I Am Louis XIV

"The church will not accuse me of heresy," Louis said, "because it is also a serious crime for the church. Please don't forget that according to the theory of the church, when I held the coronation ceremony, the Holy Spirit merged with me. For one thing, if I'm a heretic, then what is the Church?" He continued, "But they'll certainly use it to blackmail me—if Elarous isn't sharp enough, and my spies aren't vigilant enough." He sighed softly , after he took office, he discovered that there were too many places that needed money, so that he didn't immediately put people in the Roman Church—also because of the economic distress, those priests asked for bribes, which were more expensive than any envoy or Governors come and go greedily.

"Fortunately, it is not too late," said the king, "we have managed to keep the church from taking the full initiative in the outbreak of the plague." The devil's confusion directly points to the king's disrespectful behavior towards the Pope and Rome three years ago, just like the threat that Charles IV once received. Although the Pope may not be able to depose Louis XIV directly, after all, compared with the chaotic Holy Roman Empire, The king of France has never been elected by the princes, and the eldest son of each king is destined to become the master of France, but the pope can still use this reason to murder the king's capable ministers, encourage the king's princes to rebel, and punish the king from the sect , so as to encourage his subjects to refuse to pay taxes and fulfill their obligations to the king.

The problem is that some people, either because they are stupid or selfish, actually do what the church wants.

It’s just that when the church’s chess pieces reached the second step, they were blocked by the king. The apparition of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has proved the king’s piety, and the Black Death has been strictly blocked in the northernmost part of France. It is recognized that the king has always been benevolent when crossing the province of Picca and Ardennes, but when facing the Black Death, he became the cruelest tyrant—if three years ago, he wanted to stop the swarms of refugees It is absolutely impossible, but just before Princess Henrietta became the Duchess of Orleans, when the king asked for thirty Calais ships as a dowry, his bachelors and craftsmen had already developed the simplest and most basic steam engine , This secret is only known to a few people. Colbert, the king and several important ministers, researchers and craftsmen who are in charge of capital investment are all placed on Pito Island. Pito Island is a slender island. Behind the Bois de Boulogne.

We all know what the Bois de Boulogne is, where the king and his entourage occasionally visit without attracting attention, and they usually go straight through the woods, board the boats, and enter the fortified island of Piteaux.

It can be said that this kind of steam engine came first - at first it was just a toy used by bachelors and craftsmen to flatter the king. They probably didn't expect that this little toy would be enlarged ten times, fifty times and a hundred times. At that time, there was a giant-like strength—and then there were the thirty Calais ships. Although the Calais ships with iron plates could defend against artillery, their weight was just as the ministers and generals considered. , it cannot be driven by the galley alone, and can only be parked in the bay, but with the steam engine and the paddle wheel outside, its speed can be comparable to that of an ordinary galley warship, but its huge body is equipped with iron plates After colliding with iron, even without artillery, a wide road can be opened up in the vast sea with only collision tactics.

What the king didn't expect was that when he was rushing to refit the Calais ship, one of the major tasks performed by these steam engines, that is, pulling wires-was originally intended to be used in construction, but who knew they were still Like all advanced technologies, it first appeared on the battlefield, although it was the battlefield between humans and plagues.

Some people may think that iron wire is an extremely modern thing, but no, it first appeared in 1400 BC, which is the so-called Iron Age-but the production process of iron wire, as far as Louis knows, has not been known for hundreds of years. It has not changed. Specifically, iron ore will first be put into a huge boiler together with lignite, ignited and burned, and molten iron will flow out of the trench, and finally solidify into so-called sponge iron. Blacksmiths will move these iron pieces Go back to your own workshop, smash a piece when you want to use it, burn it in the fire until it softens, and then make it into various weapons or armor according to the requirements of the guests.

To make iron wire, it is necessary to burn the iron block into a cheese-like semi-solidified state, and then use pliers to pull it into iron wire. In order to ensure that the iron wire is of the same thickness, they have a special wire drawing board. Small holes of different sizes are knocked on the board. With this kind of wire drawing board, the diameter of the iron wire drawn out is the same, but you can imagine with your toes that this production method is bound to be inefficient. It is no wonder that the production cost and time of the chain armor are only affordable by the nobles.

But with the steam engine, the production speed of iron wire is like having wings inserted. Although a lot of labor is still required to take care of part of the process, the iron wire accumulated in the past two or three years is enough for him to turn the Paris Basin into a Hairy hedgehogs, wizards' ravens are flying back and forth in the air, and the patrolling soldiers will rush to intercept them as soon as they see the crows croaking. Their mood showed a loyalty and firmness never seen before in the army. Their clothing, weapons and equipment attracted countless envious eyes. The spirited lad is sure to leave behind a good number of good subjects for love affairs.

The Roman church may still be waiting for the king to bow his noble head before the terrible plague, and Louis does not know whether they have a way to control the rotten bracelet and the plague, but as far as the cognition of the church is concerned, They may have been ready to abandon the people and flee immediately when things turned to the worst point. Anyway, it is not the first time that Rome has been abandoned-but before that, if the king is convicted, France may really become The vassal of the Church of Rome—the other countries in Europe may not sit back and watch the Church manipulate a king, but they will definitely want to take advantage of the fire and rob and gain some benefits from it.

The Spanish ambassador had come to see the king before. Obviously, his purpose of coming was not pure. What is ridiculous is that his master was not the regent Queen Maria or Carlos II, but the illegitimate son Don Juan Duke.

Compared with Duke Don Juan's wonderful idea - he wants to win love, that is to say, he is willing to marry the three-year-old daughter of the Duke of Orleans at the age of thirty, that is to say, not only his age is Ten times that of the little princess, he also took away his younger brother's wife, but since it is said to be a whimsical idea, of course the king would not agree, not to mention Don Juan, even Carlos II, unless it is a last resort, Louis Nor would the little princess marry a man who was still inseparable from a wet nurse while sitting on the throne, not to mention that his mother was the daughter of Habsburg, the natural enemy of France, and he was the king of Spain, Adding the two together, if the little princess married in the past, it would only be more difficult than the current queen of France.

As for Duke Don Juan, needless to say, it is not only because of the large age difference, but also that in Europa, the status of illegitimate children is always extremely low, even if this Mr. Duke has obtained the legal status and the title of Duke, his It is still only possible to choose a wife outside the royal family, unless he can really become the regent of Spain, instead of putting the cart before the horse, first marrying the little princess of the Duke of Orleans, and then seeking support from France to become the regent.

It’s just that for Duke Don Juan, in addition to the noble status of the little princess, he may also covet the dowry of the little princess—Princess Henrietta’s dowry is not rich, but the wealth of the Duke of Orleans is quite considerable, and part of it , as long as the King of France is not too excessive, it will be an extremely rich asset... In return, Duke Don Juan is willing to try to contact his dark line in Rome to ease the tension between the church and Louis XIV. It’s just that the duke may not know that the king and the Church of Rome have already stood on two opposite sides, and the church has miscalculated Louis’ tolerance—this is not a mistake, and the nobles at this time have never cared about those identities Lowly people, they may have all kinds of virtues, but the Virgin Mary testifies that this is definitely not used on butchers or maids. Those priests may think that even if thousands of civilians die, it may not shake the king. That's why he took the Duke of Orleans, his younger brother Philip, as the rooster that threatened the king.

The king will not reveal this to the outside world. This kind of view and cognition is quite beneficial to him now. For example, in order to curb the spread of the Black Death, he not only used barbed wire, bows and muskets, but also ordered to All the governors, as long as anyone dares to attack, cross or sneak into the cordon, they will be killed. Some villages and towns that have been confirmed to have spread the black death will be burned. If the survivors inside can obey the order , stay in one place until it is confirmed that no one is sick, then they may still be alive to wait for the king's compensation, but if not...

Thank goodness for communication that is still so far behind, people will only wait until the Black Death completely wipes out another town.

Regarding the king's actions, as mentioned above, the people of Paris not only do not think he is cruel and cold, but think that their king is a person like the holy angel Michael, who is holy enough, decisive enough, and a painter who is good at flattering. He even painted the king's face on the archangel holding a flaming sword, and the devil representing the plague was under his feet.

Standing in front of the portrait that was almost as tall as him, the king sighed for a long time. He really wished that he had the power of a holy angel, so that he would not have to worry about his brother in Nancy, nor would he have to worry about Lorraine. With the inevitable population decline of Alsace in the future, it is difficult to toss and turn day and night.

"His Majesty……"

"Anyone want to see me, Buntang?"

"The Duchess of Orleans," said Bontang.

Just as the king seldom went to the residence of the Queen Mother to avoid frequent meetings with the Duchess of Orleans, the Duchess of Orleans, Princess Henrietta, also seldom went to the east side of the Louvre. That is the place where the king's suite is located, so as not to cause any rumors. After all, Mrs. La Vallière was her personal maid. Some people have already said that this maid is likely to be the king to cover up his affair with her. And the shield that was erected—certainly she would not love the Duke of Orleans as a woman, nor... could love the king, she knew it from a very young age, and no one in the French court except her and her mother was in favor of it. A possible engagement between the king and her.

She had made preparations before she got married. To be a peaceful wife, even if she could not get along with her husband like a husband and wife, at least it would be good to be able to meet her husband day and night like a friend. Fortunately, the king also talked about this with the Duke of Orleans , the proud little prince treated her with respect after marriage, and the Queen Mother Anne was also very kind to her—she said, compared with Queen Theresa, in short, she thought her life should not be so fast To make waves—she thought she would first face the Duke’s lover, woman, or man, and then there might be some enemies inside and outside the court—what she didn’t expect was that the first letter she wrote to her brother turned out to be For my husband.

The Duchess of Orleans came in quickly, and as soon as she saw Louis, she knelt down, and the wide skirt spread out on the silk carpet like petals on the water.

"Stand up, ma'am," said Louie. "It looks like we haven't had an answer to cheer about."

"Yes, they refused me," said the Duchess of Orléans, looking up with a face as haggard as a withered leaf.

—————

Charles II laughed angrily.

"Listen," he said dryly, "listen, gentlemen," he said to his bodyguards and attendants, "my sister married the Duke of Orleans for England, and her marriage won England a great power. Ally, now, she is asking us for help so that she will not lose her husband, her daughter will not lose her father, and I will not lose a friend and brother-in-law who grew up together, and then, you see the answer of the council. He shook the record on his hand, "Although it is high-sounding and convincing, there is no need to read too much, everyone, there is only one sentence in it, they are having a carnival!"

"For the disaster of France!" he shouted, his voice a little too high-pitched, which made everyone in the room tremble. "They were in high spirits and high spirits. Like a flock of hideous vultures, they hovered over the dying man, waiting for the first morsel! No pity, no mercy! They, ah, they, these A man of the devil, master of Britain! God, I should not be a little surprised if an angel should strike down with a thunderbolt right now, and smash every man in the House to pieces!"