I Am Louis XIV

Placed in front of Louis XIV was a linen robe so poor that one could detect various secrets through the holes, an iron chain belt, and a crown of thorns.

Louis XIV completely regarded the subsequent small pilgrimage as a play with his son, or at most a special performance. When Bontang walked in, he told him that there were several Franciscan gray monks requesting an audience with the king. At that time, he agreed casually, telling little Louis not to eat meat all the time, and watching little Luciano not to eat too many sweets, while wiping his face and hands in hot lemon water before going to another place. Meet the monks in a room.

Then he saw the first gift he had received since arriving in Rome.

The Franciscan monks just smiled when they saw the king with handsome appearance and easy-going attitude, and looked at them, from their hoods to their feet. Although the clothes can be changed and the expression can be pretentious, a farmer There must be more completely different things from a lord, and these characteristics can hardly be concealed - how can a priest who is pampered in a palace in Rome and a monk in a remote monastery rely on the work of his own hands to get food? Maybe the same?

These monks are real monks, and Louis XIV's gaze is not so sharp and terrifying: "Who asked you to come here?"

"God." said the leading monk.

"God can only speak to one thing," Louis said, "and that is everyone's heart. In the dark night, he goes to people's hearts and talks to every kind or absurd heart. Its Has the master acted in accordance with his will? Or has his teachings been forgotten? Or is he chanting scriptures but acting like the devil? How does he speak to your heart? He tells you, I am pious. , or hypocrisy?”

He lightly tapped the linen shirt: "Jesus Christ once said to everyone, 'Whoever is without sin among you can throw stones at this woman!' Now I also want to ask you, do you have the right to do so? Decide whether I am innocent or guilty. If I put on sackcloth, a crown of thorns, and a chain, and walk through the entire Holy Sepulcher as you asked me to do, am I innocent? You can't How can you be sure if God has walked into my heart?"

He paused: "If a heinous criminal is allowed to do this, will he become a good person? What if a hateful heretic is allowed to do this, will his sins be atoned for? What if it’s the devil and his minions?”

"How is that the same?" A monk couldn't help but said: "Your sins are different from theirs."

Louis sighed: "The tone of your words reminds me of the vendors in the market. They have a scale. Where is your scale?"

"Your remarks remind me of those radical Protestants," the leading monk said: "They also firmly believe that the Lord lives in their hearts, and they believe in no one except themselves."

"You are wrong," Louis said softly, "I believe it, because for me, anything in the world can fall into my pocket as long as it has a price."

"Then, can God's call redeem you and the people of France of pure faith?" The leading monk stopped the other monks from being angry at such blasphemous words, opened his hood, and spoke with a bright The eyes of the god were on the king.

“It depends on whether the one calling me is the real God or the devil.”

"I thought the one who summoned the devil was already in front of us." The leading monk said aggressively.

"Some devils can be seen, and some come and go without a trace. For good and pious people, sometimes blindness is also a sin, just like those who hold up stones to kill the woman."

Louis said: "Please take this and look at it, brothers of the birds (Francis once called the birds sisters), and see whether it is the holy dove or the vicious vulture that drives you here."

The leading monk bowed and took the document handed over by Bangtang - it was just a thin piece of paper. Then he showed a sad look: "I don't want to believe that such a thing exists, but You have real evidence." He said: "The problem is, no matter what, you are guilty."

"Man is born with sin," said Louis, "but even if the ground opens up now and hell lies beneath my feet, I will not think that I have done any sin that requires such action to atone for it," he said sternly, "When a sharp sword does not cut armor, but chops grass and trees, he is wrong; when a hound does not pursue a hungry beast, but bites a horse that has just gone astray. He was also wrong; when people in a place did not hang a robber who robbed many people, but wanted to hang a thief who stole three copper coins, they were even more wrong. I respect you. I will not hold you accountable for your faults, but this does not mean that I am too weak and good at compromise."

"You are as arrogant as King Solomon," said the leading monk. "Your Majesty, you are in Rome, not Paris. You are at the feet of God. You should remain humble."

"I bow my knees only to God," Louis XIV said bitterly, "unlike you."

"We have long given up on worldly prosperity," the leader of the monks said, "I want nothing but to serve my Lord."

"It was Gregory VII who made a king stand barefoot, in sackcloth, and in chains outside the castle to repent." Louis laughed: "He is now a saint. If I were like this, the Romans would also remember you. name," he pointedly penetrated the thoughts of these monks that even he himself was not aware of: "I can only tell you that I probably couldn't do the first half of what Henry IV did, but I might not be able to do the second half. no problem."

The monks turned pale. What did Henry IV do after suffering such humiliation?

He led an army, marched south to Rome, drove Gregory VII out of the Vatican, and died in Salerno, southern Italy.

"I don't even have to go back to France," Louis whispered. "My army is here, in Rome."

"...But it won't do you any harm." After a period of silence, another monk argued: "Saint Louis goes to mass twice a day and recites the Hail Mary fifty times before going to bed. In order to participate in the morning Pray, he will get up at midnight. He was a Franciscan monk. Jesus once washed the feet of his disciples. He also washed the feet of poor blind people. You also once touched lepers. Your Majesty, asceticism and It will not bring shame to you, it will only increase your virtue.”

"You may be right," Louis' eyes shifted to him, and the monk lowered his head as if overwhelmed, for no other reason - the king's eyes were too bright, "but your words are for St. Francis to listen to." When you get there, you will definitely laugh. St. Francis was very ridiculous when he was young, but when he repented, he did not say to his friends, you should do the same as me, otherwise it would be wrong; when he was wearing When he walked out of the house in a rough robe and with empty hands, he did not tell his father that your behavior was wrong. You should give up the worldly life and go into the arms of the Lord like me; when he walked to the crowd Here, when he persuaded them to obey the will of the Lord, he did not beat them because they were unwilling to obey; when he lived in isolation and lived like a beast alone on the rocky mountain, he did not look down upon those brothers who had not practiced asceticism. Be lazy and stupid - now I still have to ask, what makes you think that you can influence a person's behavior with your own will?"

He picked up the crown of thorns and said, "How easy it is. Just take it, walk a short distance, and say the words of repentance, and I can become a saint as you say. It is not difficult, It’s not dangerous, and the benefits are huge. If I believe in the Lord as you said, I should do this, but I think there is still a thorn in my heart that cannot be pulled out. Whenever I want to violate my When my soul is broken, this thorn will prick me."

The monk seemed to want to say something, but was stopped by their leader.

"I can only say that God bless you, Your Majesty, and thank you for your kindness." The leading monk said, his words were not without purpose. The asceticism would be welcomed by a king like Saint Louis, but it might also be appreciated by a handsome man like Philip. They might even be driven out in embarrassment, but Louis just raised his hand and let them leave with their robes, chain belts and crowns of thorns.

"Although someone else might think it makes sense," Louis and Bontang complained, "but the people behind them only want to see two results."

"I am all ears. Your Majesty."

"The first result is that I become the second Saint Louis," Louis said: "You know, Bontang, people are tolerant of thieves because they know that the other person is a fallen devil, but for a saint, they But he will strictly hold up a magnifying glass to look at it. Once the church behaves like this," he pouted: "I'm afraid I will be restricted everywhere in the future."

"You will receive the Pope's blessing and then sacrifice for his will." Bontang also saw it clearly: "It's like Saint Louis."

"Louis IX was already sixty-six years old during the Eighth Crusade." Louis said: "If it was just his personal wish, he probably would not have traveled all the way to Tunisia to fight."

“The people of Judah are not the best at lending money,” Bontang said. “The church will get back a hundredfold for every penny it gives.”

"There is a second possibility," Louis said: "That is to create a little accident. Although people are willing to hear how a saint practices asceticism, they are more willing to hear how a devil was punished in front of the holy tomb."

Bontang's expression became cold and hard: "I will order them to clean up the parade route again."

"Don't worry so much," Louis said nonchalantly: "The only ones they can use are wizards and monks. Barras is by my side now, and Elario will arrive tomorrow."

——————

As Louis said, there were Barras and Elario, and their pilgrimage was peaceful. Although Louis XIV did not want to be the second Saint Louis, he still did something that Saint Louis did. He promised A church and monastery were to be built in Rome in the name of St. Louis, and several relics captured in this campaign were to be enshrined in the church. During the pilgrimage, he fed a hundred poor people daily bread and milk, and was among them. dining for three people.

The Duke of Colonna was keenly aware that these three people could not be said to be real poor. He told Louis, and Louis smiled and replied that there could not be real poor in Rome, because the charity of pilgrims alone was not A small amount, certainly not the same as the real poor Colonna saw in Naples.

During the high mass held in St. Peter's Basilica, the Dauphin and the Duke of Colonna appeared together. They stood on the left and right behind Louis XIV, watching their father and the king being blessed by the Pope. The new Pope Innocent The Eleventh also gave them his blessing, which made some people look ugly, because forget about little Louis, the Duke of Colonna was known to be an illegitimate son.

Innocent XI's move may be to reverse some adverse consequences...but these are far from enough for Louis XIV.

"Are you sure?" Innocent XI and Louis XIV met privately later. They were like two strange but friendly guests sitting face to face. The Pope did not salute Louis, and Louis did not kiss the Pope's ring. , "You should know this person of Barras," Innocent XI said: "A stupid old dog!"

"Just to spend the past few years, I have a person I like very much, but he lacks qualifications."

"Elario?" Innocent Eleven frowned.

"Eralus."

"He is a judge of the Inquisition." Innocent XI said: "The granting of the priesthood of Barras has been criticized by many people."

"Then Elario is not the first." Louis said: "Anyway, he will go back to Paris in a few years. Are they still worried that he will become the pope in this short period of time?"

"Of course it's impossible." Innocent XI said, "Bishop?"

"I hope it's the Archbishop."

"Then he will be promoted to cardinal in a few years." Innocent XI said: "Unless he has really made some achievements, people will have nothing to say." This is a hint that church taxation has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. Power of appointment and removal.

"This is impossible." Louis said, "But I can give up part of the interests in dyes and woolen fabrics only to your family."

"not enough."

"It's enough, just an archbishop's position."

"I am Benedetto Otezcalchi, also Innocent XI."

Louis leaned back in his chair: "I'm not sure, but I do have an idea."

"what idea?"

"Crete."

Anyone who has ever been interested in the Crusades will probably know about Rhodes Island, which was held until the last moment by the Knights Hospitallers (later changed to the Knights of Rhode Island), but this island was not the final hurdle for Christendom. It only took a few years to build the last sea fortress from the Mediterranean to the Asian continent - this sea fortress is Crete.

Crete once belonged to a country, that is, the Aegean Civilization or the Mycenaean Civilization. Its emergence was even earlier than that of ancient Greece. However, in the subsequent development, due to the confinement of geography and ideas, their development eventually fell behind. After Greece, it was successively occupied by the ancient Greeks, ancient Romans, Arabs, and Byzantines. In the 12th century, the Venetians took advantage of the Crusades and the split of the Byzantine Empire to buy Kerry. Special, until 1669.

Speaking of which, the Ottoman Turks were able to capture Crete thanks to the Koprulu family. Old Koprulu gave the declining Ottoman Empire a shot in the arm, revitalizing this country that had become increasingly sluggish due to its size. His son, Ahmed, who was about to be quartered because of this defeat, was the planner and organizer of this battle. It was a pity that Ottoman Turkey never compensated for it with its past achievements. Sinful Tradition.

In other words, Ahmed's life and death depended on the whims of Sultan Muhammad IV. But like old ministers and young kings at any time and anywhere, it is difficult for a young king to hold a grudge against the ministers who govern on his behalf. What kind of good impression does she have, let alone the queen mother letting Koprulu's son become the future grand vizier.

Ahmed will inevitably die after returning, and the Ottoman Turkish Empire will be turbulent for a while. Innocent XI glanced at Louis XIV. He also read all the documents related to this king. This king had gambling interests. He had a gangster-like temperament, just like after he took down Flanders, he faced the chaotic and uncertain new territory, and the possibility of a huge coalition being formed at any time, led by the Holy Roman Empire, but he actually didn't care at all. In the eyes, regardless of the fact that the army has exceeded the normal employment time limit several times, it seems to be a desperate attack on the Netherlands.

Damn it he actually succeeded.

This greatly exceeded the expectations of the Roman Church and made them passive. Innocent XI could only be glad that he did not follow the previous pope and make more mistakes at that time - as for face, for a politician, sometimes Precious as gold, sometimes as low as clay, times have changed, my lord, he now said in his heart that the time when he could force the king to surrender to him has long passed, and after Henry IV returned with his army, Gregory VII also Nothing good will come of it.

However, "Will you use this as a bargaining chip?" Innocent XI said: "Crete belongs to the Venetians, and Venice belongs to Italy. The Duke of Colonna will not be satisfied with just the King of Naples. "

"That is only the first victory," said Louis XIV. "There are many more, sir."

First, Innocent XI was a little surprised. "Those monks said you were as arrogant as King Solomon. I think you are quite a bit arrogant." What Louis XIV meant was that he led the coalition forces to obtain Camnica before. Victory in battle is not considered victory.

Update completed.