I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 578 Hell and Heaven

   Little Eugen jumped almost straight from the saddle.

He is a person who has been on the battlefield. In the era of hot weapons replacing cold weapons, the damage caused by guns and shells is far more terrible than that of ordinary spears and short swords. A feat that cannot be accomplished by human power. Little Eugen had seen the stumps piled up, and the eyes hanging from the faces, like deformed bodies, cracked skulls, wriggling internal organs, or things that were indistinguishable from flesh and blood— This is often seen in the shelled positions, and I don't know how much I have seen. He has also shot the enemy with a gun, and he has also personally hanged deserters.

But this scene...no warning, no hesitation, no fluctuation - these Poles dragged the herders to death with a bit of weariness, as if they were doing a job skillfully, and the herdsmen ,how to say. It was their brothers, their fathers, and possibly their husbands and sons who were suddenly killed, but they just stood silently in the dark, motionless, as if waiting for trees to be felled.

The Lithuanian who invited them glanced at them for a week, and even showed a little dissatisfied expression. He rode his horse to the herdsmen, and pointed out a few people with his whip. They were also dragged under the torches and put on a rope loop. The Duke of Orleans Taking little Eugen's shoulders, "I'll buy them," he said, "Sir, I'll buy them."

The Lithuanian turned his head and showed a smile: "I'm sorry, Your Highness," he said, "No." He nodded slightly: "My lord, if you want my daughter, I would also like it, but These people, no." He didn't wait for the Duke to ask questions, and then continued: "Look, you may be confused, those tall, strong men, why don't I stay as a slave? Of course, maybe they Live like a cow, a mule, but there are horses who don't want to be bridles, wolves who can't learn how to wag their tails at people, they're stones mixed in with grains of wheat that hurt our teeth and Tongues - if I let them stay in my fields, they will constantly instigate those around them to resist, flee, and even destroy farm implements, wheat, and their labor will not be able to pay for these losses at that time."

"And these people," he said, "are old and can't work anymore. In addition to this, they are also the backbone of this tribe. Those strong young people may have to be dispatched by them. They are better than the previous ones. Those are even more abhorrent." He raised his chin, and a servant immediately held up a kerosene lantern to illuminate one of the people's faces, and little Eugen immediately realized that he was wrong, hiding behind the unkempt white hair, which was due to old age. The fire of anger bursting out from the cloudy eyes could completely ignite these "trees" in an instant, but it was also in an instant that the wise wind swept through his eyes and suppressed the spark.

   "I will listen to you, sir," he said, bowing to the Lithuanian.

The Lithuanian laughed. "Look, how smart they are," he said. "You can't keep them. They are the seeds of trouble." The loose white hair floated in the darkness like a dandelion blown by the wind, and then disappeared. There was finally a cry from the herdsmen, but then there was a slap in the face, and the cry disappeared.

   "Women can work as well as children," says the Lithuanian: "And they'll be docile."

  The Duke of Orleans has always put his hand on the shoulders of little Eugen. No book, information or rumor is more real and shocking than what he saw with his own eyes. They have heard that in order to be able to suppress tens of times, hundreds of times as many as their serfs, the great nobles in Poland, in addition to constantly building their own military power, are also like pulling out the thorns of a porcupine. Kill those rebellious guys, and use cruel punishment to torture those who dare to resist them to death, as an example - now in most countries of Europa, idle torture instruments have been abolished, and there are many here. .

Now it seems that these great nobles are not mindless - they know that the most unstable ones in a tribe, strong men are good slaves and good warriors, while those older men, their experience and knowledge can Instruct the former, organize these people, so they simply kill them all in the first place.

   "It is said that your king does not like slavery." The Lithuanian drove his horse closer and said slowly.

  The Duke of Orleans looked at him and thought, it seems that they have made a mistake, they are not here to flatter themselves and France, but to demonstrate: "It is backward and barbaric to drive slaves."

   "It was in France," the Lithuanian still smiled, but there was a hint of gloom in that smile: "This is Poland."

  ———

When Ludwig I left, he was very calm. He had no regrets. The arrival of the Duke of Orleans also showed that Louis XIV was still on his side and would continue to protect his son and grandson. He made a confession. , anointed with holy oil, spent his last night in the company of his children and grandchildren, and died before dawn.

The king is dead, long live the king. After the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, another king who needs to be elected to the throne appears. The appearance of the Duke of Orleans undoubtedly represents France. With the messenger of the new king of the Italian Federation, Luciano I The envoys of King Karl XI of Sweden arrived the next day, followed by the envoys of King William I of Prussia, then Spain, Portugal, England... and several other countries - mainly the kings sought by the Polish nobles The candidate's messenger was long in coming... almost a public announcement of his decision to withdraw from the race for the Polish throne.

So no matter how unwilling the Polish Schlachtas were, they had to continue to elect Ludwig I's son Henry as the king of Poland, later known as Henrik IV (Henrik is Henry in Polish) , Interestingly, the original Henrik III was also King of France.

The king also agreed in the contract with the nobles that he would join them in the new crusade as their leader, at the latest on the feast day of the Virgin (August 15th) this year, Henry was also well aware of the secret agreement of the nobles, but he didn't think he would lose to anyone.

While the Shilachitas were scrambling and gearing up, the Duke of Orleans completed this abrupt and important official business and was going to Prussia to see his daughter, but before meeting her, the eldest princess, the Queen of Sweden, heard that After the matter of little Eugen, he actually left for Malmö, wanting to meet his unrelated brother.

As we said before, the eldest princess had a territory that was used as a dowry. This territory is on the edge of North Holland. Although it is not large, it is enough for Sweden to garrison here, and to threaten and control the old enemy Denmark, Karl. Since the 11th used the eldest princess's territory, in exchange, he gave Gotland, which was soon to be subsumed to Sweden, to his queen.

Although the realm of the eldest princess will be inherited by her and the son of King Carl XI of Sweden in the future, she is the only master in her realm, and no matter what you do, it is safer and safer than Stockholm or other places. It is more convenient. Her messenger met the Duke of Orleans and handed a letter respectfully. In the letter, the eldest princess asked her uncle to see her on her island, so as to comfort her homesickness after a long absence. Of course, the duke would not shirk. to see the princess.

Gotland is Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. It was originally managed by an "Island Court" similar to the original republic system, with a total of 20. Such a loose system is destined to be unable to confront the feudal Europa people. , they were first occupied by the Teutonic Knights, then passed to the Danes, then the Hanseatic League, and finally fell to the Swedes.

For this new island, which was only included in the Swedish territory in 1645, the nobles of Stockholm are of course coveted. Not to mention the geographical conditions, this beautiful scenery, suitable climate and rich products - especially the island with a lot of limestone resources, has become a cement in cement. An important military and civilian property is now a golden island.

It is precisely because of this problem that Carl XI, after careful consideration, still handed over the island to his wife to manage and rule, which inevitably caused objections and doubts from some nobles, but the queen only spent five years. Just take care of the island in an orderly and stable manner, and most importantly, after paying a lot of taxes, the opposition slowly disappeared - it may also be related to the fact that the queen has given birth to an heir for Sweden.

At any rate, Queen Elizabeth's name is more prominent and more credible in Gotland than King Carl XI, so much so that some mumble that if the queen wants to fight the king, the peacocks in Gotland The fierce fishermen and workers must have fought for her—this kind of words must make the king who likes to hold the power alone feel uncomfortable, and it is not that similar things have never happened in history, but Karl XI is certainly not, he originally asked. Marrying the eldest princess of France, in addition to the needs of the family and the country, is because the eldest princess has shown political literacy and a kind and intelligent heart that ordinary noble girls cannot have.

It was only ten years before Sweden acquired Gotland, but the governor sent by Stockholm even caused the aborigines there to set off several riots, and there was a gap in tax revenue every year – it could not be collected. For this, Karl XI I really don't know what to say. After he took power, he also changed several people, and the result was still the same - he had to wonder if the wizards in Gotland were unleashing magic, how could he look loyal and smart in Stockholm Man, you become a greedy idiot once you get to Gotland?

   (end of this chapter)