I Am Louis XIV

"Mother!" Marquis Lafayette couldn't help shouting as soon as he jumped out of the carriage.

It has been nearly a month since the Indians came to Paris, entered the Palace of Versailles, and met with the king. The Parisians went from being indifferent and slightly contemptuous to being enthusiastic. It is quite ridiculous to say that the reason for their attitude This change is because His Majesty the King is very interested in these red-skinned savages, no, Indians, and it is not the kind of interest in clowns and novelties, but the kind that treats them justly like the French people. interest.

When the king granted them titles, promoted them to become officers, and granted them territories - even in the New World, even people in the Palace of Versailles couldn't help but become jealous of them - the emotion of jealousy has always been that of looking up to others. It took time for the other party to cause it, which also proved from another aspect that these two Indians might be the king's new favorites.

With this kind of thinking in mind, even the most xenophobic Parisians can't help but think that these people must have some benefits that they can't see in order to get the king's protection. They can't see it simply because they are too stupid. Anyway, His Majesty the King makes no mistakes.

This is also related to the fact that Louis XIV has always been very stingy and cautious in awarding titles and territories. All those who can take medals and scepters from His Majesty are now famous people with numerous meritorious deeds. From the beginning, they were just one person. From Colbert, the royal merchant, to Schaumberg, the mercenary leader who was a pure outsider and heretic, so even if the color of his new favorite's skin was not right, no one thought that the king was acting willfully.

But Louis XIV was indeed acting willfully.

Sometimes he thought it was quite cute when he looked at Rolf's hesitant eyes. The Indian could never guess what Louis XIV was thinking. He had been troubled to figure out what His Majesty the King's preferential treatment was. For what, gold, land, buffalo? But no matter what the reason is, he can, like the British, rely on advanced weapons, cruelty, and immoral actions to completely destroy the indigenous people of America.

Instead of... having such trouble.

Even easier than the British, who were defeated by the French.

But he didn't. The conditions he proposed, or rather the conditions he was willing to propose, were a great gift to the Indians. Don't say that Rolf was belittling himself. If he still had a slim hope, then when the king's ministers took them to see the Nantes shipyard (also an ordnance factory), they saw the rumbling sound, as big as a bison. After seeing the steam engine, the lathe as huge as a tent, and the muskets, artillery and other weapons they couldn't even imagine that they worked together to create, he fell completely silent, even the always optimistic people around him , the same goes for the crude "horns".

The Indians are no longer the Indians a hundred years ago. Their warriors who use muskets have long surpassed those who use bows and arrows. They know all too well how much damage this man-made steel beast can cause. If these big ships and these wheeled vehicles , these thunder-like weapons were used on the Indians, how many chances did they have to resist?

Colbert's son, the Marquis de Senele, even took them to see the cement factory. This kind of plaster that can solidify like rock overnight can provide civilians with cheap and safe residences one after another. , can also become connected fortresses and walls, and the cavalry and rockets (arson) that the Indians are proud of have little effect on this invulnerable creation.

Rolf almost gave up the idea of ​​resisting. At the same time, another painful emotion inevitably entangled him. What did Louis XIV want? What could they give him? He thought about this problem over and over again day and night, and his whole body became obviously depressed.

Louis XIV really wanted to tell him that he was doing this just to make himself happy.

It is now difficult to satisfy the desire of a king like Louis XIV, because he has everything. But he is not without regrets. After he came here and took office until now, he has done many things that will make him blame himself or regret for Bourbon and France. Today, he is no longer willing to accommodate himself like this. It's gone - no matter history or reality, he now has the ability and willingness to extend his bottom line from France to the New World, to humans of another skin color.

"This way," he whispered in his mind, "when my conscience tortures me late at night, I can still defend myself."

In this way, since Louis XIV has made up his mind to get the Indians out of the tragic road that seems destined to fall into the abyss, then all his ministers, generals and people will cater to him. As Indians, The leaders, "Horn" and Rolf also gradually walked from the banquet in the Palace of Versailles to the noble salon.

When people slaughter cattle and sheep, they only care about whether the meat of the cattle and sheep is delicious and juicy enough, but except for a very small number of people, it is difficult for them to do such cruel things to the same kind of people. Although the nobles who originally invited Horns and Rolfe may have been just to flatter the king, especially at banquets, the king would have liked to hear how the Indians were received in their salons or homes--can The opportunity to speak with the king is priceless! It's no exaggeration at all. Compared to tens of thousands of gold louis, extending an invitation to one or two upstarts is not a big deal.

And they soon discovered that these Indians were not as barbaric and ignorant as the British said.

Even if the French that "Horn" and Rolf learned from sailors and businessmen was not the most elegant (with obvious provincial accents), the content of their conversations was enough to make up for this shortcoming - of course they could not speak with Parisians. Talk to the Versailles people about the latest fashion, hobby or school, but they all fought with the British.

We don’t need to repeat the hatred between the French and the British. When Charles II was still the Duke of Cornwall and first came to the throne, he had several years of tender love with Louis XIV, but even at this time, The British Parliament was no longer hostile to France. When Charles II consolidated his power, Britain openly stood on the side of the Holy Roman Emperor and continued to provoke former enemies.

Now the British are at a disadvantage, but if you listen to bad words about the British, whether it is to say how shameless and ungrateful they are, or describe how they howled after being injured and defeated, and were even brutally scalped by the Indians and hung in the The French don't get tired of having flags on flagpoles, never.

Rolf and "Horn" had been fighting against the British for several years, and they could not help but be plundered - they were unwilling to make up lies at will, so they could only tell those things again and again, and those things were Dignitaries, gentlemen and ladies are actually willing to listen to it over and over again.

Among them, the most enthusiastic ones turned out to be a group of students from military academies and young officers.

The man who shouted for his mother and rushed in from the outside with excitement and pride on his face was one of these people, someone we are familiar with, the Marquis de Lafayette, son of Madame Lafayette.

The Marquis de Lafayette was able to become the king's sidekick at such an age, partly because of his loyalty and bravery, and partly because he had a beautiful and knowledgeable mother, Madame Lafayette. In Versailles and Paris, Not to mention that this lady has more suitors than any other, among noble ladies, this author with a flowery pen also has many supporters of the baroness and lady.

The king's appreciation for her came from the fact that as soon as Madame Lafayette heard that the queen had established a girls' school, she immediately invited herself to be a teacher, and also attracted the equally talented Madame de Sevigny - because in people's minds at that time, Teaching is still a humble profession, only slightly higher than that of a maid. It is rare for Mrs. Lafayette to be able to do so.

She has persisted in this job until now, and has not given up writing. She has also adopted and supported dozens of young ladies whose families were in financial difficulties, or who were unwilling to give up their studies to join marriages and therefore were at odds with their families to continue their studies and research.

Even the Queen Mother's philanthropy is shared by this lady, but she herself lives a very simple life. If she hadn't still had a room in Versailles and the Louvre, and had been granted permission to meet the king and queen at any time, This lady lives in a quiet and somewhat lonely two-story building near Bastille. Probably few people believe that she is an out-and-out marquise.

If there was anything else she cared about, it might just be her son.

Marquis Lafayette's hand was still hanging on the triangle scarf. Although the romantic young man had changed the white linen triangle scarf into dark blue silk, it was an indisputable fact that he was still a wounded man. When he saw him recklessly Rushing in from the outside, the lady couldn't help shouting: "Slow down, slow down!" She was afraid that he would accidentally fall again and aggravate his injuries.

The Marquis de Lafayette won the favor of the king because of his mother and surname, and was therefore able to accompany the king during his military campaigns. However, for this ambitious young man, such an honor was not enough to satisfy his needs. Enterprising, he hopes that when people mention Lafayette, they will not think of him as his mother's son, but the opposite.

It's just that there are too many stars around the Sun King, and they are too bright. Not to mention the Grand Condé, the Vicomte de Turenne, Vauban, Schaumberg and others, Lafayette is not only unable to compete with him in terms of military talent and family origins. Such as Jean Bart, Joseph of Vendôme, or Villars, they cannot even be compared with the younger Eugen, or Créqui, who was once ignored by the king because of Fouquet...

The Marquis of Lafayette was not depressed or irritable because of this. Unfortunately, not long ago, during His Majesty's war in Italy, he unfortunately lost his horse and fell and was trampled by his horse, breaking his ribs and right arm. The king immediately sent someone to take him He was sent back to Paris. Fortunately, thanks to the wizards and their medicine, he would not have any sequelae and was able to run around in just ten days, doing everything except riding and hunting.

He was young and promising, had a high status, was a powerful lord, and was favored by the king. There was no salon that would not welcome him, not even Madame de Montespan's salon. After he listened to Rolf and the "horns" narration in these salons, it seemed like a thunderbolt hit his head, "That's where my career should be!" he said.

"Mother!"

Seeing Marquis Lafayette calling her with such a smile, Mrs. Lafayette felt bad - when would a grown-up son call his mother so affectionately? There could only be two situations - —One has demands, and the other gets into trouble.

The Marquis de Lafayette was both.

He is going to the New World.

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"Oh! God!" Mrs. Lafayette couldn't help but fell into the arms of Duchess Montpensier and cried loudly: "Isn't this going to kill me!"

Louis gave an awkward smile.

It turns out that a rational and calm lady like Mrs. Lafayette can be like this... informal... and she can have no scruples when it comes to her dear son.

However, it is not surprising that the Marquis thinks this way. Originally, the king was worried that the officers and soldiers were unwilling to leave France and go to the New World thousands of miles away to work with red-skinned people. Moreover, this period of time would not be too short, at least. Ten years or so, or more, would be equivalent to spending the entire second half of your life in a strange, remote and backward place.

It was beyond his expectation that Rolf and "Horns" could be so popular, and their speeches could actually inspire the French people's enthusiasm for the New World... which surprised the king even more, but "the humanism of the French and romantic thoughts" was exactly what he said, and he was right. Nowadays, the French are very rich both spiritually and materially, and Louis has been deliberately forging the concept and consciousness of the nation and the country. It is when these people regard themselves and France as the most perfect existence-hearing the British To treat the Indians who had been kind to them so despicably and shamelessly, of course they wanted to uphold justice and uphold morality...

Ah, let's put it this way, smart people always take a long-term view. Why would anyone be willing to spend tens of thousands of livres to buy the opportunity to accompany His Majesty the King on his third personal expedition? Isn't it because after this, France should have no more external wars, and there should be no internal wars. Within a hundred years, in the prosperous age created by the Sun King, no one will be quickly promoted through military exploits... But those who have How can an ambitious young man be willing to accept this result?

They saw the distant New World, and also saw the king's emphasis on it. A brand-new land, for their family, was a strange and dangerous trap, but for them it was an opportunity!

Moreover, if the Indians can get the fief, they should be canonized. Now that the French territory can only be taken back by the royal family without being canonized, this is the only time to leave a legacy for the family and future generations.

And in addition to the huge benefits, they are also willing to continue to fight with their old enemies, or just make them sad.

May all good people have a happy life.