I Am Louis XIV

When Louis XIV's envoy asked the English about the population of Ireland, they could only give a rough figure of five million. ,

At the beginning of the 16th century, Ireland's population was still hovering between 500,000 and 600,000. The reason why it soared was ironically because of potatoes. Potatoes were high-yielding, suitable for the Irish climate, and had no natural enemies. Therefore, even though most of the Irish people became sharecroppers, they were still able to rely on the food gifted to them by God, leading to an abnormal increase in the population.

The reason why it is said to be deformed is because according to the normal market economy or even the feudal governance system, if a place has such a stable food supply and a sufficient population, it will gradually prosper and prosper, but Ireland is just the opposite - Almost none of the English who own a large amount of land in Ireland will live in Ireland. To them, Ireland is just a colony. How the people in the colony should survive has nothing to do with them, because wheat is not valuable, and they are better off raising livestock. It could destroy Ireland's agriculture and convert most of the land into pasture.

Even if a small part of the population grows wheat, the English landowners will not only not provide relief to the refugees in critical moments, but will also transport wheat to England where there is no shortage of food - because the poor Irish cannot afford their wheat, which makes people even more miserable. What is outrageous and ridiculous is that after the wheat was shipped to England, it devalued and even rotted due to a large backlog.

On one side, there is endless moldy wheat, fresh mutton and beef, and on the other side, people are starving everywhere.

The population of the Irish increased tenfold because of potatoes, and one million people starved to death in just one or two years. Think about it, even the servants of the Marquis de Lafayette, the Irish with assets and estates, were reduced to this. At this point, what about the ordinary people?

The lucky Irishman did not tell the kind-hearted Mrs. Lafayette that with the help of the merchants, they managed to regain some strength and gathered at Rosslare Port, waiting to board the ship. For some reason, the Irishman temporarily A riot broke out in the shelter.

The source of the riot was a woman who testified against her husband - no, it was not her husband, he was just a thug who took advantage of the chaos and robbed innocent people. He not only took the lives of innocent people, but also ate their flesh and blood. His attempt to escape, of course, failed, and he was soon caught by the French merchant's attendants and sent to the gallows.

As a result, dozens of people escaped from that settlement that night. No need to ask why, they have all eaten people before.

How did the Marquis of Lafayette meet his servant? It was because the Marquis concealed his identity at that time and, as a servant of the merchant, followed the king's request to see "the current situation in Ireland" with his own eyes. He couldn't help but get angry when he heard that. , determined to capture those people and execute them one by one. After all, the thought of such a devil remaining in the world would make anyone with any conscience uneasy.

This is how the Irish became the guides and servants of the Marquis.

All these situations have been written into a report by the Marquis and submitted to His Majesty the King. Therefore, when Louis looked at the Irish grooms, workers and maids walking on the street, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction - these people were not only the ones he had saved from death. , wrested from the tyranny of Charles II, also wrested from the teeth of the mob.

The Irish who were able to be employed by the Parisians and even the French for a long time were certainly the luckiest, but those Irish who traveled long distances and were sent to the New World never complained at all. No, it should be said that they were just like the servants of the Marquis. , full of gratitude to France and its owners.

The life of the Irish in Paris is now much better than in the past, and the Irish in the New World are also full of expectations - they do not have to worry about being evicted again, they have a fixed residence, enough charcoal fire and abundant food, and although their salary is meager, it is Land in the New World is not expensive. If they work in the army, they may be assigned a piece of land.

French businessmen were worried at first. The slave trade was so prosperous because the original white farmhands were unwilling to work in a strange place, or they demanded high prices.

The Irish have no such concerns. Although they are also employed, they are familiar with the Irish land. Can even an inch of it belong to them?

The reason why people are attached to their homeland is because it is their last retreat. The Irish's retreat is on another continent.

Therefore, when the Irish were working hard, businessmen could not help but calculate the price-performance ratio between them and black slaves - now a black slave is not cheap. To put it bluntly, a black slave worked for ten years fifty years ago. His work would be enough to pay for his worth, but now it takes thirty or even forty years of work to pay for his worth, and the slave owner also has to bear his food, clothing and housing. Calculating it this way - it's nothing like employing an Irishman for a long time. the difference.

Moreover, when black slaves worked, they needed shackles, whips, and overseers to prevent them from escaping, and to prevent them from destroying tools and burning warehouses. The latter behavior didn't matter when Louis XIII or Charles I, but now, the king's factory can not only build weapons and ships, but also large machinery that can replace cattle and manpower. These machinery are very expensive. , also very powerful, and even more...very easy to be destroyed.

The Irish don't, not only don't know how, but they take good care of them because they can also use these machines in their own fields.

In five years, the Irish moved a million people to the New World, almost as many as the North American Indians and the French at that time. However, later the French Huguenots moved part of the New World, and there were also Chinese The southern Indians moved northward before gaining an overall numerical advantage. There are now nine large provinces in the New World, and Marshal Schaumberg manages and rules them as governor on behalf of the Duke of Montreal.

However, as time goes by, some shadows that originally belonged to local forces in Ireland are slowly growing. The former Irish native religious Druid Order, Parliament and Normans, or the remaining forces of the Vikings - ingratitude is always the worst. Common drama.

But in general, this matter is not a big problem. Five years is enough for General Schaumberg to develop a powerful army. This army is mainly composed of French and Indians, with only a minority of Irish. And almost all of them are in the middle and lower classes.

It was not that Marshal Schaumberg was suspicious or deliberately suppressing, but that the Irish arrived in the New World when they were fighting. By the time the Irish finally settled down and had time to wait and see, there were no British left in America. Unless they To fight the French, where else would they get their merit?

On the other hand, Indian chiefs or warriors, after allying with the French, as equal friends, they can also be promoted and rewarded. In addition, Louis XIV promised that tribes allied with the French could leave their own territories or purchase canyons, forests or mountains at a reasonable price, so almost every Indian had a considerable asset. .

This asset allowed them to absorb a large number of Irish people. After all, the Indian population was not that sufficient. At first, some Irish people were not very reluctant. Five years ago, Indian slaves were still being traded in the Jamestown port market! English newspapers always described Indians as scalping savages; secondly, they were also worried that red-skinned people would treat white-skinned people the same way white-skinned people treat them...

Thankfully, maybe not every Indian was a good guy, or the French wouldn't have had to ally with the Indians. But most of them are indeed as innocent as children. When they were with the British, they learned almost all bad things - blackmail, deception, predatory, drunkenness and narrow beliefs, and, Always oppressed by an urgent suffocation.

And every French person they met, apart from the good qualities they have always been praised for, what others like most is that they all have a nonchalant and relaxed attitude, as if nothing can stop them. This kind of thoughts and emotions change quickly. The land infected the Indians and then the Irish who were employed by the Indians.

What humans fear most is the fear of the unknown and the hope that does not exist. When the people of Ireland recognized that not only the French, but also the red-skinned Indians could be good employers, those ungrateful villains were buried in the silence and vigilance of their companions before they could make waves.

"Oh, your majesty, look," said Pierre suddenly.

Louis woke up from his thoughts and took a closer look. It turned out to be a scene that was quite rare in Paris - an Indian lady dressed as a lady, holding an exquisite lace umbrella, was walking towards them from the end of the street. Followed closely behind were two maids - one older and one younger, both had similar looks, with red hair and white skin. They seemed to be Irish.

This is also an unwritten rule in the employment agreement, that is, if possible, in the case of long-term employment, an employer will try to hire an entire family without splitting them up. The pair of maids are likely to be sisters. The elder is carrying the box. The younger maid looked around. What was she looking for? Ah, she found it. It was the stopping point of the carriage. In order to prevent the streets from being filled with carriages that would hinder walking, the stopping place of the carriage was planned.

An Irish coachman who was also a red-haired driver jumped out of the carriage, opened the door of the carriage, and served his Indian master to get on the carriage, but the Indian lady happened to glance this way, and after a pause, she walked towards Louis , curtsying and curtsying three steps away from the king - because the movement was so fast, no one noticed except the servants who were following closely.

"How did you recognize me?" Louis asked curiously after making sure that the other party really recognized him and was not acting recklessly: "I have never seen you, madam."

Louis' memory has always been very good, but he will definitely remember everyone who meets him, not to mention that this is a red amber, not a white opal.

"Your portrait hangs in Marshal Schaumberg's conference room."

"He really shouldn't inherit the bad habits of the British." Louis said, "But how did you see me? I put on a disguise."

"I am the daughter of Horns, sir... my second Indian name is Little Falcon. My friends and father have said that my eyes are extremely sharp."

"Then what I saw was a little falcon landing on the tip of a bull's horn." Louis smiled and said, "As the first person to recognize me, I should give you a reward."

"I shouldn't have asked you for a reward," Xiao Falcon said, "I shouldn't have been the first person to recognize you, but some people may have been in awe or afraid of disturbing you, so they didn't come over. "

"Then you should be asking for something." Louis said gently. He was always patient with women and children, and the little falcon occupied both.

"Yes." Xiao Falcon said. After all, she was not a French person, but an Indian.

——————

"How many days can you stay in Paris this time?" asked the Marquise Lafayette.

"Well, about thirty days." Marquis Lafayette said.

The Marquise paused, put down her tea cup, and asked with a suspicious look on her face: "Then what do you want to do?"

"Don't use you," said the Marquis, "to make me panic, mother."

"If it's just for me, an old woman, you won't need thirty days."

"Well, how can you say that? In fact, I was just about to discuss with you whether you would like to go to New Amsterdam?"

New Amsterdam is a port city. As the name suggests, it originally belonged to the Netherlands. Later, the Netherlands belonged to Louis XIV. Louis XIV did not change the name and still called it New Amsterdam. New Amsterdam began to build ports and various buildings in 1625. Today, It is also quite large and comfortable to live in. Because it is a port city, material things are not that scarce.

"I won't go," said the Marchioness, "unless you promise me..."

"What do you promise?"

"Get married. Have children." The Marquise said simply: "You are thirty years old."

The Marquis was silent.

The Marquise's heart sank.

"Mother……"

"The last time you called my mother so seriously, you still said you were going to the New World, and then disappeared for five years." The Marquise said firmly.

Marquis Lafayette pursed his lips and held his mother's hand, "I have met a... lady with whom I want to enter into a marriage contract."

The Marquise said in her mind that fortunately I was ready: "Civilian?"

"It can't be said that she is a civilian. Her father is an earl and the captain of the cavalry in the legion." The Marquis took a deep breath: "She is very young, very healthy, very beautiful, well-educated, of high moral character, and has a dowry rich……"

"shortcoming."

"Mother……"

"Hey! I didn't think a girl like this would fall in love with you."

"Well," said the Marquis, "she is an Indian."