I Am Louis XIV

After the princess recovered, the storm could be said to be over. Mr. Juan Patiño left sadly. Not only could the Prince of Spain not blame the King of France, but he also had to try his best to suppress the anti-French sentiments in the country—— After all, the French king promised not to reveal that their king was an eunuch, and he was already very tolerant; in addition to this, there was also the fact that Carlos II was the last direct descendant of the Spanish Habsburgs, and he was infertile. This means that after his death, his throne must be handed over to a foreigner. The most likely person is two people who are hostile to each other. One is a descendant of King Louis XIV of France, and the other is Leopold I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The descendants of these two rulers, because the mothers and wives of these two rulers were the daughters of King Philip III of Spain, and because Spain did not implement Salic law, their descendants had the right to inherit.

It stands to reason that Louis XIV's mother and wife are older than Leopold I's mother and wife. The problem is that both the Queen Mother and the Queen of France signed an agreement confirming that they gave up their right to inherit the throne, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that. Even though Louis XIV needed multiple loans during the war against the Netherlands, he never asked for Queen Theresa's dowry stipulated in the marriage contract... This ambitious king obviously did not give up on the broader territory. eager.

After most people had this understanding, a strange scene appeared in Spain. In the Alcazar Castle in Toledo, Duke Don Juan, who had been anxious these days, actually appeared upright again. In the palace, the person on his arm turned out to be the Queen Mother Maria, the mother of Carlos II. As we all know, Queen Mother Maria was expelled from Toledo by Duke Don Juan in order to fight for the regency. , but the way they act now is undoubtedly saying that the two factions are on the verge of reconciliation. Think about it, in the face of powerful foreign enemies, Spain is still in constant disputes. Isn't it asking for death?

This news quickly spread to Versailles, and the newly improved princess couldn't help but become depressed again. Duke Don Juan's actions meant that he had surrendered to the Habsburgs, which was undoubtedly quite detrimental to France - - Carlos II is doomed to have no heirs and is not in good health. The battle for the Spanish throne in a few years or more than ten years will inevitably put France at a disadvantage. The thought of his uncle, the king, may put France at a disadvantage for his own happiness. Facing another difficult war in a few years, the girl felt breathless.

Her abnormality was quickly noticed by the Duke and Madame Orleans, who had been paying close attention to her since the proposal. Louis heard about this from his brother and realized that he had made a mistake. As we said before, people in this era The view of children is still somewhere between "animals" and "small adults", but this is limited to the middle and lower classes. In the palace, princes and princesses will have a long period of time where they can live a life of fun, but Louis grew up in a study. He believed that it was irrational to overindulge children's nature, because it would only create a group of eccentric and willful little monsters. If these children only need to be in their Garden of Eden in the future, It only takes a lifetime, but whether it is Luciano, little Louis, Elizabeth or Princess Mary, the difficulties and dangers they will face are by no means comparable to ordinary people.

He arranged for ministers and princes to teach the crown prince, the eldest princess, and the eldest princess so that they could clearly see their future, but he forgot that these children did not have the tough will of adults. The eldest princess could Worrying himself to the point of falling ill, he still feels guilty, but it also goes against Louis' original intention - the king's original idea was to let them be happy, rather than taste the pain of life prematurely.

After discovering this, Louis quickly saved his life. Fortunately, he was still in time. The eldest princess and the eldest princess were only girls in their early ten years. It would take two years for the crown prince Louis to become an adult. Although the Duke of Colonna was about to become an adult, he had only just reached adulthood before. After what happened, his mother was also imprisoned in Bastille. Although the Duke of Colonna had to return to Calais and Gayola, Louis felt that it was really inappropriate for little Lucie to spend this torturous time alone. Too cruel.

So, on a sunny afternoon, the Duke of Colonna, the Crown Prince Louis, the Grand Princess Elizabeth, and the Grand Princess Mary were summoned by the king to the Venus Hall. After they saluted each other, they asked each other with their eyes. A few minutes later they It was found that no one knew why the king had summoned them here.

Immediately afterwards, the Duke of Orleans, Prince Conti, and Mr. Colbert also arrived. If the appearance of these people was not surprising, then the people who followed made them even more curious, because they were Le Blanc and Lully respectively. , Moliere and Beauchamp, these four artists have been working diligently for the king since he took office or some time after that. They are very famous in the court. After all, no one has ever appreciated their paintings and music. , drama and dance.

These four gentlemen were also very nervous today. Unfortunately, Louis XIV was a man who loved conquests more than dancing. Except for Leblanc, the others almost only had the honor to witness Tianyan on occasions where the king had to attend. Between the king and them There was hardly much contact. Even LeBron felt that he was like a soldier in front of the king, except that he was in the grand gallery instead of on the battlefield, wielding a paintbrush instead of a musket to fight for the king.

Needless to say about others, Lully was deeply loved by the Duchess of Montpensier. The Duchess of Montpensier had long promised to recommend him to the king, but it was in vain. Although the king was very kind to the duchess, he seemed to appreciate music. Things like this are treated as work by the king. If you expect him to reward you with territory, titles and positions because you are moved by your music, that is purely fanciful. ,

As for Molière, he cursed Count d'Artagnan angrily more than once. Although everyone said that Count d'Artagnan did not break his promise, he did perform for the king and received generous rewards, but he should at least tell Molière Lière, His Majesty the King turned out to be such an incomprehensible person. "He has no interest in dramas. He only cares about whether they can be used for him." This talented dramatist complained to his subordinate and friend Racine. road.

Then the last one, Mr. Charles Louis Beauchamp, is even more sad. Keen readers can detect that he appears for the first time in this book. Yes, this poor dance director has been around since Louis's boyhood. He served as the instructor of his dance class, but after the class ended, the young king left him behind. Although he worked conscientiously for the king for the next twenty years, he not only spent a whole life coaching for the king. He is a famous ballet company and has accumulated a lot of experience in dance techniques. He was sorting out several basic movements of ballet, hoping to be recognized by the king and the public as a rule, just like the court minuet - but suddenly Was called to the Venus Hall.

Seeing that there were several important ministers here, including the young members of the royal family headed by the Crown Prince, they became even more uneasy.

With a loud shout, Louis XIV walked in from the outside. Everyone, the men bowed, the women curtsied, the king raised his hand, and they slowly stood up.

After Louis sat down, he raised his hand: "I think you all recognize my and my brother's children."

Led by Prince Conti, everyone nodded and said that this was indeed the case. They had to guess in their hearts whether the king intended to make the identity of the Duke of Colonna public? Even legally recognized like the Duke of Hallebour? But they were overly worried, because Louis had no such intention. "I asked you to come here today," he nodded to the anxious artists, "because I intend to establish four art academies," he raised his hand. He raised his cane toward Leblanc: "The Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture," pointed to Lully: "The Royal Academy of Music," and moved to Molière: "The Royal Academy of Drama," and finally Beauchamp: "The Royal Academy of Dances of France." Academy.”

People often say that even if a thunderbolt hits from the sky, it will not surprise them more. So for these four gentlemen now, they are like Danae meeting Jupiter in the form of golden rain (Note 1 ), they were so ecstatic that they didn’t know what to do - they really didn’t expect that the king would have such an idea and be willing to let them do it. This is more precious than any reward!

Even LeBron, who was closest to the king, could not help but feel stiff in his hands and feet, his tongue was numb, and he could not say a word of thanks. Fortunately, the king knew these artists very well, and he put his cane on the ground without feeling dissatisfied, "But I also have a request. Everyone," he looked at the children on one side and his tone became gentler: "come here, Luciano, Louis, Elizabeth and Mary."

The children came over immediately. The eldest princess was still a little confused, but the eldest princess had already touched her chest, indicating that she had guessed what her father was planning to do.

Sure enough, His Majesty the King said immediately: "Gentlemen, I entrust this important project to you...and my children." He stretched out his hand and stood beside the Crown Prince: "My Crown Prince He will be responsible for the preparations for the School of Painting and Sculpture together with Mr. Leblanc." He stretched out his other hand and drew the Duke of Colonna to his side: "The Duke of Colonna will be responsible for the preparations for the School of Dance together with Mr. Beauchamp. ," he took back his hand and patted it: "Come here, Elizabeth," he said, "The Grand Princess is mainly responsible for the preparations for the Conservatory of Music." Finally, he smiled and looked at the Grand Princess, who was already so excited that her face turned red. Xia: "My dearest princess," the king said affectionately: "You have to take on the task of preparing the drama academy."

The eldest princess immediately curtsied, because she was almost speechless.

"No, no, child," the Duke of Orleans corrected with a smile on his face: "Look at me, baby, this is the most correct way to thank you." He walked forward gracefully, stepped on the stage, stood beside the throne, and kissed Touched Brother Wang’s cheek—a loud MUA!

Louis supported the king's brother's shoulder with one hand. "I'll tell you next time," he said with disdain, "then, did you see it?" the king said to the princess.

The eldest princess first raised her palms to hold her face, and then under the eldest princess's encouraging gaze, she jumped onto her uncle's knees and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek.

Compared with the harmony of the royal family members, the four artists were dumbfounded. It was not that they could not accept supervision. After all, it would be a huge expense, but even the Duke of Colonna was only thirteen years old, and the youngest The eldest princess is only ten years old.

"So what," said the Duke of Orleans: "I was only of age when I rebuilt the entire slums, aqueducts and sewer systems of Paris for my brother-in-law."

Lu Li immediately pulled Molière, who wanted to say something. This is the disadvantage of not having enough background. If you are a king, as long as you have evidence, he will listen to your opinions. Even if he does not adopt them, he will not Angry, but everyone knows that the king has almost unconditional connivance to the Duke of Orleans, and the Duke of Orleans's heart is no wider than that of a lady. People say that even if you offend the king, don't offend the Duke of Orleans. The reason is here.

But this was too hard to accept. After the four gentlemen resigned, they still couldn't react until they reached the Grand Gallery. "Is this really okay? I mean," Moliere couldn't help but said: " What should we do? Although... they are still children after all..."

"It's the crown prince, the Duke of Colonna, the eldest princess and the eldest princess." Lully corrected.

Beauchamp on the side also nodded, and Leblanc pointed directly to the paintings in the Grand Gallery - all of them were paintings about the war between Flanders and the Netherlands, that is, the military exploits of Louis XIV.

Molière was like someone pouring a basin of ice water on his head, and he suddenly woke up. Among the four, his foundation was the weakest - although his family also served the royal family, they provided furniture and furnishings for the royal family. A businessman, he left home very early because of his love for drama, and he had nothing to do with the family business. Compared with Beauchamp, who was originally from a noble family, although he came from a humble background, he served the Duchess of Montpensier for a long time. Lully, and LeBron, who is most trusted by the king, are a little too slow or bold.

"I should thank you very well," Molière said: "I almost made a big mistake." He was not Colbert, nor Prince Condé, nor the Duke of Orleans, who gave him the courage to say to the king No?

"Nothing." Lu Li said, because music, dance and drama are closely related, so they have collaborated with Molière several times. They prepared their respective academies separately. There was no conflict, but it can be said that they are a scattered group. They can They didn't want the king to suspect that they had the same idea as Molière.

"But you should really treat us to a meal," LeBlanc said.

"To the best tavern in Limoges," said Beauchamp.

Note 1:

Danae was the daughter of the king of Argos. The king had no sons, and the country had a prophecy that Danae would give birth to a boy and usurp the throne. Afraid that this prophecy would come true, Argos locked his daughter in a copper tower and sent sentries to guard her day and night. One day, Jupiter turned into a golden rain and passed through the wall of the copper tower and entered the cell. Jupiter slept with Danae and gave birth to a boy, Perseus. Later, Perseus indeed seized the throne of Argos.