I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 46 The King's Conversation with Nicholas Fouquet

Nicholas Fouquet was the third person the king met in this room, but unlike the previous two gentlemen, Fouquet was still just a supervisor, a "robed nobleman" who was disdained by the "saber nobleman". He didn't think that there was anything to be ashamed of. The only difference between them was that one served the king with his sword and the other with his head. Speaking of which, he felt that his ability was superior to those of the reckless, although he not dare to claim so.

When the king met Fouquet, he was more casual. He only wore loose pajamas, and then covered the pajamas with a robe of fox fur. The rich fur made the young king even thinner. When he met Fouquet, he only used The quill was pointed towards the stool that had been prepared, and Fouquet bowed, lifted his robe, and sat upright on it. The king put down the pen after writing the letter in his hand: "What would you like to drink? ?"

   "If you can," Fouquet said, "a little hot chocolate, it's really cold."

"Two cups of chocolate," said the king to Bontang, "add some whisky to M. Fouquet's." Bontang went away, and before he came back, the king was about to speak to Fouquet, when he saw He took a deep breath, he didn't know why at first, but soon he guessed the reason, ahem, it's probably like when people realize that there is a heavy burden on them, he must take a deep breath, rich Kai is a shrewd person. He has been here for a week. He has seen everything he wants to see, and what he wants to know can't escape his ears. He must know that the king... is about to run out of money.

When they escaped from Paris for the first time, they were too hasty, so the royal family could not even take much money with them, so that when they were in Saint-Ger-en-Laye, even their daily expenses were stretched, so they left Paris for the second time. At that time, Louis urged his mother and Mr. Bishop to make arrangements early, and they took away all the movables that could be taken away, even some holy artifacts, so along the way, although the famine was everywhere, the king's situation was not embarrassed, just a person , even the cost of a royal family is completely incomparable to an army, not to mention that the king has been supporting General Schaumberg to gather the refugees, let him train them, so as to enrich the army, not long ago, Viscount Turenne He surrendered to the king with his three thousand soldiers, and the king did not seem to want to send them away.

  The king summoned General Schumberg or Viscount Turenne, maybe because of politics or because of military, but he summoned Fouquet for the only reason of money.

Fouquet went to find wheat for the king this time. It can be said that he was making a loss business, especially those muskets, artillery and two barques that were converted into warships, although they played a surprise in the offensive and defensive battle of Hertelle. However, the commissions for ships, gunpowder and sailors all come from Fouquet’s personal pockets. For this, he even sold his old house and let his mother, wife and children move to the country to live. It is a desperate gamble, and it is precisely because of this, if the king wants him to continue to accumulate money for it, can he refuse, no, of course not, even if they don't spend much time together, but he has already seen it. A young king with an unusually good memory, if he dared to quit, the king would not only remember him, maybe even the surname Fouquet would be firmly in his heart.

This kind of thinking can't help but make Fouquet anxious and distressed. He now only hopes that the king can either give him more time, or give him more manpower, or give him more power. He has deceived everyone. The accompanying merchant he could deceive, and some ignorant villains in the territory, in order to avoid them, he did not even dare to leave the castle these days. This money, as well as the "Polerkin" he was supposed to pay to the king, were all used to invest in the bottomless pit of military spending, and it seemed that it would continue to be invested.

"Monsieur Fouquet," said Louis, affectionately, watching him with a sense of amusement as he immediately tensed up, as if he were about to jump up and run away: "I called you here to commend you," he said, "in view of the fact that The work you have done for me before, and you have done it so perfectly, even exceeded my expectations, I am truly delighted."

"It is my duty," replied the ambitious gentleman, "your reward will only make me feel guilty, for I am not as good as you say." His words were humble, but the king's When his eyes fell on his hand, he found that the pale hand was constantly pinching and pinching, which was a manifestation of emotional tension. He was not as calm as he said, but on the contrary.

"Come here," Louis said. Fouquet immediately got up and walked over. As soon as he approached, the signs of intense emotions became more obvious. His black pupils were obviously shrunk, his lips were chapped, and fine sweat was printed on his forehead. Zhu, when he saw the king reach out and open the drawer, he even held his breath.

  The king took out a rose from it and pinned it to Fouquet's collar.

   This gentleman, who has always been confident and triumphant, was stunned.

He looked at his collar, and then at the king's smiling face, and couldn't help but bring a sense of grievance on his face, "God," he complained, "I don't expect to have a big I have a diamond brooch, but is your Majesty willing to give me even a shoulder strap?" Although roses were only available in the conservatory at this time, he was not Miss Marie Mancini or Henry. Princess Eta, what does this mean to him?

   "Why," said Louie, "you saw that pair of diamond pins too."

"No," Fouquet said, "in such a cold weather, the two generals got up at five in the morning and went to bed at twelve in the evening, just so that more people could see their diamond pins, they were bright It's like the sun, it's hard to open your eyes, I think even the blind can see."

"Of course," said Louis, "because not long ago they were pinned on my mother's shoulder, and because my mother gave birth to me, my father, His Majesty the King, gave her a set of diamonds, These are the two most precious pieces in there."

   "Oh my god!" Fouquet was really surprised now: "Do those two generals know about this?"

   "Of course I don't know." The young king made a face that matched his age: "It's like they didn't know that I gave them the diamond pin because I couldn't get the reward."

   "Has it gotten to this point?" Fouquet asked.

"At this point," Louis opened the drawer: "Every box of mine is as empty as you see it, and even St. Francis, who talks to the bird, is not as poor as me." Then he Seeing Fouquet lowered his head, he seemed to be calculating something: "What are you planning?" he asked curiously.

   "I'm calculating how much more I can get for you," Fouquet said sincerely: "At least send you back to Paris."

   "I'm afraid it will be difficult."

   "It's hard, Your Majesty."

   "Then I have a suggestion for you."

   "I'm listening."

   "Go and borrow some money from someone."

   "I was going to do that."

   "But you have absolutely no idea who to go to."

"Who?"

   "Bishop Mazarin."

   This candidate really surprised Nicholas Fouquet, his heart sank like a stone, because he was worried that he would be involved in the battle between the young king and the bishop.

   "I have already written a letter," said Louis; "I want a trustworthy man to take the letter to Liege, give it to the bishop, and borrow half a million livres from him."

   "That's a lot of money."

   "Believe me, for Mr. Bishop, it's just a drop in the bucket, after all, it's only one-fifth of what he's embezzling from the Navy."

  Fouquet only felt bitterness on the tip of his tongue. Now he doesn't have to worry, because he has truly become a knife in the king's hand.

   "What are you hesitating about?" Louis asked: "Do you think Mr. Bishop will be unhappy about this?"

   "Would he still be happy about it?"

"Why not," said Louis calmly, "after all, he is guided by the words of his teacher, M. Bishop Richelieu, 'My first purpose is to exalt the king, my first The second purpose is to bring glory to the kingdom.' I think you've read this sentence too, well, take this letter, if he asks you anything, answer it truthfully, and if he really wants to do as he did to me Keep those promises, and he'll lend you the money."

  Fouquet took the letter, and it burned into his heart like a red-hot piece of iron.

  —————

"It's too risky for you to do this." The Queen Mother heard about it, and said to Louis: "Why don't you tell him what we have agreed upon and make him happy and happy To carry out this task? If he fears the wrath of Mr. Bishop, destroys the letter and runs away, or gives it to someone else with bad intentions, then what should we do?"

   "Then he won't have my trust again," said Louie.

   "But not everyone can withstand such a test," the Queen Mother said.

"But I have a very important thing to do to someone who is credible and good at dealing with economic problems." Louis said, kissing his mother's hand: "If Fouquet can't do it, then I will go to the second person. A—what about Mary?"

The Queen Mother Anne knew that this was a signal that the king intended to end the conversation. Louis was about fourteen years old, the recognized age of majority. She originally wanted to hold the ceremony and the following banquet for him at Hertelle, and then because of Viscount Turenne's To surrender, she thought that it should be possible to wait until they return to Paris, but now it seems that they may still have to hold a ceremony in Hertelle - she also already knows that the king has no money now, otherwise he will not give Louis XIII as a gift The gift for her (although only one of the suits) was given to Louis, so that he could reward the two generals - although she was not politically sensitive enough, and she knew nothing about the military, she knew that before leaving, she had to Pay a large sum of money to ensure the loyalty of the soldiers.

"Mary is in her room." The Queen Mother said that although Mary was nominally her maid, no one would really let such a young child serve the Queen Mother, and Mary was often with the king. , people often whisper about this, but as long as the bishop, the queen dowager and the king don't say anything, Mary's status will only be more noble, not lower, this point is that her room is getting closer and closer to the queen dowager and the king , the layout is more and more gorgeous, and the food and water are more and more abundant.

When the king opened the door, Mary was jumping up from a crystal ball, and hurriedly pulled up a piece of black velvet to cover it, only to be relieved when she saw that it was the king: "You should knock on the door. ." She said angrily: "I almost broke it, it's not so easy to get such a crystal now." And it's also expensive, even the little witch now feels distressed.

  Louis closed the door reflexively: "It's my fault," he admitted: "Did you find him?"

   "Found it," said Mary, dragging the king to her side and sitting, "concentrate," she said.

  The king did as she said, and the first thing he saw was a thick fog, "I can't see anything."

   "Don't talk," Mary's voice seemed to come from a distance: "Close your eyes and think about the face of the person you want to see."

So the king closed his eyes, and he copied the image of Nicholas Fouquet in his mind. He was the same age as General Schumberg and was born in 15 years, but unlike the general, he looked like a beautiful man. A gentle and kind person, he has no beard, and his fingers are slender and white. The only bad thing is that the hair on his forehead is a little sparse, so he combs his bangs as neatly as possible. He always likes to wear a black coat, Then turned out the translucent shirt collar, and the sleeves were also rolled up to create a beautiful fold.

   (end of this chapter)