I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 431 The Devil's Doom (Part 1)

  Peak is just an ordinary blacksmith.

  In Toledo, in addition to filigree craftsmen, the most people are blacksmiths. Toledo's foundry is famous all over Europa, and even a hundred years ago, when Spain was still at war with the Ottoman Turks, the sultan required every Turkish officer to have a Toledo steel sword .

   Therefore, even if Peak and the citizens around him do not have prominent names and status, they still have one or many weapons in their hands. Peak is carrying a beautiful pointed hammer in his hand, one end can cut open the iron helmet, and the other end can make a concave heart armor, and the two people around him are holding pitchforks-contrary to what the modern people of later generations imagined, the real The pitchfork is not completely vertical. The four sharp forks are slightly bent inward, and some people who are more sophisticated will cast small arrows on the top - the shape of the devil's tail.

Such a pitchfork is a nightmare for horse riders. When the horse speed is insufficient, some farmers will rush out from the side and attack the rider with pitchforks. Although the pitchforks are sharp, they cannot penetrate the armor, but they can get stuck in the gap in the knight's armor, and then drag the knight off the horse.

Peak's father also has such a pitchfork. It is said that the British, French, Dutch and Ottomans died under it, but Peak has always firmly believed that this is his father's nonsense. After all, his family has been from the generation of his great-grandfather. He hadn't left Toledo for half a step to begin with, so when he left home, he wisely chose his usual hammer.

   And knights also use hammers, but there are absolutely no knights with pitchforks.

Peak wiped the hammer cherishly and put it in his arms. His shoes were soaked in the cold muddy water. If someone hadn't come out and told them to take them to the king, maybe he would have left too. He was thinking about it. In my workshop, I was also worried that the helpers and apprentices did not work hard, and that there were still orders accumulated in their hands. In addition, the hammer would rust if it rained too much.

   There are many people like him, but as they walked through most of Toledo, more and more people gathered around, and fewer people were thinking about going home.

  Milady didn't know what a "sunk cost" was, but she knew that people always valued things that cost them a lot. The accident happened at dusk. At first, most people just followed the clamor and wanted to have fun, but after besieging the Santo Domingo Monastery, they rushed to the gate of the old palace under the rage and impulse. , until midnight, of course, at that time they may still have room to turn around, after all, they can only get tired, dark and rain at that time.

   But now, they've been spending hours on this thing, and with the dawn coming, even if they don't have such ambitions as Peak, they want to get a result, lest they become a fool who spent all night in vain.

  ——

The Habsburgs obtained the Spanish throne through marriage in 1505. Since then, the Habsburgs have ruled in Spain for nearly two hundred years. Unfortunately, the Habsburgs are worthy of being called "marriage beds" to conquer Europa's family, their kings were not as politically gifted as the queens and kings of the Trastamara dynasty, nor were they good at governing, nor were they mediocre on the battlefield.

The only person who can be called outstanding military exploits is half a Habsburg, that is, Charles V, the descendant of Philip of Habsburg and Juana of Spain, and he and the French, Ottoman Turkey. People and Protestants have all experienced wars and conflicts, and won most of the battles. The Spanish Empire can be said to have become the hegemon of Europa under his rule. Now Louis XIV, as well as France.

   Not only that, but he also reused Magellan, a navigator who was coldly received in Portugal at the time, to support him in his search for the New World - as everyone knows, Magellan later found South America.

Later, Charles V not only inherited Spain and its colonies, Naples, Sardinia, Sicily, South America, but also his grandfather's Austria, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the Holy Roman Empire in name, and Tunisia in Africa. , Oran.

   The first to be called "the sun never sets" was not England, but Spain.

   But unlike Louis XIV, the brilliance of Charles V was not reflected on the commoners of Spain.

Charles V reigned for thirty-six years, and he was fighting almost all the time. First, he fought with France for the hegemony of Europa. Later, the overwhelmed France had to form an alliance with Ottoman Turkey. Spain and Ottoman Turkey became endless enemies. Until 1542, Ottoman Turkey and France forced Spain to sign a truce.

At the same time, Charles V was still a devout Catholic and hated the Reformation movement. Unlike other kings who regarded religious belief as a tool and a banner, he really wanted to build a "pure" heaven on earth, so , after a series of reprimands and admonitions, he went to war with the Protestants in 1946, which lasted until 55, and after 52, he ushered in continuous defeats.

Ladies and gentlemen, a great war left Leopold I of Austria burdened with debts that made him breathless. Charles V took the lead in 1520, and then fought four wars with France and the Ottoman Turks. It has been twenty years, and I have fought with Protestants for almost ten years, and during this period, it has either kept pace with each other or has been seamlessly connected. The pressure on Spain's treasury and the public can be imagined.

At this time, some people may say that the continuous flow of gold and silver from America should be able to fill the gap, but in fact, such as Louis XIV, there are very few kings who would rather sell palaces than increase taxes. Charles V It is not such a tolerant king. Most of these gold and silver fall into the hands of nobles and ministers, as well as priests, and the people only get more power to pay taxes.

   And the influx of large amounts of gold and silver also caused the problem of inflation, that is to say, the civilians did not benefit from the discovery of the New World, and the gold and silver coins in their hands also depreciated rapidly due to the penetration of foreign precious metals...

That's when Peak's great-grandfathers had to fall from goldsmithing to blacksmithing (goldsmithing was undoubtedly a more respected profession at the time), and when they moved to Toledo, they completely abandoned the past as a member of the Blacksmiths Guild.

But Peak had heard of the glory of the past on his grandfather's lap, and he was most fond of the fact that one of their relatives had once received a large reward for exposing a witch, and had become a nobleman's entourage, perhaps. Now he has become a master too.

With this idea in mind, he was the first to climb the outer wall of the arena. From the highest point, he could see that there were indeed some people gathered on the circular field in the center - it could be used as a carriage competition, this field. It's certainly not small, but it's amazing that there are enough torches to light up the entire venue, and the middle part is as bright as day.

   From top to bottom, from darkness to light, Peak saw the scene on the field without any difficulty. When his somewhat dull mind finally reacted, he involuntarily let out a sharp exclamation!

  ——

When the ancient Greeks worshiped the moon **** Artenas, they sacrificed with foreigners; when the Thracians worshiped Bacchus, they also dismembered strong men as sacrifices; the ancient Romans worshipped spring When he was the **** of grain, he also deliberately chose red-haired people to sacrifice.

  To this day, when the dark wizards want to choose sacrifices, living people are still the best choice.

   For these people, whether it is the dark wizard, or Carlos II, or even the two priests who serve him, there is no mercy. It's ridiculous that those people saw the priest's robe and cross, and asked them for help as pilgrims. Of course, this kind of help would not be answered, and the dark wizard took the opportunity to laugh at them, so they changed their mouths and said that they were A sinner who masquerades as a pilgrim and who takes the opportunity to steal is not worthy of a sacramental sacrifice.

This is real.

  When choosing the bait, Milady never thought of using those truly innocent people. This world lacks everything, and there is no shortage of sinful people.

   Disguised as pilgrims to deceive, steal and even loot, at worst, it can destroy an entire family, and there are not a few gangs in a village. Mainly because in this era, pilgrims were usually the most devout believers or monks, who walked on crutches, carrying bags, a dog, and hats decorated with shells (symbol of Saint Jager). , riding a horse or riding a carriage to go a long way.

Because these good people go to the pilgrimage not to atone for their sins, but to pray for blessings, so along the way, as long as they are believers, they must give them the help they can, a little food, a bonfire, a room (sometimes a stable), and a pilgrimage. When the pilgrims are sick, they need to ask a doctor, and sometimes a little money, to find a place for them to recuperate in peace. Many hotels, inns and shelters were originally set up for these pilgrims.

And all pilgrims are also regarded as harmless good people by default. The farmer will allow them to sleep in the same bed with him, and the lord will give them a place to live, even if there are many things like bringing wolves into the house, this This kind of behavior is still worthy of praise and encouragement.

These bandits disguised as pilgrims have this idea, but they have not dared to deal with the inhabitants of Toledo. Their target is the pilgrims who come to Toledo from everywhere. They are all outsiders, and it is well known that , it's not surprising what happens on the long pilgrimage.

They steal, rob, kill - can't leave a mouth to complain, if a pilgrim is young and decent, they sell him elsewhere to be a slave, of course a Catholic can't make another Catholic a slave, but The Ottoman Turks didn't care, and in their courts and mansions there were often "white slaves" - these white slaves, who were usually castrated.

When Milady was looking for the bait, they had already killed hundreds of people. After all, they had been doing this business for several years. It is not surprising that these people can confuse others. Among them are kind old people and kind housewives. , There are beautiful young boys and girls who, depending on the situation, disguise themselves as pilgrims, or find an abandoned farmhouse to pretend to be an inn and inn.

   Those pilgrims did not know that they had been with them for several days until the end, or that the "local people" who warmly entertained them regarded themselves as an active purse or a "flesh and blood" cargo.

Their pleas didn't work at all. In other words, Carlos II and the people around him were like a group of dogs that were going to starve crazy after being locked up for a long time. Don't even bother to look for another place - perhaps because of the hint of Queen Antonia and the dark wizard - the arena is indeed a place off the beaten track, far from the inner city of Toledo, even if something happens, it is difficult to be ignored. people notice.

   And what if he was noticed?

   Carlos II was the master of Spain and, of course, the only ruler of Toledo.

The dark wizard who was said to be hired by the Austrians on behalf of Queen Antonia had been standing by the side and did not join the carnival crowd. The people around the king were satisfied with his self-knowledge, and also sent two wizards to monitor He, but soon the two of them were also attracted by the ceremony of the black mass - even the dark wizards rarely enjoyed such a gluttonous meal.

  The queen's dark wizard seemed to be keeping his own way, but his eyes were fixed on the candle holder standing beside the king and the brazier in front of him.

Louis XIV even had to bring a bed when he went on an expedition. Carlos II came here "for fun", and he would not make himself uncomfortable. There was a carriage carrying his favorite chair, goose down cushions and pillows. —It was all custom-made, because his current deformed body couldn't sit firmly in an ordinary chair, along with food, wine, and his favorite torture instruments.

   The wizard's spells blew the rain in front of him and above his head, and he was surrounded by a flaming brazier, not only to ward off the cold, but also to burn red irons, flowering pears and other iron torture tools.

   is this brazier, and candles.

The king's candle is of course the best spermaceti, it exudes a rich aroma in the air, and the brazier is also put into a strong scent of incense, which can often be smelled in the church. The stench of blood and internal organs was removed, and it also covered up the smell of the secret medicine cast by the wizard.

In the process of black mass, the host and participants often have to use drugs and alcohol to slowly sink into a psychic state, which will last until the end of the ceremony - but as long as the wizard knows, the gods never show mercy Humans, all medicines, sacrifices and rituals are designed to empower the prayer.

   Extraordinary people can do many things as long as they have enough power. What people pray for is to kill enemies, restore health, and reproduce offspring, and they can give them all.

  For this reason, no one noticed. There may be some special additives in these secret medicines.

   (end of this chapter)