I Am Louis XIV

How does Charles II feel about Louis XIV? When he first met Louis, Charles II, who was only the Duke of Cornwall, didn’t think much of this young relative. After all, he was eight years older than Louis. Years old, before Charles I was imprisoned and executed, he was also being taught by his father to learn how to become a king, and Louis had only the ambitious bishop and queen mother around him, who would have thought that he would finally gather the royal power in his hands It is not Charles II, but Louis. Of course, you can say that the kings of France have been working on this time, but Henry VIII was also the king of the earth and the sky (meaning that he has the supreme kingship at the same time. and religious power), but after James I, the power of the British king gradually transferred to the parliament and the princes. At this point, the subsequent kings have fought for it more than once, but we have also seen the worst results. The king's noble head fell to the dust, and from then on, no fool would think that the king was any different from himself.

The gloom of Charles II was fleeting. After he returned to London, he realized that Louis XIV, who was eight years younger than him, might see a clearer and longer future than him. He insisted on aiding the Duke of Cornwall, not only Just because of their previous kinship, not because of the willfulness and innocence of children, but because of their persistence and stability of the monarchy, no rebel, even Lord Protector Cromwell, can get his Admit it, and Charles II, even though he had not been crowned at that time, Louis XIV regarded him as a king, and this, the monarchs of the European countries did not seem to realize that at that time, Charles II not only wanted to Be wary of these people handing themselves over to Cromwell, and worry about their own basic necessities.

He was grateful to Louis XIV, but as time passed, this gratitude inevitably turned into jealousy. When he was still arguing with the parliament about how much gold he should have next year, Louis XIV Not only inherited the property of the bishop of Mazarin, but also established a large and prosperous industry in Lorraine and Alsace; ) and those lords, Louis XIV already had a new army stationed in Versailles, not to mention the guards, dragoons and musketeers that originally belonged to the king; When struggling with the ministers to compete for one or two court positions, Louis XIV even drove directly to Flanders and captured an extremely vast territory for France.

How could this make Charles II suffer as if bitten by a poisonous snake? He couldn't refute Henrietta's sarcasm. Fortunately, Henrietta was just pretending to be unintentional. As soon as she saw Charles II's face change, she immediately acted. She showed the gesture that a younger sister should have, bent her knees to repent, and served diligently. After a lot of effort, Charles II's expression slowly eased: "You have become reckless," Charles II said reproachfully, However, there was no real anger in the tone: "Is it the same for you in the French court? I should thank Louis and Philippe, and they are so tolerant to you."

"Well, rather than being reckless, I might as well say that I have been thinking about this sentence for a long time, and now I can finally say it." Henrietta said, "My brother, my king, please put it away a little bit. Your anger, listen to me..."

"Listen, Henrietta, you talkative bird, loud trumpet, or rather, sharp dagger, your words go straight to my heart."

"You are the king."

"As you said, in name only."

"You need money, you need weapons, you need soldiers and generals who are loyal to you, and you need ministers and subjects who are obedient."

"That's what they're afraid of. They'll do whatever it takes to stifle all my attempts, even if they have to kill each other's kings. Oh, look at me, Henrietta, they've already done that."

"So we need an ally all the more."

"Who? Louis XIV?"

"Who else but him?"

"William is our nephew," said Charles II; "I am his uncle."

"Louis is also our cousin," said Henrietta, jumping down from her chair and kneeling beside Charles II: "The main thing, Your Majesty, is that France is a mighty lion, while Holland is only a lion with A lizard with two heads."

"Just because France is already so powerful, I cannot make him more dangerous as King of England."

"You're right," Henrietta's lips curled up subtly, "but first, you must be the King of England."

"They have the worst ideas," said Charles II, "but I am not defenseless."

"I believe that you must also hold one or several trump cards," Henrietta said, "but, brother, if you play a trump card in a game, it often means that the game has reached its final moment. Whether you want it or not, you must come to an end." She grabbed Charles II's hand: "If you have 50,000 people, no, even if there are 10,000 people, I don't have to worry about your safety, but, "She pointed out bluntly: "You didn't, and I once saw the cannons that the craftsmen cast for Louis, and the words were engraved on the cannons-'The King's Last Argument', my dear brother, although I am shallow and ignorant , but I also know that this sentence is really a warning to the world.”

"That's why Louis asked you to seduce me." Charles II suddenly thought of something, and he smiled: "It is said that Leopold I is in such a difficult situation now because he once received half a million dollars from Louis XIV." Louis XIV." Although neither Louis XIV nor Leopold I would make much publicity, the strange behavior of Leopold I in the Battle of Flanders had long aroused people's suspicion, and then they heard It is said that the Grand Duke of Tuscany in Florence holds a document that is important to both France and the Holy Roman Empire. Those shrewd people guessed that Leopold I may have signed an alliance with France that is not good for Spain. Although they don't know what kind of devil Leopold I encountered to go crazy like this—but they all believe that the benefits will be so great that Leopold I can't take care of the Habsburgs in Spain royal family.

And Charles II knows more. For example, Leopold I did try to buy Bosnia, and the "messenger" of the Bosnian governor did visit several kings, but the last transaction was rejected. It turned out to be a prank, a hoax, a hilarious and vicious joke.

"I don't want to be the second joke," said Charles II.

"You are my elder brother, how could I watch you fall into such an embarrassing situation?"

"You are also the wife of the Duke of Orleans, the mother of the Great Princess." Charles II shook his head.

"What I bring is not a false promise," Henrietta said, "but a solemn entrustment. Brother Wang, you don't need to worry. Your Majesty does not need any signature or certificate. He asked me to tell you that if you are willing , France is not only willing to give the same return as Leopold I, he is also willing to share the Netherlands with you."

"Shared Holland," repeated Charles II, "is as good as it sounds, but the problem is that the Netherlands now belongs to no one, neither I nor Louis has any right to it, and even if I wanted to believe it, Parliament would won't allow it."

"But you are the king, and your brother, the Duke of York, is the Lord of the Admiralty." The king has the right to declare war, and the Lord of the Admiralty has the right to command the navy to go out.

"This is the second reason why I should be jealous of Louis XIV. The Duke of Orléans, when he left Paris, dead or alive, was offered to be acting king, but Philip refused, and my brother, if he met the same situation, he will only take it with ecstasy, no, he will snatch the crown and scepter he has been longing for for a long time."

"You mean he's not loyal to you."

"The ambition is greater than the piety and respect he should have," Charles II said: "In addition, let me tell you about the third place I envy Louis XIV, Henrietta," he said bitterly: "I am still jealous of Louis XIV." There is no heir, no son, not even a daughter." And he is almost forty, and the queen is thirty, people don't live long at this time, and a forty-year-old should have several children While Louis XIV already had a healthy Dauphin and Princess, Charles II was still empty-although he had fourteen illegitimate children.

Sometimes, Charles II almost wanted to imitate Henry VIII, send his queen to the monastery, annul the previous marriage contract, and choose one of his lovers as the queen, as long as she can give birth to an heir for him, but he also knows Impossible, Henry VIII was very powerful at the time, and he opened his mouth to make a constitution. No matter at home or abroad, there were almost no people who could restrain him. As for Charles II, it was not easy for him to persist until now.

"Then is he willing to conspire with our enemies now?" asked Henrietta calmly.

"It can only be said that he is up for sale," said Charles II.

"Then you make an offer he cannot refuse."

"What kind of price?"

"What else is there, what he desires most, and since he wants it, my lord," said Henrietta, "even groveling to the thugs, tell him you want him to be your heir. "

"Then what?"

"If he will obey your orders," said Henrietta, "he shall be called Prince of Wales."

"He won't believe it easily."

"You don't have an heir yet, this is your biggest bargaining chip."

"I'm afraid it will be self-defeating," said Charles II. "Those people are willing to collude with him precisely because they don't want me to sit on the throne. If I am willing to recognize the Duke of York, they may take the opportunity to enter."

"But then you'll have an army."

"army?"

"From Dunkirk to Dover, Brother Wang, Dover to London, two hundred miles, they can come to you in less than a day."

"They're French."

"A king may employ soldiers from any country he pleases, so long as they are willing to serve him."

"If I fail, then I will follow in my father's footsteps."

"Now there are fifteen thousand soldiers in Dunkirk," said Henrietta. Standing up: "While they were still flustered and anxious because of the navy's expedition, your army has already controlled the city of London."

"I'm going to think, Henrietta, think carefully."

"The man who brought me to you will not put you in a dangerous situation," Henrietta said softly, "Brother, when you were the Duke of Cornwall, when you were rejected by almost all the kings of Europa At that time, he was the only one standing by your side resolutely. At that time, he was not even able to take charge of the government. Even so, he did everything he could do——Your Majesty once told me that, of course, there was a desire for relatives. Love, but in the end because you are the King of England, a king should not be deprived of the duties entrusted to him by God by parliament, ministers or bishops, and his idea, so far, has never wavered."

These words made Charles II's tangled heart a little easier. It is undeniable that Louis XIV has indeed been walking on the road of centralization of royal power. For this reason, he not only does not allow any behavior that shakes the royal power in France , and disdain any bold rebel, like the British Parliament, who intends to limit the king's power and put his own interests above the king's behavior, which can be said to be the king's most hated.

"If we get Holland," said Charles II embarrassedly, "what will William do?"

"Let me tell you the truth," said Henrietta grimly, "even if William could become King of Holland, what could he give you? Don't forget that William of Orange lived at the court of the Habsburgs. Great, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and the female governor of the Netherlands regarded him as their own child, chose a bride of prominent birth for him, and made him the ruler of three provinces at the age of twenty-six, but he was How to repay them? Rebellion! Even at the expense of his family, you will not believe how holy his thoughts are, after all, he is only two days away from the throne, and his child, William II If it wasn’t for the inexplicable smallpox that once imprisoned the committee members of the Dutch Parliament, maybe he is now the most terrible enemy of cause and effect, so how do you think that Little William would be a kind nephew?”

She paused, then added: "Our little William, known as the 'Prince of Vengeance' when he was still being educated and under the tutelage of his grandmother, when he was declared man, not only managed to get rid of those republican He took Zeeland in his hands and became the supreme military commander of the Netherlands. If he gets the Netherlands, do you think he will be willing to shake hands with you and the United Kingdom? At that time, let alone give rewards, assistance, I'm afraid that because of him being charged with treason, you may be sent to the beheading platform by the mob just like our father."