I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 272 King Louis I of Poland!

   "It's a pity that I probably won't be able to see the first batch of students graduate from the academy." Prince Kongdai said regretfully when it was only him and the king.

   "More than that," Louis said, "you probably didn't even have a chance to attend the inauguration ceremony of the college."

Prince Condé froze for a moment. He is now starting to miss the king of twenty years deeply. What a humble and gentle man who was good at thinking of others. No, even the king of the Battle of Dunkirk, It wasn't so straightforward to the point of being aggressive, but he didn't know, he was smiling, indeed, when he heard that the Polish nobles intended to elect him as king, the prince's first reaction was not joy but fear, even if there were no slingers. In the matter of the rebellion, any king would not be very happy when he heard that a great nobleman of His Majesty was about to gain the same prominent position as him - he was worried that even if this matter could not be successful, it would also attract the king's fear and jealousy. Suspicion, when the time comes, let alone going to the battlefield, it is lucky to be able to live in the castle of Chantilly.

Even if the king called him later and told him plainly that he would rather let the blood of the Bourbon family flow on more territories than to be suspicious of his own blood relatives - he persuaded Kong Dai, who was still a little hesitant, with one sentence. Prince - what the Habsburgs of Austria did, the Bourbons of France can do.

  When he was still Prince of Condé, the king said this and it would keep him awake for days - was it sarcasm, or spying? Or malice that you don't want to hide? But now, this rude and intimate tone has put Prince Kong Dai on an equal footing, and the Prince with gray temples can finally sigh from the bottom of his heart: "Your Majesty, if Possibly, I'd rather wait a year or more."

"I don't want you to do this," said Louis. "The Church of Rome has given us feedback, and the Pope's decree will be issued at any time - and when he gives his will to France, the Polish Schlachtas can't wait to put the crown Wearing it on your head," said this, Louis showed a grim look: "After all, they are definitely more willing to let the king of Poland lead his army into Poland than the Prince of Condé of France."

"I can only say that I am very grateful, Your Majesty," said Prince Condé, "in this regard..." Back then, Nochadamus, a wizard who was good at prophecy, once promised Queen Catherine Medici, All three of her sons would become kings, so the queen dowager paid 400,000 livres in spite of the empty treasury, and made a follow-up promise of 600,000 livres to make Poland's Schlachta He elected Henry III as the king of Poland, but he didn't expect Henry III to be king for a year and then ran back. Let's not talk about this, this time the king not only wants to bribe the Schlachitas, but also bribe the red prince of the Roman church. The expense must be considerable.

"Although I really want to say that you don't have to care about these vulgar things at all," said Louis, "but I think these can be agreed upon in the paper after the dust settles." Unlike Henry III, Prince Kongdai would have to give up all his territories and castles when he left, so that the Sun King would shine brighter. On the other hand, if he was forced to abdicate, even if he could return to France, he would only have a false title and nothing. Territory, and so will his descendants, which is also a big gamble for Prince Condé.

Maybe the people of the Bourbon family hide their willful temperament. Prince Kongdai has no fear of the hard road ahead, only extreme desire. The same is true for his son. He just thinks of his grandson, who was born in 1968 and is only four years old. The... "Duke of Enghien." Louis said, the Duke of Enghien was the title used by the heirs of the princes of Condé in successive generations, and now this title still belongs to the prince's eldest son, but the prince's eldest son has decided to go to Poland with his father, and wait until Kong If the acting prince becomes the king of Poland, then he is the crown prince, and he will have another title at that time, but Louis said this, which means that he still retains this title for the Kongdai family... If there is an emergency, the Kongdai family can still Passing on, "I also leave Chantilly to the Duke of Enghien," added Louis.

Prince Kongdai didn't speak, just bowed slightly. The two of them knew that the Duke of Angie was kept in Versailles as a hostage, but once the Kongdai family was able to establish a foothold in Poland, as the eldest son of the eldest son, Angie would definitely have to. Leaving France for Poland, but without any title and having a title of Duke of Enghien in Versailles, that is a completely different concept, plus Chantilly Castle, then the little Duke of Enghien will at least not fall into any embarrassing situation.

There is no need to say more about what happened after that. The little Duke of Angie was sent to the court two weeks later. He was... disappointing and not very good-looking. It seems that Prince Condé's goodness could not be inherited by this child. The brown The skin and unkempt hair made him look like a rude savage, and his eyes were fierce, as if he was about to take a bite when he looked at anyone—the eldest princess subconsciously let out a long sound when she saw the child. "Ah..." It was the first time she had seen such a child, and the Crown Prince Louis and the Duke of Colonna were also surprised, but they didn't say it. It was Mary, the Grand Princess, who immediately stepped forward and reached out to the Duke of Enghien. own hands.

   When she raised her hand, the maid of the young Duke of Enghien was already pale with fright, "Oh my God," she shouted instinctively, "Don't do this! Your Highness, he will bite you!"

   But the big county master has already held the hand of the little Duke Angie, and the maid's words made her glance at the other party in confusion. Although the little Duke Angie still had a fierce face, he did not bite people like the servant said.

  The king glanced at Bontang, and immediately two guards took down the nurse and maid of the young Duke of Enghien.

   "Hello, brother." The Grand Princess said kindly.

The little Duke of Angie didn't say a word, he just grabbed the hand of the big county lord, looked and sniffed. Just when people were worried about whether he was going to take a bite next time, the big county lord led him. Step aside and give him candy from his skirt pocket.

  The adults in the audience hall were wise not to speak, nor to see the Prince Condé and his son - obviously, it was just a lack of education. Although the young Duke of Enghien was only four years old, he was completely like an animal.

The son of Prince Condé is ashen-faced. He and his mother have lived in exile for a long time. When they are adults, they go to war in their father's army. His wife is the daughter of the Bavarian Elector. Now it doesn't seem... competent, but It is true that noble ladies rarely raise and nurse their children by themselves, and more often leave them to wet nurses and maids, and the little Duke of Enghien is too young. If it weren't for such a big change, his tutor would use a pointer. He turned back into a human.

Because there have been too many things these days, Prince Kongdai and his son only briefly glanced at the child to make sure that he was healthy and his face was straight, so he didn't ask any more questions... "Just right," the king said promptly. : "The son of the Count of Soissons is also having an audience today," he looked at his crown prince and the Duke of Colonna, "he will be your classmate."

   "That's great." The crown prince said solemnly.

The son of the Count of Soissons, that is, little Eugene, the Count of Soissons can be said to be Louis' half-brother, and his wife is the niece of Cardinal Mazarin, that is, Olympia Mancini, the shameless The woman was envious of her sister Marie's bounty from Louis XIV, but Louis would not accept another Mancini, so she boldly clinged to Leopold, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Germany I, and gave birth to Eugen.

Because he did not know whether Leopold I would set up any traps and conspiracies because of this incident, after consulting the Count of Soissons, Louis XIV asked Madame Milady to arrange an accident and let Austrian Limpia Mancini died on her way home, and little Eugen was supposed to be sent to another place to be adopted incognito, or to be sent to a monastery to become a monk—and it wasn't that he sacrificed his life since he was a baby. but the Count of Soissons considered for a period of time that he would keep little Eugen in his name in exchange for the king's recognition of his illegitimate children and his mother - this is what everyone knew. The thing is, the true love of the Count of Soissons got the title of Countess of Soissons, and their marriage contract was revised to several years ago, so that the two daughters they gave birth to before also obtained the status of legitimate children, In recent years the Count of Soissons has also had a son.

Although it is said that the French method is still the Salic law, Louis has already made a plan. When little Eugen grows up, he will tell little Eugen about this matter as it is. Although it is a bit cruel to this child, as long as little Eugen grows up If the root is willing, the gates of the king's court and the academy will be opened to him. As long as he is not resigned, he can be awarded by his own merits instead of taking away the title and territory of the biological son of his nominal father, the Count of Soissons. .

But... little Eugene Savoy already knew... Maybe it was the grandmother who raised him, the mother of the Count of Soissons, Louis XIII's cousin told him - in her letter to Louis Says Leopold knew he had such an illegitimate child recently with some foreigners with Austrian accents around Soissons, and it's hard to say if he wanted to do something - so the Bourbon lady not only revealed In view of little Eugene's unspeakable life experience, he also begged Louis if he could send little Eugen to Versailles, she could not guarantee the safety of little Eugen in Soissons.

Little Eugene and the former little Duke of Enghien are simply a comparison group - the mother of the Count of Soissons is a gentle and tolerant lady, although little Eugene is not related to her at all, it can even be called a shame. , but the old lady still took good care of him. He should be nine years old this year, only one year younger than the crown prince, but he is not much different from the crown prince in height and weight. Fortunately, his face and The figure does not inherit too many Habsburg characteristics. The eyebrows are thick, the eyes are bright, and the bridge of the nose is high and has a small arch, which makes him look a bit human and calm, and there is no embarrassment in the eyes of everyone. .

Louis stretched out his hand, he came up after a little hesitation, and kissed the king's hand, which was a sign of closeness. After all, on the surface, he could be said to be a distant relative of the king, but when he was getting closer, Louis discovered him. The corners of his eyes were red, and since he knew about it before he came to Versailles - it seemed like a big blow to the child.

   But it can finally be said to be a good thing, Louis said in his heart, otherwise when he grows up, when he realizes that he will never be able to get his father's love, he will definitely feel resentment in his heart.

  ——

The fact that little Eugen was pulled by the Dauphin and the Duke of Colonna to the academy's preparations, Louis still knew a few days later, but he probably didn't have much time for the children recently, since the messenger of the Roman church arrived at Versailles , The Polish Noble Parliament also made a decision. Under the threat of Louis XIV's money offensive and force, Prince Condé defeated Mr. Lorraine Jr. and became the seventh elected king of Poland and the fifth foreign king. .

The Polish aristocratic parliament will send twelve important members of the Shirazta, leading soldiers and servants to meet their king, such a scene once appeared a hundred years ago, and now it reappears in front of people's eyes— The Queen Mother Catherine was entertaining the group of Poles at the Tuileries Palace, and this time they also stayed temporarily at the Tuileries Palace in Paris, and then went from Paris to Versailles after making some corrections.

Their envoy attended the 15th Victory Banquet in Versailles before, and he naturally made a lot of noise after returning, but the Poles were still skeptical, because in the mouth of the envoy, the French king built not a palace, but a palace. The city, but since they came to Paris, they have to believe the words of the envoys, even if Versailles is nothing, Paris is as admirable and admirable as the city of Rome that has been rebuilt once, here you will not walk on feces , the room is bright and the air is fresh, the people who come and go, even the ordinary residents, are wearing brightly colored cotton or satin, with beautiful little curls, and the shops on the street are decorated with large pieces of glass, stuffed inside. Full of dazzling array of goods from all over the world.

   "Is it the same at Versailles?" they asked.

   "Versailles is ten times better than Paris." The Paris servant who served them said with a poignant voice, whether out of jealousy or sorrow.

   Note 1: Before the start of the king's banquet, Mr. Steward will play a few clarinets to indicate the beginning of the banquet. The king here is purely joking.

   (end of this chapter)