I Am Louis XIV

This group of princes and princesses did not encounter any difficulties, but none of them expected that they could earn nearly 10,000 livres in one week through their small tricks in order to complete the work assigned by the king as quickly as possible. Although this income cannot be compared with taxes or the benefits obtained by banks and fleets, it is still very amazing. Just think about it and there is nothing surprising. First of all, people who can come to Paris will not be poor. People can even be said to have a small fortune. Although they don't know that the so-called "appreciation fee" is the crown prince's idea, they are very willing to use the price of a meal or a bottle of wine to show off their wealth. As for most people Maybe they think throwing away money casually is a stupid thing, but in their hearts, the people who perform or display paintings for them have served the king and the great nobles. When they drop the "rewards", there seems to be some The second I get to know those powerful people, I feel less heartbroken and hesitant.

There is another kind of people, that is, the truly prominent people. They can easily lose hundreds of livres at the gambling table. Now that we know that these four art academies were all instructed by the king and supervised by the princes and princesses, of course, They don’t care about this expense, but there are also people who impulsively drop boxes of gold louis because a certain role in a play is particularly satisfying, or they are at odds with their opponents over a certain sculpture or painting. Let's compete.

After getting the approval of the king and the duke, the crown prince little Louis felt a little relieved. He walked back and forth in front of the box containing the money, clenching his fists excitedly, although as the crown prince, he had already had a title and fief. , but this was different. It was the first time he realized why his father valued Colbert so much, and why Colbert valued business so much. The income from the land was stable, but if he wanted to make a lot of money quickly, he only needed to Territory is not enough. ,

"By the way," the crown prince suddenly said, "Father, there is one more thing." He said.

"What?"

"I have prepared a gift for you." The crown prince said, and then he asked his attendants to bring a painting. After lifting the curtain, a group portrait painting was revealed.

"This painting was sent to Paris by a Dutch painter." said the Dauphin. "This painting aroused many people's comments. Some people thought it was extremely bad, while others thought it was extremely excellent."

"Are you the latter?"

"Yes, father, I am the latter. I thought you would also like this painting, so I bought it from the painter."

"This dress," the king turned around and asked, "Duke, he must be a soldier from Amsterdam."

"Probably," said the Duke of Orleans, "it should be the shooters. Look, they have muskets in their hands."

The king smiled. Only the crown prince would do this. Other ministers or nobles did not have the courage to send this portrait to him, but he could understand little Louis's thoughts and the crown prince's appreciation of art. His strength and ability to capture beauty are much better than his father. He sent this painting to him entirely out of love for his father and trust in the king.

In addition to the subject matter, this painting caused such a big controversy because the painter boldly used too strong contrast - light and dark, big and small, front and back. Such a picture is presented in front of people, like It is a suspended stage scene. This novel expression technique will certainly make people who are used to the uniform and soft brightness of the picture and everyone being almost the same size feel uncomfortable. However, there are also people with outstanding taste who think this is a rare masterpiece. .

"You said that was a Dutch painter?" The king said, "Then I will summon him when I have time." He waved to the attendants to put the painting away, "Since you are already here, let's have dinner together, Ke Albert is also here, I just have something to tell you."

What the king wants to say is related to the princess. The princess was restless a few months ago, precisely because she was worried that the king would marry her to King Carlos II of Spain for France. We have already described what kind of person Carlos II was, and we will not repeat it here. I won't go into details, but compared to Louis XIV, there are some monarchs who don't care about their children, such as Leopold I. After several considerations, he finally married his eldest daughter Antonia to Carlos II, even though he knew that Carlos II Women cannot be allowed to have children.

The Duke of Orleans and the King had discussed whether to let the Grand Princess know about this matter, but in the end they decided that instead of letting the Grand Princess hear a distorted or wrong version of this matter from others, it would be better for them to let them know about it. Let’s talk.

As soon as this matter was mentioned, the princess immediately lost all her appetite. Fortunately, the dinner had come to an end and she was not being pretentious. It was just that the thought of such a terrible thing happening to a girl made the princess feel chills all over, especially It was her father who betrayed her.

"It seems that Leopold I has made up his mind to stand against us." Colbert said.

"Unless Suleiman I of the Ottoman Turks is reborn and leads his 800,000-strong army to the west, don't even think about seeing me sitting with him." The king said: "But in addition to looking for allies, we also need an reason."

"The throne of Spain," said the Duke of Orleans gloomily.

"He already had two sons. Although the eldest son Ferdinand died in infancy, the younger son John is still alive," the king said. "They were both born to the daughters of Philip IV. The princess did not give up her right to inherit. Her The son has the right to inherit the Spanish throne."

"But the elder brother's inheritance rights should come first," the eldest princess said. "The mother is the eldest daughter of Philip IV."

"Then it seems that the attitude of Carlos II will be very important," said the Duke of Orleans. "No wonder Leopold I was willing to pay such a large price."

The eldest princess was a little uneasy, but the eldest princess immediately patted the back of her hand: "Believe in our fathers," she said, "believe in their love for us."

"The reason why I want to tell you first is for this reason." The king said: "What I am most worried about is you, my niece. You have to trust me and your father." Although the princes and princesses must face each other, It is a political marriage, but Louis XIV and the Duke of Orleans will try their best to prevent this marriage from becoming an irreparable tragedy. This is the case for the eldest princess, and the same is true for the eldest princess.

The eldest princess smiled at the eldest princess, not so reluctantly: "I just think of Princess Antonia... and Carlos II's physical condition... I don't know that this king is a perverted person in various countries. There are already very few in the palace.

She was almost destined to be ridiculed and scorned endlessly.

"The best thing for that princess is that Carlos II dies within ten years, so that she can at least avoid marrying a crazy man." The Duke of Orleans said harshly.

"Eight years." The king said: "The engagement contract states that the eldest princess of Leopold I will marry to Spain when she reaches adulthood."

"Oh my god..."

The eldest princess shouted softly, crossing herself on her chest.

"Speaking of this," after a moment of silence, the king also found that he seemed to have said something that was not pleasant. In order to eliminate the weird atmosphere at the table, he coughed lightly, "You may have a new one." Friends."

"who?"

"Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the future wife of the Duke of Colonna." The king said, "She was born in 1967."

He looked at his daughter and niece: "Before Duke Colonna comes back, you must help me take good care of her."