I Am Louis XIV

Of course Louis would not accuse his son of being too useless, because he had also tasted the bitter wine in the golden cup.

Throughout the ages, rulers at the top of the pyramid have used two most effective and common methods to control their subordinates - coercion and inducement. As for other small means such as seducing women, taking hostages, and sowing discord, they are nothing more than lace and embellishment.

In the few years when Louis XIV first came to power, he did not hesitate to put how to make a lot of money at the top of his thinking and actions. Some people may think that his behavior was too worldly, but facts have proved that no matter what he wanted to do, No matter which path you choose, money is never indispensable. Those ministers and nobles who were madly jealous of Colbert said more than once that Colbert was the most popular person in front of the king at that time. His Majesty the King trusted him deeply, supported him all the time, and rewarded him constantly - Colbert Not only did he become the king's minister of finance and navy, he also found satisfactory marriages for all six of his daughters - he was not a noble, but the father-in-law of six dukes, far better than those in Versailles. most of the people.

But his contribution is fully worthy of the king's reward, just for the king's reputation. This contribution is rarely known, and the dignitaries at this time rarely care about finances - this is a trivial matter that only businessmen care about. After all, for those lords with large amounts of land, the land is their cornucopia, which can continuously bring them wealth.

Therefore, it is very difficult to seize the wealth left by their ancestors from these people. At this time, how much wealth the king can gather will mean whether his career can be completed, how much it will be completed, and how much it will take. long time. People say that Louis XIV is a rare and calm young king, but what they don't know is that when the treasury and internal treasury were empty, Louis also woke up from nightmares again and again.

In the first two Fronde movements, he and his brother Philip had passed by death several times. Even if he did not die in an "accident", once the Grand Condé or the Duke of Gaston succeeded in usurping the throne, Britain would have the Tower of London. , France also has a Bastille, and his and Philip's lives just add a gloomy color to the legend of the "Prince in the Tower".

The person who laid the first and most solid foundation for Louis XIV, the Sun King, was not a bishop, not a minister, not a general, but a despised businessman.

With a full treasury, Louis XIV could build his own army, buy Lorraine, bribe judges, parliamentarians and nobles to become his supporters in the court, and also be able to improve people's livelihood, enlighten their wisdom, and let those who are ignorant And the unscrupulous commoners became his supporters. Without money, he couldn't even take the first step.

Luciano's situation was even more difficult than his. After all, Louis was still the orthodox heir at that time. It was reasonable and legal. His princes and ministers should bow to him, and those Angevin survivors in Naples might still embrace themselves. The idea that allegiance should be owed to a true king. When Alfonso's illegitimate son inherited Naples, he felt he was being slighted, so he imposed heavy taxes and excessive punishment on the nobles. The nobles rebelled against him. Although they did not succeed, it did affect Spain ( The basis of Aragonese rule here - from that time to now, the nobles of Naples have troubled the Spanish royal family and government more than the Catalans. Busburg's enemies were introduced into Italy, that is, French kings, such as Charles VIII, Louis XII and Louis XIII... Italian wars are not uncommon in the French.

But when a real king came to rule them, they had to worry about their own interests.

The threat, of course, is that Louis' army is coming to Italy by sea. Pisa and Livorno are all under the rule of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. It is not difficult for two huge port cities to undertake the task of carrying tens of thousands of people. The only The only ones that may pose a threat to France are Genoa and Corsica under Genoa's control. Genoa was originally a maritime overlord, but after the Ottoman Turkey occupied the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, there were signs of shrinkage in terms of national strength and military. They had been exploring the New World for Spain - now Spain nominally belongs to the Bourbon family, but Leopold I will definitely not give up easily, but like most Italian princes, the Genoese dare not offend Leopold I would never dare to offend Louis XIV.

As far as Louis knew, in front of the envoy of Leopold I, the MPs of the Republic of Genoa showed their hands very frankly - it is impossible for Genoa to attack the French fleet. They do not have the combat power and cannot win. To any benefit - let alone Tuscany, Leopold I has always claimed to be the feudal lord of Milan. Once France is weak, the Habsburgs will immediately use Milan to invade Italy, let alone new territories. Genoa is lucky to be able to preserve itself.

But they can get out of the way. Yes, they allow the Habsburg army to pass through their land. This is already a quite generous commitment. They are also willing to bear part of the military expenses and supplies, as long as Leopold The soldiers of this generation were able to control their dissoluteness and unruliness, and they would rather suffer some losses.

But they will never face the Sun King directly.

Therefore, it is not a big problem to use force to deter the remnants of Anjou. The key is that threats must be followed by inducements. How were the French lords "persuaded" one by one, because Louis allowed them to see more Considerable profits and a brighter future - when the income from their industry and commerce can be almost ten to one with the benefits brought by the land, few people can not be moved. Even if they are not moved, their Children will also be excited.

Young people cannot endure loneliness and monotony like old people. They come to Paris and Versailles, hoping to win the favor of ladies, ministers and even kings, get a decent job, or go to the battlefield. Winning meritorious deeds - but these things cannot be accomplished without sufficient initial investment. In order for the king, or the officials and generals in charge of this matter to see you, you must first dress up fashionably and brightly, and also in accordance with the regulations. Traditionally, one has to fully equip oneself, renting an exquisite suite for oneself, eating out, a bouquet of flowers is always a must when visiting a salon, visiting "famous ladies", hunting and billiards, and even participating in a party. Two hot gambling games... These all require money, a lot of money. Some children of the great nobles can afford it, but those below them will find it difficult.

Although Louis XIV did not adopt the "spectating ceremony" system inherited from the Louis XIII period, which was to have a group of nobles serve the king at all times, as he once again grasped the power tightly, he successively conquered Lorraine, Alsace, Flanders and the Netherlands, as well as managed to regain some of the territories of the princes-such as the Great Condé, those blank areas are like a piece of fat grease, tightly attracting people's attention.

Soldiers, officials, and even immigrants, as victors or followers of victors, can obtain far more power and wealth for themselves and even for future generations than they can in their familiar homeland. .

But this approach doesn't work in Naples.

First of all, Louis XIV was not the object of allegiance to the nobles of Naples. To put it simply, the vassals I vassed were not my vassals. The first Anjou, that is, the king of Naples and Sicily was the younger brother of the king of France at that time, and It was not the king of France. The subsequent king of France claimed the right to inherit Naples because the respectable royal brother had died.

Louis XIV could also claim power over Naples, the problem is that the Italians would probably prefer an Italian king rather than a Franco-Italian king, like the Spanish who feared eventually losing Italy's independence in a union , so from the beginning, Louis planned to hand over Naples, and even the whole of Italy, to Luciano. After all, the Mancini family also migrated from the Italian peninsula.

But Luciano's inheritance rights came from his wife, which is the power Anna obtained from her maternal grandfather, the Duke of Gaston. But before Anna, her mother had an eldest son, Ferdinand, and then there was The youngest son, Gian, although the Duke of Colonna holds the real power in Tuscany, in name, he is only an agent, a person who may be deprived of power at any time. The contempt of those nobles was not without reason.

Therefore, whether it is the promise given by Louis XIV or the promise given by the Duke of Colonna, the people of Naples probably will not find it credible.

Furthermore, the king's scholars and wizards reported that Naples had another big problem, that is, its commerce had suffered due to the Ottoman Turks' monopoly on sea routes, while its output was greatly skewed towards Agriculture, that is, olives, grapes and wheat, although there are minerals, they are not easy to mine, the quality and output are only mediocre, and there are no processing industries or raw materials worthy of attention...

The French also like wine, wheat and olives, but southern France also produces a lot of these. It is impossible for Louis to tilt towards Naples for Luciano, not to mention that even if these things can support the economic pillar of Naples, they cannot make the nobles Freed from the land, there is no territory and no ownership of the people in the territory. The so-called king is just a big lord. If so, Louis XIV would not have continued to let Luciano be the master of Gaiola and Tuscany. never mind.

But in this way, Cosimo III of Tuscany and his two sons became a difficult matter. Even if they had no ambitions, some people would use this to cause trouble.

unless……

"Unless there is a big goal..." Louis murmured.

——————

The time left for the nobles of Naples and Anjou was not long, and Louis XIV acted quickly.

He did not know what means he used. Shortly after he arrived in Florence, Cosimo III announced his abdication on the grounds that his physical condition could no longer support him to continue to fulfill his obligations as the master of the duchy. His two sons, the eldest son Ferdinand and the second son Gil , all decided to enter the monastery to serve God. From then on, worldly things had nothing to do with them. For this reason, the French king specially gave them two large monasteries and the surrounding territory.

At this point, the political and economic legacy of Cosimo III and Duke Gaston seems to have only one heir left, his daughter Princess Anna.

Salic law is not strictly enforced in Italy, and the Grand Duchess, Duchess, and Countess often appear. However, at the subsequent enthronement ceremony, Archduke Anna took off her crown, put it on her husband's head, and announced that she would marry the Duke of Colonna. By co-ruling the Duchy of Tuscany, the Duke of Colonna's legitimacy over Naples and Tuscany was further strengthened.

Then, to everyone's surprise, the King of France made Luciano Duke of Anjou.

"It turns out that the Sun King can be emotional sometimes." Some people couldn't help but sigh.

Duke of Anjou, what exactly does this title mean? You only need to look at the recipients of this title in the past to know. Starting from the Capetian dynasty, this title only belonged to the crown prince. During the Bourbon dynasty, this title was exclusive to the prince's younger brothers, such as Gaston, Philippe and Charles. As the king's second son, they all received this title. But starting from Gaston, this title was replaced by the Duke of Orleans. Another thing to mention is that starting from Gaston, this title rarely belongs to "nominal", that is to say, as the ancestor of the King of France, Land, Anjou is not subject to the jurisdiction and rule of its lords.

But this title is as special to the French (and even to the English) as it is to the Neapolitans. The Duke of Anjou was first among the titles of every king of Naples, until the king of Aragon expelled the French from Italy.

It is no wonder that some people thought that Louis XIV was acting impulsively by giving a title that was almost equivalent to that of a crown prince to an dishonorable illegitimate son. However, it was obvious that the Naples nobles who gathered at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and had the honor to watch the ceremony did not think so. They believe that the things that bothered them were finally resolved. The Tuscan palace was quickly occupied by these arrogant people, and the administrative speed that had been unbearably sluggish in the past became smooth and accessible like a melting glacier. , as long as the request is not excessive, the lords and princes will agree after a short period of deliberation.

"I think this is not just because of a title." The envoy from Genoa said, especially Cosimo III's concession, which is simply inexplicable. He has two sons! Even if the eldest son is incompetent, at least he has to wait until the second son grows up before making a decision. He asked his servant to find out the news, but after a while, his servant ran back in a hurry, "His Majesty the King wants to See you!”

The envoy from Genoa stood up, looking unhappy. There is only one King in Tuscany now, and that is Louis XIV.