I Am Louis XIV

Nowadays, people rarely question Louis XIV’s decision, but there are still many people who are worried about France. Even with the large-scale use of muskets and artillery on the battlefield, the king in the rear rarely was affected by the war, but this time Louis XIV’s enemies were the Ottoman Turks. To most Europeans, they were a group of devils who breathed flames from their mouths and emitted black smoke from their ears—and although the expansion momentum of the Ottoman Turks had It gradually slowed down with the death of Suleiman I, but it was still a huge empire. A tiger would certainly be feared, and a giant elephant would be even more daunting.

Some people even suggested that even if the king sent reinforcements, he did not need to personally conduct the expedition, and could only send a few capable generals to perform their duties.

"But here in Habsburg, Leopold I must be personally commanding the army. If I don't show up, then he must be the commander-in-chief of the coalition. I don't think he will blaspheme God and make a deal with the devil, but he will definitely Favoring the Austrians and his allies." Louis said to the Duke of Orleans, and this time he was going to take away the crown prince Louis, so the Duke of Orleans and his son must stay in Versailles or Paris - this is different from last time He fought the Netherlands and Flanders, and took away the Duke of Orleans and left little Louis for the same reason: "The Duke of Colonna has been to the battle in person, and little Louis is about to come of age..." Louis paused, "In Before the eldest daughter of Leopold I married King Carlos II of Spain, he probably would not have had the strength and inclination to form an alliance to fight against me, so the biggest battle in the past few years may be this one, and with I feel differently about the Dutch and Flanders campaigns," he said quietly: "This war will be more brutal."

"Your requirements for little Louis are too harsh." The Duke of Orleans said angrily: "He is the normal one. Brother Wang, you are not normal."

If someone hears such rude words, they will definitely be shocked. Even if the king immediately orders the guards to expel the speaker, or even imprison him in the Bastille, it is not impossible, but the Duke of Orleans said this, and Louis fully understood what he meant. : "No, no, no," he said, "I don't mean to blame him. On the contrary, I am very happy." Louis said, "You know I almost had a love. Until now, I don't know whether Should I regret it or be thankful that I stopped before I completely fell? I would very much like to see little Louis get the gift I lost." He thought for a moment: "He is different from me. He has a strong and dear son. Father, and a loyal and generous uncle who...had the power to indulge and fail.”

After Louis said this, there was silence in the room for a long time - Louis lost his father when he was five years old. Although he repaid his enemies for Louis XIII, whether it was the wizard who cursed him or the mastermind behind it, Even the Church of Rome... But it is an indisputable fact that the impression of Louis XIII in his mind has become increasingly indifferent. He is still lucky. The Duke of Orleans can hardly remember his father's face now.

"I'm sorry, brother." The Duke of Orleans whispered. During the Fronde riots, the Queen Mother and Bishop Mazarin still resolutely excluded him from government affairs. Therefore, no matter how bad the situation was at that time, he would have to return to the throne in a few years. Only by sorting out the memories of the time and probing and asking questions from the Duchess de Montpensier, the Grand Condé, the Viscount Turenne and even Marshal Schaumberg can we gain some understanding.

But it is impossible to say that I feel the same way as Louis - if I must give an example, if the Duke of Gaston or the Prince of Condé were to replace them, their ending would not be worse than that of Edward V and the Duke of York in the Tower of London. How good is it (note 1).

It is absolutely false to say that the Duke of Orleans has never complained about the favoritism of Bishop Mazarin and the Queen Mother. Although as an adult, no matter what temptations and turmoil he encountered, he always stood firmly on the side of his brother, but he had just The unintentional accusation showed that those dark things still left some traces in his heart.

"It's nothing," Louis said calmly: "Besides, even if I do have something wrong, are you perfect?" He tugged on his brother's light blue scarf tied with a bow: "Philip, we all have shortcomings. , but it’s already good that things didn’t change to the worst point.”

The Duke of Orleans wanted to smile, but failed. He may still be the boy trapped in a small skirt, and his brother has never been able to completely deliver his heart to another person. This is a good thing for the country, but for As for Louis himself - he is now beginning to envy the crown prince, little Louis. He has a good father and has not lost him, so this child can have such lovely troubles.

"I agree with your idea now," said the Duke of Orleans: "Take him to the battlefield. As long as he sees those terrible Ottoman Turks, his troubles will definitely disappear."

Louis laughed unabashedly: "Then it's settled, Philippe, you will guard Versailles, Paris and France for me. By the way," he touched his cane: "If possible, in these two or three years, you will It would be best to have a few more children with Henrietta, I don’t want my younger son to be too lonely.”

"Have you not given him a name yet?" asked the Duke of Orleans.

"I will give him a name when I come back," Louis said expressionlessly. He now looked like a king again: "During the period when I leave France, the Duke of Colonna will return with his wife. Siena, where he wants to compete for and accept the loyalty of the Angevin remnants - so here in the other world there is only Madame Milady. She is a shrewd spy leader, but she is still too weak to deal with bigger things. I was caught, so I transferred part of the affairs to Madame de Montespan, just to see how much she could earn for her son.”

The Duke of Orleans wisely did not pursue the question further: "Do you still intend to involve the Duke of Colonna in Siena affairs? But as far as I know, Cosimo III has two sons."

"It is a pity that of those two children, although one is about the same age as the Duke of Colonna, he has nothing to praise, and does not even have the sensitivity and prudence of his father. As for the younger son, he was born weak and sick. Some doctors said that he may not be able to Fertility.”

"If the wizards can cure Carlos II," said the Duke of Orleans, "then they can cure the boy."

"I also want to tell you about this matter." Because regarding the other world, the leaders of the spies are Mrs. Miledy and Elario who are directly responsible to the king, so the Duke of Orleans does not know about this matter yet: "Those black men The so-called treatment by wizards is most likely to drink poison to quench thirst." Louis recalled the secret scroll that Elario brought to him: "In the magic of wizards, any transaction related to life force is not equal."

"But if it works, there will still be people who will come forward." The Duke of Orleans said.

"Maybe when wizards still control the world." In ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and ancient Egypt, large numbers of slaves often died either at the same time, or one after another but without interruption - in the wizards When they were still priests and shamans, they could do whatever they wanted, but now, it was impossible, and this kind of spell would cause huge backlash.

What it is specifically, even Elaro is not sure about, but the current situation in Spain is simply like a pyramid built on a small ball, which may completely collapse at any time - that small ball is being exerted Carlos II, who learned black magic.

"So the Roman Church just stood aside and did nothing? But here it is asking whether the Duke of Luxembourg ordered the priests to sell arsenic for a few hundred livres?"

"The Roman Church knows very well who their enemies are." Louis said: "And even if Carlos II dies, or Duke Don Juan dies, or the Queen Mother of Habsburg, no matter who rules after that Can the Spanish, French, or Austrians still convert to Protestantism? If only ministers and civilians die, then they have nothing to worry about." He shook his head.

"Both of them?" the Duke of Orleans asked about the grandfather of Clement X and Madame Aubigne.

"Why not, they are quite unanimous in this regard," Louis picked up the two letters and wrote to Philip: "The former is crazy and the latter is ambitious, but they are both more worried that I will marry the eldest princess and the eldest princess to the Protestant king and Things about the Grand Duke." Sweden had already converted to Protestantism when Christina's father, Gustav II, was born. Now most Swedish citizens were born as Protestants, which is why Queen Christina had the intention to convert to Catholicism. , the reason why the domestic Protestant churches sided with her cousin without hesitation.

After the eldest princess Elizabeth married to Sweden - the Roman Church of course still wanted her to maintain her Catholic faith, but Louis XIV, who loved his daughter, believed that it was best for Elizabeth to maintain the same faith as her husband and subjects - Louis was a religious and practical person Being a Christian does not mean that others are too, and there are not a few cases of resentment caused by conflicts of religious beliefs.

As for the princess, Louis will not force it. What a joke! Brandenburg-Prussia is a Protestant country (let’s call it that), but when the new defender of Catholicism, Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire, used him, he did not hesitate to let the princess remain Regarding the identity of a Catholic, first ask Leopold I in what name he accepted the allegiance of a Protestant.

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In France, and anywhere that believes in Christianity, people often say, speak of the devil, and the devil will come - the king and the Duke of Orleans just mentioned the marriage of the Grand Princess, and the son of the Grand Duke of Brandenburg-Prussia came to ask for an audience with Louis XIV. , the reason why he asked to see Louis XIV was also very simple. His father, the Elector of Brandenburg, wanted to obey the will of Leopold I and lead an army to rescue Vienna, so he must return to Prussia as soon as possible to fulfill the duties of an heir.

After explaining his purpose, Frederick looked at Louis XIV expectantly. Although Brandenburg's envoys repeatedly said that the French king was likely to refuse to send troops, or just let his generals do it for him, he didn't think so... ...His guess was correct. The King of France nodded, "Maybe I will meet your father in Hungary."

Little Mr. William's eyes immediately shone, but they soon dimmed, as he remembered that he had to stick to Prussia and that it was impossible to fight with his father and Louis XIV against the infidels.

If Louis heard what Frederick was thinking, he would definitely tell him that even if he went to the battlefield, he would only wait peacefully in a castle a certain distance from the battlefield for his general to deliver victory - a king, unless He is the reincarnation of Alexander or Caesar. It is best not to go to the battlefield and cause trouble for his soldiers and generals.

Frederick resigned with secret regret. Next, Louis still had a lot of work to do.

Although it has been decided to let the Duke of Orleans stay, it is also a problem to choose which general and marshal to go to Hungary with the king. Viscount Turenne is in the Netherlands, the Grand Condé is already Ludwig I, and the king has only General Vauban was available - Louis planned to recall the Vicomte de Turenne, and the Grand Condé also returned his eldest son to the king for his use.

Marshal Schaumberg was once an Austrian, and it was not Louis's style to put him in a dilemma between Leopold I and himself. However, as soon as the king revealed his intention, Marshal Schaumberg immediately ran to the king. ——The flash of light on his chest immediately attracted the king's attention. Wasn't that the first reward the king gave him--the big diamond brooch.

It is said that at that time Viscount Turenne planned to duel with this foreigner (Schumberg had not yet obtained French citizenship at that time) to decide the ownership of this brooch - not for the value of this brooch, but for the value it contained. significance.

He came to ask the king with confidence. As early as twenty years ago, Louis XIV gave him French nationality and made him a Frenchman. "And," he said bluntly, "Your Majesty, this time you If you don't use me, how do you want others to see me? They will definitely say that there must be some unknown flaw in my loyalty, which is why Your Majesty is unwilling to use me." He raised his eyebrows slightly: "In addition, this time you The reason why I am not allowed to go is because Leopold I may be the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, so in the near future, he may still be an enemy of France. By then, do I still have to be excluded?"

Note 1: Edward V was the eldest son of Edward IV. He ascended the throne as the King of England after his father's death. However, within a year, he and his only brother Richard, Duke of York, mysteriously disappeared in the Tower of London. They were succeeded by their uncle, the regent Richard III, Duke of Gloucester.