I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 524 Jill Medici's Supplementary Account (Part 1)

   After Gil Medici's record of the secret meeting that laid the foundations of the Italian federal kingdom, he added another record two years and three months later.

  …

Ladies and gentlemen, when you read this record, the first battle of the Italian Commonwealth Kingdom was a grand battle, a sacred battle, and finally, with this brand-new, young man, after nearly a thousand years of waste. The victory of the nearly disintegrating nation ended.

Some people have always hoped that the Sun King Louis XIV would suffer a major defeat on the battlefield, which would lead to the weakening and even the destruction of himself and France. Although these places belonged to but were not stable enough, they were later placed on Flanders and Holland, and then on England, and even on those heretics.

It is a pity that the Sun King was victorious on the battlefield, and the standing army of as many as 150,000 did not drag France into an inescapable tax quagmire as they longed, mainly because His Majesty was as knowledgeable in the business as in the battlefield. for the sake of being lenient and merciful enough—war is a burden to many kings, and will always bring endless disasters to new territories and war zones, but with Louis XIV, war always brings benefits—I can’t Here is a detailed analysis of how he did it for you, because I don't know much about it.

   I am as confused as everyone else. In his territory, whether it is old or new, soldiers never loot, officials never greedy for ink, every law is clear and can sink to the bottom, even the most humble peasants or small workers can deal with them. This speaks eloquently; his taxes never became overwhelming, even for the people of the new territories, but even so his treasury and inner treasury never dried up; he built schools everywhere (The church has been unhappy because he is unwilling to build more churches, and does not allow priests to be priests), and continues to build roads, canals, bridges, and various utilities, no wonder there are always sour people calling him a "Caesar of France" (the public facilities in ancient Rome were always built by the emperor).

So, wherever this Caesar went, no matter how angry and hated the people at that time were (like Holland), after a few years, they would have a 180-degree transformation, and instead eagerly supported the others. . It's not surprising to me, because most of Louis XIV's policies greatly relieved the pressure on the commoners, and you certainly can't object when you're healthy, fat, and well-off from your heavy labor. The one who brought it all.

Of course, there are also his opponents. Some stubborn lords and princes have lost a lot in the reform of the king, but their numbers are definitely not comparable to the commoners, and their opposition cannot overwhelm the cheers of the upstarts, oh, Thinking of this, I want to laugh. The original Italian dignitaries were always worried that Louis XIV would interfere in their rule. After Louis XIV was willing to take a step back, they were relieved and repaid, they did not have any political and war affairs. Too much finger-pointing at the king - I'm talking about Luciano I.

But Louis XIV's failure to act doesn't mean that those stinking decrees and ideas will continue... Ambitious people are everywhere, in the war against Ottoman Turkey, those with ulterior motives and just want to keep their power And the princes who were unwilling to do their best were of course replaced by vigorous newcomers - French and Italians.

  …

Regarding the war, I can guess the thoughts of the "grown men". They are not sure whether the French can still win every battle as they used to. After all, in their hearts, the Ottoman Turks are still the most terrible monsters in hell. Those who resisted them, adhering to this philosophy, were only willing to pay part of the soldiers, but they were generous with the commissions Luciano asked for.

Well, here I would like to mention that, unlike the kings of France, and even the kings of other countries, who started raising their own armies early in the morning, or felt it was unnecessary, or incapable, or not allowed, the Italian city-states still employed military to ensure their own safety.

Louis XIV single-handedly elected his illegitimate son to the position of King of Italy. Of course, he would not make him a prisoner of pagans in an instant. Those princes also had the idea of ​​letting the French resist the Ottomans for themselves, but Louis XIV was also a French King, for the sake of his people and his country, he can't just waste his soldiers' lives and expensive armaments - so the new king of Italy signed a covenant with him to hire the French to fight for us.

To Venetians, Genoese or others, the French kings were quite lenient if they did not ask for Italy, they could not wait to ask Luciano I to sign a contract, give generous deposits, give provisions, and treat the French army. Open the door of convenience, allowing them to pass by and stay on their own territory.

I urge to serve as the secretary of the army of Luciano I, and beside me, there are countless young men, ministers, or officers, if they can win, they will be the Italian-Bourbon court in the future. One of them, not as the pessimists think, most of the people here are still Italian, and many have extremely ancient surnames.

   They will be supported by Louis XIV and Luciano I in the future, just like trees in the dense forest, growing from small trees to towering giant trees, and then taking away the sunshine and rain of those conservatives.

  …

  For his eldest son, although Louis XIV returned to France after the signing of the covenant, he left behind his most trusted generals, Vauban on land and Jean Bart on sea.

  General Vauban had a very close relationship with Luciano. It is said that when Luciano was still studying at the Royal Military Academy in Paris, Vauban was his teacher and his classmate.

General Vauban was nearly fifty years old, but from the looks of it, he was still in his prime, with a strong body and a loud voice. He liked wine and sea fish, and often said that it was his wish to come to Italy - I don't know if it was true or not, As far as I know, even among Italians, there are many people who want to follow Louis XIV. However, General Vauban is indeed an open-minded person, which can be seen from how he treats the local people and businessmen. When dealing with those foolish and overly cautious lords, he also behaves well and warmly. It's just that after I got acquainted with him, he said with a smile, it was all because of his previous accumulation.

Because General Vauban followed Louis XIV very early, almost not long after Louis XIV came to power, he was not only good at fighting, but also had an outstanding talent for construction and fortifications, so wherever he went, whether it was Lorraine, Arles Saas, or Flanders, and the Netherlands, after the initial situation stabilized, the king would definitely give General Vauban a task—to assist the local French governor and marshal to build fortresses and city walls.

Now that he has passed through so many places and met so many people of all shapes and sizes, General Vauban has also changed from a stubborn army officer to the now slick and dexterous "good guy", who is skilled in dealing with those who are yin, yang, and coo. Mumbles, doubts and hesitations, or people who change the order, send and deal with them in all kinds of ways that amaze me, I can't believe that he completed the king's account so easily— That is to make Naples a complete barrier.

   I mean, the area of ​​Naples, not the city of Naples.

The origins of the lords of Naples are complex, including the Anjou nobles I mentioned before, as well as the courtiers left by the Spanish Habsburgs, as well as some knights left in the Byzantine period and the duchy period, and traces of the Hohenstaufen family It has not been completely erased. You also know that all knights, lords and lords, once they have their own territory, must build castles, and then in order to defend against the Ottoman Turks from the sea, they landed. Many bastions and walls were built one after another.

   What Louis XIV wanted Vauban to do was to unite these scattered forces.

   At this time, the only benefit of fighting on the Italian mainland appeared, that is, Italy would not lack cement for anything.

As early as in ancient Rome, the Romans could use the earliest primitive cement to build magnificent palaces, Colosseum and temples, and now the roads and aqueducts they built can still be used, and have been transformed by scholars and craftsmen of Louis XIV. The cement formula is undoubtedly more advantageous. The required materials, such as volcanic ash, limestone and sea water, are almost inexhaustible. As for manpower, General Vauban recruited laborers from the residents of the city and the farmers outside the city. It's reassuring that labor is paid and calculated on the basis of work done - I know some officers will default or force people to serve their military.

The only annoying thing is that General Vauban demolished a lot of ancient ruins to supplement the building materials needed in the fortification. Although it is a ruin, you can still see the precious footprints left by the **** of art here. Complaining and complaining to him, he laughed and said that it was indeed the Medici.

  Fortunately, he still allowed me to check the ruins and materials first, take away the necessary parts and then smash them.

   Now this Venus statue by my side was survived just like that.

  …

Not long after arriving in Naples, I was woken up by the rolling thunder in the middle of the night. I walked out of the room, went to the terrace, and looked out at the sea, only to realize that it was not raining at this time, and the stars were twinkling in the blue sky, so where did the thunder and lightning come from? come? My servant pointed to the southeast to show me that it turned out that the French fleet had already fought with the Ottoman Turk fleet.

The naval power of the Ottoman Turks is most familiar with the Venetians who have been fighting all the time. I have a Venetian nobleman by my side. He told me that the Venetians are not not brave, and they are not as selfish as people imagined. They are also more religious than any Italian, and they are frustrated with the Ottoman Turks only because the Ottoman navy, like their army, always wins by numbers.

The Ottoman navy, as Alexander VIII experienced, was almost a version of pirates, but since the death of Hayreddin, favored and trusted by Suleiman the Magnificent in Istanbul, there has been nothing in the Ottoman navy. There have been generals with a keen sense of smell and war talent like the former. Although he once led the Sultan's fleet to fight with the Venetians and the French, he captured the entire Mediterranean Sea and dedicated it to the Sultan, but no one succeeded him. Inevitably stained with a layer of dim dust.

Without such a genius as Hayreddin, the Ottoman Turks' fleet is still like the land army, with numbers and faith to win victory, as my entourage said, they can withstand losses, Venice can't, cut off the channel. After that, Venice, like the rest of the Italian peninsula, began an inevitable economic recession. There was no money in the treasury, but everyone knew how much it would cost to maintain a navy for a long time. Location, Louis XIV of France wants to build his own fleet after many years of pro-government. The Venetian ships are fighting less and less, and now they have to use merchant ships to convert warships to fight against the Ottoman Turks.

  I looked at him, and thought to myself, then their ambassadors can be quite a poser. At least, at the negotiating table, he acts as if Venice still has 300 ships...

I couldn't tell from the flickering fire because of the distance - if it was day, I could see the smoke - it is said that the French ironclads were all steam-powered, their chimneys rising high from the sea It rises, spewing plumes of black, grey and white smoke that can be seen from a distance but unrecognizable at night.

When we arrived at Taranto Bay at noon the next day, a fisherman sold me a very fine-looking sandalwood peacock statue and asked me if I wanted a silk rug—it was broken, but the rest was still beautiful Yes, I asked him to show it to me, he took it, the impressive geometric pattern on it almost says it should come from the cabin of some Ottoman officer, and the peacock statue reminds me of the Riccati Palace A few small Indian statues in my father's collection, which may have been fragments left after the sinking of the Ottoman ships, were pushed to the beach by the morning tide.

Sure enough, when I got back, I heard that an Ottoman troop carrier and frigate had been sunk, and the French fleet had hardly suffered any losses—except for two arsonists, who came by a spirited young officer, I thought It was Jean Barr, who later learned that he was another person who had just returned from the Netherlands. It is said that he was recommended by Viscount Turenne. He arrived at Jean Barr's fleet and won the first victory in the naval battle against the Ottomans.

   is really enviable, whether it is this officer, or the Sun King who seems to never lack good generals and soldiers.

   (end of this chapter)