I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 374 The father and son of the Berlin Palace (two more in one)

When Frederick returned to the Berlin Palace in Brandenburg, his father the Elector was standing in front of the largest and most complete wall of the conference room, looking at a map of Europa—not the kind depicted by the monks before, rather than a The exact geographical description is more like a map drawn by religion, but a map he invited wizards in Prussia to map with the help of the eyes of ravens.

This map is almost always hidden behind a veil, and the elector seldom pulls it up, so as not to arouse people's doubts, because as long as they see it, others will know that this map is absolutely extraordinary - Frederick I Seeing it, he couldn't help but slow down. He and his father looked at this map. Unlike the previous obscure pictures, this map accurately outlined the existing territory of Brandenburg-Prussia. - On the map, Brandenburg-Prussia looks like a long, thin ribbon flying up, with Brandenburg at the bottom left, East Prussia at the top right, and East Pomerania in the middle, surrounded by a ribbon It's Poland.

The Hohenzollern family of Brandenburg-Prussia can even be called a new noble among most of the families with a long tradition. First of all, the Hohenzollern family was canonized as an earl in the eleventh century. At that time, their surname was Sauron. Later, because of their allegiance to the Hohenstaufen family and the Habsburg family, they were fortunate enough to be named as the new elector after the original Duchy of Brandenburg became extinct. His grandfather got Prussia through marriage, and merged the two places into one. After Frederick's father took the throne, he worked hard and cautiously, and finally put the "Europa sand bottle (referring to the barren in people's mouths. Brandenburg and the chaotic Prussian governance became what it is now - that's why people called him "the Great Elector," a term rich in compliments.

This map is like a bucket of cold water mixed with ice cubes poured directly on Frederick's body, his hot head suddenly sobered up - the great prince knew that it was his son who entered the room, but he did nothing said, just quietly with his hands behind his back, looking at the map, and after a few minutes he turned around and looked at Frederick. Frederick was over twenty years old, a strong and handsome young man, and when he left Berlin, he had a light beard on his lips, which has now been cleaned up - King Louis XIV of France because of the beard It is easy to hide the filth and dislike the fact that everyone around you grows beards. The coat on Frederick is even the uniform of the Royal Military Academy of France, with a royal blue background, white buttons and a golden belt, and boots that can be pulled up to the knees. This dress makes Frederick look energetic and energetic. Handsome, but also made the candidate sigh uncontrollably.

   "Do you want to rest? Or talk to me now?" the father asked his son.

  Frederick clearly grabbed a chair next to him. He was a little dazed at first, but then suddenly became calmer than before: "I'll talk to you now."

   "I'll have someone bring wine," said the elected candidate.

The two of them moved to the hearth, like the Duke of Orleans and the Grand-Country, Brandenburg was colder than Versailles, and the fire in the hearth cast a golden-red light that made the whole room seem to be soaked in In gold and blood, Frederick first drank a large gulp of heated Baden wine, which is also wine, because Baden is in the southernmost part of Brandenburg-Prussia, and the alcohol content of wine is also higher than that produced in other regions. The wine was high, and when he took a sip, his body immediately warmed up. The considerate servant also brought white sausage, yellow mustard and veal liver soup. He squeezed the sausage, peeled the skin, dipped it in the yellow mustard, swallowed it, and drank another large amount. A bowl of soup, the chief candidate quietly waited for him to finish eating and drinking, and watched him gargle with wine before signaling that he could start talking.

   "I heard that King Carlos II of Spain has come to Versailles." said the Elector.

   "Yes," said Frederick, "I saw him."

   "It is said that his physical condition has greatly improved," said the chief candidate: "As you can see, is that true?"

  Frederick was silent for a while: "He can walk freely, ride horses, hunt, and one of his maids is said to be pregnant, and he seems to have a clear head, and can speak to us in French."

The Great Elector stared at him for a while, then smiled reassuringly: "I'm glad you didn't humiliate a king at will because of your personal desires." As his heir, Frederick must remain calm, whether a king is ugly, Whether he is old or deformed, no one cares, what Frederick said is what people care about. His body looks quite healthy, he can control his emotions and thoughts, and he can get a woman pregnant. that's enough.

   "But you are stronger than him, handsomer than him, and more knowledgeable than him," said the chief candidate sharply: "The county master also loves you more, which is why you are in front of me."

   "Yes, Father," said Frederick, "I have come to seek an opportunity."

"I am seeking an opportunity for you, for your descendants," said the Elector, who did not hide his thoughts from Frederick: "You may be a king, or your son will be a king, but if Provoked the wrath of Leopold I against us, and Hohenzollern may have to wait a hundred years."

   "Father, the dowry of the great county lord is one million livres, plus a fief of Friedland."

The Electoral Candidate pursed his lips in surprise. As I said before, Brandenburg has always been Europa's "sand bottle". There are wizards, but even wizards cannot be created out of nothing. They need at least one direction - what makes the elector more exciting is a fief of Friedland - Friesland is located above North Holland, facing the Wadden Sea, The outside surrounds just a chain of islands. Although he still doesn't know where the dowry of the great county master is, he can't help but the position of the elector is unstable - what he has always been seeking is to expand an outlet for Brandenburg-Prussia, instead of being stuck in Europa as it is now .

Even if there is no port in the territory of the great county lord, Friedland is much better than Brandenburg, which is 18,000 miles away from the sea, and if he becomes an in-law with the French king and wants to lease North Holland or Other ports shouldn't be a problem - now he can only swim around the Ulster Lake if he wants to train the navy!

The Elector's fingers clenched involuntarily, but he also knew very well that Leopold I hated Louis XIV to death, not that there was any unsolvable grievance between them - sheer jealousy, many people could It can be seen that, after all, they are of the same age and wealth, and they are still brother-in-law - a **** brother-in-law! Leopold I prided himself on being a gifted and talented person, and was dedicated to becoming the real "Emperor", but he was always one step ahead of Louis XIV, not only in marriage, but also in heirs. Moreover, according to some secrets known by the Elector, he said, Louis XIV played Leopold I badly once, presumably on Flanders, after all, if he hadn't had a secret negotiation with Leopold I first, how could Leopold I How about standing by while the Spaniards are losing ground in the French attack on Flanders?

The general battle not long ago directly stimulated Leopold I. After all, he had to ask for help from his old enemy, and he owed a large amount of debt. Even the queen's jewelry was mortgaged to repay... It was enough to make Leo Pod I replaced the devil with the name of Louis XIV.

If Brandenburg-Prussia moved closer to Louis XIV, whether for personal or public reasons, Leopold I would certainly regard the Hohenzollern family as enemies and rebels, then the elector planned to upgrade the Duchy of Prussia. For the kingdom, I don't know how long it will be delayed, but this must be recognized by the Holy Roman Emperor, and the French king can't help at this point - unless Leopold I suddenly accepts the following day. God was inspired to go to heaven, and the emperor elected by the electors was Louis XIV... Forget it, even if you think about it with your toes, it is impossible. The princes of the Holy Roman Empire are now jealous and jealous of France. , they chose Louis XIV as the emperor, and Louis XIV dared to make this emperor worthy of the name, let alone others, even the elected candidate would not vote for that guy.

   "But," said Frederick hesitantly, holding the cup, "what if His Majesty the Emperor is also happy to see this result?"

"What?" The Elector had already guessed a little, but he also thought about it to see if Frederick could think that far: "Why do you think His Majesty the Emperor would like us to marry Louis XIV? "

"There are several reasons," Frederick licked his lips: "First of all, father, the Grand Princess is the daughter of the Duke of Orleans, and with such a large dowry, she is unlikely to be married to a Frenchman, which is very… It's a waste, so," he looked at his father's face: "she still has to marry a powerful king, or a grand duke, but the eldest princess has already married the Swedish king Carl XI, and the crown princess is Portugal. The princess of , there are not many choices for the Sun King and the Duke of Orleans..."

   "Not much, but not none, Savoy, Parma..." The electoral candidate casually gave two examples.

   "Yes, but if this is the case, the king of France will also be helped. In this case, what is the difference between us and them?"

   "The difference is that for Prussia to be promoted from a duchy to a kingdom, Leopold I's approval was required, but he would definitely want the grand princess to become a grand duchess, not a queen."

"But on the other hand, if the Grand Princess does not become my wife, then her greatest possibility is to become the Queen of Spain." Frederick spread his hands: "Father, as far as I can see, the Duke of Orleans and Louis Fourteen's doting on her—and France's...will to Spain, once she gets married to Spain," he said with a little difficulty, "will be pregnant at the fastest speed. Carlos II seems healthy, but no one can I don’t know how long he can live. As the queen mother, the grand county master will definitely be the regent on behalf of her son. She will definitely lean towards France, not Austria or other countries. At that time, the Habsburg will also be equivalent to losing. Spain."

   "The Spaniards will not allow her to do that," said the Electoral Candidate.

"Orange." Frederick only said one word, but the elector immediately understood, because William II of Orange left only one posthumous son, that is, when William III was around, the surrounding area of ​​William III It was also after a lot of competition, first the Dutch, then Brandenburg - the wife of the great candidate was William I's daughter, and then the English, why are they surrounded by a person who doesn't understand anything? By the child's side, isn't it because he is almost equivalent to the Netherlands?

Presumably the French will do the same. If Spain is still the prosperous Spain, the Spanish can of course refuse the French fearlessly, but under Philip IV, Spain was too weak to pay Queen Teresa's half a million Riffel's dowry—after the accession of Carlos II, Duke Don Juan, the illegitimate son of Philip IV—since he could not inherit the throne, of course he would not cherish the country very much, and he was even more aggressive, ostracizing dissidents everywhere, and wanting to serve the country. To do something in Spain, you have to submit to the feet of an illegitimate child with humiliation like Juan Patinho.

Not to mention the Queen Mother of Spain, she couldn't even deal with the Duke of Don Juan, and was even expelled. If it wasn't for the ministers at the court who saw Louis XIV's bold actions and decided to desperately ask the dark wizard to heal the king, it is necessary to If someone came to restrain Duke Don Juan, she still didn't know where she was floating.

   "You're almost trying to convince me." The chief candidate took a sip of the wine, which was cold, but still warm when swallowed.

   "I'm not sure either, it depends on whether Leopold I is willing to continue his hatred and jealousy, or whether he is willing to get Spain in a few years."

   "He may want everything," said the Eldest Candidate. "He may be willing to see the Grand County Lord marry you, and then refuse our request."

   "Then tell him that as long as the marriage is successful, we are willing to pay half of the dowry of the grand princess." Frederick said: "He owes Louis XIV 1,500,000 livres."

   Electoral candidate rubbed his glass repeatedly, "I don't know if we should take this risk."

"After all, the Holy Roman Empire and Spain got married first." Frederick said: "The eldest princess of the Holy Roman Empire, Antonia, is also eight years old, and she is only a few years away from her adulthood. If the marriage between Spain and France is destroyed, Cardinal It is very difficult for Ross II to find another suitable princess or princess, so maybe in a few years..."

   "Would Louis XIV be willing?"

This quote gets to the point: "I saw at Versailles how Louis XIV got along with his children, and how he believed in his younger brother, whom the Duke of Orleans regarded as a treasure," Frederick said. Lie affirmed: "They will find other ways to solve this matter, and sacrificing the grand county master is not the only way."

   "Let me think."

"Don't be too long, father," said Frederick, "I don't mean to urge you, but...if the matter is finally settled by the French, whatever decision they make, the Grand-Country, the Duke of Orleans, or even Louis Fourteen will be very disappointed in me."

"I'll think about it carefully," said the Elector. In fact, he was much more decisive than his son had imagined. While Frederick could not sleep peacefully in anxiety, a young envoy rode out of Berlin. Palace, he carried a letter from the Electoral Candidate. In the letter, the Electoral candidate was extremely humble, full of flattery and at the same time tried his best to be very powerful - as Frederick said, Leopold I had to make a choice - To Spain, or a temporary mood. To be honest, if Spain really married France, France would benefit. After all, Bourbon’s blood remained in Spain, and the grand county master was more likely to act as a regent for a sick husband or young child.

Therefore, although the tone of the great prince was humble, he did not come to ask for forgiveness, but to ask for rewards. He was saying that he was willing to solve this problem for Leopold I. If the prince of the great county eventually became his son's wife, then The marriage of the eldest princess Antonia and Carlos II will not change, Spain still belongs to the Habsburgs, but to compete with Carlos II, the status of a duchy heir is not enough - so he came to ask the emperor for recognition , allowing the promotion of the Duchy of Prussia to a kingdom, so he was willing to pay 600,000 livres in return.

After reading the letter, Leopold I would definitely be very angry and shouted and sullen, but the elector felt that if he calmed down, he would only carefully weigh the benefits and losses, and finally make a wise decision. s Choice.

The Elector's guess was correct. After reading the letter, Leopold I immediately put the Elector's envoy into prison, and swore that he would hang Hohenzollern's rebellion with him, but the young brave The envoy was released again before he had eaten the third meal in prison. After being summoned in secret for the second time, he returned to the Berlin Palace safe and sound, bringing back the news that Frederick and the Elector were looking forward to. .

  ————

Duke Don Juan, the illegitimate son of Philip IV, is also a man of nearly age, but the wrinkles that accumulate at the end of his eyes and the corners of his mouth are commensurate with the charm of a prodigal son, as if accumulated in the bottom of a wooden barrel. Bad wine, because of its turbidity, it has a special charm. He is not married and does not seem to want to marry. He has also been the regent of Carlos II for ten years, and during these ten years he is famous for his incompetence and greed. in Europa.

  Spain's shaky politics and economy, after being manipulated by the regent, were unable to contain the downward momentum and were about to slip into the abyss. As a result, a group of ministers headed by Juan Patinho and Bishop of Toledo—with what little conscience and loyalty they had left, contacted the expelled Queen Mother Maria, who seemed to frantically hire black Wizards, trying to free their king Carlos II from sickness and madness - wait, rightly, all they had hoped for was a shell that would allow women to have children, after all Carlos II No one who sees the situation will think that he is still healthy and strong like ordinary people.

But some people were ecstatic, while others were irritated and frustrated that Carlos II recovered not only his body, but also his mind. Although he was ignorant and ignorant like a baby at the beginning, he was very Soon, people will find that he has a strong learning ability, like God sent an angel to infuse wisdom into his head, he seems to be a king - anyway, not every king is as wise as the sun king Astute.

Only Duke Don Juan didn't feel that, he always felt that Carlos II had countless senses of disobedience, but he also knew that when he said so, others would only laugh at him, thinking that he was not willing to be taken away from power by a healthy king , especially the Queen Mother and the Archbishop of Toledo.

"Look," he murmured—he had only known before that the king had been quietly sent to Versailles to seek his previous marriage to the daughter of the Duke of Orleans, of course, the niece of the King of France, compared to Leopold I's daughter, of course. More valuable, after all, the marriage between the Habsburgs was a waste, and the eldest princess Antonia was too young, since the king was proven to have the same room with women, they can't wait for the king to have a legitimate heir -Duke Don Juan didn't think it would be an easy matter, but this incident exposed the problem that his authority was not as strong as before, and the group deceived him together-he was invited to hunt, It took more than ten days to return to Madrid, when the king was no longer in the palace.

"They're all dealing with me!" he said bitterly, pulled the bell rope, and asked the servant to bring a glass of wine. Who would have guessed that he only rang the bell, and the servant walked in in a hurry. He thought that the servant and himself had a good heart However, seeing him empty-handed, he said with a gray face, "Sir, the Queen Mother's attendant tells you to rush to the Aranjuez Palace immediately."

   Duke Tang Huang was stunned for a moment, and then he immediately understood: "She is going to give birth?"

The Aranjuez Palace is about a hundred miles away from Madrid, where the maid and the Queen Mother, who was fortunate enough to be pregnant with the child of Carlos II, lived temporarily. The Duke of Don Juan had maliciously speculated about Juan Pablo. Tinio also felt ashamed. After all, this maid was his relatives, but before the king got married, the royal lady could not appear in public, and the maid could only move her stomach to a place where people couldn't see it.

It's just that this is the king's child after all, just like Don Juan, his birth needs to be proved by credible witnesses, and the Duke of Don Juan can only rush to the Aranjuez Palace overnight - under the guidance of his attendants, he is similar to He trotted down the corridor, through countless rooms, and when it got darker and hotter around, he knew it was coming. The rooms outside were crowded with men and women, and people saluted him, but the duke ignored him and went straight. Go inside. As soon as he entered, he saw the mother, and two little blue-black feet exposed outside.

  A priest was putting oil on the mother's head, her lips were trembling, and her face was as if rubbed with lead powder. Before the Duke could say anything, her head dropped and she died.

What followed was chaos, the queen mother ordered the midwife to cut open the mother's belly and take out the baby - the duke didn't know if the midwife listened to her, anyway he saw the baby a few minutes later and knew the reason for the dystocia - baby There are two heads.

   (end of this chapter)