I Am Louis XIV

After the grand and slightly discordant coronation ceremony of Luciano I ended under the attention of everyone, the envoys and retinues did not even have to leave their residences.

After leaving the palace, you can wait to attend the coronation ceremony of the Holy Roman Emperor.

It is said that the nine electors at that time - excluding the King of Bohemia (Archduke of Austria) Philip the Younger, who was bound to vote for him, a total of eight, stopped in Vienna after the funeral of Leopold I. The new Holy Roman Emperor was elected in just one month. Originally, this process took at least three times more time and was full of bribes and threats like all elections. But this time - the Spanish succession war was not the failure of Leopold I alone, so that the other electors couldn't help but feel waning. The three church electors were definitely leaning towards Philip the Younger, and they really didn't want to let him go. A Protestant became the emperor, and there were five secular electors. Except for the newly promoted elector Duke Lunenburg, the other four electors all had ambitions of varying sizes.

After careful consideration, King William I of Prussia gave Philip the Younger a vote at the expense of exempting part of Prussia's debt to Austria (which was a fee that had to be paid when the Duchy of Brandenburg was promoted to the Kingdom of Prussia)—— He must have considered that once he became emperor, the conflict between Prussia and France might be unstoppable, but how much benefit would it do him to anger Louis XIV? Although his son Frederick was of Orange blood, Prussia did not border the Netherlands. Is he crazy to cross the territories of two other secular electors and one ecclesiastical elector to fight the French?

As for the eldest Elector of Pfalz, although he also has a strong desire for the throne, fortunately he is not only older, but his qualifications and territory as elector have only been regained by him a few years ago. He wants to lose the prestige. It is not an easy task to consolidate it again. He agreed when the Austrian ministers offered to return some of the Palatinate lands that had been restored to the emperor's name.

Obviously, the most threatening ones are the Duke of Bavaria and the Duke of Saxony. The Duke of Saxony is eager to try. The problem is that even if the King of Prussia cannot make himself emperor, he will not let his neighbor take the lead. No one stipulates that Saxony can only go You can't expand your power to the east, right? What's more, the west is France and the Netherlands, which has been devoured by France. However, Prussia is still an immature new kingdom on the east. Let the King of Prussia make the choice from the position of the Principality of Saxony. , he will also choose the weaker side.

Then the only person who might compete with Philip the Younger for the throne was the Duke of Bavaria. After several negotiations, the Queen Mother of Austria finally reached a condition that both parties found acceptable - the daughter of the Duke of Bavaria, who had had marriage negotiations with Ferdinand, the son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, would be there. When she came of age, she became the Archduke of Austria, the queen of the Holy Roman Emperor.

The young Philip was crowned in St. Peter's Basilica by Innocent XII, who followed Alexander VIII. Innocent XII had the misfortune to become pope at a time when the power of the church was at its weakest - even though In Italy, what people talk about most is the New Crusaders, the young king and his heroic generals and soldiers, instead of God, priests and the Mass. He is also an Italian. For a moment, I really don’t know how to love Lucian. It's better for Nuo Yi to hate him.

Luciano I resolutely refused to accept the Pope's coronation and did not hold the ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, which annoyed the church, but everyone knew that if he had accepted it before, some would have said that he was like a villain who had never seen the world. He was so complacent that he refused. Some people said that he was too arrogant and dared to despise the apostles sent by God to walk on earth-it was all wrong anyway.

In fact, these are just nonsense spawned by the panic caused by Louis XIV and Luciano I. In the history books of the church, there are many kings who knelt down to kiss the Pope’s shoes and led his horses to the ground for him. There were not a few kings who rushed into Rome, burned churches, and executed priests - such as Frederick III, the last Holy Roman Emperor before Philip the Younger to be crowned in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He had a conflict with the Pope and killed six thousand Roman priests at one time.

Louis XIV's disobedience only caused the Roman Church to lose a powerful weapon and a full purse. Luciano unified Italy and formed a new Crusade. The scum in the Roman Church could not help but worry day and night that they would be uprooted. Starting... When money, status and life are not guaranteed, it is not surprising that they say any vicious words.

Remembering that not long ago, someone suggested that he should threaten the new king of Italy with Luciano's identity - that an illegitimate son could not become a king, Innocent XII sighed. At the end of the ceremony, he looked at the standing Bishop Elario, who seemed to be isolated on the side of many red princes, thought to himself that this bishop has been in the Vatican for nearly twenty years. Although he is not liked by his colleagues in the College of Cardinals, he is still popular among the middle and lower-level clergy. , his prestige will make many people jump up in fear - maybe soon, or even after him, this man's red clothes will be changed to white clothes.

The Pope laughed. When that day comes, he will not be surprised even if the Vatican, no, the entire Roman Church is screened and dealt with like a comb. These clowns should leave their panic and madness until then. Anyway, he will definitely not be able to see it anymore, and his family has already surrendered to Luciano I, so there is no need for him to worry.

The smile caught a lot of attention, but no one could properly parse it until much later.

Little Philip - now he should be called Philip IV, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, who happened to have the same title as his grandfather - their experiences were also strangely similar, as they both took over the crumbling family from their father. Kingdom (Empire), and was destined to watch its slow, inexorable decline.

The emperor, who was in a trance and uneasy, even tripped over his crown robe when he walked out of the hall, and almost dropped his crown - if the cardinal with quick hands and feet hadn't caught him, he smiled gratefully at him, and then he asked himself Mother: "Who is that?" He said he was so good-looking and so young (for many cardinals) that he would like to invite him to Vienna if possible.

"Cardinal Elario." The Queen Mother said, and the emperor suddenly fell silent. He had never seen this cardinal, but he had heard his name. Every time, his father scolded him together with Louis XIV. He was Louis XIV. Four nails driven into the Roman church.

Elario didn't take this matter to heart at all. Even if the ground cracked and a devil jumped out from below and pulled all the Bourbons into hell, little Philip would not be able to recreate Charles V (holy The glory of the Habsburg emperor of the Roman Empire, the monarch of the Netherlands, the king of Germany, and the first king of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty), pitifully, the half of Europe that the Habsburgs worked hard to obtain by any means is now only left Austria, a small half of Hungary and a few colonies.

When a ferocious beast becomes weak, its former followers will not help it, but will rush forward eagerly, tear it into pieces, and eat it.

He came to the Quirinale Palace. Madame Miledy would be sent back to Caiola Island for burial. Luciano I saw her off secretly. Only his entourage and the French mission were left in this palace. , although the French also have an embassy in Rome, but in terms of comfort and safety, it cannot be compared with the Quirinale Palace. After all, Rome has suffered from repeated military disasters, and the Quirinale Palace also has walls and fortresses. .

In addition to little Eugen, who was forcibly sent by Louis XIV, and the Duke of Orleans, who had always acted recklessly, there was another important figure in the French mission-the little Duke of Enghien. He didn't even show up in Rome because the place and time were too delicate.

Condé the Great, also known as King Ludwig I of Poland, fell off his horse during a hunt a few days ago and was trampled by a horse's hoof to break his femur. Originally, such an injury could not be cured with the help of doctors and wizards. But he was born in 21 and is an old man. He has been idle in the military for decades. After becoming the king of Poland, he not only has to fight with the Russians and Tatars, but also handles government affairs, appeases the people, and is wary of those great nobles who will never be peaceful. , the heavy work slowly drained away his efforts like burning firewood. Once he fell, it was not so easy to get up again.

Ludwig I was not the kind of person who was so afraid of death that he was unwilling to face it. As soon as he realized that he might die at any time, he immediately recalled his son Henry who was fighting with the Russians. At the same time, he wrote to Louis XIV, asking him to He sent the young Duke of Enghien to Warsaw. When this letter was opened in the hands of Louis XIV, the mission had already arrived in Rome. Louis XIV considered whether to set up another mission to escort the young Duke of Enghien to Warsaw. But Ludwig I said in his letter that as he became weaker and weaker, the great nobles who had once obeyed his orders began to make moves again. Now Henry did not even dare to leave Ludwig I's room. It’s such a big fanfare that it’s hard to say whether someone will take advantage of it to cause chaos.

So little Enghien, who was still studying at the military academy, was sent to the mission in Rome, because this mission also had the mission of visiting the eldest princess, the Queen of Sweden, and it was not surprising that it passed through Poland - they The Duke of Orleans is here. Is it incomprehensible that the Duke wants to see his cousin?

Eralius came to see them, and it turned out to be related to Ludwig I. "Ludwig I intends to join the New Crusade." He said bluntly.

"Ah," the Duke said calmly: "It seems that France's goods can no longer satisfy their appetite." Since the Great Condé was elected as the King of Poland, in order to control the unruly nobles, and to ease France and Due to the food pressure from new territories such as Flanders and the Netherlands, as well as the American colonies, most of Poland's wheat was exported to France. Correspondingly, France exported a large number of luxury goods, such as furs, jewelry, glass, Porcelain, etc., this is not considered intentional. Polish nobles have always liked luxury. When they came to welcome the great Conde to Poland, their envoys were a team made of "gold and silver". Poland Everyone knows the exaggerated decorations of the Hussars - feathers and flags.

After these Poles came to France, this bad habit was not appeased, but was intensified - is Poland rich? Of course, it is the granary of Europe, but while the cruel serfdom system filled the pockets of the Polish nobles, it also greatly restricted the development of the country and society. When everyone except the nobles is struggling to survive, how can you How can we make them interested in pursuing beauty and art with empty stomachs?

The aesthetics of the Polish aristocracy were learned from the Tatars and Ottomans... one can imagine.

And Paris, yes, let’s not talk about Versailles, just Paris. Those men, women, children, old people...nobles, officials, priests...everyone looks so proud and elegant, even civilians are better than them. Comes more refined and more beautiful.

They couldn't describe the feeling, but it made them very uncomfortable. In order to make up for the shortcomings in their hearts, they began to imitate the Parisians in dressing themselves up, decorating their horses and rooms.

These people walk up and down the streets all day and night, with their eyes fixed on everything, and would hardly want to leave if it weren't for their heavy responsibilities. Even so, when they finally left, the horses and carriages were almost full of the goods they bought in Paris. In order to get the last favorite thing, they even took off the silver spurs on their boots.

They returned to Poland and brought the fashions from France to Warsaw. The silver plates and gold dishes were replaced by snow-white and fine porcelain, sparkling glassware, and the plaster and stone walls were decorated with gold-framed scenery or scenes. It is a portrait. The floor should be covered with a fine silk carpet instead of the original crude felt carpet. The sea otter skin from the colony is light, warm, and shiny. If the nobles above the earl do not have such a beautiful big cloak. , even embarrassed to go hunting or fighting, naturally; their wives will also need more delicate lace, more gorgeous silk, softer wool, larger gems, longer-lasting perfume and more gorgeous rouge ; Their children also need brighter crystal glass lamps, snow-white paper, and gold-tipped quills... Even if they don't like learning like today's children, they always need things.

There was no one else but Ludwig I who could build a bridge between France and Poland. French merchants even allowed Polish nobles to pay in installments or deferred payments. For example, in the spring, if someone wanted to welcome Lent They need a hundred new silk clothes for the festival, but they can't come up with the money. It doesn't matter. The merchant allows them to use autumn wheat to pay for it. Of course, there will be a little interest, but no one cares.

This has even spawned some professionals who specialize in serving the great nobles of Poland. The great nobles have nothing to do with anything except taking money from them.

It's a pity that there are still smart people. When Ludwig I encountered an accident, they were the first people he thought of. When they saw Ludwig I strong and brave, they would keep to themselves, but if Ludwig I fell , they might have other ideas.

"The only thing to be thankful for is that Leopold I is dead." said the Duke of Orleans.

If Leopold I were still alive, he would definitely be ecstatic and use all means to destabilize Poland. What's more, he would incite the big nobles to exile, depose or execute Ludwig I, and then Seek to claim the Polish throne for yourself, or give it as a valuable gift to an elector.

Don't say it's impossible. If Louis XIV hadn't made a decisive decision before, the current King of Poland would have been the Elector of Saxony.