I Am Louis XIV

Chapter 325 Before the war (7)

Little Louis, the crown prince, will feel frustrated and worried, but Louis and others will not be so - there are monks and wizards around little Louis, who can ensure the absolute personal safety of the crown prince, and the Crimean Tatars who infiltrated are also safe. Not a lot. In this era, it is almost impossible to completely separate the battlefield and the rear. A commander has to face countless things - such as endless procrastination, defection and betrayal. This is nothing new. Besides, they weren't even fighting on French soil.

With the explanation of Marquis Lovas, the Crown Prince was surprised to know that as the coalition army came to Kamnico, the half of Slovenia that spread out from Kamnico first suffered a war from the Holy Roman Monarchy. The catastrophe of the empire and its allies - according to tradition and agreement, Leopold I had to provide a large part of the supplies for the troops who came to assist him, and it was simply impossible for a single Austrian principality to afford it - then Slovenia, as a Habsburg The vassals and servants must shoulder this heavy responsibility.

Kamni is a big city, but how many of its original residents are still here? There are also the herdsmen on the Velikapurani highlands. They graze here. Tens of millions of cattle and sheep have now been replaced by densely packed soldiers. None of them left their tents and houses voluntarily. Many people even With his hands empty and his heart full of despair, the Marquis of Loise, with the advice of Louis XIV, could only guarantee that the French would not steal the herdsmen’s cattle and sheep like bandits, or the residents’ belongings, their wives and Their children could be preserved, but neither Louis XIV nor Lovas could join the armies of the Spanish, Austrians, or other princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

And as I have described before, in addition to the salary paid by the employer, the mercenaries have two main gains. One is the assets owned by the civilians in the battlefield and the cities and villages near the battlefield, and the other is A "legacy" ripped from the dead. Because the Habsburgs had not yet fully acquired Slovenia, they still wore the mask of kindness when facing the Slovenian lords, but the ordinary people treated them like bleating lambs, and they would not consider it. How much damage will these mercenaries cause to Kamnico? Even if all the citizens and herdsmen who were driven out and plundered died, as long as this city still exists, people will still continue to migrate in and multiply. They, as well as the lords and nobles here, and even the wealthy merchants, will not suffer any serious losses.

But for the residents of Camnico, as well as the herders in the highlands, they suffered a devastating disaster - imagine, on a quiet and warm night, children looking forward to the berries in the woods, husbands assessing the wheat fields The harvest in the garden or the newborn lambs, the wife is thinking about the newly made cheese, the young men and women are thinking about their lovers...the old people kneel in front of the icon or the cross, praying in a low voice...They may have heard about the pagans The army was approaching the Sava River, and war was imminent, but like everyone who had a little bit of luck, they stayed because they lived in poverty and could not withstand the torture of displacement.

Then they were driven away.

If they are lucky enough to meet the French, then they can still get some compensation, but if it is someone else... the herdsmen in the highlands are more barbaric and fierce than the citizens of Camnico. It is not surprising that they immediately decided to surrender to the Ottoman Turks - there were only more than a hundred Tatars brought in, so they did not attract the attention of the garrison.

After realizing that except for the French, the real army might not be as fair and upright as he thought, the Crown Prince fell into a rare silence. After he was slightly freed from such horror, Louis asked him to go and talk to Louis. The Marquis of Vas's subordinates registered the dead and injured soldiers together. Mr. Pierre's coldness prevented the Frenchmen around the Crown Prince from suffering too much damage, but some people were still dead or injured. When Pierre said that three were dead and 11 were injured The numbers didn't sound amazing at all, but after he named their names one by one, the blurry images immediately became clear in the Crown Prince's consciousness, and his eyes couldn't help but fill with tears, "Really "Antoine, Barre and Gabriel..." He choked up: "They..."

"It's a pity," Pierre said, "Your Highness, but they died for you. This is an honorable and respectable thing."

The Crown Prince shook his head sadly. Like his father Louis XIV, he knew very well that there was no glory in death... Louis had always tried to reduce the casualties of soldiers and officers as much as possible, but as long as it was a war, Death is inevitable - the Dauphin remembered that when he left Versailles, his father was ordering Levau to design a cathedral, which was said to be inscribed with the names of all the heroes who died for him, the Bourbon family and France. On the walls of the church, every descendant can learn about their heroic deeds.

Speaking of which, people today may not believe it. When the Sun King decided to erect a statue of the playwright in the Grand Theater, people in Paris thought it was a beautiful thing worthy of praise. When soldiers and officers built a cathedral, people began to talk about it. They had no idea why the king would do this. Before that, marshals and generals who were favored by the king were allowed to hang portraits on the walls of the palace, or in designated places. buried in the cathedral, but those soldiers from humble beginnings? Even Cardinal Lariviere, who has always been careless about everything, once inquired about the Crown Prince's intentions on this matter...

It was only now that the Crown Prince realized his father's intention. He remembered those three people. Antoine was a romantic seed, the second son of a baron, and he was better at dressing up than any noble lady the Crown Prince had ever seen; Barre He is a dark-skinned Marseille. He was originally supposed to serve on the naval fleet, but he came to him because his father had a relationship with the Marquis of Lovas; Gabriel... He is not older than the Dauphin. How much, shy by nature, but very good at taking care of horses...

A monk performed last rites for three people. They were lying side by side on a bed made up of two tables. The Crown Prince saw Gabriel, the young musketeer, at the first sight, from his breasts exposed outside the sheets. Physically, he didn't suffer much damage, as if he was asleep. However, his face was pale, his lips were blue, and he had a silk scarf tied around his neck to cover the wound on his throat. It is said that his horse unfortunately died while retreating. He fell, fell from the horse, and for a moment could not pull out his feet from under the horse. A Tatar rushed over and cut his neck cleanly - Barre's body was much bigger than his. There were more wounds, and the fatal wound was a hole in his chest. Compared with Gabriel's pale face, his dark skin reminded the crown prince of those silks that had faded due to repeated washing and drying. They were wrinkled and dull. Colored gray - Antoine's face was covered with his favorite hat, the ostrich feathers on it were dyed bright red, had been broken, and hung down on the edge of the hat. The Dauphin stepped forward and wanted to When he was taking off his hat, the monk stopped him: "No, Your Highness," he said: "His face has been crushed."

The crown prince retracted his hand silently. He knew what the monk was saying. The real battle was completely different from what he imagined and what the playwrights and painters described. People bit together fiercely like wild beasts. Although they did not have sharp teeth. You may have fangs, but you have swords and muskets - and horse hooves nailed with iron shoes. Once you fall off your horse in the melee, no one will see you.

"Want to see the wounded soldiers?" Pierre asked.

"How are they?"

"Thank God," said Pierre, "two men had to have their arms amputated, and three had to have their feet cut off, but they all lived." He said vaguely, before His Majesty the King had boldly introduced wizards into the army. , these five people had to die, but now even if they lose two hands and two feet, they can still return to Paris or Versailles - anyone who was wounded fighting for the king, no matter his origin, can still return to Paris Basin received a small fief and a considerable annuity, which ensured that he and his family could live the rest of their lives in prosperity and worry-free. His children could be qualified to enter school and join the army. If they wanted to enter the church or enter the military, When they enter official career, they will also receive special preferential treatment.

Therefore, in the French army, even in the wounded camp or the dormitory, there will not be a lifeless life. When the Dauphin walked into the room, those unfortunate people were still sleeping due to the wizard's anesthesia. They will It will be a hard day, but they will always calm down - as for the other injured people, they only suffered fractures or flesh wounds, so when the crown prince came, they were actually sitting around and crying. Cards and some small shiny things were spread out on the card table. The Crown Prince deliberately looked away, giving them time to sweep the coins on the table into his pockets.

Unlike these active musketeers, Anwo was placed in a separate room alone. He was lucky. Although several ribs were broken by horses' hoofs and his internal organs were injured, these injuries were not harmful to him. For the wizard, it was not a big deal - even Louis didn't know whether to blame the young man for this battle. He deliberately wanted to show his agility and strength in front of the crown prince, but he didn't expect a little The temptation actually attracted so many enemies.

When he saw the crown prince, he was silent for a moment, then jumped down from the bed, knelt in front of him, and touched the crown prince's feet with his forehead. Little Louis subconsciously took a step back, "Don't do this, Anwo, "I don't blame you," he said.

"Then you still want me." Anwo said sadly.

"I still want you, but you can't be so reckless in the future." The crown prince said, the Tatar leader did mention that he had several sons, but they are all fighting outside now - people like this, no matter they are Neither Louis nor Ludwig I would let them serve the crown prince - first of all, this approach is a waste. To be honest, no one expected that the first battle would happen to the crown prince of France. Secondly, compared to Anwo, the sons of the older Tatar leaders will only be more cunning and changeable. Before the prince's mind has not yet matured, it is better not to have such strangers around him.

The crown prince's answer made Anwo look a little surprised, but only a little. Mei Duo is his half-sister and has a deep relationship with him. Even to the Tatars, the value of a daughter is far less than that of a son. Mei Duo Their death still grieves them.

At this time, a burst of mournful wails came from a distance, "Who is that?" the crown prince asked.

"Those highland herdsmen," Pierre said calmly.

"Are they going to be executed?"

"It's not just execution, we are in Slovenia now," Pierre said. "We have to act in accordance with the traditions and laws here."

Yes, in Paris and Versailles, various tortures still exist, especially against those who dare to harm and assassinate the king and members of the royal family, but the most cruel ones, such as sawing, rat torture, and iron maiden, have basically been eliminated. Canceled, but the assassins will still have their hands cut off, or their fingers cut off with pliers, and then beheaded or hanged - these people were destined to die when they attacked the crown prince, but The way Crimean Tatars die is different from that of herders.

Those Tatars were torn apart alive by horses - before that, the Tatar leader who worshiped Louis XIV deliberately cut open their limb joints, otherwise it would be difficult for the horses to really tear off human limbs. ——Unlike France’s five benevolent horses (necks, limbs), the Tatar leader, who was grieving for the death of his daughter and nephew, only used four horses, and waited until those Crimean Tatars fell to the ground. He set them on sharpened poles—just what Ahmed had done to the Christians.

This is because the Crimean Tatars are strong cavalry. As for the herdsmen, they were beaten with whips, weeping, peeling bark, whittling wooden poles, and preparing torture tools for themselves. When they saw the bloody bodies around them, How could they endure their grief?

These wooden poles would stretch from the French garrison to the king's castle, just like Vlad III did to the Ottoman Turks, forming a bloody road. This was not something Louis XIV or his generals would like to see. Seeing such a scene, if they don't do that, they will be looked down upon by the Tatars or Slovenes, and the highland herdsmen will not be grateful, and will only think that the French are weak and bully--speaking of it, these herdsmen will kill Cree. Did the Mia Tatars hide in the woods closest to the French garrison? Did they already have this idea?

No matter what they thought, when all of the two hundred or so people were impaled on the wooden poles, the entire Kamnic City became much quieter, and even the occasional minor conflicts suddenly disappeared. ——The French have been provoked a lot before. Those mercenaries who are accustomed to misbehaving will not be ashamed of the tolerance and generosity of the French. They only think that these French are really stupid and cowardly. Some people even say that the French The previous victories were not because they were brave and fearless, but because their weapons were new enough and their ammunition was abundant.

Now they know that the French will never mind treating you like a lamb to be roasted, and asking you to handle the torture instrument used to penetrate yourself - although they must be polite throughout the process. Qi, gentle and amiable.

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