I Am Louis XIV

No one knew that Louis was about to reach his limit. Whether it was physical, mental or financial pressure, the war against Holland started too quickly and was too closely connected with the war against Flanders, but Louis had read about The intelligence from the Netherlands realized that if he wanted to get the Netherlands, he still had such a chance. The Netherlands seems to be powerful, but its interior is already rotten. The Republicans of the system are at loggerheads, even at the bet on the country and the people, and his act of seizing Flanders has awakened many people. If the descendants of Orange, William III and the Dutch Prime Minister Johan de Wittsen If they become vigilant, and thus compromise and unite with each other under the threat of France, things will become ridiculous.

In order to be able to catalyze this battle into a French victory, Louis XIV can be said to have bet on the last chip-he not only borrowed from the queen mother, the king's brother and the Duchess of Montpensier, but also from the princes in the country Borrowing from merchants, and even raising tariffs and military service taxes. The last tax is directly aimed at civilians. If possible, Louis does not want to go this far, and then there are various secret contracts. Only a few people know that Louis even Mortgage of the Palace of Fontainebleau——If this news spreads out, it will definitely shock the whole country, and even affect the course of the war... The consequences will be unimaginable, but there is no such secret in the world that can last forever, unless the secret is irrelevant. It is also why Louis must seize the Netherlands as soon as possible.

Fortunately, Prince Condé, Viscount Turenne, Duke of Luxembourg and other generals under his command also quite supported the king's idea. They also believed that abandoning those small towns and areas with ambiguous attitudes (such as Zeeland) and not setting up garrisons for the time being, the main force will be Only by concentrating on the five provinces of Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, and the North and South Netherlands headed by Amsterdam can the final victory be achieved—just like a hunter hunting a giant bear, spending too much energy on the giant bear's thick It was a stupid mistake at all on the fur or the thick but non-lethal body. Only by directly piercing the bullet or dagger into the giant bear's throat or heart can all the troubles be solved in one fell swoop.

Amsterdam is the heart of the Netherlands. This is the last battle of the Netherlands. It can also be said to be the first or last battle of Louis XIV. The countries that have been fighting each other to this point are hastily recruiting soldiers and gathering troops. They and Louis XIV are buying time. If Louis XIV fails to get Amsterdam before other countries intervene in this war, then they will brazenly act. Ping, forcing Louis XIV to give up all the fruits of victory he had obtained before, at least a large part; if Louis took the first step and became the Lord of the Netherlands, then they would have to use another gentle way to intervene... ...What they can get from Louis depends on whether Louis is willing to give it.

Louis didn't even dare to continue borrowing from the merchants of his own country today. The merchants who came today were either British, Italian, or Dutch, and the last loan the king borrowed from them was also used for the final battle— —The merchants took away a thick stack of bonds, and what they sent was real gold and silver. These pounds, Dutch guilders, and Florins were packed in boxes. When they arrived in Naarden City, Shire, who was pulling the carriage, The hoofs of the horses were constantly shaking-this kind of horses with thick hooves has always been a good hand in transporting goods, but they probably have never pulled such "valuable" goods.

After these boxes were inspected by the king's tax officer, they were sent directly to a small town in front of Naarden. This small town is called Muiden, which is below Amsterdam. It is also interesting to say that Muiden was neither captured. They didn't take the initiative to open the city and offer the key, but a few soldiers, together with their non-commissioned officers, lost their way after investigating the situation on the battlefield. When they saw the city wall and gate, they went up to ask for directions. As a result, they waited for a few minutes and the city gate opened. Open it, and the mayor came out holding the key. It turned out that they thought the French had already attacked. As a small town, they saw the mercenaries with less than a hundred people, and they thought it was better not to bother each other—the non-commissioned officer was also taken aback. , but he is from Versailles, and the officer in charge of teaching them mentioned how to deal with such a thing, so the sergeant immediately sent a soldier to report, and the soldier met Captain Vauban on the way, although it was only a small town, However, Vauban did not relax his vigilance at all. He asked the soldier to continue reporting to Viscount Turenne, while leading his company, about 300 people, into Muyden.

They arrived not too fast, not in time, because the people of Muyden have realized that they have made a mistake, and they are planning to kill these fools who are too stupid to get lost in the enemy's territory at the banquet—Wo Bon's arrival shattered their illusions, and they were immediately docile again—though they still managed to charm Captain Vauban, who had a heart of steel and could make It shakes only the king and the war. When the emissary of Viscount Turenne arrived overnight on horseback, he realized that Vauban had captured several important people in the city and asked them to write letters to the mirror city not far from them, Viscount The mayor and councilors of Spur demanded that they, like Muiden, surrender to the King of France.

Here we need to mention the terrain between Naarden and Amsterdam. Between Naarden and Amsterdam is a narrow area like a woman's waist, and Vesp and Muyden are exactly between the waist and hips. On the other side, the plain between them can just meet the requirements of Louis' garrison - of course, even if Louis XIV did not invest all his military power in the battle of Amsterdam (there is not such a big battlefield), the soldiers here have reached There are 30,000 soldiers. This number of soldiers is not acceptable to a small town like Naarden. Muyden, who surrendered because of a misunderstanding, and Vesp, who was framed by it, happened to be the same as Naarden. Forming an elongated triangle, the three cities were just enough for the king's army.

And the soldiers in this triangle, like the king's sword, point to Amsterdam, which is only ten miles away.

————

Louis XIV rarely took the wizard's potion before going to bed to ensure that he could have a quiet and dreamless night. When he woke up, he was full of energy and bright eyes. He chose a coat, which was also royal blue, but very similar in style to his imperial uniform, except that his hat was adorned with what might be the longest ostrich feather ever recorded. Over the king's head it was as if the king had dragged a shimmering cloud.

According to "tradition", Captain Vauban built a high platform for the king. On the high platform, a huge white tent was erected, and the flags of the Sun King and France were hung. The king's soldiers were neatly lined up under the high platform. When the ministers and generals appeared in front of them, they burst into loud shouts!

The king only made a gesture, and they fell silent. This kind of power could not help but make the onlookers feel a deep chill. When they were bargaining with the Marquis of Loise, they did not care about the king's authority, even their own lives. But now, they deeply felt the horror of the monarch. As long as he gave a signal, these rude soldiers would pounce on them and tear them into pieces that couldn't be put together-Louis XIV didn't notice them at all. : "My soldiers..." he said.

Thirty thousand is quite a scary number. Even if there is Vauban's high platform, with Louis' throat and vocal cords alone, even if he shouts to the point of exhaustion, only soldiers who are less than a hundred feet away can hear what he is saying, but since Louis He dared to use a witch in a field hospital, and now he also dared to use a wizard to amplify his voice to ensure that everyone heard his voice. The soldiers were surprised and turned their heads curiously. is a miracle.

"My soldiers," Louis asked, "have you got your bread yet?"

Unexpectedly, the king would ask such a question first, and the soldiers couldn't help but smile after being astonished: "Here it is!" they shouted. It was the best white bread, with sugar and salt added.

"Where's the meat?"

"got it."

"Where's the wine?"

"I got it too!" Afterwards, some soldiers shouted, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"

"So, today, you can get some other shiny little things." Louis said, and then the carriages slowly turned from behind the high platform to the passage between the arrays, although they didn't know what was inside. What, but some experienced soldiers have already guessed it - after all, these ruts are so deep that they can put down a finger. They became excited and kept whispering. The officers quickly opened the box, and it was indeed full of shiny little things. Each soldier could receive three gold florins, or gold pounds, or gold guilders, and ten silver coins, and each time a man was distributed, the officer said: "The king thanks you for everything you have done for him."

It only took an hour for the king to spend the money he raised from the merchants last night, but it was worth it - in this day and age, generals and kings often default on their soldiers, sometimes for decades Even hundreds of years, a country may have changed the flag of the king, and it is not uncommon for veterans to still ask for the pay they had fought for the king of the previous dynasty. Louis' soldiers are willing to fight for their king without interruption. After several years of fighting, it was because Louis could not default on the salary. They sent the salary home, so that the family would not go hungry, or equip themselves with horses and weapons, which could also increase the survival rate on the battlefield. You don't have to worry about your future life even if you are injured—the reward that Louis gave out today was a complete surprise.

A soldier suddenly stepped out of the queue, and just when his officer was about to reprimand him, he suddenly shouted: "Your Majesty, thank you for your reward, but what else can we do for you? Please tell me, even if you have to arrive Hell fetches water, and we will, too!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers around him also started clamoring.

"I don't need anyone to fetch water for me to go to hell, my good boys," said Louis, and the voices below died down again, and the soldiers listened attentively to the king's words: "As your captain said, these The shiny little things are just to thank you for everything you have done for me, good people." He said with sincerity: "I know that you have continued in this strange place for France, for Bourbon, and for your king. After fighting for nine full quarters, my soldiers, you must be tired, yes, even I am almost exhausted, let alone you, but listen to me, we are almost reaching the end!"

"Behold, just before you, not ten leagues away, is our end, our land of glory! My soldiers, my generals, my ministers, if we take Amsterdam, we will Triumph, we can go home! I swear to you, good boys, you will never go home empty-handed! Your purses will be filled with gold and silver, your carriages will be filled with silk and wool Necklaces around your necks and rings on your hands, your fathers and mothers will happily dance around you, and your wives, or favorite girls, will be able to wear the most beautiful clothes! Your children, whatever Whether they were born or not, they are all destined not to work in the fields or be beaten by their masters in the workshop!

And all this is very close to you!

Go, my soldier, to Amsterdam!

Then we can go home, to France, with victory and gold! "

"Long live!" the soldiers replied, like a landslide and a tsunami.

The officers got on their horses, and as the horn sounded, this huge monster that made people feel terrified turned slowly and set off with a hot heart.

————

"I didn't expect you to say that," said Viscount Turenne.

"It's all about comparing your heart with your heart." Louis fell into the chair, and he could safely show his fatigue in a place where there were no strangers: "I am tired, you are tired, and so are our soldiers. We defeated Flanders, and then It's Holland, there is no gap, some of them haven't seen their loved ones in years, sleeping in their bedrooms - if anything drives them more easily than the weight of gold or silver, then Only to go home, of course," he jokingly said, "it's better to go home with a big pocket."

"You are so precise and correct about people's hearts." From the tenth century onwards, the most annoying thing for generals and kings was that soldiers could not persist in a long war. They may just be tired of fighting, or they may It's because they are afraid of constant injuries and deaths, or maybe they are thinking about their loved ones. Anyway, at the end of every war, a large number of escapes are inevitable, and it is very impressive for Viscount Turenne that these soldiers can persist for so long. Surprised, I didn't expect that the king could bring forward what they were most afraid of, and use it as an encouragement to the soldiers.

"It's also a last resort," Louie said. "If possible, I would prefer to achieve my goal in other ways."

"What else can you do? I heard some bad rumors, Your Majesty. They say that you have mortgaged Fontainebleau." Viscount Turenne just said casually, but the king did not deny it: " . . . God," he whispered, "are you crazy?"