I Am Louis XIV

Chapter 271 The King’s Parenting Time (2)

"He wants to, but it's difficult." The Duke of Orleans replied, while looking at the child, little Eugen had no fewer problems than the eldest princess or the little Duke of Enghien. Since coming to Versailles, he has become more and more gloomy. Fortunately, he inherited Despite the beauty of his mother Olympia, she only resembled Leopold I in some minor ways, and did not have the big chin inherited from Habsburg. Her nominal father, Count Soissons, was also deeply trusted by the king, so Still quite popular among ladies.

Then his heart knot can only come from his origin-the mother of the Earl of Soissons. The letter from Lady Bourbon to the king said that although she told little Eugen his identity, although little Eugen was grieving , but she had no doubts and could not accept it. She wondered whether the lady of the Mancini family (she was not even willing to call her daughter-in-law or the Countess of Soissons) might have said something to him before he returned to France. What - but little Eugen was only three years old at the time, could he really remember things from that long ago?

Or does he realize that his mother's death wasn't really an accident?

More directly, could he be a threat?

Whether little Eugen remembers what Olympia Mancini said to him may be difficult for an ordinary three-year-old child, but for little Eugen, whose memory is actually very good, it is not a problem. He even remembered the look on his mother's face when she held him in her arms, and the sweet smell on her body when she proudly said those words. He also remembered the person who had visited his mother. He and his mother did not appear to be very close to each other. There was not much kindness towards him - all the instincts of a young child made him run away quickly and leave the room. This was his only memory of... Leopold I.

At that time, he did not identify the king his mother said with the man. Although he was smart, he was not smart enough to immediately realize that there was a problem with his identity. When he was under the knee of "grandmother", he always thought that the king his mother said was The "king" mentioned is the endearment and praise for one's husband - people can think that the king is the greatest knight in a country, and they can also think that the greatest knight must have the virtues of a king, but such an idea does not exist in the world. As he grew up, he still never saw his father, Eugen Morris, or his mother. However, he was left in the study by his tutor. Obviously, they didn't want him to see Morris.

With this premise, when his grandmother told him that his real biological father should be Leopold I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and not Eugen Maurice as he thought, little Eugen felt more sad and confused. Relief - Eugen, Maurice is a knight with noble morals, but he is a stain on his glorious career.

He deeply loathed his mother Olympia, and also loathed his real father Leopold I. He was like an upright but guilty man, eager to be whipped - ever since he came to Versailles, He also heard that Jean, the eldest son of the Duchess of Longueville, became a monk. Generally speaking, the eldest son of a duke should inherit his father's title and territory as a matter of course. Jean's behavior was puzzling to many people. Only those who knew about it Silent - Madame Longueville can be said to be half forced and half voluntarily married to the Duke Longueville, a widower twice her age, an old husband and a young wife. Although the Duke loves this young wife deeply, But Mrs. Longueville has never stopped cheating - Jean is the child she gave birth to under such circumstances, and his father should be the young and romantic Duke of La Rochefoucauld.

Jean learned about this when he became an adult. His noble mind made him unable to accept this fact, so he abandoned his honor and status without hesitation and became a monk resolutely.

This was also the path that little Eugen chose for himself. However, when he thought that his father was still Eugen Morris, he once wanted to become a soldier. At this time, such an idea suddenly resurfaced. If it is said that his father was still Eugen Morris, Becoming a monk was a sacrifice that little Eugen made for morality. As a soldier, even if Mr. Morris was an official, little Eugen also had such a wish. In Soissons, what he read most were knight novels, which he read every day. His heart would beat crazily when he saw them mount their horses, raise their flags, and see their lances rustling.

"Why are they unwilling to fight for their country?" Little Eugen asked. The question was only superficial. In fact, he wanted to pursue the reason.

"This is exactly what I want you to pay attention to." Louis continued: "Everyone, your identity is destined that your future life will not be as peaceful as an ordinary person. You will become a king in the future," he saw. To little Louis, the Duke of Colonna, and the little Duke of Enghien, "will become a queen, or a prince's wife." The eldest princess smiled reservedly, while the eldest princess showed a shy look: "will become a powerful general or an archbishop. ," he looked at little Eugen, "No matter what, you will be high above. Below you are ministers, soldiers and countless people - they need your rule and care, and you need their loyalty. and obedience, but there is a problem here, which is something your teacher will never teach you. That is, even the most stupid and humble slaves will also have their own selfish motives, and so will the people you trust most and are closest to. So, never force your ideas on the other person—even if they are pretty lofty ideas.”

"But, Your Majesty," little Eugen couldn't help but ask, "Shouldn't we encourage people to maintain all kinds of virtues?"

"Well." Louis thought for a while, "Bontang, bring over the multi-colored wood block I put in the drawer." Bontang immediately walked over, took a very delicate small silver plate, and put the multi-colored wood piece on it. The block was placed inside and entrusted to the king. The king smiled helplessly: "Okay, children, now you look at this multi-colored wood block, and then tell me what color you see." This multi-colored wood block is three inches long. Square, each side has a different color. It was specially prepared by the dye guild to let the king see the color of the furniture. There are gold, silver, black, white and red, and the original color of the wood.

"Golden." Little Louis said first.

"silver."

"red."……

"The colors you see are all different," Louis said, "so can you say that everyone else saw it wrong?" He rotated his wrist: "Then what about now? Do you think you saw it wrong before, or did you think you saw it wrong before? Have things changed?" The children looked at it, and the eldest princess and the eldest princess whispered a few words to each other, and she and the boy looked thoughtful.

"Philip," said the king, "come and help me." So Philip placed several little men in short cloaks in various places in Poland. "These are the Schlachta," said the Duke of Orleans: "The Schlachta were originally just some small and medium-sized nobles. It did not happen overnight that they achieved their current status. The king of Poland was originally just a big leader of many tribes. In the first century, the king still had to discuss national affairs with his ministers in the royal council. At that time, ministers were appointed by the king, including great nobles, leaders of the Guards and senior priests. However, in the late twelfth century, Poland It split again, and power was controlled by local princes. Their actions were no different from those of kings. They would also hold local meetings with the nobles, knights and priests loyal to them to decide on some important matters. So Poland's Schlachta was expelled in this way. Gradually formed. And even in the period of Władysław I, local assemblies were still held regularly, but in name they became local assemblies. At the end of the fifteenth century, the local assemblies became the House of Representatives, and the great nobles turned the Royal Council into The Senate evolved, but at the end of the day, these are the same people who come and go.”

The Duke of Colonna and the Dauphin Louis were the first to understand. Little Eugen actually understood. The Grand Princess was slightly slower than the Grand Princess. The Duke of Orleans took a sip of the tea handed to him by the King himself. "Don't worry," he said. : "Princess, just think about it this way, you are an ordinary farmer." The eldest princess nodded. The king often took the children to Versailles. They know what farmers are - they are the hardest working and most important people in this country. A humble lower class, "But fortunately, you are a boy, so when the king calls you, you become the king's soldier, with God's favor, fate's favor, and your own bravery and wisdom. , although you narrowly escaped death on the battlefield, you were still intact and returned to your hometown with the king's reward and title. As a result, your family jumped into the gentry class. In the subsequent wars, you continued to gain greater power. You can even decide the fate of others, not just your own. As time goes by, you also discover that the princes and generals you once thought were gods are just mortals like you. They make mistakes just like you. You will be cowardly, but you will also be hesitant..." The Duke of Orleans said something that others would be shocked to hear: "How much respect will you have for them at that time? You will think, I can do better than them! This is what Shilachita thought in 1505. Although the great nobles once wanted to seize power from them, the king at that time returned the power to them in order to rely on Shilachita's power to fight enemies at home and abroad. .”

The Duke of Orleans paused, and Louis continued: "From this, the king, who represents the interests of the royal family, the Senate, which represents the interests of the great nobility, and the House of Representatives, which represents the interests of the middle nobility, have been fighting endlessly since then, and then derived the "free kingship system" and "freedom." "veto"." He nodded to the crown prince: "Your teacher should have taught this already," which was specifically requested by the king. "Yes," the crown prince said.

"What do you think of this system?" asked the Duke of Orleans.

"It's extremely confusing," little Louis replied: "The power is so dispersed that they must be very slow to make decisions."

"So." The Duke of Orleans looked at the eldest princess: "Now you are a Schlachta. This system is indeed very bad. We have seen it for all. So will you give up this power?"

"I won't." The eldest princess understood what her father and uncle were going to say to them: "Because no matter what happens to Poland or what happens to the king, it doesn't matter to me. No, it should be said that if the king is weak, I It can grab greater power, make laws, collect taxes, or issue charters..." She counted her fingers and said: "So I will definitely support this system."

"At the same time," little Eugen added: "Your Highness, I will not do my best for the country or the country, because it will be a waste of my own strength." He pointed to the little man representing Sobieski, "Like Jan Sobieski."

"So if you were Sobieski, what would you do?" Louis asked.

"I will..." Little Eugen hesitated: "I will ask my king for help."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the king is the country," little Eugen said: "Anyone can watch Poland perish, only the king can't." He said decisively, causing the princess to look at him deeply. She didn't have much before. He paid close attention to little Eugen, and only then did he realize that this gloomy boy was not as useless as people said.

"Not every king will be willing - as you said, once the king's army suffers losses, the weight of his words among the nobles will be even lighter."

"But some things must be done," little Eugen clenched his fists. He admired his father, Eugen Maurice, and even more the famous Prince Condé. "Mr. Condé would never do that. "

"Condé must be very happy to hear it." Louis said: "But you are right, he has indeed set out to rescue Jan Sobieski."

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The former Prince of Condé, Ludwig I left for the Southern Front of Poland immediately after his coronation. At this time, Sobieski had been supporting there alone for too long - some Schlachta thought their new king was He will not make a decision so quickly. After all, Sobieski, like the former Prince of Condé, is only one step away from the throne of Poland - if it were Prince Condé twenty years ago, he would not rescue Sobieski. , just like when he once had dark thoughts to win over the Duchess of Montpensier, in an attempt to get her to support him in the subsequent battle for the throne.

But now he is King Ludwig I of Poland. The more than ten years with Louis have made His Majesty the Prince understand the most important thing, that is, as a king, you can be cruel, despicable or cruel to your enemies. It's shameless, but you must be kind to your country and people. For this, a king knows how to endure and compromise better than a farmer - in the face of national justice. As Louis XIV had forgiven himself, he should have been as kind to Jan Sobieski.

In Poland, it is not uncommon for the king to lead an expedition in person. When Ludwig I came to Poland, Louis XIV allowed him to take away the soldiers and officers he wanted to take away and who were willing to follow him - perhaps some of them The plan was to eliminate the remaining forces of Prince Condé, but this plan was aboveboard, and no one could say anything to criticize it - Ludwig II took away about 300 officers and 2,000 soldiers, maybe some They may question that the number of soldiers is too small, but the three hundred officers are the most important. These are mature people who have gone through the wars of Britain, Spain and the Netherlands. With them and sufficient military pay, if you want to form even a high-ranking army A new army of 30,000 people is not impossible.