I Am Louis XIV

Some people wanted to take advantage of the fire to rob, but some thought it was a good opportunity to flatter the enemy. They met in the square of the chapel and immediately fought.

When the Duke of Orleans was considering whether to take the opportunity to escape, Gemma moved. This time it was her turn to hold the Duke down, and the Duke didn't know how she did it. He only felt that his body was empty, and his whole body turned over and fell down—a short distance, without injury, Gemma fell beside him, the Duke held down the dagger, looked up, and the gap between the stone bricks above was exposed Wisps of light, from dark to bright, it seems that the battle outside the door has come to an end, the victor is holding a torch to the altar, they may not be familiar with the chapel, but it is only a matter of time before they are found.

But Gemma pulled the Duke, and took the lead to climb forward. The tunnel was narrow before, but after about ten feet, it became spacious. Gemma took out a candle and matches from somewhere, and she put the candle After igniting it, the Duke suddenly discovered that the secret path under the altar should be connected to an underground passage. This kind of underground passage is very common in churches, usually connected to the mausoleum. A vast mausoleum lined with dried bones appeared.

Like many areas in southern Europe, Roussillon is hot and rainless, and because it is high on a cliff, there is no need to worry about stagnant water or torrents. The air here is extremely hot and turbid, and the corpses wrapped in linen or satin shone in the dark The phosphorescence of the lights - where the light of the candles could not reach, but it also pointed them in the direction - the Duke could feel that they were going down, down, and finally he heard the sound of water, and the air began to become humid , the exposed skin also became uneven due to the bursts of cold.

They took off their boots and stepped into the water. It is hard to imagine that there is an underground river here. The Duke is not sure whether it is artificial or natural. He can only say that the water here is very cold. The Catalan woman She kept walking forward, seemingly completely unafraid of whether the Duke would do anything against her out of anger or fear—if the Duke of Orleans didn't have so many snakes, lions, or falcons around him A woman, he might really be angry, anyway, from the god-given gender, birth to wealth, the duke is undoubtedly very different from this woman, and in the eyes of people at this time, the superior has a natural The power rewards or punishes those who are humbler than him.

After a few minutes of trudging through the water and darkness, they finally saw a ray of dark blue sky.

The Duke let out a long breath. He had never felt that fresh air was so precious. "Where are we now?" he asked.

Gemma raised her hand to wipe off the dirt and water from her face, only then did the Duke notice that her hand was shaking desperately, unable to even complete this small movement, it turned out that she would still feel scared, indeed, he The world cannot be expected to be full of villains, such as Madame Milady or Madame de Montespin, that even men fear.

Gemma stretched out her hand and pointed upwards. As soon as the Duke looked up, he saw Roussillon's gray-black red city wall in the night because it was colored with ochre.

"We're in the outer city."

The duke said that he knew what the outer city meant, and it was the same in Paris. Outside the city walls, there would be a large area of ​​huts and even mud huts, for the refugees from outside, who did jobs that the humblest Parisians would not do. The civilians in Paris are like mice, they are bedbugs that everyone hates, the number is astonishing, and the origins are extremely confusing and difficult to consult. Anyway, when he was rectifying Paris for his brother, the outer city was a big problem.

Gemma nodded.

"Won't they follow?"

Gemma smiled and shook her head, very sure, the Duke thought, the priest must have arranged something there, maybe that was a retreat he left for himself.

"Where are we going now?"

Gemma pointed in another direction. Although the Duke could see things clearly at night, in this strange place, he probably couldn't figure out what Gemma was talking about, but they set off in the bright night, the Duke Occasionally, when he looked back, he could see that the sky in Roussillon was turning red, a red he was familiar with, and it seemed that every riot would be accompanied by arson.

Perhaps because they were far away, they didn't hear any shouting or crying.

They walked through the grass and gravel until the sky was approaching. The Duke saw a path—this meant that there must be a village or a town not far away. He put his hand on the musket again and looked around vigilantly. Gemma He waved his hand, as if asking him not to worry about this, but at this time the Duke had already seen two large poplar trees, and hanging from the poplar trees was a scene that is hard to see in Paris today—three or four hanged people .

"It does seem better to hang a man on a gas lamp post than a tree," murmured the Duke, "at least it won't be so crowded. "He let down his vigilance a little, because these unfortunate people have long been bones, even scattered all over the ground. They have been hanging here for at least several months.

With such a scene, it is no wonder that there is no life outside the village, but when they walked into the village, the Duke found that the inside was more desolate than the outside. This is a village that is about to be abandoned. They walked all the way, everywhere It was a house that was burned or collapsed. Although the houses that the common people lived in would not be as strong as those of the nobles, it could be seen that there had been one or many disasters here.

A head or two stuck out, and under the tousled hair lay a face numb and wrinkled, and for a moment the Duke could not distinguish them from the corpses in the mausoleum.

Gemma is very familiar with this place, and she brought the Duke into a barely tidy house, just like the civilian houses that the Duke was about to forget, this house was as empty as a warehouse, with a chimney, a fireplace, and an almost recognizable The bed (but the shelf was still left) was mixed with straw and earth, and Gemma dug out the clay pot from the corner of the house," pointing to her lips, the Duke guessed that she was going to fetch water, and he was also thirsty .

When Gemma fetched the water back, the Duke sprinkled some water purification medicine into the clay pot, which was rationed in the army, and he thought it would be useless, but it seems... There are reasons why the Ronians don't hold out much hope.

Gemma stared at the Duke, watching the water in the clay pot change from slightly cloudy to clean, her eyes were shining slightly, and when the Duke felt that it was enough, she walked out with the clay pot in her arms, and the Duke stood outside the door , I saw that she was pouring water for the old people who didn't know when they ran over. Some of them could still find wooden bowls or spoons, and some of them just held them in their hands to drink.

Roussillon is known as the Red City, but it is not a safe environment after the wealth exchanged by the beautiful legend and the pigment ore. The water here has a seemingly metallic smell. Gemma called There are also colors. I am afraid that people here have not been able to drink clean water for a long time.

After all, clean water is also a kind of wealth. Haven't you read knight novels or long songs that mention "clean water" that the master offers priests or guests?

"Are you from this village?" asked the Duke, sitting on a stone that might have been used to tie his horses.

Originally, he thought that Gemma would take him to a chaotic area in the outer city. This could indeed delay the time to be traced, but more people also means more eyes and ears. Maybe when the Spanish soldiers shouted, It would be recalled that such a misfit suddenly appeared among them; but Gemma brought him here, this is a clearly abandoned village, these old people are still here not because of nostalgia for home or anything For some reason, it was because he couldn't walk anymore. He had seen such old people in Lorraine, German-en-Laye, and Versailles. Sometimes it was astonishing, and he didn't know how they survived.

Gemma ignored him.

"They're going to fail," said the Duke.

Gemma turned her head and looked at him. Although she couldn't speak, she could see that she had doubts.

"I have kept this secret," said the duke, "too many people know me." His brother said that a secret between two people is not a secret, and then he got a grand reception in Roussillon... He really couldn't Knowing what these people are thinking, who can control another's mind, no one, how can they be sure that no one will be bought by the Spaniards? Given that the governor wasn't very stupid.

He bid farewell to his daughter in advance, but got such a ridiculous ending.

Even the arrival of the Duke of Orleans can be sold by them, and the riots of the Catalans should be seen clearly in front of the governor, just to see if the Spanish governor can really control his soldiers and mercenaries , if it can, this riot will end before it even started.

Father Claris, who came to the village alone the next day, gave him the answer.

"We haven't failed yet," said the priest.

"But it's about to fail." The Duke said simply based on the several riots he had experienced: "You failed to take the fort, what about the city?"

"No." The priest said in embarrassment, "but we surrounded the outer city."

"Your numbers and equipment are no match for the regular army," said the duke. "When reinforcements arrive at Roussillon, you will be caught between two sides."

"No reinforcements will come," said the priest proudly. "What you have seen is not all."

That is to say, the riots were not only in Roussillon, but in the whole area of ​​Roussillon. Buy artillery and guns."

"Yes," said the priest, "listen, that is the roar of cannon."

—————

The Duke of Orleans didn't know whether he should thank the priest at least for remembering that he didn't bring anyone else. He told the Duke, please be patient, they haven't been able to eliminate the traitors in the team... Let Tamalit and him Everyone was surprised that there were many Catalans who opposed Louis XIV and supported Leopold I... and the Duke of Orleans could only say nothing about their naivety.

As for the conditions, although the Duke has always been pampered, we all know that a soldier must have enough perseverance to become a soldier. He also lived a difficult life on the battlefield. The priest brought some cheese, bread and wine. Support for a few days is no problem.

But he still avoided some of the Duke's questions, apparently still not prepared to let him meddle in the affairs of the Catalans.

In this strange and turbulent place, the priest was not worried that the Duke would run away. With Spaniards everywhere, even if they didn’t know the Duke’s real identity, they would definitely not let go of a foreigner with a very different appearance, let alone The Governor must have reported the arrival of the Duke of Orleans to Roussillon. Given the ambiguous attitude of the courts of Madrid and Toledo, the situation of the Duke of Orleans is not optimistic.

The Duke was not as noisy or dissatisfied as the priest had feared. He only walked around the village, and he appeared to be very happy and peaceful.

"...you say little Gemma. Poor little Gemma, her father and fiancé were both accused of being part of the riot, so they were hanged, and her brother was taken to hard labor - rowers on a ship. You know, the kind of oarsmen that were all shackled below deck, and the ship sank... Her mother was a playgirl to feed the rest of the kids, cheap..." The old man crooked Nodding her head: "Later she got sick and died, and then she took over her mother's job, and she didn't want to marry anyone anyway—at that place, a Castilian soldier cut her throat. "

"Why?" asked the Duke of Orleans, and continued to give the old man a piece of cheese. Could it be because he heard some secret? But very few people would say anything to the wandering girls in that kind of place, even if they did, it would be of little use, like the king’s Mrs. Milady and the little birds—they were not expensive “famous ladies”, It is to pretend to be a noble girl with a flirtatious temperament, so that it is possible to get in touch with valuable information and people.

The old man smiled: "Sir," he quickly stuffed the cheese into his toothless mouth: "Is there any reason why the Castilian soldiers want to do something in that kind of place? I lost money, a silver peso."

The Duke was speechless. He knew that not every king in this world would be as sympathetic to the humble civilians as his elder brother, let alone those civilians in the newly occupied territories who might have been enemies (maybe they are still enemies now), such things It would have happened in Paris or Lorraine a few decades ago, but it is still shocking to see and hear it with your own eyes.

"The priest must have helped her," said the prince, showing the old man the bread in his pocket. "Where are her siblings?"

"Father...ah, yes, it's a pity that he came a little late." The old man smiled mysteriously: "No one dares to buy a dying woman, and the children are sick again." In the case of insufficient food, children It is easy to fall ill, and once one falls ill, death may come to visit at any time—"But..." He reached out and took out the bread.

The Duke's intuition told him that the next sentence was the most critical. "I still have a bottle of wine."

"So Gemma killed them."