I Am Louis XIV

Three days later, the people in the old city of Hertel got the news from Paris. Viscount Turenne was surprised by the result, but also helpless, and there was a bit of luck and joy that could not be expressed. He replaced The clothes given to him by the king——for people at this time, a luxurious coat is hard to come by. Viscount Turenne has already earned a good fortune for himself by virtue of his talent in war, but compared to the royal family, The best clothes he prepared for himself were also inevitably overshadowed, not to mention that the costumes bestowed by the king used many elements from Holland, or this is a set of Dutch knight costumes.

The Viscount Turenne would of course be very fond of this kind of clothing, because when he entered the army at the age of twelve, he went to his uncle, Prince Maurice, and served in the Dutch army, and everyone around him was like this Attire, which he maintained until the age of twenty-four when he decided to serve in the French army.

The clothing of the Dutch is slightly different from that of the French. For Queen Anne, it is more frivolous, but the king likes its lightness and simplicity-the shirt inside has a pair of long and wide white collars, like The swan wings hang softly on both sides of the shoulders, with exquisite lace of the same color at the edges; the coat is made of thick and shiny satin, and there is a slender cut on the left and right chest and arms, which are longer than the hips, and are fastened with delicate belts. There were purses, muskets and rapiers hanging from leather pouches, ornate patterns embroidered on the hem of the skirt, and a button seam at the waist to hang trousers; the trousers were loose and tied with ribbons below the knees To be tied in the shape of a bow, the shoes are open booties.

Such an attire, to Viscount Turenne, was several years younger, but he hesitated at the last step, because on the tray was a light maroon shoulder strap, which was Kong The color of the acting prince, which the Viscount Turenne had always happily worn in support of his friend, even when he was going to see the king.

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Louis was still waiting for the Viscount Turenne in the original room. As soon as he saw the Viscount, his eyes fell on the Viscount's shoulders. After finding that the place was empty, he asked the Viscount to come to him—to say, Viscount Turenne is also uneasy now. After all, he is still a little ashamed. He is full of expectations for Prince Condé's and the king's. The next sinking, after all, the king suddenly changed his mind, this is not the first time, nor will it be the last time.

While he was still in a daze, the king had already taken off his red shoulder strap, put it on the viscount's shoulder, and then took off a large diamond brooch to fix the shoulder strap.

This kind of honor made Viscount Turenne unbelievable even more than the previous blow. He was so frightened that he couldn't speak, or he tried his best to express his gratitude, but no one could understand him. The king couldn't help but laugh. Let him sit next to you and let him drink a glass of wine. It took a while for the Viscount to calm down. He stroked the silky silk shoulder strap and the shiny diamond brooch on the shoulder strap, almost speechless.

"Mr. Viscount," Louis said kindly and slightly reproachfully: "I thought you already understood what kind of person I am." He reached out to take Viscount Turenne: "Your behavior is for a king. , although it is unforgivable, but for France, you are just maintaining the right thinking and taking the wrong path! That is to say, I should probably punish your behavior, but for your heart, I But it is beyond reproach, and next, I don't need you to pay any debts, I just hope that I can be your friend like Prince Condé, and this is enough to make me happy."

Louis really said this from the heart. After all, the people around him, except for Bontang and Marie, were all from Bishop Mazarin and Queen Mother Anne. Oh, and perhaps Lariviere, But this Mr. Dean is too slippery. You can use him, but if you want to rely on him, you'd better go to hell to fetch water.

Of course, Viscount Turenne could also feel this sincerity. He sincerely apologized to His Majesty the King again and again. The king accepted his apology and compliment, and then mentioned another matter. When this matter was mentioned, Turenne The viscount changed from a poor courtier to a sensible general again, because as we have said before, General Friedrich Schaumberg from the Holy Roman Empire brought a thousand infantry and then fled About 300, and another 500 were added, and now there are 1,200 people, and the soldiers brought by Viscount Turenne to attack the old city of Heteler are about 3,000 people, and there are 12 artillery pieces, which is why The reason why he thought he could do it all at once.

Of course, these soldiers are all owned by the king now, a total of 4,000 people-because some people were injured or died in the previous battle, and then a big problem was placed in front of the king, that is, the salary of these people Gold and supplies, as far as Turenne is concerned, it is extremely undesirable to disappoint these people, but even Prince Condé would find it difficult to meet their needs.

The king asked the Viscount Turenne what he was going to do while he was still serving Prince Condé. After capturing Hetel?

Viscount Turenne replied frankly that he would take part of the money from Hertel and the king's luggage, dismiss some soldiers on the spot, and then take the others back to Paris.

He suggested that the king should do the same. After all, the cost of demobilizing soldiers is much cheaper than salaries and supplies, but Louis does not want to do this. The army is not bound by the so-called morality and rules. Soldiers are robbers. Whether they are cities or farms, what they do most is to plunder and steal. That is to say, two thousand people. These two thousand people may not be able to deal with the old city of Hetel, but the farmers around the old city will go into living hell.

"But 4,000 people," Viscount Turenne said, "is too much." He wanted to suggest that the king could at least dismiss Frederick Schaumberg's army first, but after pondering for a while, he gave up the idea , which made him look strange when he left the king's room and met General Schomberg in the corridor.

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The king did not summon General Schomberg, but he would not refuse General Schomberg's request to see him. If he was asked to say, Schomberg was even more credible than Viscount Turenne, even if it was just a transaction at first, but Not every hired soldier can show his willingness to be loyal to a contract and maintain a tenacious will like him.

General Schomberg is actually younger than Viscount Turenne. He was born in 15 years and is 36 years old this year. For a general, he is at his prime. He saw Tirena in the corridor. Viscount Rainer's red shoulder strap and the diamond brooch on the shoulder strap, which is worth at least a thousand livres, envied and felt a little sad at the same time.

"You came to see me," the king said with the same kindness as before, "with such a sad face again, did you encounter some unsolvable things?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Schomberg, "I have indeed encountered something that only you can solve."

"Please tell me."

"Your Majesty, I'm here to ask you to resign. Yes, I'm leaving."

The king was taken aback, and even stood up: "God," he said, "Why do you have such an idea, you have protected me and my mother along the way, and you have just won a victory for me , I was about to give you the corresponding return, but you wanted to say that you were leaving, did someone be rude to you?"

"No, Your Majesty, no."

"Then who is short of your pay and those of those loyal soldiers?"

"Neither, Your Majesty."

"Then someone must have withheld your wine, your bread, and your dried meat."

"Not much more, Your Majesty, we even have cheese to eat."

Now it was the king's turn to be puzzled: "Then tell me," he said, "what made you go away?"

General Schomberg hesitated for a while, obviously he didn't want to say that reason: "Now you already have General Turenne."

"My God!" said Louis, "you ever see a man who has a right hand and wants to cut off his left?"

"What if the left hand is always reluctant to dip in holy water to make the cross? (There must be a holy water bowl at the entrance of a Catholic church, and believers dip in holy water to make the cross after entering the church, but Protestant churches do not)" Schomberg said.

It was only then that Louis realized that as a person without any beliefs, he would always overlook something. Now Schaumberg is reminding him of this, because Schaumberg is a Protestant, and The French royal family, from Queen Mother Anne to Bishop Mazarin, and himself, are all Catholics. The massacre of St. Bartholomew is imminent. Even if Schaumberg has the courage of a lion, he still has to consider Whether France can get the reuse it deserves.

"I can understand your concern," said the young king, "but I must also say, general, that I am not going to let you go."

"but……"

"You are a Protestant," said Louis, "you have nothing more to worry about than your honor and your life, and perhaps your soldier's pay." He went to his desk and sat down, and Bontang immediately poured himself out for him. After getting some ink, and brought a quill and parchment, Louis wrote a few lines on it, and then handed the parchment to Schaumberg.

Schomberg took it over and took a look, and it read: From the day I entered Paris, General Friedrich Schomberg will be granted French citizenship and a marshal's scepter, and he will be paid immediately worth five dollars. Thousand Rivers' property. Then came the king's signature.

General Schomberg's face turned red immediately, and he had to admit that he came to the king with the intention of getting some...promises from him, but the king really did that, and he began to feel ashamed again.

"You don't have to care about this at all," Louis said, "because these are what I want to give you, and not only this, but also others." He opened the drawer of the desk, took out a flat and long box and handed it to Shao Schomberg, and beckoning him to open it immediately, Schaumberg obeyed the king's order, and as soon as he opened the box, he saw the bright red shoulder strap, and a diamond brooch pressed on the shoulder strap, from the value Looking at it from the outside, it is no different from the one worn by Viscount Turenne on his shoulders.

Seeing this, Schaumberg immediately lifted the shoulder strap, hung it on himself, and the king fastened the pin on him with his own hands.

"Now you must stay." Louis said, brushing the other side's slightly trembling shoulders from excitement.

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What General Schaumberg didn't know was that when he walked into the courtyard with satisfaction and relief, the king who was looking at him from the study window seemed to say to himself: "Don't say you are a Catholic, A Protestant, or an Orthodox Christian, or a so-called Brahma worshiper, as long as he has talent and is willing to be loyal to me, even if it is a devil, I will want to use it."

Of course, this sentence cannot be said to others, Schaumberg cannot, Viscount Turenne cannot, Bishop Mazarin and the Queen Mother are even more impossible, and even Bontang is no exception. The only possibility is Mary. . Mancini, a witch again.