I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 299 The relationship between Madame Aubigne and the world and the Roman Church (3)

  Louis smiled and said nothing.

Although many people have questioned, Madame Aubigne was the first person to directly raise the question in front of him, and his non-response made Madame Aubigne frown: "Do you admit it or don't want to? Answer? This is your country, your capital, your palace, why are you so careful?"

"I never test humanity," said Louie, and then his smile turned mischievous: "I can answer that, ma'am, I have always been very religious, I have always believed in God, who is my only master, and I am as meek as a lamb. Kneel down at his feet, obey him, and worship him."

   Madame Aubigne was speechless, "There are still spear marks left by your soldiers on the Pont Sant'Angelo! Your Majesty."

   "No more sin than you," said Louis. "If your words are unfortunate enough to be heard by a second person, you are destroying their faith."

   "Who else but your wizard can hear our conversation?" said Madame Aubigne.

"Do you think wizards have no faith? They call Merlin, but there may not be as many of them as you think. There is nothing more ridiculous than despair and hatred that has lasted for more than a thousand years. No, it must be said, what is even more ridiculous is that they compete with snipe and clam for the fisherman's profit, and finally the church is the one who holds the power." Louis tapped on the handrail lightly: "It can only be said that the only thing the church did not expect was the church. The thing is that the technology of mortals can develop so fast."

When the smelting of steel and the production and use of gunpowder were still in their infancy, the magic of wizards, werewolves and vampires, and magical creatures would indeed pose a great threat to mortals, forcing them to rely on the protection of the church, even their So did the kings - but what they failed to predict was that the development of the surface world was too fast compared to the slow and almost immutable inner world, even though the church had been intervening and monitoring - especially the technology related to war.

People can no longer recognize the musket of the 14th century (it was just a dark pipe), and now the artillery is also forcing changes to the thick city walls and huge ships, and the armor is more from rivets, chain armor, body armor The full armor covered, became the now ritual breastplate...

What's more, mortals have continued to reproduce for a thousand years. Unlike the inner world, where the number of people must be carefully controlled, as long as there is no famine and plague, mortals can continue to reproduce in their decades of life, until It can't stop any more - on the contrary, the wizards of the inner world must consciously control the number of people, so as not to lose the ecological balance of the inner world.

A wizard, to be precise, when an Extraordinary faces a mortal, it is like a beast facing a child, he can do whatever he wants; but if he faces ten mortals, unless something like Bosch Mad dark wizards, ordinary wizards will choose to avoid them; then, what about a hundred or a thousand? After the Duke of Colonna returned to Paris, Louis turned him into a dragon...try it out, and while such a form would indeed crumble for weak-willed mortals, it wouldn't be of much use to soldiers passing through the battlefield - they might It will panic for a while, but experience and instinct will make them dodge and try to attack. The blow caused by the dragon is not more terrible than the artillery. Even if it is the kind of flame dragon transformed by Agnelli, its body Can still be shredded by Ballista shells.

When the power of the Extraordinary cannot threaten mortals, their lofty status becomes at stake, and the arrival of Louis has accelerated the question, why did the dark wizards of Flanders not continue their curse on the French royal family, Even fleeing the Lowlands, knowing very well that if they stayed there, they would face Louis XIV's army.

Wizards who haven't tried to run around in His Majesty's net will never understand how they feel - household registration, identification, permission to walk, tight checkpoints and patrols that seem to be everywhere, like nooses On their necks, it's not that there are no dark wizards who are found and slaughtered, but those stupid mortals not only did not flee in fright as before, but quickly surrounded them. Dark wizards are also human, and they also feel tired, hungry and dry. Thirsty, their materials and magic are not endless, and once they are caught, they will be severely punished and then put to death.

  The wizards recoiled in the presence of the king, and so did the Roman Church, like the drunken babble of a daring cardinal—who knows if the devil was also created by God? After all, without the harm and temptation of the devil to human beings, it seems that God and his messengers do not need to exist. Of course, the people who heard and said these words were "disposed", but Elarius said , it does give a little interesting inspiration to young people like him.

Louis is not wrong to say that the Church of Rome did not excommunicate him when he attacked Flanders and Holland, when the Church of Rome was just hesitating whether it should be for a Protestant area (both Holland and Flanders are Protestant). (mostly Protestants) excommunication of the king of a Catholic country, but if anyone among the red princes realized who Louis XIV was—they might indeed be desperate.

Looking at the current situation, France, which has successively won Flanders and the Netherlands, is undoubtedly a huge country. Louis XIV, who has a standing army of nearly 150,000, is no match for him. He is rich and Generous and tolerant - his eldest princess has been married to Karl XI of Sweden, his crown prince is married to Princess Isabella of Portugal, and he has pushed his uncle Prince Condé to become the king of Poland. The illegitimate Duke of Colonna is married to the daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany in Italy. If someone opens the map, he will find that in the countries around France, except for the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Britain and Denmark, no one can be with him. war.

But the Holy Roman Empire is now being held back by the Grand Duke of Transylvania of Hungary. Given that the Grand Duke has a father-killing feud with the Empire, there is little chance of a peaceful settlement of the dispute, and the Grand Duke also has a relationship with the Sultan of Ottoman Turkey. There were contacts - Leopold I of course feared that the Ottoman Turks would one day pass through Upper Hungary straight into the heart of Austria, while he had already mastered part of Upper Hungary. Although it is said that there is no one who can deter the Grand Duke of Transylvania... Please see King Ludwig I of Poland on the right... That is our dear Grand Condé...

Spain, needless to say, the Queen Mother of the Habsburgs is the kind of idiot who wants to do it well, the regent Don Juan is obviously more successful in women's lust, Carlos II has no fertility and longevity. Yong Ye is already an undisclosed secret. Who made the Spanish envoy make a gesture of determination to win? Anyone would want to know why this marriage ended so suddenly.

As for England and France, to be honest, they were better enemies than friends, and even Louis XIV was not surprised, so trying to get something out of it - like a surprise blow was almost impossible, and the British The only foothold in France, Dunkirk, has also been sold to Louis XIV under the half-shoveling of Charles II.

   As for Denmark, it is hard enough to deal with Sweden, which is close at hand. Even if they hate Louis XIV, they cannot be used by the Roman church.

   There is another key problem, that is, the United Kingdom and Denmark are both Protestant countries, and the Roman Church cannot do anything to slap itself for the time being.

   After doing this, Louis felt that he should be able to understand a little bit of the thoughts of those cardinals. Clement X only had a lifespan of less than two years, and of course he would not be afraid of Alvignon again. So he didn't hesitate to use those methods that were about to be corrupted again. If he succeeded, he could probably become a saint - the Church of Rome would be very happy to see another French king at their mercy.

It is a pity that there are not many people who have the same delusions as him, at least not the grandfather of Madame Aubigne. He let his granddaughter bring the truth of the church to Louis, showing goodwill and strength - it seems that this Mr. Benedetto Otterscalci may have held most of the power in the church (should be closer to the part of the world), if he is interested in the throne of the Pope, he decides to ally with Louis XIV. Not surprising.

   "But maybe not as many places in France need churches," Louis said.

"As I said before, you have made a bad head." Madame Aubigne said without flinching: "Now God's punishment has arrived, Your Majesty, you will not only face the artillery, ships and armies of the world, but also To face the wizards and monsters of the inner world, Charles II has allowed the descendants of Merlin to enter his court, the regent of Spain is also breaking the shackles around the neck of the mad dog, all the advantages you have gained from wizards before are losing...even It's turning into a disadvantage."

"Your power in the inner world is not as powerful as people think," Madame Aubigne pointed out bluntly: "The only witches in France are those who are mixed in with the Bohemians, and the witches in Gayola come from The Apennine Peninsula, they are likely to follow the Duke of Colonna to fight, you can't keep them all by your side or in the army, as for Elarius, even if he and his people are willing to serve you, they will not be in Dunkirk. The fact that they have failed in their duties once shows that the monks are not infallible."

"You drew the dagger first, don't blame others for drawing the rapier," after a pause, Madame Aubigne continued: "My grandfather had no malice, although he also thought that you were an extremely rude and arrogant person. but he must also admit that you are a lenient person who is willing to keep your promises. He even admitted that you do not need to make a long-term contract with him. Maybe you and him will have a relationship in the near future. Contradictory, but for at least three years, you and he can be completely on the same page."

   I have to say that this statement of Madame Aubigne almost convinced Louis.

It's not that Louis didn't think about it. Other monarchs will make some similar attempts after seeing that he has driven wizards without any punishment from the common people and God. After all, for some bold people, even the devil is not. Can't use it, let alone the devil's servant? It's just that since Merlin's failure, King Arthur's death seems to have become a shadow haunting the king's heart, making them dare not let those devil's servants stand among the ministers - even the wizards seem to have given up on this ambition. , Over the centuries, this taboo has almost become an unwritten law.

   But after Louis takes the first step, others can naturally get their hands on this forbidden fruit.

His Royal Family Guard was also prepared for this possibility, but the secret contract proposed by Madame Aubigne meant that he could keep these credible young men beside him and the Duke of Colonna, and let the prince in red Wizards and monks go to fight and fight against the Extraordinary in England, Austria or Denmark.

Whether it is the Viscount Turenne, the Prince of Condé or the generals of Schaumberg and Vauban, they all know that Louis is a king who cherishes his soldiers. It should be said that Louis cherishes anyone who is loyal to himself and can avoid unnecessary casualties - what he wants The price paid is just money and some superficial concessions, but it is still very worthwhile. Although this cost is very considerable, according to the decree of Sisdu V, the number of cardinals is limited to seventy, and more than two-thirds, that is, forty-seven people, can be elected as pope, even if Obi Madame Nie's grandfather is also prepared, and Louis XIV also guarantees that two-thirds of the three favor the prince in red...

Now it seems that he doesn't have much chance to hesitate. The sudden improvement of Carlos II has nothing to do with the dark wizards. Even Spain, a country that used to be burned at the stake, has begun to allow wizards to interfere in the king's life and death. Other The country will only be more reckless. In addition to the Duke of Colonna, Louis also has to consider other children, as well as the safety of the Queen Mother and Queen, the Duke of Orleans and others, as well as the Prince Condé and his eldest son who are far away in Poland... Looking at it this way, He's really a bit stretched...

  ————

Madame Aubigne's grandfather, the head of the cardinals of Rome, was not so surprised when he received the king's reply. He knew that His Majesty would definitely agree to form an alliance with him, although in Rome, the king's reputation was as good as that of the beautiful man Philip. Li IV was in such a mess, and some people said that he would like Henry VIII of England to establish a church that only belonged to him, and at the same time act as the head of the church, holding both the religious power and the kingship in his hands.

Although it is said that this kind of idea is very tempting for an ambitious king, but according to the information obtained from the cardinal chief, the king will sometimes appear very kind, such as Henry VIII, although he let England was freed from the control of the church, but the price was the religious war that lasted for nearly a hundred years. In the end, not only did the religious power fall, the national strength declined, and even the monarchy was severely shaken.

  Louis XIV is not the kind of person who can do stupid things, even if he is really an unbeliever, it doesn't matter. To be honest, dealing with such a person who is rational and rational is better than emotion, even faith, it makes the cardinal leader feel a lot easier.

   "Call Bishop Barras to come to me." The leader of the cardinals ordered, and the priests on the side immediately bent down and obeyed, but within ten minutes, Bishop Barras appeared outside the door of the leader of the cardinals.

   (end of this chapter)