I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 263 The Value of Mrs. Montespan (3)

After Madame Montespan left, Louis also felt a deep sense of exhaustion—this lady had a very clever opportunity to cut in, or rather, a very clever opportunity to choose. At this time, France seemed to have won a huge victory, but in fact it could not afford it. The third war has begun - the soldiers have been away from their homeland for more than three years, and the vast new territory needs to be consolidated. Although the battle is extremely rich, it needs to be digested slowly.

The news brought by Mrs. Montespan, maybe after a while, Louis can also learn from the spy of the Duke of Orleans or Mrs. Milady, but the problem is that Mrs. Montespan can get one step ahead of them, which means that she The ability is stronger than them, and in these delicate and critical years, if Louis wants a strong arm, not a dangerous enemy, then it is best to accept the surrender of Madame Montespan - of course, This would make any king feel unpleasant and coercive, but Louis believed he would still have an alternative.

As for some people who abide by morality, they may think that Mrs. Montespan is too evil and cruel. She ruthlessly abandoned her father when she was a child, and killed her without hesitation after she had two children. If she had changed her husband, she would have trembled in front of her, let alone sharing a bed with her, but Louis' first de facto lover was a witch, and the first royal lady was a werewolf. Being intimate with a devil doesn't seem to be difficult.

And speaking of it, Louis needs a ruthless character like Madame Montespan now, because in the next few years, France will be in a period of "stable", in the war, you can treat an enemy at will, but after the war, Be careful with people who are neither French nor French (Flanders and Holland), after all they are not farmers and hunters of Lorraine and Alsace, even if these people are lost and relocated from France A part of the loyal people will go there.

   What about Flanders? Its value lies in wool, an industry that requires a lot of experience and skill not just anyone can do - Louis intends to establish as many technical schools as possible in the near future to break such a monopoly, but at least for a few years It is unlikely, and it is difficult to make these people willing to teach students - the so-called apprenticeship and trade union system prevail in this era because of the monopoly of knowledge by various classes. wrong.

Like the forceps that were applied to the Duchess of Orleans not long ago, the Chambord family fled from France, partly because of faith, partly to hide this secret, and when the Chamblance took out the forceps, Louis only realized This kind of forceps has not only been invented long ago, but also has various models, and its development is quite mature, but if Mr. Chambord was not moved by Mr. Lom's selfless behavior (vaccinia) at the end, women in France and even the whole of Europa would still To endure the threat of pain and death for decades or even centuries.

   This is the case for doctors whose duty is to save lives. How can the leaders and masters of the woolen industry be willing to easily disclose the secrets worth thousands of dollars to the public?

It's not impossible to use tough tactics against them, but Louis wants not only Flanders and Holland, but also a complete and complete province of France, and he can't let hatred be passed down from generation to generation - he even I thought about pardoning Fouquet and letting him do this, but the cunning former chancellor of the exchequer will definitely see through the king's trap at a glance. This is not something that can be solved by being thrown into a dog or a cat. Do, and the end result must be to be beheaded by the king to appease the anger of the Flanders.

  The king is not without credible people. The problem is that Louis is not willing to give up any of these people. They are all pearls that he has picked out of the gravel. They have not yet shown their glory. How could the king let them fall into the quagmire?

Not to mention the Netherlands. Some Dutch parliamentarians who escaped from Amsterdam still stubbornly established a government in exile. Their plan was the same as that of the previous parliamentarians, that is, they planned to re-establish a republic in the colony, and then gathered capital, recruited soldiers, and looked for opportunities to retake it. Holland - Although they may want to face a pack of hungry wolves, Louis has almost divided all of the Dutch colonies (except New Amsterdam and the Hudson), especially the richest ones, presumably England, Spain, Sweden The fleet with Austria was already closing in on their new prey at sea.

But apart from these stubborn people, or people who have nowhere to go, the owners of the more than 10,000 merchant ships in the Netherlands are not all single-minded people. At the 15th victory banquet in Versailles, although Louis refused to meet the so-called Dutch officials, but the Dutch still crowded the hotels in Paris and Versailles, and they too were eager to find someone from the king who could talk, but under the king's authority the only one who had the guts was the Duke of Orleans, but the Duke of Orleans No matter where he lives or travels, he is with the king, and it is not easy to see him.

   Under such circumstances, it is only logical to ask a royal lady with long sleeves and good dance to come forward to do something that Louis and feather-loving people are unwilling to do.

Not to mention, whether or not the rebellion on Gayola was driven by Madame Montespan, just as Louis no longer needs the Serbian werewolves now, the Mancini family has gradually become the hand of the little Duke of Colonna, the king. The ending is indeed set for them, but now it seems that there is no harm in being a little early - it's just that the wizards of Calais and Orleans, who should be handed over to have some observation and weighing.

  Louis is also thinking about whether this is also under Mrs. Montespan's consideration, and after a while he laughs, why bother? Just as Mrs. Montespan said, she wants to be able to control her own destiny and that of others. She desires power, money, and loves pleasure. She is such a naked villain, and Louis needs such a villain.

  ——

Queen Teresa, who heard this answer, was not surprised. She had also seen such women in the Spanish court - they were generally not of high birth, but because of their humble status, they had nothing to lose, in order to get what they wanted , even a dress, a box of rouge, they would do horrific things - like the mother of her father's illegitimate son Don Juan.

The Duke of Don Juan is almost her shadow. Don't think that such people are easy to deal with. Their danger is that they have no moral and empathy constraints, just like the princess of Habsburg, the second of Philip IV. The two wives, Queen Anne, were almost powerless in front of Don Juan, and the ladies in the French court were probably not the opponents of Madame Montespan.

   "If she does anything disturbing, you can come and tell me at any time," said the king, and then he paused a little: "But Queen, Madame Montespan should be a wise man."

The Queen    immediately understood what Louis meant.

   Although Mrs. Montespan seems to have gained more power, she may have received the least trust and love from the king, but she is also willing to accept this arrangement.

   "I will treat her well, Your Majesty," said the Queen.

So at the king's birthday banquet, Madame Montespan, as the queen's maid, appeared in the Palace of Vers for the first time. Although everyone only knew that this was a process, she could not help frowning at her dress, because Her dress has obviously exceeded the specifications of a maid, second only to the Queen Mother, the King, the Queen, and the Duke of Orleans. Even the Duchess of Orleans was eclipsed in front of her, and because the Queen Mother's age was placed here, The king and the duke of Orleans are both male, and the queen is not very good-looking. She can almost be called the first person among the ladies in the court...

  People whispered, but did not dare to show disgust, because she followed closely behind the queen, and before all the maids, she was almost declaring that she was the only candidate for the royal wife.

The king's physician, Varo Vesalius, was lucky, because no one would notice him at such a grand banquet, but Mrs. Montespan's stepfather, the Duke of Mortmar, could not escape the strangeness of the people. He looked livid and stiff, and was not happy that his stepdaughter was about to become a royal wife—Louis had a little sympathy for him, and in the war against Flanders and Holland, Louis had used all possible The person who believes, the Duke of Mortmar is no exception. He may be sent by the king to Flanders as the chief executive. The future is bright, and there is really no need for the stepdaughter to repay the previous "kindness" in this way.

But when the king and queen danced the first dance, and then danced a dance with the queen mother, the Duchess of Orleans, the dance entered the second stage, and the music became light and lively, the king went to Montespan In front of the lady, she stretched out her hand.

In fact, aside from dissatisfaction with Madame Montespan's over-the-top behavior, the people at court had nothing to blame for the king's second official, recognized royal lady, first of all her surname was Mottmar, Can be said to be French, secondly her husband is also French, and finally, she has a prominent status - the daughter of a duke, a marquise, better than a cardinal's businessman's niece or an officer's daughter.

  What's more, Madame Montespan's beauty can answer most people's doubts, even if she has hardly been seen in Paris or Versailles before.

Louis today is wearing a coat full of gold embroidery, as brilliant as his title, the Duke of Orleans, as always, chose silver, the Queen Mother is brown, the Queen is crimson, and Madame Montespan, she She also wore a long dress that was also embroidered with gold threads. The chest and cuffs of this dress were covered with layers of lace, half-covering her snow-white plump arms and arms like floating clouds. Her chest and under her long skirt are a pair of feet as dexterous as birds, wrapped in satin and precious stones. Perhaps to show her flawless skin, Madame Montespan only wore a pearl necklace around her neck. The fluffy light blond curls are studded with sparkling diamonds.

  Her eyes were gray-blue in the sun, but violet in candlelight. His lips were the brightest and richest crimson red, like cherries hanging heavily in the green branches and leaves. Louis only thought of this, as if he heard what he was thinking. When the two crossed, Montespan. The lady said softly, "Do you know how cherries are the sweetest?:"

  Louis cast a questioning look.

   "Take the branch directly with your lips, Your Majesty."

  ———

   "I thought you were tonight..." Prince Kongdai said in a suffocating voice, he was able to face his past failures calmly. Even if he was fifty years old, he couldn't leave a stunner like Madame Montespan behind and run into the Chamber to meet ministers and deal with business - but Louis XIV could.

"No hurry," said Louis. Although he would not reject Madame Montespan between the beds, he would not seek pleasure from her recklessly as a reckless young man—now he even felt that Prince Condé's The old face is cuter.

  Louis did not say much, and directly intercepted Mrs. Montespan, the letter written by the Polish nobleman to another great nobleman, and handed it to Prince Condé.

Prince Condé thought it was a letter that might be related to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, or Austria, but he didn't expect to see his name after reading only a few lines. After finally understanding the meaning of the letter, the The prince and the grand marshal trembled uncontrollably. Although he kept his head half down, Louis could still see his brow bones rising and falling sharply, his shoulders tensed, his arms tensed. He held it up hard, as if to shred the letter, shredded to pieces, his breathing went from inaudible to clearly identifiable—after a while, he finally put down the letter with difficulty, stood up, and came to Louis In front of him, he bent down deeply.

   "I never meant that, Your Majesty!"

Louis may have been silent for a few seconds, but in these few seconds, Prince Condé had already thought about what kind of room he would have in the Bastille, and even thought that he might be the second iron face. Man, if the king didn't want to be seen as ruthless, but he immediately heard the king's chuckle.

   "No, no, my good sir," said the king cheerfully, "I was hoping that you would have this will."

  ——

What kind of choice will Prince Condé make? Needless to say, he was once just a step away from the throne of France. Of course, Poland was also a powerful country, but it is not an easy thing to become a real king. , Prince Kongdai is also in the year of his destiny. If he decides to accept the throne, then he may have to fight until the last day until he is called by God.

   (end of this chapter)