I Am Louis XIV

"No time either," Cleland said.

If someone who recognized this werewolf was here, he would be surprised, because in the eyes of many people since the king, Cleilan was already dead, but he was not. In the end, he was able to kill several strong manticores in a row, which means that he still has a strong desire to survive, but in the short time with the king, he found that all the kings in the world are the same, Charlie This is the case with the second generation, and the same is true for Louis, who is kinder than him, but equally calm and rational in state affairs. The latter is still a young man. The body is weak, and in a world that is completely strange and full of malice (the attitude of wizards towards mortals can be seen from those soulless corpses wandering in the fields), and there is only one foreign witch who is equally ignorant of the inner world beside her, and for For the Mancini family, whose destiny was dictated by him, he was indeed better dead than alive, and if he was allowed to live, he would live as a wizard, not a king.

To be honest, at that moment, Cleland felt that the predicament faced by this king was not inferior to that of Charles II, but he finally won because he had a loyal brother, a brother who would not be restricted by ordinary rules and customs. With a strong mind and a strong and delicate heart, he not only retreated from the inner world, but even inserted a nail into the inner world.

When Crelan returned to the Serbian werewolves, the werewolves were excited, and they all said that they would go back to the other world to avenge the Mancini family, but Crelan stopped them, not to mention the future of the Mancini family even if they were werewolves. It can also be seen with the eyes, and if you want to say the real enemy, shouldn't it be the ungrateful Charles II? From the very beginning, Cleland could see clearly that it was just a gamble before he voted for Charles I and Charles II. He lost, so he admitted his failure, and Louise was the first one cast by the Serbian werewolves. For the second bet, Cleilan didn't expect anything, as long as the king could guarantee the survival of their group.

"What are you thinking?" Cleilan couldn't help sighing when he noticed his daughter's depression: "There is no love between you and the king. From the very beginning, your identity was a deal between the king and the Serbian werewolf. Think, His Majesty treats you very well, our werewolf will be only loyal to his army, and you are his closest guard, my daughter, when you are between the beds, no one will care about your skin Whether your hair is fair, whether your hair is fluffy, whether your lips are soft and bright red, all you need to guarantee is that your teeth are sharp and your claws are sharp, anyone who dares to hurt the king, you must use your bravery and life to guarantee He's safe and sound."

Madame Lavallière turned her head in embarrassment: "Could it be that to you," she said with humiliation, "as those people said, I am not worthy of being chosen by the king?"

"To the king, what is a lover?" Cleilan pressed his forehead in distress, "If we talk about glory, who can compare with his generals? As long as you, and my people, can be in his If you make meritorious deeds in the conquest of the world, even if you leave this position, you can still have a generous annuity and fief, I know him, he is not stingy with those who have made merit."

"A meritorious person..." Louise said, "but I am a woman, father, if I am still the original maid, it would be great, at least I will stay far away from him, and I will not have extravagant expectations."

Cleland showed disappointment. Maybe he did something wrong. After he left the inner world, he decided to hand over the authority of the ethnic group directly to Louise. In addition, there is also a reason why he is unwilling to leave the pack—the habits of werewolves are very similar to those of wolves. die. Either be expelled, in short, it is impossible to continue to stay in his own wolf pack, but he will never let go of his pack... In addition to these, there is another subtle reason, that is, if he came to surrender to the King of France, the King of France He may not necessarily believe him. In comparison, Louise, as a woman, will always be underestimated and ignored.

Now it seems that his idea is really right, except for the king, Louise's performance made him frustrated, maybe he should not agree to the request of Charles II in the first place, although Louise is a werewolf, but the long-term court life Has turned her into a puppy who can only wag its tail and beg for mercy.

"You can't, Louise." He had to remind: "The child born of a werewolf must also be a werewolf." Therefore, wizards may still live incognito in the surface world, but werewolves can only escape into the forest and live among their clansmen. Looking for a future spouse.

"I can hide it." Louise said bitterly, of course she knew it was dangerous and almost impossible, but... she was like someone who had never been able to watch other people around a big cake. Suddenly one day, the owner of the cake brought her to the table with his own hands and told her that she was also eligible to sit here, but at the same time, she could smell, see, and even touch this fragrant cake, but absolutely Can't eat.

To a well-fed person, a little fine food will satisfy her, but to a person who has starved to this day, it is no more than an appetizer.

Of course Louise could see the disappointment in her father's eyes, "I'm leaving." Cleland said, "I hope you will be more sober when I see you next time."

Now he only regrets letting Louise act as the middleman. Now that he appears again, he is afraid that the entire ethnic group will be expelled from France by the king, but Louise's behavior makes her even more worried.

—————

Madame Lavallière's strangeness certainly attracted some people's attention, but even the most imaginative people would never have imagined that the king would dare to put a werewolf next to him. The king was busy with the relationship between Philip and Princess Henrietta. Marriage negotiations were seldom thought of other than dancing with Madame La Vallière at the ball, and occasionally sharing the chaste bed with her.

Fortunately, after several weeks of tug-of-war, Princess Henrietta's dowry was finally settled. Compared with other princesses who became queens, Princess Henrietta's dowry was a bit pitiful in terms of money, only 100,000 livres, Moreover, a large part of them are utensils and furniture. Louis suspected that Charles II had collected and picked out the furnishings in the castles and palaces that were about to be abandoned before he assembled them. There were no castles or territories... This is also true. Not surprisingly, the main event is the ship designer, boatman and naval officer requested by Louis. Of course, these are impossible, even if the Duke of Albimar suddenly suffers from dementia, it is impossible. Compared with another distant empire, no country in Europa will Those who don't understand the importance of technical secrecy, and it's hard to say how long the good relationship between Britain and France can be maintained.

Although Charles II is pro-French, almost all of them are anti-French in the parliament, and look at how King Louis of France treated his father-in-law King Philip of Spain. Those series of skillful and despicable methods, Even if it was George, Monk might not be able to do it... Probably the young king had thought about this for a long time, so that as soon as the situation developed in the direction he guessed, he immediately made Spain and Rome feel sad taste.

Although in the letters, Charles II affectionately called him his brother, and King Louis of France kindly called Charles II his most reliable friend, but everyone knows that they really handed over British shipbuilding technology today, In the second year, you can see French warships swimming around the Strait of La Manches.

But Princess Henrietta's dowry was really too thin. Members of the parliament were unwilling to pay, so they had to give things. In the end, the Duke of Albemar wrote no less than a dozen angry letters, and finally got 30 ships from China. The Calais Regatta is used as the dowry of the princess. It should be mentioned here that it is the Calais Regatta, not the Calais Boat-the Calais Boat was originally a commercial galley used by the Venetians to carry expensive goods (spice, silk) , such as its use, this kind of ship has a large loading capacity and a cumbersome appearance. However, because the Ottoman Turkish Empire gradually became stronger and the Mediterranean trade shrank again and again, the Venetians changed this kind of galley into a battleship. Boat.

But later artillery quickly replaced swords and became a powerful weapon in naval battles. The Calais ship that was not suitable for installing artillery suddenly became a tasteless taste, whether it was Venice, Spain, England, or the Netherlands. Construction of large sailing ships, also known as Galenic ships, which won the praise of many generals when they appeared lighter but much more stable. Compared with the original Calais ships, it was faster and had a Narrower and longer (important in this age of broadside mounted guns). The center of gravity is lower, that is to say, it is not easy to roll over when turning rapidly. In the familiar battle of Preveza in 1538, the Venetians used Galen warships to fight against the Calais fleet of Ottoman Turkey. However, a Galen warship could resist more than a dozen Ottoman Calais ships and still not lose the wind. It was not until the Turks were forced to ignite their squadron flagship and rushed towards the giant sea fort that they finally destroyed it.

Afterwards, all countries began to vigorously develop giant sailing ships. Except for Galen, Calais was an upgraded version of Calais. It was heavier and bigger than Calais. Like the Calais in Princess Henrietta's dowry, each ship has a displacement of more than 600 tons, and it can carry several times the crew and artillery of a traditional Calais ship.

Of course, it is impossible for these ships to arrive in France so quickly, but their models and drawings have been sent, and they are hung in the king's study in Fontainebleau. From the model of the racing boat, it can be seen that the cannons are basically at the bow and stern, and there are not many sideboards. Each ship carries about 40 to 50 cannons. The Turenne who once served in the Netherlands The viscount explained to the Duke of Orleans and the king that the tactics of the Calais regatta are very simple. Generally speaking, when these warships encounter the enemy, they first attack with artillery, and then hit the opponent's ship with their huge body and metal ram. In the end, a large number of soldiers carried by ships were sent to give the enemy the final blow-this tactic was invincible in the sixteenth century, but it was somewhat incapable in the seventeenth century, after all Most of what it has to face is as the king has seen before, the number of decks is as many as three, and the sides are densely packed with artillery ports. The number of artillery is basically 70 to 80 giant galleys. In most cases, they will be sunk before they have time to get close to the enemy.

The king had some ideas of his own about these lumbering Calais regattas, but it was not time to announce them—and, Louis thought, it was better not to let Philip read the letters from the spies, because he would be annoyed more if he read them. , because almost all the Calais warships that the British gave them needed a lot of repairs before they could go to sea... They obviously wanted to use France as a new dumping ground.

The most pitiful thing is that France now even lacks "garbage".

"This is already very good." Louis comforted Philip and said: "The British can't give us the best warship." This is a matter of course. After he went back, he had to fight openly and secretly with a group of people to guarantee his life and honor. Starting from the Minister of the Navy, Hyde, the parliament has been confronting the king. In short, they opposed what Charles II was in favor of, and what Charles II opposed They agree.

This also gave Louis a warning. No matter what time, dictatorship will be criticized, but sometimes, dictatorship is necessary. Although it is shameless to say this, it is for his country, his mother and younger brother, his family The people, as well as himself, Louis will never back down in this battle, no matter what kind of enemy he will face.

—————

Now that the marriage has been decided, a grand banquet is indispensable. This banquet cannot be held at Fontainebleau, but at the Louvre. Many nobles, courtiers and envoys gather together. On such occasions, the king and queen are the sun and the queen. The moon, Madame Lavallière, was not even the brightest star—that honor belonged to the Prince of Orleans, and the sight of the people made Louise feel oppressed, and she managed to dance a little dance with the king. After the step dance, she left the hall. She felt pain when she was in Fontainebleau, but now she can't bear this kind of torture. She... has clearly become the wife of the royal family, and has become a recognized Yes, the king's lover, but after removing the superficial pomposity, what people see is still the crude maid-although the king tried his best to disguise it, there are really no fools in the Louvre.