I Am Louis XIV

Paul always felt that he was much luckier than others, and everyone who knew him would say this was true.

Like most people in the Pas-de-Calais region, he has a fate that can be seen at a glance - sometimes they are British, sometimes French, and sometimes they are neither nationality, and their lives depend on smuggling. With looting, from France to England, or from England to France, simple-minded, strong-bodied men went out to "work", while women, the elderly and children were responsible for concealing, dividing and handling the stolen goods (removing the stolen goods or smuggling them) Marks that are too obvious on items), and there are also some weak but clever guys who have become businessmen. They are responsible for bribing officials and buying and selling "goods". There are also some children with outstanding talents who are lucky enough to become secretaries and deacons. The character has finally climbed out of this damn quagmire.

Paul's uncle was such a man. Their great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all privateers. In other words, they were smugglers and pirates, but compared to other privateer owners, Paul's great-grandfather was a very far-sighted man. He started from a very early age. I realized that piracy would not be a long-term business, and the benefits were far inferior to those of officials who could make money sitting comfortably in a spacious house. Of course, as a guy with a sailor background, he was deceived nine times out of ten, which earned him a lot of ridicule, but his persistence finally paid off in Paul's father's generation. Paul's uncle was a smart and beautiful man. As a child, he was sent to Italy to study, and he managed to make some friends, and finally got a position as a resident priest in Naples. This is why, after Paul was almost hanged for smuggling, he could still claim to be "innocent" Because of his identity as a priest.

However, the priest is already old, and Paul is almost fifty years old. There is no outstanding person in their family, only a young Jean Bart, who is studying at the military academy established by the king. Studying, but because he is too young and only a low-level officer, it is difficult to say what his future will be like. After some reluctance, Paul became calm. He continued to do his old business in the Lord’s holy residence on earth. He was preparing to make some more money and brought his uncle back from Italy. After all, he could stay in his hometown. Living out your old age in peace is a good ending for anyone.

But the temper of fate is always so bad. On that night, he first welcomed his long-lost nephew, dear Jean Bart. Before he had time to properly entertain his long-lost nephew, he was only a short distance away from the visit of the God of Death. Eva suddenly ran to his chapel again - Eva and Priest Paul's blood relationship is a bit distant, but Eva can also call him uncle. He also watched Eva grow up. After all, many people here are related. For a reason - then the damn British started a riot, and his chapel was burned down. Jean Bart rushed to Dunkirk overnight to report the news. While taking care of the poor girl, he stayed in the house and waited...

Needless to say what happened later, the British riot was quickly put down, and the person who punished them, ha, was his good nephew Jean Bart, who everyone said was the governor of Dunkirk, Vendôme. The Duke admired this young man very much and promised to promote him and reward him. This was also true. When "Jack"'s head was hung on the city wall, Jean Bart also became a young school officer. He brought his uncle A bounty, enough for him to rebuild a white marble chapel.

Not to mention this, the king heard about the unfortunate girl Eva and sent a message asking her to go to Versailles to meet the king. Priest Paul was a little worried at first because she had not come back, but Jean Bart wrote to him that Eva had won the favor of the king and the princess in Versailles, and she was now the princess's maid. Afterwards, it is possible to go to Spain or Prussia as a dowry.

Priest Paul was not worried about the dowry. Although he came from a humble background, as a businessman and a priest, he was well informed. Although Eva has always been silly, she is also the daughter of a privateer shipowner. She has seen blood and corpses. She may have shortcomings in language or planning, but her determination and madness when necessary make it easier for her to survive in a strange environment. Gained the advantage.

What he didn't expect was that Eva actually mentioned herself to the king. When the king came to Dunkirk, the king summoned him.

While he was glad that the chapel was rebuilt, he also cut out some new cassocks for himself - completely justified, because all his cassocks were destroyed in the fire, and he couldn't ring bells and chant sutras for people in ordinary people's clothes. , and if it is smuggled woolen and silk, it will not cost much. Today, he was wearing a thick black satin cassock, carrying a gold cross, and exquisite ivory and garnet beads hanging on his wrist, and stepped into the king's palace respectfully.

Priest Paul, or in other words, everyone who saw Louis XIV for the first time, would be surprised that the king's appearance and posture did not match his age. In this era, forty years old can be said to have entered the age of decline, but The king looks as good as Jean Bart, who was born in the 50th year. His eyes are still as clear as a child's, his cheeks are rosy, his hair is thick, he is tall and slightly thin, but he looks very powerful in his actions.

The king kindly asked Priest Paul to sit next to him. He asked a little about the reconstruction project of the chapel, and promised that he would build a church for the princess in Dunkirk. If Priest Paul is willing, he can become a church. The resident priest there. Of course Priest Paul was willing. He happily mentioned to the king that even if he had no experience as a resident priest, his uncle could still help him - because their family only had one, no, it can be said that there are two now. An outstanding man, he couldn't help but mention his uncle in Italy. The king paused slightly when he heard about his uncle's cathedral. "What a coincidence," he said, "I have heard of this church again."

"Have you heard of it?" Priest Paul was also a little surprised: "That's a new church."

It is said to be a new church. Considering that Priest Paul’s uncle is also over 70 years old, this church cannot be younger than him. It is a building from the early 17th century. However, in Naples, the most important thing is churches. There are many churches that have been built since then. It was built in the sixth century or earlier, but underwent many renovations in the later period. Because this church was a new church, it was possible for Priest Paul's uncle to become the resident priest there.

As for how the king knew - it was because the church was adjacent to the Gulf of Naples.

Because of these words of priest Paul, he got a seat to observe the ceremony.

After getting the viewing position, he could not leave Dunkirk for the time being - Priest Paul had no objections. It is well known that the king was assassinated in Dunkirk, and he passed through Flanders, the Netherlands and Kamni. But during the Great War, the rise of a powerful and wealthy country has become an indisputable fact. How can France's enemies be willing to sit back and wait for death? Assassination has always been the best strategy, not to mention the current situation in France, where both politics and the military are in the hands of one person - the crown prince Louis Jr. cannot intimidate the capable generals and ministers under the Sun King. Now he is so obedient and dedicated to state affairs, just because the person sitting on the throne is the Sun King. If the Sun King dies suddenly, there will definitely be people who want to plan for himself.

A weak and chaotic France is what the Habsburgs and even the British want to see.

After enjoying a delicious and hearty meal in his room, Priest Paul went straight to the window without lighting a candle and enjoyed the scenery in front of him.

For a privateer's son, the sea and the harbor were the most common things, but this location was not one that a man like Paul the Padre had every day - the king's castle, that is, the Castle of Dunkirk (King Poverty It is a newer building than the church of Paul's priest uncle, because it was built after the completion of the first Dunkirk dock. It is more like a fortress than a palace. , but at this time the fortress no longer needed to be as airtight and dark as the previous castles. The windows in the rooms were all inlaid with huge and translucent glass. The width of the glass in front of Priest Paul's eyes reached five feet, and he could overlook the entire port without any hindrance.

There are now three docks in the port of Dunkirk, which are like a sharp trident, facing Suffolk, Essex and Kent in the UK, especially Southend - the estuary of the Thames River. , everyone knows that upstream from the Thames Estuary is London, the key point of Britain, so Louis XIV turned from an alliance with himself to an alliance with the Habsburgs, and even intended to start a Dunkirk riot. It's not surprising, the king has no selfish feelings, this has been proven by countless people.

Louis XIV was content to obtain the last British foothold in France from Charles II.

The king ordered the three docks built by French craftsmen, architects and wizards unknown to most people to be surprisingly empty. Priest Paul clearly remembered that when he occasionally visited the resident priest of Dunkirk, he saw There were at least a hundred ships moored in the dock, but now they seemed to have been taken away by a naughty child. The sea surface was silvery and there was no trace left.

When Priest Paul was wondering where they had gone - he couldn't help but think of war, with the British or with other people, but the king was here, and it was impossible for a ship not to be left in the port... He was itching , I wonder what tricks these people are playing, maybe it has something to do with the so-called viewing ceremony? He thought, almost going to find his nephew and ask them if they were planning some big event, but then he gave up the idea.

At this time, someone knocked on the door outside.

The priest thought for a moment, casually pulled out a dagger and stuck it in his coat. He walked over and opened the door. Outside the door stood his nephew Jean Bart, full of dignity, with arrows and stars on his shoulders shining brightly. When he saw his uncle, he raised the bottle of wine in his hand.

"How did you come?"

Priest Paul asked casually, closing the door for his nephew. When he saw him pull out the dagger and put it on the table, Jean Bart was a little surprised: "You are in the king's castle." He said.

Priest Paul glared at his nephew: "There is a saying that once you get on the swing, everything will be over." "Swinging" is a popular saying among pirates, because at that time, in order to deter criminals, people would hang pirates on the swing. It was left on the gallows in the port until it completely decomposed. When the water in the body was dried and the weight was reduced, the body would sway on the gallows, looking like it was on a swing... "Even Eva can't Say something like this.”

This is really no joke. In the court of Louis XIV, poisons and daggers were not uncommon. In order to eliminate different opinions or remove stumbling blocks in the future, direct destruction of the body is still the most effective method. There are not many people that the king cares about, and a dead person will hardly allow Louis XIV to take precious time out of his busy schedule, unless you are someone like the Duke of Luxembourg. While receiving the favor of the king, Priest Paul is even more cautious - —With the two red princes Richelieu and Mazarin in front, who wouldn’t want to seize great power from the king’s trust? Even if you can't, just look at Lalivière and Elario. The former is a fat mediocrity, but the advantage is that he surrendered early. The latter is just a presiding judge of the Inquisition, and now he has also put on a red coat in Rome. .

The fights among the priests were much more dangerous and intensive than the battles among the pirates. It was difficult for Priest Paul to guarantee that before people could figure out why the king was so fond of him, one or two impulsive guys would stab him. Of course you can not believe it or feel wronged, but the most critical issue is that you did not have the opportunity to appeal in person at that time.

"Why don't you light a candle?" Jean Bart said. He walked to the table, put down the wine bottle, found a match from the drawer, lit the candle, and the room suddenly lit up.

"I'm looking at the harbor," said the priest. "Does it really matter? From here I can see three docks and the surrounding fortifications."

"What the people of Dover can see by holding a telescope has no confidentiality value." Jean Barr said: "You can see it, and you can understand it."

"I see the docks are empty," said the priest.

"Why, I can't tell you where the ships are," said Jean Bart.

"I don't want to know either," the priest said, "but looking at the way you are smiling, it shouldn't be a big problem. But I think you still want to talk to me about something when you come to my place."

"It's not an important matter." Jean Bart looked at his uncle and said, "I want to know more about that uncle."

"Well," said the priest, "I think that's all."

I'm stuck. I've been vacant for a few days. I'm sorry. I'll wait until I get it back. I won't go into details to avoid raising a flag.