But ever since the king knew the existence of the inner world, he has always been full of desire to explore this place he didn't know. He can also provide what the big family can provide to the members of the direct line, whether it is venues, samples or It is precious materials such as gems, as long as it can give him results, his generosity can amaze any parent in the other world.

And this white crystal is the latest achievement delivered by the wizards to the king. They were originally formulated as potions for external application and internal administration, which can treat bleeding and fever. People's fever is more often due to infection, so the king Just guessed whether it would be an effective bactericidal drug, and it was found to be the case after the experiment-this crystal was extracted from the medicine smelted from coal, and the king has been using coal since Lorraine Advocating coal burning, this "fashion" was also spread to other provinces along with lace, dyes, bathing, etc. For a time, coal production and energy supply increased greatly, and those used by wizards did not attract anyone's attention at all.

Before the Black Death broke out, wizards had accumulated a lot of raw materials for crystallization. When the news of the Black Death was confirmed (or even earlier), the king not only asked those wizards who were lucky enough to stay outside the epidemic area to stop all work, Make this kind of crystal with all your strength, and also issue an order to the Duchess of Colonna—and the Mancini family behind her, to send more wizards to make this kind of crystal—although it is still only a handmade product, fortunately, it only needs to be melted. A little bit in the water can achieve the effect of sterilizing and eliminating epidemics. At least, it is no problem to ensure that Paris and Versailles will not be disturbed.

In addition, although it is speculation, and most people do not know that the Black Death was spread by rats, but after the renovation of Paris, the streets and houses were clean, and the public bathrooms opened again for the drive away of bugs and rats. , It also makes Paris a clean island, where people find that they don't seem to get sick so frequently - such rumors will naturally not be blocked from the ears of provincials.

Of course, the most important thing is that they are all going to come to the pilgrimage. The Virgin at the central altar of Notre Dame de Paris sheds tears every day, all the time, and the pilgrims have indeed seen it. Even if no one approaches the icon, the clear Tears would still flow on time, and Bishop Larivier led the priests to respectfully collect the tears, incorporate them into holy water, and distribute them to every devout believer.

The holy water was originally wine, and sugar was added to the wine at the king's command, and some people who were only weak from fear would naturally feel refreshed after drinking it, while others, because they were also dissolved in the holy water. The magic potion crystals - this kind of crystals are soluble in alcohol, and have a bit sour taste, but in wine, no one can drink it.

Now the Queen Mother, the King and Queen, the Dauphin, the Duchess of Orleans and her daughter are all drinking this wine, as are the servants and maids, there is always a faint smell of wine in the air, in fact they are more It comes from the crystallization in lime water——but compared to the stability inside and outside Paris, the Queen Mother and the Duchess of Orleans are always frowning. The Queen accompanies them when the King handles political affairs. After holding his hand, Louis shook it back. Queen Teresa is indeed not beautiful, but even those who hate the Spaniards the most have to say at this moment that the queen's dignified and calm demeanor really gave them a lot. Consolation and support—Louis felt the same way.

Before the king came to greet his mother, the queen mother cast an ardent look, which is understandable. Louis is all her hope and sustenance, but her favorite should be Philip. Especially after she made such a decision for Louis and France, she has been deeply apologetic to this little son-when Louis decided to reuse Philip, she was still worried about whether Philip would breed ambition because of it, and now she It just occurred to her that she should be more worried about Philip's safety. After all, there is no meritorious service that can be easily obtained by lying in a comfortable bedroom.

"Don't worry, mother," Louis stepped forward and hugged his mother's thin shoulders: "I have sent someone to pick him up, and he will return to Paris soon to be with us."

On the cement road from Paris to Verdun, a convoy is speeding, but it is strange that, apart from the carriage pulled by two horses, there are no knights and soldiers protecting the carriage outside the convoy, and they are rushing in the middle of the night, Even if we still hang the headlights (but in the night when the clouds are thick, this light is better than nothing), and the coachman can be like those old men, without the trouble of being unable to see at night, it is too dangerous.

Except for people, dark creatures, or beasts, if there are any extra obstacles on the road, the carriage that does not detect and avoid it in time will definitely fly out at this terrible speed, the carriage will roll over, the ruts will be broken, and the horses will I'm afraid there is no way to keep the neck and legs of the passengers intact.

But neither the night, nor the presence of danger posed any threat to the silent coachmen. They went down to the ground, and waved their whips regularly, letting them crackle in the air, so that the horses could do their best. Efficiency, the horses ran as hard as they wished, their sweat soaked the mane, making it cling to the undulating muscles, the oncoming wind became stronger, almost blowing the driver's pocket cap.

What is surprising is that the coachman suddenly made a weird cry when the darkness was almost everywhere. The horses pricked up their ears and spun, and they heard it. At their own speed, when the clouds moved away slightly, a tiny ray of light cast across the wilderness, and they also saw it—just less than a hundred feet away from them, there was a large tree lying on the road. Tree.

If the carriage was still driving fast, it would be inevitable that the carriage would be destroyed, but at this time the speed of the horse had slowed down to the point where even a fast human being could catch up. It stopped slowly, but the driver above did not speak or move. After a few seconds, the person he was waiting for appeared.

The torches were lit one after another. This is Levini, who has actually entered the Lorraine region. The lord of Levini is not a pro-French person. His wife and family are loyal to the Archduke of Austria, and he also hopes to Lorraine maintains its present substantially independent status.