I Am Louis XIV

The person who has the honor to become the 243rd Pope is an Italian as many people expected. This is not worth mentioning. What is worth talking about is that his age is stuck on the edge of the age for papal election, that is, Seventy-nine years old.

Among the seventy red princes in the Vatican, there are quite a few bishops who are Italian, pro-Habsburg, and somewhat malicious towards France. However, the selection of this one is very likely to be related to the current situation. The War of the Spanish Succession.

The Roman Church has been dissatisfied with France for a long time, but because the previous Pope Innocent XI came to the throne after reaching a deal with Louis XIV, he has been trying to mediate and ease the relationship between France and the Roman Church - Louis X This gentleman was indispensable for Si's ability to be less constrained by the Roman Church in the previous twenty years, but now it seems that it is difficult to say that the death of Innocent XI was God's will.

I would like to declare that we do not mean to denigrate the Roman Church here. After all, accidents happen everywhere.

Let's go back to the original topic. The reason why this gentleman's age is related to his selection is because the Spanish Succession War has reached this point. The Roman Church and its allies can no longer bear another sudden change. In order to ensure this The pope was not bribed, intimidated, or made a smart deal with the French king. The pope they chose was old, stupid, deaf, and blind. Even a puppet placed on the papal throne in his place would be more dexterous than him. Some, with this lord sitting on the papal throne, can ensure that the position of the Roman Church can always be consistent with Leopold I.

But although Alexander VIII was old enough, he did not have Alzheimer's disease. He knew very well that the French king had no deep love for the Roman Church since Saint Louis, let alone respect. After all, before the Reformation, Rome The church is simply a living hell. After the reform, it has just turned from a cesspool into a quagmire. Moreover, successive popes have been tirelessly trying to regain the rights that the French kings usurped from them, namely religious taxes, inheritance taxes, ordination and dismissal of the priesthood. Power and other things that were once in the hands of the Pope were now firmly in the hands of the King of France.

If he did as the red princes asked, even if Louis XIV could not move now, would he be unable to move forever? Even if the Sun King lost Spain, he would still have the Netherlands, Flanders and the original France. It is not impossible for a behemoth to repeat the Avignon incident. When the time comes, whose authority can the Pope rely on to confront Louis XIV?

Hundreds of years later, a great man will ask contemptuously: How many divisions does the Pope have? Alexander VIII also wanted to ask the cardinals who could stop the French army from entering the Vatican if they angered Louis XIV? After all, everyone knows that the person in his heart may be...

Interestingly, many people cursed Louis XIV for being "impious", but the Roman Church has remained silent or even avoided it - just as people in later generations jokingly said, when someone accuses you of something bad, you'd better How can it be. If Louis XIV was as devout to the church as Saint Louis, or if the French kings before Saint Louis were as pious to the church as the eldest daughter serves her father, the church would definitely boss him around and humiliate him wantonly. But precisely because Louis XIV has almost been proven to be an unbeliever, On the contrary, the church treated him with even greater fear and respect.

As soon as Alexander VIII came to the throne, a cardinal asked him to veto the legitimacy of Charles of France's right to the Spanish throne. While Alexander VIII agreed, he became "sick" and lived in seclusion in Castel Sant'Angelo. Not seen, or in other words, even if someone managed to see him, he looked like he was dying and going to see God at any time.

The cardinals were of course very angry, but they were helpless. They tried every means to hide the news of the death of Innocent XI, and elected a new pope in one day and one night, just to use the power of faith to suppress Sun King - France is a Catholic country. Unexpectedly, Alexander VIII looked chaotic and ignorant before he took the throne, but he became sober after he took the throne - he knew that once the edict was issued, he would be the ready-made scapegoat.

The rise to power of Pope Boniface VIII in the Avignon incident was not glorious. As his enemies cursed him, he seized the papal throne like a fox, ruled the Vatican like a cruel lion, and ruled the Vatican like a hyena. He died so humbly - the then King of France, Philip the Beautiful, joined forces with his enemies, the Colonna family, to capture him in Anagni, the small town where he was born, strip him of his clothes, lock him in shackles, and ride him upside down. On a mule - as one would do to a vile sinner, besides these he suffered so many humiliations that even when he was released (no one dares to kill a pope) he soon died in disgrace .

Alexander VIII is seventy-nine years old today, but this does not prevent him from wanting to continue to live comfortably, and he does not want his family to face the Sun King of France. Although he and his family are in Italy, the Sun King's illegitimate son He has long been the son-in-law of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Although the Grand Duke of Tuscany has two sons, the eldest son is in Paris and the second son is weak. He himself suffers from gout and cannot even walk, let alone ride a horse. The people of Cana have become very accustomed to being ruled by Lord Luciano, and countless voices are saying that Luciano may be the dawn of Italy.

Elsewhere, Luciano's life experience will be criticized, only in Italy - Italy has been divided for too long, and the people are fed up with the suffering of constant conquests. They are eager to see a savior, whether he is A mercenary, a criminal, or an illegitimate child. Moreover, Luciano's father was such a great king. When the theory of blood still prevailed, they could not help but place high expectations on this handsome young man.

So, with the support of Louis XIV, once Luciano became the king of Italy, Alexander VIII's family would inevitably look up to him. Why would Alexander VIII attract such an enemy for the Habsburgs?

However, Alexander VIII also knew that those "people" would not just watch him delay. While he secretly contacted Elario, Louis XIV's spokesperson in Rome, he gave the Sun King a warning. After pretending to be "sickly" for a few days, he issued a papal bull, but instead of denying Charles of France's right to inherit the Spanish throne, he condemned Louis XIV's monopoly on the power of ordination and dismissal and "no precious metals or property." Policies such as "outflow"...

This cannot be said to be wrong. Almost every pope will severely accuse the French king on this issue after taking the throne. However, like many "condemnations" in the world, this kind of condemnation is only superficial and generally does not get any results. In response, no country would consider this an opportunity to attack France.

So, when Alexander VIII finally began to follow the requirements of the red princes and veto France's legitimacy on the Spanish throne at the religious level, Carlos III had already been officially crowned in the Toledo Cathedral.

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Let's go back to the day Alberoni returned to Toledo.

How familiar was Alberoni with Toledo? He is the son of a gardener, but was taken away by the archbishop when he was still a child. His memory of home has been blurred. In other words, the concept of home is the Cathedral of Toledo, and the concept of father and family is the Archbishop of Toledo. He once thought that he would stay here for a long time. With the king and the bishop, he made quite a few friends, especially Jose Patinho, who was of the same age. He also thought that he would become Carlos The Second Chancellor—said from the bottom of his heart that when he first met the king, he didn't look like a devil, even if it wasn't perfect.

But the destruction came so quickly. He stood outside the door of the cathedral. When a priest hurriedly passed by, he looked back several times in disbelief. Only then did he realize that the person coming was none other than the familiar little Alberoni. He was pleasantly surprised. The ground screamed - of course, most people don't know what the archbishop did. He thought he was sent to do something important. He pulled Alberoni into the church.

As mentioned before, the Cathedral of Toledo is also an ill-fated building. It was once a cathedral during the Reccardo period, and was later transformed into a temple by the Moors. In the 12th century, the king and archbishop at the time converted it into a temple. It was converted back into a Catholic cathedral, and more decorations and expansions were added, such as the current five halls, fifteen altars, eighty-eight columns, and countless stained glass that were inlaid in the past three centuries. Gorgeous spots are projected on the floor, seats and walls, making this earthly residence of God as sublime and glorious as its name.

It seemed that the people in this church were going to share the same fate.

When the Archbishop of Toledo met Alberoni, he was first delighted, then hesitant, then doubtful, and finally his expression solidified in sadness.

"Teacher," said Alberoni.

"Why did you come back," asked the Archbishop, "or rather, what brought you back?"

Alberoni was silent for a while: "I want to come back myself, teacher."

“Go back to Paris, or anywhere else, except Toledo,” said the archbishop. “This place will soon turn into hell.”

"Your words puzzled me," said Alberoni. "I asked His Majesty the King, and His Majesty answered me, saying that he would treat the people of Toledo mercifully."

"People? Where are the priests?"

"His Majesty's bishop will select and identify them one by one - if they are true to their oaths..."

"Stop talking nonsense," the archbishop said bluntly. The Inquisition in Toledo was so rotten, let alone the church. He also wanted to reform the church in Toledo, but he could not get support from the church or those in power - Spain The church is like a big tree. Although it is decayed, no one can imagine how fine, complex and huge the root system is underneath. They are intertwined and entangled with each other, so that no one can move - not even the choir members. Even a small member may have a huge dark secret hidden behind him.

"Monsieur the Bishop," said Alberoni, "His Majesty said that if you wish... you can become abbot of the Monastery of Poblet."

"The price is good." The archbishop didn't even bother to ask Alberoni who his majesty was - Louis XIV would not allow the archbishop to remain in his current position, and the archbishop of Toledo must be someone Bourbon trusted. He will also become a confidant of Carlos III in the future - the Poblete Monastery is one of the largest and richest monasteries in Spain. It was once the burial place of the royal family of Aragon and Catalonia and can become the abbey of this monastery. Long, not a bad place even for the Archbishop of Toledo.

"But you have seen," said the archbishop, "we will not surrender." He stared at Alberoni, "unless Louis XIV agrees to our terms."

"What conditions?"

"The Church of Spain remains the Church of Spain, and Spain remains the Spain of the Spanish."

"impossible."

"Then you can reply to your king like this," the Archbishop tapped the ground with his toes: "Guess what is below? Alberoni, my good disciple?" Alberoni followed his movements and looked down. Go, the ground of the church is made of flat stones, but there is obviously fresh soil in the gaps. Alberoni would not believe it if someone brought soil in from outside. He raised his head and looked at the archbishop.

"Yes," said the archbishop, "there is enough gunpowder buried underneath to completely destroy this cathedral."

"...That's what you told me?"

The archbishop showed a sarcastic look: "Otherwise, I am not the kind of person who is naive enough to think that the French King will come here unprepared. Yes, even if I don't say anything, those French people will know, but knowing that it is It’s the same thing, it’s impossible to stop us.”

Indeed, it is easy to abort an assassination, but the archbishop said this, indicating that those who were hiding - Alberoni looked at the towering dome of the cathedral, perhaps the gunpowder buried below was not enough to destroy the cathedral. Church, but they will definitely set fire to it. Once such a tall and empty building catches fire, the howling wind in the hall alone can carry the flames in all directions, turning this glorious temple into darkness without any effort. Coal cave.

"This will not hinder His Majesty." Could it be that the French army would be stationed outside Toledo and unable to move forward. impossible.

"I only know that His Majesty loves his children very much." The archbishop said: "And he certainly does not want the beginning of Bourbon in Spain to be a disaster."