I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 539 The Queen Mother's Funeral (Part 2)

  In people's cognition, what kind of funeral is a grand funeral? Of course, it depends on the number of see-offs. The more people who come, the more people show their love for the deceased. In the late imperial era of ancient Rome, some people even held gladiator competitions at funerals to attract the funeral crowd. Today, this tradition has evolved into throwing coins and serving bread and beer, but even without these, the crowd that came to the Queen Mother's funeral was enough to be jaw-dropping.

She is not a king, nor a crown prince, or even a duke. In name, she sees off the queen dowager off, but in fact, it is for the sake of meeting Louis XIV's messengers who have to wonder if the Sun King has done something ridiculous because of too much grief, such as coming It's not impossible that each of the mourners can take an ecu or something, but, Queen Mother, is it necessary?

The people of Paris and Versailles came out in full force, they were for their king, not just for the queen mother, but the more than 10,000 people who joined later were really... They were as neatly dressed as possible, but there was still a relationship with the wealthy Parisians. The obvious difference, it looks like a swampy water suddenly joins in a clean river. Some people want to drive them away, but they are stopped by the police, so they can only give up angrily.

When the night came, these people held up candles, and they dotted and merged into a splendid road that led from the Basilica of Saint-Denis all the way to the dark city, almost connected to the stars on the horizon, as if for The queen dowager leads the way - as if leading to heaven.

  ———

   "Bah!"

The Duke of York spit in his heart, it's not that he has any opinion on the Queen Mother - anyway, he doesn't like anything related to Louis XIV now... This is the second time he has been sent to the Bastille - but as a A duke, he should have a reception worthy of his status. Louis XIV didn't recommend him to show up at the funeral of the Queen Mother of France. He didn't expect to have a room in Versailles or the Louvre. Well, Fontainebleau It can be, or Richelieu Palace... that is, the later Duke of Lorraine Palace.

  What kind of thing is the Bastille! Although he was a frequent visitor to the Tower of London, could Louis XIV place him in the Bastille when he came to France? Everyone knows that Bastille is now a prison!

   "Please come with me! Dear Sir, please come with me!"

Contrary to the frustrated and angry Duke of York, the warden of Bastille was flushed with excitement and his steps were frivolous. He took the Duke of York and his "entourage" all the way to the highest room in Bastille, shaking his hands. He opened the lock and said, "This is the room! Lord Duke, look, I haven't let anyone else live in it since you left. Every day my wife will come to clean it, and she will also get rid of bed bugs and mice, knowing that you are coming, I also deliberately took out the curtains, pillows, and blankets to dry them to make sure they were clean, fluffy, and smelled good. Do you want flowers? Or apples? There may be no apples now. But there may be some citrus in the greenhouse, or roses, sir, do you want dinner? Do you want veal or eel? I guarantee my wife is no worse than your English chef! She makes beef liver patties Delicious! Would you like some wine? I have abbey beer here, and white and red wine, and cacao...or do you need some music? Can I get you a violinist? Now There are so many people like this in Paris, I have a tenant..."

The Duke of York really didn't know how much effort it took to not yell at such a small person, and he was also trying his best not to look at the face of the entourage who was actually guarding the smile, although he really wanted to slap them all, Then hang them on the spire of Westminster Abbey - what is it like to come clean every day! What does it mean to not let others live in! Are you sure that I will live in again?

He was dizzy with anger, but the warden was still chattering - he was too eager to have as many noble prisoners as the warden of the Tower of London, and as a result...because of Louis XIV, the brilliant sun of Parisians is too forgiving , the Grand Conte who once betrayed him did not care about him, a real threat, the king's younger brother Philip Thaksin had a lot of faith, and even the rebellious Duke of Luxembourg, as well as the Protestant Marshal Schumberg, wanted to change His Majesty the King, they have been reunited in his Bastille for a long time, how could he make his heart as empty as Bastille... The warden pressed his chest with a sad face, no wonder he was so excited, he was also the king The queen mother mourns, but he is such a distinguished guest! One!

The Duke of York finally asked him after he held up an illegal book about him and Charles II - not much to say about it - the kind that would be banned from public distribution centuries later. When signing the autograph, he broke out completely. He yelled and drove the warden out, closed the door, put on a chair, and fell down on the bed dejected-the blanket was actually sunbaked, and the A little bit of the sun's lingering warmth.

   The thought of this Duke of York made him even more angry, and he tapped the blanket several times in resentment, as if he had knocked Louis XIV on the head.

  ———

Louis XIV, who was remembered by the Duke of York, sneezed several times, and Bontang on the side suddenly panicked - to be honest, the Queen Mother's lifespan has exceeded 99% of the people in this world, but death is always the most feared by people. things, especially Louis XIV's life is related to too many things, he said "I am the country", this sentence is no longer amusing but daunting, otherwise his enemies will not once He used all kinds of despicable and evil means to murder him again and again.

At the insistence of Bontang, Louis had to drink a large glass of hot chocolate with wine. Under the double temptation of alcohol and sugar, he fell into a deep sleep, but in his sleep the king still frowned tightly, letting the People were worried - Bontang hesitated for a while, not knowing whether to go to the Queen or the Duke of Orleans, when a group of people was coming from the other side of the corridor.

   Such a mighty voice made Bang Tang's face look uneasy. He raised his head and motioned for the attendants outside the door to step forward to block those people, and one person stepped out from it, "How is your majesty?" she asked.

   "Your Majesty is asleep," said Bontang. Although according to tradition, the lady of the royal family has the qualification and obligation to appease the king, although this lady of Montespan won the praise and pursuit of Versailles and Parisians because of her beauty and charm, but as the most trusted person of the king, Louis X Bontang knew all too well how much the four really meant to this lady.

Marie Mancini may be the only flaw in Louis XIV's heart, and it is also a sharp thorn; Madame Lavalier gets the king's apology; the queen gets respect; the Duchess of Orleans, Princess Henrietta It was a pity for His Majesty, and even the Duchess of Montpensier could get the Sun King's gratitude, because she stood firmly on Louis's side in several games.

Only Mrs. Montespan... I can only say that the chance for her to appear is too unfortunate. The soft part of His Majesty's heart has long been hardened, and in the place where he has to bear the responsibility, he has already stood for the queen, and even a little remains. The kindness of her will also be left to Madame Lavalier and the Duchess of Montpensier, if she can see her identity clearly, as she had hoped at the earliest, and stand before the king's bottom line and not take a step forward , the worst is just another Madame Lavalier, for the better, because she is still the nominal daughter of the Duke of Mortmar, the biological daughter of the king's physician Varro, and she may also get a precious fief , or follow his son to the New World.

Although the New World is now despised by the monarchs of Europa, people also think it is a desolate and worthless place, but since Bontang is one of Louis's closest people, he will not be unaware that the Sun King has long set his sights on the distant. The Amelica, Bontang has always had no doubts about His Majesty's words. Since His Majesty said that it would be a rich treasure land, it must be a good place to flow milk and honey.

It's a pity that Mrs. Montespan doesn't think so. Although at the beginning, she could barely suppress her ambition - the gold sent by Montreal may also have a certain appeasement effect, but now it seems that she has again The new ideas, or the scum of the old ones, were tumbled again - lifted up by His Majesty's victory in Italy.

Anyone can see that Louis XIV decided to inlay the Italian crown with gems belonging to Bourbon, which is not surprising, after all, half of the Italian peninsula belongs to Spain, but because Spain and Italy are separated by a France, Louis XIV did not intend to continue to include this part of Italy in the territory of Spain - how loose and pale Spain's rule over Italy was, just look at the victories of the Duke of Colonna in the peninsula - Even the Duke of Colonna and the mercenaries of the Duchy of Tuscany can do things, such as Leopold I of Austria, of course.

Now, what the Spaniards are most worried about is Louis XIV's forcible union of Spain and France. This is of course what Louis XIV wanted to do most. The problem is that this will inevitably lead to unrest in Spain. Louis did not intend to act in such a hurry when he was eyeing the tiger. In this case, he must let another powerful force, the force belonging to Bourbon, conquer and rule Italy.

The unification of Italy is not necessarily a bad thing. Although successive French kings have dreamed of capturing this Boots Peninsula, Louis XIV has long analyzed that the huge Roman Empire has long lost the possibility of reappearing in Europa, and it is too vast. In the absence of a unified thought, language or even tradition, the territory of the world is doomed to fall apart in the not too distant future, and even the rebirth of Caesar should not stop this trend.

  In this case, it is best for Italy to become independent after reunification. Although it is a pity that it cannot be annexed, its master is still Bourbon, and at least one hundred years of war can be avoided.

But let Madame Montespan see that Louis took Italy, a whole peninsula, not Tuscany or Naples, for his illegitimate son, and this crown, if not as good as France or Spain, is better than Holland, A small country like Luxembourg or Monaco is much more brilliant, and she would say, can't she, the daughter of the Duke of Mortmar, be compared with the niece of a bishop?

She used to be content with the honor that belonged to the royal lady, which Marie Mancini did not have, she was not officially recognized, and her son was only the son-in-law of an Italian prince, but her son had A fief, a huge piece of land—she still remembered how much she envy the Miss Mancini, Mary Mancini, as a sidekick of Mancini, the daughter of a foreign wizard, when she was the daughter of a potionist. Ni's…

  Marie was sent to His Majesty the King by her father and Bishop Mazarin. Through the affection of her youth, she easily developed a deep relationship with the King. What about Madame Montespan? But he had to betray his mother, his father, and himself in order to come to the king. Even so, he was almost expelled by His Majesty, but it was only by another betrayal and chance that he could gain the trust of Louis XIV and become recognized by him. Lady of the Royal Family.

   Thinking that Varro had come to ask her if she still insisted on the original idea, as long as glory and money - yes! She has never wavered, but Marie Mancini's son can become King of Italy, why can't her son be?

   Their identities, her son is supposed to be slightly higher!

   "I am sorry, ma'am," said Bontang, "that His Majesty the King has not summoned you."

"He'll be glad to see me," said Mrs. Montespan, "do nothing but go see him," she tilted her head slightly and made an ambiguous expression: "I think he needs my comfort. "

"The king has been comforted enough," said Bontang, who had determined that it was normal for Madame Montespin not to have the king's affections—the people of Versailles followed His Majesty's baton, and Madame Montespin was not. Letting down her good mind, she should know what to do as long as she sees how the Queen and the Duchess of Montpensier do.

  No, it's possible...she did it on purpose.

   She is testing to see what place she occupies in the king's heart.

Bontang suddenly burst into anger—if Madame Montespan had any sincerity to His Majesty the King, she should not have come to test it at this time, and his expression was imperceptibly cold: "His Majesty said that he No one was seen."

   "You should go and inform Louis."

   "With all due respect," said Bontang stiffly, "in this palace, wait, in this country, or wherever the sun shines, madam, no one has this power."

   "Even me?"

   "Even you." Bontang showed a wonderful smile: "Especially you, ma'am, your status is not as optimistic as you think, sorry."

   (end of this chapter)