I Am Louis XIV

Varo Vesari’s exhortation to Mrs. La Vallière was not all out of pity. He may sympathize with this lady, but it was more to complete the work entrusted by the king. Even so, he was still persistent along the way Dare to let your guard down a little, no one knows the king better than he, as he said, Louis XIV may not torture or execute those who fail him like Nero or Henry VIII , but he will never use them again. For those of them who have not considered their identities at all, losing the king's protection and trust would be worse than death.

Fortunately, his words had some effect. Although Mrs. La Vallière was still afraid that she might lose her child, after some hesitation, she still made a painful compromise—Vesari was not trying to intimidate, oh , the sad thing may be this. After she calmed down, Louis would sometimes come to accompany her and the children, have dinner together or work with Louis, and Mrs. La Vallière would do some needlework, but such days would not last long. After they entered Artois, It was only ten days away from Paris. This was because the king was sympathetic to her having a child, so he slowed down his march and spent the night in the town as much as possible.

On the night before entering the province of Paris, Madame La Vallière looked up at the king's face by candlelight. He was so handsome and so cruel, but she still couldn't restrain her love for him. Love: "Louis," she said.

"What? Ma'am?" Louis asked. He was running out of documents. In order to protect his eyes, he rarely read documents at night, but these had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

"When you're in the Louvre, sometimes you do things at night, or just read," Mrs. La Vallière gestured with an almost uncapturable smile on her face: "Then At that time, you were usually surrounded by Miss Marie Mancini. Of course, at that time she was the Duchess of Colonna, and occasionally the Duchess of Montpencier, Princess Henrietta once or twice, maybe You don't know, I have peeped into your room countless times, imagining that the person who is with you is me."

Louis put down the document, "I'm not sure," he mused, "Since when did you fall in love with me, ma'am? I don't think I'm the kind of person who would be favored by too many women," he opened his hands : "Look, madam, in fact I am a very boring person. I was the king of France when I was only a child of five or six years old. Although Mr. Bishop Mazarin and the queen mother took all the heavy work for me, but I know very well that these will be handed over to me one day—I know I have to learn, from history, from the Bible, from people around me, I play very little, I am silent—I feel that if I am not a king, The Duke of Orleans, my dear brother, should be more worthy of your love."

"May I take it that you are questioning the . . . reality of my love?"

"I'm not blaming you, it's human nature."

"Then you underestimate yourself, sire," said Madame de La Vallière, "and you underestimate us too, though it is said that we are shallow and simple-minded, as fond of fine dresses and shining No, they are wrong, and we venerate the strong more than those pompous ornaments."

"I was not considered a strong person at that time."

"The strength of the strong is not on the surface, but on the inside," Madame Lavalier said, "Even if you still need the protection of the bishop at that time, you still remember to protect the weak hiding under you." Lavalier Mrs. Hall also doesn't remember when she had the idea of ​​arrogance, maybe it was because of Princess Henrietta-Princess Henrietta is now the Duchess of Orleans, but at the beginning, whether it was because of her brother and mother Requirements, or out of her heart, she hopes to be the wife of Louis - she and her maid have said many things about the king, when they were still children, in St. Germain-en-Laye's difficult Over the years, although the French royal family was also in a rather bad situation, at that time, Louis did his best to help the more helpless Princess Henrietta and her mother.

It was also at that time that Louise became curious about this kind majesty, and boldly contacted the king at the Red Children's Bazaar—she knew that her appearance was mediocre, at least not in line with people's expectations of women. I like him, but...it would be great if Louis was that kind of hypocritical or frivolous person, then she wouldn't like him in the days to come, or even fall in love with him deeply...

"I want to say I'm sorry, ma'am," Louis couldn't help but feel a slight tingle after realizing that Mrs. La Vallière's feelings for him might not be just for the ethnic group or anything else as he thought. Guilty: "I'm a dull person, Louise."

"You just prefer to bet your emotions on your mother, brother, your country, or your minister, your general." Mrs. La Vallière said quietly: "I am too greedy, Your Majesty, I ask for too many things. But..."

"but?"

"However, if you will have mercy on me, Your Majesty," said Madame de La Vallière, "may I ask you one thing?"

"Go ahead, Louise," Louise said, "if only I can."

"If, unfortunately, fate has really played tricks on us," said Madame Lavallière, "then please let me go with my child, Your Majesty."

———————

The last conversation with Mrs. Lavallière made the king rarely show a gloomy look, but Mrs. Lavalier's timing was really good. A large number of people appeared on the roadside the next day. They flocked to the side of the road, shouting Long Live France and Long Live the Sun King. Such a scene had never happened in the last triumphant return——Looking at the costumes of these people, they should be ordinary farmers and craftsmen, not Parisians, messy It can also be seen from the mixed queue and composition that they all came here to meet the king by themselves. Their faces were flushed and they kept yelling. When waving, if it weren't for the musketeers beside the king's coach, maybe they would unhook the king's horse, lift the carriage over their heads, and carry it all the way to the Louvre.

In this way, they followed the king's car and army all the way to the small town where the king stayed, and then left with regret and satisfaction. Needless to say, how the dignitaries in the city flattered and flattered them, the soldiers who stayed outside the city They were all very warmly and cheerfully received--everyone wanted to hear how they beat the Spaniards, the Flanders and the Dutch, maybe the Austrians and the Turks... Anyway On the second day, if it weren't for the strict discipline of the King's New Army, many soldiers would be unable to leave because they were immersed in the gentle village.

Looking at these people, it is hard to imagine that they almost sent Louis and his younger brother to the guillotine twenty years ago...Louis remembered Mrs. La Vallière's words. In fact, it is not only women who admire the strong. Any ordinary person will subconsciously tend to a powerful existence, whether it is a god or a king, they are eager to draw power from these existences, gain benefits, and peace of soul-this is understandable, just as a mortal, not God, the expectations Louie will have will be too heavy for him to walk on, but it's the path he's chosen for himself—he's got to go on, not stumble, and not give up.

For France, for himself, for those he loved, and those who loved him.

—————

The citizens of Paris were undoubtedly the most fanatical in this torrent of love for the King, eagerly repainting their houses and scrubbing their streets clean without waiting for orders from the officials - just scrubbing, not at all. Exaggeration, every family has bought a large number of candles, prepared for the future mass procession, and bought the latest style of clothes-men and women, they are constantly exchanging news from everywhere, pinching each other. Counting with their fingers the time when the king would return to Paris, some people went out of the city to meet the king every day.

Some people may also remember the first triumphal arch erected by the king on the Queen's Boulevard. The location of this triumphal arch is almost at the opening of the circular square. After the first Arc de Triomphe was built, people discovered that the king’s ambition was obviously not enough for a Flanders, or a Netherlands——According to such a distance, the King’s Arc de Triomphe can be erected ten more——Paris The citizens of course talked about it, but the expressions of the envoys who were waiting for the King of France in Paris became more and more ugly.

The alliance established by Leopold I ultimately failed in their slowness, or they miscalculated the degree of trust Louis XIV had in the generals-it can be said that Louis XIV suppressed a young king who should Some impulsiveness and desire to conquer completely handed over the battlefield to Prince Condé, Viscount Turenne and Duke of Luxembourg. The French army pierced the heart of the Netherlands like a dagger. When Amsterdam fell, Leopold In the allied forces of I, there are still allied troops not yet in place-although when Louis XIV triumphed, they tried to suppress the army and pose a threat to the French army, in order to coerce Louis XIV to surrender the Netherlands and even Flanders, but As agreed between Louis XIV and the generals, the main force of the 120,000 troops is actually on the border between the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands, just to guard against those who take advantage of the situation.

The dukes of Switzerland and Luxembourg, Denmark and Sweden, and Austria, Brandenburg against the Prince of Condé, fought continuously until the king's arrival in Paris, but Leopold I's side failed to achieve any victories that would change the existing situation ——Firstly, because this part of the French army can almost be said to be waiting for work, and secondly, because they are fighting in the territory of the enemy. Unable to support France's enemies, it also left them dependent on the French - unless they could endure months of starvation until the year's fields were harvested.

Although Leopold I was extremely angry, there was nothing he could do. As the battle reports gradually decreased, more envoys came to Paris. They came back again; there were also esteemed princes, or Mr. Dukes, who were sent here as special envoys, and their purpose was only one—to carve up part of the spoils from France.

Such as Flanders, such as the Netherlands, such as the colonies of the Netherlands... Britain, as the biggest ally of France, does its part. The archbishops of Münster and Cologne are also interested in some cities or villages on their border with the Netherlands. The Archduke of Austria, that is, Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire also confidently sent an envoy to claim part of the territory of Flanders, and the envoy of the Grand Duke of Brandenburg wanted to inquire about the whereabouts of William III—his wife was William III aunt, but he did not want to claim justice for William III, but tried to marry the Bourbon royal family-the eldest daughter of the Duke of Orleans was also ten years old, so as to become an ally with France; the Danish envoy came to plead Forgiveness and help from Louis XIV—their king Christian V unfortunately died before the fall of Amsterdam, and his son Frederick IV saw that the situation was not good and wanted to marry his sister to Louis's eldest son, the Crown Prince Louis Jr., even promised a dowry of up to one million livres...or more should be said to destroy the alliance between Sweden and France.

The Swedish envoy also arrived, and Louis couldn't help laughing when he saw him, because this envoy was none other than his future son-in-law, Karl XI.

This king is seventeen years old this year, between a teenager and a young man. Although his face is still childish, his body is already like an adult, or in other words, stronger and taller than ordinary adult men, so that Louis can't help but associate him with a bear Together, as if to match his figure, his words and deeds have a candor and frankness unique to northerners, which is not annoying, although the refinement and comfort of Paris sometimes make him seem at a loss.

Louis' eldest daughter, the future wife of the king, is also twelve years old this year. She was ordered by Louis XIV to receive her fiancé-in-law. Although the young couple have only seen each other's portraits, But they have been communicating for several years—mainly Princess Elizabeth is writing. When they met, they were not very unfamiliar. Even the difference in physique made Queen Teresa frown.

"Never mind," said Louis XIV, "I will keep my daughter until she is twenty."

Queen Teresa rolled her eyes at Her Majesty in a disrespectful manner.