I Am Louis XIV

As Frederick spoke, he used the tip of his cane to lift the car curtain and look out. Paris was changing as fast as a colorful kaleidoscope. Not to mention Barras, who had been away for twenty years, even if he was still there a year ago. The envoys in Paris couldn't help but marvel - wasn't it originally a narrow alley, how could it now be a large, clear canal? This was originally supposed to be a second-hand clothing store, but now it's become a beautiful and exquisite little theater? This should have been a private residence - his servants once stayed here. Now it is a small square. Pigeons rise and fall, and the flying gray feathers make the envoy involuntarily raise his nose.

"These pigeons?" Frederick gave the envoy a look, let alone Paris, even the Louvre, if there were a lot of fat and delicious food, there would still be bold people to catch and eat them. After all, this is Three hundred years later, when things were not abundant, pigeons were not only on the diet of the poor, but also on the king's table. "This is the king's pigeon." The envoy said with a smile, and he specifically asked about it for the first time when he came. people around me.

In fact, this is no different from the nobles and ministers raising peacocks in the courtyard. It's just that Louis XIV placed the pigeons throughout Paris to show his authority to outsiders and to show that the citizens of Paris were at least not forced by hunger to violate the rules. the point of law.

In addition to these, there are many laws and regulations that are difficult for people from other provinces to get used to. For example, carriages and pedestrians must walk on the right side, they cannot dump feces and garbage in the Seine River and on the streets, and they cannot damage trees and public facilities (that is, water canals and fire faucets) at will. etc.), you cannot make noise in public after twelve o'clock in the evening, a manure bag must be hung behind the horse's butt, and dogs or other animals with owners must wear restraints... Wait, let such a building It is difficult for a huge city to be so orderly and orderly, but Louis XIV did it, although the police officers who were irreverently called crows or black dogs (because they wore black Uniforms) are indispensable.

"I think I must learn the laws here," said Frederick.

"I'm afraid not," the envoy ruthlessly broke his illusion, "you can't stay here for a long time."

Frederick shrugged helplessly. Of course, when he came to Paris, his most important task was to meet the Duke of Orleans' grand princess. Maybe she would be his wife in the near future, but the negotiation of this marriage may not be too long. Early start - the Elector of Brandenburg, the Grand Duke of the Principality of Prussia, Frederick's father wanted to side with the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Leopold I, because no matter how powerful and wealthy the king of France was, , nor could Prussia become a kingdom.

Therefore, the price given by the Elector of Brandenburg at the beginning was a princess, not his eldest son Frederick. However, Louis XIV's meaning was also very obvious. He did not need a dispensable princess. He also knew the ambitions of the Elector of Brandenburg - it was entirely possible for the Elector of Brandenburg to abandon his daughter directly, as long as Leopold I was willing to recognize him as the King of Prussia.

Therefore, the Elector of Brandenburg hesitated again and again before sending his eldest son Frederick to Paris. His eldest son Frederick was already seventeen years old. He seemed to be suave, frivolous and naive, but his ambitions were nothing compared to His father was young, and he admired and feared the Sun King Louis XIV - not only on the real battlefield, but also in his political methods. No one expected that the king of France could convince the king of England. A trap was set for him, and William III, a descendant of Orange, was detained, so that one of his father's advantages - his father was William III's uncle, disappeared; and Charles II of England pushed William III away After coming out, he appointed another descendant of Orange, Viscount Turenne, as the governor of the Netherlands. This kind of courage and courage may not even be displayed by Leopold I - William I of Orange is From being a subject of the Holy Roman Empire to becoming a king (although it was only one step away), Viscount Turenne wanted to do this because of the foundation laid by his uncle and teacher Prince Maurice among the Dutch people, as well as the power and wealth of the governor. It's not impossible to go further - I didn't see that there was only one Utrecht for William III, and he was also called the King of the Netherlands...

However, this king has always been bold in employing people. Although people say that on the battlefield, this king is just an audience sitting in a special box, but he can control his competitiveness and let the generals fight at their own pace; At the same time, there are not many monarchs who can maintain trust and understanding of them, provide sufficient protection for the army and hold their battle. Even the former Viscount of Turenne had to obey the old Princess Condé (the Grand Condé). (mother) failed due to inexplicable orders.

Louis XIV called himself the Sun King. Perhaps he was right. Not only did he shine, but he also allowed thousands of stars around him to shine. Frederick knew that Leopold I could not do this. No, it was not that he could not do it. This is because he almost did not have this condition from the beginning. He was not born to be an emperor. His throne was obtained through all kinds of planning. How can he believe that others will not or cannot take away his power? ?

This is true even for the Elector of Brandenburg. Although the Prussian Grand Dukes unanimously interpreted the surname Hohenzollern as meaning "noble", people will never forget that when the Sauron family was only counts, they once Working for the Hohenstaufen family (the founders of the Holy Roman Empire), even Frederick's name came from the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

They have only been electors for more than two hundred years.

But the kings of France never had such troubles - the Frankish Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in 800 AD, which meant that the Western Roman Empire had been exterminated for more than three centuries. With this restoration, Charlemagne was recognized as the "successor of Augustus Caesar".

In blood, prestige, and power, Louis XIV was the only monarch known to Frederick who had no faults.

Therefore, Frederick's restlessness was more about the Sun King Louis XIV than the princess who had never lived before, but everyone thought it was the young man's first love, or in other words, he would rather others think so. .

As he stepped onto the steps leading to the Palace of Versailles, he kept describing the appearance of Louis XIV in his mind. There were many small portraits of the Sun King circulating in Prussia. Some people deliberately painted him ugly, while others painted him ugly. Painting him very beautiful - for Frederick, he might as well be ugly. If the latter's beautification method was used, why would Louis XIV put a royal lady beside him and just look at himself in the mirror? Come on.

When Louis XIV greeted King Carl XI of Sweden, he stood at the end of the stairs in a rectangular square between the maze of green plants. But Frederick was only the son of a grand duke, so the king accepted him in the Hall of the Lady of Victory. of audience.

Now there are two small halls on both sides of the large gallery, just for people to take care of themselves before meeting the king. The attendants calmly looked at the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Brandenburg and the panting envoy. In comparison, this young man's face was just a little more rosy, he didn't have a bad smell, and he didn't look like he couldn't move. Even if he wasn't as good as Karl XI, he wouldn't be much inferior.

The Duke of Orleans was rewarded immediately. After all, these attendants, especially those assigned to envoys and foreign nobles, were almost all his spies. Now he could really feel the mood of the king's brother. Even the attendants said that from the appearance In general, Frederick was better than Karl XI, and he was a little dissatisfied - until he saw this young man. The appearance of the Hohenzollern family was different from that of the Bourbon family. The faces of the Bourbon family were more biased. Beautiful, Louis XIV can be said to be handsome, and the Duke of Orleans can be called a beauty. As for Frederick, his hair and eyebrows are extremely thick, he has a pair of bright big eyes, and the bridge of his nose is high and broad. The lips are thin and long, and the chin is as wide and plump as the forehead - it is a completely different style.

Frederick was not a commoner. He was qualified to look directly at the king. After the salute, he could hardly wait to see the look on Louis XIV's face. Unlike the critical Duke of Orleans, Louis XIV's attitude toward the grand duke's son was The first impression was not a bad one - for Frederick, his only impressions of kings were Leopold I, William III and his father. Regardless of William III for the moment, Frederick only had pity for him. His father had always been cold and serious. As for Leopold I... Although this emperor was two years younger than Louis XIV, he had always been indescribably energetic, even more so than William III. It's even more gloomy and weird.

Frederick saw Louis XIV, sitting very casually on a velvet armchair, tilting his head and talking to the Duke of Orleans. Frederick didn't know if it was because neither he nor the Duke of Orleans had a beard. , appears younger than his real age, and does not look like a father with two adult children at all.

Although the French admire fine clothing and beauty, the king only wore a gray-blue velvet coat, white tight trousers, and a row of diamond pins under his shoulders. He did not wear an exaggerated wig - although Wigs have long been popular in various palaces. Perhaps because there was no hunting today, he was only wearing a pair of light sheepskin pumps.

How can I put it, to Frederick's surprise, Louis XIV didn't look like a king at all.

This was simply a problem for the young son of the Grand Duke. He tossed and turned and couldn't sleep at night. Fortunately, the envoy's room was not far from him, so he went to ask the old minister sincerely. The envoy did hesitate for a long time. After all - there is a grand duke there who is always looking forward to becoming the king. "I can't tell you this matter," he said, "but you can think for yourself. That is a very simple answer."

After Frederick went back and thought about it for a while, a thought struck his head like thunder. Alas, why was he so stupid? Louis XIV didn't need to "be like" a king at all? Since he no longer needs anyone to recognize him as a "king," he can certainly relax and leisurely act like an idle scholar, since he has destroyed all his enemies before.

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If Louis XIV heard Frederick's comments, he would jump up and deny it. At least he never thought that he would be safe. There are still wizards and Huguenots in France, as well as the remnants of the Fronde; Outside France, just as a scholar will feel more ignorant the more he understands, the more territory a king acquires through conquests means the more enemies he has. Although he gained the Netherlands and Flanders However, they have become mortal enemies with Spain, Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire. Britain has also turned from friend to enemy, and there is also the covetous Roman Church... The more prosperous and powerful France becomes, the sharper and stronger their malice becomes.

Of course, this is what any kingdom or empire that is about to enter glory has to face. Unless France suddenly turns into a country of cowards and idiots, its neighbors, enemies and friends can feel at ease and express friendship, but even if Come on, Louis XIV will never allow this to happen.

So he has been trying to win more allies. Although the Duke of Orleans believes that it is difficult for the Grand Duke of Brandenburg-Prussia to stand on their side, Louis does not need him to stand on his side. He only needs him to remain neutral. Now - the Elector of Brandenburg didn't even want to stand neutral at first. It was Louis who threatened him through Ludwig I of Poland - part of Prussia was still in the hands of the Poles.

Of course Louis would not embarrass Grand Condé Ludwig I, but if the Grand Duke of Brandenburg was stubborn, he would also support Ludwig I in opening up territory for Poland, and Poland's Schlachta would definitely To whom he was extremely grateful, the Grand Duke of Brandenburg-Prussia should have thought of this issue before he surrendered - he could even use this to retaliate against Leopold I's accountability - because according to tradition and law, a The person who accepts the allegiance of a subject must be able to protect the person who offers him loyalty in times of necessity.

Now Leopold I could hardly breathe under the oppression of the Ottoman Turks. Not to mention helping the Grand Duke of Brandenburg-Prussia regain his territory in Poland, he even wanted to show his favor to King Ludwig I of Poland. , to ensure that the Ottoman Turks will not directly invade Vienna.

Therefore, the Roman Church was divided into two factions - those who were against Louis XIV of France, and those who were Clement X, who regarded Louis XIV as the enemy of Christ and the church. If possible, they would call him The second Nero, the other leader is the cardinal leader. They believe that the enemies of the church are still pagans, Protestants and Ottoman Turks. No matter what Louis XIV is, as long as he does not openly establish a separate church like Henry VIII , he is worth saving. Of course, the main reason is that they believe that there is no Catholic country in Europe that can compare with France.

But Louis also knew that the marriage between the eldest princess and the eldest princess made the Roman Church unavoidably worried, because Sweden and Brandenburg-Prussia were both Protestant countries. If he really made the daughter of Brandenburg-Prussia the king, Princess, I'm afraid he will have more opponents in the church.

It seems that not only the crown prince, but also the son of the future Duke of Orleans can only choose a wife in a Catholic country.

Mentioning this, Louis thought of Carlos II of Spain. It is said that not only did he miraculously recover his health, but he also had a normal mind. Some people were already regretting that they did not insist on letting the princess marry to Spain.