I Am Louis XIV

The width of the strait between Britain and France meant that it was difficult to keep any secrets between Dover and Dunkirk.

On a sunny day and the weather is calm, the two can look at each other from a distance. With the help of a telescope, it is not difficult to see what the other person is doing.

The tower keepers stationed at the White Cliffs of Dover Lighthouse saw the French fleet, and the sound of cannons quickly attracted soldiers and officers. They ran to the lighthouse, held up their binoculars, and saw something similar to the French. , a young officer with keen eyesight and good at painting described everything he saw as best as possible, and then combined other people's descriptions into a detailed intelligence and sent it to Hampton Court Palace in London.

The "Happy King" Charles II rarely held a banquet or dance that day. After the Lord of the Admiralty and the Chancellor of the Finance were summoned by him, the attendants outside the door heard Charles II's hoarse and distorted curses. After a while, the two adults ran out with their heads covered. Charles II was silent in his room for a long time, without even eating dinner. When night fell, he left Hanoi with two priests. Princeton Palace.

People didn't know where he was at first, but they found out the next day because they saw the Duke of York.

The Duke of York was caught by Louis XIV and thrown into the Bastille because of his failed attempt to assassinate the Duchess of Orleans in France. Although Charles II ransomed his brother due to face and the demands of Congress, upon his return, the Duke Became a frequent visitor to the Tower of London.

There are always people with a keen sense of smell who heard the news about the Dunkirk maritime military exercise, and they immediately linked the two things together. It seems that Charles II was not touched by brotherhood, but had to release York. Duke - Although the French navy is powerful, it is still immature. If they wait until they sharpen their swords with pirates and the Dutch government-in-exile... After losing its land advantage over France, Britain will lose its sea advantage over France.

He must recall the Duke of York.

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Now, let us turn back the time a little to the time when Louis and the Duke of Orleans said that they were going to Rennes in a ship.

Where is Rennes? Rennes is the principality of Brittany. Of course, it is now the capital of the Brittany region. Its lord is the king of France. At the time, Francois I and Princess Claude (Louis XII and Brittany The daughter of a duchess) married and succeeded in taking Brittany into her arms while inheriting the throne of France.

This happened in 1518, which means that it is only more than a hundred years since now. More than a hundred years is long enough for a person, but very short for a country. The relationship between Brittany and France The relationship between the two is like that of a wolf and a hunter. Sometimes the giant wolf can bite the hunter's throat, and sometimes the hunter can split the giant wolf's head. Now, although this beast is temporarily chained, it can still be regarded as France. A major problem with Louis XIV.

The previous rebellion did not involve Brittany, which was a bit confusing, but when the king gently said the word "Rennes", the Duke of Orleans and the people around him couldn't help but change their colors.

Speaking of which, the relationship between Brittany and France is no simpler than that between Britain and France. The origins of the Brittany people are quite complicated. Some of them are descendants of the original Gauls, and some of them migrated south due to the invasion of the two Germanic tribes, Anglo and Saxon. The Welsh and Cantonese who crossed the strait to Brittany The Vol people were once ruled by the Romans and were the last territory to fall in the Western Roman Empire, so they vaguely regarded themselves as the last Romans.

After the complete destruction of the Roman Empire, the Brittany faced the attack of the Germanic-Franks. The Franks fought with the Bretons for many years, but still could not conquer this area, and finally had to recognize the Principality of Brittany. Independence - later French kings used marriage to seek Brittany many times, but Brittany also rebelled and regained independence more than once. There was no trace of Brittany in this rebellion. It was originally It was so unusual that everyone felt there must be a conspiracy.

Rennes in Brittany was not originally on the list of the Grand Parade. Unlike Nantes, although there is a castle of the Duke of Brittany in Nantes, it was originally built by the Duke of Brittany (father of Duchess Anne). , and because Nantes was once a center for Huguenots, after several bloody battles, it became more stable. Later, because the king intended to rebuild ironclad ships here, he stationed a fleet of troops here. An army of ten thousand people will be more reliable.

But where is Rennes? It has been guarding the gate of Brittany since the first century BC, during the Roman rule. In 510 AD, Brittany became a principality, and it is the capital of the principality. All the Dukes of Brittany will hold their ceremonies in Saint-Pierre Cathedral. During the coronation ceremony, you must receive the mayor's key at the city gate and swear to protect Brittany. It is a holy place for supporters of Brittany's independence and one of the cities with the most entrenched anti-French forces. The king's grand parade would stop in this city, and his ministers and generals would never agree.

"I know what you are worried about." Louis said: "But Brittany is different from anywhere else. The people here are warriors. Even Charlemagne never conquered them. Only strong and fearless can make them surrender," he Looking past everyone in the room: "Have you seen in Paris or Versailles those people who have the right to represent Brittany? No," he answered instead: "They are strong-willed and clear-headed. If the Grand Parade By giving way to Brittany, they will only despise Bourbon more and more, and they will not regard themselves as French - because the French are defeated by the Bretons."

"I will destroy them," said the king, "and then we will truly have Brittany."

The people who were qualified to enter this room looked at each other. They did not think it was possible to persuade the king. They looked at the Duke of Orleans. Now only the Duke could persuade the king to change his mind. The Duke of Orleans coughed softly a few times. The ministers saw the opportunity and left the room. To these distinguished brothers.

"Let's have dinner first." The Duke of Orleans said, and soon a sumptuous dinner was served. Louis was always very restrained in the evening, but today they only used one or two "King's Bread" for lunch. Now Louis He was indeed hungry, so he sat down first, and then asked the Duke to sit down - during the Louis XIII period, the prince's brother and the Duke had to hold up lamps for the king, but Louis was not interested in this kind of red tape - if this kind of brainwashing If the method works, Louis XIII will not have to worry about the Duke of Vendôme and the Duke of Gaston. For a dignified person, this will encourage him to work hard to seize power. For the prince's brother, the only way is to climb up. The throne is gone.

The Duke of Orleans was also used to dining with the king. He lifted up his coat and sat down too. He washed his hands with warm water with lemon. The first thing he served was hot fish soup and clam soup. Eating seafood on the beach is of course the most exciting thing. Pleasant, fresh food brings delicious taste and mellow texture. The Duke of Orleans sipped the soup and asked: "How are you going to deal with those Brittany people?"

"I want to see their attitude and thoughts first," the king said, "to see if they are for personal gain or for the people of Brittany."

"I think it should be the latter," said the Duke of Orleans: "Otherwise we should be able to see Bretons in Versailles." Just like the Duke of Lorraine, they would be happy to sell Brittany at a good price, but Similarly, at any time, the person who raises the banner of justice will also be a person of high authority - such as William of Orange. This is not surprising, because whether it is politics or war, the leader needs to have enough knowledge and experience, and at least receive an orthodox and complete education. Otherwise, like most riots, they will disappear silently in the history. In the long river.

This is not contempt, nor is it nonsense. If you have not forgotten the shoe revolt we mentioned before - the ignorant people honestly confessed everything when they confessed to the priest. Even if they didn't, they were illiterate and could not read. How did farmers read maps, write letters, and calculate troops and supplies?

"If it's the latter," the Duke of Orleans asked again, "what are you going to do?"

"I'm a peace-loving person," Louis said. "I want to negotiate with them first."

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Before today, Duke Saint-Simon had laughed at the fact that the Duke of Vendôme would be appointed by a junior, even if he was appointed by the King of France. He would bow down to his former enemy. Unexpectedly, he would soon follow the footsteps of the Duke of Vendôme. ’s footsteps.

The king asked him to negotiate with several powerful people in Brittany, but let the Duke of Saint-Simon come to see it. It read as a negotiation and a threat, but he thought about it. If he were a Brittany, it would be difficult to find any maneuvers or maneuvers. There is room for fighting. There is no doubt that on land, Louis XIV will never lose like the giant Antaeus (Note 1). With this huge fleet, especially the thirty iron-clad ships, given time, Both Spain and the UK can only say hello.

Louis XIV did not directly come to Brittany like Charles VIII. In fact, he seemed to really desire peace as he said - the Duke of Saint-Simon maintained his personal opinion on this. But what I want to say here is that the king may be about to enact two laws, one is the law of the sea, and the other is the slaughter law.

Two laws directly related to Brittany.

Open the map and you will find that the Brittany region is a peninsula extending to the sea, surrounded by the sea on three sides and facing the French interior on one side. It is no wonder that the people here are so fierce. It can be said that they have no way out, but No matter how brave a warrior is, he needs food, drink, clothing, and various tools and weapons... Brittany's two biggest products are seafood and livestock.

With such a fleet, the French king can calmly blockade the French offshore waters. All fishing boats will undoubtedly be controlled by the king's officials. Although specific laws have not yet been issued, the Duke of Saint-Simon has learned a little bit about it. In this situation, these two laws must include something similar to a license. To put it simply, no ship can sail without the permission of the king. At this time, there is no recognized concept of territorial sea, whether it is a route or the sea surface. Depending on the naval strength of each country, the place where the artillery can reach is the territory of the king - this is also valid at sea, but if this is the case, the law of the sea alone can make one-third of the population of Brittany endure Hungry.

As for resistance... The Duke of Saint-Simon didn't think those small, broken fishing boats could stand up to the king's fleet.

As for the Slaughter Law, the king has already been considering this law, because if it is not slaughtered, stored and raised properly, it may cause the plague. Paris, Versailles, Orleans, and Blois have all begun to implement the Slaughter Law. Although there were some stumbling blocks, the fish, pork, beef, mutton, chicken and duck that were stamped with seals quickly gained the favor of the ladies and cooks. In this era, food poisoning is not something that can be easily cured. People, especially the elderly and children, can die from a bout of vomiting and diarrhea.

However, Duke Saint-Simon's spies also submitted corresponding reports. Duke Saint-Simon was keenly aware that this was also one of the methods used by the king to strangle the lord's throat. When the output of the territory could only be transformed by the hands of the king's officials, When it turns into jingling coins... Even if you stick to your own territory, it's useless if you don't step into Paris or Versailles - that's why he accepted the bribe of Leopold I like a ghost. It was Louis XIV's fault, of course.

Presumably those Brittany people would have the same idea. The king might not attack Brittany on a large scale, but if the two major outputs of Brittany were restricted by the king's laws - even if they secretly went to sea, the king would The law clearly states that meat and fish that have not been inspected cannot be sold publicly. If poisoning or plague occurs, the sellers will be hung on the street lamp poles one by one.

The most annoying thing is that this law is also popular with the public, who must have had enough of muddy ducks, chalky bread and oiled raw meat (which looks relatively fresh).

In fact, in addition to these two things, Brittany also has a good product, which is Compey pottery. However, since the king fired beautiful and good porcelain in Lorraine, Compey pottery can no longer be sold at a high price.

The king's intention is very clear. He may not act rashly, but if the Brittany people firmly refuse to accept the rule of the French king, he will slowly trap Brittany to death.

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"In fact, there is a big question about Brittany," the king said.

"What's the problem?" asked the Duke of Orleans.

"Ever heard of King Arthur?"

Note 1: Antaeus is the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Gaia, the mother goddess of the earth. He never feels tired, and his body absorbs the power of the earth as soon as it touches it.