I Am Louis XIV

Little Eugen almost jumped out of the saddle.

He is someone who has been on the battlefield. In the era of hot weapons replacing cold weapons, the damage caused by guns and cannonballs is far more terrible than ordinary spears and short swords. The wounds they cause are reminiscent of natural disasters - even if they are single A great deed that cannot be accomplished by human power. Little Eugen had seen the piled-up stumps, and also seen the eyes hanging on the faces, like deformed bodies, cracked skulls, squirming internal organs, or things that were too bloody and indistinguishable— - This often appears on positions being bombarded. I don’t know how many times he has seen it. He has also shot enemies with his gun and hanged deserters with his own hands.

But this scene... there was no warning, no hesitation, and no fluctuation - these Poles even showed a little boredom when they dragged the herdsmen to death with their horses, as if they were doing a job skillfully, and What should I say about those herdsmen? It was clear that those who were suddenly killed were their brothers, fathers, or perhaps their husbands and sons, but they just stood silently in the darkness, motionless, as if they were trees waiting to be cut down.

The Lithuanian who invited them glanced around for a week, and even showed a slightly dissatisfied look. He rode his horse to the herdsmen and pointed out a few people with a riding crop. They were also dragged under the torch and put in a rope loop. The Duke of Orleans Putting his arm around little Eugen's shoulders, "I'll buy them," he said, "Sir, I'll buy them."

The Lithuanian turned around and showed a smile: "Sorry, Your Highness," he said: "No." He nodded slightly: "My lord, if you want my daughter, I will also be willing, but These people, no." He continued without waiting for the Duke to ask questions: "Look, you may be confused, why don't I stay as a slave to those tall, strong men? Of course, maybe they do it We live like a cow or a mule, but there are always horses that don’t want to be put on the bridle, and there are wolves that can’t learn how to wag their tails at people. They are like stones mixed in wheat grains, which can hurt our teeth and Tongue - if I let them stay in my field, they will continue to instigate the people around them to resist, escape, and even destroy farm tools and wheat. By then, their labor will not be able to repay these losses."

"And these people," he said: "These are old and can no longer work. In addition to this, they are also the backbone of this tribe. Those strong young people may still have to listen to their orders. They are better than the previous ones." Those are even more abominable." He raised his chin, and a servant immediately held up a kerosene lamp to illuminate the face of one of them. Little Eugen immediately realized that he was wrong. Hidden behind his disheveled white hair, his eyes were darkened by old age. The fire of anger that burst out from his eyes that became a little cloudy could ignite these "trees" in an instant, but also in an instant, the wind of wisdom blew through his eyes and suppressed the spark again.

"I obey you, sir," he said, bowing to the Lithuanian.

The Lithuanian laughed: "Look, how smart they are," he said: "You can't keep them, they are the root of trouble." Then he whistled, and the horses scattered and ran away. Little Eugen looked at The loose white hair floated in the darkness like a dandelion blown by the wind, and then disappeared. Finally, a cry came out from the herdsmen, but then there was a slap in the face, and the cry disappeared.

"Women can work just as well as children," said the Lithuanian, "and they become very docile."

The Duke of Orleans kept his hand on little Eugen's shoulder. No book, information or rumor was more real and shocking than seeing it with his own eyes. They had heard that in order to be able to suppress the number of serfs that were dozens or hundreds of times larger than theirs, the great nobles of Poland, in addition to constantly building their own military power, also tried to remove them like porcupine quills. They killed those rebellious guys, and used cruel punishments to torture those who dared to resist them to death as a warning. Nowadays, in most countries in Europe, idle torture instruments have been abolished, and they can be found everywhere here. yes.

Now it seems that these great nobles are not brainless - they know that the most unstable people in a tribe are those. Strong men are good slaves and good warriors, and those older men, with their experience and knowledge The former can be guided to organize these people, so they simply kill them all from the beginning.

"It is said that your king does not like slavery." The Lithuanian drove his horse closer and said slowly.

The Duke of Orleans looked at him and thought, it seemed that he had made a mistake. They were not here to flatter themselves and France, but to demonstrate: "Driving slaves is a backward and barbaric act."

"That was in France," the Lithuanian still smiled, but there was a hint of coldness in his smile: "This is Poland."

——————

Ludwig I left very calmly. He had no regrets. The arrival of the Duke of Orleans also showed that Louis XIV was still firmly on his side and would continue to protect his son and grandson. He made repentance. , anointed with holy oil, spent his last night in the company of his children and grandchildren, and died before dawn.

The king is dead, long live the king. After the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, another king who needs to be elected has appeared. The appearance of the Duke of Orleans undoubtedly represents France. With the envoy of Luciano I, the new king of the Italian Federation, The envoys of King Carl XI of Sweden arrived together the next day, and envoys of King William I of Prussia followed one after another, followed by Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom... and several other countries - mainly Polish nobles. The messenger from the candidate for the throne was belatedly arrived...almost publicly stating his decision to withdraw from the race for the Polish throne.

So no matter how unwilling the Polish Schlachta were, they had no choice but to continue to elect Henry, the son of Ludwig I, as the king of Poland. Later generations called him Henry IV (Henryk is Henry in Polish). , interestingly, the original Henrik III was also the king of France.

The king also agreed in his contract with the nobles that he would take them as their leader to join the New Crusade. The king would set out on the feast day of Mary this year at the latest (August 15). Henry also knew the secret agreement between the nobles, but he did not think that he would lose to anyone.

While the Schlachta troops were gearing up and gearing up, the Duke of Orleans completed this unexpected and important official business and was going to Prussia to meet his daughter. However, before meeting his daughter, the eldest princess, the Queen of Sweden, heard that After hearing about little Eugen's matter, he actually set off to Malmö, wanting to see his unrelated brother.

As we have said before, the eldest princess had a territory that was used as a dowry. This territory was on the edge of North Holland. Although it was not large, it was enough for Sweden to station troops here to threaten and control its old enemy Denmark. Karl Since the eleventh generation used the territory of the eldest princess, in exchange, he gave Gotland, which had recently been included in Sweden, to his queen.

Although the territory of the eldest princess will be inherited by her son with King Carl XI of Sweden in the future, she is the only owner of her territory. No matter what she does, it must be safer and safer than Stockholm or other places. It was more convenient. Her envoy met the Duke of Orleans and respectfully handed over the letter. In the letter, the eldest princess asked her uncle to come to her island to comfort her homesickness after a long absence. Of course, the Duke would not shirk it - originally they did too. I want to see the eldest princess.

Gotland is Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. It was originally managed by an "island court" similar to the original republican system, with a total of twenty. Such a loose system was destined to be unable to compete with the feudal Europeans. , they were first occupied by the Teutonic Knights, then passed to the Danes, then the Hanseatic League, and finally fell into the hands of the Swedes.

Of course, the nobles of Stockholm coveted this new island that was only added to Swedish territory in 1645. Not to mention the geographical conditions, this island has beautiful scenery, a suitable climate, and rich products - especially the island with a large amount of limestone resources. Now that it has become an important military and civilian product, it is simply a golden island.

It was precisely because of this issue that after careful consideration, King Karl XI handed over the management and rule of the island to his wife. This inevitably aroused opposition and doubts from some nobles, but it only took the queen five years to do so. After taking care of the island in an orderly and stable manner, and most importantly, paying a large amount of taxes, the opposition slowly disappeared - it may also be related to the fact that the queen has given birth to an heir for Sweden.

In any case, Queen Elizabeth's name is more prominent and credible on Gotland than King Karl XI, so much so that some people murmured that if the Queen wanted to go to war with the King, those bastards on Gotland would The fierce fishermen and workers will definitely fight for her - this kind of words will definitely make the king who likes to hold power very uncomfortable. It is not that similar things have never happened in history, but Karl XI is definitely not the case. He originally In addition to the needs of the family and the country, the reason for seeking to marry the eldest princess of France is because the eldest princess has shown political literacy and a kind and intelligent heart that ordinary noble girls cannot have.

It had only been more than ten years since Sweden acquired Gotland. The governor sent by Stockholm actually caused the indigenous people there to start several riots in succession. There was a gap in tax revenue every year - it could not be collected. Karl XI said this Shizhen didn't know what to say. After he took charge, he also changed several people, but the result was still the same - he even doubted whether wizards were releasing magic in Gotland. How could he seem loyal and loyal in Stockholm? What about smart people who turn into greedy fools as soon as they arrive in Gotland?