I Am Louis XIV

Little Eugen was only three years old when he left his mother, but he had met Leopold I, and his mother proudly said that he was the "son of the king", but this year he was already nine years old, and he was very concerned about his own. This embarrassing identity is full of disgust—his titular father, the Count of Soissons, generously accepted him, but little Eugen had long ago decided that he would also reject the Earl of Soissons' offer like the eldest son of the Duchess of Longueville. The title and territory, since the Count of Soissons has an undoubted biological son, an heir after his two daughters, he decided that if possible, he would follow the example of the Viscount Turenne and enter the royal family at the age of twelve. The king's army, and then by virtue of his talent and courage, he can buy an estate for himself, and if he can't, he enters a monastery and becomes a monk.

Because of little Eugen's special status, he didn't even grow up in the territory of the Earl of Soissons, and he hardly met the nominal father a few times, so he might as well visit him once a year by the order of the king Pierre (this is why although his childhood memory is vague, he can almost be sure that he is not the son of the Earl of Soissons), and he is not as good as any one who came to him and left him. Teachers are more trustworthy. He is grateful for the tolerance of the Earl of Soissons, which allows him to have a background that will not be criticized, but a child always longs for the love from his parents.

If it is said that in his peaceful life in the past, because he had no contact with children of his age, he could not experience the love of the elders, then since he came to the court, he saw how the king loved the crown prince, princess and Cologne. How did the Duke of Orleans take care of the princess and the newborn heir, and he couldn't help but have a desire for this kind of selfless love-the king thought that his nervousness was just like other people, deterred by his power, But he didn't know that little Eugen had already fallen into a strange fantasy—the king's son, he said in his heart, how wonderful it would be if I were His Majesty's child.

Louis didn't know that Eugen had such thoughts. Even if he knew, he wouldn't criticize a child—when Eugen followed him away from the dining table, he even reached out to help the child who almost fell down. Little Eugen and the Duke of Colonna have similar faces, but they are three years apart, and their heights are different, so little Eugen's feet are a pair of boots with raised heels, which can't be seen unless you look carefully, but you can walk around It will definitely be inconvenient.

"Take your time, child." The king said, in order not to let the scandal of last night leak out, he changed the two-day entertainment program, and changed the viewing of opera and ballet into a parade inside the Palace of Versailles. The time is spent riding in a carriage, and the number of people who can crowd around the king will be greatly reduced-Vesari said that the Duke of Colonna will be able to sit up on the fourth day, and he will find any excuse at that time, like hunting When he accidentally broke his leg, he can return to the hunting lodge of Louis XIII to recuperate. Because Louis XIV often stays in Versailles, the hunting lodge has undergone a lot of renovations. There are bathrooms and sanitation facilities. Equipment, where the Duke recuperates will not be too far from Versailles, nor will he be disturbed.

The entire volume of the current Palace of Versailles is about twice the original plan submitted by the designer Le Vau to Louis. The Latin cross-shaped building cuts the courtyard into four parts. As described, the south side is a plant labyrinth. , the north side is the spring pool and sculptures. For these four courtyards alone, if you only rely on your feet, it will take a full twelve hours or more to watch like a sightseeing, let alone stop and enjoy slowly, so I want to cruise Versailles Palace, the best way is to take a carriage——since the queen mother, the king and his brother have taken a carriage, but this time the Duke of Orleans was not able to be with the king, and the queen, the prince, and the princess rode in a carriage with the king. After getting into the carriage with little Eugen, who was disguised as the Duke of Colonna, Princess Elizabeth looked at little Eugen curiously.

Princess Elizabeth is about the same age as little Eugene - only one year younger than the crown prince, but she has received more love and tolerance from Louis than the crown prince, because she had previously entered into a marriage contract with King Karl XI of Sweden Therefore, her education quickly crossed a class - after all, being a princess is a completely different concept from being a queen. Girls mature earlier than boys, and now Princess Elizabeth can almost be regarded as a half-adult Come to treat.

Louis is not a king who likes to hide everything in his heart and let people around him speculate for himself, especially the delicate relationship between little Luciano and little Louis—speaking of it, little Luciano is the king's The firstborn, Mary is his wife in the other world. Regarding this matter, Louis did not hide it from Queen Teresa, and it was the same for little Louis and Elizabeth, because he cut off little Luciano decisively from the very beginning. The possibility of getting involved in the French regime, so the relationship between these children is not as tit-for-tat as people think. In any case, they don't need to fight for the same thing.

Elizabeth had already seen that little Eugen was not her half-brother, and she looked at the king with a questioning look.

"This is also our relative," said Louis, putting his hand on little Eugene's shoulder: "his grandmother was the Countess of Soissons, Marie de Bourbon." Trouble, the Earl of Soissons also believes that the less people know about Little Eugene's true identity, the better.

Queen Teresa was one of the insiders. She smiled and waved her fan. "Yes, Elizabeth," she said, "you can call him cousin if you want." Only she quickly added, " Of course not when he was the Duke of Colonna."

"We should meet again until everything is over." Princess Elizabeth said cheerfully, "I know your father, he is a brave and good man, Eugene Morris."

Little Eugen moved his lips, his eyes dimmed. Of course he also knew that Eugen Morris, his father in name, had won the glory and money that his mother Olympia had longed for on the battlefield, but these were all It has nothing to do with her, but I don't know if Olympia Mancini, who is under six feet, regrets her greed and shallowness.

"You should kiss the hand of the eldest princess now to thank her for her praise of your father." Louis pretended not to see the strangeness of little Eugene, just like treating a happy child, gently pushed Little Eugen: "Go, be brave, you are the one who wants to be a general."

This sentence made Princess Elizabeth smile. She inherited her mother's dark hair color, but her skin was white, and she looked like fine porcelain in the sunlight coming in from the car window. She stretched out her hand to little Eugen: "You Also intending to serve the king, join the army, like your father? Then I should let you kiss my hand, and I thank all those who have given their strength to the cause of France."

So the king and queen watched as little Eugen kissed the princess's hand clumsily, his face was flushed, but his eyes were shining.

The king's carriage was always ahead of everyone, and on either side of the driveway, amidst the holly, rose-trees, white and pink, in huge porcelain vats, indigo blue, as if smeared with grease. Smooth and bright, it takes two grown-up men to embrace them—the previous French kings, British kings, Spanish kings, and even Ottoman Turkish sultans could not have so many large vats, because it is difficult to get giant porcelain vats from the far east. Shipped all the way to Europa, still such an astonishing amount.

But a few years ago, wizards accidentally discovered the kaolin needed to make hard porcelain in Limoges, where most of the artisans of Versailles came from, so the history of French porcelain development finally made up the last link. Seeing the big porcelain jar of roses that people see now, people are amazed and deeply moved by this luxury.

When the king decided to come down for a walk, the Queen Mother and the Duchess of Montpensier followed behind him, then the Duke of Orleans and his wife and daughter, and then the king's trusted ministers and generals. People can walk up to the king. The king has been holding the "Duke of Colonna" on his arm. No one doubts the identity of the Duke of Colonna. They occasionally glance at the queen and the crown prince behind the king, guessing whether the king intends to officially recognize the king. the son of.

Their thoughts were all in Louis' expectation, and it was never so easy to divert the attention of these stalkers. The king's intimacy with the Duke of Colonna continued until the third day, and they walked from the fountain sculpture to the Grand Canal At the end of the canal, the place where the Grand Canal joins the Seine River is a bush. Once here, the Duke of Colonna asked the king to go hunting-he and his attendants left people's sight for a short time, and there was a burst of shouting —The Duke of Colonna fell from his horse and broke his leg.

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It was thought that the king alone might suspend some of the festivities until the duke was healed, but the king didn't seem to mean it, so the court also acted like the Duchess of Colonna and the Duke of Colonna They never appeared, and even their names were rarely mentioned-on the fifth day, the king went to the Limoges city next to Versailles. People who have been to Florence will feel a little familiar with the expansion of the gradually developed market here, because here, like Florence, the bottom floor is full of various shops, and the upper floor is either a warehouse or a bedroom.

Louis still remembers the Red Boy Fair he went to when he was a teenager. At that time, for the sake of safety and decency, the vendors and customers in the fair were pretended by the family members of officials. In Versailles, there is no need for this, because the most important thing here is loyalty. to the king's soldiers. Most of them wore dark red, royal blue or black uniforms, and walked on the street with their heads held high. Umbrellas, ordinary people walking with them, small businessmen, craftsmen, and even farmers showed no signs of fear, because most of these soldiers and officers had the same background as them, and perhaps those who passed by them An officer is another man's cousin or cousin.

Ordinary people here also look more fashionable and wealthy than elsewhere, including Parisians, not only because of the Palace of Versailles, the king's rose fields and workshops, but also because of the war between Flanders and Holland. Each soldier received the generous rewards promised by the king. Moreover, as long as they are still in the army, they can continue to receive their pensions, which are enough to support a family with many children. Even if they are injured or die in the war, they will still receive pensions and rewards. Their families No need to worry about the days ahead.

Income is abundant and stable, and the needs of the people will be strong, there are no vendors with goods on the side of the road, the streets are wide and clean, and all the goods are shining behind the glass windows - Flanders and English woolen cloth , cotton cloth from India, brocade from Persia, Iraq and Syria, silk from Theris, lace and lace from France... All the fabrics you can see in Paris are available here, or even more. There were cushions, carpets and curtains and draperies, embroidered tablecloths; carved chessboards and pieces in ivory and walnut, chests of rhinoceros hide and gilt frames, oak armoires, chairs, and beds elaborately carved and decorated.

Armor, muskets and daggers, swords, etc., saddles and stirrups, spurs on boots, etc. favored by soldiers and officers...they are exquisitely crafted, inlaid with gold and silver, and are no less inferior to the jewelry worn by ladies .

Novelty or traditional food, wine and beverages - tea, coffee, soda, orange juice and brandy, recently Dutch gin, but the most popular is the French fine wine, even sparkling There is also wine, tomatoes, potatoes, corn and peanuts from the New World; ham from Spain, candied fruit from Turkey, pepper, cardamom and cinnamon powder from the Spice Islands...

These all show how amazing the spending power of the people of Versailles is. Even Parisians can’t help but feel sour when they see it. Just as the king expected, Versailles is still very immature compared to Paris, but its prosperity and variety are enough. Covering up these blemishes diverts attention and desire from Paris to here.

Louis didn't want to blame anyone, but he was more willing to believe the Versailles people—he was in Versailles, and he could walk down the street leisurely. The hatred and contempt of kings.

It is also from this day that France has a new class-although France has had a three-level conference since a long time ago, in fact, there have always been only two levels, that is, the level of nobles and priests, and the level of civilians. level one. If someone is willing to make a consumption chart for France in the seventeenth century, it can be clearly seen that it is an unstable inverted triangle. The common people need to pay taxes, and the burden is the heaviest. Their expenditure is almost equivalent to nothing— All are used for the most basic needs; priests and nobles do not need to pay taxes, but their expenses are astonishingly expensive, just like when Louis XIV wanted to collect money before he was in power, he started from nobles and priests. Jasmine powder, rouge, pottery and glass, mirrors are all aimed at these people, and he has indeed gained a huge profit.

Now, another class has emerged. They are officials, military officers, and businessmen—their most unified place is that they are all promoted by Louis XIV. Their origins may not be worth mentioning, but as long as they have the ability, The speed of promotion is not inferior to that of the nobles. The king gave them power and rewards, making them the mainstay of France invisibly-no matter which aspect, perhaps in 1672, the people of Europa had no way of noticing it, but very Soon, they will know how fierce and firm this force is, and it can even be said to be irreversible.

They raised a mortal and made him a true god.