I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 75 Former Queen Christina of Sweden

The king only smiled when he heard about the dangers Fouquet had faced in forcibly driving away dangerous men of unknown origin and unknown origins—not just dead mice and cats, of course, but stones and muskets were thrown at him as well. , but he was protected by police officers, but he was a little frightened and humiliated - this is why Louis would leave this matter to Fouquet. Mr. has obtained a lot of benefits, and the work is not too difficult. After all, in this area, there are some noble people with origins and surnames. The upstart in front of you.

But for those inferior people who come from the lowest and most filthy places, they don't care who Fouquet is, they never take their own life Driven out of the lair, Fouquet will face the most direct threat, so from the beginning, Louis will not let other people be responsible for this project, whether it is Vauban, Colbert, or Dada Niang, not even d'Artagnan's cousin, these are the talents he really places high hopes on and intends to use in his official ruling in the future.

   In addition, he also hoped that they could make Mr. Fouquet sober a little, and don't think that the king can be bullied when he is young.

Whether Mr. Fouquet is aware of this is unknown, but his ability to handle affairs is still quite commendable. The day before Madame Christina Alexandra came to Paris, the road from outside Paris to the Louvre Museum And the buildings on both sides have been repaired and cleaned up, and the walls that had been exposed to wood have been repainted with thick soil and chalk; the windows facing the street are shining with bright glass, and the doors are also After another painting - to the satisfaction of the king, after the charter, each door was painted a deep stately black, with brass knockers, and silk banners of royal blue hung from the terraces and windows, which This kind of blue first won the favor of the French king in the twelfth century, and was recognized by Louis IX as the color used by the royal family. We can often see this elegant and luxurious blue in emblems, crown robes and drapery. The color - darker than azure, more stable than cobalt blue, and purplish in certain light - is as haunting as a flowing gem against the black door and white walls, and the end of the banner is all white flowers. , When the lady's carriage passed the street, the citizens poured perfume and flower petals on the ground.

Perhaps aware of the king's dissatisfaction with himself, Mr. Fouquet did one thing with all his might, that is, to ensure that the roads that the former Queen of Sweden passed were paved with slate or gravel. It was flat and would not be muddy in case of rain, but it also made the king laugh and cry, because Louis planned to wait until the cement was trial-produced, and the first thing to do was to pave the way for Paris, and when Christina Alexandra left, Shouldn't these slates and gravels be tilted up first?

Louis can't blame Fouquet on this issue, after all, his distaste for dirt roads (or dung roads) has long been known, and the problem of cement is indeed not something that Mr. Fouquet is qualified to know now - he still has a lot of respect for Fouquet. Kay expressed his admiration and gave him a room in the Louvre, although M. Fouquet had already obtained a very good mansion for himself near Notre Dame, but it was like Montpensy, the lord of the county. Even if the Duchess of Aye paid 500,000 livres, she would still return to the palace. This room is of great significance. Everyone knows that Nicholas Fouquet is very proud.

This grace continued until the ceremony to welcome the former Queen of Sweden, a lady who is said to be very similar in face and personality to a man. Molière's Brilliant Troupe came to Paris in a much more moody mood. From outside the carriage, she saw clean and happy faces. What she heard were cheers and praise, and her female companion was very happy. Because they are in need of the support of the King of France, only Christina is not happy.

She smiled only as the carriage slowly drove into the street in front of the Louvre. The carriage stopped three hundred feet away from the Louvre, and the former Queen of Sweden's female companion went out worriedly through the gap in the curtain. See, because the people who came to greet them heralded the recognition that the French court was willing to give them—a white horse came galloping, and the knight jumped off his horse in an unusually graceful and calm manner, and came over to the carriage, who he was for. Christina opened the door and reached out to take her out of the carriage.

Christina didn't want to admit that she was slightly relieved when she saw the person coming, because the person who came was the Duke of Anjou, the king's younger brother. Before coming to Paris, the former Queen of Sweden had seen his portrait - he. Carefully taken care of the golden brown curls hanging down the shoulders, the body of the white coat embroidered with silver silk thread embroidered the iconic lilies of the French royal family, the diamond brooch used to fasten the scarf shone dazzlingly in the sun.

The long carpet has been opened on the square, and Christina is walking on it, accompanied by the Duke of Anjou to the Louvre - this huge building surrounded by the square on three sides has been through hundreds of years of wind and rain, except for rain and sunshine on the stone. , the deep imprint of the wind, and the traces of the slashing of swords and the ravages of artillery fire, which reminded Christina inevitably of the Three Crown Palace in Stockholm, which her father left her, but she lost it, thinking about it. Point, the former queen could not help but burst into tears.

The king greeted Christina Alexandra on the large steps in the atrium. On this huge step, nobles and officials were lined up like geese. According to bloodline, title and official position, as well as the king's likes and dislikes, the most important thing was At that time it was the latter. For example, Nicholas Fouquet was fortunate to follow the Bishop of Mazarin, and General Schumberg was second only to the Viscount Turenne. foreigners.

Looking at those unwilling eyes, Bishop Mazarin had mixed feelings in his heart. When he heard that the king handed this matter over to the Duke of Anjou, he also instructed his ministers to pay attention at all times, so as to be able to take over this tedious and complicated matter at any time. Important work, because he did not think that only the sixteen-year-old Duke of Anjou could do it well, but the Duke of Anjou did it, and the bishop did not know that he should be happy - for what the king has, even if The intelligence and talent that could not be eliminated under the "special education" of him and the Queen Mother; they should be worried - what they fear most is that Louis and Philip will repeat the war before Louis XIII and the Duke of Gaston, after the king has revealed After a great talent, they really don't want a second great kid.

The Duke of Anjou didn't know what the Bishop of Mazarin was thinking, or, in other words, he was only focused on his brother, and the eyes of everyone present on him. The former Queen of Sweden was brought before the king, bowed to the king, stepped aside, Christina Alexandra curtseyed to the king, and was pulled up by the king himself, "Welcome, ma'am," she heard A gentle, youthful voice said, "I hope you feel at home."

Yes, she was young. Christina knew that the French bishop Mazarin had planned the marriage of Louis and herself. Although the marriage before the royal family was more about the needs of the country than personal feelings, she was seeing the truth. When he was Louis XIV, he was very fortunate that this marriage ended without a problem, and few people knew that compared to her scarred and full of resentment, this king was just like the morning light, bright and thorough, she It was impossible to imagine how I should stand with him, the queen was already a dangerous and difficult position, and the king's wife had to take on only more.

The king is also observing the woman who almost became his wife. To say, Christina is not ugly. If she is a man, she should be another Mars-like figure. She has a raised Browbones, long, bushy brows, her eyes are large and bright, and so is her nose, which is raised high, with no bumps or slumps, and her lips are far wider than one can imagine. The degree of acceptance, and the color is black, and her shoulders are too wide, and her height is almost the same as Louis.

It is said that when she was born, she had two sisters who died in front of her, and when she was born, she was born with hoarse and hoarse crying, thick hair, and wrapped fetal membranes (in Scandinavian legends). , this fetal membrane is called Victory Membrane, and the children born under such fetal membrane are warriors), so it was mistaken for a boy. How disappointed she was when she was a girl, her mother even hated her because of it, but her father, then Gustav II, was very happy, saying: "This is a man who fooled us all at birth. child!"

She used to be educated like a boy, and she seems to have grown up like this. Some people say that she is not so interested in the things women love, such as dressing, embroidery, or playing with powder. She often wears men's clothes. She also doesn't want to be bound by marriage, so there have been questions about whether she is a deformed intersex person, or someone who loves the same **** more than the opposite **** - but Louis knows it's all rumors, from Christina's enemies.

  If Christina loved a woman, she would not have lost her hand in that crucial secret battle and handed over the throne to others. Although people say that the reason why she is unwilling to continue to rule Sweden is only because she is a Catholic - but as long as she is a king or queen, you know that the so-called faith has long been a mask that can be changed at any time for the rulers. When a country is in front of it, it is possible to convert or reconvert, or to sway from side to side.

Christina's previous behavior in Rome was more to win the support of Rome. After all, for Rome, a Catholic king is of course better than a Protestant king. The problem is that the Roman church no longer has the power of the past. Well, the lady must be very disappointed.

   I really don't know what happened to Chapter 72... After I revised it, I called it back again. I can only move the revised content to Chapter 73... I said, can you tell me there is a problem there! Oh my god, so is the servant of the servants... I really can't see what's wrong! My eyes are sore

   (end of this chapter)