I Am Louis XIV

Louis moved, "No," he regretted immediately after speaking: "No, I'd better think about it, brother, let me think about it..."

"Don't think about it," the Duke of Orleans interrupted him: "Your Majesty, there is no one more suitable than me." He smiled and raised his hand: "I swear to you, when I come back, I will accompany you in Versailles." Yours for a while, maybe five years, maybe ten years?"

"This war may take five or ten years." Louis feels tired when he thinks about it, but the wars of this era, like the situation when he conquered Verderland and the Netherlands, are abnormal, whether it is Spain , or the Holy Roman Empire, or the Dutch, are used to intermittent, long, non-professional wars-to put it simply, before Louis XIV, although the concept of a standing army already existed, but No one has ever been able to actually put it into practice - because the cost is too high.

And cheap soldiers, or soldiers recruited and recruited from farmers and craftsmen, have no morals, sense of honor, and competitive spirit. The mercenaries used and valued as sharp weapons are also expensive, so they cannot be hired for a long time. In addition, except for the Swiss mercenaries, the mercenaries in other places do not seem to be any better than thieves and scoundrels.

It is difficult for modern people to imagine that in the wars before Louis XIV, no matter whether they had seen the dawn of victory or the last fight for life and death, there would always be soldiers in the army because they needed to go home to plant seeds or Harvesting, or mercenaries randomly abandoning officers and generals because of reasons such as unable to negotiate commissions, staying in one place for too long, too many casualties and so on... This kind of looseness makes people irritated The situation continued until people with lofty ideals began to pay attention to the legitimacy of the army. The problem is that the price required to change the army is not only huge but also long-lasting.

It can be said that Louis caught the nations by surprise before. He boldly borrowed money from merchants, and then took down Flanders and the Netherlands in less than a third of the time of others, and then he could stay in two places Feedback from the new land—Never mind the Netherlands, the current Flanders is enough to support the king’s military expenditures... Only a few people know the specific figures for the time being, but when it is possible to face multinational coalition forces and fight in multiple places, they will grow stronger and stronger Colbert and the Marquis de Lois look as restless as they did at the Battle of Holland—no blisters around the mouth, no light on the top of the head, no wobbling eyes—you can know that if the French economic roulette Still turning steadily, the cost of maintaining this war probably won't be a problem.

And if Spain and its colonies can be swallowed up, this is an extremely profitable business worthy of France, no, all businessmen in the world are willing to dance on the gallows.

"That's just right," said the Duke of Orléans, "when I get tired of the war, I will come back to you."

Louis pursed his lips tightly. He didn't want to say unlucky words, but bullets and arrows on the battlefield will not be avoided because of your respect - the Duke of Orleans likes to take the lead and charge first, and he always They will dress themselves carefully, and the consequence of bright clothes is that they are easily regarded as targets or prey.

But he couldn't stop the duke, it wasn't pity, it was humiliation.

"Okay." That's all he said at last.

"I'm waiting for you at Versailles."

Of course, this sentence is only a symbol, a metaphor, because in the subsequent war, Louis XIV was not sure whether he would go on a personal expedition again when he was fighting on multiple fronts. The duke is too harsh, after all, the life and death of a king is much more important than a duke.

The Duke of Orleans originally wanted to have dinner with his brother, but at this time a special guest came suddenly. As soon as he heard his name, the Duke could only express regret and leave as soon as possible. He always knew exactly when he should Stay should go.

The person who ruined the moment of tenderness has a strange name, Teky Imre, with the surname first and the first name second, which is different from other Europeans, but it is the tradition of the Hungarians-before this name We have also mentioned that the Duke of Orléans jokingly mentioned at the time that the Grand Duke of Transylvania had a daughter, and that he might have delusions of marriage with Bourbon.

Jokes are jokes, unless France and Bourbon return to the period of the Hundred Years War, which was the most unfavorable period for France-at that time, the British conquered most of France, Louis XIV would consider marrying a Hungarian nobleman-specially Grand Duke of Transylvania is a title given to the opponent by the sultan of Ottoman Turkey. Leopold I, as the king of Hungary and Bohemia, firmly refused to recognize it. Do not deny.

The point is that the Grand Duke of Transylvania did have some means on the battlefield, and he had a keen sense of smell. During the big battle, his army was the first to leave the Grand Vizier's sight, and also avoided the subsequent rout , His envoy also came to visit Louis XIV as a courtesy later—don’t get me wrong, he didn’t want to get married, the Grand Duke knew very well that he didn’t have the qualifications, and what he wanted to do with the French was an arms deal.

Although Transylvania was on the side of Ottoman Turkey and France was on the side of the Holy Roman Empire in the Great War, it did not prevent them from becoming good trading partners in the future. Ottoman Turkey held the gold in the East-West trade Channel, although the piece of gold has faded a bit after the discovery of new routes and new continents, Hungary can still become rich with the afterglow of this huge empire.

Moreover, this Grand Duke is not the kind of person who will be dazzled by hatred. While continuing to fight against the Habsburgs, he is making false claims with the Ottoman Turks, and is also devoting himself to governing his own Transylvania region. . The Transylvania region is rich in mineral deposits, timber and agricultural resources, and is connected to the Holy Roman Empire, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Ottoman Turkey, and its commerce is also very developed. As long as the rulers are not too greedy and the wars are not so frequent, They can grow strong and powerful very quickly.

However, its misfortune is precisely because it is between these two countries, especially the ambitious Austria and Ottoman Turkey. Although Ottoman Turkey is dying, it is still a behemoth, and Leopold I has always kept Hungary Regarded as his own pocket - in addition to the conflict between the old and the new believers, as a Protestant, Turki's father was executed as a traitor after the riot against Leopold I.

Because the two envoys - Tamalite of Catalonia and Tequi of Transylvania, one in front of the other, did not even meet for more than one afternoon, Louis XIV naturally compared Speaking of them, there are quite a lot of similarities between the two. They are young people with noble backgrounds. Their fathers died because they opposed the tyranny of the Habsburgs. They inherited their father's territory. Title and will, leading his people to fight for freedom.

Their ages are even very similar, not more than thirty years old. Tekoy is even younger than Tamalit. He was born in 57 and is only twenty-five years old, but he looks even younger than Louis Old, his complexion is dark, there are obvious fine lines around the corners of the eyes and lips, and his brows are always furrowed - it can be seen that he tries to let them loosen, but maybe he has been since his father was hanged. He didn't show a smile, so he was very embarrassed.

His shoulders are extraordinarily broad, and his back is like a strong bull. Even if his hands are wearing gloves, it can be seen that they have rough joints and sandpaper-like skin.

Tamalit looks much more glamorous than him, but if Louis had a choice, he would prefer to switch positions between Tamalit and Tekey. What is it like to be a soldier.

Tequi was also carefully observing Louis XIV. He had seen Mohammed IV more than once, as well as his grand vizier, the unlucky one who was ruthlessly defeated by the king in the great battle. He was lucky to die on the battlefield, otherwise the sultan would have sent eunuchs with longbows to hang him with bowstrings.

The Grand Vizier was a slave in front of the Sultan, but he was a master in front of Tekoy. When he looked at Tekoy, he didn't even treat him as a person, but just looked at a tool to see if he was still in his hand. Has there been any disgusting barbs? It can be said that every meeting with Teki is like a dangerous journey, and no one knows when they will be dragged down and executed.

This time Tekoy insisted on coming to see the King of France, and the people around him also repeatedly stopped him, because France has always called itself "the eldest daughter of God" and "the defender of the church". Although everyone knows what is going on, but Tekoy is both a Protestant and a "dog" of Ottoman Turkey - if he is sent to the beheading platform or the stake, no one will say a word, and the church even praises the French king.

Moreover, although the King of France cannot be said to be a religious fanatic, he is indeed a Catholic, and because the Huguenots have set off several rebellions, his attitude of not paying attention to Protestantism is enough to make people Say "tolerance", who knows what will happen when a heretic walks in front of him!

But Tekey still insisted on his own idea. This time it was not about arms or food trading, but a more important matter. It was difficult for others to win the trust of Louis XIV without him.

His eyes stayed on Louis XIV, the radiant Sun King for only a moment, maybe because he was pampered, or because he didn't grow a beard, Louis XIV was much younger than he imagined, and those portraits could not have passed too much But it is said that his children, even his younger brother's children are also very beautiful, and the eldest princess can be quickly accepted and recognized by the Swedes. There is also the great princess, needless to say, King Carlos II of Spain went crazy for her, and the crown prince of Prussia is about to become half French.

But these people certainly did not see Louis XIV with their own eyes.

In this day and age, people think that beautiful people must be noble and dignified—this is not nonsense, because only people with noble births, rich money and a lot of leisure time can clean themselves and change their clothes frequently. Use perfumes and fats, keep your teeth white, your skin fair—something that cannot be achieved by someone who has to work or train a lot, like Tekoy.

As for the grand vizier and sultan he had seen, they were also decent-looking people, but they still couldn't compare with the Louis XIV in front of him.

People always say that beauty will bring power, and power will bring beauty, but Louis XIV completely combined beauty and power. He is the embodiment of power and beauty. His power and authority are the same. The sun is so golden that it is impossible to look directly at it. Everyone will involuntarily lower their heads in front of him.

Turkey did the same.

Louis XIV didn't know what Tekoy was thinking, but Tekoy had always maintained enough humility—he knew very well that the so-called Grand Duke and even the Prince of Transylvania had never been recognized by the monarch of Europa. Sometimes he only called him "Mr. So-and-so" instead of "Duke", "Grand Duke" or "His Royal Highness"-he was only a lower nobleman of the knight class in Versailles, if he was not Turquoise, but He is not qualified to see the king when the war is imminent.

But now that he is in front of the king, Louis XIV is as gentle and amiable as he is to any friend-everyone who is qualified to be close to the king says so, not a hypocritical disguise, it's just that when he is in Louis' position, he doesn't need to rely on bluff To solidify the impression others have of themselves.

"Please forgive me," Tekey said calmly after he was allowed to sit down, "Your Majesty, I'm not good at talking, so I can only tell you plainly..."

"Leopold I made a secret alliance with Mehmed IV."

The addition is complete!