I Am Louis XIV

Prime Minister John de Witt originally had his own guards, but before the riots, they had already been transferred by the Orange Belt Party. For the Orange Belt Party, Mr. Prime Minister was the undoubted murderer. People rushed into the city hall and grabbed the Prime Minister and his brother, even though the Prime Minister shouted "Judge me, judge me!" hoping to get a little life in the courts and prisons, people still just silently dragged them out of the office , dragged to the street, and stopped in a small square. As soon as the Prime Minister saw it, he couldn't help crying and praying. There is no judge, jury, or executioner here. This does not mean that they will be pardoned Yes, the fact is just the opposite, which means that they will be brutally tortured and slaughtered.

A monarch once said that the people are like children. This is not contempt, but a catastrophe. Yes, the people are as docile as cows and horses, silent as earth and stones, but they are uncovering the mediocrity. When the "evil" below is exposed, even the devil can't compare with it. The author can't even bear to resort to writing about what happened to John De, Werther and their brothers. Let's see the bloody and horrible scenes depicted in "The Corpse of the DeWitt Brothers".

On this picture with a gloomy background, it looks like a small open space on a crude stage. A torture frame transformed from a ladder is erected, with two white bodies hanging on it. In the past, I would have thought that I saw two lambs that had been shaved and opened, but when I looked carefully, the ones hanging on the ground were not human arms. Between the hanging arms were flesh and blood. Blurred head, and unkempt hair—Mr. Prime Minister faces the audience, and the audience can clearly see that his eyes have been gouged out, his ears and nose have been cut off, and his lips have disappeared, revealing a hollow black hole—teeth It should have fallen from the previous beating. It opened wide, as if it was still giving out the last angry howl and mournful begging, but obviously, even if the stone was not lost, Mr. Prime Minister’s cry would still not be lost. people heard.

His chest is exposed. Sometimes people will say, to show their sincerity, I want to show you my heart, and Mr. Prime Minister has done it. He may have been cowardly, ambitious, or selfish. , but he is indeed loyal to the Netherlands, although it is precisely because of this loyalty that he eventually led the Netherlands to destruction and death - but he finally showed his heart to the people, but those greedy people, Not only took away his heart, but also took away his liver and stomach, so here, you can only see the empty chest of Mr. Prime Minister, just like the desperate treasury of Amsterdam, as if he used this His people paid their debts.

On his thigh, there is a deep cutting mark, and the bone can be seen deeply. The same is true for the brothers beside him, which are quite symmetrical. Here, the artist did not exaggerate the tragedy too much, but in the later records, we can see It turned out that what the people left behind were only two white bones. No, it was not because their anger had grown to such an extent, but because some people cut off the flesh of the two brothers out of a businessman's inspiration. At the price of ten copper coins a piece, it was sold all the way along more than a thousand rivers, and the Dutch who started as a businessman certainly would not give up this opportunity. They swarmed up and divided the noble body of the prime minister and his brother If it wasn’t for the councilors, they would feel embarrassed, and the guards of the Werther family finally arrived at the square. I’m afraid the Werther brothers wouldn’t even leave a single fingernail behind. Hundreds of years later, we can still see that John D. The finger of Prime Minister Witte is displayed in a church.

Now, let us go back in time, back to that chaotic night, when the dawn will finally come, amidst the sad cries of relatives and the smiles of political enemies, the de Witt brothers' rule has come to an end, to the new Grand Speaker and Mr. Prime Minister A new round of competition for the position has started again. Except for France, almost all countries are dumbfounded by this change-couldn’t these people see that the 120,000 French army is arrayed in Flanders? Northern line?

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"As I said, this is freedom. They are free to slaughter innocent people, or send their country to the end." Louis passed the letter sent by the spy to Philip, and Philip took it , the Duke of Colonna on the side stepped forward and fastened the sword for the king. Now, this young duke is only second to the king's brother Philip in the degree of favor of the king. People often see him beside the king, whether they are receiving The king will not shy away from the minister, whether he is still dealing with official duties. The most enviable thing is that the king still brings the Duke of Colonna with him at such an important moment—the moment when he declares war on the Netherlands in front of his army .

The Duke of Colonna is eleven years old this year, and he is not far from becoming an adult. Everyone knows that he is the king's illegitimate son, and he was born even earlier than Crown Prince Louis. Although the king has no way for him to inherit his position, he has always Born as the Duke of Colonna, although he has no land, there is really nothing to complain about-as far as Philip knows, people in the French court are speculating whether the king will choose a wife for him among the nobles who have land, just like Like the Duke of Luxembourg, obtaining a territory from his wife was a common method used by the nobles at that time. Only Philip knew from the king's words that the king intended to let the Duke of Colonna marry the daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The princess's father was Gaston Orleans, and her mother was the younger sister of the Duke of Lorraine, the lady who accompanied Gaston before his death.

Of course, this lady would not have much affection for Louis, and the little princess was born in 1967, and she is only three years old now. It is too early to talk about marriage, but the Orleans system originally had the right to inherit Naples, and As the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Medici has ruled the Tuscany region for a hundred years. With their support, the Duke of Colonna will have more leverage to inherit and acquire the Naples region—as for that Margot Lite Princess Orleans, Louis can only hope that she has the sense that a smart person should have. Queen of Naples is already a very good title. The Habsburg family will not accept a descendant of a merchant, and other countries have not yet. If there is a good candidate, she may not be willing to fill her daughter into the harem of Ottoman Turkey.

However, these were all after the war against the Netherlands was over, and Louis had already tasted the sweetness brought by the war-under the deterrence of huge force, identity, blood or title, or the Roman Church like tarsus maggots , the enemies placed on the table or hidden in the shadows are not worth mentioning...Louis put his hand down and pressed it on the shoulder of the Duke of Colonna. Louis is now more than five feet and five inches tall, about six He is a tall and handsome man with broad shoulders and long legs. The Duke of Colonna is ten years old this year, but he is already about four feet tall. He has inherited the advantages from his father and mother, with beautiful eyebrows and fair skin. In terms of talent, whether it is the outside world or the inside world, they are all outstanding among their peers, and sometimes even adults cannot compare with them. It can be said that apart from some flaws in origin, there is nothing to be picky about.

Philip was holding the king's hat at the side, thinking that it was not for nothing that his elder brother was worrying so much for this child. Maybe it was because of guilt that little Lucy received even more love than little Louis, and Louis loved him so much. Little Lucy's love was also reciprocated by little Lucy—as long as anyone with eyes can see the Duke of Colonna's admiration for the king, although his birth was accompanied by conspiracy and calculation, Louis But he has never been absent in his life. Even the inability to get official recognition and not being able to call Louis his father has turned into a little bit of sweetness and bitterness for the Duke of Colonna. Not only will it not take away his love for his father, On the contrary, it seems that the relationship between them is more mellow and deep.

"Philip?" The king stood there for a long time, but he didn't see Philip holding the hat over. He couldn't help but asked curiously. Philip finally realized it and hurried forward with the hat.

Louis lowered his head slightly and asked Philip to put his hat on himself, jokingly said that if the Duke of Orleans was so incompetent again, he would deprive him of the right to serve him and give the job to the Duke of Colonna, while Philip He pouted half-truthfully, "Then he must need a stool."

"Children grow up very quickly." The king sighed, his eyes briefly touched the Duke of Orleans, and the two smiled together. Obviously, they also remembered their appearance when they were young. , wearing a small skirt and snuggling up to her mother, never expecting that one day they would gallop and fight side by side on the battlefield.

But in the following ceremony, not only Philip, but no one can accompany or follow the king, because no one can take away the light of the Sun King, even if there is only a trace.

The royal tent stands on a hill, and on the plain below the hill is the king's army. These strong and fighting young men, according to the distinction between legions and military types, wear uniforms with buttons on the uniforms and shoulders. The epaulets and the bayonet on the musket were shining in the sun. Louis rode a tall white horse, with his cloak half behind him, and walked slowly past their eyes. Slowly, the pace of the horse became faster and faster. Faster and faster, the king in royal blue started to run in the fortified formation. While running, he shouted: "Long live France!"

"Long live France!" cried the soldiers at once, who were at first a little cautious, but the king had taken off his hat. "Louder!" he cried, "let our enemies hear, my boy!" People, speak louder!"

The shouts of the soldiers became louder and louder. While they were shouting Long live France, they were also calling Long live the King, Long live Louis XIV. Although they were a little confused, they were like waves hitting the rocks, which made them even more disturbed. People are full of blood, and the speed of the king's horse has reached a worrying point, like a white lightning, shuttling back and forth between the gray, royal blue and indigo dense forests, each pass will bring more huge The sound echoed, and the generals and ministers in front of the imperial tent stood up nervously, but none of them dared to stop them, even if they just followed them... They were all afraid of being swallowed by the huge waves of soldiers.

The king is like a white sailboat supported by them, sometimes disappearing and sometimes appearing, and those shouts are like the prelude to victory, sending the king to the top of the peak and waves again and again.

As if in an instant, the rumble sounded from far to near, the king's white horse leaped up the hill before their eyes, the king stopped in front of the royal tent, he turned to the army, raised his hands, the roar under the hill stopped— One might even think one is suddenly deaf - but only because the soldiers saw their king.

The corners of Duke Colonna's eyes were red and his chest heaved. This is his father! His king! He was almost about to shout, but he could only control himself with the last bit of rationality.

But the Duke of Orleans felt a gleam of rejoicing, glad that he did not take over the power of the regent king under the persuasion of his mother and the bishop when his brother was injured. Otherwise, even if he could save his life, he would never be able to live with his brother. Standing together, sharing his glory, witnessing the grand and glorious scene at this moment.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of people, Louis stretched out his arms toward the north: "Amsterdam, everyone," his voice echoed on the hills: "Let's go, to Amsterdam!"

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"Amsterdam is finished," said Charles II. "Holland is finished."

A full ten steps away from him sat the embarrassed William III. After hearing Charles II's words, this young man could not help showing a look of resentment, even if he had a city, "The Netherlands will not end," He said: "Don't underestimate the people of the Netherlands. They fought for eighty years to get their freedom. Now they can still continue to fight against any enemy. England, France... Spain, anyone who dares to rule them will be on pins and needles."

"Like you?" Charles II asked humorously.

"I don't want to rule anyone," William III said. "I just want to lead them and serve them, not hold power for my own personal gain."

"It's all the same," said Charles II tolerantly, "it's all the same, my boy. For the people, there is not much difference, because their eyes only see what they want to see, and their ears only hear what they want to see." What I want to hear, they have almost no education, they only know how to follow the trend-you probably don’t know it, I just know it, William, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, that Mr. John de Witt, a few days ago At night, dragged out of town hall by a mob, in a small square, with his brother, cut like a fish with its scales removed."

After he finished speaking calmly, he saw William III fainted. Although William III and the Prime Minister were enemies, on the other hand, a large part of the reason why William III was able to remain calm was also because It is because the Netherlands still has John de Witter. Although the Prime Minister has always maintained vigilance and fear towards the descendants of Orange, he is also loyal to the Republic of the Netherlands like William III. As long as he has him, the situation in the Netherlands It will not be corrupted to the point of being unmanageable.

"You shouldn't have told him," the wizard behind Charles II said flatly, "he will definitely try to escape afterwards."

"Don't be like this," said Charles II, "I trust you." He glanced at William III again: "And I won't tell you, he will continue to want to escape, so maybe it will let him settle down..." He glanced at the wizard's face: "Maybe." He added.

"Add money," said the wizard.