I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 586 Louis XIV bids us farewell (Part 2) (End of full text)

  To say that this Mr. Montesquieu could be introduced to his grandson by the Count of D'Artagnan, the king's important minister, of course he would not be an ordinary person.

I don't know if you remember, we said before that the real Count of D'Artagnan should be Pierre the King's Musketeer, who lent his title to his cousin so that he could make a fortune in Paris , Later, "Count of D'Artagnan" really won a place beside Louis XIV. After obtaining the title of count of genuine value, "Count of D'Artagnan" returned the title, but the people of Paris still Think of the Count of D'Artagnan as the Count of D'Artagnan, not the one in the far reaches of D'Artagnan.

Pierre's surname is Montesquieu, and Montesquieu, the lord of D'Artagnan, is a side branch, that is, a distant relative, from the family of Mr. Montesquieu, who was born in Mr. Montesquieu. Although not old enough, it is also noble. The Montesquieu family has had three generations—grandfather, uncle and nephew have been presidents of the Bordeaux court. The old Montesquieu was a keen-smelling chicken. He did not hesitate to join His Majesty as early as when the king was in power, so he got the position of the court of Bordeaux, and waited until his eldest son, Montesquieu's uncle, succeeded him. After taking this position, he also sensed that the Sun King might no longer use bloodline and surname to judge his career and reward, and judge a person's value purely by talent and talent, and he began to cultivate the third generation with all his heart.

It was not that Montesquieu's uncle had no sons, but old Montesquieu saw that the eldest sons were not good, and giving them a higher position would only embarrass the family and them, so at his request, Meng M. Desquieu received from his uncle the title of Baron Montesquieu and the post of President of the Court of Bordeaux.

He came to Paris this time, because the Count D'Artagnan did not forget his previous kindness and gave the Montesquieu family a return, and secondly, he came to participate in a once-in-a-century grand celebration before he officially assumed office. —80th birthday of King Louis XIV of France.

Not to mention that it is a bit early to come three months in advance. If he is not a child of Count D'Artagnan, he may not be able to borrow a room in a hotel in Paris. Some people come to Paris a year early, and some people deliberately commit crimes. It's a small mistake, I want to live in the Bastille... Because of the protection of the Count of D'Artagnan, this young baron of Montesquieu can be said to be smooth sailing. He was received when he came to Paris, and he had a room facing the Seine River. , you can see the Louvre Museum standing by the river and the Notre Dame Cathedral in the middle of the river. He naturally spent the rest of his free time in the galleries, cafes and parks in Paris, as well as Blois. Nirvana forest.

   He would ride horses to the Boulogne woods almost every day, take a walk or swim, or go to the zoo to see animals.

  Really, a real and unwarranted disaster, Louis read the report submitted by the Duke of Burgundy, and he was a little ridiculous.

The man who had just brushed past M. Montesquieu but suddenly turned and stabbed him with a dagger claimed that he had heard M. Montesquieu humiliated him before he did so, although this was also a crime It is legal, but there is a reason, which is more worthy of the judge's consideration than no reason, so the police asked the man how Mr. Montesquieu humiliated him, and the man insisted that he would not say it until the police told him, His actions were likely to be punishable by death, he said in a panic, because Mr. Montesquieu had humiliated his origin.

Further investigation, it turned out that the man was the illegitimate son of a British ambassador, and his mother was a black slave. Although some French people who came back from America were darker than him in terms of skin color, if you look closely at the facial features, it is still Some clues can be seen from the bulging forehead, brow bone and overly protruding lips. When he was in Britain and the British colony of Africa, he was insulted by many people, and his temperament became extraordinarily irritable and sensitive.

   What did poor Mr. Montesquieu do?

   When he saw the twilight low, he was in high spirits, and he recited a Latin poem of the thirteenth century...with the word "black" in it.

The transliteration of "black" in Latin is Neglo, unfortunately, it is similar to "black" in English. In the past ten years, this word has been turned into a contemptuous name only for black slaves. The **** son of the British ambassador has heard this kind of abuse a lot when he was in Britain and Africa, and he is also worried in France, lest he be seen by others. He was born, but he did not expect that on the boulevard of Boulogne, which was full of tourists, someone loudly used such a lowly title to humiliate him. His blood rushed to his head, and he immediately drew a knife and gave him a few next time.

Mr. Montesquieu, who had sobered up in the hospital, listened to the police's questioning, and could not help but shouted his grievance. Not only him, but the French only had a small amount of slave trade in the middle and late seventeenth century, and he was soon forcibly ordered by Louis XIV. Stop, all the slaves were also freed, including blacks and Indians. Now the Indians have become lords, and many young people from the Far East are studying here. Parisians have long been used to it, and they will not care about Pay attention, in the words of the Parisians themselves: it's too late for them to discriminate against foreigners, forget about foreigners.

So Mr. Montesquieu didn't notice at all, and even if he did, he wouldn't have thought about it, and he wouldn't have been so cautious... Fortunately, the hospital is now able to operate, and Mr. Montesquieu was lucky enough to not be injured. To the spleen and liver, only a few inches of intestines are missing. But for the next three months, he will spend in the ward and in his own room.

   "Then, according to the laws of France..." The Duke of Burgundy said slowly, sitting beside Mr. Montesquieu's bed.

"An attack by a foreigner against a citizen of his own country is an extra crime; an attack by a civilian against a judge is an extra crime; an attack on an unarmed person with a weapon is an extra crime," said Mr. Montesquieu, a lawyer at nineteen, fluently. At the age of twenty-five, he was a Bordeaux court consultant, and now he is the president of the Bordeaux court. His grandfather constantly urged him to recite and study the laws set by the king over and over again. Of course, he was very familiar with how to convict.

   "Death," said the Duke of Burgundy.

   "No, wait," said Mr. Montesquieu, "his father is the ambassador of the embassy, ​​if he is willing to legally recognize this illegitimate child..."

"He doesn't want to," said the Duke of Burgundy. "He's willing to trade money, intelligence, and even some British interests—it seems he still likes the bastard, but when it comes to admitting it, he thinks it's an act Damage his reputation, no, he firmly refuses to admit it." He paused: "The criminal's mother was a slave."

  ———

"I don't understand," the Duke of Burgundy always asked his grandfather for answers when he had any doubts: "There are many English and black slave girls who have children, but they don't love their children at all, or Said that they would verbally say love, and then give a little favor, but still register them as their slaves, allowing them to buy and sell - there are obviously some of them who are rich and high-status figures, with hundreds of Thousands of slaves, it's not a problem to free one or two, or even a dozen, why don't they do it?"

   "Because they don't see black people as people," Louie said.

After he managed to start with the Duke of York and completely drive the British forces out of America, the British had to turn to Africa for development. When people think of Africa, the scorched desert, the scorching sun and the The trees of the stars, but it cannot be denied that Africa once gave birth to such a great and ancient country as Egypt. Without enough food, water and other resources, it is impossible to support such a behemoth.

Today the British are planting cotton in the Nile Valley, wheat and barley in the coastal areas, corn and potatoes in the south, and some cash crops such as coffee, cocoa and tobacco. They not only took away the land of the local indigenous people, but also The natives were also forced to become their slaves, giving them work day and night.

"Humans have empathy," said Louis. "The only way to console yourself with such a cruel fate is to exclude them from the ranks of human beings. Would you sympathize with a horse? Would you love a hound? Would you love a cup? You can't." He said lazily: "And for those whose interests come first, the reintroduction of slavery is an improvement, not a regression, They've had enough of the hardships of hired labor, and of course they want to avoid repeating the same mistakes."

   "Wait, you're right, they suffered from hired labor? Could it be that half of the Irish emigrated to the New World because they had enough fortune and had to ask for it?"

Louis couldn't help laughing at the fierce reaction of his grandson: "Yes, even under their oppression, the British civilians began to refuse to continue to bear children, they still didn't think it was their own fault for being too greedy, so from the beginning, they No intention of hiring workers in the colonies, they just want slaves."

   "That's what they did to the Indians, and the same way they did to the Negroes."

"The blacks... are a little different. Their society is quite primitive, so is their thinking. Before the arrival of the British, except for Egypt, their tribes had not even entered the period of primitive communes. Everyone was like a beast, relying on hunting and gathering to survive. , and the vast Africa can indeed support them, they do not have the word work in their minds." The king shook his head slightly: "If you don't force them, they will not be able to work, or it will be hard, long-term, Having to use tools and work in a disciplined manner was a torture for those who were otherwise free."

"Ah..." The Duke of Burgundy didn't say it, but Louis knew what he was thinking - he has been tightening immigration quotas in recent years, not only in France, and the census once or twice a year has been ongoing, The funny thing is that some foreigners are still accusing the Sun King that he has lost his generosity. The French nationalism is too extreme and too exclusive, but the people of the Bourbons are quite supportive of it - they are not willing to be with him. Do others share their king, or a group of outsiders who have never served the king or country, and who have never maintained their loyalty.

"And in recent years slaves in Africa have far outnumbered their masters," added Louis. "In the first century B.C., a famous Roman citizen was calling for greater control of slaves. They are completely obedient, otherwise the world of Rome will fall. How many slaves were there in Rome at that time? Britain today - duh, their navy and war ministers are complaining they can't recruit enough soldiers - also, the gap in population is not so easy to make up, so the british especially has to draw blood from Africa so that the civilians can recuperate, give birth to."

   "So, in addition to those who were born ruthless," said the Duke of Burgundy, "there is another reason, probably because of their default rule - that slaves cannot be freed at will."

   "Well," Louis nodded and narrowed his eyes: "If you don't think of slaves as people, you can't think of them as people."

   "But it doesn't prevent them from having children with slaves," the Duke of Burgundy lowered his voice and muttered: "What are those Ansa people?"

   He saw that his grandfather's eyes had been closed, so he got up gently from the chair and walked out on tiptoe.

  ———

In order to ensure that the celebration of the Sun King's eightieth birthday will not be disturbed in three months, the murderer of the Baron Montesquieu's murder has been extremely fast from trial to execution, even if his ambassador father repeatedly pleaded to no avail— Although he has repeatedly refused to recognize this illegitimate child, even from a legal level.

The only preferential treatment he received was to be beheaded instead of hanged, "treatment like an aristocrat." The warden of Bastille wiped his tears with emotion. He completely inherited the obsession from his grandfather and father. It is a pity that Since Louis XIV, few people have been sentenced to death, let alone nobles and members of the royal family, unless the crime is heinous.

When the unsightly head fell, there was still a trace of unwillingness. After all, in his father's manor, he could always do whatever he wanted. After leaving the manor, of course he would be humiliated by others, but he could also be humiliated more humble than his identity. not to mention his father would comfort him, even willing to take him to Paris at such an important moment - he never thought he would be sentenced to death when he stabbed the knife in the belly of passers-by.

  Unfortunately, this is the Paris of the Sun King.

However, in the eyes of Parisians, the death of a sinner is not worth paying attention to at all. A year ago, a smart person came here to rent a room in advance, and the people here began to prepare for this grand ceremony three years ago-even if this Versailles must be split in half for a grand ceremony, but is there any other city with that distinction? No!

   Not to mention, it's not just Paris, it's Versailles, it's a French festival, it's the whole of Europa!

  Bourbon now has three indisputable orthodox crowns, France, Poland and Spain, and three virtually indisputable crowns, the Commonwealth of Italy, the Duchy of Upper America and the Federal Republic of Lower America.

  It goes without saying that the Duchy of Upper America and the Federal Republic of Lower America are more interesting, because the two French dukes who went to America together at the end can be said to have achieved their wishes, but they belonged to each other.

Duke Halepur thought that he could, like his eldest brother Luciano, win his own territory and crown in America, but what he didn't expect was that after he came to America, he completely released his wildness. After the Indians in the location reached an agreement and covenant, they started from New Brussels, the place under his jurisdiction, and fought with the British, the Dutch, and the Spaniards (exiles), all the way to the southernmost point of South America, and finally stopped in front of the Strait of Magellan. It wasn't that he couldn't fight anymore, but that he saw the big island across the strait.

So he said to the people around him, I have now given up my original idea and no longer want to be a king, but this island I want to dedicate to my father, after everyone agreed, he will this island The Big Island remained, and it would be presented to the king as a gift for Louis XIV's eightieth birthday.

   The original name of this big island was Tierra del Fuego, but now people call it the Isle of Birth.

   Its ownership has been preserved for centuries.

As for the Duke of Montreal, he always thought he should be the leader of a republic. What he didn't expect was that because the Indians of North America were the first to come into contact with France. As I said before, they were like a dry sponge. What will they give back? The British taught them to deceive and blackmail them. In the French, in addition to the generous gifts of Louis XIV, it is the fanatical kingly enthusiasm of the Parisians.

   They felt they should have a king.

   Before the Duke of Montreal could decide what to do, he became the Grand Duke of the Duchy of Upper America...

In short, Louis XIV is still regarded as the king of Upper America and the head of Lower America. For the people of this era, they still choose more familiar terms, and the six crowns are obviously more beautiful than the three crowns. , so the "Six Crowns" ballad soon spread in the streets of Paris.

  ———

   On September 5, 1718, Louis woke up in a chorus of "six crowns, six crowns...the great shining sun king...".

   "Who," he muttered, "couldn't it be Molière?" Only he could be so bold and mischievous.

   "It's Mr. Rameau." Queen Teresa whispered in his ear: "Your Majesty, it's time for you to get up." She didn't say that Moliere died ten years ago.

  Louis woke up a little, and saw the queen in full dress and the sternly dressed Bontang standing beside his bed.

"It's the children who sing." The queen said. Little Louis's children came a little late, but the children's children came early. Now Louis has several great-grandchildren, not to mention those from Italy, Poland and Spain. And the bourbons from America.

When Bontang saw that the king was awake, he made a gesture, and the attendants filed in, serving the king to get up and wash, and he watched from the side-his age no longer supported him to do it himself, but there was no flaw in his eyes. escaped.

   If it was normal, Louis would definitely persuade him to rest or sit, but today... Louis smiled.

   Dressed neatly, they went to Mass in the chapel, and then returned to the suite for a solid breakfast—and then it was an uphill battle.

   He took Queen Teresa's hand and went out to the terrace together before the children, attendants and priests came.

  From this terrace you can see directly the Palace Square below.

In a trance, Louis could still see the fourteen-year-old boy, wrapped in a large black coat only worn by lower-level officials, with a large gray-feathered hat covering his bright blond hair, embracing resentment and unease. , boarded the carriage, and left quickly—and then many hours, countless names, and voices, loud or faint, that flashed in front of the king’s eyes like lightning, in his ears, and then again nor come back.

   "Your Majesty?"

   "Come," said Louis, "queen, come and see, this is my France."

   He stretched out his hands towards her.

   (End of full text)

   The evening is a special, Louis XIV's 80th birthday special! Thank you for your long-term companionship over the past two years, and thank you for your enthusiastic support. The new article will be published on October 1st, and this month I will prepare the manuscript. The extras of Louis and the Saint will be released one after another! Please look forward to it, the update time is still at 9 o'clock in the evening, or 11 o'clock in the evening, if there is something, I will ask for leave. Bow, thanks, cheers!

   (end of this chapter)