I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 12 A King's Position

  Louis laughed when he heard the question.

   He looked at Bishop Mazarin: "Monsieur Bishop," he asked modestly: "Who do you say I am?"

   "Louis XIV," Mazarin replied, "His Majesty the King of France and Navarre," although he had no idea why Louis asked this question.

   So Louis turned to the Queen Mother Anne: "Then, Mother," he repeated the previous question: "Who am I?"

   If it were normal, Anne would have replied, You are my dear little Louis, but since the Bishop of Mazarin had set the right example, she went on to say: "You are the King of France and Navarre."

  Louis nodded, and asked all the people present who were qualified to stay in this room—not many, but they were all ministers who were credible and depended on them for this matter.

   All replied: "You are His Majesty the King."

  Louis leaned back gently on the chair and continued to ask: "Then Charles, Duke of Cornwall, who is his father, and who will he be in the future?"

  The room was suddenly quiet, and Bishop Mazarin frowned and thought for a while before replying tentatively, "Your Majesty the King of England?"

  Louis looked at the others, and the others gave the same answer one by one, only the Queen Mother Anne added with some dissatisfaction: "A Protestant."

Louis patted his mother's hand reassuringly: "I know that your devotion to God makes you unbearable to be a Protestant." He said: "But mother, we have to realize one thing clearly, that is, whether it is me, Or Charles, or any emperor or king, they may be Protestants, they may be our enemies, but one thing we are absolutely the same, that is... we are the only rulers of this world, the country ."

"And." He looked around, "this attribute is more important than belief, position, and personal grievances. No, it should be said that it is the foundation of everything. Without it, we have no qualifications to continue to exist. , let alone anything else."

He looked at everyone. Although he was only eleven years old, his stern eyes still made many people press the words that were on their lips... This is too... But seeing Bishop Mazarin, who is calm and confident, and although he wants to say something But the queen mother who still held back, they still wisely kept quiet.

"I know you will have a lot of opinions, yes, not only is Charles a Protestant, England is our enemy, but today, we must accept him and support him until he returns to England and is crowned king—perhaps you will Confused, of course, it would be a pleasure to be able to laugh and tease a once powerful enemy, but first of all, it must not be based on rebellion, any rebellion, especially for kings and royal families, is absolutely intolerable Yes, gentlemen, I mean." Louis emphasized his tone: "Even if the sultan of Ottoman Turkey was betrayed by his courtiers, I would not rejoice, or preach, or even help his enemy, even if it was a bad one. A true heretic...because I'm a king too."

The king's sharp eyes swept over everyone present: "All rebellious things will be condemned. Starting today, I don't want to hear any more frivolous comments and rumors about Charles I in the court. I don't want to see anything in the newspapers or books that encourages such behavior, and I don't want one of you to have anything to do with Oliver Cromwell, a traitor and gangster in England - at this point, I will Welcome my cousin Charlie and help him in any way I can, and I hope you will too."

This is the first time that the French court officials have faced such a king. Although he has not yet grown in size, his thinking... is obviously as organized as an adult, and his understanding and elaboration of the term king has reached a certain level. A level many people can't reach - until they entered this room, there were people mocking Charles I and trying to persuade the bishop and the queen mother to refuse to give aid to Charles, Duke of Cornwall.

But the king is right, Charles I may be mediocre, but he is a king anyway, and Cromwell may be wise, but he is a minister after all, they can rejoice at the death of their old enemy, but must not encourage this This behavior, because they also have kings, and they live by kings.

Queen Mother Anne's expression was complicated. She could understand Mazarin's worries and gratifications. Not every king could realize his meaning and responsibilities so quickly. She knew that she should be happy, but there was always an indescribable feeling. The pressure made her unable to let go—perhaps she suddenly realized what a dangerous and majestic road France, this huge carriage, was going to be driven by her son Louis.

Bishop Mazarin looked at his colleagues stunned one by one, but before he could say anything, one of them suddenly stood up, "Follow your orders! Your Majesty," he said firmly shouted, "Ah, Your Majesty, I am willing to obey any order you give, and it is so wise and correct! Rest assured, we will do as you say, and for your sake, we will be shattered! "

This sudden, let alone the Queen Mother, Bishop Mazarin, even Louis was taken aback, he subconsciously looked at the Bishop, the Bishop shook his head, this was not the person he arranged, and then Louis recognized this It was at the time of Saint-Germain-en-Laye that the supervisor, Mr. Nicolas Fouquet, who had raised a large sum of money, sent him a large sum of money. In order to reward him, the cash-strapped king also gave him a hunting trip with him. The honor, but after returning to Paris, the exhausted king could not think of this person for a while.

Fouquet came in with the financial director, Particherry Emery, who can be said to be an entourage, but he was bold enough to speak before the Queen Mother and the bishop, which was beyond everyone's expectations, but since he was right The king showed his loyalty, and the king would not reprimand him for this trivial matter. Sure enough, the king just waved his hand helplessly and let him sit down: "You are too rude." Louis rebuked gently, but everyone It could be seen that the king was not angry at all: "I should punish you," he looked at the bishop: "What should he be punished for?"

   "How about letting him be in charge of the Duke of Cornwall's stay in Paris?" Bishop Mazarin certainly understood what Louis meant: "If he can do as well as he promises."

   "That's it," said the king, "I don't need you to be smashed to pieces, Monsieur Fouquet. If you do well, you can still serve me for many years."

  Fouquet jumped up from his chair at once, saluting first to the king, then to the bishop, then the queen mother, and everyone in the room.

The financial director Emery’s face was blue and white, and Fouquet’s move was undoubtedly stepping on his face to climb up, but none of the bishops, the queen mother and the king present cared about him. Emery’s background was not high. He was able to stand out completely because he was a relative of the Bishop of Mazarin. In fact, he was just a Siena peasant not long ago, but after he came to power, he used his identity and the power of the bishop to make a lot of money for himself. There are few benefits, but after the royal family was forced to flee Paris and came to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, he showed his despicable nature and the disadvantages of short-sightedness. With the daily expenses of the bishop, the entire royal family was embarrassed. The reason why he was able to attend such a meeting was only because he could not find someone who could replace him for a while.

  Nicholas Fouquet took this opportunity well.

  ————

Charles, Duke of Cornwall, came to Paris and was surprised by the treatment he received, knowing that Anne, the Queen Mother of France, did not like him and his father very much, or any Protestant, and so did many in Paris, and When he came this time, he had nothing but his title and a few cronies. His country was occupied by traitors, his army was scattered, and his treasury was looted by a mob. There was nothing on him at all. something to draw.

But his cousin, the official residence, carriage and food and clothing prepared for him by Fouquet, a servant of King Louis of France, were treated like a king, which moved the Duke of Cornwall to the extreme. On the third day in Paris, he took care Not tired of the journey, insisted on going to see the king.

   King Louis, as his sister Henrietta said, was a gentle young man. They talked for a long time, and they were reluctant to part even at meal time, and they did not part until it was time to sleep.

  The entire audience ceremony was even more impeccable, except that a maid next to the Duke of Cornwall suddenly exclaimed and fainted when she saw the hideous wolf skin (a gift from Prince Condé).

   (end of this chapter)