I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 227 The Corpse of Brother Dewitt

Prime Minister John de Witte originally had his own guards, but they were managed to be transferred by the Orange Belt Party before the riots. For the Orange Belt Party, Mr. Prime Minister is the undisputed murderer. They even took the lead and led People stormed the town hall, grabbed the Prime Minister and his younger brother, and even though Mr. Prime Minister chanted "Judge me, judge me!" hoping to get a little life in the courts and jails, people just dragged them out of the office in silence , dragged into the street, and stopped in a small square. As soon as the Prime Minister saw there, he couldn't help but **** and pray. There are no judges, juries, and executioners. This does not mean that they can be pardoned. The fact is just the opposite, which means that they will be tortured and slaughtered extremely cruelly.

A monarch once said that the people are like children. This is not contempt, but a catastrophe. Yes, the people are as docile as cattle and horses, and silent as earth and stones, but they are uncovering the mediocre skin, When the "evil" below is exposed, even the devil can't compare with it. What happened to John De, Werther and his brothers, the author couldn't even bear to resort to writing, let us learn from the Dutch painter Jan de Bain in " Take a look at the blood and horror at that time from the scene depicted in The Corpse of the DeWitt Brothers.

On this gloomy background picture, it is like a small open space on a simple stage, erected a torture rack transformed from a ladder, with two white bodies hanging on it. In the past, I would have thought that I had seen two lambs that were shaved and gutted, but if I looked closely, wasn't the one hanging on the ground a human arm? Between the hanging arms, there was flesh and blood. Blurred head, with tousled hair - Mr. Prime Minister faces the audience, the audience can clearly see that his eyes are gouged out, his ears and nose are cut off, his lips disappear, revealing a black hole of hollowness - the teeth should be It fell in the previous beating, and it was wide open, as if it was still sending out a last unwilling roar and a sad prayer, but obviously, even if the stone was not lost, the shout of Mr. Prime Minister would not be heard by the irrational people. hear.

His chest is bare, and sometimes people, in order to show their sincerity, will say, I will show you my heart, and Mr. Prime Minister has done it. He may have been cowardly, or he may have had ambitions, or selfish desires. , but he was indeed loyal to the Netherlands, although it was precisely because of this loyalty that he eventually brought the Netherlands to destruction and death - but he finally showed his heart to the people, only those greedy people, not only Only his heart was taken, but also his liver and stomach, so here you can only see the empty heart of Mr. Prime Minister, like the hopeless treasury of Amsterdam, as if he used this to him of people paid their debts.

On his thigh, there is a deep cut mark, and the bones can be seen deeply. The same is true of the brothers beside him. It is quite symmetrical. Here, the painter did not exaggerate the tragedy too much, but in the later records, we can see Now, what the people left behind were only two white skeletons, no, not because their anger had grown to such a degree, but because some people, out of a businessman's whim, cut off the flesh of the two brothers, At the price of ten copper coins a piece, they were sold along more than a thousand rivers, and the Dutch, who started out as a businessman, would of course not give up this opportunity. They flocked to divide the noble body of the Prime Minister and his younger brother. When it was empty, if it wasn't for the councillors, it would be too hard to see it, and the Werther family's guards finally arrived at the square, the Werther brothers would not even leave a fingernail, and hundreds of years later, we can still see, John D. . Prime Minister Witte's fingers are displayed in a church.

Now, let's go back in time, back to that chaotic night, when the dawn will come, in the sad cry of relatives and the smile of political enemies, the rule of the De Witt brothers has come to an end, and the new Grand Speaker and Mr. Prime Minister have come to an end. A new round of competition for the position has begun again. Except for France, almost all countries are stunned by such a change-don't these people see that the French army of 120,000 people is arrayed in the north of Flanders. line?

  ——

"As I said, this is freedom. They are free to slaughter innocent people, or to bring their country to a dead end." Louis handed the letter from the spy to Philip, who bowed to take it , The Duke of Colonna stepped forward and tied the sword to the king. Now, this young duke is only favored by the king's younger brother Philip. People often see him by the king's side, no matter whether it is an audience. The king would not shy away from him when he was a minister, or when he was handling official business. The most enviable thing was that the king still took the Duke of Colonna by his side at such an important moment—the moment he declared war on the Netherlands in front of his army.

The Duke of Colonna is eleven years old this year, and he is not far from being an adult. Everyone knows that he is the illegitimate son of the king. He was born even earlier than the crown prince Louis. Although the king could not let him inherit his position, he was a Born Duke of Colonna, although he has no land, there is really nothing to complain about - as far as Philip knows, people in the French court are speculating whether the king will choose a wife for him among the nobles who have land, like Luxembourg Obtaining a piece of territory from his wife, like a duke, was a common method used by nobles at that time. Only Philip knew a little from the king's words that the king intended the Duke of Colonna to marry the daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The princess' father was Gaston Orleans, and her mother was the sister of the Duke of Lorraine, the lady who accompanied Gaston before his death.

Of course, this lady will not have much affection for Louis, and the little princess was born in 1967 and is only three years old now. It is too early to talk about marriage, but the Orleans system originally had the right of inheritance to Naples, and As the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Medici has ruled the Tuscany region for a hundred years. With their support, the Duke of Colonna will have more leverage to inherit and acquire the Naples region - as for the Margarita The Princess of Orleans, Louis can only hope that she has the sanity that a wise person should have. The Queen of Naples is already a very good title. The Habsburg family will not accept the descendants of a merchant, and other countries have not appeared for the time being. A good candidate, she may not be willing to fill her daughter into the harem of Ottoman Turkey.

But these are things after the end of the war against Holland. Louis has already tasted the sweetness brought by the war - under the deterrence of huge force, identity, blood or title, or the Roman Church like a maggot in the tarsus, The enemy placed on the table or hidden in the shadows is not worth mentioning... Louis put his hand down and pressed it on Duke Colonna's shoulder. Louis is now more than five feet five inches tall, about six feet, With broad shoulders and long legs, he is quite a stalwart and beautiful man. The Duke of Colonna is ten years old this year, but he is already about four feet tall. He inherited the advantages from his father and mother. He was born with beautiful features and fair skin. , whether it is the outer world or the inner world, they are the leaders of their peers, and sometimes even adults can't compare with them. It can be said that, except for some flaws in origin, there is nothing to be picky about.

Philip held the king's hat beside him, thinking that it was not without reason that his brother worked so hard for the child. Perhaps it was because of his guilt that little Lucy received even more love than little Louis, and Louis was very fond of him. Little Lucy's love was also rewarded in little Lucy - the Duke of Colonna's admiration for the king can be seen by anyone with eyes. Although his birth was accompanied by conspiracies and calculations, Louis was Never been absent in his life, not even able to get official recognition, not to be able to call Louis his father, in the Duke of Colonna has become a sweet little bitter, not only will not take away his love for his father, but The relationship between them seems to be more mellow and deep.

   "Philip?" The king stood there for a long time, and he couldn't help but ask curiously when he didn't see Philip holding up his hat. Only then did Philip react, and he hurriedly stepped forward with his hat on.

While bowing his head slightly, Louis asked Philip to put a hat on himself, while joking that if the Duke of Orleans was so incompetent again, he would deprive him of his right to serve himself and hand over the job to the Duke of Colonna, while Philippe With a half-truth, he pouted, "Then he must have a stool."

"Children grow up very fast." The king sighed, his eyes briefly touched the Duke of Orleans, and the two smiled together. Obviously, they also remembered what they looked like when they were children. , wearing a small skirt and snuggling up to her mother's side, I didn't expect that they would one day fight side by side on the battlefield.

   But in the following ceremony, not only Philip, but also no one can accompany or follow the king, because no one can take away the sun king's light, even if there is only a trace.

The imperial tent stands on a hill, and on the plain below the hill, is the army of the king, these strong and fighting young men, according to the division of legion and service, are dressed in uniform, with buttons on the uniform and on the shoulders. The epaulettes, and the bayonet on the musket, gleamed in the sun, and Louis rode a tall white horse, half-draped the cloak behind him, and walked slowly in front of their eyes, slowly, the more the horse's pace became. Faster and faster, the king in royal blue just ran in the tight formation, while running, he shouted: "Long live France!"

"Long live France!" shouted the soldiers, who were at first cautious, but the king had taken off his hat, "louder!" he cried: "let our enemies hear, good boy Be louder, guys!"

The shouts of the soldiers became louder and louder. They shouted Long Live France, Long Live the King, and Long Live Louis XIV. Although it was a little confusing, it was like a wave hitting the rock, but it made it even more disturbing. The blood of the people was surging, and the king's horse speed had reached a worrying point, like a flash of white lightning, weaving back and forth between the gray, royal blue, and indigo forests, each passing bringing an even greater impact. With a resounding reverberation, the generals and ministers in front of the imperial tent had already stood up nervously, but none of them dared to stop them, even if they just followed up... They were all worried about being engulfed by the giant waves of the soldiers.

  The king is like a white sailboat supported by them, sometimes disappearing, sometimes appearing, and those shouts are like a prelude to victory, sending the king to the top of the wave again and again.

As if in an instant, the rumbling sounded from far to near, the king's white horse leaped up the hill before their eyes, the king stopped in front of the imperial tent, he turned to the army, raised his hands, and the roar from the hill stopped - even One would think one was suddenly deaf - but only because the soldiers saw their king.

   Duke Colonna's eyes are red and his chest is heaving, this is his father! his king! He almost shouted loudly, but he could only control himself with the last shred of reason.

The Duke of Orleans felt a trace of joy in his heart. He was glad that he did not take over the authority of the king regent under the persuasion of his mother and the bishop when his brother was injured. Otherwise, even if he could save his life, he would never be able to share his brother Standing together, sharing his glory, witnessing the grand and glorious scene at this moment.

  Louis stretched out his arms toward the north under the gaze of tens of thousands of people: "Amsterdam, everyone," his voice echoed on the hills: "Go, go to Amsterdam!"

  ———

   "Amsterdam is over." Charles II said: "Netherlands is over."

A full ten paces away from him, sat William III, who described the embarrassment. This young man listened to the words of Charles II, and even if there was another city government, he could not help but show a resentful look, "Netherlands will not end," He said: "Don't underestimate the people of the Netherlands. They fought for their freedom for eighty years, and now they can continue to fight any enemy, England, France...Spain, anyone who dares to rule them will be on pins and needles."

   "Like you?" asked Charles II witty rhetorically.

   "I don't want to rule over anyone," said William III. "I only want to lead them and serve them, not to hold authority for my own personal gain."

"All the same," said Charles II leniently, "all the same, boy, to the people, there is not much difference, because their eyes always see what they want to see, and their ears hear only what they want to see. What they want to hear, they have almost no education, they only know how to go with the flow - you probably don't know, I just know, William, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, that Mr. John de Witte, a few nights ago , was dragged out of the town hall by a mob, and in a small square, with his brother, was cut like a fish with its scales removed."

After he finished speaking calmly, he saw William III fainted. Although William III and the Prime Minister were enemies, on the other hand, the reason why William III was able to remain calm was partly due to It is because the Netherlands still has John de Witte. Although the Prime Minister has always been vigilant and fearful of the descendants of Orange, he is also loyal to the Dutch Republic like William III. As long as there is him, the situation in the Netherlands It won't rot to the point of being unmanageable.

   "You shouldn't tell him," said the wizard behind Charles II lightly, "and he will definitely try to escape after that."

"Don't do this," said Charles II, "I trust you." He glanced at William III again: "And I won't say, he will keep trying to run away, so maybe it will make him a little more peaceful..." He Glancing at the wizard's face: "Maybe," he added.

   "More money," said the wizard.

   (end of this chapter)