I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 164 Calm before the war

Prince Conti admitted that he is a villain who sees the wind and turns the rudder, but as the so-called villain also has the usefulness of a villain, he also knows that the king sent him to Austria, not to make him an upright and good person. , At this point, his brother Prince Condé, his brother's best friend, the Duke of Luxembourg, and the Viscount Turenne don't even want to beat him, but if he has a choice, he will definitely not take this deal. Of course, others I don't know, but to say that Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire knew nothing about the French support for the Ottoman Turks against Austria would be an idiot thing to say.

Leopold I might not have detained or executed Prince Conti, but just as the Marquis of Crecy, as the king's envoy in Rome, was still besieged by a group of despicable villains, no one knew how expensive Vienna was. Will people challenge Prince Conti to a duel for a very small reason, or to murder him outright, so Prince Conti complained to the king generously and asked for a team of musketeers equipped with the latest armament , two monks, these two monks were specially hired by the king to Elarius. If you haven't forgotten, Gaston, the Duke of Orleans, had traces of calling the devil on his body. Louis XIII fell from his horse and almost Drowning—the puddle that actually only reached his knees, and the lingering sick bed that followed, could be said to be the former's sin, and those odd tempera paintings that Duke Gaston bought from Flanders until his death. It was still in his room at the time, and although his confessor and the bishop insisted that he had made a confession, the Duchess of Montpensier said that her half-sister had leaked a word from her lover, Gasth Not only did the Duke of the East not repent, but at the last moment of his death he was still cursing the king, whether it was the father or the son.

Now what France is looking for is the Flanders area, which makes the king have to be vigilant. The preparations for the war are already underway, and it is unlikely that this huge car will stop once it starts. Flanders Del he is bound to win, but the Flemish people and the Spaniards must have different opinions. If Prince Conte is assassinated, it will undoubtedly be the best counterattack and humiliation to the French king. Of course, Louis will not allow such a thing. It happened, he originally had some wizards on hand, but these wizards from Italy were temporarily sent to other places by him.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with this sentence, especially in a place like France where there are frequent rebellions. This time Louis intends to go on a personal expedition. Before he leaves Paris, all heresies and hidden dangers must be eliminated. , even if they are not eliminated, they must ensure that they will not dare to act recklessly in the past year or two - but before Prince Conti leaves Paris, the first thing the king has to do is to hold a grand banquet, and he will happily Sending it out, this banquet was brilliant. All the famous dignitaries tried their best to crowd the Louvre. From the terrace to the stairs, it was crowded with people. If people want to salute the king, they must pass through. Hundreds of feet of narrow paths—between the filigree coats and the wider and wider skirts, and then the people around the king, and how the identity of the people will give up their place, or just the attitude of the king , tilting his head or turning his body to one side, those who are not prominent enough can only glance at the king's face like a glimpse, and they can only look at the backs of gentlemen and ladies or... not so polite **** up.

Prince Conti is of course a privileged person, he sits below the king, second only to his brother Philip, and his brother Condé is also below him, because the king needs to meet him in a noisy crowd. say.

"From the bottom of my heart," Prince Conti pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead, "The Louvre is a little too small." The king also deliberately chose the large gallery in the Louvre. The huge and spacious corridor is arguably the most spectacular building in the Louvre. Even so, people here are still rubbing shoulders. The candles hanging from the top of the dome and the heat from breathing even make it have a Turkish bath. The hazy feeling... and suffocation, but as long as the king is here, no one will leave first, no matter how unbearable it is.

The king's younger brother Philip is also dressed up today. The few years in Lorraine gave him the physique of a soldier. He is tall and strong. He can carry dozens of pounds of lace and clothing and remains unmoved. He brought a cup to the king. When the lemonade was chilled, the hand was steady, and it was impossible to see that he was wearing several heavy rings.

"This situation will be improved very soon," Louis took a sip of lemonade and said to them while taking a gap in the audience: "The main building of Versailles is almost finished, and I plan to spend three to five years to decorate and Decor, and then we won’t have to be so crowded.”

   "Oh," said Prince Conti, as if unintentionally, "is it the buildings I saw? It's really huge, Your Majesty, people say you're going to build a new city there."

"It can also be said that." Louis said, the most important thing is that he still wants to move the political center of France to another place. The Louvre is not bad, but it is located in the center of Paris, although its predecessor was also a military The castle, but judging from the two riots of the slingers, its defense is not even as good as the Bastille, the road ahead for Louis is still rough and long, and the number of enemies will only increase, he can't completely pin his hopes on... you You know, on those people.

The new palace of Versailles had a thousand rooms, surrounded by a newly opened moat and magnificent gardens, and Louis' ambitions did not stop there. The people brought back on the road have settled in Versailles for more than ten years, and their children have grown up. They are not farming for the king, working or building a new palace for the king, and at the same time receiving training and education-they are important to Louis. Believe it, Louis is also credible to them, and it can be said that even when the French treasury has never been full, the people of Versailles can still get the greatest favors - the lowest rents, the lowest taxes, the lowest A tolerant master... On the contrary, there are also the strictest laws and strictest audits, not only for outsiders, but also for Versailles themselves. After all, Louis did not want to see a second Paris.

When the main building of the Palace of Versailles is initially completed, at the same time as the decoration, the king also plans to create a huge commercial area, countless rich goods, food, and all kinds of novel entertainment, a delightful and unforgettable sale. Golden Cave - his experiments on the Duke of Lorraine gave a satisfactory result, and all he paid was a bathroom, a heating unit and some neat but impractical things, oh, and maybe some delicious food , As for gambling, singing and dancing, and "famous people", these are all things that are already there in Paris.

Louis didn't have such great expectations, and he could use pleasure to numb the cunning princes, but the Duke of Lorraine also let him see another possibility, yes, he might not be able to convince the old people, but compared with them, Louis is So young, and so are their heirs, and the old may be willing to repeat the same routine, clinging to death in their castles, but there is no need to say what choices the lively young men will make, and even the lords With the lord, they will also hope that their heirs and other children can find a place by the king's side.

   Everyone knows that kings like young people and are willing to reuse them.

While planning for the future, the king calmly looked at the people around him, starting with Philip, Duke of Orleans, to the Prince of Condé, the Duke of Luxembourg, the Viscount Turenne, and some veterans of the period of Louis XIII, and then Colbert and some of his friends, and then surrounded by the Queen Mother, the ladies headed by the Duchess of Orleans and the Duchess of Montpensier, and a group of people centered on Madame Lavalier... Now There are not many positions in the hands of the king, but when the war is over, the king will need a large number of officials, governors, priests and scribes, the new palace will also need servants, and the city of Versailles will also need more merchants and craftsmen... and , a formally established navy and an enlarged army, by then, there will be thousands of vacancies in the hands of the king, waiting for people to fill - ah, the king's request is not too much, after all, there will be gains and losses, he All it takes is that they give a little of what belongs to the king in the first place.

   A complete France.

So people saw that the king suddenly sighed deeply, and they all speculated in their hearts what it was for, but probably no one would guess that the king was just worrying about such a project that might take ten, twenty years... Stop, Twenty years is the deadline, and he has more to do. He glanced at the eager Prince Conti and guessed what he meant. "Of course there will be a room for you," said the king. "You can even choose from several rooms, such as you can live with the Prince Condé. in the same hallway."

   "Farewell." Prince Conti said almost reflexively, in exchange for a stern glance from his brother. He immediately lowered his head, but if he wanted to live with Kong Dai, he absolutely did not want to. Prince Kong Dai could also be said to be suave and unrestrained before the second riot of the Stone Slinging Party—he also tried to get the Queen Mother to marry him. The bishop of Mazarin was unhappy and intended to pursue the Duchess of Montpensier, but during his time in Spain, and after being captured at the battle of Dunkirk, he suddenly became more stable or more rigid, perhaps Because he is very aware that he is still a sinner in the king's heart, he is extra vigilant and cautious. He expects his younger brother to do the job assigned by the king to Prince Conti, and he is worried that Prince Conti will fail because of his usual frivolity. Even losing his life, as a general of France, he certainly hoped to reach a covenant with Leopold I.

The good times always seem to be fleeting. On the morning of the farewell to Prince Conti, there was a rare fog in Paris, and it was wet everywhere. Even the light of the torches was no longer so dazzling, but the king's kerosene lamp was on the street. The alley exudes a constant yellow light. Prince Condé also handed over a team of his own guards to Prince Conti. He endured the ominous words of "at least we must be able to run back" and watched his brother's carriage. He ran over the blue-gray concrete road and disappeared at the end of the street.

When Prince Conti was in Paris, day and night were reversed, and he was only interested in the Louvre, the Blois and several salons. Today he left Paris alone, and he was only interested in looking at the ruins from the glass windows. Twice, the ancient city that was rejuvenated from the king's hands, although the fog was thick, but to the prince, the fog was like layers of curtains covering his eyes. He was overjoyed—the road that stretched out from under the wheels was no longer muddy or dirty; With the blessing of the number, there is a special beauty; those houses that were swallowed by flames, smashed by hammers, and pulled down by ropes have now become neat three-story buildings. Yandu will have several families living in it, but by the king's decree, the exterior of these houses is no longer cluttered with clutter or poles, and some windows are inlaid with glass, which is also because of the recent years of Lorraine. The glass industry has been greatly developed; there are street signs at the turns or intersections of the streets, pointing north and south, and there are numbers in front of the houses, and even the names of the people living in them. The king's younger brother Philip and his subordinates took a lot of effort, and even dealt with a group of insubordinate mobs for this matter - but the benefits are obvious, those thieves, refugees and villains, want to rely on the labyrinth-like streets again. Alleys and chaotic living conditions are unlikely to run away.

In addition, Prince Conti opened the car window and breathed in some cool, but no longer stinky air. The king moved the fish, livestock markets and leather workshops to the outskirts of Paris, and set up sewer pipes in the new district, so Now that the Seine is no longer always a white foam and floating feces, residents are happy to see fish in the Seine, although they complain that they have to walk a long way to get food. Jump down and swim, the water drawn by the canal from the Seine can be drunk with a little filtration without causing a plague.

They had passed a cistern before, and the cistern, like other houses, was hung with a kerosene lamp at the request of the king. The light illuminated the water waves below, and layers of golden scales loomed in the mist. , indescribably beautiful.

"How wonderful." Prince Conti said to himself, "I'm a little anxious now." Paris, which is full of stubborn diseases, can become so good, so what about the Palace of Versailles, which is completely built according to the king's wishes, it is said that it The pedestal and the water and sewage works have been done for four or five years. I think it will be more perfect and more comfortable.

   (end of this chapter)