I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 504 San Diego

After the conversation with the Duke of Luxembourg, Eugene returned to his barracks. Compared with the villa in Soissons and the suite in Versailles, he unexpectedly found that he still liked the rough room in the barracks the most - it was filled with everywhere. The peculiar aroma of freshly felled wood is better than the perfume on a lady's body; the black traces of the small charcoal stove (used for scones and brewing coffee) on the walls look more like silk than silk wall coverings. Aesthetics; the soldiers clamoring and beating drums and trumpets also put him to sleep faster than Lully's meticulously composed music.

   It's more because there is no pity or suspicion here, thought little Eugen.

He slept peacefully, to the roar of the rolling trees, and when he woke up, the sun shone into the room through the opened shutters, and the pot on the small charcoal stove was rolling with dark brown coffee, which his attendant brought him After taking off his boots, he was neatly dressed, rinsed his mouth, had a cup of coffee, and went to the Duke's, where the officers of the legion met in the Duke's suite, each determining which position they were going to fight for.

From the map, their army is like an open fan of feathers, mainly because the resistance forces are too scattered, and this is where the Cantabrian Mountains are located, and there is no one open enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people. Battlefield, "This is Leon," said the Duke of Luxembourg. "May I give it to you?"

"Of course you can." Little Eugen said calmly, turning a blind eye to those estimating gazes, someone wanted to say something - Leon in Spain is also a big city and should be handed over to more experienced generals, but some people thought of little European Root was not a civilian officer—nobles still enjoyed various privileges in the military at a time when military academies were not as open to civilians as junior colleges.

The officers believed in the Duke of Luxembourg rather than the young Eugen. Although the Duke of Luxembourg was not as famous as the Grand Condé, everyone knew that he was a prudent and steady man. He said that he would give Leon to the young European. Root, it means that he is willing to believe this young man-they recalled the style of little Eugen in the past few months, and found that this young man has a style very similar to the Duke of Luxembourg, is a reliable commander, never Risk the soldier's life.

  In this case, it is not that they cannot accept the order of the Duke of Luxembourg. Even if they may have to end this young nobleman, they were not a group of young chicks when they first entered the battlefield? They are not nobles yet, and there are people who are willing to teach them (although the method is a bit rude), what do they care about with a boy who has not yet grown a beard?

   "But Leon..." An officer suddenly said hesitantly, "Sir, I went there for a pilgrimage, and it is said that the skeletons of saints are enshrined in St. Mark's Monastery."

The Duke of Luxembourg turned his attention to little Eugen, who nodded. Spain, as a country that inherited the name of France's "Catholic eldest daughter", monasteries and churches are as dense as the stars in the sky. Since there are monasteries and churches, There will be no shortage of relics. From the clothes and bones of saints to torture instruments and even everyday utensils, they can be treasured in the reliquary. It is strange that there are no relics in the St.

   They also carefully avoided monasteries and churches in the previous siege battle, after all, many people in the French army were devout Catholics.

   "Wait," when the officers had all left, the Duke of Luxembourg said suddenly: "Lion may have another place that needs our attention."

  ————

Pippin was a small trader who often traveled in France and Spain. In addition to the profits brought by various rare gadgets, he also took money from Louis XIV and the Duke of Don Juan or Carlos II at the same time. Money, it is a pity that the only French who can hire him seem to be left. After the death of Carlos II, the relationship between him and the Spanish spies was also cut off, and the spies of the Duke of Don Juan disappeared without a trace. .

When the war came, he also considered running to a small village that would not be affected very much to rest in peace for a period of time, but the price given by the French spy caught him out again, and the French shot Generous, and asked for almost any information, much more talkative than the subordinates of Carlos II or the Duke of Don Juan.

   And precisely because of the war, their demand for all kinds of news is even greater.

   He looked up at the ancient city walls of Leon. Today, he came to inquire about the reality of the city at the request of the French.

Leon was once the capital of the extinct Leon Kingdom, but the Leon Kingdom was captured by the son of Alfonso IX (Castile) as early as 1230 and then annexed by Castile. It has also changed from the center of the Cantabrian region to an ordinary big city, perhaps because it has such a past, the King of Castile does not value it very much, and even intends to abandon it, let alone repair it. And fortifying it, the city has so far relied on the walls of the twelfth century, the only thing worth mentioning is probably the Abbey of St. Mark.

The Abbey of St. Max is also an ancient building, originally built by Princess Sancha to allow people who went to Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage west to get a place of rest, where it could be used for accommodation and treatment of the sick; on the 16th At the beginning of the century, Philip of Habsburg, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor, became a handsome man of King Philip I of Spain because of his marriage to the Spanish Queen Juana, and was honored by accepting the position of Grand Master of the Knights of Santiago. The monastery was renovated. Because the birthplace of the Knights of Santiago is in Leon, it is also called the Holy House of Santiago.

Before Pippin had entered the city, he felt that the atmosphere was not right. From the time he was still ten miles away from the city, pilgrims appeared one after another. They held torches and marched towards Leon. - This is an unusual sign that pilgrims, although not so poor that they can't afford a torch, still don't travel at night if they can, and people might break their legs on the road There will be bloodthirsty beasts in the jungle by the side of the road, and the devil will often appear in the dark. The torch will make people's eyes red and tearful, and they will burn precious clothes and hair.

   But the further he went, the more pilgrims, it was clearly not the time for pilgrimages! God, with more than ten years of experience, Pippin can easily tell that among them there are artisans, farmers, hunters, or small businessmen like him, he approached them to inquire about news, but they always She was tight-lipped and said nothing but prayers.

   When he was able to see the city walls of Leon, the light on the road no longer required him to light his own torches. There were guards in front of the city gate watching everyone vigilantly. They… actually let pilgrims enter the city! This is another rarity! You must know that pilgrims will also be the culprits of the unrest, let alone strangers, no job, no paperwork. If the refugees enter the city, they will only bring endless troubles, so pilgrims must also have The pass issued by the lord can be unimpeded in his territory.

   "Where's your pass?" The guard stopped Pippin.

"Here, my lord." Pippin, of course, had a pass, and he was never stingy with money in this regard. He held a peso (Spanish silver coin) in his palm and handed it over. "I'm a businessman, sir, and I can tell. Come on, is there any big event in Leon recently?"

The    guard glanced at him: "Don't ask random questions."

  Pippin backhanded, the guard squinted and swept a golden light: "You are really an ignorant person," his tone was much gentler, "Don't you know that the saint in St. Mark's Abbey appeared?"

"Our Lady!" Pippin exclaimed in a low voice. "No wonder there are so many pilgrims!" , let's go. Are you dawdling and want to go to prison? There are more people behind!"

   "Indeed..." Pippin whispered.

He entered the city and passed through the ghetto by the wall, where there were monks walking around, giving communion—but Pippin suspected they were just here to get unleavened bread, and he took a piece too, He lamented that the monks actually took out a whole piece of bread as a sacrament. The pie was pretty solid, and the stomach that had been screaming from outside the city finally quieted down, and it supported Pippin from the ghetto all the way to the central square, where more torches were burning, making it look like daylight.

From here, you can see St. Mark's Abbey. The steps of the abbey are filled with candles with shaking flames. The statues of saints in the outer niches seem to come alive in the flickering light. Here are more gatherings. There may be hundreds of people, it is not impossible to have thousands, there are men, women, and children, it is difficult to distinguish their rich and poor in the dark, their age, Pippin only hears someone crying loudly, someone chanting , there are also people reaching out to touch and knock on the doors and walls of the monastery, and the crackle of the whip on the body, not for sinners, but someone in penance and penance.

  Pippy pretended to pray, of course he was a devout believer, but at this time his attention was really unable to focus on prayer, his eyes and ears were all attracted by a group of soldiers in white cloaks.

Most people may not know it, but Pippin...he knew exactly one thing - the "Holy Sword" standing on a white cloak - a cross in the shape of a long sword, with a lily-shaped handle and gauntlet at the end, a red as blood , which means that the person here is a knight of the Knights of Santiago.

   What a distant name.

   "The Knights of Santiago..." Pippin murmured, "So are they still there?"

   (end of this chapter)