I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 165 Hofburg

Because of this idea, after leaving Paris, Prince Conti boldly violated Prince Condé's account and secretly went to Versailles, but to his disappointment, Versailles is now more like a military fortress, because the whole is full of The cement-concrete structure looks gray, with no marble, no gold leaf, no exquisite carvings and graceful drapery, but the gardens and courtyards have already begun to take shape. In 52 years, when he was a young man, the refugees who had followed the king began to dig canals and reservoirs for the king, which became their first job for a living.

The closest water source to Versailles is the Seine River. The distance between Versailles and the Seine River even exceeds that of Paris. Fortunately, the Paris area was originally a basin, and Versailles is full of swamps. There is no need to set up an aerial canal like Toledo in Spain, but Conte. The Grand Canal the prince saw was jaw-dropping enough, the river was almost indistinguishable from what God gave to man - there have always been rumors in the court that the king made a deal with the devil and hired hundreds of wizards to do it. He played, and now it seems impossible.

A ship with a small white sail slid leisurely in front of the Prince of Conti, and the people on it had time to take off their hats and salute the prince, and may be followed by gray seabirds flying from the distant Amanches or Calais. Perched on the top of the mast, or soared around the boat, Prince Conti didn't understand why at first, and Versailles officials told them that these ships were set up by the king for this canal, From the port of Le Havre, because Le Havre was a huge port city from the beginning of the sixteenth century, there were many goods that could be transported directly to Versailles, and there was a large amount of fishing, all for the king's commendation The craftsmen here are specially allocated.

As for why there are so many seabirds following the boat, it is because some merchants once sent rotten sea fish. Although this practice is not uncommon in this era, dozens of people in a row have been killed because of the rotten fish. After vomiting and diarrhea, Mr. Colbert immediately investigated thoroughly, the businessman and the official in charge of the matter were arrested, and the king himself signed the death sentence. So since then, merchants have preferred to throw away even half-dead fish to ensure that the catch to Versailles is clean and fresh.

"Aren't they afraid..." In this era, it is not uncommon to use shoddy and shoddy products, but this is the first time that Prince Conti has heard that people will lose their lives because the raw materials of the food are not fresh. Anyway, these food It is for those inferior people to eat, not to be sent to the palace.

   "The king paid the price of a bucket of fish, and at the seaside, these fish are so cheap that they cost almost nothing."

"Oh," Prince Conti couldn't help shouting, "Even so, the king is very kind to these craftsmen." "Isn't it." They train in the morning and evening like soldiers, they can not only eat fish, but also chicken and fish. Their bodies become extremely strong with adequate nutrition and regular life, continuous exercise, smart minds, and loyal dispositions. They are the real foundations of Versailles, and are now just hidden by the king in a huge project.

   "How many people are there?" the prince asked, looking at the dense crowd on the high platform.

  50,000 people, the official said in his heart, "About 27,000 people." He said that he was not at all worried about being exposed by Prince Conti, because the craftsmen here all work in shifts.

"Great project." Prince Conti said that the Versailles area is also located in the Paris Basin. Speaking of which, it is lower-lying than Paris. It used to be forests and swamps, but now he sees a high platform that needs to look up to see the whole picture. , he couldn't help asking: "I remember that this place was originally supposed to be a moss field?"

   "This is the king's request to build it," said the official. "All the earth that was dug up when the canal was dug is piled up here."

Although the building itself is still very rough, all the smoke and dust can be seen, and all the places where you can walk are paths for craftsmen to walk or low bridges made of wooden boards, but Prince Conti's uncontrollable curiosity still drives him to go up. , the king's new palace is actually located on a man-made hill. When viewed from above, it is a stepped trapezoid. The main body of the palace is on the top floor. There is no doubt, but the second and third floors have square buildings. Qun, Prince Conte looked around, guessing his room... oh, of course it should be on the top floor, if not, he would rather stay in Paris, or go back to his fief, and never come to Versailles.

But the rooms on the top floor are undoubtedly the fewest, maybe only... 300 rooms or less, Prince Conti calculated in his mind, because the main body is supported by concrete columns with an amazing diameter, so the space here is extraordinarily huge. Prince Conti even felt that it surpassed the halls of churches or monasteries. He stood between a dozen gray-black concrete columns and looked down, and what he saw was a courtyard extending from the foot of the base, with a length of thousands of feet. The border of the courtyard is the moat with shimmering waves. On the center line of his vision, there is a maze of holly trees that has already revealed a lush state. The two sides of the maze are roads, and one end of the road is closed in front of the suspension bridge in front of the moat. The other end is divided into three parts, leading to the lowest palace and the middle stairs.

From the bottom to the top, there are more than 300 steps. Prince Conti was a little out of breath after climbing up, but the scenery at the top is really unparalleled, but I don’t know how many people will try to climb up for this in the future. .

He thought like this, while looking at the garden at the back. The back garden has a wider area than the front courtyard, especially a square lake connected to the Grand Canal. If it is really necessary to defend here, the prince estimates that the enemy will not be able to do anything. When there is no water here, it is not even possible to even run out of food. He has already seen the ripples left by the fish swimming in the lake.

  If it is said that when he left Paris, Prince Conti asked the king for a room just to prove his honor, but now he is really eager to live here.

The officials respectfully sent away Prince Conte, and on the same night, the records of Prince Conte in Versailles were sorted out and placed on the king's desk. The king's thoughts were exactly as Prince Conte had guessed. At the beginning, the designer Louis Levaux just followed the usual practice, starting from the hunting palace left by Louis XIII, expanding and rebuilding it, but Louis had a different idea. He did not intend to touch the legacy of Louis XIII. , not only to miss his father, but also to prevent his new palace from having too many historical remnants.

   He didn't just want a new palace, he wanted a holy place, an unforgettable and unforgettable Eden, a heaven on earth—although it would be a bit presumptuous to say that.

With this idea in mind, and with reference to some rumors from the far east, the new palace that the king expected eventually evolved into what Prince Conti saw. With the help of cement and wizards, the time has been shortened by nearly two-thirds, and now, the king has asked them to shorten the time for interior and exterior decoration to two years... "I really hope that I can have a celebration in the new palace on my thirtieth birthday. "

If it weren't for facing His Majesty the King, Levaux and another designer, Dorbet, would have something to say, but now they can only argue, "It's impossible, Your Majesty." Levaux said, "Even if it is placed The marble statues in the niches also took months to complete."

   "Oh," said the king innocently, "Can't we make a mold out of plaster and pour it out of cement?" Not only does it save time, but it also saves money.

Levaux was obviously stuck, and turned his eyes for help to LeBron, the king's royal painter. LeBron was used to the king's extra diligence in some aspects. There is no point in spending a lot of money, because: "I am the king." This is what His Majesty said when he refused to make his own expensive jewelry: "They always praise me." If a king has a strong army in his hands With the navy, not only his ministers and generals, but even the monarchs and popes of other countries will come to flatter him, this point Louis can see very clearly.

Moreover, the king said boldly that if he needed to show the honor of the king of France in front of his envoys, he could borrow jewelry and clothes from his younger brother Philip. Anyway, they were similar in body shape. There is nothing to be avoided in the dress either, his clothes are usually the same as those of the king, frequently using royal blue, filigree and lily patterns.

In order to defend their dignity as architects and artists, Levaux, Dolbe, and LeBron took great pains to persuade His Majesty the King to promise not to use cement to pour the statue, and to think To fill the frames in the hallway with prints, the latter LeBron swore that he would go back to Italy right away to find a painter for the king, to create the paintings at the same time as the works were in progress, so that no time would be lost, and he promised , he will try to get the lowest price.

   As for the statues, the king said to Dolbe (who was mainly in charge of the decoration) that he could also find a suitable collection of statues elsewhere.

   And from there, of course, from the island of Gayola, the Mancini family, or rather, the domain of the Duke of Colonna Jr.

  ———

Prince Conti knew nothing about a verbal lawsuit between the king and the architect and designer of the Palace of Versailles. He got on the carriage full of longing and finally arrived at the Hofburg in Vienna, Austria, after more than ten days of bumps. .

He went all the way east. As I said before, he used to be the governor of Guienne, and then the governor of Languedoc. These two places are a little chaotic at times, but because of the rich wine and wheat, So it's still quite wealthy, but when you go to Charolais, Lyon and Avignon from here, there are more places to grow potatoes, the scenery outside the car window gradually becomes monotonous, and the color of people's bodies and faces There are also a lot less. Even so, the accompanying officials also said that this is also thanks to the potatoes and sweet potatoes given by God and the king, otherwise he would not see so many people now.

This situation became clear when Prince Conti was about to cross the border between Switzerland and France. It seemed that in an instant, the fields became dry, the rivers became dirty, the people were sparsely populated, and the bandits were rampant. Fortunately, these are not so much bandits. Rather, the outcasts don't even need musketeers, Prince Conte's own guards can cut them down with ease, and the Prince graciously hangs the wounded and surrendered from trees--that's how they end up anyway .

However, what makes Prince Conti feel the most uncomfortable is not the wilderness, but the town. Although it has only been a few years, His Royal Highness has become accustomed to the clean streets, the floor without feces and urine traces, and the warmth and privacy. Clean toilets, plenty of hot water at all times, and comfortable bathtubs are very popular in France, although some princes still criticize the king, thinking that too much concern for these is degrading a monarch, or They are not religious enough, but they say so, but they have meticulously rebuilt their houses and castles in accordance with the fashion of Paris, and they are effective. In some relatively prosperous places, even hotels have corresponding bathroom facilities. It is not a problem to have a good toilet and bath.

When he left France and entered Switzerland, Prince Conti could bear it, because the Swiss and France had fought but had reconciled, but it was only when the Peace of Westphalia was signed that it got rid of Austrian rule , So compared to the two, Switzerland is obviously more accepting of the French, and is willing to learn some good places in France, but when Prince Conti crosses Switzerland and enters the territory of Austria, his test will come.

The Austrians rightfully hated the French, from top to bottom, without exception, but it could almost be said that Prince Conti, who entered Austria with a small army, was somewhat assured of his own safety. Yes, because Leopold I and his court declared that they would never accept everything in France, there was no French fashion in Austria—muddy and smelly streets, crowded and cluttered houses, dirty people in rags, and There are urinals and commodes everywhere, and if people don't want to pay to solve problems under someone else's cloak, then any wall is their toilet.

Even if Prince Conti chose the best hotel on the way, he was bitten by bed bugs and fleas and covered in red envelopes. No matter how much perfume he applied, it would be useless. The little vampire who jumped away from the mouse came to Vienna, where the Hofburg was located, in such misery.

   (end of this chapter)