I Am Louis XIV

"She didn't accept it."

"Well," Louis just hummed softly to Louise's subconscious rebuttal, "This is the beginning of disillusionment." Whether it's for Charles VII, France, or Joan of Arc.

Joan of Arc's attitude towards the coveted rewards of others was very indifferent or contemptuous, yes, even in the letters written by Charles VII, she never denied her noble and flawless character. For a woman, a secular title is not even as worthy of her appreciation as a lovely little flower. In the end, she only asked the king to exempt her hometown from taxes for three years, but she was not the lord there, that is to say, these benefits are What does not fall on her, she still only speaks out for the poor people - but that is why, all saints must be canonized after death, and people will only worship those stone statues that will never give an answer, A living saint was unwelcome, and perhaps sensing the court's hostility towards her, Joan quickly returned to the army.

Joan's idea was correct. In the army, she received much more love than in the court. Not to mention ordinary soldiers, even two powerful nobles, the Duke of Alençon and the Duke of Dunoy, were convinced by her. , there are also a large number of young generals headed by Marshal Gilles de Ray who have become fans of this French peasant girl. When things have developed to this point, it can be said that the ideas of the witches' order are completely tenable. Of course, Joan of Arc did not Royal blood, nor a rich dowry or vast territory, but she has her own achievements and army, which is incomparable to any princess or duchess. France's offensive against Britain is still increasing. Once The British were completely driven out of France, and Joan's position must be unshakable.

Although Charles VII had already had a wife at that time, and their eldest son was already six years old, for ambitious witches, it was not surprising that a queen from a foreign country suddenly died of a sudden illness, after all At this time, France is still in turmoil. The problem is that although these witches intend to start with the royal family, they underestimate those mortals like the Mancini family on Gayola Island-those who have been raped almost from birth. The courtiers and servants surrounded by conspiracies and tricks, if Joan of Arc accepted the king's reward at that time, it would be fine. They might not be stingy with an earl or duke's husband, but the problem is that Joan's rejection came from her steadfast heart , but aroused the suspicion of those treacherous people.

Once these cruel people become suspicious, the lamb-like saint on another battlefield has no room to resist, or in other words, she and her supporters have no chance to see through the conspiracy. First of all, in the situation of the French army When things were going well, the ministers of France insisted on peace talks. Immediately afterwards, after a close battle, the king ordered her to lead the army to retreat. Two months later, Joan of Arc and her army were dispatched. Going to a small town called Compiègne to fight the British and the Burgundians, and in this small battle, Joan of Arc, who had won countless victories on the battlefield, was ambushed by two powerful forces. Even so, she still led her soldiers to retreat to Compiègne. Originally, as long as the defenders of Compiègne opened the city gate, Joan of Arc would be safe and sound, but a ridiculous scene appeared, and the people of Compiègne were afraid. The pursuing enemy refused to open the door, and Joan was captured by the Burgundians.

When seeing this, many people will feel indignant, and many people will shed tears for the saint, but as a king, Louis can see the violation at a glance. Apart from other things, Joan of Arc at that time was almost She is the uncrowned king in the army. Even the marshal and the duke once fell under her knees and obeyed. There are only a few dozens of soldiers. Excuse me, how could such a weak and incompetent person have the courage to reject the daughter of Orleans, the hope of France?

It can only be said that behind this viscount, there must be an even more instigator that he cannot refuse. Louis deliberately searched for the whereabouts of this viscount, and found that he had inexplicably fallen ill before Joan was convicted and burned to death. And since Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, Charles VII, even with the reputation of being ungrateful, still did not negotiate with the Burgundians and the British to try to redeem Joan of Arc, which is quite confusing ——But if Joan of Arc is an agent introduced by the Witch Order, then these things are easy to explain, and Louis can even see that clear thread ——From Joan of Arc's refusal to award the reward, I am afraid that some people will doubt her Has greater ambitions, yes, even if Joan doesn't, but as long as they investigate carefully, the clues left by the witches will always be revealed-not to mention that many times the witches don't even cover up, like Joan During the Battle of Troyes, it was clear that the French army was facing food shortages, but a lot of beans suddenly grew in the fields. Even after a priest came out and admitted that he thought the end of the world was coming, so he asked the farmers Beans were planted in advance, but not everyone is blind, deaf and foolish, let alone on the battlefield, Joan can always easily obtain many important information that mortals cannot obtain.

Now that he sensed the power of the inner world around Joan of Arc, any king would be vigilant, especially when Charles VII also had priests and wizards around him. Although the wizard next to the king was also French, he obviously belonged to the outer world. In the non-world, those wizards may not be satisfied with the practice of the Witches Order - the result is that Joan of Arc was finally burned to death on the old market square in Rouen, while the witches wailed and cursed After leaving, Louis was not so clear about what happened after that—even what happened before was also speculated by him.

This can be said to be the greatest effort made by wizards after Merlin. The witches' hatred of Charles VII has continued until now. These witches hidden in the forest are still there—it’s just that although they live in France, they don’t want to obey the king’s orders. For them, this is revenge, but for Louis, it’s a vegetarian meal—but he won’t Putting a single powerful force by his side, just like the patriarch of Zmixi, although dangerous, he never directly refused Amon's help, and even condoned his peeping, and he did this to ensure that the other A blood clan, the balance between the Prince of Vanjoy, and the Inquisition, wizards, werewolves... People often comment on him that the king is a kind and tolerant person, and only Louis knows it. Falling apart under pressure from all sides.

This is also the reason why he attached so much importance to the subsequent Battle of Flanders. This was his first battle as the King of France. This battle was destined to bring either long-term tranquility or long-term turmoil to him and France.

"How many of them are there now?"

"Three thousand people." It was the population of a small village. Louis didn't quite believe it, but he didn't want to ask too much. The exposure of Confranc was not the wish of the witches. It was just the Serbian werewolves hired by the king as the king's dog. The group has been chasing them all over France, and their living range has been reduced again and again, so they have to beg for mercy—otherwise they will be deported to Spain, but according to Mary Mancini, there are wizards in Spain, and they They are all notorious black wizards, otherwise they would not be able to survive in the most severe and dangerous place in the whole of Europa. Witches who are used to a leisurely life enter Spain and will only be regarded as sacrifices, experimental materials and scapegoats by them , or vessels for the birth of offspring, they would never dare to leave France.

"In that case," said Louis, "they still boldly refuse the royal call. '

Louis XIII once summoned these witches, but they never responded. Perhaps they had gloated at the news of Louis XIII's death...Louis put away the anger in his heart, "I can forgive them," he said : "But I need them to atone for my sins, tell Louise, first, they will migrate from the Confranju clan to Orleans," this is what the king has considered, compared to the Serbian werewolves, these witches are terrible The witches are less controllable, so they cannot be placed in Paris or Versailles, and the only person who can convince him is Philip, the Duke of Orleans' brother Philip, so keeping the witches in Orleans is the best choice, "Second, in In the battle of Flanders, they will send out a thousand men to go out with the army."

If an ordinary peasant swore drunkenly after drinking three cups of ale that Louis XIII was caught by the devil and fell off his horse, this is pure gossip, but for those figures at the top of the pyramid in the court , This is a fact. Although the Queen Mother and Bishop Mazarin kept secrets, after the younger brother Philip inherited the territory and title of the Duke of Orleans, with the help of Gaston's daughter, the Duchess of Montpensier Although Duke Gaston's wife and daughter destroyed a lot of evidence before his death and after his death, there are always some traces left.

Flanders belongs to Spain, and Spanish dark wizards will naturally appear in Flanders, and it is said that those distorted paintings are from the hands of a certain dark wizard-Louis is going to fight Flanders, he must He also has to face the same difficulties and threats as Louis XIII. He once considered hiring Gayola's wizards, but these wizards were left to his actual eldest son, Lucy Jr., to be more precise, for the future The Battle of Naples, which made Louis hesitate. Some people may say that there are priests of the Inquisition available. They are indeed some reliable and powerful fighters, but as Louis, these are not enough to make up for all the shortcomings.

"Third," said Louie, "I want to meet them."

"they?"

"That's right," Louis said with a smile, "I haven't met the French witches yet, and I heard you say that their order has a total of seven elders to determine the direction of the order. In this case, I will see you alone. That one is not very good, let them come to Calais, and I will meet them there." In fact, he was inclined to the former for a moment, but then he also thought of it, the relationship between him and the Witch Cult The relationship is more similar to that of an enemy. The witches will not fail to think of things he thinks of, so let them decide for themselves, how many people will come and who will come.

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Louise was obviously greatly influenced by the Witch Order. After all, werewolves and wizards are natural enemies-although the source is only because of the robbing of the resources of the inner world, but don't forget that Louise's father Ke Raylan was almost tortured to death by the wizards. As a werewolf and a daughter, Louise's attitude is really worrying, but Louise also understands Louise's weakness, so he simply put Louise Sent to Marseilles, she and the Confranc witches traveled across France, so that at least until the end of the war, it would be difficult for them to form a strong bond.

Needless to say, the reason why I chose Calais is that it is the lair of Marie Mancini and the gathering place of Gayola wizards. They enjoy the sunshine, fresh air and delicious food in this city. Rich food and a spacious residence are always waiting for the king's call. When facing a group of witches, they are Louis' shield and spear.

For these witches, Calais is also a good place. This port city has a long dark golden sandy beach, gray rocks and emerald green gentle slopes. It belonged to Spain a few years ago, so the people here can speak both Spanish and French, which is very similar to Confranc, which is on the French-Spanish border. Prosperous, local lace from Calais, woolen goods from Flanders, silverware from London, spices from Ottomans, ceramics and crystals from Lorraine and Alsace... shining like gems behind the bright glass of the store The splendor made it almost impossible for them to walk—but the head of the Witch Cult was looking forward to being in a remote place, so it would be very difficult to ensure their basic necessities, let alone the jingling silver and gold coins in their pockets.

However, these people still attracted the attention of others. The reason is very simple. These witches all have extremely attractive figures and beautiful faces, and their clothes are not as dignified as those of Calais women. Long hair is obviously easy to cause people's misunderstanding—fortunately, they also have the king's physician Varo Vesalius by their side, he may be the best envoy, first of all, because of his wife, he will not treat any beautiful The women are easily tempted;' Secondly, he is also a wizard, and the witch's tricks cannot fool him, nor can he hear the king's intentions from him.

Although the leading witch, Manit, still touched Vesalius' face with a smile when she boarded the carriage, but after seeing Vesalius turned away in disgust, she did not make any more frivolous actions , but after the carriage door was closed, her smile disappeared immediately, and those witches who were still like happy birds on the street seemed to suddenly become terrible owls. Of course, they hated and betrayed Joan. The French royal family and the order, but without the protection of the royal family, their life is also very difficult. In such a difficult environment, there can be no naive people-they no longer allow naive members like Joan of Arc.

Joan of Arc was a bitter fruit not only for Charles VII, but also for the British and Burgundians, and for France, as well as for the Witch Order. They wholeheartedly wanted to create a pure and flawless saint, but they did not expect that a How can a true saint accept the filth hidden under the light? According to historical records, Joan of Arc escaped many times and even broke her leg once, but she failed. People criticized Charles VII for his fickleness, but In fact, the Witch Order also watched Joan of Arc die indifferently, because before Compiègne, Joan of Arc had fiercely argued with them countless times. She refused to admit that she was a witch, and she was unwilling to accept witches. She refused to become a candidate for the queen, and only thought about returning to her hometown to be a nun after the war.

Of course, the Witches’ Order was very angry when they found out that they had been working in vain for more than ten years. It’s a pity that the efforts they could make were only one time, and they had to die. disgusted, so they refused to enter the court, but then they deliberately stood by.

They had expected the new king to submit to them—but the Mancini family from Italy took the opportunity to enter, which was beyond their expectations, and the new king's tough methods put them in a dilemma. Fortunately, The leader of the werewolves who hunted them was a weak and good man, and the witches of France had always had a silver tongue.

The King’s Palace in Calais is a new palace, built by the people of Calais—that is, the guild leaders and jazz here to welcome their new king. Compared with the Louvre, the palace can be called small, And it has a strong Byzantine style. In the square and huge courtyard, there are verdant flowers and trees and gurgling water. The ground, walls and pillars are all milky white marble. When the wind blows, the veil rolls and swims in the room like the morning mist. Under the window, there is always a velvet or satin-covered veil, with a copper-footed glass-covered veil on the other side. A round table, on which fresh pink roses or daffodils are inserted in a white ceramic jar that resembles the skin of a lady.

The air here is not only fresh, but also filled with a refreshing frankincense smell. Although they have repeatedly warned themselves to be careful, Manit and others couldn't help but take a few deep breaths. Don't think that living in the forest and wilderness can What a good smell, the air there is clean, but even if you live next to a stream, a closed wooden house will inevitably mix everyone's smells together and ferment into a sour smell, let alone in the winter when you can't take a bath up.

Doors opened one after another in front of them, and when they saw the king's valet, Buntang, they immediately bowed and bowed—they regarded Buntang, who was gorgeously dressed, as the king.

However, as the king's servant, it is not an exaggeration to accept their salute. Bontang nodded slightly, "Please wait here for the summons." He said.

Only then did the witches realize that they had identified the wrong person, and Manit coughed softly, "Then let's wait for a while." After all, it is impossible to let the king wait for them, and they should know.

It shouldn't be long, because from what Louise said and what they found out along the way, this His Majesty is a very lenient person.

(Achieved by adding more thousand characters!)