I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 327 Ljubljana

The assassination of the Prince of France in the woods was not as good as what little Louis had thought. More than 200 lives could be stopped. The same thing happened three hundred years later in Sarajevo not far away, causing a war that swept the whole world. The same incident led to the expulsion, imprisonment or execution of the people of the Sava River Valley. In places he could not see, many more people paid the price for this accident, even if they did not know anything.

These highland herdsmen were completely cornered. After they lost their cattle, sheep, tents, and the right to go into exile, for themselves and their families, they could only sell themselves at a very low price—all they could hope for was, After the war, surviving, the victors who survive will get a reward from the war that can even make up for their previous losses - unbeknownst to them, it is not far from them, the Ottomans The Turkish slave soldiers thought so too.

These slave soldiers are also fresh and cheap. After the tactics of fortifying the walls and clearing the fields were adopted by the generals of the coalition, the Ottoman army led by Ahmed did encounter some troubles. Empty a city, Ahmed's original plan was to extort and loot part of the city he passed by, but after this idea was shattered, the army of the vassals and servants immediately felt the pressure of food, in order to appease the hungry hyenas , the Grand Vizier Ahmed allowed them to loot at will—although the cities they had to pass through were empty, but there were other villages and towns nearby. In the past, as long as these villages and towns were willing to provide food, women, gold and silver, the Grand Vizier would ensure that the other party would not be harmed, but now, Ahmed must transfer the pressure he faces to the former. Of course, he There was no hesitation in making this decision, it was a Christian village.

Even in Istanbul, although Christians can maintain their own beliefs and do not have to abide by the complex and cumbersome rules and regulations that the Ottoman Turks must abide by, they are burdened with heavy taxes and are regarded as trapped in the land. Slave, won't get a little respect. Even more so in Ottoman Turkey, and even more so in the enemy's land, it must be said that there is something to be regretted, that is, the great loss of the Grand Vizier Ahmed.

Because according to tradition, if a village or a city surrenders to the Grand Vizier, all its assets will belong to the Grand Vizier. Although this asset also has a part of Sudan, it is better than what Ahmed is now. None of them came as well - huge tents were erected on the hills, the Grand Vizier's tent was only slightly inferior to the Sultan's, it took up almost the whole hill, and was divided into several rooms with hanging silk drapery, They are used as bedrooms, meeting rooms, conference rooms and even toilets. All places are covered with gorgeous silk carpets and beautifully furnished.

There is a small round table by Ahmed's hand. The silver pot on the table is filled with milk mixed with honey, and the silver plate is filled with sweet snacks. Musicians with tambourines, pan flutes and long recorders are sitting in the tent. On the fringes, they were several musicians in the prestigious Ottoman Turkish military band, but when there was no war, they served the Grand Vizier and other high-ranking officers.

The corner of the tent was opened, and from here you could see the vast tents, which were lined up like a meandering cowhide river. The slave soldiers were imprisoned in the open air like cattle and sheep. Sheri - their bare white skin is no different from cattle and sheep. These should have been the property of the Grand Vizier, but as soon as Ahmed realized the intention of the Catholic coalition, he immediately gave up this right.

His decision was timely, and Azap, who occupied the most troops in the army, immediately quieted down. Those people are easy to satisfy. A slave, a coin, or a good piece of oily meat, a bottle of wine is enough can send. Although Ahmed had to lose a considerable amount of income based on the number of people, the money was nothing compared to the number of people on his head - in Ottoman Turkey, a sultan who was defeated in a war After returning, he could not keep his throne and life, not to mention that Ahmed was only a grand vizier after all. Although Muhammad IV was willing to obey his father's teachings, it was hard to say anything about him.

Ahmed watched the soldiers like ants with sadness in his heart. He had realized that not only might he not be able to achieve the victory that Muhammad IV had hoped for, but he might even stay here forever as a soldier. Nameless Skeleton.

  ———

  The worries of the Grand Vizier are unknown, not even members of the Muteferika cavalry regiment or the Yenicheri regiment, not to mention the lowest Azaps.

Of course, even if these Azaps know, do they still have any superfluous ideas? These infantry were originally used by the major legions of Ottoman Turkey to kill the enemy's forces, and their origins are complex and humble - most of them are Anna The Turkmens of Tolia, and the civilians of the border provinces—twenty to thirty households have a male soldier, and provide food and equipment, which of course is usually only enough for him to go to the conscription point, and also There are volunteer infantrymen, all religious or converted Christians, who are paid by their villages, not by the army - so one might wonder, why would they join the army if that is the case? Back to the previous question, the answer is still the same, they need to get money from the war to pay the heavier taxes.

In situations like this, the Grand Vizier allowed them to loot like Ali Baba opened the door to the treasury of thieves, the wheat fields that had been harvested and burned early, the empty cities, the desolate villages brought to them. The anxiety disappeared immediately, and wherever you went, it was lively and joyful.

   Their joy was based on the suffering of Christians.

Those villages and towns who thought they would not be affected had almost no chance of resistance when facing the Ottoman army. They begged to see the Grand Vizier, but these people's necks often broke the fastest. Of course, these Azap Wouldn't want the Grand Vizier to change his mind.

   And unlike the places the Ottomans once conquered, Ahmed did not need to drag their slaves, the women, children and old men in captivity would all be killed, leaving only

  Young male slave.

   These slaves were the first soldiers to collide with the coalition highland herdsmen and the surrounding Slovenians.

This is a cruel thing, because this war has nothing to do with the citizens and herders of Slovenia, but the battlefield is in their homes, their wives and children become fuel and food, and their parents are like livestock Killed like that, they themselves became the "material" to fill the trenches and the blades - they might have known each other, maybe even drank and danced together, but now they can only charge each other naked, some holding Sticks and farm implements, some people have empty hands, some daring and naive people are still expecting the rewards promised by adults, some people can only kneel down and look at the sky and pray to God to save them. Whether it was the coalition or the Ottomans, there were supervising teams.

   The dauphin of France, the little Louis, was not the commander-in-chief of Ljubljana—even in name only, and he trembled with fright when he looked out through the binoculars.

   This is literally a purgatory in the human world. The fighting in the woods kept him up at night, and the piercing of two hundred people made him restless even during the day. How many people are fighting and dying here? One thousand, three thousand or ten thousand? He couldn't count, only knew that it was just the beginning, that so many people had died before the coalition and Ottoman armies even saw each other's faces.

The encounter in the woods had already taught the Dauphin that the real battle would have no openings, that the knights would not call out their names and titles, they would not bow to each other, and the losers would receive no admiration and A solemn burial, and now he knows that even the greatest and noblest wars against the heretics are filthy and rotten.

Contrary to what one might think, you don't hear much angry cries among these enslaved and forced to fight crowds, almost silent, struck in the head with clubs, pierced through the chest with pitchforks, flailed with flails. When their necks were broken, their screams were like sighs, and they fell down with their eyes wide open like cows and sheep—looked through the telescope, there were people like this everywhere, and they fell up and down. In the dust, tears flowed.

   "You must be thinking," said General Vauban suddenly: "This is not something your father would have done."

  Little Louis shook his head slowly: "No, sir, if it were me, I would do the same."

Vauban glanced at the crown prince beside him in surprise. The crown prince has not grown up, but his height and weight are no less than that of a real adult, but there is still a little childishness on his face: "Antoine, Barre and Gabriel is dead, sir, in the encounter not long ago." He choked and said, "My father knows many more people than I do."

General Vauban nodded: "Yes, Your Highness, His Majesty's memory is extremely outstanding, he can remember many people who appeared in front of him." He paused: "And after every battle, your father will die in battle. The soldier’s pension list was signed, and although Lord Lois can handle this matter, he has persisted until today.”

   "What does that feel like?" the crown prince murmured.

   "I don't know, but Your Majesty must be having a hard time," said General Vauban.

   "So for the sake of our soldiers," said little Louis, "we must sacrifice our honor and morals."

"You are the dauphin of the French, and your majesty is the king of the French," said Vauban; "your father said that as much a king is hated by foreigners, he is loved by his own people." Passing the telescope in Little Louis's hand, "The battle won't end so soon, are you going to take a break?"

"This is what my father wants me to see." The crown prince looked out. Without the blessing of the telescope, he could not see the faces of the Slovenian people clearly, but after losing the details, the color took over almost all of his attention.

The sky is blue, the ground is a rough dark green, the trenches are like criss-crossing strips of black paint, and people like ant colonies are mixed together like a gray current, and they flow here and there, little by little. Fill the trench with the ground.

   (end of this chapter)