I Am Louis XIV

The Duke of Mortemart is unfamiliar to Versailles. Although he also has a prominent title, for Henry IV and Louis XIII, Mortemart is not an impressive surname, and he has not been invited here. , but he still has heard about Versailles. He is a little curious about everything here, but not so surprised, because he has never seen the original appearance of Versailles.

Compared with the Duke of Mortmar, Eralio's mood is much more complicated. Of course, this ambitious young man is not unfamiliar with Versailles, which is one of Louis XIII's favorite hunting places, because it has the king's Favored, so this place should be "cleaned" frequently, so as not to disturb the dignitaries-at that time, there was only a small building here, surrounded by scattered farmhouses and hotels, and almost all the people here relied on following the king to come. The hunting nobles in Versailles did not have continuous and long-term jobs. How should I put it, Versailles at that time was very much like a theater. When the king came, it was vigorous and full of good shows. The hounds, those beautiful horses, those elegant knights and beautiful ladies, just like the scenery on the stage, they disappeared all of a sudden, revealing the broken bricks underneath. Compared with the usual bleakness of other places, Even more ridiculous and tragic.

Now, the oblique road from Hunting Avenue (that is, the road from Paris to Versailles) to the palace has been renovated, and the road surface enough for four knights to walk side by side is a new material developed on the basis of ancient Roman cement. The surface is covered with tiny stones, and the wheels of the four-wheeled carriage cannot cause damage on it at all, and even the horseshoes can only leave light white marks, and Eralio even reached out and touched them to confirm that they are hard The road is like a stone, and repairing the road in this way and materials must be expensive, and the manpower required cannot be underestimated, but Eralius quickly thought of those refugees who followed the king all the way to Versailles... …Although the king gave them seedlings of wheat and potatoes, even potatoes would take four months to harvest, but it is impossible for a person to wait 120 days on an empty stomach. The king once built a chapel in Paris, Then, of course, roads can also be repaired here.

Almost at the next moment, Eraro's guess was confirmed, because some people were repairing a narrow path, said to be narrow enough for two knights to pass through, and it was stretching towards a thorny forest. If Lalius remembered correctly, he also executed a miserable Nofiler there - when he walked over, those workers found him, and when they saw Eralio's black robe, they immediately stood in awe, immediately He took off his hat and put it on his chest.

"What are you doing?" Eraro asked.

"We're building a road, sir priest," replied one of the leaders respectfully.

"But doesn't it lead to the Thornwood?"

"There is no thorn forest anymore," replied the man, "we have managed to burn all the thorns there, and it is now a potato field."

"Ah," exclaimed Eralius, "by God's grace, have you started farming?"

"It's more than that," said the worker, who might also be a farmer, proudly: "The potatoes have even been harvested once, and now the king's officials tell us that we can continue to plant peanuts."

"Peanuts?"

"It's also a new thing," said the man, "My lord priest, I swear to the Holy Mother, if the king didn't like to eat this stuff, I would never grow it, but they all say that this thing is an angel. What was given to St. Francis was a good fruit, to be eaten, and to be pressed for oil, like the olive fruit that grows in the ground."

When he said this, Eralio became curious: "What kind of fruit is that?" He put his hand into the money bag, and then took out a large crown and handed it to the farmer. He suddenly became happy, " Well, sir priest," he said, "it's not easy, but I do leave some seeds at home that won't germinate," and he handed the tools to the others, and flew home—maybe Only in close quarters, because he came back almost in a blink of an eye, and there may be only four or five nuts in the tightened bag, which look neither good nor plump, and it looks more like a nut on a tree , but as the farmer said, it grows in the ground like potatoes.

And what that person said about the so-called seeds that won't germinate is probably nonsense, because the seeds inside these fruits are still very fresh and full of vitality after they are broken open. "Don't be like this," said Elario, "Didn't you hear that this is a fruit that the king also likes?"

"That king really likes so many things." A monk couldn't help but say.

"That also requires people to be willing to believe him." Eralio said that they had also heard and investigated about potatoes. Delicious, as long as there is enough fat or meat to match, it can completely replace bread - of course, if there is nothing, just add a little salt, this soft and easy-to-satisfy thing has nothing to blame in terms of taste Yes, and it does take a shorter time to harvest than wheat or beans.

As for peanuts, the king didn't even play tricks anymore. Almost all the people in Versailles were his loyal subjects. As long as there was his edict, everyone would do what he wanted.

Eraro walked along that road—the unrepaired road is not so bad, at least the previous Versailles was almost all such roads—to put it simply, people's feet are more on the weeds and wasteland. The path that was naturally formed after stepping on it for the first time was still overgrown with thorns and thorns on both sides.

After crossing a low hill, everyone's eyes suddenly opened up—a man-made plain, the scorched land showed that it had indeed been burned. On the edge of the cultivated land, next to the dense forest, was a row of ashen-white roads. The rough hut looked like a few wooden boards put together, but it had small window panels and simple wooden doors. When they got closer, they realized that it was indeed a "board", but not a formwork. But cement board.

To be honest, these houses are really ugly, small, dark, and square like a box, but this kind of house is the kind that Elarous had expected - warm, and the wind and snow can't invade; Dry, impenetrable to rainwater; strong, don't worry about wild animals breaking in, and don't worry about being surrounded by flames when you wake up... He smiled and saw some people coming out of the room, some of the most humble, the most Lowly, they bowed their heads in trepidation, unlike the peasants they met before, they didn't even have the courage to call out to the priest.

But Eralius heard the cry of the baby.

that's enough.

He turned and left. Along the way, he saw more people. Interestingly, they could be said to be completely different. The king did not carelessly put the former refugees with the poor he recruited from Paris. It is different from work. Almost all the refugees are sent to open up wasteland and grow potatoes, while most of the poor in Paris are busy building roads, palaces and their own houses.

When Eralio came to the palace, he also saw a large group of well-dressed gentlemen who could be seen to be timid gathered in the courtyard. He asked a musketeer, and the musketeer told him that all these They are merchants traveling with them, and they have come to see the king.

To be allowed to meet the king is undoubtedly a matter of honor and fear for these ordinary businessmen. They arranged the most appropriate clothes as much as possible, and bribed the attendants and ministers to ask them how to meet the king. It's not too rude when it's time-although Louis doesn't care.

These merchants were called in one by one. Some of them, perhaps out of nervousness or fear, could not even say a simple greeting. The king could only smile, and then his attendants took them down. The good one also had a trembling voice, flushed face, and shaking knees desperately, which made the king worry about his health.

Louis thought of Colbert, this young businessman was still guarding the door when he saw the king for the first time, but when the king summoned him, he was able to calmly analyze and guess Louis' intentions. , he gave his proposal almost immediately, just for this alone, he didn't know how sharper he was than these businessmen - thinking of this, the king almost wanted to dance happily, after all, Colbert It can be said that he was the first person promoted by himself, and he did not live up to the king's expectations of him.

When the last businessman was taken out, Louis stretched his waist. Under Bontang's helpless eyes, he turned his eyes to the loyal first servant, "There will be no more," he said: "You know, Buntang, I need money."

"You can borrow it from the Bishop or the Queen Mother, Your Majesty," said Bontang.

"I already owe them hundreds of thousands of livres," Louis said, "and they may not be able to afford the follow-up, Bontang."

"But what are you going to do?" Bontang asked puzzledly: "If you say you want to resettle these refugees, aren't they already in Versailles?"

The king smiled. "Not enough, not enough, Bontang, not at all."

How many people are here? The king looked out the window, thousands of people, or tens of thousands, but how many people are there in France? He is a greedy person. He hopes that there are his people wherever he sees and where he cannot see. He is truly willing to use his life and honor to be loyal to his people.

He is both Paris and King of France, or...

of this world.