I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 294 The Death of Alfonso VI

The Sintra Palace is located in the northern suburbs of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. This is a place with beautiful scenery and a pleasant climate. In the 14th century, King John I of Portugal built a palace here. Most of the nobles also have their own residences here, but In recent years, few people have gone there to escape the summer, for no other reason than the fact that the nominal King Alfonso VI of Portugal is under house arrest in this palace, although people say that he is "recuperating" here.

Pedro II's envoy stopped his horse on a hill and watched the palace for a long time, as if to penetrate the thick city wall and see the people inside. There was contempt, but also helplessness and pity in his eyes. After several minutes, he lifted the reins and galloped down.

After many checkpoints and inspections, the messenger finally came to Alfonso VI. In this era, the patient's room has always been airtight and dark and damp. Even with expensive spices, the smell is mixed with old fat and The carrion-like stench was still accumulating in the room like a liquid or solid. The messenger lowered his voice and conveyed Pedro II's greetings and the real message as slowly as possible.

He left without even waiting for Alfonso VI in the veil to ask or answer. It should be said that this is his mission. If it is superfluous, he will be blamed - because Pedro II Nor did he need an answer, no, the answer he needed was not spoken by tongue and throat.

The servant waiting by the bed could not stop the messenger from leaving. Although he was loyal, he was like his master, and he had no power inside or outside the palace. As soon as he heard Alfonso VI's breathing, he hurriedly hurried. The curtain was pulled up, and the flickering candlelight illuminated a hellish scene in the depths of the brocade—it was a pile of rolling fat, brewing and breathing a sour breath from the gap called the mouth, and at the same time, it was connected to the top. Another crevice in his nose, his nose, was still leaking a thick white, gray or yellow-green liquid.

The servant was not used to it, and took out the French towel on the side. This was a new product bought from a Calais merchant. It was extra thick because it was covered with dense loops. It had good water absorption and softness. A face that can only be wiped clean with a cloth towel can now be wiped clean with just one.

   It was just that when he casually threw the towel on the ground today, he gave a slight pause—there was blood on it.

   He quickly opened the king's mouth to check, and found that His Majesty had only bitten his tongue. He made up his mind: "I'll go get you a bottle of potion," he said.

   The meat shivered violently and uttered a few syllables. The servant understood what only a few people could understand. The king was saying, no potion.

   He stood by the bed, very sad, because he knew that Alfonso VI did not want the potion not because he did not feel pain, but because he was threatened. There is nothing to question or blame in Pedro II's message. He simply told his brother that after he married his former sister-in-law, his daughter Isabella was likely to become the crown princess of France. It is very possible that his message did not mention the biggest obstacle, but everyone knows that Princess Isabella's biggest disadvantage is that although she is the daughter of the regent and the princess, if she is only the regent's daughter Daughter, then she is not qualified to be the crown princess of the most powerful country on the Europa continent today.

Everyone knows that the Regent is just waiting for Alfonso VI to die, because he does not want to be charged with murdering his brother and the king, but Alfonso VI - although he developed hemiplegia at the age of three, later For more than ten years, his mother has managed the government on his behalf. Of course, the Queen Mother lacks political talent and is narrow-minded. When Princess Caterina, the sister of Alfonso VI married into England, she took away two Portuguese colonies, Ceylon and Mumbai, which made the ministers and nobles in the Portuguese court very unhappy. Then in the next few years, Portugal lost repeatedly in the war with the Netherlands and Spain, and the queen mother became a thorn in the Portuguese's eyes.

In such a situation, the young and brave Earl of Mailor resolutely launched a coup d'etat and overthrew the Queen Mother's rule in 1962. The Portuguese government and army headed by him suddenly radiated vitality, not only continuous The Spanish attack was repelled, and Portugal became independent under Spanish rule.

   Ironically, the victory won by the Count of Major was crowned by Alfonso VI, who could not even walk independently. He was called the "King of Victory".

This "Victory King" never held power one day, first the Queen Mother, then the Earl of Mylor. Because of his inability to exercise and unrestricted diet, his body became more and more fat, and because he had not received any orthodox diet. Education, so he can't even communicate with people normally, but I don't know if it's unfortunate or lucky, he actually has a very smart mind and a tenacious will, even if it is only the servant's nagging, he knows everything. Understands everything - those who know him say he's not just a wild beast like Carlos II of Spain.

Perhaps because of such considerations, after all kinds of trade-offs, Count Mailor chose the daughter of the Duke of Savoy for him. No one objected to this choice at first. Now Portugal belongs to the Braganza Dynasty. This Dynasty, as above As mentioned, it is not orthodox, so the Habsburgs have been questioning their legitimacy, so it is impossible for them to choose a bride from the Habsburg system, and the daughter of the Duke of Savoy, the wonderful thing is that although on the paternal line, She was a Habsburg courtier, but in matrilineal terms, she was a distant relative of King Louis XIV of France.

But even if the Count of Major sold his soul to the devil, he did not expect how resolute and fierce the duke's daughter was. The duke's daughter only spent one night with Alfonso VI, and she was sure Since the latter was infertile and could not allow her to have children, she immediately separated from the king. After three months, she suddenly left the palace and came to the Archbishop of Lisbon, asking him to declare herself and Alfonso VI. The marriage contract is invalid.

At the same time as this thunderous news arrived in front of Count Mailor, the supporters of Pedro II and their soldiers, the Count who made countless achievements for Portugal had to leave the stage sadly, and there is not much to do after that. It is said that Pedro II became the regent and then married the daughter of the Duke of Savoy. Princess Isabel was born at the beginning of the second year, so legally speaking, she is legal, but from the orthodoxy It is said that she can only be regarded as the daughter of the prince. It is too much to say that if there is an accident in the future and Alfonso VI is restored, she may just be the daughter of a traitor.

Therefore, although Pedro II is very eager, the reason why King Louis XIV of France is still hesitant, the message brought by Pedro II's messenger, which is a reminder, is still like a hypocrite. Generally, it seems that he is just here to tell his brother this important good news, but the most important thing is to hope that Alfonso VI will die himself.

  Will Alfonso VI be willing to die? The answer is naturally no.

   He has been bedridden since he was three years old, with shriveled legs and a bloated body, and he will always remember how his mother, father and younger brother viewed him. The daughter of the Duchess of Savoy had been his hope, and she was indeed a brave lady—even in the face of such an ugly body, she had tried, and Alfonso VI was forever grateful for her attempts, but her Bravery is also reflected in her betrayal - the Portuguese nobles eventually defected or chose to be neutral, precisely because the queen disclosed the secret of Alfonso VI's infertility.

Just like when Louis XIV was discussing with the ministers about the marriage of the Grand Princess and Carlos II, it didn't matter how stupid, cruel, ugly or twisted Carlos II was, but once he was sure that he was infertile, the ministers Stand firmly on the king's side at once, because there is no need to discuss a marriage contract that could be annulled at any time - human marriage is meant to reproduce.

Alfonso VI became the abandoned son of everyone. He was quickly sent to the Azores and then to Sintra. Perhaps Pedro II felt that he should be kept by his side. Relatively safe - he was a noble prisoner, forever left his ministers and army, with only servants beside him, only seabirds and squirrels came to greet him, but even so he was determined to live - even if it was a mockery His younger brother Pedro II, Pedro II wants to ascend the throne cleanly, impossible!

For this, Alfonso VI can endure any pain and torture, nothing, he is used to it, he has persevered for 30 years, he can continue to persevere for 30 years, maybe Pedro II will die in him Ahead, just thinking about it, Alfonso VI would laugh out loud.

   He thinks he can do it, especially now that his body is even better than in years past. What bedridden people fear most is abscesses on their bodies—those parts that are close to the sheets, and it is said that the abscesses fester, and people get hot and die. So the servant wiped and medicated him every day. At the beginning, his doctor followed the tradition and gave him bloodletting, guanchang and applying ointment. These ointments sometimes worked, sometimes they didn't, but since the servant secretly found a French doctor, They now use spirits and a purple-red potion to wipe Alfonso VI's body. This potion can be taken internally or applied externally.

   But now Alfonso VI couldn't believe them, he was worried that the servants would bring a bottle of poison, and for the next few days, he only allowed them to apply medicine to him externally. He even endured using only boiled eggs and beef, sprinkled with a little salt, not drinking, but drinking water - this behavior is not so much to prevent someone from assassinating him, but more to all those who expect him to die. Declare war, no, he will never die!

As a result, the disappeared ministers and nobles who had disappeared in his life all appeared again. They seemed to come to greet him warmly, but in fact they used their eyes and subtle body language to urge Alfonso. VI - You should return to the arms of God, there is no place for you in the world, you should sacrifice for Portugal, they said in silent language, even the Archbishop of Lisbon, who baptized him himself, even brought When the Holy Oil came, despite Alfonso's resistance and the cry of his servants, he performed the sacrament of death in advance for him.

  Alfonso VI is not as healthy as Pedro II, but his vitality is still very tenacious. He sprayed the archbishop's stinky saliva.

   Then the next day, the Earl of Mayor came.

The count is now over old, but in the memory of Alfonso VI, he has always been stronger and more sensitive than his peers. Although he covers the sky with one hand, he still retains enough respect and love for His Majesty the King. When he was in control of the government, he often came to visit Alfonso VI, and sometimes brought up some important political affairs. When Alfonso VI spoke the language that others could not understand, he would listen patiently. Until Alfonso VI got tired.

   Looking back now, the years when he was in power were actually the happiest times for Alfonso VI.

As soon as the Earl of Major entered the room, he saw two lights appearing in the darkness, as if in an instant, he was back in 1665, when he was in high spirits, scolded Fang Qiu, and vowed to be his king. Dedicating his life to the country, when he said that, Alfonso VI looked at him the same way - those eyes are also shining today.

   He walked slowly to the chair in front of the bed, sat down, and said nothing.

   Those eyes slowly dimmed.

A week before the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the Queen Mother also came. She always disliked this child because he became a useless waste when he was young. She thought she would say many cruel words, but when she saw Alfonso VI raised his hand to cover his face and cried.

The last person to visit, unexpectedly, was the young Princess Isabella. She was too afraid to look directly at Alfonso VI on the bed. Under the urging of the nurse, she approached the bed little by little. On the side, kneeling in front of Alfonso VI, begging him to bless her.

Alfonso VI looked at her, he should have hated her, she was the proof of shame, the fruit of two traitors, the sinner's retribution, but—it was a little, little, little girl, in On her face, he could see his brother and his wife, and he knew how embarrassing her identity was - if her father did not ascend the throne, she would not be able to have a satisfactory marriage. No, it is more likely that she will not even have the chance to marry, because the blood of her children will also be questioned... The Braganza Dynasty has been criticized a lot, why are those high-ranking people? To choose such a person to be his wife, will it increase the hidden danger?

   Princess Isabella knelt there for a long time, all she knew was that her mother, who had always been indifferent to her, told her that this was her only chance to twist her own destiny.

It wasn't until she was stiff that she felt something heavy and generous fell on top of her head. After a few seconds, her wet nurse came forward and took her away. She looked over on the wet nurse's shoulder and could only Seeing a hazy white shadow in the shadows was the last impression her uncle had left on her.

  On the day before the Assumption of the Virgin, Alfonso VI died without pain in a coma after drinking too much alcohol.

  On the third day after the Assumption of Our Lady, Pedro II officially ascended the throne, the daughter of the Duke of Savoy became the queen, and their only child, Princess Isabella, was also named.

  In the same month, the marriage contract negotiations between France and Portugal officially began.

  ———

  PS: In the real history, Pedro II was officially enthroned in 83 years. This Princess Isabella lived only 21 years old, unmarried and childless.

   There is another update tonight, but it will be very late. It may be midnight. You can watch it tomorrow, thank you.

   (end of this chapter)