I Am Louis XIV

Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici was the only daughter of Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Her mother was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Gaston, so she was full of incompetence against the current French King Louis XIV. After all, she has always regarded herself as the princess of the Bourbon family. Ever since she came to Florence, she has not stopped being hysterical for a moment, as if everything will trigger her screaming and rage. Of course, such a wife cannot She aroused the affection of her husband and mother-in-law. Even though she gave birth to two sons and one daughter for the Grand Duke - the youngest son was even born in 1971, the Grand Duke of Tuscany applied to Louis XIV to send his wife away the following year. To the abbey - this was less common in political marriages that amounted to part of a covenant, but Louis XIV responded readily to the Grand Duke's request, and he allowed the Grand Duke to do as he wished.

Cosimo III did not go too far. Anna's mother was sent to a monastery in Montmartre, France, to spend the rest of her long life. The archduke allowed her to take away her jewelry and entourage, and gave her a gift worth 80,000 yuan. The florin of Rivre (Italian gold coin), and the restless woman returned to France with her eldest daughter, Anna, who was engaged to the king's illegitimate son, the Duke of Colonna.

Anna was born in 1967, and she was just a child, but with such a mother and such a family, she was destined to be more considerate than her peers. She tried her best to help the servants and attendants comfort her mother until the death of Montmartre. At the convent, she watched the heavy iron door slowly close, and then headed to Paris, and then Versailles, with her wet nurse and escort.

The reason for doing this is because Versailles has now become a crowded palace. Not to mention the Palace of Versailles, even the towns of Limoges and Versailles are crowded with officials and nobles, and now there are many rich people. Foreigners, they came first to see if they were lucky enough to be able to meet the king, and secondly because the four schools that the king had instructed the princes and princesses to supervise—the Academy of Painting and Sculpture, the Academy of Dance, the Academy of Music, and the Academy of Drama—were finally completed. Promise, during the fifty days from Easter to Pentecost (which is April to May when the spring is perfect), these four colleges will work day and night to provide services to all audiences at all times during the working day. Exhibitions, performances - after the news spread, thousands of people flocked to Paris every day.

Although it was said that they were building colleges, Louis XIV had no intention of re-building a new palace - these four colleges were ancient buildings selected by the king himself. They once belonged to prime ministers, bishops, generals and dukes. They were prominent for a while, but now they are almost No one mentioned their names anymore. Their mansion was as vast as a palace because of its solidity and beauty. For example, the Richelieu House before had not suffered much damage even after two Fronde riots, but To today's Parisians, they are like tasteless chicken ribs.

Remember the first job the Duke of Orleans did for the king? His younger brother almost rebuilt half of Paris for the king. These buildings with uniform specifications and similar colors stood on both sides of the streets, like well-trained soldiers, which made the first Or people who came to Paris after the reconstruction were amazed. They felt that the benefits did not end there—these new buildings all had water supply and drainage systems.

But there are problems with those old houses that have not been rebuilt for various reasons. Most of their sewerage is just a simple open channel, and some even only rely on gaps in the stone slabs for drainage. People may not be familiar with various sanitary facilities. They felt how precious they were, but after having such an experience, they became tired of their original life and even couldn't bear it - so these vast old mansions were gradually bought by the king and his brother in the past twenty years. Almost all of the original residents now buy homes around Versailles, enjoying a safe and tidy new life.

Because Louis XIV had such a plan from the beginning, these old houses were converted into colleges, just like the former Chateau de Vaux-Vicomte. The colleges did not need too many independent sanitary facilities, as long as there was a toilet like the ancient Romans. Public health facilities will be provided, and then new dormitories for students and teachers will be built. Many of the original rooms can be used as classrooms.

It is said to be an academy. In fact, all art academies cannot admit children or teenagers. Those who can enroll are children of aristocratic families - children of aristocratic families in another sense - people like Lully and Molière are very rare. Less, because the former is just the son of a miller, and the latter is obviously the son of a businessman who provides furnishings and tapestries for the royal family; it is normal for grandfathers and even great-grandfathers such as Leblanc and Beauchamp to all be engaged in the same profession. At this time People in China are very taboo about cross-industry, and the more you go up, the more so.

Therefore, these four colleges are not so much colleges as they are a competitive and cruel arena. All the talented and gifted people in France or Europe gather here, and they all bring their own students, sons and nephews. And the servants - on their respective battlefields, no one of them obeys the other. At this time, it depends on the ability of the founder and supervisor of the academy - but it is difficult to judge the level of all artistic things.

To Louis' surprise, it was his crown prince, young Louis, who first suggested a solution. It must be said that compared to the eldest princess Elizabeth, who is one year younger than him, the Crown Prince sometimes seems more dull. Although many times people think this is a sign of stability, he is indeed a little reticent. In addition, his temperament is also Lack of courage and acumen, although the ministers would not say anything in front of the king, Louis knew that both Prince Condé and Colbert had been disappointed - they always felt that Louis' son could not, even if he could not, win. Yu Lan should at least be better than other children.

To be fair, Louis felt that the fact that little Louis was healthy and normal was a blessing from God. He had never been harsh on little Louis, but he didn't expect that the crown prince might just be superficial because he heard that the teachers at the college were not giving in. , not only disputes over treatment, accommodation, teaching locations, and course arrangements, but also disputes over students - simply put, they hope that other people's students will come to their classes and accept their own theories, not the other way around.

As mentioned before, it is difficult to distinguish between high and low artistic things, especially since the invited artists are not mediocre people - while they were arguing, the crown prince who had been listening quietly proposed that they could use a A quick and straightforward way to differentiate between high and low, just like the gladiators in the ancient Roman arena, asking the audience to raise their thumbs up or down - for fifty days, they can do so in the open academy Here he showcases his talents, from painting to sculpture, from music to dance, and then drama.

So, what are the statistics used for? The crown prince said that there is the most reliable thing - money.

Clinking riads (copper coins), ecu (silver coins) and gold louis, the audience can certainly watch all exhibitions and performances for free, but if they think there is an artist worthy of appreciation, they can put it in a box on the side Throw money in as encouragement.

As we all know, people may be generous with their words and time, but they must be very cautious about the coins in their hands. The person who can get the most rewards will undoubtedly be the artist who is most appreciated by people, and he will certainly get the highest reward. honor, and others may estimate each other according to the amount of money received.

This approach also aroused the disgust of some artists, but the idea of ​​​​Little Louis was correct. Louis XIV was not very interested in art. He just wanted to return to Paris after taking away its status as the political center and return it to economic and social development. The crown of the art center, after all, Paris is the capital of France. Maybe these four colleges will give birth to countless shining stars in the future, but now they are just the mouthpieces of the king.

If a good horse is not willing to put on a bridle, then it is useless no matter how strong it is. If a painter, singer or actor is not willing to bend the knee to the king, it is worthless, or, in other words, it will cause trouble. Count d'Artagnan ruthlessly drove out of Paris those artists who refused to obey his orders, and there may not be a place for them in other parts of France - those who remained would of course obey his orders.

When the Medici princess came to Paris, she saw a scene of flowers.