I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 143 Something about Fontainebleau

   The last chapter has added a thousand words to achieve it.

  ———

Although nominally, this is a solo trip between the king and the royal wife Lavalier, but in fact, it is impossible for them and only a few guards. This alone refers to the queen and other (if any) royal ladies. As far as the Queen Mother Anne stayed in Paris, most of the court and the court, from Philip the Duke of Orleans to the humblest maid of flowers and trees, followed the king into Fontainebleau. Fortunately, Fontainebleau began in the twelfth century. It is the king's palace, which has developed into a fairly mature village and town, so that these dignitaries and servants have nowhere to stay.

   Like Prince Kongdai and others, there are even industries nearby.

Speaking of Prince Condé, the reason why the king specially asked Philip to invite him to Fontainebleau was to try to quell his anger - compared to Lorraine, the king felt that a title that was going to disappear soon was nothing to value, But it was very different for the sword-wielding nobles headed by Prince Kongdai. The king suspected that they were worried that once the case was opened, the king would be like a cabbage vendor in the market, selling the titles by the dozen , after all, this king may be the most generous king in the history of France - if the previous king wanted to fight, the only way was to tax the people, or to seek the support of the nobles, so as to make some political Concession, and this king, when he blatantly went to war on both sides (Spain and the Roman Church), was neither willing to submit to his subjects nor to oppress his people, he wanted to push Sisyphus' stone ball by himself ( Note 1). In this regard, the nobles admired and sighed, and more regretted or scorned, because they believed that in the end, the king was either crushed to death by this heavy debt because of exhaustion, or had to take back the favor given to the people. , with almost devastating consequences, just like Charles I once was - useless to those fickle and despicable commoners, who have no morals, no loyalty, and no sense of responsibility.

Louis has never said a word about this. It is useless to discuss the so-called popular sentiment with them. Sword-wielding nobles and even robed nobles are regarded as upstarts, let alone ordinary people. It is only when education is not yet widespread. It is true that he only relies on these nobles. There is a saying in the East that "cang Lin knows the etiquette, and has enough food and clothing to know honor and disgrace." This sentence is not bad at all. When the people are still struggling with hunger, their animal nature is inevitable. It is more than human nature, and when they can be satisfied and believe that they will continue to be satisfied, they will slowly begin to develop the most basic sense of morality, and they must develop loyalty to the king, to the country, these It is far from enough - at least, to the level of the people of Versailles today, when they are well-fed and even earn more than their expenses, they will learn, think, and accept the ideas instilled in them by teachers.

   So the words of Prince Kongdai and others are not wrong, but Louis absolutely cannot accept a group of chaotic people and a country that will never be stable.

Compared with other places, Alsace and Lorraine have become the two best test places. First, they were still in the position of enemies of France decades ago, and the people there, from the heart. Said that, in Louis's mind, there was no comparison with the Versailles or even the French elsewhere; secondly, the chaos there was necessary, and the brutal repression that followed, and then, whatever strange demands arose, there As long as the population is not squeezed to the point of being unable to survive, it will definitely accept it, which is much better than the New Deal in other parts of France; in the end, as Varro Vesalius found, both places are There are abundant coal and iron resources, as well as mature animal husbandry industry, handicraft industry, glass and porcelain, dye industry that can be developed in the future... The king does not need to invest too much in it, as long as the output of Lorraine is guaranteed to be used by Lorraine.

Thinking of Varo Vesalius, the sorcerer was finally summoned by the king and became an imperial physician again, but his direction was obviously wrong, so now this imperial physician is just a name, he is more in his private institute.

So it's probably a good thing that he didn't go with him this time, because the king also summoned the Duke of Mortmar - since this gentleman will surely come to court with his stepdaughter, so that the king can fulfill his promise to bring this The daughters of an unknown lady - who is said to have given birth to a healthy boy, the Duke of Mortmar's heir - seven years ago.

The king roughly estimated that neither the duke nor the lady wasted any time. He met Varro and his wife when he was about to come of age. At that time, Varro's eldest daughter was only five years old, and the youngest daughter was still there. Toddler, the other was still in his mother's womb, and not long after they left, Varro Vesalius and his wife met the Duke of Mortmar, who had acquired the lady by despicable means. , immediately sent messengers to Paris to bribe the king - with money and loyalty, and for Louis at that time, no, even now, the Duke of Mortmar was indeed more important than Varo Vesalius.

Although the process of the Duke of Mortmar getting Madame Vesalius was vicious and shameless, his love for the lady was also real, or, to those who did not know the inside story, in fact, his actions Much of it was driven by Madame Vesalius' succubus blood - the king didn't know what to say about that, was it wrong to say Lady Vesalius? She is one of the marriage tools specially cultivated by the Mancini family. She lacks independence and is very obedient. She obeys the family, obeys Varo Vesalius, and of course obeys the Duke of Mortmar... This There is nothing left to do; to blame the Duke of Mortmar? For today's people, he is simply unforgivable, but the problem is that when he does these things, his mind is not necessarily clear; we can't blame Varo Vesalius, he is desperate only to save his own Family - If you go back to the roots, it seems that only the Mancini family is to blame.

   But the Mancini family will not care about this little problem.

The king laughed softly, and his brother Philip looked at him curiously. If it were another minister, he would definitely keep silent, not to speculate about the king's behavior, let alone ask questions, but Philip's courage came from. Because of his brother's tolerance, he asked without hesitation, "Just thinking of a bunch of stupid people," said the king. Then he nodded behind him, "Everyone, I want to have a few words with my brother Wang alone."

  The large group of people who followed behind them immediately either bowed their knees or bowed, sending the king and his younger brother to the Grand Gallery of François I with their eyes.

We said before that the Palace of Fontainebleau existed as early as the twelfth century, but then, like the Louvre, it was a strong fortress, and the man who built it was Louis VI, but then, Big Nose Francois I, Henry IV, and Louis XIII all lived here, and the palace has been remodeled and added again and again, until now.

This is a huge building, with a gray-black roof, vermilion chimneys, and soft milky yellow stone brick walls. It is solemn and elegant. On one side of the palace is an extremely quiet dark blue lake. There is a lake in the lake. The octagonal pavilion, which is constantly spewing sweet and clear spring water, the word Fontainebleau is derived from "Schoenquan". When Louis VI decided to build a castle here, he also had the idea of ​​​​using the water source here - but for Louis VI Fourteenth, the best thing is that when he rebuilds Fontainebleau and adds sanitation facilities, he does not need to consider water supply.

The Grand Gallery of François I, as the name suggests, was built by François I. From the waist down, this gallery is a finely carved walnut wainscoting, with a gilt border and a marble top. The niches surrounded by portraits and pillars are filled with colorful and rich oil paintings - these oil paintings are from Italian and French painters. At that time, François I was very respectful of Renaissance Italy, so he chose from Italy invited two famous painters to build this large gallery for him.

It is precisely because this gallery was built by François I, that there are many curvaceous salamanders as far as people's eyes can see, most of them are shown as being born in the fire - this involves the ancient legend of Europa, According to legend, this bright-skinned salamander was born from the first flame of firewood that did not rot for seven years. Because it can conquer the fire, it is regarded as a symbol of lasting loyalty. Lançois I used salamanders as his symbol, so there are salamanders everywhere.

   "What are you going to choose as your symbol?" Philip noticed, too, and he asked in a brisk tone, "I haven't figured it out yet," Louis said frankly: "Perhaps... a cat?"

Philip thought for a while, showing a disdainful expression, the king laughed, and the atmosphere between them became more relaxed, "Then what about you, Philip," Louis asked: "What kind of animal do you want? as a symbol?"

   "I want to choose a lion," said Philip.

Lions and cats are both cats, but their power and impression in people's minds are very different. To be honest, if Louis had not been cultivating Philip's courage, he would never have dared to say that in front of the king. Yes, people have always regarded lions as kings among animals, and many kings also have lions on their coat of arms, but Louis believes that Philip expects the courage and strength of the lion, not the ambition.

   "All right," Philip heard his brother say, "then I will give you permission to use lions on your coat of arms and flags."

   This sentence made Brother Wang shudder for a while. It wasn't that he believed in his brother, but him—"I didn't have such expectations!" He said eagerly, "It's just an idea!"

"I know," the king put his hand on his brother's shoulder comfortingly, and said with relief that Louis, who was a little shorter than himself despite having milk and plenty of meat to strengthen it, "I understand you. I mean," he patiently stroked his brother's tense back, "but I feel from the bottom of my heart that the lion is extremely suitable for you."

   "The lion should belong to you, Your Majesty," said Philip. "Please excuse my rambling."

"I have already made a decision." Louis said, for a moment, he even wanted to make a joke, insisting that his symbol was a cat, but seeing Philip's appearance, he might immediately choose a rabbit as his symbol, so he still can't , "I choose the sun."

"sun?"

   "Yes, brother, the sun."

   "But the sun..."

"The sun is unquestionably the strongest," said Louis; "when it is hot, people fear him, when it is warm, people long for him, when it is gone, people miss him - Philip, it Omnipresence and omnipotence is exactly what I wish I could achieve."

   "It won't be an extravagant hope," Philip said. "You are now. I fear you, but I also long for you. When I leave you, I will miss you."

"I hope my people can do the same, but there is a long way to go." Louis took his brother's arm and walked forward. The gallery is so beautiful and grand, but compared to this gallery, François I was in the humanities and the battlefield. Achievements are the most worthy of praise.

   "I think you already know."

   "Yes, Your Majesty."

   "I need to go to Lorraine alone."

   "I, Your Majesty, please let me go."

   "But mother would prefer you to stay in Paris."

   "She worries about my safety as well as my ambitions."

   "I'm equally worried about your comfort, but I don't think you're ambitious."

   "I have ambitions, Your Majesty, I have them, but not for those things that never belonged to me, my brother, when I was still wearing a skirt, I was expecting to serve you, and you had promised me."

   "Yes, I gave it to you."

   "Then honor it."

   "Maybe one day I will regret today's decision."

   "If you don't make this decision, you will feel regretful, when you see that your younger brother can only spend the last of his life in the palace and women."

   "Hey, you're threatening me."

   "Let's think so." Philip said: "Then do you want to accept this threat?"

   "You know that I'm never under threat."

   "I think you can make an exception."

   "You will not be greeted with flowers, but with swords."

   "I love flowers, but swords also make my blood boil."

   "You are embarrassing me."

"You are lying, Your Majesty," said the king's younger brother happily, "you will not be embarrassed. Although Lorraine is in danger, at least I will not face a strong army immediately, where I can learn how to become a Qualified general, I think you should have chosen a good teacher for me."

The light in front suddenly changed, and Louis raised his head, only to find that the Grand Gallery had come to an end, and they were greeted by the suite of the Duchess of Eptain, the royal wife of François I, through which was the bronze hall—because in the Named after the bronze sculptures on both sides of the fireplace, the daily dance is held here, and through the hall, is the first hall, the second hall and the study of Henry IV, where the two brothers could not help but stop for a long time, because Louis XIII was in the Born here - because according to tradition, in order to ensure that the royal lineage is not confused, the queen must give birth in public, so Henry IV gave up the room, and their father can be said to have issued the first letter from Henry IV's desk. cry.

   He took a deep breath: "I still remember how you were born, Philip."

Philip was obviously a little unconvinced, but Louis laughed. He knew he was Louis XIV when he was still a baby and was worried about his fate - the Sun King was famous, but his kingship was not all smooth sailing. Yes, France in the middle of the seventeenth century can be completely described as internal and external troubles. He still remembered that when he was finally allowed to visit his brother Philip, it was not far from the death of Louis XIV. He was sad and worried, but these complex thoughts were seeing Philip lying in the cradle. Time to fly away.

How cute was Philip at that time, although the Queen Mother always called him the most beautiful little girl with ulterior motives, but it was not all lies. Compared with Louis, Philip was more slender and delicate, and looked more gentle— On the surface, since Felipe Mancini, his younger brother Philip's swordsmanship has become more fierce and fierce, and his shirt is full of strong muscles. If anyone underestimates this noble prince, he will surely suffer. Cruel Pain - It is said that a poor man who was too frivolous, or perhaps heard some wrong information, said some stupid things, so that after being drunk, he was unfortunately trampled by his own mount. The most important thing in men .

  ,

His father originally wanted to appeal to the king, but a well-meaning person told him about Felipe, Mancini's fate - this can only be said to be a secret that is not a secret, anyway, after the Marquis thought about it for a night, Changed his heir to the second son, and the eldest son who got into trouble was sent to other places for recuperation, but he should never appear in front of the king and his younger brother again.

   Note 1: Sisyphus is a figure in Greek mythology, similar to the more tragic King Oedipus, the founder and king of Corinth. He even kidnapped the **** of death once, so that there is no death in the world. In the end, Sisyphus offended the gods. In order to punish Sisyphus, the gods asked him to push a boulder to the top of the mountain, and because the boulder was too heavy, he often rolled down the mountain before he reached the top of the mountain, and all his previous efforts were lost, so he Do it over and over again, never ending—the gods thought there was no more severe punishment than doing this futile and hopeless labor. Sisyphus' life was slowly consumed in such an ineffective and hopeless labor.

   (end of this chapter)