I Am Louis XIV

"I am still saying the same thing," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "I don't want to do anything."

"Here's the problem," said the Duke of Vendôme: "You have stolen the king's power and you have not given it back."

"I built it with my own hands," the Duke of Saint-Simon said displeasedly. "Not even the king has the right to take it away."

"I hope you would have dared to say this to Louis XIII fifty years ago." Duke Vendôme paused his cane: "It was indeed a good opportunity at that time. The king's enemies simultaneously launched riots and conspiracies against him, and The personal grudge between you and Count de Xavier has created a power vacuum for a period of time," the Duke said. "But without Louis XIII, there would be no Duke of Saint-Simon. You have betrayed your king once, and you will betray him again. A second time?"

The Duke of Vendôme said this because at that time Louis XIII boldly promoted the then unknown Duke of Saint-Simon in order to compete with Cardinal Richelieu's secret agent organization, but at that time he was just an ordinary attendant. Mr. Claude, obviously, he believed that his talent and hard work were the reasons why this heavy net could finally be formed. He may have been grateful to Louis XIII at the beginning, but soon, his ambition outweighed it. It was this gratitude that Count Xavier took seriously in order to sow discord between the monarch and his ministers - if Cardinal Richelieu had not died suddenly at that time, Louis XIII would have been anxious to curb his power and wealth. , they may still have a chance to redeem each other, but unfortunately, neither Louis XIII nor the Duke of Saint-Simon refused to bow to each other.

From the standpoint of Louis XIII, there could be Duke Saint-Simon and Duke Xavier. He did not think that his spies needed an indispensable leader, but Count Xavier did disappoint him. At that time, the Duke of Saint-Simon might just be waiting for Louis XIII to notice this mistake. The Duke of Saint-Simon is now acting very tough, but judging from the Duke of Vendôme, maybe he has always been immersed in a subtle regret. He probably didn't expect that things would eventually get out of hand.

"My king, sir, I have not yet pledged allegiance to Louis XIV," the Duke of Saint-Simon said arrogantly. He was from a mediocre background and often showed a superior attitude: "It is not a betrayal or anything."

"But you are standing on his territory," said the Duke of Vendôme. "Your title comes from his father. He inherited his father's crown. You should bow to him."

"You mean the vassal's obligations. Of course, I will obey his will and provide him with food, musicians, women and soldiers, or horses, and armor, but other than these, he can't dictate to me, and don't even think about it. Let me leave my fief." said the Duke of Saint-Simon, while showing a contemptuous smile: "I am old, Duke Vendôme, I have no interest in makeup, dancing, or gambling. I will not go to Paris. Not even going to Versailles."

The Duke of Vendôme glanced at him. He remembered the letter his grandson wrote to him, saying that the king once said something to them inadvertently, which he thought was very reasonable - that is, never regard others as fools. Although some people are indeed stupid, the crowd There will always be smart people and people who can understand smart people - Louis XIV painstakingly built the Palace of Versailles, which is like a paradise on earth, and turned Paris into a palace of finance and art. A large part of the reason is for Attracting connections, money and resources from all of France and even Europe to these two central cities that are like sisters.

When reading history books, some people may wonder how those nobles gave up their exclusive and noble status in their own territories and went to work as a small servant in the Louvre or the Palace of Versailles - we will briefly outline this situation. You can refer to the almost destructive suppression of small and medium-sized cities by megacities hundreds of years later - according to Maslow's theory, human needs are divided into five levels, physiological needs - safety needs - social needs - respect needs - self-needs. In small and medium-sized cities, those who can meet the first and second-class needs can be said to be a minority. To put it more bluntly, they belong to the upper class, just like the princes and nobles who stick to their territories, but they have to satisfy them. With the third-level demand on the territory, a territory that is almost impossible to change has become a shackles for them.

In this era, even for a count, his territory was limited to two or three apontes (French area unit, about 20-50 acres) of flat farmland and about three times the area of ​​mountains or hills; a principality, too That is, the territory of a duke is ten times that of an earl; in a grand duchy, the territory of a grand duke is ten times that of a duke. Of course, sometimes these territories will shrink or have "errors". In other words, some people's territories are just A blank document.

Except for a few grand dukes and dukes, you can imagine how difficult it would be for an earl, marquis or baron or viscount who can only guard the territory. Although they can kill and kill the people in the territory, except for some with eccentric temperaments Except for the guys, few people can get endless fun from it-chasing enjoyment, or going one step further to satisfy their own ambitions, that is, the pursuit of third to fifth level, which is simply impossible in those remote and boring places. Impossible - but Versailles or Paris could satisfy them.

They can sell their territory directly like the Duke of Lorraine and indulge in endless comfort, luxury and happiness; they can also kneel to the young king for their love like the Duke of Mormart; they can also Just like the Viscount of Turenne or the Grand Condé, they swore loyalty because of the authority given to them by the king... But there is also a group of people, a group of smart people we mentioned above, who understood sooner or later that Louis The Fourteenth took over the will passed down from Louis VI. Yes, starting from Louis VI, every French king has been diligently seeking ways to gather royal power. The previous kings almost all adopted the "communist" method. They used the method of "defending foreign enemies" to strengthen the royal power and weaken the princes through foreign wars. They did a good job. At least after the Crusades, the Hundred Years' War and the Thirty Years' War - a series of large and small wars, the French aristocrats They were indeed severely weakened. After all, as vassals, they did not refuse the king's right to request soldiers and armaments, otherwise the king would be able to take back their territory.

When Louis XIII arrived, Louis XIII was still fighting outside. When Louis XIV arrived, although the young king did not make any excessive demands, his victory created two very unfavorable results for the nobles. The first is that the king's prestige among the people has reached an insurmountable and destroyed height, and the second is that the king has used this to build a standing army that can easily defeat any princes or even alliances. Just look at how difficult it was for Charles II to form a standing army in London. When the French nobles at that time knew that the king even mortgaged the Fontainebleau Palace for his army, it has to be said that most of them Have the attitude of watching a good show.

Why was Bishop Mazarin so determined not to allow war in the lowlands? It is precisely because this area is too vast and directly affects several countries. If France dares to go to war with Flanders or the Netherlands, it will be like stepping into a big quagmire, with no way to escape but nothing to gain. Advantages - He probably didn't expect that his King's student would be so wild. He was like a bold gambler, using despicable means that could not be told to outsiders, with a hot and crazy heart, All chips were thrown in the Lowcountry.

He won the bet.

This is a huge victory, and it also blinded some people's eyes, or aroused their greed. Even those who do not like pleasure, they will hope to grab some benefits from the king's victory. The key is, If they continued to stay thousands of miles away from the king, who would mention them to the king? So they gave up their possessions and handed them over to the king's officials, and one after another they fell at the king's boots.

But there are always people who can see through these tricks, and some people always refuse to leave the territory, even if Louis XIV has reserved a room or even a suite for them in the Palace of Versailles.

"Then you plan to stay in your fief for the rest of your life?" said the Duke of Vendôme.

"Yes, go back and tell the king," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "let us not disturb each other."

"What about your child?" said the Duke of Vendôme, "although he is still very young."

Although the Duke of Saint-Simon is old, his wife is still very young, and his son is surprisingly small - he was born in 1975 and is still a toddler.

"He may complain," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "but I think I may not hear it."

"Then I'll put it bluntly," the Duke of Vendôme said: "I'm afraid it's not that simple. Sir, do you think why the king suddenly wants to have such a grand parade?"

"He is showing strength, or charm or something." Duke St. Simon sighed and said: "My son is still very young, but other people's children are not young. They are all young people, and they can use power, love and money. Let them waver. Once these young people follow the king to Paris and Versailles, what's the use of the old guys holding on? God knows if another Duke of Lorraine will come out."

"So someone wants to stop this grand parade, but you know it and still remain silent." The Duke of Vendôme said: "Are you prepared to watch the king die?"

"No," Duke Saint-Simon said calmly, "You also said it was just obstruction."

"What did they tell you back then? Did they say they just wanted Louis XIII to suffer a little?" Duke Vendôme showed a sarcastic look: "How could you be so arrogant? Think you can control it?" Everything? As dazzling as the Sun King's light is, so dark are his enemies. They are jealous of him, hate him, and use every means to want him to fall..."

"I don't understand a bit." Duke Saint-Simon suddenly interrupted him: "Sir, you have also suffered a lot from Louis XIII and Richelieu, but judging from your words now, you do love your nephew quite a lot. . You also know what he is doing. He intends to deprive all nobles of their territories and natural rights. He requires them to surrender under his feet and act like dogs and horses. He calls himself the Sun King, perhaps because there is only one sun. ——He even disdains the stars and clouds as a backdrop. Everyone is his servant and slave, including you and your descendants. You have lost your territory, and your title is like foam in the air. What’s the difference between a country bumpkin who takes pride in his reputation?”

"..." Duke Vendôme was silent for a while, and then he smiled: "About this, I really want to agree with you. Yes, you are right. Our Majesty will probably not allow France to have The second voice.”

"You're not going to object?"

"Why should I object," said the Duke of Vendôme: "Sir, I am the Duke of Vendôme and the son of Henry IV, but more importantly, I am also a Frenchman."

The Duke of St. Simon heard this and let out a sharp sneer: "I thought only children would believe in the ideas spread by the king's priests."

"Correct idea." Duke Vendôme said unhurriedly: "Perhaps you expect to see a disintegrated France, so that no one will pursue your negligence and dereliction of duty, and you can even rely on stealing. I want to use my power to seek greater benefits, but I must advise you that the king asked me to come here not out of fear or hesitation. He has three secret powers in his hands. Do you think he will do anything to those people? Don't you know anything about the conspiracy? He just doesn't want to see the traces left by his father eventually being wasted or used incorrectly. Duke Saint-Simon," he stood up: "Your Majesty asked me to tell you, if you He will be very happy if you are willing to offer that small souvenir, but if not, he will not care too much. After all, he can also get it himself, it is very simple," he said as if talking to himself, "You You know, besides the king's musketeers and squires, he was closely followed by an army of fifty thousand men."

"Even the king," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "does not have the power to deprive a noble of his assets, title or territory at will."

"Except for treason." Duke Vendôme said: "Do you think they can't find evidence?" He shook his head slightly: "I know you want to wait and see for a while, but I don't think our king will." Too much patience.”

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The princess and her entourage had no idea what kind of person the old man they saw in the cafe was. They happily returned to the Palace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, bringing with them specialties that they thought were beautiful or delicious, ready to be dedicated to the The king and the princess think that your majesty will be willing to see this, because gorgeous painting panels, silky fabrics and plump sausages are not necessities for survival. This means that people here will start to pursue enjoyment when they live a prosperous life.

While they were waiting in another room, they saw an old man with white hair and beard walking out of the king's audience room. As soon as Joseph saw him, he immediately jumped up, ran over and put his arms around the other man's neck. He shouted intimately: "Grandpa!"

It looks like there will be another chapter tomorrow, good night everyone.