I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 562 William III bids us farewell (Part 1)

Viscount Turenne showed a surprised look, and he had no doubt that Duke Haleb was lying, "Why didn't you tell His Majesty?" He blurted out: "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, "It's my fault. "He thought that the king's son left Paris with his mother when he was still an infant, and was with the Duke of Colonna, who was most loved by the king, and the Prince Dauphin, who was the most valued by the king, and even Auguste, the Duke of Montreal. Differently, he had little interaction with Louis XIV.

With this premise, he would of course be more cautious, and, as he said, how could a group of werewolves detect such news, but Viscount Turenne stood up quickly: "Follow me!" he said, Then he ran to the king's carriage with Baptiste.

At this time, they can already see the pedestrians and riders on the road. In order to ensure safety, this railway track, which is only 25 kilometers in length, is tightly built on the original Victory Avenue, which is the concrete avenue connecting Versailles and Paris. The king's guard can continue to protect the king's safety on one side, and the king's court members can also follow the king.

In addition to the ministers and nobles in the court, the people in the caravan were followed by those who served the king, musicians, painters and poets, as well as actors and clowns. Looking at the golden locomotive sprayed with white smoke, yes, those people insisted on painting all the king's steam locomotives into a beautiful light gold, which is like a gorgeous morning light when it runs in the sun. Just as a price, every time this royal locomotive is driven, it needs to be retouched.

   "I read that right," said Molière, "that 'locomotive' seems to have stopped."

   "No," said his seventh lover and leading actress, "just slowed down."

  —

"Let those who greet you leave first," Louis XIV said. "Let the Duke of Orleans come to see me." Because the Duke of Orleans was in Versailles, he did not accompany him this time. There is only one steam locomotive, and no one will notice it. What - in order for Baptiste to explain this matter clearly, the king ordered the locomotive to reduce the speed, after all, as soon as they leave here, they will be surrounded by countless people.

With the king's order, the welcome ceremony at the small station was naturally canceled. The king directly got on his horse and walked through the hustle and bustle of Versailles. When people couldn't see him clearly, he ran to the steps of the Palace of Versailles in one breath. The sedan chair has been prepared, and Louis will rarely use this kind of ride, but it is the same reason that he chooses to ride through the town on foot. If he climbs the steps on foot, he must accept non-stop compliments, greetings and greetings, which is too long. It's time.

Louis did not pass through the large gallery, but went through the road beside the labyrinth and went directly into the Venus Hall. The Duke of Orleans met him in a secret small room. As soon as he heard that such a thing could happen, even if it was always The unscrupulous Duke of Orleans couldn't help but change his expression: "How dare they do this?!"

   Isn't it that officials appoint the king, and not the king appointing officials?

"They may still feel aggrieved," Louis said with a smile. "If I hadn't intervened, the current King of England would have been Oliver Cromwell, the son of a squire who has no blood in the Stuart dynasty. ."

"No," the Duke of Orleans sighed, "not to mention heroism, wisdom or humility and piety, they pushed Cromwell up, but because Cromwell was in control of the army, but because of his wrong background, he There is always a lack of confidence in the face of those MPs and elders."

"It's the same reason why they don't want to support the Duke of York. If the Duke of York goes up, it's just another 'Charles II'. Maybe he will cleanse more thoroughly." At that time, there were some royalist officials in Charles II. Only with the bailout of the generals can he become the king of England again, but the Duke of York is mingling with a group of criminals and losers who have been exiled to the New World. In order to make room for these upstarts, they will do whatever they can. The nobles in the palace were sent to the gallows or the guillotine.

"Let your birds... no," said Louie brightly, "don't go to verify the rumour, tell them they're going to do their best to make it happen, and the birds in England can even drop the camouflage, They can do whatever they want as long as they can keep themselves safe—and, what's going on with the scholars, professors, and artists they've seen before, tell them that London's going to be chaotic, and if they still don't want to go," he pulled from a drawer. A roster: "These people will be brought back to France, even by means of hardship or deception."

"Do you think William III...can compete with Charles II and the Duke of York?" Viscount Turenne frowned: "I am worried, Your Majesty, I have seen William III, he is an ambitious young man, it is nothing , There are too many ambitious young people, but his experience in his youth, and the tempering he suffered in the Tower of London, made him very, very, very good at patience and observation, and resoluteness, such an enemy is very, very, very good. scary."

"Perhaps," said Louis, "especially if he does become King of England, he will never forget the great disgrace of Utrecht." He sighed: "So we may have to do something Bad thing."

  ———

William Hendrik van Orange, who has had many identities since his birth, first received the title of Prince of Orange from his father who died early, and later this title was rejected by the Dutch Parliament, and later The Dutch Parliament gave him the title of "Son of the Nation", at the cost of driving away all the British people around him and replacing them with them. After that, his grandmother and mother wanted to win him the position of Governor and the position of Admiral. But the Dutch parliament immediately said that the two could not be held by the same person at the same time, and when he became an adult, he sought the position of Speaker of the Zeeland Provincial Assembly through various means.

Then, his fate slid abruptly into the abyss - he never thought he would become a prisoner of his uncle Charles II - he was not afraid of the aggressiveness of the French, but in those years in the Tower of London, The hesitation, suspicion and worry brought about by the cut-off of news kept him up at night. Although his prison was quite in line with his identity, no matter how soft and thick the velvet and fur could not warm him, he was tortured by Charles II and the Dutch Parliament. And the sincerity of trampling, when he was released from prison, the worst idea turned into a reality - the people of the Netherlands were full of suspicions about him, they believed that he sold the Netherlands to the British in order to become Utrecht. Archduke.

William III sometimes couldn't even be sure that he would survive to the end, if only Louis XIV was a tyrant like Charles II who was reckless and contempt for human life, or if the governor he sent was a short-sighted and bad-tempered tyrant. A villain can, too, but no, Louis XIV, when he conquered Flanders, practiced all his ideas about the newly occupied territories, from governors, to generals, to the most humble of officials, all they had to do as they had The procedures and laws just go on and on.

   And what the people need, maybe Charles II doesn't know, and the Dutch parliament doesn't know either, but how could William III, who was all his life trying to take back the crown of the Orange family, didn't know? What made him always smile bitterly - when the people recognized him, their representatives would say that he did as well as Viscount Turenne...

It's ironic, right, Viscount Turenne's mother is the daughter of the Orange family, which is why he became the governor of the Netherlands, on the one hand because he also has Orange blood in his body, and on the other hand Because he served under the command of Prince Maurice, and can even be said to be a disciple of the former - so, he actually has a true feeling for the Netherlands, and this feeling has always been difficult to disguise or hide. Perhaps the first For a few years, the Dutch were somewhat defensive, but when the first North Dutchmen were registered as French, even the most ardent independentists could not criticize the French king for his lenient policies on people's livelihood.

A single poll tax, a reasonable trade tax, smooth roads, novel but inexpensive goods, delicious and plentiful meals, splendid and fashionable clothing and boots - these are all from France, even if some people remember General Reuter , and can only remain silent in front of the smiling faces of the children.

William III tried to do it, but no matter how much he chased, he could never keep up with the Viscount Turenne - he was a puppet of Charles II, who could sacrifice his own interests, but could not make the disobedient Englishmen follow his own Willing to do things - his thoughts and voice are controlled in Utrecht Castle, surrounded by eyeliners from the King of England.

He had thought about contacting his uncle, the Grand Duke of Brandenburg, now the King of Prussia, but, although his messenger saw the King of Prussia, the King of Prussia was not prepared to anger his in-laws and allies, namely Louis XIV - "I have no such obligation." He said this in his oral letter, and William III knew as soon as he heard it. Prussia is now very close to France, and he has obligations to the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but not to William III.

"My people," standing on the undulating deck, looking back at the port of Rotterdam, William III shouted in his heart: "I don't mean to leave you, but if I continue to stay in Utrecht, I will never be able to spread my wings, show my talents, follow my ideals, rest assured, people of the Netherlands, I will come back one day and the Netherlands will still be a strong and independent Netherlands.”

"What's the matter, Your Highness," asked the British Parliament envoy who accompanied him. Although according to canon law and tradition, the current William III should not be called "His Royal Highness", why should he feel unhappy: " You're on your way to a good future."

This frivolous tone made William III feel a tumult in his stomach, but he also knew that he had almost no bargaining chips in his hand. The supporters of the Zhi family have already been thrown by him in the Netherlands - not because he is reckless and gullible, but the British Parliament has indeed offered a price that he cannot refuse.

   A marriage—his marriage to the daughter of the Duke of York.

Britain does not strictly enforce the Salic law, but relatively, the rights of male heirs are still ahead of female heirs, so his inheritance rights will still be opposed by some die-hard conservatives, but if he shares with another male heir If the daughter has a marriage contract, then like the end of the red and white roses, his inheritance rights become legal and reasonable.

It is not surprising that the British Parliament does not like Charles II. He really likes to hang special decorations on Westminster Abbey. Moreover, he is just like his father Charles I. And the merchants bear heavy taxes, but watch them turn into iron blocks that sink in the water.

   As for why they don't like the Duke of York - because the Duke of York is preparing to convert to Catholicism.

   The British who passed the "Bloody Mary" didn't want to try to see if there would be a "Bloody James" (the name of James-Duke of York).

The two daughters of the Duke of York were born to him and his former wife, Anne Hyde, the daughter of the unfortunate former Lord of the Admiralty. He and his latter wife have no children for the time being. These two grown-up ladies are pious Protestants, they can't go against their father's arrangements, but if someone supports them, they are also willing to marry a Protestant, otherwise they may be forced to convert by the Duke of York and marry a Catholic.

What Louis XIV didn't care about was more important to others than life - the Duke of York's eldest daughter was also a brave woman, and in doing so she made peace with her father's enemy, if it failed , her best ending is the Tower of London.

But on the other hand, she may not be the docile and ignorant woman in the usual sense, and this is what worried William III, because the lady asked to govern England with him, that is, she would be Mary II, like the one-time Queen of Castile, and as an outsider, William III may not be able to compete with her - which would also be embarrassing and humiliating, and may last a long time.

  William III shook his head. Is there any room for him to refuse?

   "How long until we reach Margate?" asked William III.

   "Before the sky is bright." The messenger said: "Your Highness, this will be a good omen. When we enter the Thames, the sun will spread all over your body, as if God has crowned you."

   (end of this chapter)