I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 522 The King of Italy (5)

   "It's really star-studded here today."

   Genoa's envoy could not help but murmur as soon as he stepped into the Medici family's Palazzo Ricatti in Florence.

He had prepared for the worst. Louis XIV was not that kind of bloodthirsty and tyrannical monarch, but he would definitely use all means to force the nations of Italy to obey his son's leadership. He didn't know how he felt about it. , to say that as a Genoese, he must be disgusted with a dictator, but as an Italian, seeing this peninsula, which once gave birth to a great empire like Rome, was torn apart for a full fifteen hundred years, and because of this division And the strength on the sea and the road is far inferior to those countries that have grown up from the collapsed empire... How can he not long for a new Caesar to guide them forward?

The Palazzo Riccati in the Medici was designed by Michelangelo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo de' Medici of the Medici family, and the subsequent Medici continued to add brilliance to it Not long ago, even if it was temporarily requisitioned as the palace of the Sun King, there was nothing to criticize, and the place where they met the king was the most gorgeous and empty main hall of the building. Less than the frescoes on the top of St. Peter's Basilica, white clouds and golden holy light are rolling and shining against the background of lapis lazuli paint, angels and saints have gentle and sympathetic faces, mortals stretch out their hands to pray to them, and crawl under their feet. The black devil of sin...Crimson red and royal blue velvet tapestries hang on the walls, golden lilies are embroidered on the drapery, and the mosaic floor made of countless precious woods is polished and inlaid with a luster as soft and bright as young people's skin...In the middle of the hall It is a huge table that is enough for a hundred people to eat together. It is carefully built by skilled craftsmen. From the table top, there is almost no trace of the construction, but now they can't see it, because a roll of ivory silk satin. The tablecloth hung down from one end to the other, covering the entire table tightly without revealing it at all.

How many gold and silver utensils are placed on this table, how clear crystal cups and pots, and how fresh roses, we will not repeat them, in front of today's master, the king is decorated with diamonds and Royal blue velvet tablecloth in pearl.

When the envoys of Genoa were led in, they said that because, with the exception of King Louis XIV of France, the new Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his wife—to avoid confusion, we continue to call him As the Duke of Colonna, in addition to the several ministers and generals he valued, there are also dozens of messengers.

   They were either originally ambassadors, or they came to attend the enthronement ceremony of the new Grand Duke of Tuscany.

Of course, there are no messengers of the Holy Roman Emperor and his princes and allies, but the messengers of the princes of Italy are all there. They may have their own thoughts, but between France and the Holy Roman Empire, they do not want to choose any one. , In addition, the Principality of Tuscany is also a strong enemy for them. Now that this enemy has changed to a ruler, they always have to come and test it to see how to deal with this foreign guy.

Today, the Italian peninsula and the Po River Plain, there are dozens of countries and forces, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Genoa, the Papal State, the Duchy of Tuscany, and the Kingdom of Naples are among the larger ones. Like Ferrara and the Duchy of Modena, the Duchy of Mantua, the Duchy of Parma and other little-known small countries, their area may not be as big as a big city in France.

Although they were all invited, there is no doubt that there may be only a handful of people who can speak here, and the ambassador of Genoa is of course one of them, but the ambassador of Venice has his head held high, sitting only In the position of the ambassador of Milan, but Venice's military strength is indeed better than Genoa. After the envoy of Genoa exchanged eyebrows with him, he finally sat down beside the envoy of the Duchy of Savoy.

This read as a dinner party, in fact, what was discussed in the secret meeting. It will take hundreds of years before people can read a document beside the then Tuscan Grand Duchess Anna, and also the diary left by her brother Ji'an. Slightly understand.

Ji An was born in 1971. At the beginning of the war, he also reached the age of knowing the truth. Although he had unfortunately developed early symptoms of gout, if he followed the normal process and common sense, in the years after him, There is bound to be resentment towards the King of France, as well as his biological father, Cosimo III.

In people's eyes, the French King Louis XIV took away the legal inheritance of the biological son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany for his disgraced illegitimate son, forcing the latter's eldest son Ferdinand and the underage Gian into the monastery, abandoning them. Worldly power and dominion, yes, even Louis XIV did not deny it, he mentioned it in his dying confession, and even many years later, this branch of the Medici family—later Gian With the permission of Pope Elarius I, he returned to secular life, and still received generous compensation from the Bourbon family in the New World.

Cosimo III's concession was also regarded as a cowardly act by some people, and the origin of the earliest medicine dealer of the Medici family was constantly mentioned contemptuously. The third king has lost his due "male characteristics", until the Duke of Colonna, Duke of Anjou, the husband of the Duchess of Tuscany, Anna, was crowned in Naples, and this disgusting criticism and slander gradually subsided.

But in Gian's early years, this diary, which was covered with some tender and slender handwriting, was full of surprise and admiration for Louis XIV, and therefore felt able to understand how his father, Cosimo III, made such a decision. ...he even said with the enthusiasm of a young man that if his sister's husband, Luciano, could really do what he promised, he would be willing to do as his father ordered.

  —Here are some excerpts from the records made by the young Archduke’s son—

People often say that fate is impermanent, and my teachers often say (according to tradition, His Highness Ji'an's teachers are several priests), mortals often suffer from physical and spiritual torture, endless hardships, and ever-changing lives, This is the teaching and training that God has given us. We must walk on this rough road and use the wisdom and strength given by the merciful God and the saints to resist the sins and hardships created by the devil, and strengthen our own Faith, stabilize your will, and find a correct path.

Although sometimes I can't help but wonder if my family and my father, and even me, did something wrong to cause me to be ill as a child and to have children of my age (who are not as noble as I am) , not as rich as me) when I can run freely on the grass or in the square, I have to clench my teeth and endure the pain between my toes, it feels like someone is holding a charcoal fire on my in the bones.

What scares me the most is the desperation and depression my dad showed when he saw the doctor, yes he was terminally ill when I started to get sick, in my memory, most of his time They were all lying on the bed, motionless, and without a trace—not that he was too absurd or absurd, but because... even the thin and soft silk, brushing over those sick places, would bring him a slash like a sword. pain.

   What worries me even more is that, from a few words I heard from nowhere, I heard that I will be the same in the future.

  My brother was able to ride a horse when he left Siena, but not long after he arrived in Paris he could not even walk for a long time, even after his symptoms had subsided.

When I see my father, I can see my future. If so, I don't wonder why my father is so indifferent to me. If it were me, I would rather play with a healthy child than a doomed child. In order to become disabled people get along day and night.

On the other hand, my sister, the eldest daughter of the Archduke, has always been healthy. The curse of the Medici family has not affected her. She dances as lightly as a little boy jumping on a branch. The bird, her husband is tall and strong, like the big tree under the bird's claws.

   I don't know if my father ended up choosing them over me and my brother for this reason.

  …

   But that didn't stop me from feeling angry when I knew I had become a monk.

  …

The first time I met the Sun King, I wasn't very impressed, I kept my head down, and I couldn't take part in my father's conversation with him, and was soon taken to another room - but then For some unknown reason, I was taken by my sister, who was also the Grand Duchess of Tuscany at that time, as the secretary. My seat at that time was very close to this noble majesty, close enough to I saw a few fine lines extending from the corners of his lips and eyes as he smiled and showed stern eyes.

   There is no denying that this majesty is as beautiful as people say, and he looks extraordinarily young, better than everyone in the room.

   Of course, this is not the concern of those present, including me. People here are thinking about one thing, that is, what reason will Louis XIV use to persuade them to support his illegitimate son to become the king of Italy, although here, except for Genoa and Venice and a few small countries , are all territories of Spain, I mean the Principality of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples, and now Carlos III of Bourbon has become the King of Spain, and naturally can inherit this heritage.

But if they are willing to vote for the Habsburgs, Leopold I will not be too stingy. Their envoys come to the Ricardi Palace. The greatest possibility is to see how much Louis XIV is willing to bid, like It's like a businessman, weighing left and right, repeatedly comparing, and finally choosing one side - no, it shouldn't be said to be the last, because as the situation changes, they can also change their positions at any time.

  My father said that brazenness is the characteristic of politicians, and the kind that is indispensable. He also said that compared to Louis XIV, Leopold I had an advantage in ruling because the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were originally elected by the electors, so although the emperors of the Habsburgs have always been In the tireless search for a way to strengthen the king's power, but still on the road, Leopold I was more willing to compromise than Louis XIV, who had turned France into a country of one.

  While I was thinking about what kind of chips the Sun King would come up with, the last guest of honor at the meeting, a prince in red, came out from behind the curtain.

  …

   This cardinal is one of the few French red princes in Rome - Elaius. It is said that he was also originally Italian, but he was later sent to the Inquisition in Paris, where he became Grand Inquisitor under the Bishop of Mazarin, and returned to Rome with the support of Louis XIV. Because the then King Innocent XI had a deal with the French king, the young cleric quickly climbed to the position of cardinal, but because of the particularity of the French clergy, he was not used and excluded in Rome. Outside the College of Cardinals, we all know this.

  …

   He brought horrifying news, or rather, a Pope's will.

   My first thought after listening to this was that Pope Alexander VIII was finally insane, or that this decree was just a dream uttered by a dying person on a sickbed.

  …

   He called to the kings and princes of Italy—he intended to wage the tenth holy war against the pagans, the Ottoman Turks.

  …

   There are probably more outspoken people than I thought, because the Venetian ambassador laughed when he heard the papal messenger.

This smile is really ironic, think about it, starting from the call of Urban II, the crusades lasted for two hundred years, but in the end they achieved nothing, especially compared to France, Britain and the Holy Roman Empire, the Italians only Participated in a holy war, which is the fourth holy war. This holy war is not to be mentioned - because the crusaders could not give enough employment money, under the guidance of the Venetian nobles, the crusaders attacked the Catholic cities on the Mediterranean coast... It's incredible, isn't it? , but that's true.

  It is hard to say where this holy war, directed and led by the Venetian tyrants, would have gone if the Pope had not excommunicated all the participants. Even so, the crusaders who finally became Venetian mercenaries did not attack the pagan holy city, but Constantinople, although the Byzantine emperor of Constantinople at that time believed in Orthodoxy, But fundamentally speaking, the Orthodox Church and the Roman Church are two fruits on the same branch.

   This relationship did not prevent the crusaders and Venetians from looting the vast and wealthy city, and Byzantium became weaker and completely lost against the Ottoman Turks.

They always ridicule the Medici family in Tuscany for their humble origins, but on this peninsula, there are probably no noble knights that people recognize. There are only merchants here, and a pope's will can be as heavy as a thousand. Jun, can also be lighter than Hongyu, just depends on whether it can bring benefits.

   Jihad will undoubtedly only drain the money and energy of the participants, even their lives, but the benefits are invisible and intangible.

  …

   Then I saw the Sun King look at the Venetian ambassador, "Venice doesn't want Crete anymore?" he said.

  The Venetian was immediately stuck. He frowned. Although he didn't dare to be too presumptuous in front of Louis XIV, I could still see a bit of anger in it.

   Even I know that among the people present, the Venetians are the ones who have the deepest hatred with the Ottoman Turks except for Genoa.

Remember the fourth holy war I mentioned earlier. Through this holy war, the Venetians used this holy war. Tens of thousands of crusaders sacked countless cities and greatly strengthened their country. Venice also started from a small country at the northern tip of Italy. They jumped to become the hegemons of the Mediterranean. They invaded along the west coast of the Balkans and seized many fertile places as their colonies. After the fall of Byzantium, three-eighths of the land fell into the hands of the Venetians.

It's a pity that the Venetians probably don't know what it means to eat the wolves after the lion has eaten the lamb. The Byzantium they trampled and abandoned was a city wall between the Italian peninsula and the Ottoman Turkey. The city wall, the footsteps of the sultan army of Ottoman Turkey will only get faster and faster.

In the first few years, the Venetians could still compete with the Ottomans who were not good at naval warfare with their extremely powerful navy, but on land, they were no match for the Ottomans at all. From the thirteenth century to the fifteenth century, Venice's powerful Like a flash in the pan, as its colonies and ports on land are bit by bit swallowed by the Ottomans, his sea power is also shrinking - after all, the navy is an extremely expensive and material-consuming military service.

  Crete can be said to be the last trumpet in the war between Venice and the Ottomans.

It is a large whale-shaped island, lying across the outlet of the Aegean Sea, almost one-third the size of the Peloponnese, because of its superior geographical conditions and pleasant climate, its ancient, beautiful and rich, even military , neither is comparable to Rhodes, which already belonged to the Ottomans, nor is it comparable to any of the islands owned by the Venetians in the Mediterranean.

It’s ridiculous, this island originally belonged to the Byzantine Empire, which the Venetians were loyal to. After the fall of Byzantium, the Venetians rightfully occupied it, but in 1669, after 20 years of conquest, the Venetians finally lost this most important island. precious pearl.

   69 years is not far from today, the words of the French king really hit the **** wound of the Venetians.

  …

   "Don't look at me like that." The ambassador of Genoa raised his hand and said helplessly: "It's not that we don't want to fight the Ottoman Turks, but, Your Majesty, you should know that Genoa can't stand another setback."

Ah, my history teacher once told me that the Genoese had a longer war history with the Ottomans than the latter and the Venetians, and it's interesting that the Genoese also once stabbed the old master Byzantium - how about the Genoese Helped the Ottoman sultans to transport more than seventy Ottoman ships across the land of Galatia on oiled boards, which were later built into pontoons for the army to cross, thus enabling the attack on Constantinople on the side, and opened a gap - the demise of Constantinople, they have at least half of the credit.

The Genoese did this just to preserve the commercial colonial privileges in the Galatian region of Constantinople, but they probably did not expect that although the sultan fulfilled his promise, they took away the Mediterranean and Black Seas they had obtained from Byzantium. As a result, the Genoese’s trade routes were interrupted, and their national strength was in tatters. Afterwards, two large loans to Spain and the Habsburgs (which were not recovered) further damaged their vitality, almost to the point of overthrowing the country.

Now Genoa can only be said to be a crumbling framework. The reason why they can't immediately decide which side to take is because of the debts of the Habsburgs and Spain. As long as one party refuses to recognize the loan, Genoa can only die. .

   As for jihad... It's even more impossible for them to come up with anything available, whether it's money, people, or something else...

   "Oh, believe me," said the Sun King, "I never thought there would be anything utterly useless."

   (end of this chapter)