I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 245 The end of the war, the beginning of the war

Varro Vesalius's exhortation to Madame Lavalier was not all out of pity. He might sympathize with the lady, but more of it was to complete the work assigned by the king. Dare to let your guard down, no one knows this king better than he does, and as he said, Louis XIV may not torture or execute those who disappoint him like Nero or Henry VIII. , but he will never use them again. For those who have no scrutiny in their identities, losing the protection and trust of the king will only be worse than death.

Fortunately, his words had some effect. Although Madame Lavalier was still afraid that she might lose her child, after several hesitations, she made a painful compromise - Vesalius was not intimidating, oh, Sadly that may lie there. After she calmed down, Louis would sometimes come to accompany her and her children, eat together, or work with Louis, and Madame Lavalier made some needlework, but these days did not last long. After they entered Artois, It was only ten days away from Paris. This was because the king was sympathetic to her having a child, so he slowed down the march and tried to spend the night in the town as much as possible.

On the night before she entered the province of Paris, Madame Lavalier raised her head and gazed at the face of the king in the candlelight, so handsome and so ruthless, but she still could not restrain her feelings towards him Love: "Louis," she said.

   "What? Madam?" Louie asked. He didn't have many documents on hand. In order to protect his eyes, he rarely read documents at night, but these must be dealt with as soon as possible.

"When you're in the Louvre, sometimes you do things at night, or just read," Madame Lavalier gestured, with a smile that was almost impossible to capture: "Then you are usually surrounded by Mademoiselle Marie Mancini, who was, of course, the Duchess of Colonna, and occasionally the Duchess of Montpensier, and Princess Henrietta once or twice, perhaps You don't know, I have peered into your room countless times, imagining that it is me who is with you."

Louie put down the file. "I'm not sure," he mused. "Since when did you fall in love with me, ma'am? I don't think I'm the kind of person who would be favored by too many women," he opened his hands. "Look, ma'am, in fact I am a very boring person. When I was only a child of five or six years old, I was the king of France, and although the Bishop of Mazarin and the Queen Mother did all the heavy work for me, I know very well that these will be in my hands one day - I know that I have to learn, from history, from the Bible, from the people around me, I play very little, and I am silent- I feel that if I were not king, the Duke of Orleans , my dear brother, it should be more worthy of your love."

   "May I think you're questioning my love with... reality?"

   "I'm not blaming you, it's human nature."

"Then you underestimate yourself, Your Majesty," said Madame Lavalier, "and underestimate us too, though it is said that we are shallow and simple-minded, like a fancy dress, Jewelry, birds that are good at singing like young, beautiful, good-natured people, no, they are wrong, we respect the strong more than those pompous ornaments."

   "I wasn't considered a strong man at that time."

"The strength of the strong is not on the surface, but on the inside," Madame Lavalier said. "Even then you still need the protection of the bishop, but you still remember to protect the weak who hide behind you." Lavalier Madame Ernest did not remember when she had the arrogant idea, perhaps because of the Princess Henrietta—now the Duchess of Orleans, but when she first started, whether it was at the request of her brother or her mother. , or out of her own heart, she hopes to be Louis's wife - she and her maids have talked a lot about the king, when they were children, in the difficult years of Saint-Germain-en-Laye , although the French royal family was also in a pretty bad situation, but at that time, Louis did his best to help the more helpless Princess Henrietta and her mother.

It was also from that time that Louise developed a little curiosity about this kind majesty, and boldly made contact with the king at the Red Children's Market - she knew that her appearance was mediocre, at least not in line with people's preferences for women , but... it would be nice if Louis was the kind of hypocritical or frivolous person, then she wouldn't like him in the days to come, or even fall in love with him deeply...

"I want to say I'm sorry, ma'am," Louis felt a slight guilt, realizing that Madame Lavalier's feelings for him were not, as he thought, perhaps just for the clan or something. : "I'm a dull person, Louise."

"You just prefer to put your emotions on your mother, brother, your country, or your minister, your general." Madame Lavalier said quietly: "I am too greedy, Your Majesty, I've asked for too much. But..."

"but?"

   "However, if you will still have mercy on me, Your Majesty," said Madame Lavalier, "may I ask you for something?"

   "Go ahead, Louise." Louis said, "If only I could."

   "If it is unfortunate that we have indeed been tricked by fate," said Madame Lavalier, "then please let me go with my child, Your Majesty."

  ————

The last conversation with Madame Lavalier made the king show a rare gloomy look, but Madame Lavalier's timing was really good, and a large number of people appeared on the roadside the next day. They rushed to the side of the road, shouting Long Live France and Long Live the Sun King. Such a scene had not been seen in the last triumph. Judging from the costumes of these people, they should be just ordinary farmers and craftsmen, not Paris citizens, messy and mixed It can be seen from the queue and composition that they all came here to meet the king by themselves. Their faces were all flushed, and they kept shouting. The king pulled the curtain and waved at them. If it weren't for the musketeers beside the king's chariot, perhaps they would have unfastened the king's horse, lifted the carriage over his head, and carried it all the way to the Louvre.

They followed the king's chariot and army all the way to the small town where the king stayed, and then they left with regret and satisfaction. It is not necessary to say how the dignitaries in the city are flattering. The soldiers who stayed outside the city They were all received extremely warmly and happily - everyone wanted to hear how they beat the Spaniards, the Flemishes and the Dutch, maybe the Austrians and the Turks... 2nd anyway In the daytime, if it weren't for the discipline of the king's new army, there would be many soldiers who would be indulged in the gentle village and could not leave.

Looking at these people, it is hard to imagine that twenty years ago, they almost sent Louis and his younger brother to the guillotine... Louis remembered what Madame Lavalier said, in fact, it is not only women who admire the strong, any An ordinary person will subconsciously tend to a powerful being, whether it is a **** or a king, and they desire to draw strength, benefit, and peace of mind from these beings - this is understandable, just as a mortal, not God, The expectations Louis will have to bear may be so heavy that he struggles, but this is the path he has chosen for himself—he has to go, not fall, and not give up.

  For France, for himself, for those he loves, and for those who love him.

  ———

The citizens of Paris, undoubtedly the most zealous in this flood of love for the king, eagerly repainted their houses and scrubbed the streets without waiting for the official's orders. , every family bought a lot of candles, prepared for the future mass procession, and even bought the latest style of clothes - men and women, they were constantly exchanging news they got from everywhere, pinching their fingers Estimating the time when the king will return to Paris, some people even ran out of the city to greet the king every day.

It may still be remembered that the first Arc de Triomphe erected by the King on the Queen's Boulevard, this Arc de Triomphe was situated almost at the opening of the circular square, which some thought was too peculiar, but in the second After the Arc de Triomphe was built, it was discovered that the king's ambition was obviously not something that could be satisfied by a Flanders or a Holland - at such a distance, the king's Arc de Triomphe could be erected ten more - the citizens of Paris Of course, I talked about this, and the expressions of the envoys who were waiting for the French king in Paris became more and more difficult to look at.

The alliance established by Leopold I ultimately failed because of their slowness, or rather, they misestimated Louis XIV's trust in the generals - so to speak, Louis XIV suppressed what a young king should have. The impulse and desire for conquest completely handed over the battlefield to the Prince of Condé, the Viscount Turenne and the Duke of Luxembourg. The French army pierced the heart of the Netherlands like a dagger. When Amsterdam fell, Leopold I There are still allied troops in the coalition army that have not yet been in place - although when Louis XIV triumphed, they tried to overwhelm the territory, threatening the French army, in order to coerce Louis XIV to hand over Holland, and even Flanders, but as Louis XIV and the generals agreed that the main force of the army of 120,000 was actually on the border between the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands, just to guard against those who took advantage of it.

The Dukes of Switzerland and Luxembourg, Denmark and Sweden, and Austria and Brandenburg against the Prince of Condé, battles continued until the king arrived in Paris, but Leopold I failed to achieve any victories that would change the situation - First, because this part of the French army can be said to be waiting for work, and second, because they are fighting on enemy territory, the Marquis of Lois's local supply (plunder) system not only makes it impossible for Flanders or the Dutch to Supporting France's enemies also forced them to rely on the French—unless they could endure months of starvation until the year's fields yielded a harvest.

Although Leopold I was extremely angry, there was nothing he could do. As a result, as the battle reports gradually decreased, more envoys came to Paris. Some were originally stationed in Paris, and then temporarily evacuated because of the war. Those who have returned; there are also esteemed princes, or dukes, who have been sent here as special envoys, and their purpose is only one - to divide up a part of the spoils of war from France.

For example, Flanders, such as Holland, such as Holland, such as the colony of the Netherlands... Britain is the biggest ally of France, and the archbishops of Münster and Cologne are also interested in some cities or villages that border the Netherlands. The Archduke of Austria, that is, the Holy Leopold I of the Roman Empire actually sent an envoy to claim part of Flanders' territory, and the envoy of the Grand Duke of Brandenburg wanted to inquire about the whereabouts of William III - his wife was William III's aunt , but instead of seeking justice for William III, he tried to make an ally with France by marrying the Bourbon royal family—the eldest daughter of the Duke of Orleans was ten years old; the Danish envoy came to plead with Louis XIV Forgiveness and help - their King Christian V unfortunately died before the fall of Amsterdam, and his son Frederick IV, seeing bad things, wanted to marry his sister to Louis' eldest son - The crown prince, little Louis, even promised a dowry of up to one million livres... or should be said to destroy the alliance between Sweden and France.

  The envoy from Sweden also arrived, and Louis couldn't help laughing when he saw him, because the envoy was none other than his future son-in-law, Charles XI.

The king is seventeen years old this year. He is between a teenager and a young man. Although his face is still childish, his body is already like an adult. Together, as if to match his physique, his demeanor carried a bluntness and frankness characteristic of a northerner, not objectionable, although the refinement and comfort of Paris sometimes made him seem at a loss.

Louis' eldest daughter, the king's future wife, is also twelve years old this year. She was ordered by Louis XIV to receive her fiancé-in-law. Although the young couple had only seen each other's portraits, But they have also been in correspondence for several years - mainly Princess Elizabeth is writing, and when they meet, they are not very unfamiliar, but the difference in physique still makes Queen Teresa frown.

   "Never mind," said Louis XIV. "I will keep my daughter until she is twenty."

   Queen Teresa rolled her eyes less respectfully at her Majesty.

   (end of this chapter)