I Am Louis XIV

As we said before, there was a reason why Leopold I chose Kamni. An army of 150,000 people had been gathered in the Velika Plani Highlands, including 50,000 people from Austria, 30,000 people from Spain and France. Thirty thousand people, and the remaining number will be divided among other Catholic countries - but it is impossible to say that they are the only ones in Camni where several kings have gathered. In addition to ministers, generals and servants, there are also The royal guards of the kings, they are the king's most trusted soldiers and the most elite troops in the country - ranging from 500 to 3,000 people.

Louis XIV was the only king with a guard of 3,000 people, so even though Leopold I was reluctant, he had to give up the largest castle in Camnico-if He dared to pass the blame perfunctorily, and Louis XIV promised that he would turn around and leave without any moral or religious blame. After all, it was the Holy Roman Emperor and the Archduke of Austria to provide supplies and camps for the reinforcements.

Leopold I also thought about letting the Spanish occupy the castle. After all, the Spanish and French reinforcements were equal in number. But even if Carlos II had recovered his health and sanity, it would not be possible for him to immediately assume the responsibilities of the king. It's possible, so the Spanish commander-in-chief is their naval administrator Juan Patinho. Both Patinho and the Archbishop of Toledo are out-and-out royalists, and they also attach great importance to the Spanish in this battle. Performance in the battle, so Carlos II would not be allowed to come all the way here anyway.

Patiño has a high position and noble birth. The problem is that even if Carlos II is here, he may not be able to stand side by side with the King of France, let alone compete with him for the residence? There is no need to say more about Juan Patinho...

Therefore, this large castle naturally belonged to Louis XIV, even if he was not the first to arrive at Camnico.

Looking down from the tower of this high-rise castle, you can overlook most of Camnico. This location choice is very common. After all, the castle has been used for military purposes from the beginning. The first thing Louis saw was him. of the Guards.

In fact, during the period from Louis XIV's accession to the throne to the first Fronde riot, the Guards regiment left by Louis XIII had already become a ragtag group due to lax discipline and disunity. At that time, Bishop Mazarin The only people who stayed in the Louvre to protect His Majesty the King were the King and his musketeers. When the King left Saint-Germain-en-Laye, he used Schaumberg and his mercenaries from Austria, and later the Viscount Turenne. After being defeated by Schaumberg and persuaded by him, the king finally had his first army, so as soon as he returned to Paris, he couldn't wait to resettle the refugees who followed him to Versailles - rather than betraying his promise and being greedy and short-sighted, Parisians, he preferred to select his soldiers from the people in Versailles who had escaped hunger and hardship.

These soldiers were originally the king's new army. After these new troops had experienced the test of smoke, death and blood in the battles of Lorraine, Flanders and Holland, the king promoted some of their most brave and intelligent soldiers. When people came to their own Guards Corps, due to the large base, even if they were carefully selected, the Sun King's Guards Corps was forced to expand to three times its original size. The soldiers who were able to come to Camnico with the king this time had gone through a grate-like review. They were all Catholics, tall and handsome, and each of them had at least a silver sun medal on their chest, indicating that they were Killed at least two enemies or conquered a fortress with others.

One or two people like this are not surprising, and a hundred are not impossible, but three thousand are enough to make everyone pay attention. But when looking down from the tower of the castle, This scene is very pleasing to the eye-all the people coming and going in the square and corridors are young, beautiful and energetic young men, wearing uniforms of the same style-royal blue satin jacket, white tights down to the knees The black leather boots above have silver buttons and trim, and the sword logo on the epaulette is shining in the sun. The weather in Slovenia in June is already a bit hot. Some people are not wearing hats, and some are wearing hats. But roll up the sides of the wide-brimmed hat and pin it in place to give the hat four extra corners.

This behavior was also stopped by the officers, because whether it was uniforms, hats, or boots, the king assigned the soldiers of the Guards. This approach was undoubtedly damaging the king's reward, but Louis X When the four learned about it, they also started to roll up their hats. After that, not only did the officers no longer criticize the soldiers, but they themselves also began to imitate the rolled hats in order to be consistent with the king. Within a few days, this kind of rolled-brimmed hats became a common thing in Paris and France. New fashion in Versailles.

Ludwig I had already prepared appropriate words in his mind, but after seeing these young men, he suddenly thought that Louis XIV not only showed his consideration for the soldiers in such a small place, but also soon It was later announced that the uniforms, hats, boots, belts and other accessories given by the king to the soldiers, including blankets and other personal items, could be taken home for continued use after they took leave or retired from service - let alone ordinary soldiers at that time. Even a few of his cronies showed happy expressions. He knew that they did not lack clothes and accessories - these would be precious souvenirs that would be passed down like porcelain, jewelry and furniture.

Even he and his eldest son also hid their marshal's uniform and general's uniform in their suitcases.

The sudden emotion made Ludwig I silent, but Louis XIV already somewhat understood what he meant. After crossing the castle and looking outside the city wall, they saw the colorful crowd - and Louis The Fourteenth was different from the French army that Ludwig I was familiar with. Other countries, even Austria and Spain, and even the Guards Corps, could not achieve complete unity.

Not to mention that whether uniforms are uniform has nothing to do with combat effectiveness. An army with chaotic uniforms and unclear expressions is not only unable to distinguish itself from ordinary people, but even they themselves have trouble defining themselves - soldiers and officers who cannot even determine their own definition. , how can we have a sense of honor and belonging to the army? Are you willing to make sacrifices? The sacrifice here does not just mean that they give their lives. Observing discipline and training seriously is also a kind of sacrifice. Sometimes people are fearless because of impulse, but not everyone can endure long periods of boredom and hard work.

When the soldiers realized that I was the king's soldier and I should be a noble and pious man, Louis XIV's purpose was achieved.

But outside the castle, soldiers and officers wore whatever they liked. Their clothes looked no different from those of ordinary Europeans. They wore shirts, coats and tights. Ordinary soldiers wore soft-soled shoes and officers wore boots. , some officers also wear a brightly colored feather in their hats, and they also decorate their shoulders with epaulettes, but these epaulettes are not used to show military rank, but are used to prevent halberds and muskets from damaging the shoulders of their clothes... ...In addition to the feathers on their hats, some officers also decorate their cuffs with metal strips - but some musketeers also do this to prevent their cuffs from being contaminated and damaged by the smoke of gunpowder; some officers also use wide A wide belt shows their identity. Most of them are Tatars or Cossacks, but as long as they are not soldiers in his team and have capital, soldiers can do this...

As for weapons, of course, the French army also allows them to purchase their own weapons, but the weapons issued by the army are unified and are also the main force. Their private weapons can be used as reserves, but among these people, their weapons are diverse, from Christ From the bows and arrows and spears that have been around since the day they were born, to halberds and crossbows, the most common short swords and bayonets, to the latest long-handled or short-handled muskets, grenades, etc., you can all have them on their belts. And around you, sometimes you can even see stone hammers and sheep jaws tied to a wooden stick.

When he saw this weapon for the first time, Louis XIV didn't even think it was a weapon. He thought it was some kind of cursed instrument or a necessity for religious rituals. But Henry next to him, also known as Ludwig, The eldest son of King I told His Majesty the King that it was really a kind of weapon, and it was very common among the Tatars - and the best material for this kind of weapon should be deer or horse, because although the jaws of sheep Sharp, but not as long as a deer... But because there are few deer in the Tatars' range of activities, there are many sheep, so they often use the leftover sheep jaws to make spearheads or daggers.

...I didn’t see it with my own eyes, but only learned from the intelligence. As expected, I couldn’t really grasp the actual situation. Louis thought in his heart that the people holding the sheep’s jaws were a group of Tatars. Of course, they could not become members of the Guards Corps. It is very likely that they came to ask for supplies and commissions, but what concerned Louis XIV was that in the chaos, these Tatars were even more disciplined and disciplined than the soldiers and officers.

But the people around them didn't think so. They all showed disgusted eyes and contemptuous gestures, until one of the mercenaries who wanted to push the Tatar leader away suddenly screamed. Although Louis XIV was always watching He was looking at these Tatars, but because of the distance and the crowd, he wasn't quite sure what was going on there - but after the crowd quickly pushed away, he saw the mercenary kneeling on the ground, holding up his bare and bloody wrist. , a Tatar calmly stepped forward and thrust a knife into his throat.

This episode happened unexpectedly, and it was obvious to the naked eye that it was about to turn into a terrible group fight, because someone was rushing in and let out a shrill scream after seeing the body - these people may be from Italy Mercenaries, Italy is almost the most prosperous and busy place for mercenaries. After all, the lords there are keen on war but do not like fighting. Whether they are big families in the same city or fighting against foreign enemies, such as the French, they will hire outsiders. Not in person.

Although such behavior will bring many bad consequences, it is indeed very beneficial to the development of mercenaries. Italian mercenaries are well-equipped. It is said that they even spend huge sums of money to buy their latest firearms from the French and make munitions. Of course Louis XIV knew about the business, and presumably it was for this reason that these Italians thought they could continue to be superior to others even in Camnico - but it was obvious that the Tatars were not the people they were familiar with. .

Maybe the Italian mercenary leader wanted to say something else. Louis XIV picked up the telescope and continued to pay close attention to them. He found that the mercenary leader was wearing a "Crime" on his shoulders, so he turned around and asked Ludwig I: "Has anyone around you hired Italians?" "No, Your Majesty." Ludwig I said, he also raised the telescope: "No, he should have hired someone from Poland or I bought it from the Hungarians." A krim is a short cloak that is often seen on Hungarian hussars and Polish hussars. In the summer, it is used to replace the beast furs originally worn on the body. It is usually half lifted and draped on the shoulders. , usually with thick lining and gold and silver thread embroidery, so it looks very grand. It is not surprising that Italians who love luxury will buy one for themselves.

While Ludwig I denied it, he was glad that he did not have such idiots around him. This Italian might have thought that he was employed by dukes and counts, and that he was equivalent to half a noble. He actually thought that he could reason with beasts - Tatar When the human leader's ax split his forehead, his mouth was still squirming. The gorgeous Krim failed to bring him any help, but his companions pulled out short-handled muskets-unexpectedly, those Under the dirty and knotted woolen clothes of the Tatars, there is actually the same musket that can be fired without striking the sickle to ignite it.

Two Italians fell first. The Tatars let out a barbaric cry, drew their weapons and rushed forward. The people around them either ran away or climbed up the low wall - it only took a few minutes for the Tatars to end the battle. , and then ran away quickly, like a bloody whirlwind. Anyway, when the guards of Leopold I arrived, only the dead could answer their questions.

"These Tartars!" Louis XIV couldn't help but say. If he still has the energy to develop eastward, he must try to capture these Tatars. Their combat capabilities are too strong. His new army is brave and loyal, but there is a problem. That is that they lack the kind of wildness necessary on the battlefield - but this is also a common problem in the army after hot weapons replaced cold weapons. Just like those Italian mercenaries, they may not be so useless on the battlefield, but they are used to shooting from a long distance. When they face each other, the victory or defeat is determined, and there are not many opportunities for close combat.