I Am Louis XIV

Louis smiled and said nothing.

Although many people had doubts, Mrs. Aubigne was the first person to directly raise the question to him. His non-response made Mrs. Aubigne frown: "Are you admitting it, or are you unwilling?" Answer? This is your country, your capital, your palace, why should you be so cautious?"

"I never test humanity." Louis said, and then his smile turned naughty: "I can answer this question, madam, I have always been extremely pious and believe in God. He is my only master. I am as docile as a lamb. The earth fell at His feet, obeying Him, worshiping Him.”

Madame Aubigne was speechless, "There are still spear marks left by your soldiers on the Ponte Sant'Angelo! Your Majesty."

"No more sinful than you," said Louis. "If your words are unfortunate enough to be heard by a second person, you are destroying their faith."

"Who else but your wizard can hear our conversation?" said Madame Aubigne.

"Do you think wizards have no faith? They call themselves Merlin, but perhaps not as many of them know the inside story as you think. There is nothing more ridiculous than that the despair and hatred that has lasted for more than a thousand years is just a feud between brothers. No, I have to say, what’s even more ridiculous is that they were fighting for profit, and in the end it was the church that gained the power.” Louis lightly knocked on the armrest: “It can only be said that the church was the only one that failed to predict What’s amazing is that mortal technology can develop so fast.”

When the smelting of steel and the production and use of gunpowder were still in their infancy, the magic of wizards, werewolves, vampires, and magical creatures did pose a great threat to mortals, forcing them to rely on the protection of the church, even their The same is true for the kings - but what they did not expect was that compared to the slow and almost unchanged inner world, the development of the outer world was too fast, even if the church has been intervening and monitoring - especially those related to war. technology.

People today can no longer recognize the musket of the fourteenth century (it was just a dark pipe). Today's artillery is also forcing changes in the thick city walls and huge ships. The full armor that covered it became the current ceremonial breastplate...

What's more, mortals have continued to reproduce for a thousand years. Unlike the other world where the number of people must be carefully controlled, as long as there is no famine or plague, mortals can continue to reproduce throughout their decades of life until It can't stop anymore - on the contrary, the wizards in the other world must consciously control the number of people to prevent the ecology of the other world from losing balance.

When a wizard, or to be precise, an extraordinary person faces a mortal, it is no different than a beast facing a child. He can do whatever he wants; but what if he faces ten mortals, unless he is like Bosch? Most wizards would choose to avoid crazy dark wizards; then, what about a hundred or a thousand? After the Duke of Colonna returned to Paris, Louis turned him into a dragon... and tried it. Although this form would indeed collapse mortals with weak willpower, it would not be of much use to soldiers passing through the battlefield—— They may panic for a while, but experience and instinct will allow them to dodge and try to attack. The blow caused by the dragon is not more terrible than the artillery. Even the flame dragon like Agnelli transformed into, it His body can still be torn apart by ballista shells.

When the power of extraordinary people cannot threaten mortals, their lofty status will become precarious. The arrival of Louis has accelerated this question. Why did the dark wizards of Flanders not continue their curse on the French royal family? They even had to flee the lowlands, knowing full well that if they stayed there they would face Louis XIV's troops.

Wizards who have never tried to escape in His Majesty's dragnet will never understand how they feel - household registration, identity certificate, walking permission, strict checkpoints and ubiquitous patrols, like nooses. It was wrapped around their necks, and it was not that there were no dark wizards who massacred them after being discovered, but instead of running away in fear as before, those stupid mortals quickly gathered around them. Dark wizards are also human beings, and they will also feel tired, hungry and... Thirst, their materials and magic power are not endless, and once they are caught, they will be severely punished and then executed.

The wizards recoiled before the king, and so did the Roman Church, like the drunken ravings of a bold cardinal—who knows if the devil might also have been created by God? After all, without the danger and temptation of the devil to mankind, God and his messengers seem to have no need to exist. Of course, the person who heard this sentence and the person who said it were "dealt with", but Elario said , it indeed gave some interesting inspiration to young people like him.

Louis was not wrong when he said that the Roman Church did not give him a major excommunication when he attacked Flanders and the Netherlands. At that time, the Roman Church was just hesitant whether it should be done for a Protestant area (the Netherlands and Flanders are both Protestant (mostly Protestant) excommunicated the king of a Catholic country, but if any of the Cardinals realized what kind of person Louis XIV was - they might indeed take the plunge.

Looking at the current situation, France, which has successively captured Flanders and the Netherlands, is undoubtedly a huge country. Louis XIV, with a standing army of nearly 150,000, is unmatched by anyone. He is rich, and Generous and tolerant - his eldest princess has been married to Carl XI of Sweden, his crown prince has been married to Princess Isabella of Portugal, and he has elected his uncle, Prince Condé, to become the king of Poland. His illegitimate son, the Duke of Colonna, even married the daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany in Italy. If someone opens the map, he will find that in the countries surrounding France, except for the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Britain and Denmark, no one can match him. A battle.

But the Holy Roman Empire is now being constrained by the Archduke of Transylvania in Hungary. In view of the fact that this Archduke has a grudge against the Empire for killing his father, the possibility of peaceful resolution of the dispute is very small, and this Archduke also has a relationship with the Sultan of Ottoman Turkey. There were contacts - when he already controlled part of Upper Hungary, Leopold I was certainly worried that the Ottoman Turks would one day pass through Upper Hungary and penetrate directly into the heart of Austria. Although it is true that there are no people who can intimidate the Grand Duke of Transylvania... Please look at the Polish King Ludwig I on the right... that is, our dear Grand Condé...

Spain, needless to say, the Queen Mother of Habsburg is the kind of idiot who wants to do something even if she can't do it well. The regent Don Juan is obviously more successful in women's sex. Carlos II is not fertile and will not live long. Yongye has become a secret that must not be made public. Who made the Spanish envoy act like he was determined to win? Everyone would want to know why this marriage suddenly ended without any problems.

As for Britain and France, to be honest, they are more adept at being enemies than friends. Even Louis XIV was not surprised, so it is almost impossible to get any benefits from them - such as catching people off guard, and Britain's only foothold in France, Dunkirk, had been sold to Louis XIV at Charles II's half-hearted suggestion.

As for Denmark, it was difficult enough to deal with the nearby Sweden. Even if they hated Louis XIV, they could not be used by the Roman Church.

There is another key issue, that is, both Britain and Denmark are Protestant countries, and the Roman Church cannot do anything like slap in the face for the time being.

After roughly sorting it out like this, Louis felt that he should be able to understand the thoughts of those cardinals a little bit - Clement X only had less than two years to live, and of course he would not be afraid of Alvernon again. So without a trace of hesitation, he used those methods that were about to become decadent and played with them again. If he succeeded, he could probably become a saint - the Roman Church would definitely be happy to see another French king being manipulated at their will. .

It's a pity that there are not many people who have the same delusion as him, at least not Madame Aubigne's grandfather. He asked his granddaughter to bring the truth about the church to Louis, which was a gesture of goodwill and a show of strength - it seems This Mr. Benedetto Otezcalchi may have already grasped most of the power in the church (should be the part closer to the real world). If he is interested in the papal throne, he decides to form an alliance with Louis XIV. Not surprising.

"But there may not be so many places in France that need the church," Louis said.

"I said before, you made a bad start." Madame Aubigne said without flinching: "Now God's punishment has arrived. Your Majesty, you not only have to face the artillery, ships and troops of the outside world, but also To face the wizards and monsters in the other world, Charles II has allowed the descendants of Merlin to enter his court, and the regent of Spain is also opening the shackles on the necks of mad dogs. The advantages you previously gained from wizards are being lost... It’s even turning into a disadvantage.”

"Your power in this world is not as strong as people think," Madame Aubigne pointed out bluntly: "The only wizards in France are those who are mixed with Bohemians. The wizards on Gajola Island come from In the Apennine Peninsula, they are likely to follow the Duke of Colonna to fight. You cannot keep them all by your side or in the army. As for Eralius, even if he and his people are willing to serve for you, they will not be able to do so at Dunkirk. They have failed in their duties once, which shows that the monks are not infallible."

"You pulled out the dagger first, so don't blame others for drawing out the sword." After a pause, Madame Aubigne continued: "My grandfather did not mean any harm, although he also thought that you were extremely rude and arrogant. person, but he must also admit that you are a tolerant person who is willing to keep your promises. He even frankly said that you do not have to make a long-term contract with him. Maybe you and him will have a relationship in the near future. It’s a contradiction, but at least for three years, your and his positions are completely consistent.”

I have to say that Madame Aubigne’s words almost convinced Louis.

It is not that Louis has not considered that other monarchs will make some similar attempts after seeing that he drove the wizard without any punishment from the world and God. After all, for some bold people, even the devil is not Not for one use, let alone a servant of the devil? It's just that since Merlin's failure, King Arthur's death seems to have become a shadow lingering in the minds of the kings, making them dare not let those devil's servants stand among the ministers - even the wizards seem to have given up on this aspect. Ambition, after hundreds of years, this taboo has almost become an unwritten law.

But after Louis takes the first step, others can naturally get their hands on this forbidden fruit.

His special royal guard was also prepared for this possibility, but the secret agreement proposed by Madame Aubigne meant that he could keep these trustworthy young people with him and the Duke of Colonna, and let the red prince's Wizards and monks went to fight against the extraordinary people from England, Austria or Denmark.

Whether it is Viscount Turenne, Prince Condé or Generals Schaumberg and Vauban, they all know that Louis is a king who cherishes his soldiers. It should be said that Louis cherishes anyone who is loyal to him and can avoid unnecessary casualties - he The price you have to pay is just money and some superficial concessions, but it is still very worth it. Although the cost is very considerable, according to the edict of Sixtus V, the number of cardinals is limited to seventy. More than two-thirds, that is, forty-seven people can be elected as pope. Even if Obi Madam Nietzsche's grandfather was also prepared, and Louis XIV also had to ensure that two-thirds of them would lean towards the red prince...

Now it seems that he doesn't have much chance to hesitate. Carlos II's sudden improvement is inseparable from the dark wizards. Even Spain, a country that used to be burned at the stake, has begun to allow wizards to interfere in the king's life and death. Others The country will only become more wanton. In addition to the Duke of Colonna, Louis also has to consider the safety of his other children, the Queen Mother and Queen, the Duke of Orleans and others, as well as the Prince of Condé and his eldest son in Poland... Look at it this way , he is really a bit stretched...

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Madame Aubigne's grandfather, the head of the cardinals of Rome, was not so surprised when he received the king's reply. He knew that his majesty would definitely agree to form an alliance with him, although in Rome, the king's reputation was as good as that of the handsome man Philip. King Henry IV was in such a mess, and some people even said that he would, like Henry VIII of England, establish a church that only belonged to him and serve as the head of the church at the same time, holding both the religious power and the royal power in his hands.

Although this idea is very tempting for an ambitious king, judging from the information obtained from the cardinal leader, this king sometimes appears to be extremely benevolent. For example, Henry VIII, he certainly allowed England got rid of the control of the church, but the price was the religious wars that lasted for nearly a hundred years. In the end, not only did the religious power fall apart, the national power declined, but even the monarchy was seriously shaken.

Louis XIV is not the kind of person who would do stupid things, even if he is indeed an unbeliever, it doesn't matter. To be honest, dealing with such a person who is more rational than emotional, and even religious, makes the cardinal leader feel a lot more relaxed.

"Ask Bishop Barras to come to me." The cardinal leader ordered, and the priests on the side immediately leaned down to obey. Within ten minutes, Bishop Barras appeared outside the door of the cardinal leader.