I Am Louis XIV

The three-and-a-half-year-old Grand Chief of the Knights of Santiago ran happily around the courtyard of the Grand Palace.

Although the position of the great leader of the Knights of Santiago has been passed down with the Spanish throne, the awarding ceremony is usually only carried out after the king comes of age. By the way, if Carlos II had not suddenly run away to Paris alone, his The investiture ceremony will also be held in Toledo - so it is really the first time that a child less than knee-high becomes the grand leader of the Knights of Santiago.

But this did not come from the will of Carlos III himself, nor did it have anything to do with the Thirteen Knights of the Order of Santiago. The person who made this decision and put it into practice was the Sun King of France, His Highness Louis XIV. He did this in order to further consolidate the throne of his second son - although Charles was already Carlos III, this title and title was given by King Louis XIV of France based on inheritance law and canon law. He also wanted to live in Spain. Toledo and Madrid held two grand ceremonies respectively, the coronation ceremony and the celebration. This matter can be considered settled, and the title of the leader of the Knights of Santiago is just like the "Prince of Wales" that the crown prince of England must have. The official title of the French Crown Prince "Count Dolphin" is the ladder for the head of a country before he officially ascends to the throne.

In addition, you can also regard this awarding ceremony as Louis XIV's triumphal ceremony. After all, since the French king officially declared war on the Spanish "rebels", the French army has been in Catalonia and the Golden Coast. , the Citrus Coast and the Castile region were overwhelming, defeating the Spanish anti-French troops with lightning speed - otherwise how could Louis XIV, the Thirteen Knights of the Knights of Santiago, gather together ? Only a few of them tended to France, and most of them were determined to defend the interests of the Habsburgs and the Roman Church in Spain - which were also their own interests (no princes or nobles would not be afraid of Louis XIV, who had completely seized the royal power in his own hands). ), bent on fighting the French to the death.

But we all saw the results.

Juan Patiño strode in from the door. Due to the generosity of the French king, the living room of the suite reserved for the chief priest of the knights was not small. There were eight or nine knights surrounding the chief priest. They At first, they all faced the direction of the terrace, but as soon as they heard that Patinho was coming, they turned around in unison, as if they were not interested in the little king who only knew how to be naughty.

Patinho did not want to reveal their disguise. Those who could be in this room were all moderates in the Knights. In other words, although they were fighting against the French, they were not crazy if things went against their wishes. To the point of doing whatever it takes and doing whatever it takes. So, why should Patinho feel embarrassed and embarrassed by his colleagues who have served the king in the past and may still serve the king in the future?

The priest had mixed feelings: "I thought you had made a big mistake, Juan."

Patinho walked up to him and shook hands with him wordlessly: "We just took two different roads, but our destination is the same. Zamora." They are good friends who can call each other by their real names. Although they had differences on whether Carlos III of Bourbon or Philip V of Habsburg should be King of Spain, in the final analysis, their differences were still rooted in their love for Spain.

"For Spain." said the priest, Count Zamora. He sighed deeply, "I am your prisoner now."

Patinho did not refute. It was better to be captured by a Spaniard than a Frenchman. However, Zamora said this, and a knight leaning against the window couldn't help but sneered: "No need to cover up like this," he said. Said: "We all know that we were defeated by the French."

The people in the room were suddenly embarrassed. In addition to Patiño and others who fled to the Orange Coast and were finally rescued by the French fleet, as well as the chief priest and several knights who surrendered in Leon, there were about three other people here. All five knights were captured during the French war against Castile.

"But we must admit that this is expected," Patinho said calmly: "And they also gave us the treatment we deserve. We were not humiliated or persecuted."

"What's more, according to the law of inheritance and canon law," another older knight said: "The throne of Carlos III is completely legal."

"Then what will happen to us?" Another knight whispered: "Everyone, there are no nobles in France now, only the king."

Titles in France have always followed the territory. Although Louis XIV had hundreds of thousands of standing troops and was committed to centralizing royal power, he did not degenerate to the point of attacking princes and lords without reason and depriving them of their property and territory. Anyone with eyes and ears can see and hear. As the Sun King's brilliance grows stronger day by day, more and more nobles hope to have a place in Paris or Versailles, in the king's workshop. Get a share, or occupy a bond cabinet in the king's bank... Young people are even more eager to come to the king, in the army, in the government, in the court, to throw their youth and wisdom to their heart's content, Instead of staying on the territory of our ancestors and gradually decaying like trees that have lost their vitality.

It’s not that no one has seen through the king’s plan and stubbornly refused to budge, but first of all, as long as he is a human being, he will grow old one day. No matter how intact his property and territory are, he must pass them on to his sons and grandsons; secondly, , after Louis XIV revised the "refugee" provisions in the law, the movement of the population was no longer as difficult as before. The passes issued by the king (officials acting on behalf of them) were valid throughout the territory. If the people in their territory were dissatisfied, they could They can try to move to other cities or villages; if they want to stay as citizens, they must abide by the king's laws, cooperate with the king's officials, garrison generals, and even scholars and craftsmen, then... and others who are willing to hand over the territory What's the difference compared to the nobles who manage it for the royal family?

Spain is not old. Although the rulers of the Iberian Peninsula have been exploring the possibility of unification, when it comes to a king, it is only after Charles V. It is only more than a hundred years ago, but France has been unified for nearly a thousand years. In 2000, even Brittany, which finally became part of France, had lost its independence for two hundred years.

After Charles V, although the Spanish throne has been controlled by the Habsburgs, after this king, there has been no king worthy of people's expectations. The royal power, the princes, and the church have always been ebbing and flowing, and the royal power has been weakened. , which means that the power of the church and the princes will increase. It is always very difficult for those who have been "kings" in the territory to give up their privileges.

"That's why France is the winner today." Patinho said.

"If you give us time... give us a healthy and intelligent king!"

"Same." There was a sarcastic smile on Patinho's lips: "We often laugh at Philip IV's incompetence and hate Carlos II's madness, but before them, Philip II, Philip Isn't the Third King a king worthy of respect and admiration? But when they want to hold power in their hands like Charles V, aren't the voices of the opponents louder than anyone else? They are even willing to collude with the Portuguese in Together, even though they know that the Portuguese have only pursued one thing from beginning to end - independence, independence from Spain!"

"You cursed the king," Patinho continued, "but I never thought that this was all Philip IV's fault. If we must blame, should we blame those who even knew that Portugal's independence would weaken Spain? Who is seriously injured, but still accepts bribes without hesitation because of his own interests?" His sharp eyes swept across the crowd, and some people uncontrollably avoided their eyes: "It's not as serious as this matter, but it's not much better. I know a lot about other places, but I won’t go into details here, everyone, that’s really shameful.”

"so you……"

"If you want to talk about me, Zamora, I have to say that I am not only a Spanish-Habsburg traitor, but also to you." Patinho calmly dropped a thunder: "I have already I have decided to ask the royal family to take charge of my territory.”

Zamora almost jumped out of the chair. He gripped the armrests of the chair tightly. "How could you?"

"I can."

"So you are here to persuade us to do the same?" one of the knights asked: "I say you don't need to do this at all," he said sarcastically: "We are prisoners of the French, and they want to We can do anything.”

"But our king still needs ministers and generals." Patiño said: "You can choose, as a prisoner, after paying the ransom, return to the territory alone and without honor, or as the king's ministers, follow Follow the king back to Madrid or Toledo."

"Louis XIV was too greedy," Zamora said. "He took away our property, our bodies and our souls."

"There are countless people who are willing to sell their souls to this British Lord."

"What about the French?" asked another knight. "Don't they want a place in the court of Toledo?"

"They prefer to surround themselves with the father of the king." Patinho said: "I volunteered and tried my best to convince you, just in the hope that the court of Toledo is still Spanish and not French."

"Will Louis XIV agree?"

"That Your Majesty always looks at things rather than people."

"In other words, French laws will still be enforced on Spanish soil."

“The laws of France have created a great and powerful kingdom,” Patiño said, silencing the room. Zamora looked out the window again, but the courtyard was empty. The young Carlos II was tired of playing and had gone back to his room, but his eyes seemed to still reflect that energetic little shadow.

"I want to discuss it with everyone," he said.

"I'll wait," Patinho said.

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Carlos II, the titular leader of the Knights of Santiago, has passed away. As the inspector general, Patiño was originally closer to France. Now, of course, the only one the knights can trust is the priest, Count Zamora, who will bring all the knights together. , including the two people who were originally only willing to stay in the room, all summoned their own rooms.

Before, they were forced to agree to grant the badge of chieftain to Carlos III after some negotiations and transactions. Now all they hope for is to return to their territory as soon as possible - but the news brought by Patinho is undoubtedly It was Louis XIV's extravagance... As Zamora said, the French king was really greedy; but if you think about it calmly, it is certainly better to stay with the young Carlos III than to return in embarrassment. Territory, it would be better to spend a life of dishonor in silence and namelessness.

Even... no one can predict how fate will arrange it in the next few decades. Once the Sun King falls, even if Carlos III is a Bourbon, he and his brother, the future Louis XV, will eventually be two people. As long as they can To avoid the unification of the two countries - or in other words, as long as they can prevent Spain from being annexed by France... Thinking about it this way, if they can stay with Carlos III, it will definitely be more beneficial to Spain and themselves than to be abandoned in the countryside.

Although this feeling of being at the mercy of others and unable to escape is really bad.

"Why can't Philip IV or Carlos II give birth to a healthy child!?" A knight couldn't help complaining.

The chief priest recalled the Carlos II in his memory and the Carlos III they gradually became familiar with: "Maybe this is God's will."

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After receiving the response conveyed by the chief priest, Patiño was not surprised. People who can become members of the Knights of Santiago are not ordinary people. They may be disgusted and repelled by the centralized royal power and worry about the future of their descendants. But asking them to stay away from the court, away from government, and away from power in their prime, spending their lives as unknown people, is more painful than killing them.

Louis XIV did not want to install countless locals around Carlos III like the British did with William III of Orange. Of course he could do this, but facts have proved that if a king is not "Spanish" If the king is a puppet of the French king, the Spaniards can overthrow him and kill him. Then France will not have a rich colony or a reliable ally, but will only add a deadly enemy.

Otherwise, just look at Poland, Brittany or Catalonia.

To eliminate the threat posed by war, destruction may not be the only way, not to mention that more often than not, real destruction does not exist.

The first shot of vaccine has been administered. The nurse's gestures were very good, quick and light, and there was no major discomfort. Thank you to the hard-working medical staff.