I Am Louis XIV

What Louis had to discuss with these noble ministers was the most important part of the Flanders battle. After nearly ten years of polishing his own sharp sword, Louis never felt that Flanders' shattering military Power will be its own hindrance, mainly how to treat Flanders after France regains the Flanders region, so as to ensure that Flanders can continue to become a mule of the French treasury, rather than a crazy hyena.

First of all, France's appeal to Flanders is legally and theologically reasonable. The history of the Flanders region is also quite ancient. The first people to live here were the Colt tribes. The horseshoes of the Romans stepped here in the first century BC. In the following two hundred years, the Friesians and the Franks gradually Moved here, and Frank was the predecessor of France. In the fifth century, this place began to be called Flanders (meaning plain). In the ninth century, Flanders officially became a vassal and courtier of the French king. , belonging to one of the six nobles of France, the remaining five being Normandy, Champagne, Toulouse, Burgundy and Aquitaine.

When the Earl of Flanders ruled Flanders, the Earl and his descendants did not care much for the people in the territory, and were even very cruel. As a result, the riots in Flanders continued one after another, and it seemed that they would never subside , but as the person whom the Earl of Flanders is loyal to, the French king will not be inclined to those civilians. Every time Flanders asks for help, it always brings the French army. Ironically, it was originally just The resistance movement against the lord, in the end, became the reason for the Flanders to hate France-in the fourteenth century, the marriage of the Duke of Burgundy and the daughter of the Earl of Flanders merged Flanders into the The Duchy of Burgundy was established, which can also be said to be the French royal family, because the Duke of Burgundy at that time was the fourth son of the French king.

After being merged into Burgundy, the Flanders did not get much relief. On the contrary, three consecutive Burgundian monarchs wanted to separate the Principality of Burgundy from France, or because the Crusades For the sake of holy wars, wars against the Holy Roman Empire, etc., they imposed excessive taxes on Flanders. For the Flanders, they could not clearly distinguish the Duke of Burgundy from the French royal family, so they always And nailed the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy to the cross of hatred.

In contrast, the relationship between the Flanders and the United Kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire is quite harmonious, because the Flanders need to import wool from the United Kingdom in order to continue their textile production, and the merchants of the Holy Roman Empire need to import wool from the United Kingdom. Because Flanders imported wool and sold it to various places in Europe, the Flanders were either inclined towards England or the Holy Roman Empire. This is also quite a headache. It can even be said that Flanders’ resistance Emotions may be more violent than Lorraine or Alsace.

Louis can instruct the Duke of Orleans to ruthlessly drive away the people in Lorraine and Alsace who are not docile, because whether it is previous animal husbandry, logging, mining, etc., there is not much technical content, even for novices who know nothing about it , As long as you know a little bit, you can do anything. As for the new industries behind, such as glass, coal, etc., workers from Orleans and Paris were hired at the beginning. After the Lorraine people left, the king could fill them with domestic people. This gap, but for Flanders, this method is not feasible, not to mention, those skilled workers cannot be filled by ordinary people. If possible, the king is more willing to use a gentle way to appease Flanders. people.

The best way is to reduce or exempt taxes, but the military expenses for launching the Battle of Flanders will become a big financial shortfall. The king shook his head. Even if there is a reduction or exemption, it will not be after the conquest of Flanders. Because of Colbert, he still has some understanding of the current businessmen. People in later generations denounce capitalism as one born into this world, and every pore of the body overflows with a sinful stench. This sentence You are right, especially now, merchants are more unscrupulous than their counterparts hundreds of years later, perhaps because they have also seen the fate of those real merchants, that is, those heretics, so they are extra sensitive to politics, as long as Give them the chance, and they'll stop at nothing either in person or by proxies. Like the British Parliament, and now a group of people around Colbert and academicians in France. The war in Flanders was not only driven by the king's ambition, but also by merchants. After all, they had long coveted Flanders' wool and trade in the North Sea-Baltic region.

Moreover, with the lessons learned from Lorraine and Alsace, the king did not want to make Flanders more prosperous so quickly—speaking from the bottom of his heart, Louis had always been worried about Lorraine's rebellion, in order to prevent Lorraine from The people of Lin were overwhelmed by the heavy taxes requested by the Duke of Lorraine. He successively took out four precious new industries: glass, porcelain, dyes, and coal. The people there are grateful to Dade, but for the people of Lorraine who have always been wary, these only represent the greed and cruelty of the king. The pollution of the river, etc. - and, secretly instigated by the church, blamed the origin of the plague on the desecration of the Holy See by the King of France.

So Louis decided early on that he would not be too kind to Flanders, but he would not allow them to escape at will - leaving only an empty shell for the king, so almost all the generals were concentrated in this room , the king looked over one by one, General Schumberger has been appointed by him as Governor of Lorraine, controlling Lorraine and Alsace, and Vauban is a person who is better at defense than offense, so if According to the king's plan in advance, if they attack in multiple directions and quickly, they will need at least three armies, the Prince of Condé, the Viscount of Turenne and the Duke of Orleans. They will be the king's three-headed hounds, and they will attack Flanders from the left, the middle, and the three directions. Del, and although he said that he was personally on the expedition, Louis was not naive enough to think that he was as omnipotent as people boasted, and he was a little self-aware of his military talent, so: "I will follow the Chinese army first, "Louis said: "That is Viscount Turenne."

He also has his own considerations in doing this. As the younger brother of the king, the Duke of Orleans has enough status and qualifications to deter the Flanders. Needless to say, Prince Condé, among the three people, is the Viscount Turenne. His background is a bit embarrassing. First of all, he is the second son, and his elder brother, the Duke of Sedan, has been deprived of his territory. Although he was canonized as the Grand Marshal of France in the first year of the king's administration, Louis formed a The Ministry of War and the Ministry of the Navy, the Minister of the Navy is Colbert, and the Minister of War is the Marquis of Lufoys. Of these two, one is a businessman, and the other is famous for being calm and conservative. Obviously, the king does not Two people who can speak with him are needed, and both positions can be said to belong to the king. In the army, the prestige of Prince Condé is unshakable, or in other words, as long as he is there, the glory of Viscount Turenne will become much dimmed, so the king's presence in Turenne can be said to add luster to him , is also an added weight, Viscount Turenne knew this, so when he heard the king say this, he immediately stood up and bowed slightly to the king to express his honor.

Prince Kong Dai frowned slightly. Although he still had some doubts about the division of the army, the king had already stated the reason for doing so in advance—they wanted to bind the territory of Flanders together with the people like a net. Dibo wrapped it up and did not allow any fish to slip through the net. However, he wanted the king to stay in Paris. There were not a few kings who died on the battlefield, and no one could have expected what kind of accident would happen, just like before. In Dunkirk, the war is over and the city has been brought under control. Even so, the king was seriously injured almost irreparably, and in this battle, the king also made the Duke of Orleans one of the main generals.

Such considerations made Prince Condé return after the meeting and asked to have a private talk with the king for a while. The king was not so surprised by his arrival, mainly because he guessed the purpose of Prince Condé's visit, or in other words, a part intention.

Regarding Prince Condé's concerns, the king just smiled and said that his eldest son Louis Jr. is six years old, the same age as he was when he came to the throne, and he has a mother and a grandmother, and his second child with the queen is also in the process of being conceived , What's more, he also promised that he would never approach the front line easily-he knew very well that he was just a mascot, and with the monks and wizards, he would let them go one step ahead, clean up the entire city, and guaranteed Dunkirk doesn't happen anymore.

But the king must be in Flanders. People at this time are very strange. While they hate the king, they can't help but myth him. They have a natural awe of the king, just as the bishop said at the coronation ceremony In that way, at the moment of becoming a king, a mortal will be reborn and become another kind of divine existence, ruling the country and the people like the Holy Spirit. Therefore, neither Condé, Turenne, nor Orleans can replace Louis. , Only when the king takes over the keys of the city and his feet step on the enemy's flag can it be said that this land has completely belonged to France.

"And the Duke of Orleans," Prince Condé asked softly after pondering for a long time, "Have you considered it?"

"He is also working hard with the Duchess of Orleans." The king said a not-so-funny joke, and Condé gave him a glare.

Louis immediately put away his smile, "Mr. Prince," he said softly, "I know what you are worried about."

"I once betrayed you," Prince Condé said bluntly. "Your Majesty, I know what it feels like." As soon as you raise your hand, you can touch..."

"He could even sit on it, at Dunkirk," the king said unquestioningly. "I trust him."

"People change."

"Then wait until he changes."

"Perhaps it will be too late then," said the Prince of Condé. "I am not asking you to kill him or imprison him, but to say that you should not have given him so much power, so many troops, There is no more honor. When he has reached the peak, Your Majesty, what else can you reward him?"

"Trust," Louie said. "Trust forever."