I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 502 French and Spanish (3)

It was assumed that King Louis XIV of France would be impatient to march south to crush those who dared to oppose him, to hang all the rebellion on the gallows or in the standing cage, but what puzzled them was that, The French king followed Roussillon to the south, calmly to Barcelona, ​​the largest and most important city in Catalonia, and then to Bals, he stopped.

This was not the case with Louis XIV's conquest of Flanders and Holland, when the French army's fronts were likely to advance every day, no, every hour, with a desperate momentum that even gave the impression that their The king and generals went mad, and when Leopold I of Habsburg, Duke Don Juan of Spain, and the Church of Rome could not react, they achieved what he expected.

   But he was extra cautious when facing Spain.

So some people say that Louis XIV is no longer brave and decisive when he was young. After all, in this era, the age of forty is already an age of aging among the common people. Even a pampered king, at the age of forty or fifty There are also many people who have died due to various reasons, not to mention that the son of Louis XIV has been married to the Portuguese princess, and there may be a little prince soon. The sun king who created the most brilliant page in the history of France has thus changed Not sure if you have to be conservative.

   "What do you think?" asked the Duke of Luxembourg.

   The person who was questioned by the Duke of Luxembourg was none other than the eldest son of the Count of Soissons, little Eugene.

"I think it's because Flanders, Holland and Spain are fundamentally different, and so are their futures," said Eugen, who is now a very good young man, although this It's true that it can't be added to his features and stature - he is not tall enough like the Duke of Luxembourg, slightly hunchbacked, and his features are mediocre, and to make matters worse, he slowly shows Habsburg characteristics in adulthood... that is to say , his chin is contorted and protruding, and even if Mrs. Olympia's beauty eventually neutralized him a lot, people are still impressed by the overly long face.

   But if someone saw his eyes, those shining eyes full of wisdom, they would have forgotten about it. Little Eugen was fortunate to inherit the mind of Leopold I, not Lady Olympia - in this era, Leopold I was most unfortunate to coexist with Louis XIV, the sun king's brilliance overshadowed the moon and The light of the stars, the emperor who was born in Habsburg, is not as stupid and ignorant as people think, but because of the strict laws left by his ancestors, the various constraints of the princes, and the limited and dangerous territory— Austria has no ports and coastlines, and is doomed to be stunted in the era of rapid development of the great seafaring. In addition, it is not only tightly surrounded by many countries, but also faced with infidels, that is, the declining but still huge Ottoman Turkish Empire. first line of defense.

Compared to Olympia Mancini, who is greedy, hypocritical, despicable and a bit ridiculous, he has a smart head. In the Palace of Versailles, little Eugen who grew up with the children of nobles such as the prince and the Duke of Enghien can be called The journey went well, and at the age of thirteen or fourteen, he was granted the favor of Louis XIV, and became the first student of the Royal Military Academy of France, where he became a student with Joseph, Jean Bart, and several other promising young people. In order to make good friends, and thanks to the guidance of the Grand Condé, the Duke of Luxembourg, Vauban, Viscount Turenne and other generals, he has won a lot of praise and green eyes both in his homework and in the army.

The only thing worthy of criticism is his subtle identity - but very few people know about it, even the Duke of Luxembourg, the Grand Condé, who knows that Eugene will accompany him on the expedition to Castile. At that time, only after writing to remind him did he understand why little Eugen Savoy was arranged to come to him instead of accompanying him.

Here we have to reorganize the identity of little Eugen. His mother is Mary's sister and a Mancini. Her marriage is not as good as she wants, mainly because Mary's willful and arrogant behavior has angered her. The queen mother and the bishop of Mazarin, but even so, the Count of Soissons can be regarded as a good husband. After all, the Mancini family was originally only a merchant - the title of wizard cannot be recognized in the world.

   She was able to cling to this marriage because she was the niece of the cardinal.

So what about the Count of Soissons, the Earl of Soissons is located in France, because the title of France follows the territory, so needless to say, this title must belong to a French lord, and this lord is the Countess of Soissons, that is, the present The mother of the count, the father of the countess, is the Prince of Savoy, the younger brother of the Grand Duke of Savoy.

   Therefore, although the Count of Soissons inherited the title of his mother, his surname is still Savoy, and the surname of Little Eugene is also derived from this.

Savoy was originally an earl, and was fortunate enough to be promoted to a duchy. The Grand Duke of Savoy has been working to go further - but probably no one cares about it now. Savoy's position is right between France and Italy, and the top right is Switzerland, it's hard to say what the future holds - the Grand Duke of Savoy may have had some silly ideas, but the Count of Soissons, serving in the French army and a close associate of the king, was quick to write to warn his cousin, It also avoided an unprovoked right and wrong.

Then, let's bring the topic back to little Eugen. All the young people in France hope to follow his command and fight the enemy bravely under the king's command. Little Eugen is no exception, and because his bloodline is not open to the public his true identity, he should also be qualified to serve the king. The problem is, because the Count of Soissons is a side branch of Savoy, or a side branch that has been separated soon, he and his descendants should also have this honor. Therefore, in this battle, the Count of Soissons and his only adult. Son, is accompanying the king.

Because he knew from a very early time that he was not the biological son of the Count of Soissons, but the disgraced illegitimate son of Olympia and Leopold I, little Eugen never expected to get one from the Count of Soissons. Anything a son can get from his father—love, titles and possessions, and territory. He thought that the Count of Soissons was lenient enough to allow him to occupy the position of his nominal eldest son, and he really should not be greedy for more, so he almost never appeared in the presence of the Count of Soissons and his family.

The Count of Soissons was so tolerant because he also ignored the marriage. When Olympia was out of the wall, he was also living in the residence with a gentle woman like a husband and wife. They first gave birth to children. After the death of Olympia, he begged Louis XIV to give the lady a title so that they could be officially married. So Louis XIV gave the lady the title of baroness, and soon after their marriage they had a son, who happened to be fourteen this year and came of age, so the Count of Soissons resolutely put him brought to the king, who is now one of Louis XIV's attendants.

  Because of these two people, little Eugen could not stay with the king, so he was sent to the Duke of Luxembourg.

The Duke of Luxembourg was very fond of this clever and humble student, and after hearing about this, he couldn't help but feel a burst of pity - little Eugen was fortunate to have met many tolerant people - if the Count of Soissons because of Olympia. The shame that Mancini brought him and refused to recognize the child, then as an illegitimate child without a surname, the return of little Eugen may only be the monastery... Although the monarchs sometimes admit their illegitimate children, giving them titles and territories , but the cold-hearted Leopold I may not be willing to admit his affair with the Countess of Soissons, and their children.

Also, even if the Count of Soissons admits him, given his biological father, it is reasonable for the French king to isolate him from power. After all, no one knows whether he will suddenly betray because of the ties between the bloodlines. France, to the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, but their king was the daring Louis XIV.

Louis XIV dared to elect Grand Condé, who not only betrayed him, but also almost became the regent king, to be the king of Poland. What about the illegitimate son of the Holy Roman Emperor? The Dauphin grew up with each other in the Palace of Versailles.

The Duke of Luxembourg sighed. Based on this alone, he could not continue to resent and despise Louis XIV. Even the Grand Condé, his righteous brother and close friend, he would not dare to say that if the latter ascended the position of King of France , able to deal with the former enemy and the descendants of the enemy without any grudges like Louis XIV.

The Duke of Luxembourg thought a lot, but in reality it was just a flash of thought. Little Eugen misunderstood the sigh and hurriedly explained: "Sir, I mean, when His Majesty the King conquered Flanders, Flanders is just an enclave of Spain, and it is full of ulterior motives of Protestants. They have never had a long-term and strong government, nor a monarch to recognize and rely on. They are used to a loose and chaotic life. Governing independently, bullying the weak - under such circumstances, if His Majesty the King treats them leniently, they will think that France is just a giant with a soft heart, and instead of being grateful, they will intensify their efforts to seek benefits... If it's not what they want, they'll start a rebellion."

He paused, took the tea handed to him by the Duke of Luxembourg, and drank it: "On the contrary, if France were more assertive, they would be more humble, or more cautious, and would not dare to act rashly, lest they would act rashly. At the expense of the French - because of the long division, they dare not even unite, because they can't guarantee that their seemingly reliable allies will betray them as soon as they turn around."

"His Majesty the king rules them with the army and the law in the army. For the commoners who are accustomed to being controlled, and the nobles who are accustomed to only looking at interests and power, it is a familiar thing to them—" Having said this, Little Eugen smiled: "When I was still in Versailles, I was often angry at the cowardice of the former and the shamelessness of the latter, but after hearing about it, Your Majesty once told me that putting oneself in one's shoes is always the most important thing - in When you are rich, think on the ground of the poor; when you are strong, think on the ground of the weak; when you are young, think on the ground of the old Go up and think so you can understand their behavior and anticipate the consequences of what you're ordering and doing."

The Duke of Luxembourg clapped his hands in agreement: "That's right, boy, right, even if you have a pair of Icarus (see note 1) wings, when you put them in an albatross, they must be Thank you, but if you stick them in the frogs in the swamp, they will surely curse you before they get scorched by the sun."

"As for Holland," Eugen continued excitedly: "The Netherlands is different from Flanders. Although it has not been independent for a long time, it is already a strong country. Their merchants and officials, as well as captains and soldiers, will Say they are Dutch, not like Flemish, say I am Flemish, Calais, or Norse, whose prosperity lasted a hundred years, from national and national pride Let them have a unified cognition and consciousness, just like the French people now."

   "Yes, that's why the Netherlands has a government-in-exile and Flanders doesn't."

   "So His Majesty will cut them open, divide them, even if they have to share some of the considerable benefits to others." Little Eugen said, clenching his fists involuntarily.

   "Otherwise we will have one after another of rebellions and riots," added the Duke of Luxembourg. The Duke of Luxembourg also had a period of complete incomprehension of Louis XIV's behavior - Holland could have been occupied by France, but in correspondence with Viscount Turenne he learned that in the beginning, the hostility of the Dutch was indeed only directed towards the French , but with the partition of the Netherlands and the exile of the government to the colonies, the enmity of the Dutch began to disperse as well - not dispersal is impossible, because it was not even the French who ruled them directly, nor the French who taxed them, indulging The soldiers plundered and did nothing but the French, because the seven provinces of the Netherlands were so closely connected to each other that after a period of time, the North Holland occupied by the French even felt that they were much happier than the Dutch in other places. now...

It's a bit ridiculous, but Viscount Turenne is not under as much pressure as he thinks - with the comparison, the Dutch under his command, the New French will of course be satisfied, especially when their King has promised Ten, twenty years from now, the Dutch will enjoy meager taxes, good benefits and countless other perks like the French.

   But if there were only French in the Netherlands, they would not be willing to accept French rule, even if they were immediately treated as French or as Catalans.

   Note 1:

Icarus (Greek: καρο) is the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology. When Daedalus fled Crete with wings made of wax and feathers, he flew too high and the wax on his wings was destroyed by the sun. Melted and fell into the water and died and was buried on an island.

   (end of this chapter)