I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 378 The King's Parade

Not long after the arrival of the Duke of Anjou, another good thing happened. Charles XI of Sweden sent an envoy. Queen Elizabeth of Sweden was also nearly nine weeks pregnant. Louis didn't know if he should be relieved. Still sorry. Elizabeth was only nineteen years old this year, and he had expected her to start giving birth when she was twenty, but Queen Teresa also reminded him that if that was the case, those Swedes would be more able to shout with confidence, after all, God created Women are meant to reproduce, and a woman who is infertile or has very little is guilty - making it all the more difficult for Elizabeth to gain a foothold in Stockholm.

Fortunately, the queen had finished giving birth at this time, and the king could send all available and credible people to Stockholm. Queen Elizabeth also said in the letter that she needed some capable people to serve her, because there are still some people in the Swedish court. Is it the Queen Mother or the pro-Habsburg faction, not to mention that the current king of Poland is Bourbon, and Sweden has fought many wars with Poland.

When Karl XI was in the marriage negotiation, he was willing to exchange part of Livonia for a piece of territory in Groningen in the dowry of Princess Elizabeth, which also made many people think that their king was confused by the French woman and made a similar Acts of treason - they don't see that Livonia's territory is a desolate salt marsh and scrubland, and there are many terrible legends, the civilians dare not approach there, and there is no army stationed in it - if not Louis XIV agreed to Amon's request and tried to help him retake Zmich's ancestral land, which Louis XIV would not do.

But the port of Groningen, which is owned by the eldest princess Elizabeth, is much more important. Although Karl XI has not received a systematic education, as long as he can understand the map, he will put Denmark and Norway in the most important position— Of course the position of the enemy. Denmark, Norway and Sweden were originally split from a co-ownership union, the Kalmar Union, Norway and Sweden shared the Scandinavian Peninsula, and Denmark was just below the two, when Denmark and Norway were the United Kingdom , they clamped Sweden's throat like a pair of pliers, so that Sweden can only make waves in the Baltic Sea - it is also because of this reason that Sweden has repeatedly launched wars against Poland.

But when the ocean has become a symbol of hegemony, Sweden is not willing to be left behind. Groningen is the northernmost point of the Netherlands, just below Denmark. The territory of the eldest princess is like a dagger aimed at the enemy. , If Denmark continues to deliberately curb Sweden's development, then he must be wary of assassinations from the rear.

In fact, this transaction is more beneficial to Sweden, and it can be regarded as Louis XIV's appeasement to Sweden. If Karl XI dared to do something as stupid as Louis VII, Louis XIV would not be afraid to declare the marriage contract invalid. Give Princess Elizabeth along with this key realm to another king or prince.

Karl XI knew this well, he did not deliberately keep his mouth shut in order to torture his wives like some stupid kings - so that the queen dragged her tired and sore body to banquets and dances, and Elizabeth had a sign here. , he took Elizabeth to the Queen's Palace, which was only recently completed. Located on Queen's Island, hence the name, the palace was burned once in the late 16th century, and after Charles XI's engagement with the eldest princess was confirmed, he set about rebuilding the palace - and giving it as a wedding gift. After marrying his wife, it is now a veritable Queen's Island.

After three months, on a customary day, he took the queen back to the old palace and announced the good news in front of everyone, but wait, according to this time, Louis XIV may be more than the Swedes. know earlier.

The Duke of Orleans looked at it and showed a look of joy. As much as his brother loved his daughter, he loved his brother's daughter. Of course, he would hope that the marriage of the eldest princess would go smoothly. Being able to conceive means that she is healthy and has a stable position. Even if her husband has a daughter, the angel will always send more children. His thoughts quickly shifted from the eldest princess to the eldest princess. The eldest princess and the eldest princess are about the same age, and Frederick has reached the age of childbearing. After the marriage negotiations are over, they may have a wedding soon. As a father, he couldn't help but feel sad, alas, just like his stupid brother, he wanted to keep the eldest princess until she was twenty.

The two brothers looked at each other and finally had to succumb to reality, but fortunately, the students trained by the Royal Medical College of Blois are at least no longer the same, except for bloodletting, gaunchang and soldering iron, They can at least really save other people's lives instead of killing innocent patients. The discovery of bacteria led doctors and nurses to use alcohol on a large scale. If they couldn't afford alcohol, they also learned to use boiling water to sterilize instruments and bandages. - A lot of soldiers on the battlefield were rescued by these extravagant means... His thoughts were pulled farther and farther, and he almost didn't hear the king's self-talk.

   "...what do you think?" Louis asked.

   "How about what?" The Duke of Orleans asked subconsciously, "Oh, sorry, brother, I just lost my mind."

   "I said," said Louis patiently, "let's go to Sweden and see Elizabeth, shall we?"

  The Duke of Orleans would be glad they were no longer at the table, or he would have asked for a sip of wine or hot soup to be sprayed on the king's face--can the king leave his country and go to another country? sure! But it can't be that my daughter is pregnant and I'm so worried so I'm going to see why it's ridiculous! Kings gather, either for peace or for war, there is no possibility other than these two points!

When Louis XIV personally sent the eldest princess to Sweden, many ministers objected, but because the king sent the princess to marry before, they could barely accept it. Now Elizabeth has not encountered any persecution - she is just pregnant ! The King of France, father and future grandfather, is going to Stockholm himself? how is this possible? The Duke of Orleans pursed his lips and shook his head solemnly. Seeing his younger brother, who had always been more careless than him, showed such an expression, Louis cast an inquiring look at Bontang, but Bontang also shook his head from side to side.

   "Okay," Louis said bitterly, "but I did have a very important idea recently, Philip."

   "As long as you don't go to Stockholm," said the Duke of Orleans.

"I want to do a grand cruise," said Louis with great interest, "but not in Versailles, not in Paris, or somewhere, brother, I want to go on a cruise all over France." He got two meaningful white eyes, "It seems that you have also heard the idea of ​​demolishing the house if you want to open the window." The Duke of Orleans pointed out mercilessly: "You planned this from the beginning. By rejecting your first request, you can force me to agree to the second."

"I have been sitting on this throne for thirty-five years, Philip," said Louis sternly; "I can't say that I have not left Paris or Versailles, but I was outside France at those times, not fighting a war. , is just on the road," he said sincerely: "Look, weaken the princes, rectify the region, popularize education, consolidate the king's power, unify the beliefs, eliminate harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes... Wait, we have been doing it for 20 years or 10 years. , don't you want to see our results?"

   "I thought your little bird would always bring you innumerable information," said Bontang, "like a grain of corn."

   "I will never be at ease without seeing it with my own eyes. Not long ago, there was something about the Duke of Luxembourg." Louis said: "And isn't it a tradition for kings to parade?"

"It's a tradition..." Bontang said hesitantly, but since John the Lost King, the act of a king roaming around with a whole court (court and harem) has almost disappeared - mainly the current king Either order out of the capital, or, like Louis XIV, have seized the greatest power in his hands, and do not need to debilitate the feudal energies by this act—for when the king is on tour, all supplies—from his queen, the royal lady , ministers and generals, to soldiers and servants, are all provided by the nobles of the place where they are staying, and even the best, such a cost is very staggering.

   "Stop it, Bontang, don't you know our Majesty yet?" said Philip: "He will do whatever he likes, and we can't persuade him."

   "Not now," said Louis happily. "We have to finish negotiations with Prussia before we can leave."

   "Thank you for remembering my Mary," said Philip, "and the Duke of Anjou, who is so young."

"Just because he's so young, does he remember that we left him alone to play? It just so happens that little Louis's wedding is a few years away, he can stay in Paris or Versailles, but your Alexis …”

   "Alix, my wife probably won't want to let him leave her side." The Duke of Orleans looked a little gloomy.

Louis patted him on the shoulder wordlessly. The Duchess of Orleans, Princess Henrietta of England, perhaps because of her turbulent childhood and teenage years, was extra sensitive and slender, which made her Being able to accurately capture the thoughts of Charles II led to the discord between the Duke of York and Charles II, but also made her unable to obtain happiness and comfort in her married life with the Duke of Orleans - the Duke of Orleans was also at fault, although Louis XIV was at fault. He can urge his younger brother to respect his wife, but he can't stop him from looking for flowers and asking willows. It must be said that his behavior as a queen and a royal lady is heretical.

   "Then let Alex stay by her side, because I didn't think much about it," Louis said frankly: "At least until he can ride on a horse."

"No..." No one knows better than the Duke of Orleans how much the position around the king can sell for a terrible price. Louis just loves the house and Wu, but compared to the big county master who can let her accept the king's love unscrupulously, the Duke of Orleans has always deliberately downplayed it. The impression his eldest son left on the minds of the people at court. He didn't forget how wrongly he was influenced by the Queen Mother Anne and Bishop Mazarin. If it wasn't for his elder brother, he would never be what he is now.

  The son of the Duke of Orleans is quite high in the line of succession to the throne...

   "That's right," Louis said suddenly again: "Speaking of the engagement negotiation, like Elizabeth, I'm going to let Mary take away twenty women officials."

   "There won't be another guard."

   "Equal treatment, brother, Mary is also my daughter."

   "This can't be heard by outsiders," said the Duke of Orleans sullenly. "People will say that Henrietta shared a bed with you. I don't mind, but Henrietta will be tangled up."

"Alas..." Louis sighed, he originally thought that Henrietta was always unhappy because of the pressure of not giving birth to an heir, but who knows that she has become more neurotic after Alexis: "I want to say It's another woman," he said. "You remember the lady Jean Barr brought back."

"That lady Eva?" Philip probably didn't pay much attention to her before the Spaniards came, but how could he not know it now as a secret probe of the palace: "She is now the lover of Ferdinand, the son of Archduke Cosimo III, God knows how they see each other, but they all acted calmly."

   "Ferdinand has some similarities with this lady, but that's not the point. Did you know that she and your daughter promised that even if she were to marry to Spain, she would follow the grand princess?"

   The Duke of Orleans was surprised: "What about now?"

   "She probably didn't give up on the idea," Louie said, "but she came to me two days ago and asked me about a possible wedding date, and she asked me something."

"What's up?"

   "She asked if she could get into the Royal Military Academy of France."

"I'm a little unsure now," muttered the Duke of Orleans. "She's a girl of courage, but—military academies? Your junior schools have caused some trouble for girls—they won't allow her among them."

   "I've rejected her," Louie said. "Although I'd love to grant her this wish, I'm worried that someone will see it as a disgrace, and she may be abused or even killed by them."

"They will do it." The Duke of Orleans said that although the medical field regiment headed by witches has won the understanding and love of the soldiers, there are still many people in the army who regard women as protected persons and property. A proud and even cruel lady will be treated leniently, but if she touches directly those things that women shouldn't touch - what was the result of Joan of Arc, what is the result of Eva.

   Not to mention that Joan of Arc was blessed and canonized. After the war, she was canonized and rewarded. In people's thanks and prayers, a free, peaceful and prosperous life was the reward she deserved.

   "She is so bold," said the Duke.

"Um…"

   "Don't tell me you hired some teachers for her too."

   "Of course not," said Louis. "I will only allow Ferdinand and her to stay close to each other until the Grand County takes the initiative to go to Prussia to marry."

   "Mr. Ferdinand is now a student at the Military Academy," said the Duke. "He doesn't think it would be an interesting thing."

   "Unfortunately," said Louie, "he doesn't seem to mind."

   (end of this chapter)