I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 238 Amsterdam! (2)

No one knew that Louis was reaching his limits, whether it was physical, mental or financial pressure, the war on Holland was too fast, and the war on Flanders was too closely linked, but Louis had read about After the intelligence of the Netherlands, he realized that if he wanted to get the Netherlands, there would still be such a chance - the Netherlands seems to be powerful, but the interior is already rotten, and it respects Orange, which is the Orange Belt Party of the monarchy and adheres to the parliamentary system. The Republicans in the stalemate were at a stalemate, even at the risk of betting on the country and the people, and his capture of Flanders has awakened many people. If the descendants of Orange, William III and Dutch Prime Minister Johan de Witte rose up. When they were vigilant and compromised and united with each other under the threat of France, things were about to become ridiculous.

In order to be able to catalyze this battle into a victory for France, Louis XIV can be said to have placed the last chip - he not only borrowed money from the Queen Mother, the king's younger brother and the Duchess of Montpensier, but also borrowed from the princes and Merchants borrowed money, and even raised tariffs and military taxes. The last tax was directly aimed at civilians. If possible, Louis did not want to go to this step. Then there were all kinds of secret contracts. Only a few people knew about it. Louis even mortgaged The Palace of Fontainebleau—if this news spreads, it will definitely shake the country, and even affect the course of the war... The consequences are unimaginable, but there is no such secret in the world that can be maintained forever, unless the secret is irrelevant, which is why Louis For the sake of capturing the Netherlands as soon as possible.

Fortunately, his generals such as Prince Condé, Viscount Turenne, and Duke of Luxembourg also supported the king's idea. They also believed that they should abandon those small towns and areas with ambiguous attitudes (such as Zeeland), temporarily set up no garrison, and use the main force. All focus on the five provinces of Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht and North and South Holland headed by Amsterdam to achieve the final victory - just like a hunter hunting a giant bear, too much energy is spent on the heavy fur of the giant bear. Or the stout but not lethal body is simply a stupid mistake, and only stabbing a bullet or a dagger directly into the throat or heart of the giant bear can solve all the troubles in one fell swoop.

Amsterdam is the heart of the Netherlands. This is the last battle of the Netherlands. It can also be said to be the first or last battle of Louis XIV. Those who did not expect that the French army would be so swift and fierce, the interior of the Netherlands would meet each other. The countries that have fallen to this point are hastily recruiting soldiers and gathering their troops, and they and Louis XIV are both buying time, and if Louis XIV doesn't get Amsterdam before other countries get involved in the war, then they will raise their troops outrageously , forcing Louis XIV to give up all the fruits of his previous victories, at least a large part; if Louis took the lead and became the lord of the Netherlands, then they would have to intervene in another gentle way... They What you can get from Louis depends on whether Louis is willing to give.

Louis today does not even dare to continue borrowing from the merchants in his own country. The merchants who come today are either British, Italian, or Dutch, and the last loan that the king borrowed from them was also used in the final battle— The merchants took the thick stacks of bonds and sent real money and silver. These pounds, guilders and florins were packed in boxes. When they arrived at Narden, Sharma, who was pulling the carriage. His hoofs were constantly shaking—those with stout hooves were always good at carrying goods, but they probably never pulled such "precious" goods.

After these boxes were inspected by the king's tax officer, they were sent directly to a small town in front of Naarden. This small town is under Amsterdam called Muyden. It is also interesting to say that Muyden was not attacked. It was not the one who took the initiative to open the city and offered the key, but a few soldiers, together with their non-commissioned officers, got lost after investigating the situation on the battlefield. When they saw the city wall and the gate, they went up to ask for directions. As a result, they waited for a few minutes before the city gate. When they opened it, the mayor came out with the key in hand. It turned out that they thought the French had already called. As a small town, they looked at the mercenaries with less than 100 people and thought they should not bother each other. The non-commissioned officers were also jumped. However, he was from Versailles, and the officer in charge of teaching them mentioned how to deal with such a thing, so the non-commissioned officer immediately sent a soldier to report. The soldier met Captain Vauban on the way. Bang did not let his guard down at all. While he let the soldier continue to report to Viscount Turenne, he brought his company, about three hundred people, into Muyden.

Their arrival was unpleasant and untimely, for the people of Meuden had discovered that they had made a mistake, and they were planning to kill these fools at the banquet who were so foolish as to get lost in the enemy's territory - Vauban The arrival shattered their illusions, and they were immediately docile again - though they were still trying to confuse Captain Vauban, who had a heart of steel that could shake it. Only the king and the war, when the messenger of Viscount Turenne arrived on horseback overnight, did he know that Vauban had mastered several important people in the city and asked them to write to the mirror city not far from them, Vesp The mayors and councillors of the United States demanded that they too, like Muyden, surrender to the king of France.

Here we will mention the terrain between Naalden and Amsterdam. Between Naalden and Amsterdam, there is a narrow area like a woman's waist, and Vesp and Muyden happen to be at the waist and crotch. On the side, the plain area between them is just enough to meet Louis's garrison requirements - of course, even if Louis XIV did not put all his generals in the Battle of Amsterdam (it really wasn't that big of a battlefield), the soldiers here would have reached three. The number of soldiers is huge. This number of soldiers is not acceptable for a small town like Narden. Muyden, who surrendered because of a misunderstanding, and Vesp, who was framed by it, happened to form with Narden. In an elongated triangle, the three cities were just enough to meet the needs of the king's army.

   And the soldiers in this triangle, like the sword of the king, pointed to Amsterdam, which was only ten miles away.

  ——

Louis XIV rarely took the wizard's potion before going to bed to ensure that he could have a quiet and dreamless night. When he woke up, he was in good spirits and his eyes were bright. Today, he did not wear the fancy clothes when he met the merchants. He chose a coat that, although also in royal blue, was very similar to his official uniform, except that his hat was embellished with what might have been the longest ostrich feather ever. It was not only long, but also fluffy. Over the king's head it was as if the king had dragged a gleaming cloud.

According to "tradition", Captain Vauban built a high platform for the king. On the high platform, a huge white tent was erected, and the flags of the Sun King and France were hung. The king's soldiers were neatly arranged under the high platform. When the ministers and generals appeared in front of them, they suddenly burst into a loud shout!

The king only made a gesture, and they quieted down. This kind of power made the merchants on the sidelines feel a deep chill. When they bargained with the Marquis of Lois, not to mention the authority of the king, they even cared about their own lives. But now, they deeply felt the monarch's horror, as long as he gave a signal, these rude soldiers would pounce on them and tear them into pieces that could not be put together - but Louis XIV did not notice them at all: "My soldiers..." he said.

Thirty thousand is a very scary number. Even if there is a high platform in Vauban, with Louis's throat and vocal cords alone, even if he screams to the point of hoarseness, only soldiers less than a hundred feet away can hear what he is saying, but since Louis Dare to use a witch in a field hospital, and now he dares to use a wizard to amplify his voice to ensure that everyone hears his voice, the soldiers are surprised and turn their heads curiously, of course they can't find anything, can only think that this is a miracle.

   "My soldiers," Louis asked, "have you got your bread?"

   did not expect the king to ask such a question first, and the soldiers couldn't help but smile in astonishment: "I got it!" They shouted, it was the best white bread with sugar and salt added.

   "What about the meat?"

"got it."

   "What about wine?"

   "I got it too!" After that, there were soldiers shouting: "Thank you so much, my majesty!"

"Then, today, you can still get some other shiny little things." Louis said, and then the carriages slowly turned from behind the high platform to the passage between the arrays, although I didn't know what was inside. What, but some veteran soldiers have already guessed it - after all, these deep ruts can put a finger down, they are excited, constantly whispering, the officers quickly open the box, and there are really shiny little things inside, every time Each soldier could receive three gold florins, or gold pounds, or gold guilders, and ten silver coins, and for each one, the officer said, "The king thanks you for all that you have done for him."

The money the king raised from the merchants last night was squandered in just an hour, but it was worth it—in this day and age, generals and kings often owe their soldiers money, sometimes for decades or even decades. It is not uncommon for a nation to have changed its king's banner over the centuries, and it is not uncommon for veterans to still claim their wages for fighting for the king of the previous dynasty. Louis' soldiers were willing to fight for their king without interruption. After several years of fighting, it was because Louis was able to keep his payment in arrears, and they sent the payment home so that the family would not starve, or equip themselves with horses and weapons, which could also improve the survival rate in the battlefield, if injured , and don't have to worry about the future life - today's reward from Louis is completely unexpected.

A soldier suddenly stepped out of the queue, and just when his superior was about to reprimand him, he suddenly shouted: "Your Majesty, thank you for your reward, but what else can we do for you? Please tell me, even if you have to come Hell to fetch water, and we'll go too!"

   His voice fell, and the soldiers around him also cheered.

"I don't need anyone to fetch water from **** for me, my good boys," said Louis, and the voices died down again, and the soldiers listened intently to the king's words: "As your commander said, these The little shiny things are just to thank you for all you have done for me, good people." He said emotionally: "I know that you have been in this strange place for France, for Bourbon, for your king. After fighting for nine full quarters, my soldiers, you must be exhausted, yes, even I am exhausted, not to mention you, but listen to me, we are coming to the end!"

"Look, just ahead of you, within ten leagues, is our end, the place of our glory! My soldiers, my generals, my ministers, if we take Amsterdam, we can Triumph and we can go home! I swear to you, my dear boys, you will never go home empty-handed! Your purses will be full of gold and silver, and your carriages will be full of silk and woolen With necklaces around your necks and rings on your hands, your father and mother will dance around you with joy, and your wife, or the girl you like, can wear the most beautiful clothes! Your children, whatever Whether they were born or not, they were destined to no longer have to work in the fields or be beaten by their masters in the workshop!

   And all this is very close to you!

   Go, my soldiers, to Amsterdam!

   Then we can go home, back to France, with victory and gold! "

   "Long live!" The soldiers replied, like a landslide and a tsunami.

  The officers rode on their horses, and as the horn sounded, this terrifying behemoth slowly turned its body and set off with a burning heart.

  ——

   "I didn't expect you to say that," said Viscount Turenne.

"It's just heart-to-heart," Louis fell into his chair, and in a place where there were no strangers, he could safely show his fatigue: "I am tired, you are tired, and so are our soldiers, we shot Flanders, and then It's Holland, there are no gaps, some of them haven't seen their loved ones in years, sleeping in their bedrooms - if anything drives them more easily than a heavy load of gold or silver, it's only Going home, of course," he said jokingly, "better go home with a bulging waist."

"You are so precise and accurate about the human heart." From the tenth century onwards, the most troublesome thing for generals and kings was that the soldiers could not persevere in a long war. They may just be tired of fighting, or they may It is because of the fear of constant injuries and deaths, or perhaps because of his own family members. Anyway, at the end of every war, a large number of escapes are inevitable, and these soldiers can persist for so long. Viscount Turenne is very good. Surprisingly, I didn't expect the king to bring up what they feared the most and use it as an incentive for the soldiers.

   "It's a no-brainer," Louie said. "If possible, I'd prefer to do it in other ways."

"What else can you do? I heard some very bad rumors, Your Majesty, they said that you mortgaged Fontainebleau." ...God," he whispered, "are you crazy?"

   (end of this chapter)