I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 442 The War of Spanish Succession - Joy Before the War (Part 2)

   As always, behind the king is the Prince of Conti on the left and the Duke of Orleans on the right.

In addition to having a brother who is the king of Poland, Prince Conti also has a cousin who is the king of France. With such an identity, Louis XIV will send him out when many prominent messengers are needed. , and as the messenger of this era, neither the messenger itself nor the people visiting the country are so safe - the messenger is likely to be assassinated or expelled, and the messenger is also likely to become a spy and murderer.

It's not that Prince Conte has never encountered danger or done dangerous things, but he has two good brothers and incredible luck, which allows him to complete the tasks assigned by the king time and time again. Now, even if he does not have Bourbon With the surname of the king, it is also natural to walk in the forefront of ministers and nobles in the Palace of Versailles with the king's letter.

   As for the Duke of Orleans, we needn't say more.

Behind these two are the king's ministers and generals—the so-called robe nobles and sword-wielding nobles. Of course, more than 20 people here are the best in these two categories. Since Da Kongdai went to Poland to do The king, the sword-wielding nobles are headed by the Viscount Turenne, and then the Duke of Luxembourg—although the Viscount Turenne maintained a humble attitude and was willing to walk behind the Duke of Luxembourg, the Duke of Luxembourg thought, if the French at this time were The king is Grande Condé, and as his foster brother and close friend, he does his part, but the current king is Louis XIV. Although Viscount Turenne initially stood on the side of the slingers, no one can deny that he switched to the king's camp. The time came earlier than any of the generals here.

In fact, there is another person here who did not attend, otherwise this position should be his, that person is the Duke of Vendôme, not because of his outstanding achievements, but because he is also a Bourbon, although it is legally recognized, the political level and the The kind of illegitimate children whose religious stance will not be recognized, but Bourbon is Bourbon, Louis XIV is not the kind of ruler who will hate blood relatives, he is even willing to let Grand Condé be the king of Poland, which is evident .

But today the Duke of Vendôme really can't come. Doctors and wizards all say that he has been like the last candle that burns to the end, with only the last bit of candle wick and wax oil to barely keep the faint light, like this inevitable All-night banquet, everyone stayed from start to finish, the king and pregnant women were no exception, he had no such privilege, so after begging the king's permission, he drank comfortably in his room at Versailles Drink, eat cheese, and pass the time listening to music from the cracks in the windows.

   The person he was waiting for was not his son who could only be in the hall, but his grandson.

The future Duke of Vendôme, Joseph, Jean Bart, Villar, and others were at the end of the line, but not in the hall, but those who followed the king. As soon as they entered the Victory Hall, Immediately followed by countless pairs of eyes, compared to the first few adults who had married and had children despite their high positions, these young and promising generals were more favored by noble ladies—yes, noble girls, and Not the daughter of merchants and low-ranking officials.

If it is just Joseph, people in later generations will not be surprised, because unless the Duke of Vendôme makes a mistake like the Duke of Sedan, he is destined to be a general and a lord with real power, but let Barr and Villa What about Er? Here we come to Vauban.

This Monsieur Vauban was originally only a captain in the army of Prince Condé, but he did not hesitate to stand by the king during the riots of the slingers in Paris and became a royalist. Identity made it difficult for him at that stage - after all, the Prince of Condé still had the Italian throne of France at that time, but since the king transferred him to his own guard, he was like a fish in water, in the war against Flanders and the Netherlands He won a lot of honors and merits for himself. After the victory, the king did not live up to his expectations. In addition to repeated promotions, he also gave him the title of a viscount - which is equivalent to his brother.

Not to mention a viscount title is nothing. In 2020, there are only about 3,500 French noble families. In this era, there are even fewer. The reason why Vauban can get a viscount title is because his father is a viscount, but This title is to be left to his brother, and his surname is well documented.

But this can be said to be a signal that France is about to usher in an unprecedented war. Everyone knows that, but the benefits of this war are really huge, ranging from the common people to the dignitaries, and no one raised any objections. , in the chattering and whispering, the conclusions reached in the king's little drawing-room have spread throughout Paris and Versailles.

But even without the rumours that Louis XIV deliberately released, just looking at Flanders and Holland, people know that Louis XIV was not a king who only loved conquest and plunder like Alexander the Great, but had no interest in ruling. Once he got the Spain, which means that the land that is closely connected to France will also be full of the king's officials, troops and spies, it will be a large piece of fat and good meat, just waiting to be divided by those who have merit.

Unlike Britain and other countries, French aristocracy can be hereditary, and must be landed aristocrats, which also causes the French king to be very stingy with titles, but in Madame Montespan's salon, she was in order to give her son Montreal. The duke has been building up momentum to seek power, and has even given the price of the Order of the Washioka - in France, people awarded for merit are generally promoted to nobles by obtaining the Knights of St. Louis or other knighthoods. The Washio Flower Medal only represents the lowest baron or even a knight (knight), but... as long as you can get a title, it represents a leap of class, even if you have to pay the price of moving from the rich and warm France to the desolate New World, you are also a Servant. Jiji.

The royal lady has always been the king's wind direction chicken. When the nobles saw that the king raised his hand to give Mrs. Montespan such rights, they knew that the king might... This may be the only chance for hundreds of years. You know, their son , the second son and the third son, and the fourth and fifth if lucky. In short, as long as he is not the eldest son, he is destined to have no titles and territories to inherit... Although the Salik law is strictly enforced, who wants to watch Degrading their children to a lower class?

They stared at the St. Louis Knight Medal on General Vauban's chest. Someone had already inquired that the king's most credible valet, Bontang, was summoning LeBlanc and others to design a special medal for the army, and was still purchasing Needed gems and diamonds - does this mean that in the future, after the War of the Spanish Succession is over, there will be more lords in the palace.

   Some people can’t wait to invest early.

In addition to young officers, there is another person who is the target of many people, and that is Colbert's son Senier-Colbert, who was a businessman. After gaining the king's attention, he became the Minister of Finance and the Minister of State for the Navy, and the king's Almost all the finances are left to him to take care of, and he is indeed an extremely talented person in finance. While taking care of France and the king at the same time, he can also obtain a large family business for himself. The money was enough for him to buy a duke-in-law for his three daughters, but also for his son—the title of Senere was a gift from the king, yes, but the three dukes-in-law contributed to it—and they too. I can't stand it. There are always people who say they have a businessman's relatives.

The Marquis de Senere is nearly thirty years old, but men in this era tend to marry later, except for a few political marriages—men other than kings and their heirs often choose to marry before careers. This is also because the place where they work is either a palace or a court. Either the court or the army, or the army or the church (wait, stop this), in short, it's not too late for a gentleman to get married, even if he is forty-five years old, but ladies, the time to find a good man is only a short time. A few years, or you will enter a monastery.

Although Marquis Senierai's background is mediocre, even not very good, but his title is real, and this time he will also accompany him on the expedition. Colbert's three daughters also said that they hope that their younger brother will soon be able to To get married and have children—most people here have such a desire, especially some only sons, they must go to the battlefield for meritorious deeds, but they also need to ensure that the bloodline of their family can be passed on, not hand in hand. To a distant relative who has never been in contact.

So, as soon as the king and queen, Mrs. Montespan, and the Grand Princess danced and returned to their seats, they found that the Hall of the Goddess of Victory had also become the Venus Hall, full of fiery eyes. And the tenderness of the pulse.

The fashion that was popular in the French court twenty years ago came from either Spain or Italy. Spain still occupied a major position, but at that time, Spain was still a powerful country even when the sun was setting, and it was not surprising that it would be imitated by other countries. Following - yes, not only France, but other countries at the time, it was usually a dark and extremely oppressive piece... Huge ring collars and turbans were also common.

  Now, France is the emperor of art and fashion, and because since Louis XIII, France has maintained a tolerant attitude towards religion, people's pursuit of beauty has no shackles and barriers.

In some remote places, women still wear headscarves, and when applying grease and powder will be reprimanded as prostitutes, the women of Versailles have begun to either curl or loose their hair that is moist and moving, and the hairdressers will black, Long blond or chestnut hair is ironed into very small curls, combed into various delicate styles, and adorned with diamonds and feathers - this is for the married ladies, Unmarried women wear flower crowns tacitly.

Joseph was dancing with a lady in a wreath, a well-dressed, decent-looking lady with a good surname, very good condition, maybe that's the bad thing—she's not only always cocky She even took the initiative to talk to Joseph. For an unmarried girl, this is really a bit reckless. While Joseph was dealing with her lazily, he tried not to look at her, because when he looked at her, She immediately showed a... how should I put it, a smile more suitable for her father.

Joseph knew that he might be the best target she wanted to hunt, young, promising, valued by the king, with titles and territories, not to mention that he was still a Bourbon. It was a shame to have children out of wedlock, but the king's Children born out of wedlock are of noble blood.

But he would never choose such a woman as his wife, not to mention other things, her IQ is so touching, she didn't even notice his boredom, no, maybe she did, so she tried hard to arouse him Interested, "Huh?" Joseph turned his head away—because he heard a name that wasn't very common at court.

  Eva.

A lady in the court would not have a name like Eva. Most of this name belonged to a servant, but Joseph also knew that there was a lady in the court whose name was Eva. She was the maid of the great county master and a privateer. The daughter of the ship owner, she was married, but unfortunately her husband was a British spy, who was hanged on the wall of Dunkirk by Jean Barr and his grandfather earlier.

   The whistleblower was this lady.

The girl who danced with Joseph was jealous and hated Eva, after all, she was Parisian, but Eva was Dunkirk, her father was a baron, and Eva's father was a pirate, if it was a The daughter of the duke became the maid of the grand county master and the lover of the grand duke of Tuscany. They were able to calm down a little, but she was such a woman who couldn't even glance at their groom, but she became a woman all the time. Those who can accompany one of the most honorable men in France, it is no wonder that their hearts are as sore and painful as vines have grown.

Joseph's companion's accusation of Eva made Joseph sound a cliché. He heard too much of it in Versailles. After all, this lady could be said to be out of place in Versailles, and he was disgusted - he was also a duke. Heir, a commoner is not qualified to accompany the big county lord, but later he heard that Eva took the initiative to assure the big county lord that if the big county lord married to Spain, she would definitely go to Spain and marry Spain. People came to consolidate the status of the big county lord.

At that time, the madness of Carlos II had already begun. Although it was said that he had recovered, no one knew whether he could have children and how long he would live. Spain had tensions with France, and the queen might still have room to spare, but It's hard to tell about her maids, especially since Eva came from a humble background, they wouldn't be merciful.

At that time, whether it was the king, the Duke of Orleans, the dauphin, or anyone who loved the county lord, he was very moved when he heard this. The king also decided that when the lord of the county married to Prussia, he would give him a gift. Giving Eva a title is also a reward, and it is also so that she can have a say in the strange court.

  Thinking of this, the music just stopped, and Joseph nodded politely to his female companion. "There is something you probably don't know," he said, "Ms. Eva will soon be canonized as Countess of Vernay."

   The other party's eyes widened, but at this time Joseph had already walked towards the big county master.

   Happy New Year to our readers!

   All the best, good luck!

   Tomorrow, we will receive the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the first lunar month. Readers please pay attention to receiving red envelopes in the new chapter!

   (end of this chapter)