I Am Louis XIV

The king and his party passed through another square in the dark, where a small battle had just taken place, the soldiers had dispersed, the wounded lay moaning on the ground, and some shameless thugs were sneaking from dark corners Running out, rummaging through the dead for valuables, shoulder straps, coats, belts, or boots—some not quite dead, but certainly dead after such a rummaging.

The passing carriages, musketeers, and monks alarmed these people, and they immediately fled back to their lairs like mice exposed to the light, peeping out shining eyes from behind boxes or windows, Perhaps someone saw the friar's robes, and they cried out in low pain, begging for a chance to repent, but neither the king nor Erarous stopped, nor did the friars, they were the spears of God And shield, but not his hands to appease mortals. They are more willing and better at eliminating evil than promoting good. For Louis, they might as well claim that they were attacked by ghouls or vampires, and maybe someone else Get off the horse and find out.

They went as far as the Saint-Pierre church before finally finding a bridge over the Seine that was not blocked or burned, and after crossing the Seine, they set off to the southwest.

Maybe only a thousand feet, or fifteen hundred feet, the carriage was forced to stop again, and what appeared in the mist of the night was a neat and powerful army. The reason for saying that is because the Duke of Mortmar Instead of hearing those familiar cacophonies, it is simply not feasible in this day and age to subject soldiers to iron discipline, like those recruits recruited by General Schomberg, who can guarantee that when they use their weapons It is God's blessing not to hit one's own people, and not to break away from the team when marching, let alone other things. Sometimes even officers can hardly guarantee that they will not make mistakes, duel due to personal grievances before the battle, or It is not uncommon to disobey the orders of the superiors and rely on the blood to go one's own way - so hundreds of thousands of people are together, noisy and chattering is completely normal.

The regiments they encountered were completely different. They all wore black coats, white shirts, gray trousers, and bright red shoulder straps slanted across the officers' shoulders. The Duke looked away and looked at the king's shoulders. Sure enough, the shoulder straps were also bright red. At this time, the leading officer had dismounted twenty feet away from the carriage. He didn't look like a Frenchman. Then the duke heard him talking, and he really wasn't, but he was very respectful to the king. Respect—they spoke in Low German, the Duke has learned this language, but he is not that proficient, so he can only understand a few words in it, but seeing such a scene and connecting the previous things, what else does he not understand What about?

The Duke of Mortemal has been with the Prince of Condé for so long, but he has never heard that the king has such an army... Although some people say that there is a general from the Holy Roman Empire serving the king, and Tire The Viscount also joined the king, but some people said that the general was only employed by Bishop Mazarin. Once the king returned to Paris, their contract would be terminated naturally, and no one would care about a foreigner. ——As for the Viscount Turenne, he didn't seem to appear with the king. It seemed that he disappeared after leaving Hetel. Prince Condé had looked for him, but there was no result.

Now that... General Schomberg has appeared, then the Viscount Turenne is probably leading his army to prepare somewhere, but the Prince of Condé is still ignorantly fighting with his identified enemy, the Duke of Gaston A battle of life and death——The Duke of Mortmar thought of the job entrusted to him by the king, yes, the king would not want to see one of the two completely overwhelm the other, after all, for hunters, the best ending There is nothing better than the prey fighting each other to the last moment, draining every drop of blood in the body is the best.

"Has Turenne arrived at Saint-Gervais?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Schaumberg, "his herald has just left me."

"Now..." the king asked, and Schaumberg immediately took out the pocket clock. "It's four o'clock."

"Five o'clock," said the king, "you can launch an attack on the rebels in Paris." He smiled inexplicably: "We just passed the Place de la Bastille, where the Prince of Condé and the Duke of Guise launched a battle." battle."

General Schomberg immediately showed concern: "I hope you are not in danger."

"It's not me who is in danger," the king said, "Prince Condé should not go too far, you can..." He pondered for a moment: "I don't really want to hear the news that he left Paris."

He adjusted his shoulder straps gloomyly: "I heard that the Spanish envoys had close contacts with him."

General Schaumberg immediately bowed his head in obedience.

"But if it is possible," said Louis at last reluctantly, "please ensure that his life is safe," General Schomberg immediately agreed. In this day and age, it would be strange if Louis did not do so, but the general Unexpectedly, when Louis stepped on the pedal of the carriage, he said: "But, general, please also tell Viscount Turenne that if there is any possibility of harming you during this process, then It doesn't matter if you give up." He said simply: "It doesn't matter to me whether Kong Dai is dead or alive, but you are completely different."

The Duke of Mortmar looked at the general's face almost at the same time. The general may not have understood it for a while, but when the carriage started to move, the Duke saw the general bowed deeply, and did not look at him any more. See you soon.

"Your Majesty," Duke Mortmar said after a long silence, "you will surely be envied by many people in the future."

"Huh?" Louis looked up from the stack of letters that General Schomberg had just handed to him. "Of course," he said, "I am the King of France."

The presiding judge, who was still allowed to ride with the king and the duke, laughed.

Paris was finally left behind by them. Even if they didn't look at it, the three of them knew who the final winner would be. To say that the young king might be controlled and taught by the cunning Bishop Mazarin, but the Duke As the presiding judge saw, this king also had an enviable talent, which they did not see in the Prince of Condé or the Duke of Gaston, but out of their own minds, they will be in the next trip Strangely quiet.

They entered Versailles at dawn. Although it was only a few months, Versailles was no longer what it used to be. The small building used by Louis XIII as a hunting palace was added like wings. The double wings of the palace - the additional rooms made the royal family members living here a lot more comfortable. Although the king did not ask the musketeers to report, as soon as his carriage entered the courtyard, he saw the Queen Mother Anne walking down the steps in a hurry , but she couldn't be faster than the younger brother Philip, he rushed forward, hugged Louis' waist tightly, and put his forehead on Louis' shoulder. He is only two years younger than Louis, and the twelve-year-old boy has the embryonic form of an adult like a newborn tree, except that he is still wearing a nightgown instead of pajamas.

Louis patted Brother Wang's back, "I've always been worried about you." Philip said, the light of the torch was reflected in his eyes-this reflection was obviously not just because he had a pair of bright eyes.

"It's nothing." Louis said, "I said I would leave Paris too." When he decided to send the queen mother and Philip away first, it was not easy, because Philip believed that he should be the one staying, not the king. The queen mother persuaded him, and Louis was relieved. After all, he didn't want to tell Philip directly that General Schomberg and Viscount Turenne would not accept another person, even if it was the younger brother's transfer—if they could , then Louis may have to make a decision he doesn't want to make.

"But this is the last time," said the king, taking his brother's shoulders and walking towards his mother, "I swear to you." He said: "When we return to Paris, no one will To be able to drive us away again—and we shall be true masters of this city, as our fathers and grandfathers were—I will throw you a grand banquet to complete your 'suspenders' ceremony." He sighed a long time: "I'm really fed up with skirts, and I think you are too."

"I don't hate it that much," Wang Di said, "but I also want to be like you, brother. I want to be a general so that I can fight for you."

"Yes," said the king, and they had come before the queen mother. The king stepped forward, took his mother's hand, and kissed it on his lips.

Then came the Queen Mother of England and Princess Henrietta, who were still under the protection of the King of France, and finally Marie Mancini. Buried in his still very thin chest.

What surprised Louis was that the younger brother Philip didn't say anything. You know, maybe because he stayed with the Queen Mother more, Philip valued etiquette very much and didn't like anyone except himself and their mother. , so close to the king——Louis later learned that when he was still in Paris, the prince who was forced to return to Versailles was able to suppress his anxiety and wait patiently because of Mary's raven. go down.

In other words, have I been peeped by you all the time?

So both were punished for it.

—————

And just when the king's brother Philip and the little witch Mary were staring at a set of sizable tomes and biting their quills in a daze, the news that the king had been waiting for finally came.

Paris was back in the hands of the king.

The Duke of Gaston and his daughter, the Duchess of Montpensier, were captured, the Duke of Guise surrendered, but the Prince of Condé fled.