I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 149 Three years later (3)

It's just that no one will remind the king, such as Prince Condé and others, who have made almost unforgivable mistakes before, and some other old ministers during the Louis XIII period felt that a young king made such a mistake, Not only is it understandable, but it's delightful, no, it's not that they're gloating, it's that Louie has shown an adult-like self-control and willpower since he was a toddler, even in places. He is quite independent, he knows how to think, and he does not have the defects that children usually have (people at that time thought children were adults with disabilities), which made Louis XIII, who had waited 23 years for an heir, very happy, but also Let his courtiers be slightly disappointed - when His Majesty the King can do almost everything, it is difficult for the courtiers to stand out no matter how good they are.

Therefore, the king's occasional whimsy was leniently indulged in this ambiguous emotion, except for Colbert, who was so numb that he could hardly put on a frown. By the way, his wife gave him another one the year before last. Daughter, that is to say, he has to find a third duke husband for his daughter, the king's suggestive smile makes him terrified, and he has even deliberately avoided being alone with the king recently, lest the king say to him: " My dear Mr. Colbert, I have chosen a suitable and illustrious marriage for your little girl."

   Will he still dodge it? This is absolutely impossible! As the son of a woolen merchant, he fought so hard until now, isn't it just to change his family and put on the robes of a noble? It's just that he felt that the direction that he could move forward seemed to have no east, west, north...only south.

   Colbert didn't know a proverb at this time: do your best and die. But if possible, he would have carved it on a board and hung it on his chest so that the king could see it all the time...

  Fortunately, the king also understood the principle of never fishing when the pond is dry. As soon as Colbert entered the council hall and saw that it was crowded, he felt relieved.

It turned out that today was the day when the Duke of Luxembourg, who went to Spain as an envoy, returned to Paris and asked to meet the king. In order not to let the duke of Luxembourg, who was not good at speaking, repeat it twice, the king thought that it should be related to the future Spanish policy. The courtiers and generals were all summoned to the council chamber.

The size of the conference hall is quite large. Even if there are more than 20 people sitting here, it is not crowded. The problem is that some people are always distracted by the conspicuous reliefs on the walls, or feel embarrassed, because the conference hall was originally Belonging to the royal lady of Louis XIII, although the royal lady is more similar to a necessary decoration, she is still hated by the Queen Mother Anne, who was expelled from Paris after the death of Louis XIII , the room was left vacant - it stands to reason that if the king needed a council room, he should choose some other more solemn place, or completely renovate the suite.

Well, having said that, yes, the king had no money, and even if he had, he wouldn't want to use it - the Louvre, although it had to be renovated after two riots, was mostly on the facade, and The residences and main activities of the queen mother, the king, the younger brother and others, such as this room... The king just ordered that the original frivolous vermilion thick silk drapery be replaced by a dignified royal blue velvet drapery, and replaced the picture frame. The portrait (that is, the portrait of the royal lady as a model), and moving some of his favorite furniture here is considered finished.

I don't know if Bontang is trying to be narrow. Although Prince Kongdai's seat is very close to the king, behind him is a statue of the goddess of spring. People's dazzling buttocks are facing the back of Prince Kongdai's head, so that people who see this scene either turn their faces and smile or turn their eyes away in embarrassment, but this is really just a little joke, the king and Kongdai The prince didn't notice, but the Duke of Luxembourg felt a little uncomfortable. He lowered his head and coughed twice.

   "I wish you good health," said the king.

  The Duke of Luxembourg stood up, bowed to the king, and sat upright at the king's signal.

   "Okay," said Louis kindly. "Tell us now what you saw in Toledo."

  ———

   in 1561. King Philip II of Spain transferred the capital of Spain from Toledo to Madrid. Toledo's status has since fallen, but as a strategic fortress and a religious shrine, of course, it cannot be completely abandoned. Therefore, Although Philip IV died in Madrid and was buried in the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo in the small town of Escorial near Madrid, the Queen Mother insisted on holding a Mass at the Cathedral of Granada in Toledo , the enthronement ceremony of the new king Carlos II was also held here, and the nobles of Spain and the envoys of various countries gathered here, but how many people with ulterior motives were beyond the ability of the poor widow and her son. Got it.

As we said before, the Duke of Luxembourg was originally Prince Condé's most loyal friend and righteous brother. They were raised by the same mother and had a deep relationship before. When Condé was in Spain, he was also in Spain. When Dai returned to France, he certainly did not hesitate at all, but the king chose him as an envoy because the duke made a lot of friends in Spain when he was in Spain with Prince Condé. , In addition, because Prince Condé tried his best to obtain the title of Duke of Luxembourg for him, which aroused some people's dissatisfaction. When there was no battle for him for the time being, the king simply sent him abroad as an envoy.

In this task, the Duke of Luxembourg maintained a cautious and sober attitude under the reminder of Prince Condé. He did not forget that the current Queen of France is the daughter of Philip IV, that is to say, the current King Carlos of Spain. I's sister, and Spain does not practice the familiar "Salic Succession Law", which means that daughters have the same right to inherit as her children - although it is said that Queen Teresa signed a contract before marrying to France. A renunciation of inheritance has been issued, but…

When the Duke of Luxembourg arrived in Toledo, it was raining and raining. Toledo was not supposed to be rainy in this season. Thinking of the enthronement ceremony three days later, people could not help but feel an ominous feeling. What is the omen... The Duke of Luxembourg went to meet some of his friends. As Spaniards, they were worried about the future of Spain. What Carlos II took over from Philip IV was not a strong and prosperous country, but precisely Spain, on the contrary, was inexorably declining, losing first the Netherlands, then Portugal, then Roussillon, Foix, Artois and Lorraine, no longer exclusive to the Americas, and in Indonesia it was contained by the Netherlands, Threatened by France in Europa.

   And now its king is only four years old.

The first wife of Philip IV was not Maria Anne of Austria, but Elizabeth of Bourbon, the daughter of Henry IV, the eldest daughter of Louis XIII, and the aunt of Louis XIV. There were two sons and six daughters between them, but unfortunately, except for Princess Teresa, who was married to Louis XIV, all the other children died. When Elizabeth died, he married Anna of Austria, and they had four more children. Among them, the eldest daughter, Margaret, had proposed marriage with Louis, but in the end she married the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Leigh. Opold I, and the other two children died early one after another, leaving only the youngest son, the current Carlos II.

When he saw Carlos II, his appearance even caused the Duke of Luxembourg to be amazed and sad. It was an ignorant, ugly beast cub with a deformed face and low intelligence. It was revealed from his small, twisted eyes that he was the same age as Louis, the Dauphin of France, but when Louis could start riding a pony, he couldn't even walk on his own, and even sat crooked. The look - the sight of the Spanish king sucking milk from his wet nurse every few minutes while the duke of Luxembourg was being interviewed was jaw-dropping and all the answers were handled by the dauphin, Carlos II or Just drowsy, or just incoherently furious, but everyone in the room tried his best to pretend he wasn't there.

  The Duke of Luxembourg had to leave in a hurry, and then that night, he received a letter from Don Juan Jose, the Duke of Spain, the illegitimate son of Philip IV, who wanted to spend a while with him.

This Monsieur Don Juan, a stranger to the French, even fought under his command the Duke of Luxembourg with the Viscount Turenne in the dunes outside Dunkirk, a battle that not only ruined Spain's recovery of Europa The last chance for hegemony also made Prince Condé and Duke Don Juan prisoners of the king. In Dunkirk, Don Juan received preferential treatment in line with his status, and then after the negotiation ended, he was taken by his father and the king. After redeeming it, this defeat did not have a big impact on him, or in other words, not so great that he continued to control a part of the army that was enough to pose a threat to the new king.

His intentions are clear. Although the illegitimate son is destined not to become a king, he can become a de facto ruler. It is just a false name. He doesn't care. He needs the support of the French king now. part of Spain's interests.

   This kind of thing is not something that the Duke of Luxembourg can decide, he can only be silent, but Duke Don Juan doesn't think that this is something that can be decided by an envoy.

"But this kind of thing is not of great benefit to France." After listening to the words of the Duke of Luxembourg, Prince Condé took the lead to say, regardless of whether the king would support an illegitimate child and a traitor, the conditions that Don Juan promised were before he took control of Spain. It's almost impossible, besides... "How do you feel about Carlos II's health?" Louis asked, turning to the Duke of Luxembourg.

"Not ideal." The Duke of Luxembourg said cautiously. In fact, it was obvious weakness. His Majesty was almost two-thirds the height of Louis, Prince of France. Who was pressing on one of his shoulders an incomparably heavy object - when he was enthroned, he could hardly stand on his own strength, knelt on the cushion, and sat on the throne, and it is said that he was Put on the crown (which was wrapped in a thick layer of velvet to suit the tiny head), complained that it gave him a headache, and although the startled squire stopped him immediately, this ominous Omen - For the Europa people who believe in the divine right of the king, when he ascends the throne, the king complains that the mian robe is too heavy, the crown has small thorns, or something else makes him uncomfortable, it is a frightening thing. , Kings or queens like this will soon be relieved of their heavy responsibilities for various reasons... and return to the kingdom of heaven.

"His parents are too close by blood." Louie said that although he and Teresa's cousins ​​were close enough, luckily they already had a healthy child, which reassured Louie a lot, although He never approves of this kind of close blood marriage, but as Mr. Bishop said, the king's marriage is also the marriage of the country, and they must first consider the country, even more than the value of ethics and morality - Philip IV Not only did he marry his niece, but his own mother was also a member of the Habsburg. After multiple layers, the unsatisfactory Carlos II was completely expected.

  Some ministers could not understand the king's intentions, because Queen Teresa gave up her right to inherit the kingdom of Spain before she got married, and only Colbert felt a little chill.

In the past few years, he and the king have been supporting commerce, developing industry, expanding and cultivating new agriculture. In places that people can't see, the king can be said to be making money every day. If he spends all this money on himself, then don't It is said that it is a Louvre Museum, even ten Louvre Museums have been built. But people's livelihood, war and armament are three abyss, they are constantly devouring countless gold and silver, turning into power in the hands of the king - as the king's treasurer, of course Colbert will not forget, Teresa The queen also failed to deliver a dowry. The Spanish seemed to "forget" about it, and the king never pursued it. Some people thought it was because the king was deceived by the "Spanish woman", and they were angry and swore to the king. expose this...

   But did the king really forget it, or did he deliberately not mention it for the dignity of the queen?

or…

   (end of this chapter)