I Am Louis XIV

This is the second day that most members of the Congress were killed. Charles II was satisfied, even the Duke of Albemar resigned from all his posts because he could not prevent the massacre against the Parliament. Returning home did not affect his good mood at all, although France's assistance was conditional-in the peace of Dover, Charles II not only made concessions to France, but also made concessions to the Roman Church, just as he did to the Roman Catholic Church. As the Duke of York said, Charles II did promise that once he gained real power, he would convert, give up the privileges that Henry VIII had snatched from the Roman Church, and return to God what belonged to God.

And just as General Luyter guessed, the French fleet came from Dunkirk, and five thousand French soldiers became the sword in the hands of Charles II. Of course, under the cover of night and chaos , these soldiers still retain the ancient traditions - that is, looting and rape, the citizens of London spent a night like hell, but for Charles II, it doesn't matter - the hatred of the citizens will Let the French go, and after he gained power, he had countless money, no, now he collected a large sum of money from the convicted officials and nobles, and took part of it to spread among the people, so that , while half of the people were still crying, the other half began to revel - since ancient Rome, the rulers were quite good at this... Bread, wine and blood, although Charles II could not make A Colosseum, but he can set up a huge execution platform, and the heads of those noble gentlemen will satisfy those fools, and they will no longer pursue the previous things.

During this vacuum period, Charles II only had about a thousand guards around him, but it was enough for him, because he would soon recruit more soldiers, and almost all of his enemies had already When he went to meet the merciful God, he didn’t need to use much strength—the Duke of York specially came to see his brother before leaving London. disturbed.

The Duke of York is not familiar with Hampton Court Palace, because it has never been the first choice of the English royal family - this is not because the building is small and dark, or too old, Hampton Court Palace was originally Henry VIII The favorite minister of the world, the residence of Cardinal Wolsey, but because, you know, Henry VIII was not like Louis XIII or Louis XIV, he was cruel and suspicious by nature, and the wealth of Cardinal Wolsey has long since The king was unhappy, and when this unhappiness reached its climax, even if he dedicated the building to the king, he still could not escape the catastrophe.

Henry VIII was very happy with his queens—yes, even though he was the leader of the state church, he still insisted on the monogamy system. In order to implement this system to the end, he executed two queens here, both of whom were accused of crimes. It was adultery, one was Anne Berlin, and the other was Catherine Howard. After the death of Henry VIII, Edward VI, who inherited the throne, followed his father's footsteps at a young age. The female Mary took over the scepter, and this princess, later the queen, is also known, and her other well-known name is "Bloody Mary".

It was also from that time that rumors arose about Hampton Court Palace that Cardinal Wolsey was seen moaning and walking around the palace - even though he ended up in a monastery But his cause of death has always been doubtful, and Anne Berlin, the maid and queen who once fell in love with Henry VIII, was beheaded, so she always held her head Hovering near the former bedroom of Henry VIII, there is the daring Catherine Howard, full of resentment, her teeth chattering, and her lovers (even her brother) in any one that is not exposed to the sun. Appeared where the light shined... Some people also saw Queen Jane Seymour who died of puerperal fever, or the souls of monks and assassins...

Now Charles II has added a new gloomy atmosphere to the palace, because the order to kill more than a dozen ministers came from here.

The Duke of York looked up at the four pillars of Hampton Court Palace-these four pillars, which are about three people high, are made of red bricks like the buildings of Hampton Court Palace, and there are four white platforms on the top. The statues are knights, lions and horses. Between the pillars is a heavy black iron gate. He rode his horse slowly into it and dismounted in the square. There are more than a thousand rooms in Hampton Court Palace. He hesitated to choose the suite where Henry VIII once lived. The lighting and size of these rooms are second to none. The walls are covered with oak wall panels, and there are exquisite embossed decorations everywhere, as well as several huge elk antlers— — This kind of decoration is the prerogative of the royal family, but even the Duke of York does not have such beautiful and huge antlers.

His brother was sitting under an antler that could almost support a grown man when it was stretched out. When he saw him, he showed a hypocritical smile. The Duke of York saluted his brother—with unprecedented piety and solemnity. , "Oh," said Charles II, "please don't be so polite, my good sir," he said half-truthfully, "I should have thanked you well." This sentence is true, if It wasn't that the Duke of York had reached an agreement with China to remove the coastal defenses of the Thames River and Sol Bay. It was really not an easy task for the French ships to enter London so silently.

"It is my duty, Your Majesty," said the Duke of York. "These traitors and traitors should have done so long ago."

"It's great that you think so," Charles II said with a smile on his face. "As far as I know, quite a few of them are still your friends."

"It's just hypocrisy, Your Majesty," the Duke of York quickly distinguished, "I only hope that I can do my part for you."

"You are the pillar of me and the country, Mr. Duke," said Charles II, "but we don't have to think about everything before, and now we have to continue to face the common enemy..."

"You mean Holland."

"The Netherlands for the time being." Charles II said: "In recent years, sir, it should be the Netherlands."

"Then we shall be friends with the French."

"Louis was originally our relative and friend," said Charles II. "Now the French have occupied three provinces in the Netherlands-yes, Utrecht has also fallen, and Zeeland and Groningen have also been captured." Only at night, we must act, no matter what is agreed in the peace treaty, Mr. Duke, we must also plant our flag on the territory of the Netherlands. You will destroy the Dutch fleet and send our soldiers to the Channel On the land on the other side."

"It is my long-cherished wish, Your Majesty," said the Duke of York eagerly.

"Then let me wish you a successful start and a triumphant return." Charles II said.

Because this pair of brothers is not like Louis and Philip at all. They have a sincere friendship between brothers. Having said that, it can be over. Although it is a bit blunt, let them continue to say something sweet. To be honest, the duke and the king, who understand each other’s intentions very well, will inevitably affect the appetite for the next meal, so the Duke of York resigned in the name of heavy military affairs, and Charles II was relieved—the next few days It would be better for the Duke of York not to stay in London for a few months.

The queen's due date was before the next Lent, and Charles II only hoped that the Duke of York would still be at sea at that time, and return when his heir landed safely.

The Duke of York knew nothing of the Queen's pregnancy, and as soon as he left Hampton Court Palace he galloped as far as the Thames estuary, where he boarded his warship, a gigantic ship with a hundred guns. The warship, also named after the Duke of York, was called the "Prince Royal". As soon as he boarded the ship, he urged to set sail. Under the crescent moon that gradually covered the Thames with silver light, the Duke of York shook his head in annoyance. Now he is not even sure if he is doing the right thing—fortunately, the contract he signed with the envoy of the Duke of Modena is beside him, and he took it out and caressed it for a long time, and then picked up the small portrait of Mary, the daughter of the Duke of Modena—this is because Knowing that the Duke of York may have to fight at sea for a period of time, he specially drew and sent it. After careful study, he said that the ancestor of the Duke of Modena had a dishonorable background, but it is said that he also had a good appearance. This Princess Mary Her appearance is indeed far better than that of the Duke of York's first wife, not to mention that she is only twelve years old this year, just at the age of budding. Even if there is no generous dowry for this marriage, no one will think that the Duke of York It was a bad deal.

When the crescent like a crescent rose high into the sky, the "Prince Royal" also joined the United Fleet. Sol Bay, where the United Fleet was moored, was located above the Thames River estuary, below a small port town called Southend. On the right is the North Sea, which is only about 155 nautical miles away from Amsterdam. At this time, the Duke of York is already sleeping peacefully in his cabin. Unbeknownst to him, just a hundred nautical miles away from him, the Dutch fleet is approaching Come with the wind and waves.

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Luyter is indeed the supreme commander of the Dutch navy, but not all the generals under his command are willing to obey his orders unconditionally, and Luyter's speculation is too much——I can't believe it, they also have spies in the Strait of Dover, But no one saw the fleet from France, how could such a huge army cover its tracks? But Luyter is sure that French soldiers participated in the riots in London that night, and the Dutch are also very concerned about the situation of Charles II. Restriction has never been successful, and the most effective of these restrictive methods is the control of military power. The British king has only a small guard army, which can almost only be used as a guard of honor. If he wants to overthrow the world overnight, Only these people are definitely not enough, but the problem is that the ships that can carry thousands of sergeants will not be just some inconspicuous boats... In the end, Luiter almost used his previous authority and his own glory to forcibly suppress all of them. Against the objections, their ships sailed across the night seas, straight for Sol Firth.

Regarding Sol Bay, there are some people who can’t deny it. Even Luyter himself is not very sure, but he once humiliated the British because of the raid on the Medway River, which was the second Anglo-Dutch war. During the Thames River Parade, spies were dispatched to explore the hydrology, shipping routes, tides, and defense information of the Thames Estuary. They are very familiar with the situation along the Thames River. Hundreds, there are very few bays where such a huge fleet can live, and Sol Bay is the most likely one.

"A hundred warships," Luitt's friend Van Gent said at the meeting, "maybe more? How many do we have?"

"We have about a hundred and thirty ships," Luyter said.

"All?" asked another, "in case your guess is wrong..."

Luit closed his eyes and opened them after a few seconds: "We must take risks, gentlemen."

This is indeed the largest fleet of the Dutch Navy, with 130 ships, including 61 giant warships, 4,500 guns, and 20,000 officers and soldiers. If the British or French fleets took advantage of the opportunity to enter the Dutch mainland, they would probably bear heavy responsibilities, but in the end, they still believed in Luyter.

When we could only see the sea, everyone was preoccupied and almost no one spoke. When Luyter stepped onto the deck, his first mate was there too. It seemed that they would not be able to sleep tonight—— The huge sails of the sun were agitated by the sea wind, almost opened to the limit, and the speed of the ships was also the same. According to Luyter's plan, they must arrive at the battlefield before the high tide. not much.

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At about five or six o'clock in the morning, the Duke of York woke up, he was woken up, because at this time the workers had already started to work, and barrels of beer were piled up like mountains-no way, on the sea, clean water will soon Putrid and stinking, only beer lasts longer, and brandy and wine, which are for the officers to taste, and bacon, which is beef or pork cut into about four pounds, and the hard ones are Like stones, barreled like wine, and clucking hens and cooing cocks, quacking ducks, bleating sheep, purring pigs, these It was all sent on board as fresh meat, and besides these there was something called "pocket soup", which was like a seventeenth-century seasoning packet, boiled with vegetables, meat and animal offal to make it sticky and knotty. A solid piece, sun-dried and sliced, it can be used as a soup stock.

In addition to the vegetables in the pocket soup, there are real onions, carrots, cabbage, white radishes, pumpkins, and potatoes, which are rare vegetables that do not rot easily.

There are also some things packed in wooden boxes, which are specially for the captain, first mate, etc. or the ship's doctor, such as coffee, chocolate, butter, etc... The Duke of York looked at it and sneezed: "Damn it weather," he said, the torches on the pier were no longer so bright, and he estimated that it might be dawn, so he walked out of the room, and sure enough, his "Prince Royal" had been plated with a beautiful layer of gold, and he was happy He stretched his back and looked out to sea.

A few bright dots flicker between the sky and the earth.