I Am Louis XIV

The death of Princess Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans was like a sharp knife, cutting off the short-lived tenderness between France and England-the friendship born from the Duke of Cornwall and Louis XIV is finally over, Charles After returning to London from Vienna, the younger brother of the Second King, the Duke of York, quickly came to Versailles as the king's envoy and presented a letter to the French King Louis XIV.

This letter is not as sentimental as the previous correspondence. On the contrary, it is full of disturbing and harsh words. On the surface, Charles II mentioned the Orange family again in the letter. He said that now The Prince of Utrecht, that is, William III, is the orthodox of the Netherlands-at this time, he never mentioned the matter of betraying and imprisoning his relatives and dividing up his territory-he brazenly stated in his letter as William III The patron asked Louis XIV to hand over the lands that should have belonged to William III, including Holland, Groningen, and Friesland.

Of course, this request could not be granted. In fact, the Duke of York read this letter aloud in the Jupiter Hall. The marshals even raised their scepters and waved them like sticks—in this era of Europa, there is no customary convention for courteous envoys, especially before the two countries are about to go to war, the envoys are likely to be tortured Beheading, or better yet, excommunication after being violently humiliated.

The face of the Duke of York is a little pale, although he thinks he is braver than his brother Charles II... But he remembers that the French like to pour tar on the body of the enemy's envoy, glue it with feathers, and push it to parade in the street-this kind The method does not seem to be fatal, but if the tar is not careful enough, the tar will be peeled off together with the skin, which will easily cause high fever and ulceration.

He wasn't sure whether his king and brother would let wizards and doctors heal him.

Louis XIV was not surprised. Charles II had almost no feelings for Henrietta—how can you ask for a brother and sister who have an age difference of nearly twenty years, have been together for no more than three years, and are even more intriguing? True feelings, but for the British, Henrietta's death represented the natural cessation of the alliance between Britain and France, because Henrietta was young enough, and the conspiracy theories in it were even more rampant.

Even if most Britons don't even know what Henrietta looks like.

Moreover, when the agreement was first signed, the reason why Charles II tried his best to fight for Utrecht, the heart of the Netherlands, for his nephew William III was not simple-William III believed in the wrong person and suffered a complete defeat in the French-Dutch war. Charles II did not seize the opportunity, but at that time the king must have been thinking about how to swallow the Netherlands... Please note, the entire Netherlands.

It is said that he is pushing for the legal recognition of his several illegitimate daughters. Given that William III of Utrecht was only established, Charles II has two daughters who are in the blooming period... The king managed to find a family for his illegitimate children. Great marriages are nothing new, but if—if William III, who is still unmarried, has to marry Charles II, then as a father-in-law, it is not uncommon to annex his son-in-law's territory...Specifically, see Holy Roman Emperor Mark The operation of Cimilian I was to try to make his eldest son Philip the husband of Queen Juana of Spain in order to seize the kingship of Spain.

This letter is not so much a voice for William III as it is a voice for Charles II.

The Duke of York waited in horror, but Louis XIV, as always forgiving, "demanded" that the Duke return immediately to his lodgings in Paris (not his rooms at Versailles), and that from this moment he and his entourage would accept Surveillance, do not leave the mansion at will until they leave, of course, it is best to leave immediately, because the king cannot guarantee what his people will do to them.

The Duke of York and his entourage dared not even light candles in their mansion, but before dawn, a large group of angry Parisians ran into the streets, staring at their carriages and throwing dead dogs, cats and mice, There are also rotten eggs, fish viscera and feces. A few nobles followed behind in a carriage with a smile on their faces, paying the fines for the civilians—they had been treated like this before, how embarrassed and angry they were at that time, and now what a joy.

Normally, the Duke of Orleans would definitely have a part in this kind of celebration, but now he is busy with Henrietta's affairs and the marriage of the princess, so he can't get away at all. I drank several large glasses of wine happily during this time.

"Let's drink less," Louie said. "We're only going to get busier."

The Duke of Orleans glanced at his elder brother reproachfully: "Don't mention such disappointing things at this time, Your Majesty." He said with emotion: "The Duke of York didn't even propose to see Henrietta for the last time."

"Being related by blood doesn't mean you have to be deeply emotional," the king said.

"The line between North Holland-Groningen and Friesland that you let Viscount Turenne create will definitely surprise Charles II." The Duke of Orleans murmured, "If Henrietta knows, she will be very happy."

"No," Louis shook his head, "Although she said she was French, in fact, part of her stubbornly belonged to England, but she couldn't choose, so she simply deceived herself." He took the cup in front of the Duke of Orleans, Hold it in your hand: "You said, if the princess really married to Spain and gave birth to a child, that child should still belong to Habsburg, not Bourbon."

"Of course."

"In this way, Spain will become a battlefield between Habsburgs and Bourbons, just like William III was once contested by the British and the Dutch for the right to teach. If so, who do you think will be the biggest beneficiary?"

"The English." The Duke of Orleans sighed. "Since the English lost their last piece of land in Europa, they have devoted themselves to throwing the entire continent into chaos."

"Otherwise, how would they fight against their enemies?" Louis looked out the window: "Whether it is Habsburg, Bourbon, or anyone else, anyone who wants to become the overlord of Europa, Britain will do whatever it takes to prevent it, because... once Europa is reunited, Britain will be nothing more than an island with few resources."

"Do you want to," asked the Duke of Orléans in a low voice, "do you want to be Caesar, the Emperor of Rome?"

"Caesar was stabbed twenty-three times." Louis said, "When people kneel at your feet, what they want to do is not just to ask or thank you." He smiled slightly: "I can't answer you for now, brother." He stood up and stretched.

"There are always so many things, and time goes by so fast...Philip, no one can predict what will happen tomorrow, but we can at least be prepared."

———————

"It's over, Your Highness." Eralio said, "You can come out now."

Leopold I's eldest daughter, Princess Antonia of Habsburg, came out of the prayer room.

Her appeal will be approved by the Pope before the birth of the Savior. After a series of complicated and cumbersome procedures, they will be able to hold a high mass for this cursed engagement that had to be dissolved during Easter Lent to redeem the parties. The crime of the crime—because this matter has passed through the hands of Leopold I and Louis XIV, and the Roman Church has no right to refuse.

But this is absolutely unacceptable to the royalists in Spain. They can't stand their country and people being contested by France and Austria like meat on a chopping board, whether it's Philip of Austria or Charles of France. None of them want to accept it. The seemingly healthy son of Carlos II became their savior, and Antonia, who went to Rome to expose the deception and was partly responsible for the deaths of the Queen Mother of Spain and King Carlos II, became their anger Goal with procrastination.

But Louis XIV handed Antonia to Eralio, not on a whim or at will.

Elliott's loyalty to Louis XIV is unquestionable. Although they didn't get along well at the beginning-because of past experiences, Elliot didn't trust people with high positions-but Louis XIV Fourth, Eralius can only say that he has given too much...to the point that if he still maintains his original attitude, even he himself will not be able to forgive himself.

It was only after he came to Rome that he realized that it wasn't that he couldn't understand Ballas. For a priest, the Vatican was indeed a heaven on earth. The French king had twenty million subjects, but the pope had ten times as many believers. The money is like a branch of a river, flowing into St. Peter's territory every day, and with it comes great power and prestige—this is still the church after the Reformation.

Even he couldn't help but wonder, if the church could return to its peak, how much authority would a bishop have as the pope's minister, the prince in red?

With the support of the king, it is not difficult for a priest, especially if he is originally an Italian, to gain a foothold in Rome. Eralio put on the purple archbishop robe with jaw-dropping speed, maybe in a few years , he can wear a red dress—he can vaguely feel that the king expects more from him—as long as Louis XIV, his supporters can continue to win, or even if it is not a complete victory, As long as the current position is maintained, if Eralo wants to go further, a few steps will not be delusional.

With such an idea, Eralio would certainly not be willing to be a chess piece like Barras, what he wanted to do was a chess player.

After several years of operation, he has already gained a lot of power in Rome. The wonderful thing is that the priests think he is on their side, and the Inquisition thinks so. He walks a tightrope between the two deftly, constantly Take people who he thinks can be used under his command - but for key people like Antonia, he will still take action himself.

Antonia hesitated. Eralio had a beautiful face, and when he was young, he looked a bit feminine, but he became more gentle and amiable when he was older. In Rome, who would not say that Bishop Eralio is a kind and tolerant man? But Antonia is not an ordinary woman. She has seen dead people and people who have been abused. She can distinguish the smell of fresh blood from fermented dead blood. She can see the special color and texture left after the blood coagulates or penetrates into the fabric... …

Erraus was dressed in bishop's casual clothes, that is to say, with a purple sash over a black robe, a round hat and shoes of the same color, and a fringe of a shawl... This color, again in At night lit by candles, it is logically difficult to tell whether he is stained with dangerous colors and smells—but Antonia can smell it, the kind she often sees in Carlos II and his executioners... no Well, it should be said that this feeling is more similar to those priests of the Inquisition. No matter what terrible things they did before, their expressions and postures are so relaxed...

"Don't be afraid," Elalio said softly, "It's just some moths flying to the flame."

He remembered that His Royal Highness had just encountered such a thing and fled to Rome to pray for the protection of Louis XIV. Although the priests of the Toledo Inquisition did not come from the same inner world as him, the training they received The same origin as teaching - from the early Roman Church, it is not surprising that they have similarities.

"You should know," Eras took a slight step back, "Knives are not terrible, it depends on who holds them, my master is Louis XIV - since you are willing to ask him, then you should know What kind of person is he." He gently rubbed his gloved hand: "He is not a saint, but he does have a lot of redundant feelings and bottom lines - you are not someone he will hurt, so, Please trust him, and trust me that he sent."

"I guarantee that everything you see is clean. Your Highness, open your eyes and go forward boldly."

Antonia felt a slight shame, she took a deep breath, and strode out as Elalio said.

As expected, the outside was as clean as Elliot had said, with nothing left.

—————

Almost at the same time, in the St. Gall's Convent on the outskirts of Rome, the door of a nun was lightly opened, and a figure flashed in.

"Little Sister Teresa," the person looked down at the nun lying on the small bed in her clothes, and said hoarsely, "Should I call you—Ms. Christina, or——Her Majesty the Queen?"