I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 281 The marriage agreement of the Duke of Colonna

   "I think there is only one way to defeat the enemy, and that is to make France richer and richer forever."

This sentence was written by the Marquis de Senieret in a letter to his father Colbert. There is no doubt that this is a joke to Louis XIV, but the king is not harsh to those around him, and this sentence Words—it can also be said to be true, Princess Henrietta’s dowry was 30 Calais ships, but in the end, only seven steam ironclad ships were refitted. Every single armor of a huge ironclad ship consumes nearly 30 tons of steel. Even if Louis XIV has obtained Lorraine, which has huge reserves of coal and iron ore, this is already more than half of France's steel storage in the past ten years. .

Regardless of the money, ladies and gentlemen, the cost of modification and other equipment such as artillery are not included. The application report submitted by Mr. Denis Papin and his team is even at the table of the Marquis de Senierai. There was a thick stack on top of it, and the Marquis de Senere had to warn him that if he discovered something nefarious in it, he would ask the king to hang him on a cross in the port, like To a vile pirate—Mr. Papin swore that he never misrepresented even a single riard (copper coin), whatever the Marquis de Senere said.

When Senierlai complained to the king that the Huguenots were too rampant, the king, in a good mood, told him that if he really did not like Mr. Papin, there was a way to get him back. He has more work.

The Marquis de Senieret was very interested in this proposal, but neither the king nor he was an expert when it came to the subject, but Mr. Papin's use of rubber in the pressure cooker and steam engine reminded the king, he could make the Sa Mr. Muir Moran came to work with Mr. Papin to finish the next work.

  Samuel Moran was the one who provided Mr. Papin with the rubber.

Rubber appeared on the Europa continent much earlier than people thought. When Columbus first set foot on South America, he saw Indian children and young people singing songs and throwing a kind of rubber at each other. Small balls, this kind of ball has excellent elasticity and resilience, that is, it becomes soft in hot weather and has a pungent smell - this kind of ball is made by the Indians from the secretions of a certain tree Yes, this kind of liquid that turns into an elastic solid after solidification can be rubbed on cloth and feet so that no water can penetrate or get wet.

   But for most Europeans, this kind of thing that can neither be eaten nor used is just a toy. Mr. Papin first built the prototype of the steam engine, but he must say that the first steam engine was hardly practical or cost-effective - most of the steam would flow out of the gaps in the machine parts. At first, he used cotton cloth, then silk, and then asphalt and sheepskin to seal up the gaps. All of them failed. The steam engine was so big that it could destroy most of the sealing materials. Later, he simply asked the king. It is proposed, is there a material that is tough and can withstand high temperature and rolling? The king brought this question to his Academy of Sciences, and fortunately, Samuel Moran, one of the king's scholars, happened to be studying rubber.

Improvements to the steam engine would of course continue, but the king could understand the Marquis de Senierai's concerns, and of course it would be unwise to have a Huguenot monopoly on this vital research, although Scientists are also unavoidable in the situation of literati and even competing for patents, but Mr. Papin will be happy to meet Moran, because Mr. Moran also has a deep understanding of the steam engine and outstanding talent, rubber is his solution to the problem. The material found for the tightness of the piston.

"But the most important thing is to ensure the safety and stability of the steam boiler." The king added, it's okay to be slow, and it's okay to have a little glitch occasionally, but just don't explode, think about his waste on these ironclad ships The Golden Louis, and the thousands of officers and soldiers on board once the war begins...

The Marquis de Signeret obeyed, and then he could not help but look at the Royal Majesty, which was moored in the fleet of battleships purchased by the Duke of La Rochefoucault from Holland. Although the Royal Majesty was taller and wider than these ships, it seemed It was not very conspicuous, and the king ordered the craftsmen to paint all these ships black, so that people had to go to the side of the Kingship to find that it was clad in iron armor like a knight.

   "I really don't know when I will see it across the sea." Marquis Senierai said involuntarily.

"Maybe soon." The world changes and time changes, and countries cannot be enemies forever, nor can they be friends forever. Charles II, who already has an heir, hangs the heads of Protestants on the bell tower of the cathedral. , did not convert to Catholicism as agreed with Louis XIV, which is understandable to a monarch - after the Duke of York married a Catholic daughter, in order to stabilize the mood of the Protestants in the country, they had already competed for their Support, of course Charles II would be better off being a Protestant king, of course, this makes Louis XIV's position a bit awkward - after all the Dover contract is a secret contract, there are so many things in it that can't be made public, it's like it's still kept in Thoth In the hands of the Grand Duke of Cana, Louis XIV made a contract with Leopold I of Flanders.

Speaking of the Grand Duke of Tuscany... When Louis, the Duke of Orleans and the young royals returned to Versailles, the first emissary who was allowed to see the king was this emissary of Cosimo III, who was Cosimo III Cosimo III's younger brother, Francesco Maria de Medici.

Francesco was born in 1960, the same age as Prince Louis, and a young man who was interested in everything, but he didn't have to take on too much responsibility. His destination was both Louis XIV and Grand Duke Cosimo III. There has been a tacit understanding - that is, a marriage between the Duke of Colonna, the firstborn son of Louis XIV, and the daughter of the Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany, Anna.

In fact, this marriage cannot be said to be the right match, because the Duke of Colonna is just a title, and the Colonna family cannot give up their territory in Rome, so the Duke of Colonna is just a title and no fief. When negotiating the marriage contract, Prince Conti, the representative of Louis XIV, stated that Louis XIV would be canonized to the Duke of Colonna in a part of Flanders until the Duke of Colonna succeeded Naples as the son-in-law of the Bourbons.

The new identity of the Duke of Colonna is about to be mentioned here. Given that the Duke of Colonna already has an official identity, Louis will not admit that he is his son in any public occasion, let alone confirm it in terms of law, so if the Duke of Colonna has an official identity If you want to get Naples, then you must be the son-in-law of the Bourbons - this identity comes from Marguerite Louise de Orleans who married Cosimo III, the daughter of Gaston, the former Duke of Orleans , also the cousin of Louis XIV.

However, the Lady Marguerite detested Louis XIV and her half-sister, the Duchess of Montpensier, especially the Duke of Gaston who died in pain and curse, and her mother and sister were all killed After being driven out of Orleans, her relationship with Cosimo III was very bad - perhaps because her father had planned the throne of the French king. The duchess of Montpensier, who grew up in the Floating Palace, was both jealous and resentful. When she heard that her husband intended to marry their daughter to the Duke of Colonna, the king's illegitimate son, she was like a lit powder keg. Shout out without hesitation.

Seeing this, everyone, don't think that this mother has much love for her daughter. She is not angry that her husband should marry her daughter to an unblessed illegitimate son, but because this illegitimate son is Louis The eldest son of the fourteenth, she quarreled with Cosimo III at the Palazzo Pitti without any regard for the messengers of the French king, calling him a "mother's good baby", "a poor man", etc., although Cosimo III did have For a period of time, he was tired of handling government affairs and passed his duties and powers to his mother, but he couldn't bear such a shame. In a letter he wrote to Louis XIV, he begged Louis XIV to take this shrew. "Take it back", the proportion of this matter in the letter even exceeds the marriage they are negotiating.

Louis had also heard about this Margaret, Gaston's daughter, and perhaps she always thought this marriage was a humiliation to her. In order to make up for herself, she had been trying since she stepped into Florence. Grab as much money as you can—that's a jaw-dropping thing for a noble county lord. Cosimo III may not be a good husband, but at least he gave Margaret enough respect... How should I put it, the gift he gave to his new wife was a pearl the size of a pigeon egg, and then as long as Margaret asked , he gave her jewelry as a gift - even Queen Teresa, it is only on her birthday, childbirth or a big day that she will receive jewelry from the king - but Margaret is not very lucky, she was born After giving birth to her eldest son, Ferdinand, she didn't want to have any more children. When she was pregnant with her daughter Anna, she went horseback riding, hoping to have an abortion.

   As such a mother, how much love can you expect from her for her daughter?

Can Cosimo III make this request to Louis XIV despite Marguerite giving birth to a young son for himself. It seems that he has been tortured to the point of madness, because the relationship between him and Marguerite has been With three children, the only daughter is to marry the Duke of Colonna, and it is probably impossible to dissolve the marriage contract on the grounds that there is no room for intercourse, then the only way is to send his wife to the convent - he said in the letter, He was exhausted, just trying to get back his wife, who almost ran away with all the jewels of the Medici family - when he saw this, Louis XIV couldn't help but move. The Medici family flourished in the Renaissance, and again She was a businessman, had two popes and a queen, and the treasures accumulated over hundreds of years can be imagined. Margaret's appetite is not small, and it is no wonder that Cosimo III is so angry.

Most marriages in this era were political or business engagements, especially the marriage between Cosimo III and Princess Margaret, which connected the Medici and Bourbon. He was not asking Louis XIV for help, but He was begging him to allow him to dissolve the marriage on a substantive level - and it's not unheard of... Just like the former madwoman Juana, who was deprived of her queen's powers and liberties at the conspiracy of her husband and father.

In short, Louis XIV can be said to be dumbfounded and agreed to Cosimo III's request. Speaking of which, the Tuscan Grand Duke is four years younger than Louis, but according to Prince Conti, he is already two temples. Frost white.

"I'm worried now about that Ana Medici," Louis said to Prince Conti. "Has she been influenced by her mother?" Not every child has the maturity of Louis XIV in his shell. The soul of the child, how much influence the children will be affected by their parents, Louis knows all too well, so after the Duke of Colonna could leave his mother, even then Louis was only able to stand firm, so he resolutely removed the Duke of Colonna from Gayo. La Island moved to Calais, and managed to find time to accompany him and teach him.

   "The Archduke still loved her very much, and Lady Margaret hated her and didn't want to see her, so she grew up under her grandmother's knees."

   "That's really nice," said Louie, and then he turned around. "Come here, boy, and see your fiancée."

The Duke of Colonna forced his way out with composure. There were giggling voices from the curtain behind him. It seems that the children who have become more harmonious after returning from Nantes are here. Francesco's eyes are burning. Looking at the Duke of Colonna, although the latter's title came from the Colonna family in Italy, he almost grew up in France, so it was the first time Francesco saw him - although he had seen the portrait before, the portrait There is still a difference from the real person. Even if the Duke of Colonna does not need beautification by an artist, he is a good boy with a dignified appearance.

Whether it's a political marriage or a business marriage, a young man who sees his fiancée for the first time must be very nervous. After the squires lifted the curtain that covered the canvas, the Duke of Colonna visibly relaxed - Tosca The only daughter of the Grand Duke inherited the appearance of the Grand Duke, not that of Princess Margaret, but her face and outline were softer. Although her posture was a little stiff, it could be seen that she had fair skin, thick eyebrows, and eyes. The glossy, jet-black curls fell on her round shoulders and looked so lovely.

   Duke Colonna turned to look at the king, who raised his hand encouragingly.

   "I have a present here, please pass it on to Her Royal Highness Princess Ana Maria Luisa de Medici."

The Duke of Colonna said, his voice trembled slightly, but he also had some anticipation. The value of this diamond brooch with the face of the sun is no less than that of a pearl the size of a bird's egg. Presumably, Cosimo III should understand what Louis XIV meant. The Duke of Colonna fulfilled this engagement not only as the Duke of Colonna, but also as the son of the King of France.

  Cosimo III, though a bit stubborn, was not stupid, and on the day of the engagement he handed over a castle in Siena to the Duke of Colonna as a gift.

   (end of this chapter)