I Am Louis XIV

The princess has also heard about this matter, but she is no longer the little girl who panicked at the slightest disturbance two years ago. Even if someone still whispers deliberately for her to hear - she will go to find her father or mother immediately. It was his uncle, and even if the king and the Duke of Orleans would not cut off each other's tongues, they would be expelled from the Palace of Versailles immediately.

Anyone who could be allowed to live in the Palace of Versailles would not be an ordinary noble. It was once said that they were a little king when they were in their own territory. But when they were actually "invited" out of the room, saw the carriage waiting outside, and the luggage was roughly packed and thrown out, some people would even cry loudly - if it was twenty years ago, they would have been a little bit It is regrettable but not unacceptable, but twenty years later, the king's supervisor, the magistrates who walked out of the High Court, the police system and the garrison have long created a steel-like dragnet for His Majesty. Anyone, Nothing can escape their eyes and shackles. Returning to their territory, they are at best a little more decent than ordinary squires. It is impossible to hold the power as before.

The princess's merciless and resolute behavior made Brandenburg's envoys hesitate. He felt that the French princesses were not as gentle and approachable as he had learned before, "Who gave you this?" Such an illusion?" Frederick said in surprise: "Her father is the Duke of Orleans, the richest man in France, the king's most trusted younger brother, a famous general who has never been defeated, and her uncle is Louis, the Sun King with a standing army of 150,000. Fourteen, the latter had secured a new territory for France that was almost one-third of the original territory before he was forty years old. Even Leopold I, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, did not dare to attack him directly—— Why should she be submissive to a group of villains who should be looking up to her?"

He smiled: "I also know a little about my father's thoughts," the young lord, who was addicted to court gossip, pinched his cane and said: "But the problem is, for an empty promise, you have to fight with such... ..." He pointed out the window, "Look at those officers and soldiers, sir, while we and King Leopold I were still dealing with the mercenary leaders, the French we saw were trying to enter the king's palace. Armies and pride, women chase them like butterflies chase flowers—look at them, what do you think?”

The envoy was silent for a while: "Roman, Your Highness."

"They are the Romans," Frederick looked at a column of soldiers walking through the street. They were coming out of a furniture store. One was carrying a small wooden horse, one was carrying a beautiful chair, and the other was carrying a wooden chair. Folding up the ladders, they lined up on the pavement and walked forward in unison: "How beautiful, sir, I read in books Lucullus, Scipio, Pompey, Antony, Caesar, House When I saw people like David, my blood seemed to be boiling. How I wished I could go back a thousand years ago and fight side by side with those wise and heroic generals. Unfortunately, when I walked into the military camp, I What I saw, I saw corruption, depravity, shamelessness and deeds... The so-called general was like a businessman buying and selling the lives of soldiers. The soldiers rushed to avoid fighting, escape and surrender. If they left the captain's sight, They would rape and massacre, even those who hired them, and wherever war broke out, people would be roulined twice, once as enemies and once as 'friends'."

"In the Holy Roman Empire, in Brandenburg and Prussia, in Italy, in Hungary or Spain, the mention of someone seeking employment in the army made everyone around him feel ashamed, but in France, Louis The Fourteenth has a standing army of 150,000, which has shocked all countries. Now please tell me, if Louis XIV issues an order to recruit more soldiers, how many people will flock to it?" He said calmly: " And with the victory of Holland and Flanders, all bankers will be eager to agree to the king's loan, even if he has no mortgage. Sir, the military resources are sufficient, the number is large, the weapons and tactics are advanced, and there is such a thing He has many famous generals, and he even opened a military academy—what kind of victory can’t he win?”

"But other countries will not turn a blind eye - they will not allow a second Roman Empire to emerge." The envoy whispered.

"I also used this reason to convince my father." Frederick grinned, "Sir, the world is destined not to allow a behemoth like the Roman Empire to appear again, so what does Louis XIV rely on to make France Always, even if not forever, continue its brilliant life as much as possible? In fact, Louis XIV is already doing this. If the marriage with Carl XI of Sweden is for the Netherlands and Flanders, The French crown prince married the Portuguese princess for the sake of faith and Spain, so what happened to his plan to make Prince Condé the king of Poland? Wouldn't it be more to say that he was tolerant and could keep a general like Condé by his side? good?"

"He is for the Polish-Bourbon dynasty." Frederick sighed: "The Habsburgs have done this kind of thing, and now it is the Bourbons' turn."

"I think I understand what you mean," the envoy said, "but if you decide to marry the princess, Leopold I will never allow Prussia to become a state."

"Is Leopold I immortal?" Frederick said lightly: "With the support of Louis XIV and the dowry of the princess, what does a name matter? As long as Brandenburg-Prussia can To become a great prince equal to Habsburg Austria, someone will always compromise." He stood up: "I think the most important thing for us now is to finalize this marriage."

He sighed: "The princess is not the kind of noble lady who will giggle and fall head over heels for me just by saying some sweet words and giving some jewelry."

Frederick's distress was also the biggest obstacle to all the suitors of the great princess and even the great princess.

Because the eldest princess had long been determined to become the queen of Sweden's Carl XI, in order to ensure that his daughter would not suffer the tortures that her mother and grandmother had experienced, Louis ordered his ministers and generals to Opening a lecture hall in the palace - this kind of thing is shocking to the world. At this time, let alone the princess who is either married or entering a monastery, even the second son like the Duke of Orleans will not receive such a systematic and profound education - Louis Not only did Fourteen do this, he also made the eldest princess a classmate.

But now it seems that this kind of education is quite effective (although it had a little backlash on the eldest princess). The eldest princess and King Carl XI of Sweden first exchanged letters, and then spent some time together with Versailles in Paris. You can see It can be concluded that Karl XI is very satisfied with this future wife who can communicate with him easily in literature, art and even politics, and can also ride horses, hunt and cruise rivers with him. In other words, as long as she is not incompetent, A stupid, narrow-minded idiot, as a husband, will of course like a partner who can walk side by side with him.

In the past two years, the king discovered from the eldest princess that they still had some shortcomings in education, so he and the Duke of Orleans took the children throughout most of France to broaden their horizons and clarify their minds. , so that they will not be trapped in a small setback and unable to escape - at least the children have seen that compared to the poor civilians, their worries are not only not worth mentioning, but also easy to solve.

The Duke of Orleans even jokingly said that he was raising the king and the queen while having a drink with the king's brother... The king replied that he was not wrong.

A princess raised like this is like a beautiful castle. Everyone will be shocked by its magnificence and grandeur, but it is not easy to capture it. It is damaged here. The gentleman under the noble lady's skirt is probably no less than the number of soldiers Louis XIV lost in the Battle of the Netherlands.

Especially now that she lacks almost nothing - jewelry, status, honor, love, any courtesy from anyone can only be said to be the icing on the cake. Not to mention marriage, most people who just want to impress the princess and ask her to say a few words in front of the Duke of Orleans and the king return in vain... Some young people who don't have enough city wealth can't even get married to the princess or the king. The eldest princess continued to dance a minuet under her calm but clear eyes.

Frederick knew very well that he had few but important advantages, one of which was that he was the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Brandenburg-Prussia and was destined to inherit everything his father had.

Secondly...

He stood up, straightened his clothes and put on his hat under the envoy's doubtful gaze. "You have to help yourself today, sir," he said, "I have agreed to meet with the princess."

The envoy suddenly opened his mouth: "Wait? Who?" He looked at Frederick with disbelief. Today, Frederick's dress was not as good as what he usually dressed in Brandenburg, and it could even be said to be a bit... Shabby - the dark brown coat only has some embroidery of the same color on the edge, the buttons are light yellow amber, black military boots that reach to the knees are worn under the tight pants, a musket and dagger are hung on the calfskin belt, and only the diamond brooch on the hat is turned over. The large white lace collar on his coat barely fits his class.

Without saying anything else, Frederick walked out the door, mounted his beloved gray horse, and waved his hat to the envoy before leaving.

He rode his horse through two streets and entered the market. As the horses trampled past the people, he looked at everything on the street curiously like any young noble who was tired of hunting and card games. He was politely nodded, saluted, or bowed, but no one recognized him. He was bathed in sunshine and smiling, and a shopkeeper could not help shouting: "Fair sir!" he asked, "God bless you, Did something good happen to you?"

"Yes," Frederick replied: "There is a great thing waiting for me!"

This is also different from Brandenburg, Vienna and other places. The people in Paris and Versailles don't seem to have much hatred for the nobility - but this has only happened in the past twenty years, mainly because of the original most vicious and despicable people. After Richelieu, Mazarin and the two Fronde riots (I don’t say these two bishops are good people here, it’s just a greedy hyena meeting a cruel lion), the nobles were cleaned up a lot. By the time Louis When the Fourteenth took office, another wave of old people headed by Fouquet were eliminated by the king. When the war against the Netherlands and Flanders ended, a large number of new nobles appeared in the army. They were just like the original nobles in robes. , were promoted by the king to move beyond the original class, and must have formed a system of their own. Also, because they were just craftsmen and farmers before, they did not immediately forget their relatives and friends around them.

It is strange that when there were only nobles and commoners, the conflicts in France became more and more intense every time. But since the middle class of the new military nobles (from officers to suppliers) has emerged, there has been a conflict between the highest class and the lowest class. It seems that there is a buffer, although the common people will still laugh at the incompetence of the nobles in taverns and churches and tell their jokes, but they really want to raise crude weapons, set fires, rob, and build fortifications with horse-drawn carriages and straw bales. The idea of ​​a fortress is gone.

If Louis XIV knew what Frederick was thinking, he would definitely tell him that the nobles and clergy always regarded the common people as ignorant beasts, but as an Eastern philosopher said, if you regard a person as a prisoner, you will be wary of everything. With abuse, he will hurt you like a dangerous sinner, but if you are willing to treat him like a friend, he will repay you with his own life.

The people of France don't want many things. They can now feed every family member, have a house that is sheltered from the wind and rain, can change their class by entering the army and school, and can survive while ensuring their survival. At the same time, seeing hope, they were willing to die for the king and France.

Looking at the scene on the street - people, horses and carriages coming and going in a bustling manner, including lords, judges, officers and civilians, who would have thought that twenty years ago, slightly more luxuriously dressed people were walking on the street , if there are no attendants and servants, will you be honored to be "bathed" by the excrement, dead cats and dogs thrown by the poor?

Several vendors crowded over and raised their baskets to Frederick, selling him biscuits, nuts or preserves, as well as embroidered handkerchiefs, small toys and other odds and ends, for which Frederick exchanged a large crown. A handful of red and white hibiscus flowers, ready to be given to the princess.

Like Frederick, today's princess is also described as quite simple. Of course, this is only compared to the clothes she wore at banquets and balls in the Palace of Versailles, but let Frederick say that wearing only a milky white dress, it is like It was the princess sitting quietly by the fountain with the hibiscus flower in his hand that made his heart skip a beat.