I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 52 The King There is no talk in this chapter

When the royal family was far away from Paris, the Duke of Orleans, who took the opportunity to steal his power, not only strongly demanded that the judges of the Supreme Court grant him the title of acting king, but also recruited about 5,000 soldiers as much as possible, almost all of them were Civilians in Paris or nearby, prices in Paris skyrocketed, and terrifying plagues and famines finally appeared among the civilians, but if they could enter the army, they could at least guarantee the minimum food and clothing, so many people became judges, bishops or It was the duke's soldiers, who took up muskets or spears and served them.

To show the king, the Duke of Orleans, who had declared himself acting king, was nothing short of treason, and it was for this reason that he was in no hurry to enter Paris, and he would rather do well than hurry back to Paris and then be kicked out, or worse. Fully prepared, he went to inspect the military camp. The soldiers of General Schumberg and Viscount Turenne totaled more than 4,000 people. Then, with the support of the king, they recruited another 2,000 people from the refugees. Now there are six in total. A thousand soldiers, with the muskets and artillery that Fouquet had managed to smuggle from Italy and Sicily, and a hundred horses, either Dutch Frisian or native of France, brought by Colbert, not to be outdone. The Sierra horses have strong muscles, have a high jumping talent and a brave and bold character, and have high obedience, that is to say, they are born to be war horses.

For these horses, Viscount Turenne and General Schumberg had a small quarrel, because they both wanted to send these horses to their own team, and the king had to adjust from them and sit at the table with them , after playing cards for three hours, in the end Viscount Turenne got 20 horses, General Schumberg got 15 horses, and 65 horses, the king gave the queen mother three horses, some gave Two were given to the bishop of Mazarin, who was far away in Liège, and he gave the other sixty to the musketeers who had been with him.

This matter makes the musketeers grateful. After all, at this time, whether it is the royal guards, the musketeers, or the cavalry, their horses, equipment, and even uniforms need to be configured at their own expense, so Like D'Artagnan, it was common to borrow money from one's lover (with no return, of course), and those noble ladies were accustomed to grabbing money from their husband's cupboard with their left hand, The right hand gives them to his young lover - and in these configurations, the most expensive is the horse, after all, for these warriors, a good horse can not only make them more beautiful, but also show their identity, and Help when necessary.

The price of a good horse is about 300 to 500 livres. Of course, if you meet a vain young man or a luxurious gold owner, it is far more than this price, but with the horse presented by the king , then these good lads would have better saddles, and powder bags, and better rapiers, or more loyal servants, so they are now all loyal to the king, and eager to be in Paris. In the offensive and defensive battles, more achievements have been won.

But when it comes to the king, he is really not in a hurry. He is more relaxed in Versailles than in Paris. The bishop communicates with him almost every day. The bishop of Mazarin already has a very detailed and thorough The intelligence network, which he inherited from Richelieu, and which he later expanded and supplemented. Some people say that in France, even the bridge piers and walls are the eyes and ears of the bishop. Although this sentence is exaggerated, it is not true. It doesn't make sense.

Louis is not in a hurry to establish his own intelligence system - there is no need, Mr. Bishop is not his enemy now, their positions are the same, after the endless stream of intelligence has been screened, from the bishop's hands to his hands , It will only be two or three days at the latest. Maybe some people will be dissatisfied with this, but now Louis needs nothing more than the movements of the Duke of Orleans Gaston and the Prince of Condé - to determine what he should do next.

From Mr. Bishop, Louis learned that not long ago, the fief of the Duke of Gaston, the city of Orleans, asked the Duke of Gaston to return to Orleans from Paris. The Duke of Gaston was not very willing, because he was in Already half the master of Paris, the second coming to the Orleans City Council intends to force him to remain neutral, lest the city be attacked by the king's army - how could the Duke of Gaston agree, he is now only one step away from the throne, a city is It is absolutely impossible for him to give in, but he also does not want to give up Orleans, after all, it is his foundation and territory, so Louis' uncle came up with an incredible idea, that is to let his eldest daughter, Montpang The Duchess of Sières went to Orleans through the war-torn France, full of rebellions and mobs, to temporarily take charge and appease the city on his behalf.

What is even more surprising is that the Duchess of Montpensier actually agreed to this rude and cruel request. God forbid, she brought her maid and guard to Orleans, but the people of Orleans were reluctant to admit her at first. , they are loyal and looking forward to her father, not a frail woman who has been turned away from the city.

   "Then how did she do it?" asked the Queen Mother.

   "You probably can't imagine it," said the king.

After the Duchess of Montpensier was rejected by Orleans, she did not give up easily. When she was outside the city, she heard (possibly through inquiries and bribes from various parties) that the city gate of Orleans on the Lough Quay (that is, the Loire) was made of wood. It is very fragile, but the city gate is located more than a hundred feet above the city wall, and there is no ladder below it, so it is impossible to climb up at all - but a few fishermen said that they could take the duchess in a boat. Go to the bottom of the city gate, then connect the two fishing boats together, lay wooden boards on it, build a ladder on the wooden boards, and then the duchess only needs to take an axe, climb up the ladder, stand on the ladder and smash the gate with an axe.

Such a proposal was sternly rejected by the duchess' maids at the time. Not only did they reject them, but they also suggested that the duchess should hang the fishermen in the name of trying to murder the royal nobles. It's incredible enough to climb a ladder with an axe, but it's still on a boat, and under the boat is the galloping Loire, even a brave knight may not be able to do it - otherwise the gate would not be made of wood, And what about their Duchess?

But the Duchess of Montpensier took everyone by surprise. Not only did she agree to the plan, but she acted quickly, wrapping her skirt around her waist, carrying the axe on her back, and arriving by boat. Under the city walls, and then, with the help of fishermen and squires, climbed the ladder, a feat witnessed by countless Orleans at the time, and she moved the Orleans - after all, this is the city that was once saved by Joan of Arc , So before the duchess could draw the axe, the city gate was split open by the Orleans from the inside, and she was welcomed in with great grandeur. People shouted "Long live the princess", and knelt down and kissed her hand.

  The next day she was called the "Daughter of Orleans", a title that once belonged to Joan of Arc.

Hearing this, the Queen Mother's face became even more gloomy, and she almost let out a contemptuous laugh regardless of etiquette, and Louis could fully understand his mother. Although the Duke of Orleans rebelled many times, the Louis XIII couple had no respect for the Montpensier girl. There is nothing bad about the duke, she grew up in the Tuileries, and the number of princesses (maids, maids, doctors, nurses, servants and guards) is two hundred, she is three hundred, her guardian The lady official was Madame Saint-Georgis, who was known for her gentleness, kindness, and high status. Even the Duchess of Montpensier herself admitted that she received a motherly love from this lady.

   Not to mention, when her father, the Duke of Gaston, wanted to compete with her for the management of Montpensier, Louis XIII and the Queen were very firm on her side.

  Unfortunately, their tolerance could not be exchanged for the gratitude of the Duchess of Montpensier, and there was a lot of hatred.

  Louis read the letter again. In this letter, the Bishop copied a sentence that the Duchess said before climbing the escalator. She said: Shut up! Bunch of cowards! ...I tell you, just today, I will climb this wall, tear down this gate, and I will rule this city as they beg me!

The bishop deliberately wrote this sentence, obviously pointing and reminding Louis, and Louis could understand what he meant. They both made a mistake before, that is, they mistakenly mistake the Duchess of Montpensier for an ordinary woman. , like most young women, with nothing but make-up and love on their minds—but it turns out she's not, or, not quite, craving power like a man.

   "Then where is she now?" asked the Queen Mother.

"She has returned to Paris," said the king. Like a triumphant general, the Duke of Gaston changed his attitude towards her and became so considerate and gentle that he was about to print the words "good father" and put it on his face. .

   "Ahhh." The Queen Mother said angrily: "A traitor's daughter has become a princess in a serious manner, doesn't she feel ashamed?"

  The Queen Mother was furious, but Louis thought that maybe it wasn't a bad thing.

   He sent a letter to Bishop Mazarin that night.

   (end of this chapter)