I Am Louis XIV

"Save us!"

This was the first sentence that General Luyter read when he unfolded the rolled up note after being woken up in the middle of the night.

Knowing that Amsterdam has fallen and may have become a swamp now, even though the general has gone through countless tests and tortures, he couldn't help feeling dizzy for a while. His first officer hurriedly supported him, and he woke up again. When I found myself lying on a small bed, there were several people crowded in the small cabin, the ship doctor, the first mate, the priest and the messenger, and the last person was about to be pushed to the door. Luit suppressed the urge to vomit, "Let Werther The representative's emissary is coming," he said, "and I will ask him in detail."

The envoy walked over with difficulty and shame. In front of this eminent general, he could barely lift his head, and he didn't even know what he was saying incoherently. Luit picked up the kettle on the table and put The cold water in it poured his head and brain—it was early winter, and this pot of water was put on Luyter’s table before going to bed. The man withdrew his finger like an electric shock, and this moment made the emissary feel embarrassed, "Are you awake?" Luyter said wearily: "Even if Amsterdam falls, it shouldn't fall so quickly. What have you guys done? "

What have you done? Of course, in order to keep all the gold and silver in the Amsterdam Bank and the Stock Exchange, some sacrifices and changes had to be made-even though Luyter repeatedly asked his friends and all members of Parliament in the letter, they must refrain from giving to France. People here buy more time, Britain is not the most reliable ally of France-they have been enemies for almost a hundred years, and the foundation of the rule of King Charles II of England is unstable. Once the British and French coalition forces are frustrated on the sea, they will first retreat The most important thing is the British. At that time, they will try to negotiate with the British and lure the British to the Netherlands. Together, they can not only fight back against France, but even seize part of the territory of Flanders. But first, these must be It was based on the fact that the King of England saw that it was impossible to occupy the whole of Holland.

Therefore, even if there is only Amsterdam, they must stick to it to the end. As long as there is Amsterdam, they can confront France until there is a turning point!

Luyter doesn't know much about politics, and he doesn't know how to negotiate, but even the most stupid person should be able to understand these things. In this world where the jungle preys on the weak, even a wolf with one fang and one claw, It is also more fearsome than a sheep with all four hooves. Therefore, even if the only property in the Netherlands is invested, Amsterdam must be preserved-this is obviously their unified opinion!

"I said at the meeting," Luiter said, "that we're going to use all the money to hire soldiers. How many are you hiring?"

"...8,000 people...probably?"

Luyter laughed sharply, as if someone had blown a whistle. In the dark night, it was indescribably sad: "Is it outside the people left for us in Orange, or inside?"

The envoy dared not speak, and instead of answering, he answered. Luyter clenched his fist and almost crushed the note: "You have abandoned Amsterdam! You have abandoned the last territory of the Netherlands, the last city Leave Holland to our enemies, and you have the courage to beg me to save you!"

"The Netherlands is not dead! Sir, the Netherlands is not dead, this is only a temporary retreat, we will definitely be able to come back, we," the messenger struggled to choose the words: "The parliamentarians have decided that we will establish a provisional government in New Amsterdam , and then make preparations - the King of France will face a coalition attack headed by the Archduke of Austria, the Holy Roman Emperor. He will not be able to keep the Netherlands, or even Flanders. At that time, we only need to pay a little price, and we will be able to Back to Holland!"

Luyter raised his head and looked at him with strange eyes: "How is Amsterdam? I remember you told me that you made final preparations. Once Amsterdam falls, someone will open the sluice gate and destroy the dam. Let the waters of the Ai flood Amsterdam, and drown our enemies with the city? How about it, did you do it?"

It was because they failed—the envoy said in his heart that the congressmen had a very good plan. They went to sea before the fall of Amsterdam. When the French were submerged in the sea and struggling to survive, they would not be able to remember or pursue them. They could Calmly across the Atlantic Ocean, directly to the Dutch colonial city of New Amsterdam, and establish a government-in-exile in New Amsterdam-no, it cannot be said to be a government-in-exile, New Amsterdam is also a territory of the Netherlands, they are still Dutch... But who would have thought Well, those cowardly cowards failed to do what they planned. The councilors on the boat kept holding up their binoculars, trying to see the fire of the city hall go out, but no, the fire spread from the city hall to various places, After seeing that the dams and sluices were also lit up, the congressmen cried, yelled, beat their chests, and even accused each other, because those "reliable people" were recommended or hired by them.

Even so, they still had a bit of luck, but as they heard, the French king who made a deal with the devil has the ability to quickly exchange information with the army. They have not yet left the coast of the Netherlands. They had already caught up. Before the envoys set off, they were relying on the only escort ships and armed merchant ships to contend with the coalition forces, but they could not last long. The only hope was General Luyter.

The messenger's second silence made the people in the cabin even more ugly. "A group of cowards," Luyter said contemptuously, "I will not save a group of cowards! They don't even dare to make a little resistance! Go back and tell them that none of them are worth my crew!"

The messenger looked at Luit. If he was angry, annoyed or hated, Luit would not be surprised, but he only saw sadness. "General Reuter," he said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, General Reuter..." He twisted his hat painfully: "You must go, sir, because the Bank of Amsterdam, the Stock Exchange So, and all, you know, all that belong to the citizens of Holland, and any merchant who believes in the Dutch government - gold, silver, and everything of value they store in Amsterdam ... is on board, sir, is on board ..." As he spoke, he couldn't help crying.

Luyter couldn't believe what he heard. He grabbed the dagger and wanted to stab the opponent's heart. How dare he say that? Doesn't he know, no, don't those congressmen know that the Netherlands can become the economic and financial center of Europa with such a small country because of the reputation they have accumulated with countless lives and money? They do this, who dares to believe them, who dares to put money in their banks, who dares to buy their bonds, it's over, it's over, Holland is over, after what happened tonight, even Amsterdam can return to their home In his hand, even with the establishment of a provisional government in New Amsterdam, it is impossible for the Netherlands to become strong again, his head was buzzing, he didn't know what to say, he stood up, his first officer was watching for the first time Until General Luyter showed such a dazed expression.

It took only a few seconds, maybe a few minutes, or even hundreds of years before they heard General Luyter say: "Notify all fleets and prepare to go."

Such a simple order seemed to exhaust all of Luiter's strength. The first officer looked at him with trembling lips: "General, they may be waiting for us."

Luit closed his eyes, yes, if it was him, or a general with a little military talent, he would understand that this is the best opportunity-they are obviously doing this, like catching cubs hunters, let the cub cry to attract its parents, and now they surround the Senator's ship to force Luiter to come out and fight them in the North Sea.

In the past, Luyter was able to fight against enemies who were completely superior to him in terms of number and size, because the Dutch ships had a shallower draft, while the British and French ships had a deeper draft, and they were easy to run aground and run aground when entering shallow water. Te had to go, he couldn't just watch Holland completely destroyed not only in people's eyes, but also in people's hearts! Just making such a decision is like giving up another child for the sake of one child. The pain in his heart can be imagined. It's not that there is no chance, he said to himself, it's not that there is no chance... Just like before, although he didn't It can completely defeat the sea coalition forces, but it also makes their attempt to land in Zeeland come to naught...

He insisted on putting on his coat, put on his boots, and went out. At this moment, he heard a terrified cry, and then the sound of falling water. He looked back, and his first mate came in a hurry, his face was full of sadness. : "Mr. Captain," he said, "Mr. Mr. Messenger of that Member, he committed suicide!"

Luyter had heard so much bad news today that he was almost numb, but his dullness made the first mate misunderstand him: "He is dead," he whispered, "Sir, I Watching him draw out his dagger and cut his own throat, and then fell into the sea." Luit looked in the direction he pointed out, before they sent the envoys to board the boat, the oarsman was stupidly holding a torch ——If you fall into the water in the dark, even a small boat can hardly save you, because you can’t see anything, he may only be a few feet or even inches away from you, but the black water waves can cover any pair of keen eyes Eyes—The crew member with the torch looked up, and Luitt saw the dark marks on his face and neck, the paint that the crew would not have applied to their own face, and the obvious splatter marks.

That's blood.

"May God bless him and forgive him all his sins," said Luyter, his voice was soft but carried far above the sea: "He died for his country, for justice, for dignity. "

The mate took off his hat.

————

The afternoon in Narte is really beautiful, or, in the eyes of Mrs. Lavallière at the moment, even the desert, the island, and the gloomy dungeon are beautiful.

The king always wakes up early, he is a man with great self-control, but today seems to be an exception, Madame La Vallière is not that kind of frivolous woman, but yesterday night was what she had been longing for for ten years, The king was as gentle as she imagined, but she had a passion beyond ordinary people, and she held him tightly, like a thirsty person asking for a mouthful of luscious rain, a hungry person fighting for a piece of bread, more correct To put it bluntly, like a she-wolf with a shriveled stomach, grabbing her prey, she will never leave him for a moment, even for a moment, until she eats up the fresh flesh and internal organs.

This kind of entanglement lasted for a whole night and a morning, and even a whole morning-although they were all sleeping in the next few hours, such a simple sleep did not make Mrs. La Vallière as sad as it used to be. After all, she was still a werewolf. After she woke up a little bit, she heard the sound of someone breathing and walking outside the bedroom. It was so soft that it would not disturb the king at all, but she could hear it clearly. After a while, someone came back, There was something urgent to report to the King, and she hesitated a moment before rousing Louis gently—with her lips.

When Louis woke up, he remembered that he was with Mrs. La Vallière last night. Because of his guilt towards her, he seemed, it seemed, he had indulged a little bit, and he had to admit that he also had a strong need ——The Netherlands is a gamble for him. No one knows that before the arrival of Mrs. La Vallière, his teeth have been clenched tightly, unable to relax. Hearing that Amsterdam has fallen into the hands of the French army, he Only then did he completely relax... And just like soldiers needing some comfort after a harsh war, he also needed a woman's embrace to pour out his passionate emotions...

"Who's out there?" he asked.

"It should be M. Bontang," Madame Lavallière said without the slightest concealment: "I heard someone talking to him about something urgent..."

"Bontang!" Louie called out before she could finish speaking, and Bontang came in immediately with the letter.

The King opened the letter, read it, and read it so eagerly that he almost immediately jumped to the end—and his smile grew wider and wider!

"Two pieces of good news," he announced loudly: "The ships of the Dutch Parliament were all intercepted, and none escaped and sank!"

"Great!" Bontang shouted. He was close to the king. Of course, he knew that the king had ordered the fleet to prepare. If the parliament fled, they must be stopped to prevent them from taking away the assets of the Dutch government.

"What about the second one, Your Majesty?" Mrs. La Vallière also asked happily. The future territory of her and her clan may be in Flanders, the Netherlands or outside of France. Destruction also means that the king's promise must be fulfilled.

"Second," Louis sighed: "It's really good news for me and France—General Michel Adrianson de Ruyter died in battle."

The last pillar of Holland snapped.

~That, I forgot to promise to double update today, it’s too late, please allow me to pay on credit once, and I will make it up.