I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 518 The King of Italy

   Alexander VIII was relieved when he heard that Carlos III had ascended the throne in Toledo, and ordered the priests serving around him to tell the public that the Pope was sick again.

A white flag was hung on the terrace of St. Peter's Basilica. As soon as people saw it, they knew that the Pope was ill again, and the next mass or other public ceremonies could not be presided over, but the princes in red who knew the inside story could not help but complain. Endless, they pushed Alexander VIII out just to find a good weapon and a strong shield. I didn't expect that Alexander VIII was not an idiot. The glory of the Holy Father did not fool him, he was indeed. The cardinals' pawn, but this **** won't move forward unless you reach out and move it.

   He issued an edict under the persecution of the prince in red, scolded the king of France, and fell down again righteously, not caring about anything--on the surface. As soon as he closed the door, the Pope's illegitimate son came to his room through a secret passage. When Alexander VIII, who was nearly eighty years old, saw this son who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, his heart was as soft as a fire roasted. Like cheese, he gently stroked his son's head, and let him drink, and let him eat good fish and ham.

According to Roman tradition, Piero Ottoboni inherited his father's secular surname and entrusted him with a brother's name as a son, but he knew very well that his future depended on the Pope, his father I hope he wears a priest's vest, and he must be a red prince in the future, but he prefers a military uniform, so Alexander VIII has to make other plans for him - those who put Alexander VIII on the throne of Pope probably can't think of it , for such a beloved young son, Alexander VIII will resolutely choose to go against them and run counter to the interests of the church.

  You know, he is seventy-nine years old, and his physical condition is not satisfactory. Can he be a pope for a few days or a few months? He couldn't estimate it himself. If he was sixty-nine years old, or even seventy-five years old, he would have made another plan, and even forced his youngest son into the church, but he didn't have much time, what a cruel and indifferent **** Rome was. It is clear, however, that without his support, Pierrot will be exiled to a monastery on an isolated island in the future.

He could have sent Pierrot to Austria, or any other Catholic country, but he couldn't believe Leopold I—a guy who could give his daughter to a freak without changing his face could do anything about it. Where are the outsiders who are related and use the value better?

This is not to say that it is a bad thing for emperors and kings to put national interests first, but everyone knew at the time that Carlos II was a **** and he could not let women have children, although later the Spaniards claimed that the king was blessed by God. Healed and even had an illegitimate child, but who knows if it was? The eldest daughter of Leopold I had not even reached the age of legal marriage at that time, she was just a child, but for a little bit of possibility, or a little bit of time that could be delayed, she became the father and the king to throw her. Abandoned son to go.

The eldest princess is still living in a women's convent in Rome. Many people think that this young lady is too reckless, ruthless and impulsive, and some people accuse her of being immoral, not so docile, and lacking the virtues that a woman should have, but Alexander VIII thought that her behavior was not sinful, her father was really not like a father, of course the eldest princess could not be that daughter, and she just begged the church to declare the marriage null and void.

   took ten thousand steps back and said that later this matter was not acquiesced by Leopold I, who had a son?

He should have been kind and happy to take his daughter back to Austria and find a new marriage for her, but he may have felt that in this case, the eldest princess had been helped by King Louis XIV of France. It was like a betrayal, so he ignored it, and even contributed to it when the Spaniards tried to coerce the eldest princess to return to Toledo - he may also plan to let the eldest princess pay the rest of her life in exchange for the Spaniards to accept her brother, Philip Power V.

   But how old was the eldest princess at that time?

This is how the Queen Mother of the Habsburgs wasted away the beauty and soul of a young girl in the court of Toledo. Leopold I should know what his sister's life was like in Toledo, but he Still did not hesitate to decide to marry his daughter to Carlos II.

Such a ruthless person is not a good person to entrust to his heirs, and Pierrot is not a general with outstanding military talent like little Eugen Savoy, who seems to have been kissed by God, he is just brave enough and a little vain. Ordinary man at heart - Alexander VIII had thought of sending him to Paris, but very occasionally, he learned that Innocent XI might be dead soon, so he had new plans - he deliberately expressed his right. The dissatisfaction of Louis XIV, the people of Louis XIV, namely Elarius and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, as well as the nobles of Anjou in Naples, all expressed a bit of hostility, either explicitly or implicitly, he accepted Leopold De I's bribes also promised him to arrange some people in Roman churches and monasteries.

   But no one knew that his family had gone to Colonna.

This kind of thing won't be hidden for long, but Alexander VIII doesn't need to hide it for too long. His delay successfully ensured the perfect enthronement of Carlos III in the Cathedral of Toledo. Although there are still people who are questioning his orthodoxy, Spain Almost all of the people already knew that their king was Carlos III of Bourbon.

In this case, Louis XIV reciprocated, and when Cardinal Elarius came to accept his appointment, he handed over a letter from the Duke of Orleans, which guaranteed that the Pope's youngest son Pierrot could do whatever he wanted. Enter any French army, even the Guards in Paris and Versailles, or even the Musketeers.

"But Dad..." Pierrot said a little uncertainly, although papa is the title people often use for the Pope, but the papa here has a different meaning, Alexander VIII looked at his son lovingly, "Why, you Worrying about... yes, there is a war going on right now, but Cardinal Elarius said that there is no time or place limit for this letter of recommendation and the blank letter of appointment." He paused, "but you'd better stay with me. It is still in this world to fulfill this promise." Although the credit of the Sun King has long been proved by merchants and commoners, Alexander VIII can still subtly feel that His Majesty doesn't seem to like the church and nobles very much.

  When he was still Alexander VIII, if the price given by the Sun King was not satisfactory to him, he could still bargain. Once he left the world, Pierrot was just an ordinary Italian youth who could be seen everywhere.

   "I want to go to Naples," Pierrot said.

   Alexander VIII's face suddenly became extremely ugly: "God!" He couldn't help shouting: "How could you have this idea!"

Even if Pierrot wanted to go to Spain, Alexander VIII would not be so angry. Now anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Spanish anti-French army failed to hinder Louis XIV as some people expected... , constraints and troubles, perhaps that His Majesty wouldn't even give them an extra look - although he knew that Spain's military power, especially on land, was long ago not as brave and powerful as it was when he fought against the French, and Alexander VIII also Can not help but let out a long sigh.

   is like a hot knife cutting into butter.

It was a large number of young French generals who rose up in the Franco-British and Franco-Spanish wars who finally made Alexander VIII's idea. France originally had several veteran generals worthy of praise. Louis XIV conquered Flanders and the Netherlands. At that time, these generals were like wings attached to a lion, working together to bring the already weakened France to the dazzling throne in one fell swoop, and God seemed to think that the enemies of Louis XIV were not hopeless enough. These brave generals and marshals became famous At that time, there was no need to worry about no successor - there were enemies on all sides, and domestic and foreign difficulties would make a king worry and find it difficult to move. It became a sharp and bright sword.

Alexander VIII knew that Pierrot was a brave young man. Unlike the sons of the dissolute Roman nobles, he still maintained a childlike innocence and simplicity. Because of this, he loved this child the most. There is nothing better than to let Pierrot go to the Royal Military Academy in Paris to study for two or three years. When Pierrot enters the army, the war is almost over. After that, it seems that everyone agrees. In that case, there will be no major wars in Europa for at least thirty years.

If Pierrot is not willing, then even if it is to Brittany, to Provence, to Catalonia, or to Toledo, as the son of Alexander VIII, he will inevitably be an officer rather than an ordinary If he joins the army as a soldier, his Shangguan will also take care of him and prevent him from going to dangerous places.

   But Naples?

   "Impossible, I will not allow you to go to Naples!" shouted Alexander VIII!

   "Why? Dad," Pierrot asked calmly, "because it's going to be a battlefield soon?"

   "Not a battlefield," said Alexander VIII, "but a mill, a mill of flesh."

  It was the first time that Pierrot saw his father so nervous and uneasy, so terrified that the hair on the back of his hand stood up.

He vaguely knew something about Naples, but he was only ten years old after all, and he didn't know what the eighty-nine-year-old Alexander VIII had experienced—Ottoman Turkey, as a revered saint, would return home on horseback with a knife , how could they be indifferent to hegemony and territory, they have never stopped their expeditions, but after they devoured the Balkan Peninsula, they are facing the vast sea.

For the Ottoman Turks, they are very much like another huge country in the far east. Because of the vast inland area and no desire for the world beyond the sea, the Ottoman navy was established very late and filled with a large number of converts and pirates, the former was hated and despised by the devout True Gods, the latter was hated and disgusted by the sultan's favored courtiers, and the original commander of the navy even knew nothing about naval warfare until a pirate was recognized and reused by the sultan.

But the navy is unfavorable, which does not mean that the Ottomans will give up their appeal to Europa. They suffered a major setback in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. At that time, Spain was still the king of the sea. He united the church and the Venetians to give A great lesson for the Ottomans - but as the previous Great Wars proved, the Sultan may lack everything but soldiers, and the Ottomans continued to harass the Italian peninsula in the decades that followed, but the offensive continued Curb in Malta.

The Genoese replaced the Spaniards and the Venetians joined forces to keep the Ottomans out of the Aegean Sea. The problem is that this is also because the Ottomans gradually shifted their sights from the sea to the land they were familiar with. If the sultan wanted, the Ottoman navy was the same. A threat to Italy - Alexander VIII unfortunately traveled to Sicily as a young man for a pilgrimage, where he encountered a siege of Pizzo by Ottoman pirates, who looted as it was not a formal war After some time he left, and Alexander VIII, then a young boy of the Ottoborni family, was invited to give Mass for the dead.

The Italian city-state has always replaced the indispensable army with mercenaries. As an important port and commercial city of Pizzo, nearly 8,000 mercenaries have long-term employment contracts with them. They also kept their promises and came to fight. Well, it's the pirates who've brought countless soldiers—or slaves, thin, ragged, or simply naked, without a shred of fear.

The mercenaries have also thought of running away, surrendering or even rebelling, they often do it, but that time their tricks didn't work, most of these slaves were converts - they were crueler and more ruthless than true true believers, all The pagans will wash their sins with blood under their swords, even under their teeth and fingers, even at the cost of their lives.

   That tragic situation, even after sixty years, Alexander VIII still firmly remembers it.

Europa is not without bandits, but they will at least allow the people who pay the ransom to live, but the pirates of Ottoman Turkey are different, they never mind completely destroying a pagan city, but speaking of it, the former Templars The same is true, even if they receive a ransom, they will do the same thing when they break their promises, which is no different from their enemies.

   (end of this chapter)