I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 344 The Children's First Wedding (4)

"You are no different," Madame Milady said at once upon hearing the King's words: "Your Highness, you may not know that your father was in fact a man who was very sensitive to fashion and fashion, like jasmine powder. , rose rouge, perfume, your familiar screw curls, etc., the initiator is not the legendary Madame Marie Mancini, but your father."

   Prince Louis, the crown prince, immediately looked at his father with a surprised look on his face.

"I needed money very much at that time." Tens of thousands of refugees were brought back from exile. The Louvre Museum, which was looted in the riots, needs to be repaired and cleaned up. The salaries of Schaumberg and Viscount Turenne need to be distributed as soon as possible. ...and money to buy servants and officials - yes, Louis was so embarrassed back then, but as people know hundreds of years later, women and children are the best money to earn, and because the men and women of this age The same loves to dress up, so Louis can double his profits in this regard.

   "But things were different then," Louie said. "I catered to them then, and now they cater to me."

"Yes, not only Paris or Versailles," said Madame Milady, "your highness, it is a natural instinct for people to pursue beauty, it can even overcome law and morality, or other yuwang of human beings, beauty has only one enemy, That is power, before power and beauty, people only choose the former—sometimes, power and beauty can also be merged, or 'power' changes the definition of 'beauty'," she lazily fiddled with the skirt, Fan and neck jewelry, "You have been to many places, not only France, but also Slovenia, Switzerland, Holland and Italy, have you not noticed that the more prosperous the city, the more their people will let you It feels familiar."

"Because they're all following the new fads of Paris or Versailles," Louis added: "When you're strong, people follow you uncontrollably, their eyes follow you, every time you say something. Everyone listens to a word, every command you give is like an oracle from an angel, they imitate your dress, imitate your accent, your eyes can't see anything that offends you, your ears I won't hear any noises that annoy you..."

   "Is this how you feel?"

   "Every man with power can feel this way." Louis said: "I, Leopold I, Cosimo III, and Muhammad IV of Istanbul."

   "Then what?" Little Louis said: "Father, I feel terrified, and I remember a sentence, God whispers in a whisper, and there is thunder in the world."

"It's true," said Louie, "you'll take my place, boy, and you'll sit on a throne like never before, but I'm always worried because you've never been cold, hungry, or face-to-face. Threats of death—your heart may be tender and merciful, but without knowing the consequences of your words, you will be a most feared tyrant."

   "I understand, Your Majesty," said little Louis, "that's why you brought me to the battlefield, and here too."

   "Florence is a living specimen." Louis said: "You must always remember that in your lifetime, or the next one is Paris, and Versailles."

   "I have a question," Little Louis couldn't help but ask: "Father, doesn't Cosimo III know what he is doing and what consequences his will will have?"

"This will involve the question of faith I mentioned earlier." Madame Milady said, she pointed in a direction: "Go there, my majesty, and the little highness, there is a small monastery, and the monks in it A drinker, we can rest there."

When Mrs. Milady said that, some attendants brought wine and knocked on the door of the monastery. A monk took the wine in silence and let them in. The monastery was dead, and the pond was covered with green algae. , the statue of the saint is full of gaps and cracks - it was not deliberately destroyed, it was purely caused by the wind, rain and sun, and the tiny leaves and branches protruded from the cracks and reached the face of the saint, as if to give this painful face Come for some solace.

The monastery belonged to a family in Florence with an unfamiliar name - after Cosimo I was finally able to become Grand Duke of Tuscany, Florence was finally transformed from a free city after generations of the Medici family. It has become the private property of the king. The families who used to have a voice in this city have either fled or died one after another, and the monastery they used to bury their families has gradually fallen into disuse. In this monastery, they only saw one. The friar, and he disappeared after he opened the door for them, maybe to get rid of that good bottle of wine.

They sat down in the hall, where there are still many benches, and the Dauphin the little Louis also found a broken printed Bible, perhaps because it was broken and printed, it was worthless, so it was thrown here, and it was full of mice. The bite marks, the niches where there should be statues or sacred objects between the wall posts and the wall posts are empty, no glass paintings, and the light stand on the ceiling has disappeared, making people wonder if the monks here have already Sold them all.

"Cosimo III was not a pious man when he was young," continued Madame Milady: "He loved drinking, dancing, hunting, and hanging out with women as much as any young Italian, but he was here to become After the ruler, he briefly took charge of government affairs for a period of time, maybe he really wanted to do something, but the heavy work quickly knocked him down, and how fast did he get from his mother He took the power and returned it with such speed—you know what happened after that, his mother and ministers chose a marriage for him, the daughter of the Duke of Gaston," she said here. Cleverly did not mention Gaston's former title Duke of Orleans, nor did he call the woman the granddaughter of Henry IV like others, because she knew very well that Louis did not like the ambitious Gaston very much. There may also be a layer of revenge for killing his father. The curse of the Duke Gaston on his deathbed is well known. "He doesn't love this woman," said Madame Milady, "but the princess also happens to not like it. he."

"It's too polite to say that," said Louis mercilessly, who had no affection for the uncle since Gaston had murdered him and Louis XIII several times in a row: "In fact, this lady always thought that she could get a The title of princess, what she expects is also a crown of a queen, not the position of a grand duke's wife. Her father has spent a lot of human interests in seeking this marriage for her, but she always believes that this marriage is for her. humiliation." This was also said when she returned to France and lived a monastic life in a monastery, while complaining about the meanness of Louis XIV to her.

"Cosimo III gave her a lot of valuable gifts when he got married," said Madame Milady: "I think he may have had some fantasies at first, but he soon found out that he married An ignorant shrew who must maintain her marriage and have children."

   "Here I would like to thank Gaston's daughter for her stupidity," Louis turned his cane: "Otherwise, Cosimo III would not have decided so quickly on the marriage of your elder brother, Duke of Colonna, to his eldest daughter."

The marriage between the Duke of Colonna and the daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany maintains a wonderful balance. I mean, on the bright side, the Duke of Colonna is an empty lord with a title and no territory, while the Princess Anna is She is the daughter of a grand duke who owns a large territory. The husband of Princess Anna is most likely to be married to a powerful earl or duke of the Holy Roman Empire. If the Duke of Colonna can get such a wife, people will say that he is a lucky one.

But on the other hand, it is well known to everyone, but still cannot be declared that the Duke of Colonna is the illegitimate son of King Louis XIV of France, and is the first child of this king, although Louis XIV is legally unable to Admit him, but judging from the behavior of Louis XIV, he valued the firstborn son very much. Not only did he try to find an orthodox birth for him, but he also gave him a territory (Gayola), and even planned to raise money for him. Take Naples.

Although Princess Anna was a married daughter, her father Cosimo III was not a man of strategy or courage. He did not even dare to expel and imprison his long-lost wife, but only dared to ask Louis XIV for help. And the exile of Marguerite Louise de Orleans County was an important clause in the marriage negotiations, and he begged Louis XIV not to sue him as the cousin of the County Lord of Orleans.

  The marriage of this era is like this mmp.

After losing his longing for love and marriage, Cosimo III, like most people, turned to religion for comfort. His mother was also a devout believer. The influence he received as a child was reborn when he suffered setbacks. When he showed his body, he began to become fanatical, but as Mrs. Milady said, an ordinary person fell into madness because of his beliefs, and only he and the people around him would be harmed. One or two small families may be less, but For a king, for a ruler to do this, it is a catastrophe.

"You think the streets are very empty," said Madame Milady. "If you come quietly, and don't tell anyone who you are, you will find that Florence is still very lively - seven days ago there were beggars everywhere. , the homeless and the monks, but they were all driven away in order to receive you. By the way, the six execution platforms are not so clean. "

   "Six? We only saw five."

   "There is another execution stand in the Place de la République," said Madame Milady, "but there may be some prisoners there."

   "It wasn't long before we left the field," said Louis. "He has seen the piercings of two hundred people."

   "This lesson is a bit cruel." Mrs. Milady said, "But since that's the case, we can go there and see."

This execution platform is probably the largest one, and there are many cages around it, none of which are empty, and to the surprise of the French, there are still women inside, because they are luxuriously dressed and speak French, beside it. The guard did not dare to go forward, but made a threatening gesture when they wanted to get close. Mrs. Milady's entourage came forward skillfully, took out a money bag, the guard looked at them in confusion, and after a moment he shook Shaking his head, impressed by the weight of the purse, he gestured and spoke French that probably no one could understand—then changed it to another language and still no one understood, but they got it, they could see , but is not allowed to release or attack those in the cage.

The people standing in the cages looked hungry and thirsty, some in clothes that didn't look like a poor criminal's, others in ragged clothes, their necks stuck between the wooden bars at the top of the cages, although it was okay. Standing, but unable to sit or lie down, their eyes were swollen and trembling, their mouths were dry and cracked, and they could occasionally be heard praying or crying, or mumbling to themselves.

With the permission of the guards, they approached these cages, and little Louis looked at them with a look of indifference. When he was born, Louis XIV had abolished most of the torture, and he had not been to the Bastille, Fortunately, he had seen the piercing torture in Kamney before, and he had already had a little resistance to this horrific image, so he did not ask his father or Mrs. Milady to at least free these people from their cages first.

He asked the squires to give the men a little wine, and then he walked up to the old man who looked the least likely to be a criminal—he was wearing a long brown coat, flat shoes, and where his shirt was not stained, it was still white. , he may not have been locked in for too long, and he still has a little strength to talk to this strange teenager.

   "What crime did you commit to be imprisoned here?" asked little Louis.

"I am a professor, kind sir," said the old man, "I have been teaching my students for twenty years, but suddenly our Grand Duke Cosimo III issued a decree that would not allow any Duchy of Tuscany young men are educated outside of Jesuit schools," he paused, and little Louis fed him a little wine himself, and sighed: "Thank you, thank you, sir—you remind me of what I like. A student, well, I went on to say, sir, they closed my school, and I continued to teach students in my house who wanted to study with me, but someone tipped it off, and I got caught, and I was in my house. I can't get out of this cage without repentance."

   "Then why don't you repent?" asked little Louis in a low voice.

   "I don't think I am guilty, sir," said the old man. "Even God has no monopoly on knowledge."

   "But then you'll die."

   "Education is all my interest and meaning, sir, or if you give me a drink, I may be able to get a pardon from the Archduke."

  Little Louis heard someone chuckling around him. It was obvious that the people standing in the cage, as long as they could think, would not think that the Grand Guild of Tuscany would forgive them.

   "You don't look like an Italian." Louis XIV, who had been watching for a while, stepped forward and said.

The old man looked at the stranger from the gap of his eyes. He saw that the kind child was running to him with a look of respect and love. He guessed that they were not father and son, but also uncle and nephew, and they had a good relationship. Finally, his eyes fell on him. On the big cross on Louis XIV's chest: "I am a Judah." This is why he will not be pardoned, and the people in the square are almost all Jewish. Cosimo III hated the Jews, so he Like all devout Catholics, they are considered filthy, and if they sin, a Christian can get a pardon, or redeem his liberty or his life with property, but they cannot.

"You have eyes as sharp as falcons, sir, you are familiar to me, I must have seen you," the old man paused slightly: "Ah, no, I have seen your portrait—" He spat out the words A few words: "The Sun King of France, Louis XIV."

   Mrs. Milady and several other attendants stepped forward vigilantly and surrounded the king. Louis just waved his hand.

  Louis nodded lightly. "It seems that you are one of the refugees in the Netherlands," he said. "My portrait? Is it the one to hang on the wall to swear at?"

   "No," said the old man, "it is not a compliment, Your Majesty," he breathed. "You are a mighty and wicked enemy, but it was the Dutch, not you, that destroyed Holland."

   "There are also respectable people among the Dutch, such as your General Reuter, and even Chancellor Witte."

   "There is no doubt about the former, and the latter also has more merits than demerits, but the Dutch were like the Athenians (Note 1), and their vote ultimately destroyed the Netherlands."

   "Are you a philosopher?" Louis asked curiously.

"Yes," the person who answered this sentence was none other than a middle-aged man who had chuckled before, and the cage was beside the old man. He waved his fingers desperately to attract the king's attention-he heard the old man say The identity of the other party, and the man did not deny it—no one dared to do so in an age where pretending to be a king was punishable by five horses, and he had heard before his arrest that Louis XIV had come to Florence.

"He is Baruch Spinoza!" cried the man, "he is Spinoza, sir, your majesty, take him away, majesty," he dared not shout, nor could he shout , but he has definitely tried his best, and there are blue veins on his forehead - "He will die if he stays here! Have mercy, I swear he is the most valuable scholar I have ever seen!"

  Louis XIV's eyes returned to the old man: "You're not in Amsterdam?" Fortunately, he listened to Descartes's recommendation and went to Amsterdam to find him.

   "I am a countryless man," Spinoza said. "Your Majesty, wherever I am allowed to write and teach, is my homeland."

   "My general has been looking for you for three months." Louis XIV said helplessly, which was really an accident.

"The problem is that you are asking the general to find Spinoza..." the middle-aged man on the side muttered—as a Jew with a unique religious philosophy, he was looked for by a general of the king of France, and he would only think it was Search for it.

  Note 1: Here it is said that the Athenians voted to kill Socrates. The death of Socrates was a tragedy, as well as a tragedy of the democratic politics of the Athenian city-state. Socrates was prosecuted by three Athenian citizens who, according to the law, charged Socrates in court for neglecting the gods and bewitching the youth. In the first round of voting, Socrates was found guilty by 280 votes to 220.

   The addition is complete.

   (end of this chapter)