I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 573 The departure of the last enemy and another heavy grief

  Leopold I wrote a letter to his lifelong enemy, Louis XIV, before he passed away from this world.

This letter was brought back by Eugene Savoy in secret. Louis unfolded the letter under the bright kerosene lamp. On the letter was beautiful handwriting belonging to women, but the tone and writing were of a male emperor. Leopold I was in At the last moment, he was very sober. He didn't try to play tricks or set any traps. He told Louis XIV bluntly that he was willing to give up his power over Spain and all Spanish possessions, and to recognize Carlos III's Legitimacy, but relative, he hoped that the king of France would support Philip the Younger on the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.

To say that the conditions put forward by Leopold I alone are not enough to bribe the Sun King, but the chips in his hand are pitiful, and he can't even use it to tempt little Eugen, so he can only use that method. to deceive him - which, of course, has failed. But he also said in the letter that no matter who became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, he would never be a friend of France. If Louis XIV, as he said, did not have the ambition to become another Caesar, he should promote Philippe To become an emperor, little Philip is not yet an adult. After he ascends the throne, he will indulge in intrigue with powerful ministers, generals and electors for at least ten years. Even if he wins by luck, he may not be able to accumulate enough threats to France in his lifetime. power, but what if it was one of the secular electors who became emperor? The Duke of Saxony was born in 56 years, just in his prime; the King of Prussia was born in 31 years, in good health; the Duke of Bavaria, Maximilian II, was born in 51 years, and it was a promising time; Karl I, Elector of Prussia, was born in 17 years. He is the eldest of the electors, but although he is old, he is still very old and has great ambitions - you must know that the qualifications of the Elector of Pulfatz were banned, and he took it back together with the territory. To say that he is a gentle person , no one will believe it.

   There is a ninth elector, the Duke of Lunenberg, who is even younger.

   Another dreadful problem is that these secular electors are actually Protestants. And King William I of Prussia is also involved in an important part - that is, his son Frederick also has the blood of Orange, and his wife is the aunt of William III. They also intended to interfere in the internal affairs of the Netherlands as guardians.

  He is the king of Prussia now, maybe he won't do anything, but if he becomes the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire...

Louis XIV was not surprised by Leopold I's "appeal", he would have done the same if he had been in Leopold I's place, he folded the letter and even made a decision - indeed As Leopold I said, compared to several other ambitious and experienced electors, a young emperor is suitable for the current France.

   "What's next," Louis asked: "Son, are you going back to Milan?"

   "Yes, Your Majesty," said little Eugen.

"Then, if the negotiations go well, I will withdraw all the French before tomorrow's Lent." Louis said that the Duchy of Milan originally belonged to Spain, but the reunification of Italy is imminent, but if it is abandoned like this, it belongs to Charles Carlos II The power and territory of the world may cause disputes in the future, so this issue should be treated with caution. Louis looked at the little Eugen while thinking about whether to negotiate in Sicily or let Luciano come to Paris.

Since returning to Versailles, little Eugene has become calm. People who know the inside story guess that he was hit by his biological father and lover, but Louis XIV thinks it may not be the case. Young People have experienced too few things, and if they encounter a huge change, it is easy to go down a path of extreme chaos. "Come here." He waved his hand and asked little Eugen to sit beside him. Louis XIV often treated his children like this, but little Eugen hesitated today.

   "What?" Louis asked: "Tell me, you have your own room in Versailles, my children see you as a brother, and you see me as a father, what can't you tell me?"

"I'm ashamed," whispered little Eugen. "Your Majesty, I'm...very ashamed." He trembled and burst into tears: "Why, how much I wish I was your child and didn't have to endure this torture. —My mother was a shameless woman, and my father, God, he was an emperor, why would he do such a despicable thing?"

"It's because he's an emperor." Louis understood, he didn't continue talking, but stretched out his hand and asked little Eugen to lean on him with a firm gesture, and then he thought about it, little Eugen is bad When he came to Versailles, Louis XIV could achieve his goals without resorting to tactics, so in his heart, Louis XIV was an upright holy king. When he went to see Leopold I , but also maintain the same luxury.

But he couldn't say to little Eugen that he was in his prime, but Leopold I was already at the setting sun. At this time, it was difficult for people to have enough energy to think carefully and make careful arrangements - Louis XIV dared to I bet that if it had been a year earlier, if only a few months, his plans for little Eugen would not have been so rough, and the results would not have been so embarrassing.

   "I don't want to perfunctory you with empty words," Louis XIV said slowly: "I think, the war is over, you should probably go out for a walk."

   Little Eugen raised his head sharply.

"To travel, to study, to enjoy the beautiful scenery and people," Louie said. "I just need someone to visit my daughter and niece, and my cousin, I think they will also want to meet me. To you-boy, you're going to see places other than France and Milan," he leaned slightly: "You've seen Vienna, what do you think?"

   Little Eugen showed a look of disgust: "A poor copy."

   "If you saw other places and countries, you wouldn't think so." Louis said: "The pain will not be so intense now."

   "I don't know... Your Majesty, I don't know."

   "So go," Louis stroked his curly hair. "Don't worry, your room at Versailles will never be occupied or used for other purposes. It belongs to you, no matter where you are."

  ———

Leopold I struggled to the end of the peace talks with all his strength, but he was destined to not see his son wearing the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor, but the previous emperors may not be able to see it, but probably no emperor is dying. There was so much unwillingness before.

It is said that at his funeral, in addition to the electors and his ministers and generals, many officials, minor nobles and commoners were willing to see him off. The streets of Vienna were crowded with people. Fortunately, the envoy of the King of Prussia - his son Frederick Lie had seen in Paris how the French could maintain order in such a situation, and he hurriedly consulted with the Viennese. Given his status, most of his proposals were accepted, and he did not wear it in the coffin of Leopold I. When crossing the street to the cathedral, there were casualties due to shoving and stamping.

  With the departure of Louis XIV's last enemy, the power of the Sun King finally reached its peak throughout Europe. After the signing of the "Contracts of Vienna" (that is, the armistice agreement between Leopold I and Louis XIV on the succession of Spain to the Spanish throne), a series of new negotiations also began rapidly, between England and France, between the Holy Roman Empire and France, And Italian vs. French, not to mention Prussian, Swedish vs. Savoy, etc…

Borders need to be redrawn, cities need to be redefined, and import and export trade needs to be further adjusted. Some people are eager to show goodwill, while others are still stubbornly unwilling to take even a step. There is almost no difference between night and day.

   But the first event that Louis was most concerned about was the coronation of the king of Italy.

Although Luciano held a coronation ceremony as the king of Italy in the Cathedral of Naples as early as ten years ago, the coronation ceremony was obviously not orthodox, and there were not enough witnesses - when it was to rule the whole of Italy, messengers from each region of Italy They should all come to visit and observe the ceremony with tokens and country.

   In the end they decided to make Rome their capital and were crowned in the Church of San Giovanni in Rome.

Before Luciano finally nodded and allowed the Church of Rome to keep the Vatican, the Pope even generously offered to crown him in St. Peter's Basilica (originally only emperors of the Holy Roman Empire could be crowned in St. Peter's Basilica), but this How the ludicrous trick was able to hide from Louis XIV and Luciano, who insisted on holding the ceremony in the Basilica of San Giovanni - the second largest religious site in Rome after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome Lateran, on the outskirts, was the first Catholic church, even thirteen years earlier than the basilica of St. Peter's - not only that, but he also rejected the Pope's coronation, and he was crowned by Cardinal Elarius.

   As soon as this decision was made to honor the church or to despise it, some people knew that the new king of Italy, like his biological father, was a troublesome person who could not be terrorized by hell, but seduced by heaven.

But no matter how tricky or not, Luciano I, who fought several battles with the Ottoman Turks and recaptured several port cities on the edge of the Adriatic Sea, can't shake his position in the Catholic Church. France is called the eldest daughter for a while, and Austria is the eldest son for a while, is it not because these two countries were once the swords and shields of the Church, eliminating the pagan threat to the Vatican.

Little Eugen came to Rome as an envoy, and he was not very familiar with Luciano. After all, when he came to Versailles, Luciano was already the lord of Gayola and lived with Marie for a long time. In Calais, but then when they were studying at the Military Academy, little Eugen was also under the care of this older brother, so even if Louis did not send him to Italy, he would have come to congratulate Luciano in his own name.

   Unexpectedly, when they arrived in Rome, they heard unfortunate news.

   Mrs. Milady is seriously ill and will die.

Little Eugene and the Duke of Orleans, who was with him, hurried to the Palazzo Quirinale. This palace once belonged to several popes and was their summer residence. Now it is the residence of Luciano I in Rome. Madame Leddy was almost Luciano's half-mother. After the departure of Marie Mancini, the Duchess of Colonna, she was probably the only emotional sustenance the young king had after Louis. One of fourteen.

   "Uncle?" Luciano asked with a little surprise. He looked haggard, his eyes were sunken, and at a glance he knew that he was suffering, "Could it be my father?"

   "Louis may not know about this yet." The Duke of Orleans paused: "Maybe he knows now." The flight of the raven also takes time.

   "Artificial? Or..." the Duke asked.

"It's not man-made." It was Madame Milady who answered him: "I'm old, sir, and even a wizard, I've come to the end of my life." She was left by Bishop Richelieu to Bishop Mazarin, and then by Mazarin The bishop left it to Louis XIV, and Louis XIV gave her to Luciano, "This is the end that I never dreamed of in my best dreams," she rolled her beautiful eyes, which were still shining: "On the soft bed At the end of my life, a king, a duke, and a general will see me off."

"You deserve it." The Duke said, Madame Milady has done a lot for His Majesty the King, especially in the past ten years by Luciano's side, but she is a woman and a wizard. Being a criminal from a poor background, and her work being unknown, the king could not reward her as openly as others, but she never complained.

   "Help me persuade Lucy," said Madame Milady, "he will be crowned in a few days."

   "We've all had many regrets," said the duke, "don't let Lucy have one that's clearly avoidable."

"Don't worry," Luciano said softly, "I am the king of Italy, and no one dares to disobey my words. I can hold the coronation ceremony whenever I want." He was silent for a while: "I couldn't. Farewell to my mother, madam, please let me stay by your side in the last time."

   Mrs. Milady sighed and turned her head away.

The Duke of Orleans let the accompanying doctors and wizards see Madame Milady, and they came to the same conclusion as their Italian counterparts. The candles have been burned out, and the light will give way to the darkness. No one can resist or change this. matter.

   Sure enough, as Luciano said, his coronation ceremony was postponed until a month later, and he never showed any joy at the coronation ceremony, but a trace of sadness.

   "Parting will inevitably bring pain." The Duke of Orleans looked at the new king of Italy and murmured: "But there is always parting."

   (end of this chapter)