I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 313 The King's Royal Expedition (4)

   "Then we..."

Duke Sobieski glanced at the eager nephew and shook his head: "We have to wait for the outcome of this battle, boy, and at the same time, we can also gain a lot from this process." He knew why this nephew was He would have been so diligent, that the bribes of the Austrians had already fed him - it was not the ambition of this young man who was disappointed in him, and who dared to say that he had not dreamed of a day on the throne of kings, especially those who were not as good as Louis XIV and Lee. The people of Opold I, the two rulers have not yet been born, the crown and the scepter are prepared for them.

   And they still have to use money, land, war horses under their crotch, and swords in their hands to fight and snatch. When he decided to lead his army to Lviv, was there no resentment against Louis XIV in his heart? His mother was the daughter, not the son, of a Polish commander, his lands and castles were acquired by marriage, and his glory rested on his exploits—Louis XIV seemed to have left him a choice, but he knew There is only one way he can go.

   At that time, if he insisted on returning to Warsaw, even if he could become the king of Poland, what was the use of a king without the love and trust of the people and soldiers? Can he reform the king-selection system? Or can you control those bishops and great nobles? Or ask those shraztas to work for them? He can't do anything. He had to go back to Lviv, so that the Polish people had at least their Duke Sobieski, a hero against the infidels.

  When he was in Lviv, he had worried, what if the French Prince Condé was not as bright as people say? After all, he is also someone who has competed with his relatives for the throne. What he didn't expect was that, within a few days, two messengers rushed to the front. The first messenger sent the news that Da Kongdai had become the king of Poland, the second The messenger came with the news that King Ludwig I of Poland was about to lead his army to the rescue.

In all sincerity, Sobieski was grateful and a little unbelieving at that time, but it was the fact that the new king of Poland put on the crown and the armor, there was no banquet, no procession, and even the Mass was held by the king. He was not there—he led the dragoons that France had made famous after the Battle of the Lowlands, galloping around the clock, and arrived in Lviv in less than a week.

Don't say that five or six days is too long - now it only takes thirteen hours to travel from Warsaw to Lviv by train, but at that time there was almost no road from Warsaw to Lviv, not to mention Ludwig I And his army has to go through many battlefields and battlefields occupied by the Ottoman Turks, as well as the territories of the great Polish nobles. Fighting and negotiating have always been the most time-consuming - at least after the messenger left, Sobieski was the most optimistic. It is estimated that it is also two weeks, or even a month, and he has nothing to blame.

   At that time, even Sobieski's bodyguards, and even Sobieski himself, could not help standing up and shouting the name of Grand Conte when he saw the flying banner of golden lily on a blue background.

There is also a funny thing to say, that is, the pronunciation of Kongdai is similar to Kant in Polish, and some Tatars and Cossacks mistakenly pronounce it as Kangwo - this is a common and convenient vulgar word in Polish, It probably means greeting your maternal relatives, and the popularity is very high, so they also shouted: "Kangwo! Kangwo!"

It's not their fault, because in Poland, a noble generally has two ways of showing his identity, one is the well-known coat of arms, and the other is the slogan they shout during battle. Every family is different, just Just like their coat of arms, simple words like hail, blade, devil, that send chills all over the body.

It was only after Ludwig I and Sobieski had driven out the Ottoman Turks in Lviv that Ludwig I told Sobieski that he intended to make his family's battle cry "Beasts". This is also a bit related, because the Kongdai family is a side branch of the Bourbon family, and the coat of arms of Bourbon is the golden lily on a blue background. With a red diagonal stripe, red is degueules in heraldry, and gueules usually refers to the mouth of an animal in French. Of course, this is a very fitting and brave slogan.

   Then as soon as they stepped out of the tent, they heard the earth-shattering "Convo! Convo! Convo!!"

  …

  Although Ludwig I tried his best to correct this erroneous concept, but it was too impressive... Thinking of this, Sobieski couldn't help bursting out with a hearty laugh. His nephew thought about it too - especially the upcoming war, just hope the French and Austrians don't understand Polish.

After laughing, Duke Sobieski patted his nephew's shoulder: "That's it," he said affectionately: "Even the Tartars know that good things are only the most valuable when they are in their hands. Letting others see your eagerness will only make the treasure dusty, and this is just the beginning, no one knows what will happen in the future."

Grand Condé of France brought his eldest son to Poland, but his eldest grandson stayed in Versailles, and even exchanged his hereditary territory and title with the French king for his full support. Everyone knew that he was not here to do this. One of the kings of Poland, Louis XIV and Grand Condé, both intended to keep the blood of Bourbon alive in Poland for a long time.

   But for those great Polish nobles, those Schrachta deputies, would they be willing? No, they won't want to, not to mention how much the constant rotation of the so-called "monarchs" of different nationalities can bring them, they also long to become the person on the throne one day - it can be said that the current Poland is a shrinking The Holy Roman Empire, you can ask the electors, are they willing to give up the power in their hands?

Moreover, once Poland has an orthodox and noble king, he must, like Louis XIV of France, try his best to reduce the territory and power of the great aristocracy, and consolidate and expand the kingship. Can they be passed down steadily for more than a dozen generations, even expanding day by day, would they be willing to have such a king?

So Sobieski was not interested at all about the olive branch that Leopold I cast. Louis XIV would at least buy his wheat with gold, Louis and silver, and Leopold I really regarded himself as Rome. Emperor? With just a letter to incite his ambitions? Of course, he has ambitions, but it is precisely because of his ambitions that he needs to recuperate and lay down his foundation before going back to think about the next things - Da Kongdai was born in 21, he was born in 29 , he still has time.

Duke Sobieski thought of this, and ordered his nephew to ask if Ludwig I had returned from King Louis XIV of France. A few minutes later, his nephew told him that Ludwig I had King I hadn't left Louis XIV's castle, and looking at the sky, it was very likely that they would have dinner together or even stay overnight - Duke Sobieski immediately showed a toothache and muttered "These sissy Frenchmen" , shaking his head back to the tent.

It is not without reason that Leopold I chose Kamnic as the gathering place for the coalition. This city is a big city in Slovenia, behind it is the Alps, and on its side is the famous Willikarp Rani Heights, about two or three miles away from Kamnico, has been the largest herdsman settlement in Europa for more than a thousand years. It is conceivable how vast it is, and it can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. For the army, the lush pastures here can also supply war horses and cattle, and the cloud-like livestock and dairy products can also ease the pressure on military supplies.

When Ludwig I got up from his long-lost bed, it was still like a dream—to be fair, the conditions in Warsaw were not only inferior to Versailles, but even not as good as Paris. When he stayed at the Old Palace in Warsaw for the first time, he even thought Guess that John II, who retired to a French monastery, is now living in better conditions than himself? After all, when the king's craftsmen invented the flush toilet, no one thought that the priests of the monastery would be more enthusiastic than the ladies in the boudoir - they also liked the shower, the bathtub and the running water, but think about it, there are many monasteries that can be the first Dating back to ancient Roman times, the toilet facilities at that time, whether it was in the water or the water, were more complete than the new buildings after that.

As soon as he woke up, a personal attendant came to serve him. When he saw that he was not holding a water basin, Ludwig I was still a little bit unable to react, but he immediately remembered that although Louis XIV was five days old He just entered the city before, but his engineering team arrived a month ago, and they didn't do anything extra, just like a swarm of busy worker bees around the castle reserved for Louis XIV Make a makeover.

   So there are fully equipped bathrooms like Versailles.

While sighing, Ludwig I dipped his toes into the hot bath water, and asked his personal attendant if there was anyone from the King of France to send a letter to arrange today's meeting. He specially came to tell them that His Majesty hopes to have dinner with Ludwig I. Before that, His Majesty Ludwig I should rest and calm down.

Ludwig I was going to talk to Louis XIV yesterday, after all, the next thing is very urgent, but Louis was surprised when he saw his haggard face and all his gray hair, and quickly Let the doctors and monks around him examine him - mainly Ludwig I did not have a good rest for a few days before. He and Duke Sobieski treated the Cossacks and Tatars well, although the Polish and other Catholics were treated well. It was a good thing for the country, but it aroused the dissatisfaction of some great nobles. He asked him to say that this was purely a guilty conscience, because they managed to cut off the Tatars' military expenditures and triggered the rebellion of the Tatars.

The problem is that Ludwig I can't help them for the time being. He now deeply understands how Louis XIV faced himself during the first Frond riot. Maybe he should say retribution... "I remember my There should be a gold necklace inlaid with amber in the luggage, right," he asked, "and take it to Monsieur Bontang."

  The attendant hesitated for a moment: "To Mr. Bontang?"

   Who is Bontang? The first personal attendant beside the king of France, some people joked that he was the one who stayed with Louis XIV the longest, better than the queen and the royal lady-he was the first and last checkpoint beside Louis XIV. It was a pity that there were not many people who could make him say a word in front of the king, bowing down and humiliating - it was a pity that there were not many people who could make this overly cautious squire chief speak for him.

It is because of this prudence that he has attracted the envy and hatred of many people. At least when Ludwig I was Prince Condé, he heard such a joke. Saying to those who ask him: "I'll tell the king, I'll tell the king..." Over time, this became a perfunctory cliché, so much so that an abbot asked him what time it was. Mr. Tang is also saying - "I will tell the king, I will tell the king...".

But as long as anyone who knows a little about the situation around Louis XIV knows that Mr. Bontang has always maintained the silence and humility that a personal servant should have, he will never promise anyone that he will report to the king, and others will doubt it. Forget it, if he suspects that Louis XIV is trying to alienate or punish them, then it would be bad not to respond - they said it only to ridicule and attack Bontang.

   "But Your Majesty," asked Ludwig I's squire, "will he accept it?"

"Yes," said Ludwig I kindly: "Bontang to your majesty," he naturally addressed Louis XIV: "like a trusted friend and relative, not a bribe, but a Gift, Your Majesty will be delighted about it."

Ludwig I was right. After Bontang got the gift, he immediately came and told Louis that Louis admired the heavy amber necklace. The Polish city of Tansko was rich in amber, and the amber on this necklace was It was polished into a square the size of a thumb, showing a translucent golden yellow, which is indescribably moving.

   "Since it's a present for you," said Louis, "take it well, Bontang."

   "But it's too expensive."

   "I still have a whole box of similar amber here, Bontang. It's a gift from Ludwig I."

   "But you are the king..."

"You are the indispensable first attendant by the king's side," Louis said soothingly: "Bondon, if it is Jan Sobieski, you have to be careful, but this is Ludwig I, the former Condé. Prince, he's a member of Bourbon, he knows you're worthy of this gift, and he knows I'll think you're worthy, so don't worry, take it, take it, whoever you want to put it on superior."

As a digression, there were also war horns in ancient China, but when Mr. Zhang filmed "Hero", the fact that the Qin army shouted "Great Wind and Great Wind" is an artistic fiction, but it is not without factual basis, the army of the Tang Dynasty There is a tradition of chanting "big wind" before a war to boost morale. The wind here has two meanings, one is "uplift", and the other is to describe "civilization"... Yes, that's what you think it means.

The same is true of Cornwall here, and it actually sounds a bit interesting - imagine a group of strong cavalry riding horses with spears, or holding muskets high, facing the enemy in front, shouting "I*! I*!!" and then Bravely rushing into battle... Even the spoken language has become noble...

   (end of this chapter)