I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 346 The troubled Cosimo III

In fact, to say that he was familiar, Louis XIV was more familiar with Christian Huygens, because he visited Paris three times and had a good time at the Royal Academy of Sciences. He talked a lot with Descartes, Maury, Pascal and other scholars Huan, he even got a doctorate in Angers, of course his French friends would try to persuade him to stay in Paris, Huygens was also moved, but not long after, King Louis XIV of France The fangs were bared, followed by Holland.

Huygens felt that he could not serve such a tyrant in this way, so he pretended to be sick and returned to The Hague, but he did not expect that he and Spinoza would fall into the hands of the Sun King again, but it can be thought, It's better than falling into the hands of Cosimo III. His complex emotions almost overflowed from his eyes. When he was about to say something, a young man running from another place interrupted him.

"Sir!" The young man ran up to them, looked suspiciously at the group of people around the cage, and lowered his voice - but maybe because he was so excited that everyone here could almost hear - "Mr. Spinoza," he congratulated Spinoza sincerely, "sir, the injustice that has been imposed on you will soon be cleared, and you are qualified to teach us, we have said Moved Ferdinand, the son of the archduke, and he took your paperwork to plead with the archduke!"

   Spinoza opened his mouth.

If I had to find an adjective, it would probably be that he had been tormented in purgatory for many years, and when he had to accept the invitation of the devil, his disciple raised his fork and shoved him into the lava - this feeling really It's hard to describe, even Louis XIV felt a little miserable, the student didn't get the response he deserved, and his expression slowly changed from excitement and joy to confusion, "...I said, you are talking to Ferdinand, the son of the archduke. Say," Huygens took a few deep breaths before he could speak: "You were not educated by an obscure mirror grinder, but by a . . . deviant scholar from Amsterdam . . . "

   "We don't think Mr. Spinoza's idea is wrong." The student said humbly: "He opened a new door for us to observe the world."

   "You also told His Royal Highness Ferdinand... Spinoza's name?"

  The student nodded. "God," Huygens was at a loss for words at this moment: "God, god..." He shouted wildly: "What a fool you have done!" He almost jumped up to catch him Holding the student's collar, roaring loudly, asking him if he was trying to murder his teacher, but before he did, Spinoza laughed, though his laughter seemed to be swept over with an iron broom. The wall, it sounded creepy: "My friend, my Christian," he laughed, and then whispered, "Don't blame them, and don't beg God, we all know that God doesn't Will easily pay attention to the fate of a human being, what He can, knows, and knows is much bigger than this, we are just a speck of dust, but He is the universe."

   "Stop talking," Huygens called weakly.

   "Did we do something wrong?" The student looked more alarmed than Spinoza. "We've even raised a ransom!"

   "It's not about the ransom." Madame Milady interrupted him. "When did you ask your Royal Highness Ferdinand to plead with his father?"

"We persuaded Ferdinand at noon today," said the student, "he promised us that he was going to see his father to talk about something, and he could ask for his amnesty by the way - he had seen Mr. Spinoza He thinks that Mr. is of considerable real talent and knowledge, and can be compared with the Jesuit priests. He also promises us that even if he cannot be released immediately, at least he can be imprisoned or deported. ."

Mrs. Milady looked at the sky. "We are very fortunate, Your Majesty," she said. "If we were a day later, we would see only the body of Mr. Spinoza."

   The student's face turned pale. He looked at Huygens, still not quite understanding what kind of stupid thing he had done.

   "Let's get out of here first." Louis XIV said: "As for... here, Mr. Huygens, you should leave with us first, otherwise there will be an extra cage here."

"But…"

   "You are a mathematician," said the King mildly: "Mr. Huygens, then you should know that a certain 1 is always greater than another uncertain number."

"...you're right," said Alexander, who also had the spell of Madame Milady on him, drank wine, ate candied fruit, and felt better: "You better get out of here first, as for us," he shook Shaking his head, "The worst is to go on the original path."

  Louis tapped his cane: "Not necessarily," he said. "I can assure you that things won't go to the worst."

The student looked at this stranger. His family was still qualified to enter the Pitti Palace to meet the Grand Duke and the King, so he did not know Louis XIV, but this gentleman with outstanding demeanor and handsome appearance only said this sentence because he brought him with him. The atmosphere that had been tense with the news suddenly relaxed silently, as if he was a messenger of God, a saint whose words would inevitably become facts.

   "Looks like we're going back early," Louis said.

He took the crown prince, little Louis, as well as his attendants and servants, and left as mightily as when he came, but in the middle of the journey, Madame Milady left, and little Louis looked at his father: "Madam, she is going Have you planned the next thing?"

"That's right." Louis said, looking at the golden-red light cast on the Cathedral of Notre Dame Flores, the pink and white marbles were like pieces of flickering gold in the afterglow, no, not only this church, but also the Medieval The wonderful Palazzo Vecchio - the current city hall, the Sant'an Bridge on the Arno River, the jeweler's shops in the Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi Palace, the Great Square, as well as countless sculptures, ceiling paintings and water springs, all of which are beautiful. What the Ditch family dedicated to the city, just as Louis XIV could claim that he rebuilt Paris, the Medici could claim that they rebuilt Florence.

   But these feats, if the Florentines were willing to admit, were almost squandered by the descendants of the Medici. Louis XIV had no intention of interfering with the rule of Cosimo III, or rather, such a rule was exactly what he wanted. If Cosimo III was a wise and enlightened ruler, his huge plans for Italy would have met the Duchy of Tuscany. The time became difficult. After all, the Duke of Colonna was the son-in-law of Cosimo III, and Cosimo III had two sons. He saw that neither Ferdinand nor the young Gian were weak. generation.

   He still hopes that his son can get a happy marriage and be happy.

   "What will Cosimo III do?" Little Louis was also looking out the window.

   "If he was angry, he might indulge his malice and immediately send someone to execute all the people there," Louis said.

   "So Mrs. Milady..."

   "Yes," said Louis XIV.

   "But you are the Sun King, Father, and they should obey your will."

Louis couldn't help laughing: "No, no, son, this is Florence, and I am not Louis XII. I will not hinder Cosimo III from exercising his power." A rhythmic crack on the brick: "It's a very disrespectful act, and if I do it, someone will do it to me in the future - of course, maybe no one has the guts, but a lot of things , at least not by me, or for such a small reason."

   He paused: "There is only one exception."

"what?"

  Louis XIV did not say it, but the Dauphin the little Louis already understood.

  ———

   This father and son get along very harmoniously and happily, and the other father and son are not.

Ferdinand is different from little Louis, little Louis' father Louis XIV, and his mother, Princess Teresa of Spain, although there is not much love in their marriage, but Louis is a very responsible person, Teresa The queen is also intelligent by nature. In the ten years she spent because of her embarrassment, she has learned to be cautious and forbear, so as their first child, little Louis grew up in warmth, wealth and love, although such an environment made his His temperament is a bit too mild, but like any pampered child, he has a magnanimous and bright heart.

Ferdinand is very different. His mother, unfortunately, is an ambitious, greedy and vicious woman. When he was newly married, Cosimo III really wanted to accompany her well. Long life, but how does she do it? She always felt that she was going to be a queen, condescending to marry a descendant of a merchant - the history of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany is indeed not very long, and the Medici family also made their fortune in commerce and banking, although there were two popes. With two queens, in the eyes of the French aristocracy, they are still a nouveau riche.

But her marriage with Cosimo III was agreed in 1661. At that time, Louis XIV had been in power for three years. Gaston, Duke of Orleans, had come to an end in his political life. He was seriously ill and old. He had no son. The territory and title are destined to be inherited by the king's younger brother Philip. In view of his indifference and meanness to the eldest daughter, the Duchess of Montpensier, don't expect this sister to be so warm to her half-sister. The Duke of Gaston can say that It was only after using up the last few contacts that he finally sent his last daughter to Florence.

It is a pity that the Princess Margaret did not understand her father's hard work at all. She was like a queen, even godlike, and her retaliatory splurge and intensified blackmail made Cosimo III's love go away quickly. And she was miserable. She didn't love her children, and only regarded them as hard labor that she had to do. Not long after Ferdinand was born, she was thrown to the nurse by her.

A nursing mother, even if she is dedicated enough, can not be compared with a real mother. It is a pity that Cosimo III's mother was busy with government affairs at that time. Cosimo III left behind, and he was not as concerned about this grandson as the granddaughter later. , Cosimo III was frustrated in his marriage. At this time, he had begun to devote himself to prayer and penance, hoping to find solace in it, and he could not think of this son.

As a result, Cosimo III did not think of his son until he was about to become an adult, or when the Grand Duchess of King Louis XIV of France was mainly choosing a husband. There is no doubt that Ferdinand let him down, whether it was academic, Still thinking, he is like a child, the only thing worthy of praise is that his body is still healthy.

Because Ferdinand has been raised by a nursing mother, the children around him are not the children of the big Florentine family and officials, but only the children of some ordinary people-of course, this ordinary has also exceeded the poor many times, and he raised them among them. He has become a frivolous character, less responsible and less religious than his father, and only likes to wander around and have fun.

His uncle had already told his father that Ferdinand was interested in going to Paris and Versailles - everyone knew he was just going to play, Cosimo III never had this method, mainly because his daughter was in Paris After a few years of study, although she has comfortably become a lady of talent and character, it can also be seen that the influence of the French on her has surpassed the influence of the Italians on her.

Cosimo III can endure such a daughter. After all, she is going to marry someone else, but his own son, especially the eldest son, his heir - he is worried that Ferdinand is in Paris, and Verre has spent a few years in disbelief. , even considers himself a Frenchman, better than an Italian, the Medici family has a shallow foundation, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany has been able to maintain its current status only because the grand dukes of all dynasties have been smooth between the countries, never to any A king or an emperor is loyal, otherwise Tuscany, a small principality that even has to hire an army, has long since become a victim of the rivalry between two strong men.

The Duke of Colonna and Anna's marriage were promised because the Duke of Colonna was nominally an Italian. If he was legally recognized by Louis XIV, Cosimo III would never agree, lest he would attract Leopold, the Holy Roman Emperor. De I's suspicion and anger.

   But if he really let Ferdinand go to Paris - can Ferdinand come back like him, standing neatly between the two countries, impartiality?

He looked at his son, who was almost taller than his own, full of worry, but Ferdinand, without taking into account his father's pains, came to tell--yes, tell, the father said that he would go back to Paris with the French , maybe a few years at the university there, he doesn't seem to have thought of going deeper at all, easily like the son of a goldsmith rather than the son of an archduke.

Ferdinand is not a vicious person, it's just that when a child needs to establish a reliable ideological and moral system, he is surrounded by nurses, servants and other characters, you don't even think about his foresight - it stands to reason He said that when he was seven years old, he should have arranged a teacher for him, but because of Cosimo III's perversion before, almost all famous scholars in Florence have left, and scholars in Italy or other places are not willing to accept Tuscany Hired by the Archduke, a Jesuit monk came to serve him - but we all know that the harsh system of boarding and corporal punishment came from the Jesuit school, and this monk was also educated with clubs and whips.

Of course, as the son of the grand duke, even if Ferdinand didn't study hard, he would be punished by his companion, but his companion was the child of the nurse. For Ferdinand, this was his brother, and it was precisely because of Fei Dinant's nature is not bad, how can he bear others to punish his brother at will (his thoughts)? The first time the Jesuits beat his escort, he jumped up, burned his clubs, and in turn led a group of urchins to beat the teachers.

Although the Archduke sternly reprimanded him, he said that he would stop hitting the teachers, but after that, as soon as the class started, he fled with his brothers.

After that, the Archduke and his wife were involved in scandalous scandals and disputes (Note 1), and no one cared about his studies anymore, so Ferdinand was like the son of the previous Italian prince, accepted in the streets and in the courtyard. Education, he can grow into what he is now, instead of becoming a shameless thug and criminal, it is a good fortune for Cosimo III, Cosimo III has also had it, so it is not a bad idea, but It is now evident to him that Ferdinand's fondness for the French has gone a little too far.

What he did not tell Ferdinand was that he was intending to marry the daughter of the Elector of Bavaria of the Holy Roman Empire, who was on the side of Emperor Leopold I, so that he could also reconcile with Leopold I. At the same time, because Leopold I would never watch France invade Italy, he could also ensure that the Duchy of Tuscany would not be annexed by the future Naples.

Seeing that the portrait of the Elector's daughter is about to be sent to Florence, he should go to receive the audience of the messenger as heir and fiancé, but now he is going back to Paris with the French, although everyone knows the filth in politics. Sure enough, but could he send messengers and portraits to Paris or Versailles and slap an emperor and a king in the face at the same time?

Ferdinand looked at his father's furious appearance, but he was very happy in his heart. His entire childhood had been carefree because of being neglected. He was eleven or twelve years old, when he was most active and most rebellious, Cosimo The third began to treat him too harshly. If the former can continue to be strict, he may be able to correct the distorted seedling of Ferdinand. The problem is that at that time, the Duke of Gian had not been born, and the Medici family had a genetic disease of gout. Cosimo III does not know when he will be called by God, so in this family war, the archduke is still the first to show signs of weakness.

  So Ferdinand was like a wild horse that ran away completely, running on the road of wanton behavior and never looking back.

  Note 1: In early 1672, Margaret Louise pretended to be ill, and Louis XIV sent Anne's personal physician, Elliott Levy, of Austria, to treat Margaret Louise. But Elliott did not follow Marguerite Louise's plan to return to France on the grounds of her illness, and pretended to improve her "illness" with hot water. In December, Margaret Louise went to Villa Pratolino and never returned.

   (end of this chapter)