I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 248 The end of the war, the end of the war (4)

Some people may wonder how such a person could make such a stupid mistake, but know that the ambassador of the Swiss Confederation is a Basel - Switzerland, as a federal state, was not as democratic and advanced as people thought in the seventeenth century. First of all, it is the same as the Netherlands, each region has its own laws and ideas, and even beliefs, only the six agricultural states implement the "people's assembly system", which means that all male citizens can participate in it. In political conferences, the senior administrative officials were still held by those wealthy citizens; the nobles ruled places such as Bern, Roseanne or Fribourg, and the residents had no decision-making power, just like any feudal domain; The areas of Zurich, Basel and Schaffhausen, where handicrafts are based, are controlled by guilds, and government members are strictly controlled, and almost all of them are held by guild leaders—this is why the ambassador spoke so abruptly, very Obviously, his government and the state entrusted him with the burden of nothing compared to the bribes of Dutch businessmen.

  The people present hid their sneers and sarcasms under their mask-like smiles. The last deep purple color of the sky was disappearing, the full moon was rising, and it was time for a feast.

In the drawings that people can see later, the plane of the Palace of Versailles on the high ground is in the shape of a Latin cross, that is, a cross with short beams and long vertical branches. This shape often appears in religious buildings, that is, Catholic churches. It is the basilica architecture of the ancient Romans that evolved. Although ancient, Louis overthrew Levaux's first design because this architectural shape is the most solemn, majestic and bright - you can also say the same, he is like It is not groundless to say that the ancient Romans built their own new palace like the Pantheon, because this majesty named the halls and important rooms of this new palace with the name of the god.

It is like the Bacchus Hall where guests enter in a neat line. This hall is located on the left side of the "beam" of Versailles Palace. The entire hall can accommodate 3,000 to 5,000 people at the same time. Plants (mostly grapes) and animals are the mainstays. The frescoes on the left and right sides and the ceiling depict myths and legends related to the pleasure-loving god. Compared with the pictures in the large gallery that describe the victories and exploits of Louis XIV, The paintings here are more likely to make people fall into the atmosphere of joy and luxury.

The king, the queen mother, the younger brother, Prince Condé, Prince Conti, the Duchess of Montpensier, etc. are naturally behind the horizontal long table at the front, and the back is the picture of the Bacchus parade, facing the lower part of the hall from the hall. This end extends to the group of tables at the other end of the hall, which are covered with starched white linen, and the tableware ranges from gold to silver, from glass to ceramics. During the banquet, the nobles were still a little insensitive, so today, there are more vicious eyes condensed on Viscount Turenne, Colbert or General Schumberg - their position is second only to the royal family and the red. The bishop, this made many dukes and marquis indignant, and they whispered that the former should not be so favored by the king - one was the second son of the Duke of Sedan, who had been deprived of his territory because of the rebellion, and the other was a businessman who accompanied him. , and the last was a foreigner, although the king had chartered him to be his subjects.

Below the earl, there are more people on pins and needles, because among them there are many officers of civilian origin such as Mrs. Gerrard's husband, these people and their families behave rudely and speak vulgarly, they dare not dare I believe that they have a place in such an important banquet. There were also people who wanted to shout loudly, but were pulled by the people around them. Although they were far from the king's long table, they could still see the king's attire - almost the same regulations as these officers, even if the texture and accessories were different , but the sapphire blue coat, the scarlet straps and neckline, the ornaments on the chest and shoulders—they could not yet understand the rank system that the king enforced in the army, but the shining stars and the little sun, shaking The golden head of the head seems to be silently but proudly announcing something.

That man should be thankful, because after the king raised the cup and thanked God for his blessing, he unabashedly thanked his generals and soldiers, and his voice, under the blessing of magic, easily penetrated the entire hall, those who The officers around him were all bursting into tears. The king put the golden cup to his lips, and he heard a thunderous shout. All the generals, officers and some soldiers who had made great achievements in battle stood up. Rise up, as if charging the enemy on the battlefield, chanting "Hooray!" while slapping the table top, the thigh, or stomping the foot hard - the hard boots screeching neatly against the mirror-smooth marble There was a clicking sound, and several people who did not expect such a thing to happen suddenly fell down, and fell under the linen tablecloth.

The    king was a little surprised, but soon smiled.

These strong and loyal warriors continued to shout like a wave against a rock, and gradually those around them had to stand up, first the officials, then the princes and lords, and finally the unwilling ones The envoys - they deliberately insisted not to shout "Long live!", **** it! They were not Louis XIV's soldiers! But the frenzy that swirled in the hall not only did not subside after a few minutes, but fell into a boil, when Cardinal Lariviere also shamelessly joined the ranks of shouting for a mortal man, even if Even the Austrian ambassadors could only wiggle their lips and scream in embarrassment and humiliation - not that they were cowardly, but... in this "madhouse" (an ambassador said after returning home), the misfits It is difficult for people to persevere in those eyes that are puzzled at first, and then gradually become sinister...

Leaving aside whether it was their strong argument, after everyone in the hall was willingly or compelled to pay homage to the king in this way, Louis XIV drank his glass of wine in one gulp. As soon as he threw it away, he threw the carved glass wine glass with a gold base into the middle of the hall: "Now," his voice resounded in the hall: "Everyone," in the sudden calm, he laughed and said: "As I promised Yes, let's enjoy this wonderful night!"

The butler on the side immediately seized the opportunity, picked up the clarinet decorated with golden lilies and blew a few times. According to tradition and etiquette, he should have shouted "Let's enjoy the meat given by the king!" Then he went to play the clarinet... But not to mention the...things that the rude soldiers in front of him did, he was so surprised that he almost forgot his duty, and the king said what he should have said. His depression probably came out in those few clarinet sounds, and the Duke of Orleans noticed it and sat down—he was also one of the screaming members, coughing and laughing, and Louis thought he was shouting too loudly, He also ordered his glass and motioned to the waiter beside him to pour wine for the Duke.

   Anyway, it was finally time to open the table, and countless delicacies were delivered in an endless stream.

Since Louis made the first dissatisfied protest, the meals at the French court have become more fresh, refined and delicious. Except for some of the envoys, everyone present can be said to be satisfied and full of expectations— Satisfaction refers to the dish they have just enjoyed, and anticipation is the next delicacy - soup, bread, roasts and boiled meats, pies, berries and preserves... biscuits and cakes... I won't go into detail here, just talk about it Fruit baskets presented to people - gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries that are in season, pears, peaches, plums, apples and citrus that shouldn't be in season, and many people only hear about occasionally In front of the guava, watermelon and pineapple...the juicy and colorful fruits, some people try boldly, some people shrink back in fear, and some people want to hide some of them and take them back to share with their families. The waiter on the side followed Bontang's instructions , if you don't see it... The people who can enter the Bacchus Hall are carefully selected, and the king will not be stingy with such a small favor.

Although the opening time of the banquet was much earlier than the usual dinner time for the nobles, when the banquet ended, the deep black sky was already covered with diamond-like stars. The king got up, and the people followed closely behind. Under the guidance, pass through the Hall of the Goddess of Victory and go to the Venus Hall on the right. As the name suggests, the hall guarded by the goddess of love and beauty is the place where people can show their graceful posture to the fullest.

Unlike the Bacchus Room, which is dominated by milky white marble and cinnabar velvet, and mahogany floors and wall panels, the Venus Room is mainly decorated with mirrors. One side of the wall is covered with mirrors, while the other side is full of floor-to-ceiling glass windows, so that at night, the mirrors can reflect the candlelight, making the hall as bright as day. After thinking about it for a while, I came up with another idea-now what the guests see, the walls on both sides of the hall are large mirrors, these mirrors are not fixed on the wall, but inlaid on the frame , they can be opened inwards, and the outer glass windows can be opened outwards - the cost of this is almost doubled, but the shock can be doubled - mirror to mirror, infinite reflection The effect not only brings brighter light, but is dazzling, as if entering another glorious country.

In addition to mirrors and glass, the three-hundred-foot-long and forty-foot-wide hall is covered with gold leaf door and window frames, picture frames and beams, and the dome is a ceiling painting related to Venus. From the most elusive Madame Milady, to Madame Lavalier, who has been in love for ten years, and Marie Mancini, Duchess of Colonna, far away in Calais, whom the king has never forgotten , are painted as goddesses in different scenes - not Venus, because Venus's lover is not the sun god, the king's royal painter is not crazy to this point. In the dazzling light, even though LeBron has been criticized for being too flattering to the king, his impeccable skills still make these three undoubted "goddesses" lifelike and moving.

There is always no shortage of sharp eyes in the court. After some people whispered, they slammed the real three "goddesses" tightly. At today's banquet, the three lovers of the king were present. -The first dance of the king must be with the queen, but the second dance is almost declaring who is the person he loves the most. It used to be Madame Lavalier, but today the king has gone The Duchess of Colonna, many people know that the Duke of Colonna is just a "husband" in name only. Marie Mancini once occupied a very important position beside Louis XIV, and the king's eldest son, in fact It should be the little Duke of Colonna - they looked at the little Duke of Colonna who was right next to the throne, and probably guessed that the king specially invited his mother to dance in order to appease his eldest son - the little Duke of Colonna saw this scene, indeed There is a vaguely happy look, yes, this is a reward that he only got when he mustered great courage and begged his father. In recent years, Marie Mancini has become more and more moody. Even if the little Duke of Colonna persuaded her repeatedly that Louis might not be able to take care of Calais, Gayola and them in recent years, but the effect is very small. It doesn't matter if Marie Mancini is just a mortal person, but she is still a witch, and the female lord of Gayola and Calais. If she does something, she will definitely not be able to prevaricate it with ordinary jealousy. .

It's just that when he looked at his mother, he couldn't help showing a little embarrassment at Queen Teresa and Prince Louis who were beside him. Queen Teresa just smiled at this, compared to the dozen or so. Bastard Charles II, and even her father, Louis XIV, was a devout and moderate monarch - she never lost her husband's respect, and her husband's illegitimate son never threatened her son - Don Juan Jose, the illegitimate son of Philip IV, is still the regent of Spain.

However, what people peeped at more was Madame Lavalier - not many people learned that this lady was pregnant. According to the custom at this time, noble girls, even queens, can only be made public after three months of pregnancy. The royal family The lady needs to be more obscure, showing that her pregnancy is a "pretty vulgar" act...and get the king's permission, otherwise, even if she drops a child directly from her skirt in public, people will only Turn your head, close your eyes, hold your ears, and pretend nothing happened.

Madame Lavalier's expression was really not very good-looking, especially when the third piece of music played, the king was walking towards Madame Lavalier and stretched out his hand, but the Duchess of Colonna grabbed her arm and pulled it to her side when.

   (end of this chapter)