I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 574 Da Kongdai bids us farewell (Part 1)

   After the grand and slightly discordant coronation ceremony of Luciano I ended in the public eye, all the envoys and retinues did not even have to leave their mansion.

   After leaving the palace, you can wait to participate in the coronation ceremony of the Holy Roman Emperor.

It is said that the nine electors at that time-excluding the Bohemian king (the Archduke of Austria) Philip the Younger who would have to vote for himself, there were eight in total. After the funeral of Leopold I, only one was stationed in Vienna. The new Holy Roman Emperor was elected in January, a process that would have taken at least three times as long, and which, like all elections, was full of bribes and threats. But this time - the war for the Spanish throne was not a failure of Leopold I alone, so that the other electors could not help but feel complacent. The three church electors must be inclined to the little Philip, and they really don't want to let one The Protestant became emperor, and there were five secular electors, except for the newly promoted elector, the Duke of Lünenberg, the other four had different ambitions.

King William I of Prussia, after careful consideration, gave Philip the Younger a vote - he It must have been taken into account that once he became emperor, the conflict between Prussia and France might be unstoppable, but how much did it do him to anger Louis XIV? His son Frederick is of the blood of Orange, but Prussia does not have a border with the Netherlands. Is he crazy to cross the territory of two other secular electors and one church elector to fight the French?

As for the eldest Elector of Purfatz, although he also has a 120,000-point desire for the throne, fortunately, he is not only the oldest, but he has also regained his electoral qualifications and territory within a few years. The prestige he once lost wants to Consolidating it again is not an easy task. When the Austrian ministers were willing to return some of the Pulfatz lands that had been reverted to the emperor, he agreed.

Obviously, the most threatening ones are the Duke of Bavaria and the Duke of Saxony. The Duke of Saxony is eager to try. The problem is that even if the King of Prussia cannot make himself emperor, he will not let this neighbor come out on top. No one stipulates that Saxony can only go to To expand the power on the west side, you can’t go to the east side, right? Not to mention that on the west side is France and the Netherlands, which has been devoured by France, while Prussia on the east side is still a young new kingdom. Let the King of Prussia stand in the position of the Duchy of Saxony to choose , he will also choose the weaker side.

  The only person who might compete with Philip the Younger for the throne is the Duke of Bavaria. After several negotiations, the Queen Mother of Austria finally reached an agreement on a condition that both parties felt acceptable - the daughter of the Duke of Bavaria, who had negotiated marriage with Ferdinand, the son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, will be in adulthood. She later became the Archduke of Austria, the Empress of the Holy Roman Emperor.

The young Philip was crowned in St. Peter's Basilica by Innocent XII, after Alexander VIII, who unfortunately became Pope at a time when the Church was at its weakest - even in In Italy, the most talked about is the new crusade, the young king and his heroic generals and soldiers, not the god, the priest and the mass, he is also an Italian, for a while I really don't know how to love that Luciano I'm good, but I still hate him.

Luciano I resolutely refused to accept the Pope's coronation and did not hold the ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, which annoyed the church, but everyone knows that if he had accepted it before, some people would say he was like a villain who had never seen the world He was so complacent that he refused, and some people said that he was too arrogant, and even dared to despise the apostles sent by God to walk on earth—anyway, it was all wrong.

In fact, these are just nonsense bred under the panic of Louis XIV and Luciano I. In the history books of the church, there are many kings who knelt down and kissed the Pope's shoes, and led horses for him. There are not a few kings who can storm into Rome, burn churches, and execute priests - such as Frederick III, the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire who was crowned in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome before Philip the Younger. The Pope clashed and killed 6,000 Roman priests at one time.

Louis XIV's injustice only made the Roman church lose a powerful weapon and a full purse. Luciano unified Italy and formed a new crusade. Those scumbags in the Roman church could not help but worry day and night that they would be uprooted. It's not surprising that they say anything vicious when money, status and life are not guaranteed.

Recalling that someone suggested not long ago that he was Luciano's identity - that an illegitimate child cannot become a king to intimidate the new king of Italy, Innocent XII was about to sigh, and at the end of the ceremony, he looked at the On the side of many red princes, Bishop Elarius, who seemed to be isolated, thought to himself that this bishop has been in the Vatican for nearly 20 years. Although he is not liked by his colleagues in the Cardinals, he is among the middle and lower clergy. , his prestige will make many people jump in fright - maybe soon, even right after him, this red shirt will be changed to white one.

The Pope laughed. On that day, even if the Vatican, no, he would not be surprised if the entire Roman Church was screened and dealt with like a grate. These clowns should save their panic and madness until then. Anyway, he definitely won't be able to see it, and his family has already invested in Luciano I, so he doesn't need to worry at all.

   This smile got a lot of attention, but no one could parse it properly until much later.

Philip the Younger—who should now be called Philip IV of the Holy Roman Empire, who happens to bear the same title as his maternal grandfather—had a strange similarity in their story, taking over the crumbling kingdom from their father ( Empire), and doomed to watch it slowly and unstoppably decline.

The dazed emperor even stumbled on his crown as he walked out of the great hall, and the crown almost fell - if not for the quick cardinal, he smiled gratefully at him, and then he asked his mother : "Who is that?" he said, so handsome and so young (for many cardinals) that he would like to invite him to Vienna if possible.

"Cardinal Elarius." The Queen Mother said, the emperor was silent for a while. He had never seen the cardinal, but had heard his name. Every time, his father scolded Louis XIV along with him. He was Louis X. Four nails inserted in the Roman church.

Elarius didn't take it to heart at all. Even if the ground cracked and a devil jumped out from below and pulled all the bourbons into hell, Philip would never try to reproduce Charles V (holy). The emperor of the Habsburg dynasty of the Roman Empire, the monarch of the Netherlands, the king of Germany, the first king of the Habsburg dynasty of Spain) is brilliant, the poor Habsburgs are conscientious and conscientious and unscrupulously seek half of Europa, and now there is only one left Austria, half of Hungary and a few colonies.

   When a beast becomes weak, its former followers will not help it, but will only eagerly pounce on it, tear it apart, and eat it.

He came to the Palace of Quirinale, where Madame Milady would be sent back to Cayola for burial. Luciano I secretly saw him off, and now only his entourage and the French embassy remain in this palace. , although the French also have embassies in Rome, but in terms of comfort and safety, they can't compare with the Quirinale Palace. After all, Rome has also suffered repeated military disasters, and the Quirinale Palace also has walls and fortresses. .

  In the French embassy, ​​in addition to the little Eugene who was forcibly sent by Louis XIV, the Duke of Orleans who had always acted recklessly, there was also an important figure - the little Duke of Enghien. He didn't even make an appearance in Rome, because the place and time were too delicate.

Grand Kongdai, also known as King Ludwig I of Poland, fell off his horse during a hunt a few days ago and was trampled by a horse's hoof to break his thigh bone. Originally, such an injury could not be cured with the help of doctors and wizards. But he was born in 21 years and is an old man. For decades, he has been in a daze. After becoming the king of Poland, he not only had to fight with the Russians and Tatars, but also deal with government affairs, appease the people, and be wary of those big nobles who will never rest. , The heavy work slowly drained his efforts like burning firewood, and once he fell, it was not so easy to get up again.

Ludwig I was not the kind of person who was so afraid of death that he was unwilling to face it. As soon as he realized that he might die at any time, he immediately recalled his son Henry, who was at war with the Russians. At the same time, he wrote to Louis XIV, asking He sent the little Duke of Enghien to Warsaw. When the letter was opened in the hands of Louis XIV, the mission had already arrived in Rome. Louis XIV considered whether to set up another mission to **** the little Duke of Enghien to Warsaw. But Ludwig I said in the letter that as he became increasingly weak, the great nobles who once bowed to his orders began to move again, and now Henry did not even dare to leave Ludwig I's room. With so much fanfare, it's hard to say whether anyone will cause chaos.

So little Anghian, who was still studying at the Military Academy, was sent to the mission in Rome, because this mission also had the mission to visit the eldest princess, the Queen of Sweden, and it was not so strange to pass through Poland - they had Is the Duke of Orleans here? Is it incomprehensible that the Duke wants to see his cousin?

  Elarius came to see them, and he was also related to Ludwig I. "Ludwig I intends to join the new Crusade." He said bluntly.

"Ah," said the duke calmly, "it seems that the French goods can no longer satisfy their appetite." Since the Grand Condé was elected king of Poland, in order to control the rebellious nobles, and to ease the French and Flanders, the Netherlands and other new territories, as well as the food pressure of the American colonies, most of Poland's wheat was exported to France. Correspondingly, France exported a lot of luxury goods, such as fur, jewelry, glass, Porcelain, etc., this is not considered intentional. Polish nobles have always liked extravagance. When they came to welcome Da Kongdai to Poland, their messengers were a team made of "gold and silver". Poland The winged cavalry's exaggerated decorations—feathers and flags—are well known.

   After these Poles came to France, instead of being appeased, this vile hobby was intensified—Is Poland rich? Of course, it is the granary of Europa, but while the cruel serf system has satisfied the Polish aristocracy, it has also greatly restricted the development of the country and society. When everyone except the aristocracy is struggling to survive, how can you What makes them interested in pursuing beauty and art with empty stomachs?

  The aesthetics of the Polish nobles were still learned from the Tatars and Ottomans... One can imagine.

And Paris, yes, not to mention Versailles, just Paris, those men, women, children, old people... nobles, officials, priests... They all look so proud and elegant, even the commoners, they are more than them. Refined and prettier.

   They couldn't tell the feeling, but it made them very uncomfortable. In order to make up for the shortcomings in their hearts, they began to imitate the Parisians to dress themselves up, decorate their horses and rooms.

   These people walk up and down the streets day and night, unable to see what they can see. Even so, when they finally left, the back of the horse and the carriage were almost all the goods they had bought in Paris. In order to get the last thing they loved, they even took off the silver spurs on their boots.

They returned to Poland and brought fashions from France to Warsaw. The silver plates and gold plates were replaced by pure white porcelain, gleaming glassware, stucco and stone walls with gold-framed landscapes or It is a portrait of a person. The floor should be covered with a fine silk carpet instead of the original rough felt carpet. The sea otter skin from the colony is light and warm, and the oil is shiny. If the nobles above the earl do not have such a beautiful large cloak , even embarrassed to go hunting or war, naturally; their wives will also want finer lace, finer silk, softer wool, bigger gems, perfumes that last longer and rouge ; Their children also need brighter crystal glass lamps, snow-white paper, quills with gold nibs... Even if they don't like to study like today's children, they always want things.

There was no one but Ludwig I who could build a bridge between France and Poland, and the French merchants even allowed the great Polish nobles to pay in installments or deferred payments, such as in the spring if someone wanted to welcome Lent. The festival needs a hundred new silk clothes, and they can't get the money. It doesn't matter. The merchants allow them to pay for it with autumn wheat. Of course, there will be a small interest in it, but no one will care.

   It even gave birth to some professionals, who only served the great nobles in Poland, who had nothing to do but take money from them.

It is a pity that there are still smart people. When Ludwig I encountered an accident, the first thing that came to his mind was them. When they saw that Ludwig I was strong and brave, they would keep their guard up, but if Ludwig I fell down Now, they may have other ideas.

   "The only good thing is that Leopold I is dead," said the Duke of Orleans.

If Leopold I was still alive, he would have been ecstatic, and he would have used every means to destabilize Poland, and even worse, he would have pushed the great nobles to exile, depose or execute Ludwig I, and then Try to claim the Polish throne as your own, or give it as a precious gift to an elector.

  Don't say it's impossible, if it wasn't for Louis XIV's immediate decision, the current Polish king should be the elector of Saxony.

   (end of this chapter)