I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 273 King Louis I of Poland! (2)

Because of what the Parisians said, the Polish nobles became more cautious about their subsequent interviews and meetings. They had dressed up in extraordinary splendor before, and bought a lot of jewelry, satin and decorations in Paris, so they left after they left. When we were in Paris, there were actually Parisians watching and cheering on the side of the street.

This reassured the group of Schlach towers, and they went all the way to the Palace of Versailles along the wide, long and flat Avenue of Versailles, which was built together by the king when the new Palace of Versailles was built, or that its completion date was longer than that of Versailles. The palace is much earlier, this is a road paved by cement - the Polish nobles have long heard about the cement products in France, and many of them have purchased them to strengthen their city walls and fortresses - the road foundation is rammed. Dirt and gravel, the pavement is concrete, and it is about a foot and a half above the flat ground on both sides—this is a real danger to those who need to gallop on this road, and perhaps it is because of this consideration that on the two sides of the road On the side, there are towering plane trees. The distance between each tree is no more than the size of a girl’s arms. The crowns of the trees touch the top of people’s heads. Turned golden, they landed on the road, a beautiful long carpet of golden silk, on which the horses' hooves fell, making a crisp rustling.

Such a road is nothing if it is only a few hundred feet, but they already know that it is not only four miles from Paris to Versailles, but also one miles from Versailles to the Palace of Versailles, thousands of feet away. In this way, people can't help but fall into a kind of imaginary that is hard to get rid of, that is, no matter how long they walk, they seem to be left on this beautiful and long road, cut out from the real world.

Fortunately, there were not only Poles on this road, but also other officials and nobles who went to Versailles, who were either out-of-province, or who were not qualified to live in Versailles, and could not find a room in Versailles or Limoges. People, the width of the Avenue of Versailles allows four carriages to run side by side. Even if the Polish team is brilliant, there are still carriages passing by them constantly. The ladies and ladies inside, or the famous Shu boldly pulls the curtains, from the bright light. the glass windows to observe these foreigners.

   "What a slutty woman," said a Shirachita, stroking his beard. His companions nodded in agreement, but were also full of longing and curiosity about these wanton women, and they also saw French men passing by, all of them riding tall and beautiful horses, rubbing like noble ladies. Pink and brightly dressed - you can tell at a glance because the French men today are like their kings, without beards, but they come and go like the wind, dashing and unrestrained, wearing muskets and swords, you know them Their courage is in no way inferior to their looks.

It is difficult for Poles to describe how they feel, but if people in later generations are here, they will tell them that this is the great self-confidence that the people will have when the country is strong. Generally speaking, the stronger and richer a country is, the more Its populace will be more tolerant and open - they can accept almost anything, good, "bad", old, new... so is the strong, so is the weak; but if the country is weak, then it will be exactly On the contrary, the more remote and barren this point is, the more likely it is that absurd things will appear against each other.

But this is no longer something the Poles need to care about. When they stopped at the Grand Place du Titan, they could already see the Palace of Versailles like a mortal paradise. The Grand Place Titan was still after the completion of the Palace of Versailles, because the crowd was mostly crowded here. The specially built large square, from here, was patrolled by the king's guards and musketeers. At this time, a young officer rode on his horse in a dashing manner, with only a few entourages behind him, but the envoy at the head could see at a glance that he was the king they were about to meet, the eldest son of the French Prince Condé and the only Heir Henry, Henry also immediately saw the Poles. The head of the mission was Anzia Oborlinski. Maybe no one knows this name, but when it comes to this surname, most people do know it, because in the When the Swedes invaded Poland during the Flood, it was Oborlinski and another great nobleman who surrendered without a fight, all they expected was to keep their fiefdoms and golden power (that is, to ignore the king's orders). power), while they were toasting with the Swedes, the Swedes' army passed the lines they were responsible for unscathed, and brought great disaster to the Polish people.

But because of Poland's weird system and laws, their treason not only was not tried or even condemned, they were still Schlachta, and they could also participate in the National Sejm Conference (similar to the Congress), pointing fingers at the king and controlling The fate of Poland.

This Mr. Anzia is the nephew of the General Oborlinsky. He and his uncle are in the same line of shamelessness, greed, and shortsightedness. Therefore, the first breakthrough object that Louis chooses is this person. Under the bribe of fifty thousand livres, he fell to France without hesitation, although for the Poles, the best king should be a Poles, and even if not, the little Duke of Lorraine would be better than the one who clearly has the support of the French king Duke of Condé, but he still chose bright gold - he and Henry, who had gone to Poland as an emissary, had met earlier, so they were very affectionate, and they dismounted, hugged each other warmly, and exchanged fake greetings. , and later the attendant who was still on the side reminded them that there was not much time left.

On the road from Titan Square to Versailles, there are even fewer people who can ride horses, and there are even fewer people who can ride a carriage here, but the Polish embassy has been authorized by the king to go from here to the Holly Labyrinth. Before dismounting, there were more people watching them.

I have to say that maybe the Polish beards and strong smell are still a bit... vulgar and rough, but the winged cavalry of the mission undoubtedly saved them face, these light cavalry evolved from the Hungarian hussars A hundred cavalry, belonging to the Oborlinsky family, rode Arabian horses in flamboyant coats and tall black felt hats that looked like a gauntlet with a metal edging. Feathered on the sides; no armor, only long-sleeved tunics—a tunic embroidered with jewels and gold and silver threads more like a light armor, and the furs of wild beasts—lions, tigers draped over their shoulders , bear or wolf, which is related to the origin of their name (winged cavalry), both of which are the worst enemies of these cavalry, all the hobbies of the Ottoman Deli (madman in Turkish) cavalry, They draped their furs and affixed raptor feathers to their shields—the winged cavalry kept their decorations as trophies as they defeated these mighty foes.

Speaking of wings, when they are really on the battlefield, the winged cavalry will not keep these burdens, but now they act as the guard of honor, so people can see the huge wings that open like a peacock behind the saddle, these feathers Either from swans, or from falcons, or from ostriches, they are dyed brightly and inserted into thin wooden poles with rows of small holes, which are fixed behind the saddle. inside the hole.

And among those who watched them, there were also those who observed the weapons of the winged cavalry, the weapons of the winged cavalry, most notably their lances, which were about eight feet in length (once longer, but later shortened The lances of this size) were neatly raised above the ears of the horses, and the front end of the lances fluttered with a red and white spear flag. It is conceivable that when these winged cavalry charged in thousands, the bright colors merged and How the torrent of success will frighten their enemies. In the other hand, which is not holding a lance, is a round shield, perhaps to pay homage to the French king, this round shield with spikes in the middle has a strong French style.

From their waists hung a long knife and a rapier, one for horses and one for melee combat, two muskets in the pouches in front of the saddles, and long spurs on their boots in the sun Brilliant.

  ——

Louis stood on the top terrace and slowly put away his telescope. Beside him were the Prince of Condé, the Viscount Turenne and the Duke of Orleans, his three generals, but one of them was leaving soon. It makes Louis sigh when he thinks of it, but he...even if it's not for Prince Condé to be angry with him after he knows about this, but just for the further expansion and stabilization of the Bourbon bloodline on Europa, he must support Prince Condé. ,

  Although it is said that even if they are from the same bloodline, it is not uncommon for them to fight each other, such as the current Habsburg Austrian and Spanish bloodlines. However, if Prince Condé becomes the king of Poland, before he can destroy the power of Schlachita, Condé and his heirs must have the full support of France, otherwise they will be just a puppet controlled by the nobles. If you want to talk about puppets like this, let’s look at the previous John II. Amon always said that he would be made into ham, but with a general like Oborlinsky who opened the country, the king could last until the end of the flood. , it is remarkable that Poland still retains its sovereignty.

   "You will go down to meet them first." Louis said to Prince Condé.

   "What about you?" asked Prince Kongdai.

   "I have to wait until the banquet starts." Louis said: "It's too deliberate to make a big noise. I keep silent, and you are proud, and the people around you are helping to make it more real."

   "What about me? Brother?" asked the Duke of Orleans.

"You, you don't care about the throne, but you are also a little jealous," Louis said with consideration: "As the king's younger brother, you have to oppose me, and I and France can't directly support Condé, otherwise Shila Chita will be defeated. Immediately turn the tables on their king, but you can, Philip, you can pretend to be against me, I don't like Kongdai, and you want him to do everything well."

   "There will always be a day when you will see the dagger." Prince Kong Dai murmured.

   "So Philip wants to be another force they think, when they think they still have a choice-" Louis glanced at Prince Condé: "Of course, if you are willing to believe Philip."

   "I have nothing to disbelieve," said Prince Condé, "you could have done nothing." Without Louis, he could not even have won the battle for the throne.

"I will not leave my brother, I will not leave France." The Duke of Orleans said, he saw that the Prince of Condé had indeed hesitated for a few seconds, and then he should have thought that the king had spent so much energy in Orleans' territory, how could it be? Possibly handing Orleans to another person who doesn't know if it's credible?

   "They have entered the Grand Gallery," said Louis, and Prince Condé resigned wisely.

   "Do you think the Poles would believe it?" The Duke of Orleans raised his binoculars and looked at the winged cavalry who stopped under the long steps.

"Yes," said Louis, "people's hearts are like a mirror, how they see themselves, how they see others, such as these Shrachita who betray the king, the people and the country without any hesitation, of course they will believe you. Will move because of a Polish throne."

  ——

Whether the mind of the Poles is a mirror is not known. They have been completely intimidated by the mirror wall of the Venus Hall. When they arrived at Versailles, it was dusk. When they stepped into the Grand Gallery, the dusk was everywhere, dressed in gorgeous attendants. They put down their golden gilt lampstands, held long matches, and lit white stearin candles one by one, not from bees or whales, but from cold-pressed oil by wizards and artisans. Grease-free, this candle is smokeless, odorless, has a long-lasting lighting time and stable illumination, and a full round of candles can support an entire all-night dance party.

Within a few minutes, the hall seemed to be back in daytime, and the bright light filled people's field of vision, but more than natural light reflected the fascinating colors of satin, velvet and gold and silver. Unlike the day, men. Vaguely in groups of three or five, forming a system, the ladies are like flowers scattered among the branches and leaves, the smiles hidden under the ivory folding fan are more charming, and the flowing eyes are like a fine net, which can hold people tightly at any time. grabbed.

But with the sound of "The King is here!", the people immediately separated to both sides like the Red Sea. Louis XIV came with a cane and his head held high. His sharp eyes passed over the crowd, and everyone couldn't help but bow their heads and knees deeply. , Even so, the king with an extremely outstanding memory still showed a little dissatisfaction: "Is the abbot of Neville St. Martin's Abbey here?"

  The king's voice was particularly loud in the silence. After a while, a man in a black robe of a Jesuit monk walked in slowly through the small door on the side of the hall.

   He came to the king and bowed.

Anzia hissed softly, can he still recognize it, this person is the Polish king John II before Michal, after being forced to abdicate, in order to avoid the assassination of Shila Chita, he arrived. France came to seek the protection of Louis XIV - his presence at court was nothing, but when the Polish noble embassy came to greet the new king Kongdai, it was a bit out of time...

  Perhaps Louis XIV wanted this anachronism.

   A reader asked me if I had finished writing a story about Butterfly Dream before. Well, it is finished. I put it in the book group, and readers who want to see it can go directly to it, thank you.

   (end of this chapter)