I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 241 Save us!

   "Save us!"

   This was the first sentence that General Reuter saw when he unfolded the rolled up note after being called up late at night.

When he knew that Amsterdam had fallen and might have become a swamp now, even though the general had gone through countless tests and tortures, he couldn't help but feel dizzy, his first officer quickly supported him, and he woke up again. When I found myself lying in a small bed, there were several people crowded in the small cabin, the ship doctor, the chief mate, the priest and the messenger. The last person was about to be pushed to the door. The legislator's messenger is here," he said, "I want to ask him in detail."

The messenger walked over with difficulty and shame. In front of the distinguished general, he could barely lift his head, and he didn't even know what he said incoherently. Reiter took the kettle on the table and put the The cold water in it poured all over his head—it was early winter, and this pot of water was placed on Reiter's table before going to bed. Even if it wasn't frozen enough, it would make people feel sick if touched. He retracted his finger like an electric shock, which made the messenger feel embarrassed. "Are you awake?" Reiter said tiredly, "Even if Amsterdam falls, it shouldn't fall so quickly. What have you done?"

What have you done? Of course, some sacrifices and changes had to be made in order to keep all the gold and silver in the Bank of Amsterdam and the stock exchange - even if Reuter repeatedly instructed his friends and all MPs in letters to give the French Buy more time here, Britain is not France's most reliable ally - they have been enemies for nearly a hundred years, and the foundation of the British King Charles II's rule is unstable. Once the British and French coalition forces are frustrated at sea, the first to retreat is The British, at that time, they will try to negotiate with the British and induce the British to fall to the Netherlands. Together, they will not only be able to fight back against France, but even take part of the territory of Flanders, but first of all, these must be established in The King of England saw that it was impossible to occupy the whole of Holland.

   Therefore, even if there is only Amsterdam, they must hold on to the end. As long as there is Amsterdam, they can face off against France until there is a turning point!

Reiter doesn't know much about politics and negotiation, but even the stupidest person should understand these things. In this world of the weak, even a wolf with one fang and one paw, It is also more frightening than a sheep with all hooves, so even if you invest in the only possessions in the Netherlands, you must save Amsterdam - this is obviously their unified opinion!

   "I said at the meeting," said Lewitt, "We're going to use all the money to hire soldiers. How much do you hire?"

   "...Eight thousand people...probably?"

  Lewitt gave a sharp laugh, as if someone had blown a whistle. In the dark night, there was an indescribable sadness: "Is it outside the people that Orange left us, or inside?"

Hey the messenger, he didn't dare to speak, and he didn't answer, he just answered, Reuter clenched his fist so hard that he almost crushed the note into powder: "You gave up Amsterdam! You gave up the last territory of the Netherlands, the last city. Leave Holland to our enemies, and yet you have the courage to ask me to save you!"

"The Netherlands has not perished! Sir, the Netherlands has not perished, this is only a temporary retreat, we must still be able to return, we," the messenger chose the words with difficulty: "The MPs have decided that we will establish a provisional government in New Amsterdam. , and then make preparations - the king of France will face a coalition attack led by the Archduke of Austria, the Holy Roman Emperor, he can't keep Holland, or even Flanders, then we only need to pay a little price, we will be able to return to Holland!"

Leiter raised his head and looked at him with a strange look: "How is Amsterdam? I remember you telling me that you made the final preparations. Once Amsterdam falls, someone will open the floodgates and destroy the dykes. Let the waters of the River Ai flood into Amsterdam and drown our enemies and the city together? How about it, did you do it?"

It was because it failed - the messenger said in his heart that the councillors had a good plan. They went to sea before Amsterdam fell, and when the French were submerged in the sea and struggling to survive, they would not be able to remember them, and they would not be able to pursue them. Calmly cross the Atlantic Ocean to New Amsterdam, a Dutch colonial city, and establish a government in exile in New Amsterdam - no, it can't be said to be a government in exile, New Amsterdam is also a Dutch territory, they are still Dutch... But who would have thought, those The cowardly cowards didn't do what they planned. The councilors on the boat kept holding up their binoculars, wanting to see the fire in the city hall go out, but no, the fire spread from the city hall to various places. After the dams and sluices were also lit, the MPs cried, shouted, beat their chests, and even blamed each other, because those "reliable people" were recommended or hired by them.

Even so, they still held a bit of luck, but as they heard, the French king who made a deal with the devil has the ability to quickly communicate with the army. They had already caught up. Before the messenger set off, they were relying on the only **** ships and armed merchant ships to contend with the coalition forces, but they couldn't hold on for long, and the only hope was General Reuter.

The messenger's second silence made the people in the cabin look even more ugly. "A group of cowards," said Leiter contemptuously, "I will not save a group of cowards! They don't even dare to resist! Go back and tell them that none of them are worth my replacement with a crew member!"

The    messenger looked at Reiter, if he was angry, angry or hated, Reiter would not be surprised, but he only saw sadness. "General Reuter," he said bitterly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, General Reuter..." He twisted his hat painfully: "You must go, sir, for the Bank of Amsterdam, the Stock Exchange , and all, you know, all that belonged to the citizens of the Netherlands, and any businessman who believed in the Dutch government - their gold, silver and all things of value in Amsterdam...all on board, sir, all on board..." said He couldn't help crying.

  Lewitt couldn't believe what he heard. He grabbed the dagger and wanted to pierce the opponent's heart. How dare he say that? Doesn't he know, no, don't those MPs know that the Netherlands can become the economic and financial center of Europa in such a small country because of the reputation they have accumulated with countless lives and money? When they do this, who dares to believe them, who dares to put money into their banks, who dares to buy their bonds, it's done, it's done, it's done for Holland, and after what happened tonight, even Amsterdam can go back to their In his hands, even if New Amsterdam had a provisional government, the Netherlands could not be strong again, his mind was buzzing, not knowing what to say, he stood up, his first mate seeing it for the first time To General Reuter showed such a dazed look.

   It took only a few seconds, maybe a few minutes, maybe even a hundred years, before they heard General Reuter say: "Inform all the fleets, get ready to go."

Such a simple order,   , seemed to exhaust all Reuter's strength, and the first mate looked at him with trembling lips: "General, they may be waiting for us."

Leyter closed his eyes, yes, if it were him, or a general with a little military aptitude, would have understood that this was a great opportunity - they were clearly doing it, like they were catching a cub Hunter, let the cub make a cry to attract its parents, and now they surround the Senator's ship, so that Reut will come out and fight them in the North Sea.

In the past, Reuter was able to fight against enemies who were completely superior to him in terms of number and size, because the Dutch ships had a shallower draft, while the British and French ships had a deeper draft, and it was easy to hit the rocks and run aground when entering the shallow sea. Special had to go, he couldn't watch the Netherlands not only in people's eyes, but also completely destroyed in people's hearts! Just making such a decision is like abandoning another child for one child. The pain in his heart can be imagined. It is not that there is no chance. He said to himself, it is not that there is no chance... Just like before, although he failed to Completely defeated the coalition forces at sea, but also made their attempt to land on Zeeland come to nothing...

He insisted on putting on his coat, got on his boots, and walked out, just then he heard a terrified cry, followed by the sound of falling water, and he looked back, his first mate came hurriedly, his face full of grief : "Mr. Captain," he said, "that gentleman, the senator's messenger, he committed suicide!"

Rewit had heard so much unfortunate news today that he was almost numb, but his dullness led the chief mate to misunderstand him: "He is dead," he whispered: "Sir, I Watching him pull out his dagger and cut his throat first, and then fall into the sea." Leuth looked in the direction he pointed, and before they sent the messenger to the boat, the crew in charge of the paddling was foolishly holding a torch - Falling into the water in the dark night, even a small boat, it is very difficult to rescue people, because you can't see anything, he may only be a few feet away from you, even a few inches, but the black water waves can cover any pair of keen eyes —The crewman with the torches looked up, and Leiter saw the dark marks on his face and neck, where the crew wouldn't apply paint to his own face, and those obvious splash marks.

   That is blood.

"May God bless him and forgive him all his sins," said Leiter, his voice soft but far above the sea: "He died for his country, he died for justice, he died for dignity. "

   The mate took off his hat.

  ——

  Nart's afternoon is really beautiful, or, in the eyes of Madame Lavalier at this moment, even a desert, an island, and a gloomy dungeon are beautiful.

The king always wakes up early, he is a man of great self-control, but today seems to be an exception. Madame Lavalier is not the kind of frivolous woman, but yesterday night was what she had longed for for ten years, The king was as gentle as she imagined, yet she had a ferocity beyond the ordinary, and she clinged to him like a thirsty man begging for a mouthful of luscious rain, a hungry man fighting for a loaf of bread, more rightly Said, like a she-wolf with a shriveled belly, grabbing her prey, not eating up the fresh flesh and viscera, and never wanting to leave him for a moment, a moment.

This kind of entanglement lasted a whole night and a morning, and even a morning-although they were all making up sleep for the next few hours, this simple sleep was not as sad as it used to be for Madame Lavalier, she After all, she was still a werewolf. After she woke up a little, she heard the sound of someone breathing and walking outside the bedroom. It was so soft that it would not disturb the king at all, but she could hear it clearly. Something urgent was to be done in return to the king, and she hesitated for a moment before gently awakening Louis—with her lips.

It was only when Louis woke up that he remembered that he was with Madame Lavalier the night before, and because of the guilt he felt towards her, he seemed, seemed, to have indulged a little, and he had to admit that he had also developed a strong need. - Holland was a big gamble for him, no one knew that until Madame Lavalier's arrival, his teeth were always clenched and he couldn't relax, and he heard that Amsterdam had fallen into the hands of the French army. Completely relaxed... And just like after a severe war, the soldiers needed some comfort, and he was in need of a woman's arms to pour out his warm emotions...

   "Who's out there?" he asked.

   "It should be M. Bontang," Madame Lavalier said without any concealment: "I heard someone talking to him about something important..."

   "Bontang!" Louis called out before she could finish speaking, and Bontang came in immediately and delivered the letter.

  The king opened the letter and read it, he read it so eagerly that he skipped to the end almost immediately--his smile was getting bigger and bigger!

   "Two good news," he announced loudly: "The ships of the Dutch Parliament have all been intercepted, and none have escaped and sank!"

   "That's great!" Bontang shouted. He was the king's side. Of course, he knew that the king had ordered the fleet to prepare. If the parliament escaped, they must stop them, lest they take away the assets of the Dutch government.

"What about the second one, Your Majesty?" Madame Lavalier also asked happily. In the future, her and her clan's territory may be in Flanders, Holland, or somewhere other than France. Destruction also means that the king's promise must be fulfilled.

   "Second," Louis sighed: "It's really good news for me, for France - General Michel Adrianson de Reuit is dead in battle."

   The last pillar of the Netherlands was broken.

  ~ That, I forgot to promise to double update today, it's too late, please allow me to owe one credit, I will make it up.

   (end of this chapter)