I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 252 New Class

When little Eugen left his mother, he was only three years old, but he had met Leopold I. His mother also proudly said that he was "the son of the king", but this year he was also nine years old. This embarrassing status is full of disgust - his titular father, the Count of Soissons, has generously accepted him, but little Eugene had long decided that he too, like the eldest son of the Duchess of Longueville, would reject the Count of Soissons' title and territory, given that the Count of Soissons, after his two daughters, had an unquestioned biological son, an heir, he decided, if possible, that he would follow the example of the Viscount Turenne and enter the king at the age of twelve The army, and then relying on his own talent and courage to buy an estate for himself, if not, he entered the monastery and became a monk.

Because of the special status of little Eugen, he did not even grow up in the territory of the Count of Soissons. He has hardly met his nominal father a few times. It is better to visit him once a year by the order of the king. M. Pierre who came to be familiar with him (which is why, although his childhood memories were vague, he was almost sure that he was not the son of the Count of Soissons), and it was better for anyone who came to him and left his Teachers are more trustworthy. He is grateful for the tolerance of the Count of Soissons, which allows him to have a background that will not be criticized, but a child always longs for the love from his parents.

If it is said that in his peaceful life in the past, because he had not been in contact with children of his age, he could not experience the care of his elders, then since he came to the palace, he saw how the king loved the crown prince, princess and Cologne. The Duke of Orleans, how the Duke of Orleans took care of the grand county lord and the new heir, he could not help but have a longing for this selfless love-the king thought that his nervousness was just like other people, intimidated by his power, but I don't know that little Eugen has fallen into a peculiar imagination - the son of the king, he said in his heart, if I were His Majesty's child, how good it would be.

Louis didn't know that little Eugen had such an idea, and even if he knew, he wouldn't scold a child - when little Eugen followed him away from the dining table, he also reached out to help the one who almost fell. Child, little Eugen and the Duke of Colonna have similar faces, but they are three years apart and have different heights, so little Eugen's feet are a pair of boots with raised heels. It will definitely be inconvenient.

"Take your time, child," said the king. In order to prevent the scandal from leaking out last night, he changed the two-day entertainment program from watching opera and ballet to a parade in the Palace of Versailles. Most of this program The time is spent in the carriage, and the number of people who can surround the king will also be reduced by a large part - Vesalius said that the Duke of Colonna will be able to sit up on the fourth day, and then make an excuse, like hunting. If he accidentally broke his leg, he could naturally return to Louis XIII's hunting palace to recuperate. Because Louis XIV was often stationed in Versailles, the hunting palace has also undergone a lot of renovations, with bathrooms and sanitary facilities. , where the duke recuperates neither too far from Versailles nor disturbed.

The current volume of the Palace of Versailles is about twice as large as the original plan submitted by the designer Levaux to Louis. The Latin cross-shaped building cuts the courtyard into four parts. As described, the south side is the plant labyrinth. , The north side is the spring pool and sculptures. For these four courtyards alone, if you only rely on your feet, it will take a full twelve hours or more to watch the horses, let alone stop and appreciate slowly, so I want to cruise Versailles Palace, the best way is to take a carriage - since the Queen Mother, the king and his younger brother all ride in a carriage, but this time the Duke of Orleans was unable to be with the king, and the queen, the crown prince, the princess and Little Eugen, disguised as the Duke of Colonna, got into the carriage, and Princess Elizabeth looked at little Eugen curiously.

Princess Elizabeth is about the same age as little Eugen - only a year younger than the Dauphin, but she has received more love and tolerance from Louis than the Dauphin, because she was previously engaged to King Carl XI of Sweden. , so her education also quickly crossed a class - after all, being a princess is a completely different concept from being a queen. Girls mature earlier than boys, and now Princess Elizabeth can almost be treated as half an adult. .

Louis is not a king who likes to keep everything in his heart and let the people around him speculate on his own, especially the delicate relationship between little Luciano and little Louis—speaking of which, little Luciano is the head of the king. Having a child, Marie is his wife in the inner world. About this matter, Louis did not hide it from Queen Teresa, and the same is true for little Louis and Elizabeth, because he decisively cut off little Luciano from the beginning. The possibility of the French regime, so the relationship between these children is not as tit-for-tat as people think, anyway, they do not need to compete for the same thing.

   Elizabeth had already seen that little Eugen was not her half-brother, she looked at the king and cast a questioning look.

"This is our family too," said Louis, placing his hand on the shoulders of little Eugene: "his grandmother was the Countess of Soissons, Marie-de-Bourbon." This is not the case, only to avoid future Trouble, the Count of Soissons also believes that the less people know about the true identity of little Eugen, the better.

Queen Teresa, one of the insiders, smiled and waved her fan. "Yes, Elizabeth," she said, "you can call him cousin if you want." Only she quickly added, " Of course, not when he was Duke of Colonna."

   "We should meet again and wait until everything is over." Princess Elizabeth said cheerfully: "I know your father, he is a heroic and good man, Eugen Morris."

Little Eugen moved his lips, his eyes darkened, of course he knew that now Eugen Morris, his nominal father won the glory and money his mother Olympia had longed for on the battlefield, but these were all. It has nothing to do with her, but I don't know if Olympia Mancini, who is under six feet, regrets her greed and shallowness.

"You should kiss the eldest princess' hand now to thank her for her compliment to your father." Louis pretended not to notice the strangeness of little Eugen, and gently nudged him like a happy child. Little Eugen: "Go, be brave, you're going to be a general."

This sentence made Princess Elizabeth smile. She inherited her mother's dark hair, but her skin was white, like fine china in the sunlight from the car window. She reached out to little Eugen: "You Also interested in serving the king, in the army, like your father? Then I should let you kiss my hand, and I thank all those who have contributed to the cause of France."

  Then the king and queen watched as little Eugen kissed the eldest princess's hand awkwardly, his face flushed, but his eyes glowed.

The king's carriage was always in front of everyone, and on either side of the driveway, among the holly, were white and pink rose trees, and they were housed in huge china jars, indigo-colored, as if smeared with grease Sleek and bright, it takes two grown men to hug - the former kings of France, England, Spain, and even the sultans of Ottoman Turkey could not have so many large jars, because the giant porcelain jars were difficult to reach from the far east. Shipped to Europa, still such an astonishing quantity.

But a few years ago, wizards accidentally discovered the kaolin clay needed to make hard porcelain in Limoges, where most of the craftsmen of Versailles came from, so the history of porcelain development in France finally made up the last link. Seeing the large rose porcelain jar that people see now, people are deeply moved by this luxury while they are amazed.

When the king decided to come down for a walk, behind him were the Queen Mother and the Duchess of Montpensier, then the Duke of Orleans and his wife and daughter, and then the king's trusted ministers and generals. People can walk up to the king, the king has been holding the "Duke of Colonna", no one doubts the identity of the Duke of Colonna, their eyes occasionally pass the queen and the crown prince behind the king, wondering whether the king intends to officially recognize the king. the son of.

Their thoughts were all Louis had expected, and it was never so easy to distract these inflamed men. The king's intimacy with the Duke of Colonna continued until the third day, when they walked from the fountain to the Grand Canal. At the end of the canal, where the Grand Canal joins the Seine, there is a low forest. Once here, the Duke of Colonna asked the king to go hunting. It was not long before he and his attendants left the sight of people, and there was a loud noise- The Duke of Colonna fell off his horse and broke his leg.

  ———

It was thought that the king's previous displays of favor alone might lead him to suspend some celebrations until the duke was healed, but the king didn't seem to mean it, so the people in the court acted like the Duchess of Colonna and the Duke of Colonna They never appeared, and their names were seldom mentioned—on the fifth day, the king went to the town of Limoges, next to Versailles, although it was called Limoges because it came from the people of Limoges. The market gradually developed here. People who have been to Florence will feel a little familiar, because here, like Florence, there are all kinds of shops on the ground floor, and the upper floor or warehouse, or bedroom.

Louis still remembers the Red Boys market he went to when he was a boy. At that time, for the sake of safety and decency, the vendors and customers in the market were faked by the family members of officials. In Versailles, there was no need for this, because the most important thing here is loyalty. soldiers of the king. Most of them wore dark red, royal blue or black uniforms, and walked on the streets with their heads held high. The women beside them wore long skirts with layered petticoats, sleeveless cloaks, holding delicate small Umbrella, the ordinary people walking with them, small businessmen, craftsmen and even farmers did not show any fear, because most of these soldiers and officers have the same background as them, and maybe pass them by. An officer is a cousin or cousin of another.

The common man here also looks more fashionable and richer than elsewhere, including Parisians, not only because of Versailles, the king's rose fields and workshops, but also because in the battle of Flanders and the Netherlands, every Each soldier received the rich reward promised by the king. Moreover, as long as they are still in the military, they can continue to receive stipends, and the stipends are enough to support a family with many children. Even if they are injured or die in the war, there are pensions and rewards. No need to worry about the days to come.

When income is abundant and stable, people's demand will become strong. There are no merchants who display goods on the side of the road. The streets are wide and clean, and all the goods are shining behind the glass windows - Flemish and English woolen, Cotton from India, brocade from Persia, Iraq and Syria, silk from Theris, lace and lace from France... all the fabrics you can find in Paris, there are also here, and even more, in addition to fabrics, there are cushions here , rugs and drapery, embroidered tablecloths; carved chessboards and pieces in ivory and walnut, chests in rhino leather and gilded frames, finely carved oak wardrobes, chairs and large beds.

  Armors, muskets and daggers, swords, etc., favored by soldiers and officers, saddles and stirrups, spurs mounted on boots... They are exquisitely crafted, inlaid with gold and silver, and are in no way inferior to the jewelry worn by ladies.

Novel or traditional foods, drinks and beverages - tea, coffee, soda, orange juice and brandy, more recently Dutch gin, but the most popular are French fine wines, even sparkling wines Also, tomatoes, potatoes, corn and peanuts from the New World; ham from Spain, preserves from Turkey, peppers, cardamom and cinnamon from the Spice Islands…

These all show how amazing the spending power of Versailles is. Even Parisians can't help but feel sour when they see it. Just as the king expected, Versailles is still very immature compared to Paris, but its prosperity and variety are enough Covering up these flaws diverts attention and desire from Paris to here.

Louis didn't want to blame anyone, but he did prefer to believe in the Versailles - he was in Versailles, and he could walk down the street without any hesitation, the people standing on either side, cheering and bowing to him, their eyes seeing nothing against the king. hatred and contempt.

It was also from this day that France had a new class—although from a very early time there had been three councils in France, but in fact, there had always been only two classes, the class of nobles and priests, and the class of commoners. class. If anyone were willing to make a consumption chart for seventeenth-century France, it would be clearly seen that it was an unstable inverted triangle, where the commoners had to pay taxes and were the heaviest burdened, and their expenditures were almost equal to nothing—everything. It is used for the most basic needs; priests and nobles do not need to pay taxes, but their expenditures are astonishingly expensive, just like when Louis XIV was not in power, if he wanted to make money, he started from nobles and priests, those jasmine flowers. Powder, rouge, ceramics and glass, mirrors are all aimed at these people, and he does get huge benefits.

Now, another class has appeared. They are officials, officers, and merchants. The most unified place for them is that they all came from the promotion of Louis XIV. Their origin may not be worth mentioning, but as long as they have the ability, they can be promoted. The speed was not inferior to that of the nobles, the king gave them power, gave them rewards, and made them invisible to the mainstay of France - either way, perhaps in 1672, the people of Europa were not aware of it, but soon , they will know how fierce and firm this force is, and it can even be said to be irreversible.

   They lifted a mortal and made him a true god.

   (end of this chapter)