I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 418 Visitors from the Principality of Monaco

The ancient Roman theater in Orange was brilliantly lit that night, as if returning to the imperial era of Rome. Molière ingeniously used a large number of torches for lighting, and hired hundreds of people dressed in robes to disguise as ancient Romans. It looks like, under the flickering lights, the actors also appear in toga, parra (outerwear), and tunica (underwear), with masks on their faces.

As soon as    appeared, Molière announced loudly that today he would present an ancient Greek satirical comedy for "The Great Caesar".

As soon as the words fell, Prince Conti, who wanted to embarrass Molière, exchanged glances with the people around him - Molière really took a shortcut. When there was no rehearsal and there was no time to prepare the scenery, music and costumes, what was there? Could it be more fitting than an ancient Greek play? After all, the dramas of ancient Greece and ancient Rome were always performed on the stage by actors wearing masks of "sorrow and joy", "male and female", and "old and young" without any set and accompaniment, so the requirements for the actors were very high.

   But the actors of Guangyao Theater have always maintained their own talent and experience. If they are required by the drama norms of ancient Greece and Rome, their performances will not go wrong.

What's more, it is Mr. Molière who is leading the charge. Although he is not as energetic and loud as he was when he was young, no one can be more skillful and calm than him in how to control and adjust the stage conditions. Under his leadership, a group of young actors and actresses, Even under such rough conditions, it gave the king a wonderful performance.

   Oh, yes, as Mr. Molière said, this good show is still dedicated to "the great Caesar".

In the history of Europa, the words "Empror" and "King" have always had completely different meanings. From the very beginning, the king refers to the feudal monarch who is both hereditary and dictatorial. As for the emperor, it was first used in Latin The text is the meaning of military commander, so if someone returns to the ancient Roman Empire from modern times and hears someone calling you an emperor, don't be too happy.

   Because the emperor at this time may not be as good as the king.

The emperor in the imperial period refers to the chief elder, consul, military commander, tribune, and high priest authorized by the Senate—not a dictator, but a dictator will be regarded as a betrayal of the Roman Empire, which is a derogatory term. Even in the early Roman Empire, people rarely used the word emperor to refer to the supreme leader, but used "Caesar" and "Augustus" to refer to the Roman emperor.

The word   Caesar naturally comes from the former Julius Caesar, and Augustus refers to Caesar's political successor Gaius Octavian Augustus.

It is quite cunning for Molière to place the name of Caesar on the head of King Louis XIV of France here, and it would be against law and tradition if he directly called Louis Emperor and Louis accepted it - in Europa Even in the cognition of the British (most of the British are now Germanic barbarians), the title of emperor should be inherited from the line of Octavian, which is irrefutable orthodoxy.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire at the hands of three barbarians, it split into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. The Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire perished one after another. However, this hindered the revival of the descendants of the barbarians. In 800 AD, the Frankish King Charles accepted it in the Roman Cathedral. After the Pope's coronation, the Pope declared him the "Roman Emperor" and "Augustus" - but with the split of the Franks, this crown has been tossed, torn and contested several times, and for some time it fell on the head of the little princes in Italy. superior.

This ridiculous situation continued until the eleventh century AD, when Otto, who was born in the East Frankish aristocracy, took over the crown again from the Pope of Rome and announced the establishment of the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" - this title continued until the nineteenth century, However, in the thirteenth century, the crown of the emperor changed from inheritance to election by the seven emperors, and Habsburg held the position of emperor of the Holy Roman Empire with this - although it was only a matter of more than 100 years. .

   Then some people may ask, in this case, how can the name of a Caesar be favored by kings? This in turn has something to do with the ambitions of the kings - the Roman Empire once spanned the Eurasian continent, and the Holy Roman Empire also has the present Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Italy and France, the Netherlands and Belgium and other territories, principalities and kingdoms in the written sense. .

It is especially worth mentioning that if someone made it into a map, they would find that the generality of Louis XIV matched it subtly - if not in France, at least it belonged to the Bourbon family, not to blame Holy Rome. Leopold I of the Empire was mad with hatred, and this was originally the Habsburg, or rather the young king's dream.

Although the theater was vast and only lit by torches, everyone knew who to keep an eye on at this time. The king did laugh after hearing the "Dedicated to Caesar", and then he turned to meet Cologne beside him. The Duke of Na and the crown prince said a few words, and everyone knew in their hearts that there was more than one king sitting in the open-air box decorated with silk curtains today.

No one could even concentrate on Moliere's performance next, except for the king and his two sons, as well as his relatives, the Duke of Orleans laughed when he saw it - Moliere deliberately portrayed himself as a self-defeating The "smart slave" made a stumbling and embarrassed appearance on the limestone stage in the center of the theater. Because he did something wrong and was unwilling to be punished, he used all kinds of clever tricks. The master saw through it, and finally had to kneel on the ground and pray to the master for forgiveness.

Presumably so, the resentful nobles should be more comfortable - at least the Prince Conti is no longer so stubborn, and an actor should not make himself appear smarter and braver than the nobles at Versailles - although perhaps soon, he can. One step to the sky, but there are always things that the king can't do.

  Louis smiled softly, "I'm going to let him stay in Italy for a while," he said to the Duke of Colonna.

The Duke of Colonna is very fond of Molière. Although he founded the Dance Academy with Beauchamp, dance and drama have never been separated. He also received a lot of useful advice and opinions from Mr. Molière. , Mr. Molière is a bit frivolous, but he has a childlike pure heart - this is not the real heart of flesh and blood... Mr. Molière may have more affairs than the nobles of Versailles put together.

Moreover, Mr. Molière can be said to have spoken out for Marie Mancini this time. Others were not able to see the king's heart, or they did not dare to go forward because of various concerns, such as the Duke of Orleans, who was far away from the Duke of Colonna at that time. In Naples…

"Is it not needed now?" asked the Duke of Colonna. If Molière went to Italy, in Tuscany, he could guarantee that his safety would not be threatened by anyone, and Italy, which advocates beauty and art People will welcome him.

   "No need," said Louis, "Moliere is a wise man." After the parade, it was a consolation that he would give the daring and perceptive artist a due reward.

Then he stood up, took off a ring on his hand, tied a ribbon, and threw it to the stage in the center of the theater. Monsieur Molière, who had been watching the king, ran over immediately and accurately placed the ring worth a thousand miles. Furr's ring was in his hand.

This may be the most generous reward he has received since his acting career. Molière thought to himself. What he didn't know was that when he returned to his temporary residence in Orange, he could get another surprise. - The king asked him to rehearse a new play dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to be performed at the Théâtre Royal in Paris on the coming feast of the Immaculate Conception.

   That means he doesn't have to worry about being kicked out of Versailles.

  ———

   In the days that followed, M. Molière forwarded to the Count d'Artagnan the entreaties from the Dutch, the Flemish, and even the Bretons. These poor people, they can't easily see the people around the king now. The Dutch government in exile originally planned to establish the New Netherland in the Dutch colonies on the American continent, but this plan was soon replaced by the French "King" in the colonies. Army" shattered.

This royal army has almost nothing to do with the mainland of France. From the generals to the soldiers, they are all colonists. They are not very innocent in their origin or origin, but when Louis XIV was still paying attention to Europa, the Marquis of Lois and Vaughan General Bon is not so picky. Anyway, what these soldiers need are nothing more than obsolete muskets, artillery and ships, these half-abandoned armaments that today’s France no longer cares about, and even don’t know what to do with , but in America it is a weapon that everyone desires.

With these weapons and equipment, the French in America beat the Dutch so that the Dutch could not find a chance to breathe, and the government in exile would still go into exile—and here I would also like to mention the Indians who had visited Louis XIV, who have now The "French Royal Army" has become a solid ally. If there are only the French, the Dutch may still have a glimpse of an opportunity, but if you add the aborigines of America... then there is no hope at all.

   Not long ago, the generals of the "King's Army" specially sent back a tattered Dutch flag as a gift for the king's 40th birthday.

So the moderates of Holland finally appeared before the people, and they went about camping and begging, hoping that Louis XIV would be merciful to his defeated men, who, according to them, were so illustrious, noble and Great king, chasing a government in exile without an army and people...it's pointless.

   But everyone remembers that Louis XIV said that Holland no longer exists.

  How can a non-existent person make a sound, and no one can hear their cries and pleas-they have already asked an actor, and it is obvious that they are going to have nowhere to go.

   The problem of Flanders is less important than that of Holland - you remember the stepped tax proposed and implemented by Louis.

The age of    has come, and some "docile" Flemish people have been chartered to pay the same tax as the French. Everyone knows that there is only a poll tax in France, and where this tax is placed, whether it is in the counties. Whether a principality or a kingdom, it will make people feel as if they have come to heaven.

Then, a cruel joke appeared - those Flemish people who swore never to be ruled by a French king regretted it, but the king's will cannot be changed overnight, and they are destined to continue to bear the heavy burden (especially with the They did not dare to stand against the king's army, and they plundered and slaughtered their neighbors.

   Those Flemish people who came to plead were not the perpetrators, but the victims, but this kind of thing is too ironic.

The Bretons came to declare their surrender. Molière didn't know it, but D'Artagnan felt both pity and good. These people didn't know that the most terrible punishment was yet to come - the king had decided to Brittany is divided into several provinces, and then Orleans, or people from other places, move into Brittany - if the Bretons are still insisting on the "I'm not French, I'm Brittany" "Negroes", wait until the outsiders in Brittany surpass the natives... When you are one of the few, you will find that your maverick is definitely not a good thing.

   Judas, Protestants, and of course the Bretons.

But these have nothing to do with an actor, Mr. Molière. He didn't even feel sorry for these people's gifts. He did pass their words to the king's ears. As for whether the king will change his mind, is he still able to control or not? Did you know? He had been allowed to stay in Versailles anyway, and he believed that Louis XIV would not forget those who did things for him, so he could wait in peace.

In this mood, M. Molière began to prepare the new play requested by the king. During this time, his dazzling troupe also followed the route of the grand parade and performed in various cities, from Orange to Alvignon, Alvignon. There is no need to say more about the particularity of Nong. There used to be seven venerable popes here. As for the legitimacy and rationality, we will not delve into it for the time being. Anyway, this place can be said to be a "holy place" in France.

  Mr. Molière was considering whether he should go to a mass for Madame Marie Mancini when someone knocked on his door.

   A distinguished gentleman said that he would like to meet M. Molière.

  Moliere couldn't guess who the other party was at all, but he was just an actor - he didn't think he was important enough, maybe he was a nobleman from Marseille or somewhere else, and he hoped that he could rely on him to get the introduction of the minister...

   Although it was said, Molière finally agreed because the other party gave too much...

   (end of this chapter)