I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 261 The Value of Mrs. Montespan

In fact, there is nothing in these two letters worthy of further study or use. It must be said that it is a reminder to His Majesty Louis XIV that whether it is M. Lorraine or Prince Condé, once the king of Poland becomes the king of Poland, it will cause damage to France. Internal turmoil, but let Louis intervene immediately to prevent Prince Condé or Mr. Lorraine from being elected king of Poland. Regardless of whether it can be successful, Mr. Lorraine will not matter, whether Prince Condé will be easy to get The throne and resentment against Louis? It's entirely possible.

Now these two letters are placed in front of Louis XIV. Louis has only Bontang and his brother Philip. These two will never betray him. The king trusts them as if he trusts his own hands. Philip is a little frustrated because This is his fault. Although Louis comforted him that first John II was deposed in 1968, they were fighting in Flanders at the time, and it was normal for the Duke of Orleans to have no time to take care of Poland's internal affairs, and Michal, who was later elected to the throne, came from The family of the Duke of Vishnevitski, his father was a brave man who was good at fighting, and he had never made any mistakes since he came to power. He was in his prime, and he was cautious. Who would have thought that the Polish nobles would rise again. The idea of ​​changing the king's candidate, from 1969 to 1972, was only three years.

Perhaps seeing this, many people will find it incomprehensible - but everyone should remember that the kings of France have more than once proudly claimed that their thrones were obtained by blood, not by words and bribes. , such as the emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire, Louis XIV's greatest enemy, was the emperor elected by the electors, not just because his father was an emperor.

Moreover, in addition to the difference in the way of inheritance, the elector is not as literal as it is said. It is just a prince who elects the emperor. They are descended from various positions in the Holy Roman Empire, and this position cannot be taken away by the emperor - because the emperor originally Only one of them, these positions are even reflected in their family coat of arms like the king's crown, the Pope's key, like the Saxon candidate for the post of Grand Marshal of the Empire, with a long sword on his coat of arms The coat of arms of the King of Bohemia, who serves as the sommelier, is the imperial crown, and the coat of arms of the Archbishop of Mainz, who is in charge of the national seal, is a seal... and so on, these designs not only reflect the electors Majesty, also indicates their power - they are not subjects of the emperor, but "brothers" who share royal power with the emperor, they become the ruling class of the Holy Roman Empire with the emperor, and when they sit with the emperor, people It can be said that sitting in the king's power, not under the king's power, is what it means.

   Therefore, in jurisprudence and theology, the king of France, who controls the entire country, is equal to the Holy Roman Emperor, who only holds part of the kingship.

   But the monarch election system in Poland is different from that of the Holy Roman Empire. If the electoral system of the Holy Roman Empire lasted the empire for hundreds of years, then Poland's electoral system was the culprit that destroyed this once mighty country.

At first, Poland, like the rest of Europa, consisted of many tribal alliances. By the middle of the tenth century, the leaders of the Piast family established an early feudal state, and the Piast dynasty unified Poland about a hundred years later. After three hundred years of peace, the people of Poland were relieved from the continuous war, and the Polish King Boleslaw III made a fair and stupid decision to divide the country into one For the fourth, it was handed over to the four sons. It is conceivable that the war reignited. More than 20 years later, Wladyslaw I unified Poland again, but the roots of the disaster have been planted.

Unlike the cunning French king who constantly took back power and territory from the princes through the war with England, Wladyslaw I's enemies were brothers of equal status, so he needed the help and support of the nobles, so in the twentieth During the years of civil war, the king had to make concessions again and again, and the subsequent kings failed to take it back. In 1505, the king was not allowed to make laws without the consent of the noble assembly.

The real chaos began in 1569, when Sigismund II, the last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, established the monarchy election system, although his original intention was to maintain the Polish monarchy, but he died in 72, and Valu. Although Henrik III of Wa was elected as the king of Poland, he returned to France in 1974 because he was restrained by nobles everywhere and became King Henry III of France. Then came a three-year vacancy period, during which the princes scrambled to take the lead in increasing their power and disregarding the country, until Stefan I, who had married a female descendant of Agiellon, was elected king. The turmoil in Poland gradually subsided. As the monarch of Transylvania, Stefan I was a decisive and tough marriage. If he did not reign for ten years, he reigned for twenty or thirty years. , Poland will not be what it is now.

It is a pity that the monarch died in 1586. The one who took over the kingship was the Vasa dynasty where we are familiar with John II. The first monarch of this dynasty came from Sweden, although his Swedish throne was deposed soon after. Of course, just like his descendants, he is not a good and enterprising king - and although he is no longer the king of Sweden, his policies and actions are unrestrictedly in favor of Sweden, and the Polish aristocratic parliament will certainly not sit idly by. When this happens, a war between Sweden and Poland is inevitable, and needless to say, with a king with a heart for another country, a divided parliament and princes with different thoughts, Poland is simply unable to fight its enemies - 1648 By the "Great Flood" period in 1967, Poland was not only cut off by Sweden, but also forced to give up its monarchy over the Principality of Prussia. The Cossack uprising made them lose control of Ukraine... In fact, Prince Amon of Zmich's complaint to John II is a bit too extreme, because the decline of Poland did not start from the reign of John II. It can only be said that the Polish nobles deliberately chose foreign countries in order to ensure their power. When man is king, chaos and decay in Poland are inevitable.

"In the Polish-Swedish war, it was not that Poland did not win, it was just their internal strife and struggle that ultimately made these victories exchanged for the blood and pain of the soldiers come to nothing," said Louis, who intends to The area of ​​Livonia exchanged by King Carl XI of Sweden was captured by Sweden from Poland in that war, and even with a huge Polish victory at the end of the war, they were not negotiated to be invaded territory to win back.

   "But if, I mean if," said Philip, pondering, "if little Mr. Lorraine becomes King of Poland..."

"It will have a direct impact on our relationship with Sweden," said Louie, who, if Mr. Lorraine Jr hadn't given up his pursuit of Lorraine, and his hatred of Louis XIV, would most likely be in Leopold I attacked Sweden under the instigation of King I, not to mention that Sweden and Poland were originally enemies. The Swedish aristocrats would definitely pass this crime on to France. In this way, the alliance between France and Sweden would inevitably be shaken, and sometimes they did not have something in common. An enemy is a friend - unless France can support Sweden against Poland, but after two consecutive wars, France's most important task is to engulf Flanders and half of the Netherlands, not to engage in another war that does little good for France middle.

There is the Holy Roman Empire between Poland and France. For France, although the prey is fat, there is no way to eat it. Moreover, the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia and Russia are eyeing Poland, and they have already eaten it in the Netherlands. What a loss, how can France be allowed to put its hands in Poland?

   "But it can't be Condé," said Philip, who was very similar to Louis when he was not smiling and looked grim, "Condé was once a traitor."

   "I have forgiven him," said Louie. Then he saw Philip's expression of consternation: "God," he shouted, "you are not considering this possibility, no no no, how can it be Condai?"

   "Why can't it be Kongdai?" Louis asked back: "No matter what mistakes he has made before, don't forget, brother, he is in the same vein as us."

"Because of this, it is all the more hateful," said Philip. "I think the best outcome for him is to return to Chantilly or Condé, or anywhere in the territory, and spend his last days peacefully. , or in other words, even if you throw him in the Bastille, no one will think that you are too much - what he is doing now is only repayment for his previous sins. As long as you do not put him to death and deprive him of his territory, you will not Anywhere to be blamed."

   "But since I knew the Polish nobles had this idea," Louis said, "I just wondered if the Bourbons could pass on their blood in another country..."

"This is really a bold idea, Your Majesty." Bontang said on the side. Although he was only the king's first servant, the king never concealed anything from him. He saw more than any courtier or nobleman. Yuan Yuan, "But you must take into account that Prince Condé is already fifty-one years old, and if he becomes the King of Poland, he will have to face a group of greedy and cunning nobles, a group of foreigners, and even enemies. There is no help there."

   "I believe Condé was not a coward," said Louis, "and he was facing enemies, not relatives and kings."

   "As long as he doesn't think you mean to expel him," said Philip, who quickly thought of another question: "And Sweden, which might feel threatened if Poland becomes a Bourbon possession."

"Sweden did not continue to fight against Poland during the flood, because Sweden was most concerned about Denmark," Louis leaned back: "Let the Swedes fight against Denmark, this is their greatest desire - after all, compared to Poland, Norway is much closer to Sweden.”

   "Then will you keep Prince Condé in France?" asked Bontang.

"That's what I'm going to do with Condé," said Louis, "to see if he's willing to trade his lands and castles for a kingdom." If Condé is willing, then Louis' effort and real money in Polish affairs , at least not to lose money.

   "If so, it's a gamble for him," Bontang said.

   "It depends on how attractive a throne is to him," said Louis.

  The matter was over, and the king took the little bottle full of white powder and poured its contents on the table, where they shone finely by the candlelight.

   "Is this salt?" Philip asked, but then he thought it wouldn't be so ordinary.

   "It's diamond powder," said Louis. "Come to me, brother."

Philip paused for a moment, and moved from the chair opposite the king to the bench beside the king, "This matter has something to do with you, Philip." Louis said, even before, when he was talking about Poland and Condé, He didn't look so gloomy either - Philip moved: "Go ahead, brother," he clenched his fists: "I have nothing to hide, and nothing to hide."

   "It's not that kind of thing," said Louis. "This bottle of powder is to be put into the meals of your wife, the Duchess of Orleans."

Philip's eyes widened all of a sudden, of course, the worst guess in his heart was that someone wanted to use it to threaten his brother's life and framed this evil thing on him, but he really didn't expect it was against him Wife, Duchess of Orleans.

   "But why?" said Philip, "I know there are people who don't like Henrietta, but they haven't killed her yet."

"Those who don't want to see the Anglo-French alliance will," said Louis, who was also surprised at first. Although Henrietta made a secret messenger under his arrangement, when it comes to the Anglo-French alliance, even if there is no She, there are other messengers, Henrietta is a link, and it is not enough to influence the covenant. "Maybe it is just an attempt." Louis murmured: "For those people, even the smallest gap..."

"But the messengers are not what we think they are," said Louis, and of course Madame Montespan could not have given a murder weapon: "The one who wanted to take Henrietta's life, Philip, was hers. Brother."

   "Charles II?"

   "No, Duke of York."

Louis sighed: "The Duke of York knows that when Henrietta was in London, he not only managed to broker the Anglo-French alliance, but also persuaded Charles II to use witchcraft to allow the queen to give birth to an heir, and... lure the Duke of York into marrying him. Having a Catholic daughter, he lost the support of the Protestants and completely lost the possibility of taking the throne."

   "But isn't it the Duke of York's own choice?" Philip said angrily. The Duke of York is notoriously ruthless.

   "Not for him," Louis said: "He is now secretly detained in the Bastille, and this is his confession."

   (end of this chapter)