I Am Louis XIV

After Gil's Medici recorded the secret meeting that laid the foundation of the Commonwealth of Italy, he added another record two years and three months later.

…

Everyone, when you see this record, the first external battle of the Italian Commonwealth Kingdom was also a grand battle, a sacred battle, and finally ended with this brand-new, young, after nearly a thousand years of wasted time. It ended with victory for a country that was on the verge of falling apart.

Some people have always hoped that the Sun King Louis XIV would suffer a major defeat on the battlefield, which would lead to the weakness or even death of himself and France. They originally placed their hopes on such countries as Lorraine, Brittany and Alsace. Although these places belonged but were not stable enough, they later rested on Flanders and the Netherlands, and later on the United Kingdom, and even the pagans.

It is a pity that the Sun King is victorious on the battlefield, and the standing army of up to 150,000 people has not dragged France into an inescapable tax quagmire as they desired. The main reason is that His Majesty is as understanding and kind in the shopping mall as he is on the battlefield. For the sake of responsibility, and being lenient and kind enough - war is a burden to many kings, and will always bring endless disasters to new territories and war zones, but for Louis XIV, war can always bring benefits - I can't analyze how he did it in detail here, because I don't know much about it.

I'm as confused as everyone else. In his territory, no matter it is original or new, soldiers never loot, officials are never greedy, every law is clear and can be sunk to the lowest level, even the humble peasants or small workers can understand it. This is eloquent; his taxes, even for the people in the new territory, have never reached the point of being overwhelmed, but even so, his treasury and internal treasury have never been exhausted; he has established schools everywhere (The church has always been unhappy with him because he was unwilling to build more churches and did not allow priests to serve as priests). He also continued to build roads, canals, bridges and various public facilities. No wonder some people always called him sourly. "Caesar of France" (the emperor was always responsible for building public facilities in ancient Rome).

Therefore, every time this Caesar went to a place, no matter how angry and hated the people were towards him at the time (just like the Netherlands), after a few years, they would undergo a 180-degree change and instead enthusiastically support others. . Let me see, it's not surprising, because most of Louis XIV's policies have greatly reduced the pressure on the common people. When you are freed from heavy labor and become healthy, fat and wealthy, of course you can't object to it. The one who brought this about.

Of course, he also had his opponents. Some stubborn lords and princes lost a lot in the king's reforms, but their numbers were definitely not comparable to that of the common people, and their opposition could not overshadow the cheers of the new rich. Oh, I want to laugh when I think about this. The original Italian dignitaries were always worried that Louis XIV would interfere with their rule. After Louis XIV was willing to take a step back, they felt at ease and reciprocated the favor. They also had no influence on political affairs and war. Telling the king - I'm talking about Luciano I - too much.

But Louis XIV's failure to take action does not mean that those rotten and stinking laws and ideas will continue... Ambitious people are everywhere. In the war against the Ottoman Turks, those with ulterior motives and just want to retain their own The princes who lack strength but are unwilling to exert their efforts will of course be replaced by energetic newcomers-both French and Italian.

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Regarding the war, I can guess the thoughts of those "adults". They are not sure whether the French can still be as victorious as before. After all, in their hearts, the Ottoman Turks are still the most terrifying monsters in hell. Mortals cannot Those who resisted them, adhering to this concept, were only willing to pay part of their soldiers, but they were not stingy with the commission Luciano asked for.

Well, I want to mention here that unlike the king of France, or even the kings of other countries who began to support their own armies early on, either because they felt it was unnecessary, or because they were incompetent, or because they were not allowed, the Italian city-states still relied on mercenary troops. military to ensure their own safety.

Louis XIV single-handedly promoted his illegitimate son to the position of King of Italy. Of course, he would not immediately become a prisoner of the pagans. The princes also had the idea of ​​​​letting the French resist the Ottomans for themselves, but Louis XIV was also a French The king, for the sake of his people and country, cannot just waste the lives of soldiers and expensive armaments in vain - so the new king of Italy signed an alliance with him and hired the French to fight for us.

To the Venetians, Genoese or others, the French king was quite tolerant if he did not ask for Italy. They simply couldn't wait to ask Luciano I to sign the contract, and generously gave a deposit and supplies to the French army. Open the door wide and allow them to pass by and temporarily stay in your territory.

I strongly request to serve as Luciano I's military secretary. By my side, there are countless young people, either ministers or officers. If they can win, they will be the Italian-Bourbon court in the future. One of them, not as the pessimists think, is that most of the people here are Italians, many with extremely old surnames.

They will be supported by Louis XIV and Luciano I in the future, just like trees in a dense forest, growing from small trees to towering giants, and then taking away the sunshine and rain from those conservatives.

…

For the sake of his eldest son, although Louis XIV returned to France after the signing of the covenant, he left behind his most trusted generals, Vauban on land and Jean Bart on sea.

General Vauban had a very close relationship with Luciano. It is said that when Luciano was still studying at the Royal Military Academy in Paris, Vauban was his teacher and classmate.

General Vauban was nearly fifty years old, but outwardly he looked like he was still in his prime, with a strong body and a loud voice. He liked wine and sea fish. He often said that coming to Italy was really what he wanted - I don't know if it was true or not. , as far as I know, even among Italians, there are many people who want to follow Louis XIV. However, General Vauban was indeed a man with an open-minded temperament. This can be seen from how he treated local people and businessmen. When dealing with those stupid and over-cautious lords, he also showed a well-founded and gentle approach. But after I got acquainted with him, he smiled and said that this was all because of his previous accumulation.

Because General Vauban followed Louis XIV very early, almost soon after Louis XIV took power, he was not only good at fighting, but also had outstanding talents in construction and fortification, so wherever he went, whether it was Lorraine, Als Sasse, Flanders, and the Netherlands. After the situation initially stabilizes, the king will definitely give General Vauban a task-that is, to assist the local French governor and marshal in building fortresses and city walls.

Having traveled to so many places and met so many different kinds of people, General Vauban has also transformed from an unarticulate army officer into the smooth and dexterous "good guy" he is today. Mumbling, doubting, hesitating, or people changing orders from day to day, he used various ways to deal with them that shocked me. I couldn't believe that he completed the king's instructions so easily - —That is, turning Naples into a complete fortress.

I mean, the Naples area, not the city of Naples.

The lords of Naples have complex origins, including the Angevin nobles I mentioned before, courtiers left by the Spanish Habsburgs, some knights from the Byzantine period and the principality period, and traces of the Hohenstaufen family. It has not been completely erased. You also know that all knights, lords and lords will definitely build castles as soon as they have their own territory. Then in order to resist the Ottoman Turks from the sea, they built castles on land. Many bastions and city walls were built one after another.

What Louis XIV wanted Vauban to do was to integrate these scattered forces.

At this time, the only advantage of fighting in Italy appeared, that is, if Italy lacks anything, it will not lack cement.

As early as the ancient Roman period, the Romans were able to use the earliest primitive cement to build magnificent palaces, Colosseums and temples. Now the roads and canals they built can still be used, having been transformed by Louis XIV's scholars and craftsmen. The cement formula is undoubtedly more advantageous. The materials required, such as volcanic ash, limestone and sea water, are simply inexhaustible. As for manpower, General Vauban openly recruited laborers from residents in the city and farmers outside the city. These It's reassuring to know that laborers are paid according to the work done - I know some officers who default on their services or force people to serve their troops.

The only annoying thing is that General Vauban demolished many ancient ruins to replenish the building materials needed for the fortifications. Although they are ruins, we can still see the precious footprints left by the God of Art here. Therefore, I Complaints and complaints were made to him, and he laughed and said that it was indeed a Medici.

Fortunately, he allowed me to inspect the ruins and materials first, and take the necessary parts before crushing them.

This is how the Venus statue beside me was fortunately preserved.

…

Not long after arriving in Naples, I was awakened by the rolling thunder late at night. I walked out of the room and went to the terrace. When I looked at the sea, I realized that it was not raining at this time. The stars were twinkling in the blue sky. So where did the thunder and lightning come from? Coming? My servant pointed to the southeast and showed me that it turned out that the French fleet was already fighting with the Ottoman Turkish fleet.

The naval power of the Ottoman Turks is most familiar to the Venetians who have been fighting with them all year round. There is such a Venetian noble next to me. He told me that the Venetians are not brave, nor are they as unjust as people imagine. They are also more pious than any Italians. The reason why they suffered setbacks from the Ottoman Turks is only because the Ottoman navy, like their army, always wins with numbers.

The Ottoman navy, as Alexander VIII experienced it, could almost be said to be another version of piracy, but since Suleiman the Magnificent's favorite and trusted Hayreddin died in Istanbul, there was no more pirates in the Ottoman navy. There has been a general with a keen sense of smell and war talent like the former. Although he once led the Sudan's fleet to fight against the Venetians and the French, and captured the entire Mediterranean and dedicated it to the Sudan, no one succeeded him to achieve the illustrious achievements. It was inevitably stained with a layer of dull dust.

Without a genius like Hayreddin, the Ottoman Turks' fleet would still be like a land army, relying on numbers and faith to win victory. As my entourage said, they could withstand losses, but Venice could not. After cutting off the waterway, Afterwards, Venice, like other places on the Italian peninsula, began an inevitable economic recession. There was no money in the treasury, but everyone knows how much it costs to maintain a navy for a long time. At the beginning, the Netherlands used the whole country to ensure its maritime dominance. Location, Louis XIV of France wanted to build his own fleet only after many years of pro-government. The Venetian ships were getting fewer and fewer. Now they had to use merchant ships to refit warships to fight against the Ottoman Turks.

I looked at him and said to myself, then their ambassador is pretty good at putting on airs. At least, at the negotiating table, he acted as if Venice still had 300 ships...

Because the distance was too far, I couldn't tell the winner or loser from the flickering firelight - if it was daytime, I could still see the smoke - it is said that the French ironclad ships were all driven by steam, and their chimneys stood high from the sea. It rises above the sky, spitting out plumes of black, gray and white smoke. It can be seen from a long distance, but it is impossible to identify it at night.

When we arrived at Taranto Bay at noon the next day, a fisherman sold me a very exquisite-looking sandalwood peacock statue and asked me if I wanted a silk rug. Although it was torn, the remaining parts were still very beautiful. Beautiful, I asked him to show it to me, and he did. The impressive geometric pattern on it almost suggested that it came from the cabin of an Ottoman officer. The peacock statue also reminded me of the Ricati Palace. There are several small Indian statues collected by Li's father. These may be fragments left after the Ottoman ships were sunk, and were pushed onto the beach by the morning tide.

Sure enough, after I returned, I heard the news that an Ottoman troop transport and frigate had been sunk. The French fleet had almost no losses - except for two arson ships. The person who came was a spirited young officer. I also I thought it was Jean Bart, but later I found out that he was another man who had just returned from the Netherlands. It was said that he was recommended by Viscount Turenne. He just arrived at Jean Bart's fleet and won his first victory in a naval battle against the Ottomans.

It's really enviable, whether it's this officer or the Sun King who seems to never lack good generals and soldiers.