I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 386 The King's Parade (9)

   This kind of situation can be said to be common to people in Paris and Versailles, but it is unexpected and bitter for the Duke of Saint-Simon and his comrades. There are not a few kings who are admired and even deified, such as the former Saint-Louis. But in the case of Louis XIV, who is regarded by the people as saints, masters, patrons, and even amiable and respectable elders (although the king is only forty years old this year), they are still Seeing for the first time.

There are not a few kings who are feared by the people, or it is not difficult to do this, as long as there are enough gallows and beheading stands, but it is not easy to make the people fear it - Louis XIV seems to be right He has great confidence that his guards will never drive away the people who are chasing the imperial chariot. If a carriage gets stuck in the mud, a horse or a mule breaks a leg, there will be soldiers who will run over with laughter. Help, if someone asks aloud, the king or duke will listen to their wishes and order the officials to deal with or give some rewards.

It's hard to say exactly how to describe the Duke of Saint-Simon - but as the King's motorcade moves further and further from Saint-Germain-en-Laye, he becomes more and more silent, and his "friends" rarely meet and discuss eagerly , They became more and more silent, and when the convoy was still fifty miles away from Dunkirk, the Duke of St. Simon was not so surprised when he saw one of their counts walking up to the king and bowing to him.

   It's just that he still can't make up his mind to hand over the last bit of power in his hand, which was originally what he wanted to exchange power and status with the king.

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Louis XIV saw the indecision of the Duke of Saint-Simon in his eyes. The Duke of Saint-Simon was a mistake of Louis XIII, and he did not deny it—the status and identity of the Duke of Saint-Simon at that time were probably the same as those of Vauban, Colbert is almost even Fouquet. The bad thing about Louis XIII is that he neither upheld his trust in the Duke of Saint-Simon, nor dealt with him resolutely and regained the power he had entrusted to him - just as Louis XIV did to Fouquet. Kay does.

However, Louis XIII is the father of Louis XIV. Of course, he will not blame his own father. For the Duke of St. Simon and those who are as lucky as him, he can wield a thunder scepter like Jupiter and kill them all. But twenty years ago, he would have done it, but twenty years later, when he has a solid foundation, a full treasury, and a large number of supporters, he doesn't need to make a big fuss about it. Therefore, whether it is the Duke of Vendôme or the Duke of Orleans, what he sees is a calm and leisurely king, his little bird keeps sending news everywhere, and he seems to appreciate the new style of Mr. Molière. Sometimes he laughed at them like that, and sometimes shook his head at them.

More and more "followers" were sent to the parade, even a Mr. Marquis who "unfortunately" broke his leg while hunting. When he met the Duke of St. Simon, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. Lianlian, they are old-fashioned figures who stick to their territory and never accept bribes or inducements from the king, but they should really think that their majesty has never been the kind of good person who follows the rules.

   There were also some stubborn old men who were not "invited" by the king - although they had to - because their children and grandchildren had become the king's hostages. Of course, these young people are voluntary, and under the pressure of their father or grandfather, they may not be able to leave the territory and go to the king's army, or Paris, or Versailles, but the king is stationed in their castle (the seal The ministers are obliged to provide the best accommodation for the king), or who can restrain their cheerful feet when they are in the palace not far from them? How could they be reconciled if they didn't take a look at the majestic and amiable His Majesty the King, the handsome Duke of Orleans, the charming Madame Montespan, and an all-night court banquet and dance?

Whether it is a young man or a young woman, they do not listen to the advice and lessons of their elders. Compared with the stubborn old man, they do not value hitting the territory and castle that have been immutable since their memory. The king did not deprive them of it. Their titles and possessions, on the contrary, he also gave them many opportunities - young people are known to be impulsive, curious and arrogant, and with peers like Jean Barr and Joseph Bourbon in front of them, how can they Do you think you're going to spend your whole life on this with empty hands?

   These young people have certainly won the king's approval and approval for their deeds. Their heirs have already become the possession of Louis XIV, so what can the old man do? If they still hold on to their original ideas and practices, it is their children who will suffer first and foremost. If the king is more shameless, without an heir, even if they keep their territory and power, who can they give them to?

  Louis touched his ear,

   "What's the matter? Brother?" The Duke of Orleans noticed it, and asked sideways under the cover of the wine glass.

"It's a little hot," said Louis. "I've heard people say that if you're always being talked about, your ears get hot." The Duke of Orléans laughed. "I've never heard of that," he said: "There must be a lot of people talking about you," he looked at the crowd. "There are people who love you and those who hate you, I'm afraid there will be a tie."

"Things have to be settled." Louis picked up a berry, but did not put it in his mouth immediately: "It is the best time for the king of Bourbon. If little Louis does it, I can't guarantee that he can do it well." He sighed and did not continue speaking, and the Duke of Orleans did not make a sound. He knew that his brother was a little disappointed with the dauphin, Louis, but he and many ministers believed that the king It's a good thing that Prince Louis is not the second Sun King... They can't imagine if there are two Louis XIVs - one young and powerful and in power; one young and ambitious...

   Of course, the Duke of Orleans can guarantee that the final victor must be his brother, but this kind of battle will not only hurt France, but even the whole of Europa - it is almost like two dragons fighting each other.

  Little Louis is not like his father, Louis XIV will be disappointed, and more people will only think that this is God's blessing to France.

   "But I believe," the Duke of Orleans poured a glass of wine for his brother: "When the parade arrives at Dunkirk, many people will change their minds."

   "I hope so." Louis XIV said: "I prefer to fight a real enemy, rather than useless internal friction."

   "They will understand your pains," said the Duke of Orleans. After all, it would be an irresistible behemoth who came forward to convince them this time.

Because this time it was only a small town, so the place where the king held the banquet was moved to the courtyard - instead of the usual hall, the hall of the castle could not hold so many people, in fact the courtyard was also very dilapidated, but at night At that time, the trees and flowers lit by torches and candles surpassed the silk and gold leaf, or in other words, the lack of ministers and ladies were filled with jewels, but in the crowd, the most dazzling people were not the king or the king. Duke of Orleans, but Madame Montespan.

The Duke of Orleans once wondered how the king would choose such a royal lady. To say, Madame Montespan is beautiful, but as soon as she saw her, the Duke knew that she would not be the type that the king liked. Take a look at the previous Mary Manche. Ni, she is better than sincere feelings, and she met the king when she was young; later Madame Lavalier, she more aroused the king's pity, but what about Madame Montespan? She really got one thing wrong - she only saw the king treat his royal wife like a general or a minister, but failed to really understand the essence of Louis XIV. No, it should be said that she is not the daughter of the Duke of Mortmar after all, and her other father is not a sophisticated politician who is good at conspiracy, so that she cannot grasp the most important "line".

The Duke of Orleans listened to Madame Montespan's laughter and said in his heart that the worst thing about this lady is that she sold herself too cheaply. It wasn't that he doubted Marie Mancini or Lavalier. Madam's feelings - let's put it this way, for any noble lady in the court, if she can get the king's favor, she will never stupidly ask for any material or honorary reward - the king's favor is the most. Precious, with the grace of the king, what do you want?

Like Mrs. Montespan... She thought she was smarter than others, and got the royal lady's position from the king, the power to accept bribes and the opportunity to be courted by people, but the king looked at her and looked at Mary, or pulled Mrs Valier is totally different...

  The king did not prepare a way back for her.

   But the Duke of Orleans knew of many ladies who were so eccentric and uncommunicative, his wife Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, was one of them. She had a good hand - even though she was bullied a lot, it was true that she and Louis and Philip grew up together; for she had almost become Louis's wife, but by accident she was his Sister-in-law, and because Philip, Duke of Orleans was too romantic, Louis XIV always had a little apology for her; later in the war against Holland, Henrietta secretly returned to London, successfully brokered the alliance between England and France, and provoked. The relationship between Charles II and the Duke of York was due to this, and Louis XIV also told Philip that he should treat his wife well.

But the Duke of Orleans still had a hard time accepting some of Henrietta's thoughts, and couldn't understand... I don't know if it was because she had been living a life of displacement and isolation since she was a baby, and she always seemed to be shrouded in an invisible gloom. Amidst the grief, this sentiment never disappeared after her marriage to the Duke of Orleans, and it even affected their daughter, the Countess, as well as their son, who had recently intensified—perhaps because the Countess did not. Trust her again - after all, she had planned to sacrifice the Grand Princess, twice. It is also possible that the Duke of Orleans insisted on sending their son Alix to the Queen Mother for care and education... The Duchess of Orleans thought it was a form of punishment and torture, but it was only because Alix was too young , unable to participate in the grand parade, so it was temporarily taken care of by the Queen Mother who stayed at Versailles. The result was that the Duchess of Orléans had been unhappy during her cruise and had fallen ill here.

The Duke of Orleans also explained to her that although he and Louis were a little angry that she didn't value the Grand Princess, they didn't mean to blame her. She didn't need to worry about it at all. What kind of unresolved hatred is there between women? Let time ease the mood of the grand princess, maybe they will be reconciled when they return to Versailles.

   But there is only one result - in vain. The Duchess of Orleans does not believe their words, and she also harbors guilt and yearning for her daughter, but her tense emotions are like the strings of a piano, which cannot be loosened from beginning to end, and her worries are like foam rolling on the sea. , disappeared here and reappeared there. The Duke of Orleans had no choice but to hope that changes in the environment would make her condition better.

This is where she and Madame Montespan are most similar. They think what is what, they don't listen to other people's opinions at all, or look up to see the real situation around them - the Duke of Orleans sees Madame Montespan Carrying a wide skirt, surrounded by a group of people, she walked towards the king with high spirits, she was dressed like a nymph (banshee) in the forest, with an aggressive beauty, "Dance with me. Come on, Your Majesty," she cried eagerly, extending her snow-white arms.

   "I'm going to meet some important people later." Louis said, handing her his gold cup casually: "You have fun here."

  If it was Marie Mancini or Madame Lavalier, the Duke of Orleans thought, Louis would at least dance with them before walking away.

   Mrs. Montespan's eyes flashed a complex expression that others could not guess, "Your Majesty..."

"Go and play," said Louis. "Tomorrow morning you'll see a present on the dresser, and you'll like it." With that he nodded to his brother and got up to leave, but the Duke of Orleans restrained himself from asking Madame Montespan. To cast a pitying glance, but wasn't that what she wanted?

   "I'm going to see Jean Bart and his uncle." In the corridor, Louis said, "How about you?"

   "I want to see Henrietta first." The Duke of Orleans said: "I hope she is cured, and if she does not show up at the ceremony, there will be a lot of discussion..."

   "Don't force her." Louis said, "Although..." He shook his head: "We'll find another way when we return to Versailles."

   (end of this chapter)