I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 390 Drunk in the aftermath

   But at this time, no one cared about the murmur of the Duke of St. Simon. It was confusing that people were cheering before, but now their voices gradually became lower-but not because of disappointment, how could they be disappointed! Those who haven't experienced it may not know that when a great event comes to people without warning, awe can replace joy and make them become fearful; or, like champagne can make People are slightly intoxicated and excited, but whiskey and rum will make people intoxicated quickly, too strong satisfaction will make a person become dizzy, not knowing what to do or say.

It is not impossible for a full thirty huge ironclad ships to be moored in the dock at the same time, but this will undoubtedly block people's view and prevent them from seeing the conditions at sea - from Dunkirk, Calais and Nantes and many other ports and Of course, the ships dispatched by the shipyard cannot just fire a few salutes. After giving the audience an unparalleled deep impression, the ironclad ships moved to the two wings of the port and gave way to the grand stage.

Then people saw that with the milky white clouds, clear sky, and sapphire blue sea as the background, the king's more than 300 ships were divided into three parties, and a simulated naval battle was launched on the sea. Then the third party deliberately competed with the snipe and clam for the fisherman's profit. In the end, all three were intertwined and intertwined with each other. The smoke rolled up, the muzzle of the gun spewed red flames, and the sailors on the boat wore different colored coats and killed each other. Shouting, people kept falling into the water—even knowing it was a show, those watching couldn't help clenching their hands.

This "fierce battle" lasted about an hour, although the audience may feel that after only three or five minutes, the ships of the three sides retreated in an orderly manner under the command of the commander, and the black and iron armored ships once again On the field - this time its opponent is not a colleague, but a target ship. If there are British or Dutch people here, they must be extremely angry, because these target ships are the ships of the two countries that were captured and seized by France.

The most conspicuous of these is the "Seven Provinces", with which General Reuter had fought side by side for 20 years. In the final battle between the British and French forces and the Netherlands, the sail of the ship caught fire, the mast was broken, the **** and forecastle All were damaged, but with the Dutch shipyard, it is not impossible to repair it completely, but Louis XIV pondered for a long time and decided to use it as a target ship after a little repair. Of course, a ship with such a prominent status cannot be used in ordinary training, but now is the most appropriate and suitable opportunity.

Dunkirk people are very familiar with the "Seven Provinces", mainly because the "Seven Provinces" was the flagship of General Reuter when the Dutch were galloping on the sea, whether the British or the French saw it. They all trembled. After recognizing the "Seven Provinces", they couldn't help but sigh for a while, but then the ironclad ships pulled them back to the present. The rising mast and forecastle were completely destroyed, and its scarred sails also ended their ill-fated fate a few minutes later, turning into gray-black smoke in the flames, but the final blow to the ship was " The Duke of Orleans", because in the previous trial with the British, the "Sun King" successfully sunk the British "King of the Sea", so in this performance, the king gave this honor to the own brother.

The Duke of Orleans couldn't help blushing with excitement, and when the Duke of Orleans ran over the wreckage of the Seven Provinces, he jumped up from his seat and clapped desperately - the king had to block it gently. , lest the over-excited Duke of Orleans jumped off the terrace, and then he got up, walked to the edge of the terrace, and waved his hat in the distance.

Today the king specially wears a bright red wide-brimmed hat, and even the ostrich feathers on it are bright red without any variegation. When swinging on the terrace, even from such a distance, people on the ship can see Arrived - then, the big sirens loaded on the thirty ironclad ships were sounded at the same time, and even overshadowed the previous rumble of cannons, and people's ears were buzzing, and then no one noticed that the king was greeting his fleet. .

Emotions, which had been suppressed by terror, finally boiled over, and the people gave out an earth-shattering cry, shouting Long Live France, or Long Live Louis XIV, Long Live the Sun King, trying to rush under the terrace—then those who The power possessed by the nobles and ministers was finally revealed. They were different from the people, and they came up to congratulate the king in person. For a while, the words of flattery were endless. Even the priests praised God. lotus.

"There will be a grand banquet tonight," said Louis, and then he turned to the people, because Dunkirk Castle is located in the center of the three docks, facing the sea, and the square connected to the docks also has docks, temporary storage and transportation The important role of the passage is that it is very wide, like St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, with a length of 1110 feet and a width of 500 feet, enough to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. Of course, for the safety of the king, after the selection, there are only tens of thousands of ordinary people here, but you can see that there are so many people, every face is like a flower bathed in sunlight, full of rich joy, man They waved their hats vigorously at the king, and some of the ladies even jumped up, and others—mainly the squires and officers who were closest to the terrace, bowed deeply to the king.

   "Cheer," cried Louis, "my people!"

  The tsunami-like cheers swept across the entire square, like waves on the sea, even over the entire Dunkirk!

Louis' eyes could not help but moisten slightly, because of the fleet, not all, and the main thing, as the Duke of Saint-Simon was dismayed, was that, at least in Dunkirk, the people here already regarded themselves as French, French Dunkirks, not just Dunkirks - after twenty years of imperceptible influence from the king, the Dundon teachings finally worked. Why is the kingship weak, and why is it strong? In the final analysis, it is closely related to the territory and power owned by the king. In the original Frank, the king only owned a small piece of royal territory. Affecting the military and finances - so the kings of France have been tirelessly expanding their territories through various methods, including but not limited to marriage, inheritance, and buying and selling.

Louis XIV did the same, but not only that, he was the king of France, and his subjects should not be the subjects of a count or a duke, they belonged to France and to the king, and the vassals of the vassals were not me vassal, this one won't work with Louis XIV!

   When he said "I am the country", he had seen it - he would finally hold the whole of France tightly in his hands!

Bontang came out of the room behind the terrace. The two attendants behind him were carrying a three-foot box. A three-foot box was to be carried by two strong young men, because of course the contents were too large. It's heavy - the Marquis of Lois can't help but take a deep breath, it's full of yellow gold Louis!

The king's hand inserted deeply into the pile of gold coins, grabbed a large amount of gold coins, and then raised his hand to let the little golden things shine brightly in the sun. After a pause, he shouted louder, "It seems that gold coins are more pleasing." Louis jokingly said to the Duke of Orleans, then waved his arm, and sprinkled a bright golden rain into the air.

At a glance, the hat and hair were all replaced by outstretched arms. The king sprinkled gold coins three times in a row, taking care not to sprinkle them in one place, so as not to cause a stampede, he gave the place to his younger brother, the Duke of Orleans, the Duke of Orleans. Although he is very keen on this kind of activity, in fact, he likes to be noticed more than his brother, but he saw the king was returning to the room, so he hurriedly sprinkled it twice, and let the queen and the crown prince continue the activity of throwing coins... just chased up.

"Brother, brother, Your Majesty!" he shouted, in a hurried gesture rarely seen since he stopped wearing a skirt and changed to trousers, and Louis stopped and turned to his brother: "Slow down," he said. Paused his cane: "What's so urgent?"

"Can I go aboard the Duke of Orleans?" implored the Duke of Orleans, who had boarded the Reign at Nantes, but was one of ten ironclad ships recently completed, compared to the Reign. , its armament and armor are more perfect, especially the craftsmen decorated its mast, forecastle and **** beautifully according to the requirements of the king - this is the number of other ships except the "Sun King". No, people can see at a glance that the king values ​​his younger brother.

More importantly, the king once promised his younger brother that as long as the younger brother was willing to be loyal to him, he would not hesitate to use him. The Duke of Orleans did it, and Louis XIV also did it, which made the Duke of Orleans ambitious—he came back from the Netherlands. After that, he never went to the battlefield again. For several years, he was tired of dancing and dressing up, and wanted to smell the smell of gunpowder and blood. If this ship belongs to him, does it mean that it will be his flagship in the future?

  Louis saw what the Duke was thinking, and couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Sea and land battles are not the same thing," he said.

   "I won a great victory for you the first time I went into battle," said the Duke of Orleans, which was true.

"I won't allow anyone to waste his talent," said Louis. "Yes, of course the Duke belongs to the Duke," and he patted his brother affectionately on the shoulder: "And, if you want to board the Duke of Orleans, There's an opportunity right now," he said, "because we're going to Rennes by boat."

  ——

   Everywhere, there are those who are happy and those who are sad.

The members of the royal family on the terrace participated in the activities of throwing gold coins, and the Duchess of Orleans was no exception. Arms, "stand up," she whispered, "stand up, mother, don't let anyone misunderstand you."

An exotic princess is an unwelcome role in any court, because of the recent British riots, the Duchess of Orleans is not so good in Dunkirk, and the gossip among the ladies is even worse. The sword hurts even more. At this moment when everyone is rejoicing, if an English princess or a French duchess shows a different attitude, then there must be people's accusations and attacks waiting for her - especially the United Kingdom has almost made it clear It's time to fight France again.

It is correct to say that neither country has healed from the wounds brought by the Hundred Years' War. Even Louis XIV, his "friendship" with Charles II was limited to two people. It was an undisclosed secret. The marriage of the Dukes of Orleans was only a temporary peace. Britain did not want to see a strong France, nor did France want to see a unified Britain.

   So at this time, the performance of the Duchess of Orleans is very important. The Grand Princess gritted her teeth and lifted her mother up—the Duchess' weight was more than half of her daughter's body, but the Grand Princess could also feel that she was trying to support her—she was indeed very weak, but at this time, even if she died the next moment, It also had to be seen that she died happily.

Both she and the Grand Princess could feel that people's eyes were on them. At this time, the crown prince, the little Louis, came over quickly and held the Duchess's other arm: "Hold on, ma'am." He whispered Say.

At this time, the queen was holding a handful of gold coins, smiling and looking at the people, asking them to bless the king, bless France, and buy time for the Duchess of Orleans. The Duchess of Orleans reluctantly stretched her arms out of the fence of the terrace, and the gold coins rolled down, but she looked further away.

   is not a ship, it is Dover.

U.K.

   (end of this chapter)