I Am Louis XIV

The king has changed.

What is surprising is that, except for the king's younger brother and the king's first attendant Bontang, the first people to discover this were not the king's always trusted ministers like Prince Conti and Lovas, but the latest ones who came to seek refuge. The Duke of Saint-Simon - when he realized this, he did not hesitate to hand over the intelligence network in his hands, which was far more humble than when he was "invited" by the king to join the Grand Parade.

The Duke of Vendôme couldn't help but be curious. He came to visit the Duke of Saint-Simon and wanted to know the reason why he did this. He thought that this former enemy and friend would have to go through a lot of torture and hesitation before he would willingly hand over the final "Assets".

The Duke of Saint-Simon hesitated again and again, "It's not that I don't want to tell you," he said, "This is a feeling that is difficult to express." He relied on this ability to rise from an ordinary attendant to an important minister of Louis XIII. "All I can say is, sir, have you ever felt that since that day, the King has... not been so patient?"

The Duke of Vendôme took a breath. He was the king's illegitimate son and had lived through three kings. Of course he knew what it would be like when a king loses his patience - why do people fear kings? There is nothing better than the king who has always had the power of a word.

People may think that they are too cruel and indifferent, but they don’t know how many complex, heavy and cumbersome official tasks they face every day. Every matter, even the smallest thing, may involve thousands of people, and the king But they have to make a decision in a few minutes, a quarter of an hour, or at most a few days. Even so, the ever-changing situation will still cause incredible waves - so in many cases, a capable and courageous king Only by handling the affairs at hand quickly and ruthlessly like a cold and ruthless machine can the huge ship of the country continue to move forward smoothly.

But let the Duke of Vendôme say that Louis XIV was already a great king. When he turned the tide, he also tried to maintain the humanity in his heart - so the great Confucius who once betrayed the king and the country was talented. After being forgiven by him, he could even be reused; the sensitive Viscount Turenne could become the governor of the Netherlands, and when the Duke of Luxembourg was framed, the king did not take away his territory and title, but restored his innocence. Let him continue to serve in the army; and those Huguenots, the Duke of Vendôme has no doubt that if it were Louis XIII, if he had as many standing troops as Louis XIV, he would definitely put all the Protestants Drive them out, rather than graciously leaving them a place to live, without requiring them to convert, or requiring them to pay heavy taxes.

Not to mention other things, which king could launch two national wars in a row, but would rather mortgage his palace to merchants instead of levying war taxes from civilians or selling tax farming rights? The longer Louis XIV was in power, the stronger the people's support for him became. Isn't it because the young king had not raised a poll tax once since he took charge?

Thinking of this, Duke Vendôme even felt that what Duke Saint-Simon was worried about was not that important. Of course, this was also because Duke Saint-Simon was still guilty, and he was already a trusted minister of the king. He stood on the side of the king. From a standpoint, he felt that neither the Duke of Saint-Simon nor those Bretons were good people! He would rather the king become stricter, so that these unscrupulous guys can taste the feeling of being burned by the sun! They thought this was the era of Louis XII, when the French king had no choice but to do anything about this country within a country! ?

"But since you have handed over all the people in your hands," the Duke of Vendôme comforted him unintentionally: "The king will at least give you a room in Versailles. You can then see if any of your children are smart and loyal enough. People like my little Joseph, His Majesty needs young people now."

Duke Saint-Simon glared at Duke Vendôme... How could Duke Vendôme not know if others didn't tell him? He didn't have good luck in having children. It was only after Louis XIV started using wizards that he boldly sought help from potions. His son was born in 1975, but he was born in 2006 and is over seventy years old. This is also The reason why he tried to coerce the king at the beginning - he really couldn't wait for more than ten or twenty years to personally bring his son into the Palace of Versailles and seek a future for him.

Now his son can walk more than a hundred steps steadily on his own, or ride a pony. It is amazing. Although his wife is too doting, a two or three-year-old child can interact with an adult. , compared to young men who have served for many years in the king's army? Of course not!

"It seems that I can only try to live longer." Duke Saint-Simon said through gritted teeth.

"It is fortunate that you have never completely sided with the king's enemies after all, at least it has nothing to do with this matter." Duke Vendôme said: "Maybe I can suggest that the king arrange our rooms together, Claude "Dear old man," he asked casually, "Do you want to? We can go fishing and rowing on the Grand Canal of Versailles..."

The Duke of Saint-Simon glanced at this old rival. After decades of entanglement, they may know each other better than they know themselves. The Duke of Vendôme is obviously trying to win over him. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Palace of Versailles is a big battlefield. The Duke of Vendôme is also a Bourbon and has an outstanding grandson. As for the Duke of Saint-Simon, he said that he handed over all the power in his hands... Do you believe it? As long as he doesn't offend the king, he must still have someone to rely on.

Now that the Duke of Vendôme is seeking an alliance, the Duke of Saint-Simon finds that he has no choice. He has been away from Paris for too long. Although he has countless friends and relatives in his fiefdom, he is the only one in the Louvre and Versailles. The lonely poor man, with the Duke of Vendôme as an intermediary and guarantee, he can open up the situation as soon as possible: "I am very good at fishing. Don't be too jealous of me then," he said: "Maybe we can compete today. ”

"I would love to," said the Duke of Vendôme, "but today?"

"Only today," said the Duke of Saint-Simon meaningfully, "today we land at Vannes, and tomorrow our Majesty will receive an unexpected gift."

The Duke of Vendôme blinked. It seemed that he had caught a fish.

————

The bay where the Vana area is located, namely Quiberon Bay, is full of shoals, reefs and narrow waterways, so it is not suitable for first-class battleships such as ironclad ships to dock. This huge fleet docked at Belle Island. Here the king and his party transferred to a smaller ship and entered Quiberon Bay. There are two ports in Quiberon Bay, but the king chose the Port of Navarro. The Bretons speculated that this was because the Port of Navarro was far away from Calgary. Because Nak is closer.

Carnac is a very small village with no military or financial advantages. What is special about it is that it is surrounded by granite stone formations that stretch for several miles. The history of these huge stones is far longer than the history of human beings. From the above history, in an era before detection instruments, one can only say that these huge stones stood here before the Christians, Romans and even Celts.

Of course the Brittany people would not be surprised that the king would want to visit Carnac. The king was also curious, and Carnac Stonehenge has been certified by scholars as a place of astrological divination and sacrifice. Among Christians, According to legend, they can also be said to be a holy place - these huge stones were once strong Roman soldiers. At that time, they were chasing Christian saints because of the emperor's will, and God sent angels to save his shepherds and lambs. , as soon as the angel saw these soldiers, he turned them into boulders with a finger.

As for the fact that these giant stones may have appeared earlier than the birth of Jesus Christ, and how the Roman emperor at that time sent at least 10,000 soldiers to hunt down one or two Christian saints (Rome at its peak only had 300,000 to 350,000 (human strength), the priests probably did not bother to explain...

Unlike elsewhere, the Brittany people would not welcome the French king. They were so stubborn that they were not even willing to accept potatoes. Of course, this was also because the Brittany people had rich oceans and plains and were not as dependent on potatoes as Because of the big reasons elsewhere - as for the warning given by the king's envoy, it has not yet reached the ears of the common people - there is a group of young people in Carnac who are eager to try and give the French a look.

They were not arrogant enough to attack the king. They only planned to secretly change the royal flag to the black and white striped flag of Brittany when the king's motorcade was stationed in Carnac.

The leader of this group was the son of the mayor of Carnac. When he and his friends were gathering in the only tavern in the town, they didn't know that their plan had already been aborted - a musketeer and two A famous servant came to the town and calmly told the mayor that before dawn, every citizen here must leave the town and go to a wasteland ten leagues away from here, even the old man who is going to see God. There are no exceptions for babies who are still nursing. Anyone who dares to stay here will be regarded as an assassin and be punished with beheading, branding and quartering.

"This is impossible," the mayor shouted in surprise: "There are only a few hours until dawn. Some old people and children can't walk at all, and we don't have enough carriages! And if you ask us to leave our home, who will come?" What about protecting our property?”

"This is not our concern," the Musketeer said, "I can only advise you to pack up and leave as soon as possible." He paused, "As you said, there is only a short time until dawn."

"You still say that your king is a kind man!" the mayor said angrily.

The Musketeer smiled: "You also said this is our king." He stretched out his hand and nodded his hat: "By the time you can see our flag, our soldiers will enter the town. I hope this place will be already here by then." Empty - I am also a kind person, mayor, I hope you are kind enough to your people." After saying that, he turned and left, leaving the mayor shocked and angry.

Whether the Frenchman was intimidating or sincerely admonishing, the mayor couldn't afford to gamble - the population of Carnac was not as large as the huge stones in Stonehenge - these huge stones were originally said to be ten thousand pieces, and after thousands of Years of wind, rain, and people dragging and pulling (the nearby people regard them as free stones) have reduced them to less than 3,000. There are only more than 2,000 townspeople, but as the mayor said, there are old people, sick people, pregnant women and children. They may not be able to walk even one mile on their own, let alone ten miles. Moreover, the wasteland is a peninsula extending from Carnac to Quiberon Bay. The road is covered with rough gravel and thorns. There is no flat road, and there is no fresh water or food.

While the mayor shouted to his servant to recall his son and relatives, he regretted that he had forgotten to ask the musketeer when they could come back. But if it was to ensure that the king was not disturbed, then the French might just They would stay for a short time. No matter what, they still had to bring sufficient supplies, but in this way, the vehicles and horses in the town were even more stretched.

He looked worriedly at the cobalt blue sky. It was now eight o'clock in the evening. It was already the time when most people were lying in bed, comfortably waiting to fall asleep. His servant ran out holding a torch, and then more torches It was lit up and scattered in all directions, and the whole town woke up from its hazy sleep.

What followed was crying and cursing. People in this era were no different than people today. They almost never left their homes. Except when they went to the sea, went to the dock to do work, and went to a church a few hundred feet away to go to mass. Or going to the market to buy and sell goods, which for them is an important event that requires a long time of preparation and seriousness. Suddenly they are all expelled to a wasteland ten leagues away. They don't know when they can come back. Can you come back? You can imagine how panicked these people were.

The mayor's son ran back before this. As a traditional Breton and a young man, his face turned red with anger and he gasped: "Are you just compromising like this!" He was angry. asked.

"What else?" said the mayor: "Do you want to take a gamble? Betting on the King of France is just talk?"

"He doesn't know how." The young man said, "He doesn't dare either."

"His enemies are Leopold I, Carlos II, Charles II and Sultan Mehmet IV of the Ottoman Turks." The mayor said: "What are we?"

"But Brittany…"

"Brittany relies on his kindness," the mayor has always seen this clearly: "He is willing to treat Brittany well, and Brittany will have a chance, but if he doesn't, he will have to pay The price is far less than Brittany, let alone us.”

He looked at his astonished son and smiled: "How else do you think those Huguenots could be so docile? The king asked them to move thousands of miles away... Could it be that they are just a bunch of people who only know how to linger? A little lamb that barks? Brittany sounds no different from them... We have no chance of competing with this king."