I Am Louis XIV

"To hell with them all!"

This was the reply given by Louis XIV.

After he got the Netherlands, it has to be said that the French army at that time, and even himself, were like strings stretched to the limit. They could no longer bear the pressure, so they decided to divide the Netherlands with other countries. If this were not the case, then The establishment of the anti-French alliance would only be a full ten years ahead of schedule. But now, after twenty years of careful planning, Leopold I and Charles II were about to take the ready-made fruit from his hands with a slight move of their lips?

How can it be? !

Louis XIV spent twenty years not only on the five hundred thousand livres dowry, but also on his army, his son (originally, if there was no Charles, he would have let young Louis hold the scepter of Spain), his The people, the treasury and inner treasury that he worked hard to fill... weren't all of this in anticipation that once Bourbon got Spain, he and France would inevitably face countless pairs of jealous and crazy eyes?

Not to mention that Leopold I and Charles II were defeated by him before reluctantly proposing negotiations. Even when Carlos II went to see God, Louis would not satisfy their greedy appetite - King Disputes with the king are always easy to resolve - come on, come on and fight!

On this continent, no matter how grand and elegant they are in name, or how kind and reasonable they are, in the final analysis they are still the same as the barbarians. They have never changed, and they have never wanted to change.

When Elario heard what the king said, he couldn't help laughing, "Oh, my dear Louis, I can almost imagine how ugly Leopold I and Charles II would look after hearing such a reply. ” He thought for a moment: “It is almost comparable to the reply letter written by the Cossacks to the Sultan.”

"You can't say that," Louis said calmly: ""I didn't ask Leopold I to grass goats, nor did I ask him to lick the devil's ass."

Elario laughed even harder. The letter he was talking about was written by the Ottoman Turkish Sultan a few years ago when he ordered a group of rebellious Cossacks to surrender. Its content was so rude that even a person like Jean Bart could not repeat it. Because of its blasphemy and viciousness, the Sultan did not even allow it. The clerk kept it on file and pretended that it had not happened, but there were so many Ottomans who were willing to laugh at it that the letter spread anyway.

Elario was not surprised that Louis could see this letter, he could see it too, but he immediately said seriously: "I would like to ask, Your Majesty, has the military strength of the Ottoman Turks actually weakened to this point? "

You know, this happened five years ago. The Sultan who was humiliated by the Cossacks was none other than Mohammed IV.

"It's just a monster with a huge body, but the inside has been hollowed out." Louis said that if he were Mohammed IV, he would definitely try every means to avoid war, because Ottoman Turkey is constantly declining, but his enemies are It continues to grow stronger, but if there is no war, the shadow left by Ottoman Turkey on the Europeans will last for a while. But once the war starts, every failure is a hole that allows people to glimpse its fragile inner nature.

"When you sent an envoy to ask Papa to call all countries to start the tenth holy war, I was surprised, especially since the main force of this holy war was mainly Italians."

"Italian mercenaries are not as cowardly as you think, they are just too greedy, selfish and unethical."

Ella grinned slightly. The subtext of Louis XIV was that Italian soldiers were a group of armed businessmen who were willing to die for money. They might be hired to fight, but the money was not enough to make them risk their lives. , but if they can obtain a large amount of "just" wealth from the holy war like the Crusader Knights did, they will definitely rush forward without hesitation.

The wealth that the Crusader Knights gained from the Holy War was enough for them to establish several countries.

"No wonder the priests of the Roman Church don't like you," said Elario.

"They will not like anyone who dares to sway their interests. Eralius, after you arrive in Rome, they should also try to bribe you."

"Yes." Having said this, Elario still showed a disgusted look. In the Decameron written by the Italian Giovanni Boccaccio, he once described how a pagan went to Rome in person. , to see what religion his friend wanted him to convert to. Of course his friend would be horrified, because he knew how corrupt and irredeemable the Roman Church was, but who knew that his pagan friends would convert right after returning from Rome, because "such a fallen church has not yet fallen into the fire" There must be a true god in prison..."

"I thought they would be better after the Reformation."

"Compared to the time of Alexander VI," Elario said, "the priests today are indeed better at anointing themselves."

"It was because of the new religion that they had to change." Louis said: "Any existence with endless power and no restrictions will inevitably embark on a rotten path. Sometimes, you will feel that they are in the world. As if to show how sinful human beings are." He slowly rubbed the handle of his cane, and Elario felt that he was not entirely talking about the church. After a moment of silence, the red prince smiled slightly: "Then do you think Rome should change? What does it look like?"

"All I know is that it should change," Louis said the scary words easily, "but I don't know how."

"We probably can't see it anymore," Elario sighed.

"That's not necessarily the case," Louis said. "If little Louis is to be crowned in the future, I hope the person who puts the crown on his head is you."

Elario took a deep breath.

"I feel that our topic is slipping into the abyss," Ellario said. Louis XIV's hint made him panic and raise undue extravagant hopes: "I have been frightened enough today, good majesty. , let’s talk about other things.”

"What do you want to hear? Let's do this," Louis said nonchalantly: "I will give you a thousand pagan nobles who are willing to convert, and I will give you another hundred thousand livres."

A thousand pagan nobles willing to convert is not a small number, but who asked Mohammed IV to bring enough people.

There have always been many ways to convert a pagan. Physical persuasion can be used until a thousand years later, or even later. Moreover, there are many well-informed and knowledgeable people in the Ottoman army - most of them are from Sipaxi. , that is, the cavalry team of the Ottomans. Most of them are descendants of nobles from the conquered areas. They are soldiers of the Sultan and hostages of the Sultan. With such status, they will certainly not be afraid of being held accountable for converting. responsibility.

There are also the officers of the Ottoman vassals and vassal states, Turkmens, Tatars, and Georgians. The relationship between them and the Sultan is more similar to the employer and the employee. Of course, they will not just do it for the sake of belief. Small things can lead to fatal consequences.

...What some devout believers are unwilling to admit is that what Bishop Elario brought back to Rome was not so much a group of converts who demonstrated the power of God, but a pile of moving money bags, because as captives, these The nobles could afford their own ransom.

Elario could not only get a hundred thousand livres from Louis, but also bring back a thousand living golden men. I think the cardinals in Rome would definitely believe it when they accepted this pleasant and honorable gift. As Elario said, Louis XIV of France was a good man who was extremely loyal and obedient to God and the church...

What surprised Elario a little was that Louis XIV actually handed over this matter to his son, young Luciano.

It's not that he doesn't recognize Luciano's talent, but for this kind of thing - he can only say that Louis' son is indeed just like his half-brother, and has the qualifications a ruler should have. To put it bluntly, even Luciano is not the kind of king that the church likes. He may have faith, but he certainly will not fall in love with the Roman priests.

When these thousand people were handed over to Elario, Elario met Luciano for the first time.

"You have grown up, Lucy." Elario said. The impression left on him by the Duke of Colonna was still a somewhat melancholy young man, but now he saw a rough soldier with a tall body and a thick chest. , with a thick beard on his face and disheveled temples, there is no trace of Mary Mancini at all.

"Because of the relationship to be negotiated with the Ottoman Turks." Most of the Ottomans and their vassals like to grow thick beards. If they don't have beards, they will give them the impression of being weak and bullyable. In order to avoid meaningless entanglements, the Duke of Colonna So he grew a beard.

The life and death of Mohammed IV is now uncertain. The Ottomans who stayed in Sicily can be said to have suffered a fatal blow, but most of this army is stranded in Naples. These soldiers are still commanded by their grand vizier. , but the rumors have spread to the hearts of every Ottoman - they can't help but believe it. The supply quota suddenly dropped to a point where they could hardly fill their stomachs. The legions closer to the coast also saw the fire and black smoke. The masts that once stood between the blue sky and the sea seemed to have disappeared overnight (thanks to the French fleet).

The number of people who once brought huge pressure to the enemy would also put pressure on the Grand Vizier. He was not a very talented person to begin with. Faced with questioning eyes and dangerous sights, he could only tremble in the tent. , praying to his true God day and night - Originally, if the Ottoman army could attack Naples or a more fertile place without a doubt, they could still rely on looting to maintain operations, but although those people of God They are cowardly, but they don’t know how much cement they have accumulated. The man-made boulders that once hindered them in the battle have turned into low walls, bunkers and various strange-shaped fortifications here. Their enemies obviously do not expect to be able to achieve victory in the battle. Victory, as long as it can delay their footsteps is enough.

Hunger can make people weak and angry, not to mention... Sudan has indeed left them, and they don't know if they can go back or if there is a way out.

However, neither Louis XIV nor the Duke of Colonna could treat them like the Ottomans in Sicily. There were too many of them, and everyone knew that the beasts in the trap were the most ferocious. Louis XIV could not withstand the desperate measures of the Ottomans. He was waiting for a messenger from the Grand Vizier or the new ruler of Istanbul.

The messenger came, bringing letters from the new Sultan.

Muhammad IV has "died", and the Queen Mother supports his son and reaches an agreement with the younger son of the Koprulu family. They urgently need this army to return to Istanbul, and they don't even mind paying some ransom and feeding them. He received commissions from the Genoese and Venetians - because only they had enough ships to transport tens of thousands of people back to Istanbul.

"Write to the Grand Duke of Transylvania," Louis XIV said to the wizard beside him, "he should withdraw to Romania."

——————

"Aren't we going to try again?" The Grand Duke of Transylvania, Tekoy's friend and general, asked regretfully as he looked at Istanbul, whose outline could still be vaguely seen.

"No, we can't be too greedy, the Ottoman army is coming back." Tekoy said.

It would be a lie to say that I have no regrets.

Istanbul, once Constantinople, has always been an unshakable city. When Mohammed II bribed the Genoese, he sneaked into the Golden Horn from the Galata area controlled by the Genoese. He even unexpectedly laid a slipway and dragged 80 sailing ships into the bay. They attacked by sea and land, and finally conquered of this towering fortress.

After changing from Constantinople to Istanbul, the fortress was repaired and strengthened by successive sultans. It now has four layers of defense, a moat and a low wall, an exterior wall built with limestone strips and an interior built with granite strips. wall, and five hundred towers to cover any section of the wall.

Although the assistance from France gave them powerful artillery and a large amount of gunpowder, it was still impossible to capture this majestic city before the Ottoman army turned back.

"There will be a chance," Tekoi said, "and it won't be long."

——————

Viscount Turenne in North Holland only heard the good news that the Ottomans had to withdraw from Italy, and ushered in the coalition forces of the British and Danes.

Facing the threats from France and Sweden, the Danes finally found a suitable ally. Louis XIV's answer made Charles II, who had become increasingly self-willed in recent years, furious. He was like a crazy gambler. Regardless of the opposition of Congress, he followed Louis XIV's example and mortgaged the property belonging to the royal family and united the Netherlands. The exiled government and the Danes built a new fleet in an attempt to regain the lost dignity in North Holland.