I Am Louis XIV

Hieronymus Bosch, the name has been well-known two hundred years ago, although he is not a good reputation, in people's impression, he is a cynical, gloomy and eccentric person - at the same time very mysterious, and at the same time That's why I say this because although he is famous, there are few traces related to him. The most known thing is that he has a rich wife who owns real estate and houses in many places, which also deeds him Being able to live freely and richly throughout his life, similarly, in the eyes of the king's spies, this also means that those incomes that cannot be clearly revealed to others have also received a complete explanation.

The surname Bosch is not uncommon in Flanders, and has a long history. In the era when the son of a blacksmith was a blacksmith and the son of a king was a king, his family also inherited the profession of painter for six generations. , Bosch is no exception, but his style is completely different from that of his father and brother-here only refers to the shaping of characters and scenery, not technique, because Hieronymis's technique is obviously learned from his elders, the Bosch family They are very good at layer-by-layer oil painting techniques, that is to say, first draw simple and flexible lines with charcoal on a plastered drawing board, then determine a complete and detailed sketch on the lines, and finally draw a layer on top of the sketch , apply transparent and light paint layer by layer, and the completed tempera painting is colorful and rich in layers-the reason why people think he is weird is because Hieronymus Bosch has spent his whole life as a local " "The Fraternity of Our Lady", which is a Catholic church service, but all his works are full of absurd atmosphere, deformed animals and scenery, ugly human beings, ferocious devils, and many others that seem to have countless special characters. Allegorical symbol. '

It is ironic that Bosch was considered a devout believer before he was revealed as a wizard, and he turned a blind eye to the evil revealed in his paintings. However, this may be precisely because his paintings repeatedly, And for the third reason that people flock to it—just like what the Duke Gaston did to Louis XIII, Bosch’s paintings were almost all over Flanders before the church gathered them up and burned them in the name of immorality— ——Needless to say the magical effect, there will always be an heir who can't wait any longer, a husband who is eyeing his wife's dowry, or a jealous girl or teenager, or just an ordinary quarrel or a sudden fight. Everyone knows that as long as they pray to the paintings of Jeromenes, the devil will come down and grant their wishes.

Needless to say, Bosch really has several regular guests in the court and church.

Duke Gaston was Hieromenes' biggest customer. Of course, he didn't know that the middle-aged man who looked only about thirty was Hieromenes. He only thought that the other party was a descendant of Bosch. No less than a million livres of paintings were bought here, which is twice the dowry that the current French queen should have, but Hieromenes must say that it is really a friendly price, and the Duke of Gaston managed to curse Louis X Three, his brother, who caused the king to fall from his horse, and finally died in agony on his bed, he also succeeded in cursing his nephew, Louis XIV, that time too, If Louis XIV hadn't boldly made a deal with vampires before, and reached a contract with the wizards of Gajola Island, the Mancini family, then the Duke of Gaston might be sitting on the throne today up.

But with the passing of Duke Gaston, those paintings were helplessly reduced to ashes in the fire-Jeromenes deeply regretted this, after all, his paintings could not directly summon the devil, but could only be used as a medium And the introduction—but it doesn't matter, he can still create countless paintings, just like mushrooms spreading spores, they will also bring the darkness of the inner world to every corner of people's hearts.

Jeromenis thought so, stood up, and the visitor finally put away the smile on his lips, and bowed to him, although he was not so willing—it is not for nothing that Bohemian witches are afraid of Spanish dark wizards The reason is that even the wizards of Gayola Island think that they are a group of powerful enemies, but there is one thing that Louis cannot know, that is, the wizards in the other world retreat three feet from the wizards of Flanders The most important reason - the "Key of Solomon" which is said to be owned by Jeromenes.

"The Key of Solomon", according to the legend, is the angel Roger El who was expelled from the Garden of Eden by God because of his mercy. He wrote the knowledge of heaven into a book and gave it to Adam. Another jealous angel snatched it away and threw it into the sea. After many years, King Solomon got the book by chance from the belly of a sea fish, and gained the ability to summon the seventy-two devil kings through it—this is not the real fact , "Solomon's Key" is a magic book written by wizards in the eighth century, but this magic book does leave a lot of ancient knowledge related to the devil. In the course of the world, almost all such ancient knowledge was lost, so when this magic book reappeared in the twelfth century, it triggered several bloody wars.

How Hieromenes Bosch obtained this magic book as a wizard of the world is unknown, the only thing known is that this magic book does give great power and long life—although the wizard They are generally stronger and live longer than ordinary people, but for two hundred years, Jeromenes has always maintained a young appearance and a strong body, and the wizards can't help but feel jealous. The problem is, they can't find it from Jeromenes. The Key of Solomon.

Jerominis also knew that he was hated and envied by many people, but so what, except for the vampires, the wizards who interacted with him had changed several times.

"Is this you today?" Jeromenes asked casually as he walked out.

"It's me." The visitor replied.

"Then come with me, there's a lot of work to do today."

The person who came was one of Jeromenes' disciples. His name was Peter Paul Rubens. He always thought that his teacher was just a painter who specialized in Bosch style. He did not expect that he was Bosch himself. Of course , these are only known after he became a wizard, besides Rubens, there is another Peter, Peter Brueghel, and Van Dyck, they are all disciples of Bosch, Bosch in The different stages of the two centuries taught them not only the skills of painting, but also the methods of cursing, praying and making potions. They did get rich rewards in the mortal world. , to play for their teacher Bosch.

Except for Bruegel, Rubens and Deckard didn't have a very good attitude towards Hieromenes, but Hieromenes never cared about this. He has many students, whether they are wizards or mortals, but they can learn from his harsh attitude. There are only three who stand out from the requirements, especially Rubens, who may be the best one to hide his cruelty, madness and chaos. Borrugel is very loyal to his teacher, but although he has talent , but still couldn’t get rid of the shackles left by Bosch. Many of his paintings were mistaken for Bosch’s works, so they were hunted down and burned by the church.

In another room, three huge painting boards have been prepared. People usually see such triptychs on altars. Rubens’ most famous triptych, the upper and lower crosses, is also the same size. The largest one is similar to his. The forehead is even and as wide as two of his, the plaster is completely dry, the charcoal pencil is ready, the egg powder (egg yolk or egg white), linseed oil, water, peppermint oil, dammar resin, van Standing water, alcohol, vinegar juice, and all kinds of ores and metal powders have also been placed neatly, including some of the latest pigments from Lorraine, which are said to be Italian wizards with the support of the King of France. , the color extracted from coal, Bosch has also tried it, but he can only concoct a bright purple-red color for the time being, and other colors will always be dark or not long-lasting.

On the drawing board, there was already a preliminary sketch, and Rubens observed it carefully—Jeromenes had done many famous triptychs before, such as The Last Judgment, Hay Cart and Paradise on Earth, but now This triptych seems to show less than any previous painting, "That's why I call you, not Borrugal or Deck." Jeromenis said: " My child, I need your strength."

Speaking of curses, in fact Bruegel was the best at it, but Louis XIV was not Louis XIII. He was an arrogant young king. There are quite a few people in the other world, direct cursing is like a sharp dagger, and they will be discovered before touching the king; Van Dyke is not good at cursing - he is better at praying and making magic spells. medicine.

As for Rubens, Rubens never expressed his emotions and will directly between the brushes, but as long as someone stands in front of Rubens' works, he will be involuntarily conquered by the emotions expressed in the picture, even will be drawn and controlled by it over time - it's just that Rubens rarely uses his power to hurt others, most of his paintings represent blessings, except for a few enemies - they are converting After the Protestantism was expelled and hunted down, Rubens made three paintings after the end of his wandering life, which were given to their enemies and friends who betrayed them.

Therefore, for the crazy Hieromenes, Rubens succumbed to the strength and talent of the other party, and at the same time couldn't help being bored with Bosch's coldness and scruples. Lily), he knew what his master was dealing with: "Are you sure?" He said: "I heard that Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces of the Netherlands are trying to..."

"Well, yes, they found me," said Jeromenis.

Rubens was stuck at once. He had been a Spanish diplomat for nearly ten years, and his most outstanding achievement was the establishment of a good relationship between Spain and the United Kingdom. In view of this, Charles I once awarded him a title. He also did a ceiling painting for the Whitehall in London, but now Charles I is dead, and the relationship between Britain and France is still very rigid-the problem is that Rubens also heard about the new watch before he left the watch world. The King of England and King Louis XIV of France have always maintained a relationship of friends and in-laws. As a lord, he will not hesitate to devote himself to anything that is not good for the king like Borrugel .

He wanted to refuse for a moment, but the swaying shadow under Bosch's robe stopped his impulsive move. Rubens sat down at the drawing board. "Tell me, master," he said, "the name of this painting." .”

"Saint Denis."

—————

A group of people entered the chapel of Charleroi. After a brief noise, St. George (the patron saint of England) was moved from the center to the right, and St. Denis was placed in the original position. Because the new owner here, King Louis XIV of France, will come in for thanksgiving mass and prayers-although God is still one, it is better to change the patron saint, although people here hate the French, more Brits who tended to furnish them with wool, but the populace was always quite sane in the face of sword and cannon.

With the lessons learned from Dunkirk, there are only the king’s priests, ministers and soldiers here, and the stay time is very short. The king hastily prayed, praying to God and Saint Denis that the subsequent offensive can still be so smooth, and then got up and left. up.

Although winning without a fight will always make some self-proclaimed brave kings and generals feel sorry, as if their meritorious deeds have also been covered with a layer of dust, Louis does not think so, for him, the best future Cities can be like this. The victory of a tragic war is as dazzling and passionate as the flowers bred by blood, but for a king like Louis, whose reason is better than vanity, the war is more like a war. The deal with the devil, since this is the case, of course, the less the better to pay, especially considering that the Spanish army may have the possibility of shrinking defenses—that is, abandoning some small border towns and waiting in the main big cities, The happiest thing is that there is no loss now.

The king closed his eyes, thinking about the next attack route - Mons, Artes, and then Tournai, these are all small cities, even if there is resistance, they will not be more difficult than Lorraine or Alsace .

In this way, Charleroi, Arte, and Tournai have formed a line. Louis is not going to be too aggressive. His army must maintain echoes with the armies of Dunkirk and Luxembourg, and then Lille, This city is probably the most prosperous city on this line. The spies reported that there are about 6,000 defenders in it. Lille has a strong and tall city wall. Maybe they will encounter a real battle here.

Louis raised his head, under the flickering candlelight, Saint-Denis's smile was even a little weird.