I Am Louis XIV

These words immediately turned the lively scene cold.

"Mr. Bishop is seriously ill." Philip said, and the king took another look at him, only to realize that although Philip's dress was fancy, it could be seen that it was not newly made clothes. There are more bad things than good things, but his feelings for the bishop are also very complicated. After all, he and the queen mother did not do this for their own selfish desires, but for the country. Philip, but the younger brother and the Duke of Anjou. From this point of view, when Louis was assassinated and might die at any time, or disappear into the watch world in another way, Bishop Mazarin resolutely asked the queen mother to make Philip a The King Regent—didn't he know that Philip loathed, even hated himself? But France is ahead of all, as he promised and kept - following the thought of Cardinal Richelieu - My first purpose is to exalt the king", "My second purpose is to make the kingdom glory".

He really gave his life for it.

The bishop's serious illness cast a cloud over the king's return. According to the king's will, all the banquets and dances that had been prepared were cancelled, and hunting activities were also banned. He hastily canonized his brother, because He needed Philip to collect Orleans and the surrounding area. Then, he even postponed all state affairs and visited Bishop Mazarin at noon on the third day.

Bishop Mazarin certainly has his own mansion. This mansion is near Notre Dame de Paris. It is a gray multi-room mansion. Together with the courtyard, the room where the bishop lives is dull and dark. There was a disease, the doors and windows were closed, the glass was covered by curtains, and the gaps were sealed with cloth strips, and the room was lit with candles even in the daytime. When the king entered the room through many priests and monks, he smelled it He could not help but feel his heart sank, for no other reason, but because he smelled the smell of fat, and it is impossible for the current Mr. Bishop to have the strength and appetite to eat, so it can only be the smell of holy oil, which he has already done. The last sacrament.

There were still some people around Bishop Mazaran's bed. They were dressed in layman's black clothes and had solemn faces, but the king had no time to think about it. He took a step forward and held the bishop's hand, and the bishop's hand Like a glove filled with cotton, there was no warmth, and there was no response from holding it back. A strong sadness and panic rose from Louis' heart, although people have always criticized Mr. Bishop for treating him like his own son. The king, but Louis was only five years old when he came to the throne. The ups and downs of the past ten years were covered by none other than this old man in front of him and Philip.

"I have been wondering, Your Majesty," said Bishop Mazarin, "whether you will come."

"Of course I will come." Louis said, his words were full of pain, Bishop Mazaran could hear it, and he smiled in relief, "I'm glad you can come too." His eyes slanted to one side, "I think I must introduce you, Your Majesty, this is Mr. Pierre Corneille."

Monsieur Corneille bowed to His Majesty when the King entered the room, and now he bowed to the King again.

Then Mr. Bishop introduced several people to the king, and they were all lawyers: "I asked them to handle some important affairs."

"Please let it go for a while," Louis said dumbfounded, what important business are you doing now, you are about to go to see God: "You need to take a good rest."

"I will have a lot of time to recuperate, Your Majesty, until the end comes," Bishop Mazarin insisted, his cheeks flushed worryingly, and his eyes bright: "Your Majesty, this is the most important thing—here There are four transfer instruments."

"Transfer documents?"

"You can also understand it as a gift, my little gift, Your Majesty," Bishop Mazaran said, "You know, logically speaking, all the estates of church princes should belong to the church, because they all belong to the church," He said that there was a little sly look on his face: "But it must be after I leave this earthly world and go to God, while I am still here, still breathing, I have the right to deal with your own property."

Perhaps it was a glance, and a silent priest, who had always been hidden in the shadows, approached and gave the bishop a little water—possibly a potion, so that the bishop's spirits became more and more lifted, and he even stood in front of the servants. Sitting up with help, he also took the king's hand.

"I have no children, presumptuously, and I did consider you my heir, though I had suffered a great shock—I thought I had lost you, but God forbid, you came back, back to Paris , come back to me, hold my hand, so I made a decision, a decision I made a long time ago, yes, after Felipe, don't interrupt me, Your Majesty," he said, "I have been hesitating, because I know how terrible it is to let a child hold a great sword. A great sword is not only power, but wealth as well. People say that I am corrupt and bribery. Indeed, I come from France. A glass of golden flowing water was intercepted from this wide river." He smiled: "But I don't have a place to use them, of course, occasionally I would like to add a few beautiful robes, but other than that , there is no more, I think you can definitely use it where you need it most."

"Monsieur Bishop!"

"Monsieur Corneille!" Bishop Mazarin shouted, and the man who was first introduced to the king approached immediately. He was a kindly middle-aged man with a sad light on his head, but he was meticulous and serious about his work. , the demeanor is also very elegant and quick, "I asked this gentleman to handle the transfer of money for me, Your Majesty.

"etc……"

"Don't wait," Bishop Mazarin said with a smile, "Mr. Corneille, tell your Majesty, how much money do I have?"

"Fifty million livres."

This figure shocked Louis. Literally, he jumped up from the bed. Fifty million livres is equivalent to the total tax revenue of France for half a year, and the total tax revenue is basically only three in the hands of the royal family. One-tenth, that is to say, one transfer document from Bishop Mazaran gave Louis more income for more than a year.

"This gentleman handles the transfer procedures of the land, mansion and manor for me." As if feeling that Louis was not surprised enough, Bishop Mazaran continued.

"This gentleman handles the procedures for the transfer of artworks such as portraits, sculptures, and sacred objects for me."

"This gentleman handles the formalities for the transfer of jewellery, clothing, furniture, etc. for me." The bishop finally said, and the calculated figure is already as much as 200 million livres. The king really doesn't know whether he should accept it. Of course, This expense is like sending charcoal in the snow to him who needs to prepare the army, appease the refugees, and sort out the government, but...

"Take it, boy," said the Bishop, "I know you'll put them to good use." He muttered softly, "Better than those bastards sent to Rome."

After saying this, he pushed the king out rudely. When he lay down again, the blood faded, and his face was as white as rinsed gauze.

After this gift, the church people gathered outside the bishop's gate scattered like birds and birds, and never came again. It was Louis who came again with Philip. As he spoke, he looked the king in the eyes and said: "Don't set up the position of Prime Minister again." His voice was so soft that he could hardly hear it, and Louis leaned down. "Yes," he was thinking: "You are the last Prime Minister, Monsieur Bishop."

Bishop Mazaran showed a smile, "Also, Your Majesty, you should be more cautious." He said: "You were assassinated in Dunkirk, there were people from all directions, Gaston, the Duke of Orleans, was the mastermind, and then . . . it's the Huguenots, because they hate your grandfather, and the . . .

"Vampire?" Louis never thought, "Why did they assassinate me?"

"Because you want to rebuild Paris," the bishop said, "Nofilers can only survive in sewers and tombs, or...unknown corners, your rebuilding and repairing of the streets and sheds of Paris... ...directly threatened them, and they thought it was your declaration of war on them...so...they decided to assassinate you."

"Sifang, there is one more?" Louis quickly calmed down: "Who else?"

"The Flanders, and perhaps the Spaniards," said the bishop. "It is evident that they fear that your rule over Dunkirk will be like a dagger... at their throats."

"They guessed right," Louis said grimly.

Mr. Bishop was worried and sighed again. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

He might really be relieved.

The Bishop returned to the arms of God at dawn the next day, and his funeral was like a page turned, after which the book of France would be written by Louis himself.

—————

The church in Rome sent two bishops. Obviously, they were aware of the previous incident, but Louis was indeed a mortal, not a wizard. Doubtless, the Church might then use this to extort a fortune from the Bourbons of France—money, lands, and power, or possibly a combination of all three.

Elliott, the chief judge of the Inquisition in Paris, also came to meet the king, and he showed great respect to the young ruler, but Louis always felt that he seemed to know a lot of things—thinking of the monks who were still in the world, thinking about it This gentleman should have mastered more things than the church in Rome.

"Speaking of which," said Louie, "I've just got something for you to do."

"Speak, Your Majesty."

"I'm going to redo and renovate the underground plumbing in Paris."

Eralio paused for a while: "Is that what I thought it meant?"

"I heard that there is a lot of stinking filth hidden in those underground pipes," Louis said. "I want to wash them out and dry them in the sun. I want a Paris as clean as a holy place."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Eralio said slowly, "You're declaring war on the blood, Your Majesty."

"One of the thirteen clans."

"Naufelle is not only available in Paris."

"First Paris, and then... my France will not have Noufelle anymore," Louis said in that gentle tone: "It doesn't matter if they go to Spain or England, anyway, I have many enemies, but In France, no, I don't allow any rebellion in my domain, whether it's vampires or anything."

"You are absolutely crazy."

"Now that you already know... some things, I can tell you, too," said Louis, "that I have better things here than gold—potatoes, wheat, pork and beef, vegetables and fruit... Cotton, silk, and iron pots—your families will need these more than you will take your gold to the exchange.”

"Those nobles..."

"At least half a year, we don't need to let them know." Louis said, "Of course, if you want gold..."

"Part of the gold," whispered Erasel, "and the church."

"I can give you more to bribe you. If those who monitor you can relax a little bit, then we will be discovered later. By then, even if we are discovered...maybe it doesn't matter? "

"You are still really greedy." Eralio said, "The Mancini family will regret letting you go."

"Who knows, maybe or maybe they'll be thankful that the Mancini family doesn't deal in grains and vegetables," said Louie, "their enemies have a monopoly on the wheat in the lower world, and they'll be happy to see each other throw a tantrum. "

"I see, Your Majesty," said Elliott.

—————

When Philippe, Duke of Orleans - not Gaston - finally returned to Paris, which had turned from cold winter to early spring, full of life everywhere - he could not see at all that the previous three months, the war in the dark almost Turning the underground of Paris into hell, Eralio not only used every monk in the court, but even recruited some young fighters from the other world. It can also be said to be a bloody trial. They were driven out from Paris, but nearly half of the monks of the Inquisition were lost, and even the Church of Rome was alarmed, and the loss rate of those young fighters was even higher-but it was not without rewards.

Shiploads of food, cloth, and other necessities were sent, and louis d'or, worth a hundred thousand livres, were placed before Erarous, along with three attested holy relics, which were intended to bribe Rome church.

But for the king, there is no more desirable transaction than this.

The citizens of Paris were unaware of the unfortunate fate they might encounter. They watched the king's engineering team with great interest. These people can be said to be obedient people who have been selected three times. They are people with lofty ideals - even though they have two diametrically opposite sides morally, they have only one mark in the eyes of the king, that is, the thugs who threaten his rule. Paris disappeared, so although the king's actions disturbed the whole of Paris, Nicolas Fouquet, who acted this time, did not encounter protests and opposition that distressed him. At least, he could neither hear nor see—although he did not Understand why the king cares so much for those despicable commoners.

The entire street has been turned over, pedestrians can only walk on tiptoe along the wall, and carriages must detour. According to the king's order, no adjacent streets will be constructed at the same time, but the roadside It is almost impossible to open the door of the mansion, and you can smell the suffocating old stench as soon as you open the door, but they can also get a semi-mandatory bribe, that is, the sewer pipes that extend to the inside of the mansion. The place they are willing to give up has left a pipe connection. In the future, as long as they are willing, they can install toilets and bathtubs on it. These two things... According to the introduction of the accompanying businessman, there are the same gold-rimmed white porcelain suits as the king's suite, and there are also inferior ones. The single white porcelain suits, and the most common gray pottery suits, but all nobles and important officials always have the same position as the king, so Louis was a little surprised that these suits turned out to be gold-rimmed white porcelain suits. Best of all, those people don't care about money at all. His Royal Highness Philip, who was in charge of this transaction, gave Louis 200,000 livres in just one month.

"How come there are so many?" Louis asked: "There are only a dozen or so streets where work is started." Fouquet would ask him for credit every day.

Philip immediately laughed: "Your Majesty," he said, "you probably don't quite understand...I mean, Your Majesty, those people...they don't come here for their own needs, but for flattery, if only for To be able to say a word to you...you are now the true Lord of France."

"Oh," Louis asked with a smile, affected by Philip's emotion, "So everything went well for you in Orleans?"

"Of course, I am already the only dear brother of the ruler." Philip said, the king happily patted the seat beside him, and he immediately went to sit there with his head upright, next to his elder brother, "today Let's have dinner together tonight," Louis said.

"It's a great honor, Your Majesty." Philip bowed slightly.

When it was time for dinner, Philip found that there was still no wine on the table-he knew that this was the king mourning for Cardinal Mazarin, and it had been like this for a whole month, and there was no more gambling or balls in the court, only Montpon The Duchess of Sierra and the Queen Mother occasionally listened to music, and even the king’s clothes were dull in color and simple in texture. Although people at this time would not commemorate their deceased relatives and friends in this way, the attitude of the king also made the court and The officials in the court are no longer so nervous. Don’t forget that they almost all worked for Bishop Mazaran in the first 20 years. It is hard to say whether the king will hate them because of this. Now the king is even willing to serve the bishop. Condolences, so does that mean they won't be punished or have their debts collected?

This kind of thinking makes them always very respectful when facing the king. Although Louis is still a novice in government affairs, unexpectedly, there are not as many obstacles as he imagined.

The problem is that there always seem to be unpleasant things in the world. For example, when the king was still refusing hunting and balls, his treasurer, Nicolas Fouquet, invited his majesty to visit his new residence.

————

Plus more achieved.