I Am Louis XIV

This bathtub is not made of pure silver, but a white cedar bathtub covered with a layer of silver foil. In the 17th century, the silver foil was not as thin as a cicada's wing as it was in the later period, and the surface was not so smooth. In addition, the size of this bathtub that can even accommodate a horse costs at least a hundred pounds of silver. Looking at this large shining bathtub, Louis first laughed, "Why would you think of making such a bathtub for me?" He casually "You know my bathtub is broken?" he asked eagerly.

"I don't know, brother," said Philip, "I've just been given some goodies."

What Philip said is an ancient and long-standing tradition. After capturing a city, the mayor must hand over to the victor a silver key that symbolizes the authority of the city. This silver key is often very large, almost adult men The arms are so long, but there is another kind, that is, the silver plate of victory. Compared with the key, the silver plate that sometimes even needs two strong soldiers to carry it will undoubtedly consume more silver, and it is often engraved with The victor's glorious record, in terms of heart and weight, the latter is definitely better than the former.

The number of cities surrendered in front of Louis has exceeded two hands, and the king only got a bunch of silver keys. Now, it is actually the king's younger brother, Philip, Duke of Orleans, who has successively lived in Kudkel, Ghent and Brugge, etc. But these people probably don't think that although Philip, Duke of Orleans is a young man, some of the weaknesses of young people - such as frivolity, arrogance or innocence are not too many, yes Everyone said that the Duke of Orleans was doted on by the bishop and the queen mother, but perhaps only the king knew that it was not easy for his younger brother to grow into what he is now—when almost everyone is encouraging you to When he is lazy, playing, and not thinking, even with the help and hard work of Louis, as long as he dares to relax a little bit, then now... maybe there will be no Duke of Orleans recognized by the Viscount Turenne and the Prince of Condé .

"I really want to see those people's faces." Louis said. Those who tried to provoke his relationship with his brother probably didn't expect that Philip would be able to overcome his own vanity and take away the stack of victory silver platters without the slightest hesitation. Beat it into silver foil, and made a huge bathtub for my brother Wang...

"That's it." Philip said cheerfully. They didn't need too much words between brothers. The king's answer had already given him the best answer. The false name in the human world can never compare with his brother's trust, "I The one who summoned those people and let them watch the craftsman do it, brother, is no different from other losers."

"You're quite right, we've seen too many of them," Louis said, while Bontang, on one side, gleefully called his attendants after the two noble brothers walked away, to lift the heavy Moved to the next room of the King's bedchamber—Philippe looked around with a slightly disturbed expression, and Louis knew it would be difficult to hide it from him—because of the specificity of the Saint-Denis curse, not everyone We all know that the king was assassinated once, but the original dormitory was no longer liveable, and there were filthy oil paints everywhere in it—it would take several days to deal with it, so the king moved to the right wing of the palace, but the Duke of Orleans knew very well The etiquette and traditions in the palace, so one can tell at a glance that this should not be the place where the king stayed.

Louis simply talked to Philip about the previous incident, and the expression on Philip's face kept changing, and then he complained that he should also be involved.

Louis smiled and shook his head, "Don't say that," he said, "little Louis is not yet ten years old, in case something happens to me, you will take care of him and my country for me."

Philip stopped in his tracks: "You will live a long life, Your Majesty."

"I hope so," Louis held Philip's hand, and he changed his mind: "You will go back to Paris with me, brother, I think mother, and Henrietta, must miss you very much."

—————

Louvre.

The king's letter was quickly sent to Paris. The Queen Mother has been safe and healthy recently, but her eyes are not as good as before. The Duchess of Montpensier took on the important task of reading the letter for the Queen Mother. , the Queen Mother's real two daughters-in-law, Queen Teresa of Spain, and Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans in England, want to withdraw from the position of a stone, allowing the Duchess to occupy the position closest to the Queen Mother, but in the French court, This is what it should be. The Duchess of Montpensier is a descendant of Bourbon, and the two ladies are just foreigners. Even though they have borne children for the king and the duke, they are still vaguely excluded.

"Also: about the Duke of Colonna..." When the Duchess of Montpensier read this, she paused for a moment. Everyone present knew that the little Duke of Colonna in Italy is actually the king and Mary. Mancini's illegitimate son, but the king managed to reach an agreement with the Colonna family to replace the identity of a direct descendant of Colonna, thereby ensuring the unquestionable legitimate child status of the little Mr. Luciano, although he still does not agree. He may be involved in the French throne, but it is said that the king intends for him to inherit Naples. Speaking of which, if the Duke of Colonna can really rule Naples, it may be more acceptable than the former Swedish Queen Christina.

But no wife would like her husband's illegitimate child, and the Duchess of Colonna was really aggressive. She considers herself the king's wife and directly targets the queen. If the king forgets to go to Calais due to his busy schedule, she will ask the Duke of Cologne to write a letter to urge him. Once the king goes to Calais, he will not come back within a few weeks. Of course, anyone who knows the inside story understands that the king is nothing more than appeasement and responsibility for this former lover, but it is true that Queen Teresa has suffered a lot of grievances because of this.

Queen Teresa was very calm, the love and respect she got from Louis gave her enough confidence, the queen mother's indifference, the minister's neglect and precautions, the noble ladies' whispering, ridicule and temptation, she could not endure Have you dealt with it, and she already has a son and a daughter, as long as she keeps her own place, then everything the king gave her will not be taken back, and there will be even more—Louis is a soft-hearted person, she thought: " Then how about we invite Prince Conti to meet this lord?" She asked tentatively.

The Queen Mother looked at Teresa in surprise. They wanted Count D'Artagnan to be the envoy to meet the Duke of Colonna. Count D'Artagnan was a close vassal of the king and had the right to do so, but Prince Conti It is different. First of all, he is a prince after all, and he is the younger brother of Condé, and he has also traveled to many countries under the king's attention. He has met the kings of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, and has reached two major milestones. Although the covenant with Leopold I is almost fraudulent, the marriage contract between the eldest princess and Karl XI of Sweden does have his unshakable achievements, but after all, this candidate seems to be more important than Dada. Count Niang is more suitable. He can be said to be a relative of the Duke of Colonna, because his wife is also one of the Mancini sisters. From the king's point of view, he is the elder of the Duke of Colonna, but, Let's put it this way, the Count d'Artagnan will go down a bit, and if Prince Conti is the envoy, people in the French court will all look up to the Italian Duke.

Teresa looked calmly at the eyes of the ladies. She didn't know what the Queen Mother and them would think, but whether as a father or as a king, Louis would be happy.

"Then that's it." The queen mother made a final decision.

—————

At this moment, the king, whom the queen believed to be merciful and kind, was instructing Bontang that he hoped to see the silver plate of victory dedicated to him by the Flanders before returning to Paris. He said with a smile: " Unless they don't think I've done enough," he said, "Also, remind them that, as a king, I seem to prefer gold to silver."

Bontang has nothing to say. For a king, asking for bribes and offerings directly seems to be a bit of that... But Louis has never been the kind of person who would change his mind for the sake of fame and sit next to the king. The king's younger brother has already laughed unceremoniously. I don't know who provided these Flanders with such a trick. Perhaps for them, this disparity in treatment will inevitably make the king suspicious. His younger brother, and then deprived the Duke of Orleans of his military power, treated him coldly and even exiled him back to Orleans. They probably would never believe that someone could still trust each other in the face of the throne—and although Louis’s move was out of style, but It can also be said to be another strong and direct blow-these Flanders, it is already a bit difficult to take out the silver plate dedicated to the Duke of Orleans, and now the king asks for a gold plate...I'm afraid The Marquis of Loise and Mr. Colbert don't have to worry too much about the supply in the past few months.

In addition, in order to present such a gift, the people of Flanders will inevitably suffer another level of exploitation and oppression. Their hatred for King Louis XIV of France may be even deeper, but if the king treats them kindly, Will they accept the rule of Bourbon safely and gratefully? Look at Lorraine and Alsace. After returning from there, he also talked to his brother about his concerns about the deported Lorraine and Alsace, but what did his brother say?

The hatred of the enemy is the best compliment to a king.

Moreover, those cities conquered by the king, Charleroi, Atre, Lille, Brussels, etc., their resentment will not only go to the French, but also to Ghent and Kudker, after all, They made a good start first...

Duke Philip watched Bontang leave with a smile. Bontang can be said to be an invisible important minister beside Louis. He is the king's mouthpiece. Presumably those Flanders will submit in the end—after all, Louis also said , if they feel that his merits are not enough for a silver plate, the king can add a little more, he still has nearly 50,000 soldiers here... Seriously, the king's new army is already much better than the mercenaries in previous wars , at least they will not plunder and rape, and those residents who were expelled are also allowed to take their belongings. Slap loudly.

As Philip expected, the Flanders finally gave in, and they had to present a pure gold victory tray, oval in shape, three feet long and two feet wide, which could not be carried easily by two people. It’s a huge amount—and it’s not something a city can afford. Fortunately, the king didn’t force him too much. The tray should be the feats made by Louis in the war, but when it comes to this, the French king’s first personal expedition was Flandre, so they carved a picture of Apollo kissing Cassandra on the tray .

Cassandra is the famous princess of Troy city. She slept peacefully in Apollo's temple, was kissed by Apollo, and endowed with the ability of prophecy, but later she arrogantly rejected Apollo's courtship, so that Apollo Luo cursed her and said that her prophecy would not be believed by anyone, so that when the Trojan War was about to end, although she tried her best to persuade the Trojans to drag the Trojan horse into the city, no one was willing to believe her...

The personal coat of arms of Louis XIV is the sun. Here you can regard Flanders as Troy, or France as Troy. You can explain it in any way, but what makes them dumbfounded is that France not only has a not very particular There was also a duke who was not very particular, and he accepted the gift, but immediately gave it to the Marquis of Loise to break it up and exchange it for munitions.

The Marquis of Loise was reluctant: "Your Majesty, it would be great if this gold plate was shown to people at the triumphal ceremony."

"We will have more gold plates," the king comforted him. "At that time, I will set up a special display room in the Palace of Versailles, and then appoint you to be the manager there. You can see it however you like. "

The Marquis of Lois rolled his eyes disrespectfully. After staying with the king for a long time, he also knew that his king was not the kind of narrow-minded villain. The king would not be concerned about such small actions. , and even looked close, and sure enough, the king seemed to be apologetic, and took a bunch of grapes and put them in the arms of the Marquis of Loise—but as soon as Loise walked out of the room, he couldn't help but glisten, his father was The minister of war, the king's thoughts on Versailles, could not pass over this old fox. Of course he knew that Versailles would be the political center of France in the future. By saying this, the king was undoubtedly promising that Versailles Palace would soon have a room for him.

"Did you promise something to the Marquis of Loise?" said Bontang, coming in. "It looks as if he just stole a chicken."

"He deserves it," said the king. "Whose letter is it?"

Bontang presented the letter in his hand: "It's from Paris."

"Well, it seems they should all be arranged," said the King, taking it and opening it with a letter opener. "Is there any problem? I mean, Versailles?"

"They're working day and night."

"I may have to send you back first, Bontang," said the king. "I don't want anything to go wrong."

For this triumphal ceremony, the king is going to hold it in the new palace in Versailles.