I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 59 The Touching Ceremony and Vauban

Louis had been fourteen years old as early as 52 years, which is generally recognized as the age of majority, but in Hertelle's time, the Queen Mother was reluctant to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for the king in a small unknown place, etc. In Paris, between the aggressive Prince Condé and the ill-conceived Duke of Gaston, the Queen Mother has lost all interest in it - for her, Parisians are half rebels, half thugs, they don't. Qualified to witness such an important event, and at that time Bishop Mazarin had retired to Bouron again. Although the Queen Mother did not like this person very much, she also had to admit that without the bishop, the royal family in Paris seemed to be lacking. an arm.

After the victory of General Schaumberg and Viscount Turenne in Paris, the people of Paris, from the judges of the High Court to the humblest of commoners, came to beg the king to return to Paris, but compared with their eagerness, Louis His reaction was much colder, just like what he said to his brother Philip, that if he returned to Paris, he would never allow himself to be expelled again - besides, Versailles would have made him more difficult than Paris. Careful, he estimated the time, summoned Dean Lariviere, and asked him to pick a suitable day, whether it was a saint or a saint, anyway, he was going to hold a big mass, and then he had to go to another day. Field-specific blessing ceremony.

  Speaking of this blessing ceremony, it is also dangerous for Louis, because this so-called touching ceremony requires close contact with patients with lymph node nuclei.

The founder of this ceremony was Clovis I, the founder of the Frankish kingdom. One of his courtiers suffered from lymphadenopathy. Of course, people at that time only called it white plague, because the patient's neck would grow out of it. The largest is the size of an egg, and the smallest is a swollen blist the size of a pea. When the pus in it accumulates to a certain extent, it flows out of the festering fistula. It looks disgusting and terrifying. heal him.

And just one night later, Clovis I saw an angel in a dream, and the angel said to him that as long as he touched the sick with his holy hand, the sick would be healed. Hearing this, Clovis I This was done, and within a few days the minister miraculously recovered.

However, as far as Louis is concerned, this legend is likely to arise from two urgent needs. One is Clovis I, who was only the leader of a few Frankish tribes before he defeated the last Roman Empire in Gaul in 486. A governor, Sigrius, occupied the whole of northern Gaul and called himself the king of the Franks. Just like every Roman emperor deified himself, he also needed to leave the mundane to ensure that this noble throne would not be shaken; One was the church. At that time, most of the Franks, starting with the king, still believed in the Arian sect, which was regarded as a heresy. Of course, this needs to be corrected. In this case, one is beneficial to the kingship and to the church when miracles appear. It couldn't be more logical.

Clovis I announced to his subjects that he would hold such rituals on a regular basis to exercise divine power, so that his people could bathe in holy grace, and the king after him not only took over his scepter, He also inherited his "sacred ability". In the 11th century, the king of England also claimed that he also mastered this skill, and with great fanfare, he treated patients including but not limited to lymph node stenosis, and even his father was beheaded by the mob. , He was also expelled from his homeland, and Charles II, who lived in no fixed place, also held many such ceremonies, and some people even trampled each other to death in order to compete for a front position.

Of course, Louis was not unprepared for this. The doctor of Vesalius prepared a paralysis potion (suppressing cough) according to the request of the king, and refined the wine of extremely high purity. Every patient who came to ask for treatment had to drink the potion. , Wipe your face and hands with wine, so as to minimize the chance of infection, and as long as you are healthy, lymph nodes are not a susceptible disease... On the day of the treatment ceremony, nearly seven or eight hundred strangers came to Versailles, They came from all directions, with fervent hopes that the king was waiting for them under a cross that stood in the wilderness, and while some insist that such sacred ceremonies should be held in churches, the chapels of Versailles could not hold so many people, Others said that the ceremony should be moved to Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, but the king rejected it - he chose it because the wind and fresh air can carry most germs away.

During the ceremony, the patients came one by one and knelt before the king. Louis touched their foreheads and cheeks lightly with his fingers, and then took a pendant from the hand of Abbot La Rivière. Golden Louis' white ribbon hangs around the patient's neck, and the whole process of touching and treating is over.

Louis once wondered that such a touch could actually heal the sick - indeed, in the records he saw and the words of the priests, the king did have such ability, but he also repeatedly asked Mary and Vesalius to test , he is not a wizard, no, it should be said that as long as he is a king, he cannot be a wizard.

To say whether there have been wizards in the royal family before, yes, like Vesalius' father, but such members will soon be "dead" or "accidents", not only in the church, or in the The world and the watch world, and a king who is a wizard will inevitably threaten the royal power - just like the secret alliance of vampires is also quite consistent to avoid people who are too close to the royal family - lest it can barely maintain it today. The balance will be completely destroyed, wizards and vampires have their own ambitions, but they will not want to see a fragmented, chaotic hell.

Looking at it this way now, Louis thought, it may be because some of the lymph node patients may have recovered by themselves - especially if they can get the news, and it is almost impossible for the people who rushed here to be poor farmers or craftsmen. Having a healthy and resistant body, and then a "placebo" effect - when religious forces still occupy people's spiritual world, such miracles can definitely make a person full of hope, and finally It is the gold louis that the king hangs around their necks. Maybe some unfortunate people are really in need of money, so the gold louis worth twenty livres can also make him live a good life. There are many people, as long as Get a little respite and get back on your feet.

  Take ten thousand steps back, can those people whose illness deteriorate or simply go to see God, he, and his relatives, can still complain about the failure of God or the king?

In this way, the touching ceremony took a whole day in the king's constant slander. Louis' arms were sore, his tongue was astringent, and he gave out more than a thousand gold louis. Some commoners may only come for this gold louis, but It's not for nothing, they'll take Louis' name everywhere and let more French people know that they already have a holy and benevolent king, not kidding, outside of Paris in general, just Not many people care who their king is, or even who their lord is - as long as they don't tax them anyway.

After completing this work, Louis began to prepare to return to Paris. The Queen Mother was gearing up and decided to hold an incomparably grand banquet to celebrate Louis's adulthood. Louis also reminded her that Philip's "slinging ceremony" should be held first. , so that Philip could follow him as the Duke of Anjou, which made the Queen Mother hesitate, but agreed.

  Louis had just returned to his bedroom when his younger brother Philip appeared at the door, and after getting permission, he walked up to the king and bowed his knees deeply to him.

   "I've come to thank you, Your Majesty," said Philip, "I've been looking forward to this day for a long time."

"I know," Louis said mildly, "I want to say that I am too." Although I understand the intentions of the Queen Mother and the Bishop of Mazarin, it is not a problem when I am five or six years old, and I will wait until I am eleven or twelve years old. Feeding, and insisting on adding fencing, throwing, and horse riding to Philip's lessons, Philip is now five feet tall, the equivalent of 1.5 meters in height, and his facial contours are not as round and amiable as before. In short, twelve-year-old Philip It is no longer suitable to wear skirts, and two years later, when he is the age of Louis, he will enter the period of voice change... If he still wears skirts at that time, it will be a torture for many people .

Philip pressed his lace nightcap. As he said, he didn't hate women's clothing very much, but he also knew very well that he was the Duke of Anjou, not the Princess of Anjou. Never gave him any kind feedback, but Philip thinks he's no less talented in these two courses than Ladies and Scribes, and he's not stupid, and Louie doesn't have many credible or usable people around him—especially He also knew the marshal and the general, otherwise his brother would not have forgiven their former enemy, Viscount Turenne, so easily.

There are not many people who enter the army at the age of twelve, fourteen or sixteen. This is the case with General Schumberg, the Viscount Turenne, the Prince of Condé, and of course the Duke of Anjou. Philip also knew that he still had to wait for the moment, or the trust of his brother in him - the king's brother warned himself not to be too hasty - Louis had been quite tolerant of him, especially not for a brother, but for a king.

   "A golden Louis, what are you thinking now." The king said.

   "I'm thinking about how I should repay you," said Philip. As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to help the king take off his heavy coat. This is the duty and power of the king's younger brother.

   "Loyalty." Louis said without hesitation: "And love, that's enough."

   "You'll see," Philip handed his coat to the Tibetan clothing manager: "I'll dig out my heart and dedicate it to you on a plate."

   "Keep your heart in your breast, Philip," said Louis more gently: "Just don't break my heart."

When the Duke of Anjou was about to say something, Bontang suddenly appeared. As the king's first attendant and the head of the bedroom, he had always been cautious, but he would not intervene between the king and the Duke of Anjou in such a light-hearted manner. If you do, it means that there must be something important to report back.

   "Mr. Sebastian le Pretre de Vauban has asked for an interview."

   This is an unfamiliar name, but Philip immediately told the king that he was tired and asked the king to relieve him from his job today. After being allowed, the duke quickly left the king's bedroom.

   "To my surprise," the king nodded, and Bontang helped him put on the coat he had just taken off. "Bring him here—I'll see him in the closet."

Bontang bowed and left, and the king calmly walked to the inner room under the guidance of his attendants. The inner room was part of the king's private suite, just outside the bedroom, but out of Louis' needs and preferences, the four walls were covered with walls. It's a bookshelf, full of books, and a hidden door that hides some shoddy prints that the priests would be horrified to see. Brown walnut desk, with a chair behind and two in front. The back and seat of the chairs are filled with ponytail or silk cotton and covered with gorgeous jacquard velvet according to the king's request.

  The moonlight was shining through the window, but when the servants lit the candles, the thin silver gauze disappeared in the brighter light.

   But when the sun rises, the candlelight will be eclipsed again.

   That's what Sebastian, the young man who had volunteered to lead the way for the king and his soldiers at the Red Children's Market, thought the moment he stepped into the room.

   (end of this chapter)