I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 100 Dunkirk's City Entry Ceremony (1)

Dunkirk is a port city, as everyone knows, there are wide canals and canals linking it with the sea, its roads are paved with small stones, and there are canals on both sides of the road, because seawater can be introduced to wash, here It is actually cleaner than other cities in France, but no matter how clean it is, the smell in the city at this time is always quite unsatisfactory.

As we said before, Dunkirk is like a helpless virgin who is being taken away by robbers, and its ownership is always changing, so there is no pure French here, no pure Flemish people, there are no pure Spanish or English, people here don't care who they are, in short, whoever occupies this place is their master, especially those who have nothing, among them even There are also some mercenaries who have taken off their shoulder straps and discarded their weapons - they are crowded on both sides of the road, waiting excitedly, because whether it is a king, or a bishop or a marshal, when they first step here, there must be a A splendid city entry ceremony, where they would throw coins in exchange for cheers and submission.

This was the first time the young king had entered the city, and Louis naturally hoped for the perfection, but he was equally stingy with the money that was wasted in order to show generosity, but the bishop insisted that the ceremony was the same as the one they had in Paris before. The banquet held, like the dance, is a way to show national strength, so it is indispensable, mainly because Viscount Turenne, who is the general, also agreed, so they discussed the ratio of gold, silver, and copper coins in the coins for a long time— In contrast, Mr. Bishop was not worried about the pensions and subsequent medical expenses of the soldiers who were worried by the king. You must know that until the death of Louis XIII, there were still veterans of the Battle of Three Henrys (Note 1). The bishop asks for a salary that is in arrears.

But everything in the world always comes and goes. Before the war, Mr. Bishop deliberately handed over his intelligence network to the king. Of course, the king could not be stubborn on these issues. They determined the ratio of gold, silver and bronze. After 1:10:1000, Louis reversed course and asked Mr. Bishop, who accompanied him into Dunkirk, besides Mr. Bishop, the Viscount Turenne and his confessor, Abbot La Rivière, these indispensable In addition to the characters, and the musketeers, could some soldiers who had acted bravely in this battle follow their ranks?

This is not very traditional. The bishop hesitated for a while, but thought that there were not many people in the palace this time. After removing Viscount Turenne and some priests headed by himself, the remaining people were not very high. Since So - he glanced at Viscount Turenne. Viscount Turenne started out as an ordinary soldier in his uncle's army. Of course, he had some understanding of what the soldiers thought, and he immediately agreed.

Afterwards, they were asked whether the king entered Dunkirk on horseback or in a carriage; received the key from the mayor in the square or in the city hall; at the banquet later, Marshal Don Juan of the Spaniards. Whether he was eligible to sit next to the king, and whether the Prince of Condé should appear or not, was entangled in the evening, and the king didn't care much when it came to the second question. He wanted to ride a horse, but the bishop and Ti Mr. Rayner agreed that he should ride in a carriage - which is safer than a horse from a safety standpoint.

At this time, Louis was thinking about those soldiers. He thought of the red uniform of the New Model Army, which was really beautiful, and then he thought of the mottled and chaotic clothes of the French soldiers. At this time, the French army did not provide uniform uniforms. From uniforms to some equipment, the soldiers need to prepare by themselves. Some guys who are good at planning are fine. Some people can't remember things until they are imminent, or people who are shy for various reasons can only get cheap What, and some were cheated by nasty merchants, so it's hard to blame them too, the king asked Bontang to call Colbert, and then asked Colbert if he could do it for two Fourteen soldiers in the same outfit?

Men's clothing at this time, commoners used to wear shirts, coats, trousers, socks and shoes, and nobles were roughly the same, the difference was the texture and decoration of the clothes, as well as some minor modifications, such as fat sleeves, cuffs and necklines lace and embroidered garters, etc., but these were not what Louis wanted to see in the soldiers, he wanted soldiers rather than actors or musicians, and he asked Colbert what he wanted, of course, as Every time, although it was difficult, the businessman-turned-minister agreed without hesitation.

He is now managing his personal finances for Cardinal Mazarin, and while some people laugh at him for being banished to the bishop by the king, Colbert is well aware that when he stands by the bishop, he is only closer to the king than before. After all, at that time, there was a nobleman in robes, Nicholas Fouquet, who was a supervisor. This Mr. Fouquet can be said to be jealous and hated by Colbert, because the king's repeated actions are undoubtedly compared. They, although Fouquet took the lead by virtue of his identity, Colbert was always a huge threat.

Colbert knew that Fouquet had slandered several times in front of the king, saying that he had taken refuge with the bishop; he also said in front of the bishop that he was the king's spy, and if it weren't for the relationship between the king and the bishop, the relationship between the king and the bishop was not as good as outsiders thought. So stiff, maybe he really wants to become a victim of the rivalry between the two powers.

But Colbert also knew that the king's favor for him was almost entirely based on his understanding of the king's will and his dedication. The work delivered by the king, the only thing waiting for him is the guillotine or the gallows.

   His king was kind, but he was never merciful to those who disappointed him.

So every time he worked for the king, Colbert threw himself into it with a terrifying enthusiasm, and this time was no exception. He found the one that met the king's requirements from a familiar accompanying merchant that night. Thick, structured satin in color and silver, white linen and gold silk ribbon, beautiful calfskin heeled boots.

After that, he asked all the tailors he could recruit to make them day and night. One side was the clanging silver house, and the other was the prison and whip. Anyone with a brain would know how to choose. Fortunately, the king asked the soldiers to wear clothes. Texture rather than decoration, so they reduced the production of a lot of lace and decorative tapes. After the finished product came out, Captain Sebastian Vauban became the first person to try it on. He held his head high and appeared triumphantly. When in front of everyone, it is like a gorgeous pheasant.

It can be said that the king has reduced the color as much as possible, but people at this time will regard simplicity as a shame. If the king really uses gray, grass green or brown as the main color of his military uniform in a few hundred years, I am afraid that later There was a lot of resistance to recruiting—so what was presented was a dark inky blue satin jacket, puffy trousers, and knee-high black boots over a silver tunic, embroidered on the front Wearing a gold-trimmed cross, and then a bright red shoulder-strap from shoulder to waist, with silver buttons and gold pins, and a wide-brimmed hat with ostrich feathers, one can't help but be full of desire—at least for those selected soldiers.

   This costume was given to them by the king.

  When the twenty-four people were all dressed up, carrying muskets and longswords standing behind Viscount Turenne, even the bishop couldn't help nodding lightly.

  ——

   In this town of only 3,000 people, as Mr. Bishop said, any stranger will attract the attention of others, but what if... not a stranger?

Few people will pay attention to a woman sheltering under the monastery, especially she is bloated and old, or rather, people pay more attention to her plump body and swollen face, as for others, it seems that she is always hidden in a turban. The color of her hair and eyes, who can remember, she didn't even have a lover, the priests hired her because she had donated a sum of money to the monastery before, and because she could save a lot of trouble, they were very Absurd, but the diabolical incident at Ludan fifteen years ago - where Father Grandi was named by a convent as the devil's spokesman, because before that his romance had brought him many enemies, so After several repetitions, the priest was burned to death after suffering countless tortures - which made the French priests involuntarily dignified.

It was just such an old woman who hardly had any contact with anyone other than the priest's orders. In many places, there would be such an old woman who lived in isolation. After seeing the king's soldiers walking through the streets of the town with high spirits. , she went back to her little room, closed the door, lit the candle head the priests had given her, and, in a stretched gesture that did not match her apparent age, raised her legs, lifted her skirt, and from the inside He drew out a silver-plated dagger and used it to shine at himself, first pulling out the cotton stuffed in his cheeks, then wiping the powder off his face with a liner dipped in spirits - powder of charcoal mixed with powder of oatmeal. It was something that would make her face black, yellow and rough. She smiled at herself in the mirror, inserted the dagger back into its original place, and started to unbutton her coat, which was about to burst. Below, there were clumps of bread, she took out and took a bite, put them in a basket, and slowly removed the petticoat, perhaps it is difficult for anyone to imagine that there is such a wonderful thing under a loose petticoat It's a pity that no one can see her figure. She took out a new silk underwear from the trunk, a dark red cotton outer skirt, and a lace hat. In short, it was something that a girl with a little wealth could afford.

   It was already dark and there were fewer people on the street. She carried a basket and walked towards the guards camp.

Note 1: War of the Three Henrys (1587~1589), the last religious war in France in the late 16th century, the three parties involved were: the moderate and deviant King Henry III, the extreme Catholics, and the third Duke of Guise. , Henry I DeLorean, and Huguenot leader, king of Navarre and presumed heir to the French throne, Henri de Bourbon of Bourbon (later Henry IV, founder of the French Bourbon dynasty)

   (end of this chapter)