I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 142 The people of Lorraine find themselves busy

The behavior of the Duke of Lorraine is not despicable, but randomness has always been his advantage. He thinks so. Although he also thinks that this matter may not be so smooth, the king and the judges of the High Court pretended to discuss it. A few days later, the answer to him was quite satisfactory. The king bought the right to use Lorraine with one million livres, and the ownership of the Duke of Lorraine a hundred years later, but this million livres To be divided into three-year installments, as interest, the Duke of Lorraine can get 350,000 livres in one year, which can almost satisfy the appetite of the Duke of Lorraine.

There is also the king's palace, the right to use the original Richelieu residence. The king gave the Duke of Lorraine the right for ten years at a time. He can live here like a monarch and enjoy all the conveniences and fashions of Paris. When I came to see the king the next time, according to tradition, I wore a dark coat, a heavy jeweled belt, my hair was **** after being smeared with oil, and the perfume on my body was strong enough to kill.

By the time he came to the king for the third or fourth time, his hair had been stretched like seaweed and draped over his shoulders, and his coat was bright lake green silk, his shirt was snow white, with cuffs and lapels. They are all inlaid with exquisite lace, and his hat is decorated with long ostrich feathers, which can almost hang down to his back. Because of his daily bathing, his skin is no longer so rough, and even a little translucent and glowing after rubbing powder.

He also spent a lot of money to hire a chef who was said to be a doctor, and courted the king's hairdresser, Champagne, so that he could have the right to be ahead of those ladies, and to those who are said to not hurt the skin but can make people become The fairer purple jasmine powder and rose rouge are also very keen. The first time the king saw men using rouge was on the Duke of Lorraine. According to him, it was to cover up the scars caused by the disease. True and 90 percent false, but for some unknown reason, this look has become a courtly fashion, perhaps because men find that using rouge doesn't prevent them from showing off their prowess—yes, that's right, They think of it as a kind of cockiness that comes after drinking strong alcohol, or engaging in vigorous exercise, such as hunting or duel—appearing healthy and strong.

Fortunately, the level of this kind of dress is not very deep, at least not deeper than the ladies. When Louis looked down on the nobles dancing in his seat, he saw the original two distinct lines - before Louis officially came to power, France Men's clothing is similar to that of the Spaniards, that is, dark coats are mainly used, but now there are very bright colors looming, especially Prince Philip, who doesn't like anything that makes him feel heavy, the throne is so, the color The same is true, looking at his younger brother who is graceful and light in action in the Minuet team, the king is thinking of Varo Vesalius.

Louis vaguely remembered that artificial dyes appeared in the early nineteenth century. The main raw material, aniline, came from coal tar, but in this magical world, a wizard extracted something similar to aniline two hundred years in advance. His original intention was It was used to help the king identify soil and ore. Yes, this is what Louis needs now. You know, what kind of soil is suitable for growing in a place, no one knows, just like he has been trying his best to promote potatoes and sweet potatoes. , but the yield of potatoes and sweet potatoes in some places is not satisfactory, but if there is this reagent, then the next work will become simple, just look for those lands that are particularly friendly to some crops, take soil input reagents , note the color, and compare the soil in the new field to it.

And it also has an important role as much as a reagent, that is, industrial dyes. Although after hundreds of years, industrial dyes have changed from being loved to being rejected by people, and plant and animal dyes have been highly praised. When it comes to convenience, cheapness and stability, no one can compare to artificial dyes. This is the product of industry. It is the enemy of nature, but in a short time, it is the savior of mankind. It has developed so rapidly over the centuries.

And here, the existence of magic provides another possibility. It is ridiculous to say that idealistic magic can greatly promote the development of materialistic science, because the steps of research can be accelerated or even jumped along the results backward - the king thought of this , couldn't help but smile, no, it's too early to say these, the Academy of Sciences now has less than two hands and feet of scholars, only two exploratory meetings a week, if forcibly put the expectation of industrial development on them, no doubt It is helping to unplug the seedlings.

   But in the next few years, even if the dyes configured by the wizards are not enough to supply the entire market, at least in the court, those diverse and gorgeous colors will definitely become the protagonists.

"What a wonderful sight that would be," said the king to himself, and the queen beside him cast a questioning glance, and then she smiled, "Yes, Your Majesty, here are some lovely things Another beautiful young man."

Louis looked towards the center of the hall. There were indeed a few beautiful ladies smiling at him shyly and excitedly. Although it was a bit rude to his companions, he could see their faces. , the king knew that they were the maids who had recently appeared beside the queen. It is important to mention that the French - this tradition also made the king feel helpless. From England to France, starting from François I and Henry VIII, it seems that all The ladies of the royal family have to be the queen's maid for a period of time. I really don't know what those people think. They have to arrange the two enemies together.

The queen may not be so generous. She came here to find allies among the French, and recommending their daughters, nieces, and nieces to the king is a means, and she also does not want to see the king with a fixed person. His lover, she had the same idea as the ministers, they would rather the king be merciless than focus his attention on one woman. "Next is the Irish Dance," the Queen asked softly, leaning sideways. "Wouldn't your Majesty want to dance with one of your favorite birds?"

"I'd rather dance with you," said the king, but it was only a compliment, because according to tradition--and tradition--it was quite indecent for the king and queen to continue dancing together after leading the dance, and the rest of the time the king, Should be occupied by his royal ladies, or those ladies who are eager to try.

But when the king said this, the queen showed a trace of grief and unwillingness. She was mediocre and a foreigner. When she was welcomed to France, some of Louis's ministers laughed at her. They thought she couldn't understand, but since Teresa got Louis' letter, of course she would learn French well, but she didn't say anything, what can she do, look at the current king The queen mother, even if she has two sons, one is the king and the other is the duke of Orleans, her rights are still limited to the Louvre, and she cannot even touch such a big event as the king's marriage.

She is most fortunate in this marriage to have Louis as a husband. He does not love her, but respects her. No matter when and where, and in love, he is not so enthusiastic, or that the current king is single-minded. Only the kingship was pursued, which kept her from suffering too much.

But she has to say this today, because not long ago, the messenger of Charles II came to Paris and made a request to the king, that is, try to conclude the relationship between Princess Henrietta of England and the Duke of Orleans of France The marriage between brother Philip and the continuation of the "friendship" between Britain and France, even if Teresa sees this request, a large part of it comes from Charles II, and it is rare that the British Parliament did not raise an objection, perhaps because Britain is now locked in an undead war with the Netherlands and is clearly at a disadvantage - they are here to find allies.

This marriage is likely to succeed, because the king needs warships, naval officers and soldiers, and shipbuilding and ship repair workers, but it is conceivable that these British cannot easily hand over, seemingly born Two young people, their marriage is actually a transaction between two countries, the negotiation may last for a while, it should not be too long, but now some people are worried about the people around the king - Madame Lavalier Although she belongs to France in name, her husband is just an identity symbol and has no relationship with her. She is an Englishman and has been the maid of Princess Henrietta for several years. No one knows that until Henrietta After Princess Ta gets married, will the royal lady reconnect her relationship with the princess. The two Englishmen are beside the king and the younger brother, which is really unpleasant.

It's just that Teresa can do only this. She has a child with Louis, and the first thing she understands during this time is that although His Majesty is gentle and humble, the only thing is absolute. People are not allowed to overstep - that is, he will only act according to his own decisions, especially about himself, not the country and the people. Anyone who wants to lead or persuade will not escape the king's wrath.

Louis also saw the disappointed glances from those lovely little ladies. He didn't care. He didn't even want to let his younger brother be deceived or persecuted in the slightest in his personal emotions. Will be so weak that he succumbs to meaningless traditions—more correctly, the traditions he approves of, and the rest that he thinks can be exploited, that he thinks they don't need to care about, or simply dismissed .

  When the dance music stopped, the king was seen rising from his seat and leaving the hall.

  ———

  While the ministers in the court were still bowing to the king's back, the king's envoy and Varo Vesalius had already arrived in Lorraine.

   "There's coal here," Vesalius said.

The king's envoy, that is, D'Artagnan's cousin, M. Pierre, he did not have the silver tongue of eloquence like his cousin D'Artagnan, but he was more stable and reliable, loyal and generous, and taciturn. Being less spoken is a disadvantage elsewhere, but it's an advantage when walking with a wizard. "There's a lot of coal here," he said. "The quarrymen here in Lorraine sometimes dig coal, too." Only in this era, only people who were so poor that they could not afford firewood would use coal for heating and cooking, and people with a little wealth would still pile enough firewood by the fireplace, and this phenomenon continued even hundreds of years later. , although the wood at that time was only a visual illusion.

   "Your Majesty told me that he needs a lot of coal." Vesalillo said excitedly: "There is a lot of coal here, beyond your imagination."

   "Well, if that is His Majesty's expectation," said Pierre.

   "And iron." Vesalius showed Pierre the black solution, and Pierre boldly took the potion bottle, but in this regard, he and Count D'Artagnan still had some similarities.

   "What else did you find?"

   "The soil here is very similar to that of the New World." Vesalius said: "We have to calculate the climate, maybe it will be suitable for growing potatoes."

   It turns out that Lorraine is not suitable for growing potatoes, but cotton.

Cotton, a crop, has not been in the field of vision of Europa people for a long time, but compared with silk and woolen cloth that only a few people can enjoy, cotton cloth has undoubtedly replaced flax as the most popular fabric for people in the middle and lower classes. It is very difficult to produce in Europa or the United Kingdom, so so far, cotton fabrics are mainly imported from India. The British have been arguing about this for a long time, and they have continuously increased the import tax on imported fabrics (cotton, linen and silk) from India, but because of the high quality and low price , this dumping situation still shows an unstoppable momentum.

This is an accident of Louis, but cotton is also an easy-to-profit asset as long as it is handled properly, and cotton can be mixed with wool and silk to weave different fabrics, which is pure silk again. Or cotton, and woolen cloth is incomparable, and the king and the planned loom...,

In addition to these, coal and steel will affect the subsequent steam engine plan, and, with coal, glass and porcelain manufacturing can also be put on the agenda... These outputs require a lot of fuel, the original king thought, there is really no way In this case, he can only say sorry to the forest of Lorraine, but with coal, these trees can escape the evil hands of humans. After all, the forest at this time belongs to the lord, and then belongs to the king.

Also, regarding the use of coal, the king needs to put it on his and the people's agenda to see if it can replace firewood - and, there is also the magician Vesalius' potion, which is indeed extracted from coal jade, but this A kind of potion, if the king is not mistaken, ordinary coal can also be refined.

   Then add dye.

  The people of Lorraine are about to begin their busy and miserable lives, thought the king.

  ————

In the previous Treaty of Billinius, in addition to dividing southern Luxembourg to France, Spain also gave up the ownership of Alsace, although Alsace was almost completely occupied by France at this time, and Dunkirk Not much difference - this is certainly good news for France, because Lorraine has always favored the Holy Roman Empire, and although the Duke of Lorraine swore allegiance to the French king, there were many times when he sought refuge from the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Had it not been for the Peace of Pyrenees, Louis's army had ensured that King Philip of Spain would not dare to go back on his word, insisting on taking the ownership of Alsace, blocking direct communication between Lorraine and the Holy Roman Empire (Alsace is located in the Holy Roman Empire) Between the Holy Roman Empire and Lorraine) So now whether the Duke of Lorraine is willing to hand over Lorraine is still between the two.

Since the Duke of Lorraine is willing to use the installment of one million livres, the ownership of a palace, and the title of blood prince in exchange for Lorraine, then the army used to deter the Duke of Lorraine can also complete their task and withdraw. Versailles was over, and the king ordered Bontang to inform Madame Lavalier and go with him to Fontainebleau, showing in a hypocritical manner that the king knew nothing about Lorraine's change, while he went to the king. At the Queen Mother's, when he left Paris, although most of the officials and government affairs would follow him, the affairs of Paris still required the Queen Mother and...

The Queen Mother saw the king's hesitation: "What's the matter? Your Majesty?" She was glad that the king could follow her advice and take Madame Lavalier to Fontainebleau alone.

   "I was thinking of Philip," whispered the king.

   "What do you want him to do?"

   "I can't decide, mother," said the king, "whether he should stay in Versailles as an overseer, or let him go to Lorraine."

So the Queen Mother was also silent. For her, of course, she hoped that the Duke of Orleans could stay in Paris. Even if he couldn't stay in Paris and needed to do things for his brother, then of course the project of Versailles was safer, whether it was out of public interest or Selfishly, Versailles is the king's private domain. The residents are loyal to the royal family and live a prosperous and peaceful life. Even if a huge water diversion and drainage project is being carried out to build the new palace, the biggest danger is only the giant flower mosquito in the swamp, because They had the potential to cause dysentery, but even that danger had long been addressed by the king urging doctors (wizards, actually) to use herbal solutions.

  Then the only dangers left are dust and accidents, but these are all the workers have to face, and the officials who stay there are hunting and fishing to pass the time...

   But to Philip, if he were here, he would be screaming to go to Lorraine.

Of course, everyone knows that Lorraine will be the easiest place to obtain merits, but it is easy to obtain merits, which also means that the governors and officials there will always face danger, which is inevitable. First of all, those civilians are only afraid of It is difficult to understand the king's intentions. For them, the Duke of Lorraine has sold Lorraine to the king. Those newly discovered minerals and new crops will only make them bear heavier labor, even if the king's official said, It is useless for the king to give a salary, because the henchmen of the former Duke of Lorraine, as well as the local nobles, will definitely distort the king's will.

   There are also Habsburgs who have never given up Lorraine or even Alsace, they must be very willing to cause trouble for France.

Rebellions will certainly appear, and will continue to appear, not only to ensure that the king can immediately draw enough wealth from Lorraine, to ensure the huge expenditure of the royal family and the army, but also to ensure the interests of the people of Lorraine, and to stabilize France in Lorraine and Arsace. The rule of the Turks, and to thwart the conspiracy of the Habsburgs and other countries—it really takes a man of noble status and wisdom and strategy to go to Lorraine.

   More achieved.

   (end of this chapter)