I Am Louis XIV

When people in later generations write biographies of Prince Eugen de Savoy, they usually encounter several problems, either because they cannot get a definite answer, or because they are likely to be considered by Prince Eugen's admirers. It is intended to slander or ridicule this outstanding and great military strategist.

There are two issues that are most easily criticized. One is that although Prince Eugen had outstanding military exploits and even gave up his right to inherit the eldest son, he was still generously awarded the title of prince by Louis XIV. However, until he was octogenarian, There has never been a publicly recognized marriage, lover, or child. There was even a time when people doubted whether Louis XIV intended to avoid having an overly prestigious leader in his court and army, but it turned out that Louis XIV had promised him more than once that whatever Prince Eugen wanted to marry would What kind of woman, as long as her birth is innocent, or not so innocent, His Majesty the King is willing to knight her so that she can be with Prince Eugen openly and legally as long as he is willing.

But such a suggestion was undoubtedly rejected by Prince Eugen. His attendants, as well as the king's attendant Bontang, and the Duchess of Montpensier and other court people also mentioned this in their autobiographies and biographies about Versailles. Now, it seems that this prince has never fallen in love with anyone. Even if a noble lady is willing to throw the flower of love to him, he will only take a step back indifferently and let the delicate petals break under his feet.

He had no children. In the end, he returned and gifted his title, territory, and most of his assets to his close friend, the future King Louis XV of France, as well as some fragmentary commemorative medals and jewelry. and the reliquary box were given to several friends in equal parts - most of them were people related to the Bourbon royal family. After all, he stayed in the Palace of Versailles from the age of nine to the age of fourteen, and was with the princes and princesses. Growing up - hundreds of years later, people can see the gifts given to friends by this world-famous generalissimo whether in Italy, the Netherlands, or in the National Museum of Spain.

Originally, there should be such a treasure in the Royal Museum of Sweden - a reliquary that Prince Eugen gave to the then Queen of Sweden, Princess Elisabeth of France, which contained a lock of hair said to be the saint Nicholas. , people don’t know whether it is specific, because when the Queen Mother of Sweden (Queen Mother) died, several things were buried with her, including her husband’s portrait, the children’s baby teeth, and the autographed letters of her father Louis XIV (mainly Letters congratulating the child on the birth), and this reliquary.

It is not that no one has guessed whether there is a simple and painful emotional story between the two, but except for the years in the Palace of Versailles, since Prince Eugen entered the army to serve and the eldest princess Elizabeth married into the Swedish royal family, they have never been together again. They have never met, and except for the last relic box, there is no trace of any letters or messengers communicating on their behalf.

There is another thing that an officer of the Count of Soissons occasionally mentioned to his relatives and friends. He said that Prince Eugen's first battle was not in the Grand Alliance War in 1682 as people thought, but when he was a man who had just come of age. As a teenager, in the first year, or even the first month of joining the French army, a battle took place with the rebellious thugs in the King's Town in Lorraine.

The reason why people question the authenticity of this war is entirely because there is no record of this battle. There were indeed some sporadic rebellions in Lorraine-Alsace during this period, but they were harmless. The proud Sun King even gathered All his generals and marshals drank and sang all night long at the Palace of Versailles to celebrate France's victory over the Ottomans, and only sent the first batch of students who could graduate from the Royal Military Academy to crush those poor scum.

Because the Sun King, Mr. Colbert, and the Marquis of Lovas had strict requirements and audits on military systems, doctrines, and written records, people in later generations did find Prince Eugen’s name on some documents. Of course, at that time, he was not yet The prince, as well as the later Duke of Vendôme, Louis Joseph de Bourbon, and the commander-in-chief Count Soissons, who was Prince Eugen's father. According to the time on paper, Prince Eugen at that time He was only fourteen years old. Although he could be called an adult at this age, he was still some time away from being able to speak. Moreover, this was his first time away from Paris and Versailles.

Scholars agree that Prince Eugen should have existed as an observer in this battle. It was impossible for Count Soissons to let him command the army or participate in the battle. The records seem to prove this, but the officer What the family members wrote caused an uproar.

For in this record the officer, who was captain of the Grenadiers, expressly states that when Prince Eugen, then Mr. Eugen the Younger, and grandson of the Duke of Vendôme, discovered a group of about fifteen hundred When the Austrian mercenaries were resting in a valley less than a thousand feet away from King's Town where they were, it was Mr. Eugen who refused Count Soissons' order to retreat to King's Town and insisted on taking the initiative to march and attack the enemy - —His method was to collect all the coal tar in the glass factory, put it in a water bag, and let him, along with two or three hundred brave grenadiers, carry it on the cliffs on both sides of the valley, then drop it from the top, and then set it on fire. .

Coal tar is a viscous liquid that is very easy to burn, and it was early spring. There were far more dry branches and leaves in the valley than newly sprouted buds. The narrow bottom of the valley immediately burst into flames. The officer said this He described to his relatives: Our soldiers were waiting at both ends of the valley. Those who rushed out were killed, and those who stayed in the valley - he didn't know how to describe it. He only knew that when the fire dwindled and the smoke was blown away by the wind, when they walked in, his feet were still burned by the ground even through the thick cowhide soles; the people and vegetation who were burned to death were all They were fused together, and it was impossible to see what the black piles were. The air was filled with a strange, choking smell. The priest was following them, and he threw holy water into the air. As soon as the holy water touched the ground, it immediately Turned into a little steam...

He and other soldiers followed the order to open those "things". He didn't think there were any living people inside, and the whole canyon was black. One of his friends found a corpse. The pottery exploded, and the hot offal inside splashed onto his and his friends' faces - they almost went crazy.

After they finished these things, soldiers moved in those people who had managed to escape from the valley but still escaped death. Their bodies were also burned until they were twisted and blackened...

Such a terrible thing makes everyone involved just want to forget it as soon as possible, and Count Soissons also hopes that they can keep silent. The officer only occasionally spoke to the police after drinking when he had retired for thirty years and was about to see God. My relatives mentioned it.

War has always been the most cruel. As people say, death may be just a number, but such a death - for the people at that time, it was not aboveboard enough, not moral enough, or even romantic enough (yes, this is the French), This made Prince Eugen's admirers absolutely furious, because during his fifty-year military career, Prince Eugen had always been known as a "gentleman on the battlefield." He was not only willing to respect his friends, but also his enemies. He never resorted to unnecessary means of harm and killing. To say that when he was still a fourteen-year-old boy, he burned more than a thousand people to death in a narrow valley without hesitation was truly shocking.

The counterarguments they raised were not groundless. One: The officer's family member was also the recorder of this tragic incident. Fortunately and unfortunately, he was not an ordinary person. He was a famous writer. Before hearing about this incident, There have been several good works that made people cry. During the recording process, he certainly could not be as observant and rational as a pure recorder. He even wrote from the perspective of the officer. In this way, in While it greatly enhances the appeal of this record, it also greatly reduces its authenticity and credibility.

Two: There are no relevant records about this incident in Versailles, Paris or Lorraine. Someone went there to search for the canyon where 1,500 people were buried, but nothing was found. After the assessment of the rebellion in Lorraine, Louis The Fourteenth Emperor decided to expand the glass and steel industry, so with King's Town as the center, the French used gunpowder to flatten the surrounding rocky mountains for several miles, which had long since become a strong city.

three. Hundreds of years later, there are still people trying to find evidence that this actually happened, using metal detectors and other things that are completely incomprehensible to ordinary people - because in that record, no one took away the weapons from the deceased. Equipment or accessories, money bags, and the artillery that the officer mentioned, then even if the canyon was deliberately buried, these things must still exist.

They got nothing.

——————

Of course, nothing was gained, because Louis XIV decided to suppress the matter after reading the secret letter and the battle report of Count Soissons. A king or duke can pierce two hundred aliens in Camnico. Although he is a believer, little Eugen now absolutely cannot bear the weight of burning 1,500 people - he does not want such a reputation to follow a fourteen-year-old child, and he also vaguely feels that - little Ougen Gen's behavior is related to the fact that those soldiers are from Austria.

Several years ago, he made sure that little Eugen had not forgotten what happened before he was three years old. He knew that he was not the biological son of Count Soissons. His biological father was Leopold I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

And Princess Elizabeth.

The king ordered the Earl of Soissons to first move the wreckage, including the artillery, to another place, then bury the valley, expand towns and factories, and transplant fast-growing plants. It took only ten or twenty years, let alone fifty years. , people will no longer recognize the original appearance there - in addition to pity for little Eugen, he also has some appreciation for what he did. Count Soissons did not write it in the letter, but asked the wizard's raven to deliver a message on his behalf. He was worried that little Eugen's character was affected by the Habsburg blood in his body - but Louis thought so. Yes, it may not have been Leopold I who led little Eugen to evil, but him.

When he fought against the Ottoman Turks, he used a similar trap, but he used gunpowder. The trap was placed in the castle, and the results were much more impressive than Eugen's 1,500 men - that was 10,000. people. Young Eugen rejected the Count of Soissons' proposal and adopted this seemingly cruel method - but it could ensure that his own strength would not be compromised to the greatest extent. In fact, in that battle that could not be called a battle, France Only a dozen soldiers were injured.

But it is difficult to convince such stubborn old nobles and generals as the Count of Soissons, so Louis XIV has no more explanations. His will will always be followed anyway.

But this all happened later. When the king was reading this letter, Prince Conti was bringing a distinguished guest to see the king. Prince Conti suddenly became King Ludwig of Poland when his brother After King Si, he settled down for a long time, but Louis XIV was not angry, and he was even happy to see Bourbon's bloodline extending to the eastern region of Europe, as a distant relative and half-brother-in-law of the Sun King (his wife was also a Mancini), he became lively again. When he saw the king smiling, he bowed and asked briskly: "My lord, is there any good news?"

"No great good news," said Louis XIV: "The children have achieved a small victory in Lorraine."

"There are always some people who overestimate their abilities, like clowns," Prince Conti complimented like singing poetry: "But they don't know that they are useless except to make people laugh."

Louis XIV nodded gently, "You are right, they are just villains." He said, "But do you have something to tell me?"

"There is a guest," said Prince Conte, "who wishes to be here to greet you."

"He should not be an ordinary guest," because Prince Conti took him directly outside the king's room. Among the people waiting to see the king outside Versailles were many princes and uncles, and the time they had to wait ranged from one day to one month. , "But you still have to tell me, who is he?"

"A person who hopes to become an in-law with you." Prince Conti glanced around the room and paused when he saw Bontang, but the attendant told him with a calm expression that he would not leave - he Only obeying the king's order, Prince Conti could only cough softly twice. "Your Majesty," he said, "it is another king who wants to see you."

Before he uttered the second sentence, Louis XIV was still thinking about which other in-laws he would have - the eldest princess was already the Queen of Sweden, the Duke of Colonna was already the son-in-law of Cosimo III, and next was the crown prince. Louis' marriage to the Portuguese princess... When Prince Conti finished speaking, he immediately guessed it, but he couldn't help but still couldn't believe it.

"You mean..."

"Yes, that is the one, Your Majesty," said Prince Conti.

————Carlos II was once the great princess’s nightmare.

It still seems that Louis XIV was not mean. The wizard's potion could cure his epilepsy, but it could not make him handsome - not even Merlin could do it at the beginning, otherwise the lady he was pursuing would not be able to do it. Wouldn't hesitate to lock him in a stone.

His face embodies the poison of Habsburg's long-term inbreeding. Louis XIV will become more pious when he sees him - he must thank God that he has more than half of Habsburg's blood in his body. His wife is also a Habsburg woman. He and their children can have beautiful faces and dignified bodies. There is no other reason to say except the miracles created by God - only people like Carlos II can be studied by future generations. Genetics people find comfort.

Carlos II was born in 61 AD. He once comforted Philip IV, because Philip IV was already fifty-six years old at that time. He had four older brothers, all of whom died for various reasons. His arrival plunged the whole of Spain into a carnival. Unfortunately, this joy did not last long... Soon people discovered that the child was weak and dull by nature, no different from a demented fool.

When he could "adult", the Queen Mother and the Archbishop of Toledo, who still had a glimmer of hope, fell into despair. A king who could not have offspring could be said to be inherently derelict in his duties. Why was Queen Christina of Sweden abdicated? Just because someone pointed out that she is a woman who cannot sleep with a man! If she had not been queen, she might have been burned to death rather than simply exiled - the same goes for Carlos II, although as a man he could have struggled until he was fifty or sixty (before which time he could have had his sins punished) Only then did he admit that he was a useless trash, but even without Duke Don Juan's push, he had not gotten a woman pregnant by the time he was fourteen or twenty, and the princes and nobles would have felt Dissatisfied, they even looked outside for another heir to the throne.

A king serves his kingdom with more than just words.

By that time, not only will Carlos II not be able to become a king, he will even be like those princesses, used in vain as goods and weights in political transactions. Not to mention power, not even marriage, life and death, or reputation will be able to control his own. Control - Perhaps Carlos II, who was tortured by a chronic illness and was in chaos, let alone receiving an education, would not have such pain, but now... he is standing in front of Louis XIV, which means that he has taken the first step, And he also had supporters in Spain, otherwise he would not be able to appear before the King of France.

Carlos II stood in front of Louis XIV. His body could be said to be between a boy and a young man, but his mind was still like that of a child - but not an ordinary child, but one who had been honed to blood in conspiracy and strife. Dripping, because of his extremely sharp and sharp heart, he was like a rough beast. Louis thought to himself, if he has the talent to be a king, Leopold I has it, Karl XI has it, Undoubtedly, he also had Carlos II in front of him, but Carlos II was better than Carl XI. Although Carl XI's mother and regent were greedy, at least they would not regard the child as being free. Puppet played with and discarded.

But before Carlos II became healthy, his ministers, mother and illegitimate brother all did this. Louis XIV didn't know if he could understand what happened before. He hoped that Carlos II would not understand, because it was too Sad.

Carlos II was also looking at Louis XIV. Louis XIV was sitting on the throne, while he was standing at the foot of the steps. Their eyes were exactly at the same level - but they were two cruelly contrasting faces. Louis XIV We don't need to say much about Si's appearance now. Carlos II inherited the huge chin from Habsburg, but it was so serious that his entire face tilted to one side, looking like a man who had been raped. The crooked mud man, his eyelids are constantly trembling, and his eyes are as cloudy as a seventy-year-old man. His hair has almost fallen out a long time ago. Although he is wearing a wig now, he can still see the hair from his forehead and temples. There are clues, and when Louis said hello to him, he said it three times in a row, and the last time had to be raised to the point of being almost rude before Carlos II could hear it.

Although Louis XIV's expression remained unchanged, Carlos's heart continued to sink. Why would he take the risk and come to Versailles alone? Because the Archbishop of Toledo told him that although King Louis XIV of France was an arrogant man who did not fear God, as a king, he had rich personal feelings, even if these feelings did not affect the country and politics. But it can play a big role in his balance - when he married Princess Theresa of Spain, he continued to use letters to guide the princess how to adapt to the French court; he sought help for his illegitimate son Naples, but before that, he used the way to solve his troublesome wife for Cosimo III, and first brought the future wife of the Duke of Colonna to Paris; he selected King Pedro II of Portugal for the crown prince Louis the Younger. When his eldest daughter became the Crown Princess, he also specifically requested that the Crown Prince should have the right to exchange letters with his future wife; not to mention, when he sent the eldest princess Elizabeth to Sweden to get married, that kind of almost His arrogant attitude made the noble ladies and nobles of Sweden complain endlessly... He was an impeccable king, but when he was a good king, he was also trying to balance the balance of family affection and power.

The only choice for the Spaniards now seems to be the daughter of the Duke of Orleans, also known as the Grand Princess. But everyone knows that the father of this Grand Princess is the most trusted brother of Louis XIV. People say that the King Even the throne is willing to share with the Duke of Orleans, which is not groundless - the Archbishop of Toledo even told Carlos II clearly that the ministers of Versailles were willing to enter into a marriage contract with Spain, even though he was still a sickly man at that time. A poor guy who couldn't even get out of bed and could die at any time, but the document proving his sterility was placed in front of them by the King of France. He used this to convince them to reject Spain's marriage request. After all, he couldn't. Marriage between same-sex couples is not protected by God or the law and can be declared invalid at any time.

Before Carlos II left, he had already gotten a maid pregnant, proving his ability to be a husband and a father. However, these could convince the French ministers, but they may not be able to convince the French king. After the victory, Louis XIV's status in the hearts of the French and even some foreigners has surpassed that of Saint Louis. His words are now rarely refuted.

On the one hand, Spain is very willing to become an ally with such a prosperous France, but on the other hand, it is worried about the threat posed by France, a huge behemoth. The various forces in the courts of Toledo and Madrid are complicated, and what they seek also changes from It is inconsistent, but the two people Carlos II was willing to believe, the Archbishop of Toledo and Juan Patiño, their ambition was to temporarily remain close to France while secretly communicating with the Austrian Habsburgs. To this end, the Archbishop of Toledo took the initiative to appease Leopold I, while Patiño and Carlos II tried to gain the trust of Louis XIV.

It is not easy to gain the trust of such a king. The invitation of Carlos II is the best compliment. Otherwise, at the time of Camnico, the ministers of Leopold I and the ministers of Louis XIV There is no need to worry so much about how to arrange the meeting place and plan everything - but from the perspective of Carlos II, Louis XIV's attitude towards him was very ordinary, as if he was meeting a young nobleman instead of the King of Spain. Surprised and unhappy.

Carlos II secretly clenched his fists. In terms of appearance and figure, he was destined to lose points. The French King probably would not believe that Spanish Habsburg would truly become his ally, but he had to try to convince Louis X. Four - Spain and he could even make some concessions as a result... Of course, no concessions would be the best.

But in this case, it depends on whether he can influence the Sun King with his emotions.

He didn't know what was causing Louis XIV's headache now.

Frederick, the eldest son of the Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia, happened to arrive in Versailles yesterday.

The extra update will be from 11:30 to 12 o'clock. It will be added to this chapter. Readers, you can read it at night.

I’m going out tomorrow, so the first update will be in advance, at 12 noon.