I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 450 Before the War - Transylvania

  Louis moved, "No," he regretted immediately after speaking: "No, I'd better think about it, brother, let me think about it..."

"Don't think about it," the Duke of Orleans interrupted him: "Your Majesty, there is no more suitable person than me." He smiled and raised his hand: "I swear to you that when I come back, I will be with you at Versailles. Yours for a while, maybe five years, or ten years?"

"This war may take five or ten years." Louis felt tired when he remembered it, but wars of this age, like those in his conquests in Flanders and Holland, are not normal, whether in Spain , or the Holy Roman Empire, or the Dutch, are accustomed to intermittent, long, non-professional wars - to put it simply, before Louis XIV, although there was already the concept of a standing army, it was always No one can actually put it into practice—because the cost is too high.

   And cheap soldiers, or soldiers recruited and conscripted from farmers and craftsmen, have no morals, no sense of honor, and no competitive spirit. And the mercenaries that are used and valued as sharp weapons are very valuable, so they cannot be hired for a long time. In addition, except for Swiss mercenaries, mercenaries in other places seem to be no better than thieves and rogues.

It is difficult for modern people to imagine that in the wars before Louis XIV, whether or not the dawn of victory has been seen, or the last fight for life and death, there will be soldiers in the army because they need to go home to sow or not. Harvest, or the situation where the mercenaries leave the officers and generals at will because the commissions cannot be negotiated, stay in one place for too long, the casualties are too high, etc. ... This kind of loose and irritating The situation continued until aspirants began to value the legitimacy of the military. The problem is that the cost of changing the military is huge and long-lasting.

It can be said that Louis caught the countries by surprise before. He boldly borrowed from merchants, and then took Flanders and Holland in one third or less of the time of others, and then he could wait for two places. Feedback from Xindi - Regardless of the Netherlands, Flanders is now enough to support the king's armament expenditure... Only a few people know the specific figures for the time being, but when it is possible to face multinational coalition forces and fight in many places, the old and strong Ke Monsieur Erbert and the Marquis of Lois seem restless before the battle of Holland - no blisters on the lips, no light on the top of the head, no wobbles in the eyes - you can tell if the French economic roulette is still stable. Turn around, and there probably won't be a problem with maintaining the cost of this war.

   And if Spain and its colonies could be swallowed up, it would be a very lucrative business worthy of France, no, all the merchants in the world would be willing to dance on the gallows.

   "That's right," said the Duke of Orleans. "I'll come back to you when I'm tired of the war."

Louis pursed his lips, he didn't want to say unlucky words, but bullets and arrows on the battlefield won't be avoided because of your respect - the Duke of Orleans likes to lead the charge, and he always will before the battle. Dressing yourself carefully and brightly makes it easy to be seen as a target or prey.

   But he couldn't stop the Duke, it was not love, it was humiliation.

   "Okay." That's all he said at the end.

   "I'm waiting for you at Versailles."

Of course, this sentence is only a symbol, a metaphor, because in the subsequent wars, Louis XIV was not sure whether he would go on a personal expedition again in the multi-faceted battle. In this way, he could not tell Orleans. The duke is too harsh, after all, the life and death of a king is much more important than a duke.

The Duke of Orleans originally wanted to have dinner with his brother, but suddenly a special guest came. When he heard his name, the Duke could only express regret and retire as soon as possible. He always knew exactly when he should Stay should go.

The man who ruined the tender moment has a strange name, Tekei Imre, surname first, first name last, which is different from other Europas, but it is the Hungarian tradition - before this name we It was also mentioned, and the Duke of Orleans jokingly mentioned that the Grand Duke of Transylvania had a daughter, and maybe he would have delusions of marrying Bourbon.

Jokes aside, unless France and Bourbon went back to the Hundred Years' War, and it was the most unfavorable period for France - when the British conquered most of France, Louis XIV would consider marrying a Hungarian nobleman - Tracie The Grand Duke of Vania was the title given to the opposing party by the sultan of Ottoman Turkey. Leopold I, as the king of Hungary and Bohemia, firmly refused to recognize it. Other countries, including France, maintained an ambiguous attitude toward it—neither admit nor deny it.

The key is that the Grand Duke of Transylvania does have some means on the battlefield, and he has a keen sense of smell. During the big battle, his army was the first to leave the sight of the Grand Vizier, and also avoided the subsequent defeat. , his messenger also came to visit Louis XIV as a courtesy later - don't get me wrong, it's not about marriage, the Grand Duke is very clear that he is not qualified for this, what he wants to do with the French is arms business.

Although Transylvania stood on the side of Ottoman Turkey and France on the side of the Holy Roman Empire in the Great War, it did not prevent them from becoming good trading partners in the future. Ottoman Turkey held the gold of East-West trade. Passage, although this gold has faded a little after the discovery of new routes and new continents, Hungary can still rely on the afterglow of this huge empire to become rich.

And this grand duke is not the kind of person who will be carried away by hatred. While he continues to fight against the Habsburgs, he is in vain with the Ottoman Turks, and he is also devoting himself to governing his own region of Transylvania. . The Transylvania region is rich in mineral deposits, timber and agricultural resources, and is connected to the Holy Roman Empire, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Ottoman Turkey. Commerce is also very developed. As long as the rulers are not too greedy and wars are not so frequent, They can become strong and powerful quickly.

However, its misfortune is precisely because it is between these two countries, especially the ambitious Austria and Ottoman Turkey. Although the Ottoman Turkey is dying, it is still a giant beast, and Leopold I has always put Hungary Seeing it as his own - plus the conflict between the old and the new, the Protestant Tekei's father was executed as a traitor after the riots against Leopold I.

Because the two envoys, Tamalet of Catalonia and Tekei of Transylvania, met one after the other, and the audience did not even last more than one afternoon, Louis XIV naturally compared the When they came, there are quite a lot of similarities between the two. They are all young people with noble backgrounds. Their fathers died because they opposed the tyranny of the Habsburgs. They inherited their father's territory and titles. With the will, he led his people to fight for freedom.

They are even close in age, no more than thirty years old. Tekei is even younger than Tamalet. He was born in 57 and is only twenty-five years old, but he looks even older than Louis. Old, with dark complexion, fine lines at the corners of his eyes and lips, his brows were always furrowed—it was evident that he was trying to stretch them out, but maybe he hadn't since his father was hanged. Smile so embarrassingly.

   His shoulders are extraordinarily broad, and his back is like a strong bull. Even if he wears gloves, his hands can be seen to have rough knuckles and sandpaper-like skin.

Tamalet looks much more glamorous than him, but if Louis had a choice, he would prefer that Tamalet and Tekei change their positions. Although he does not often go to war, he has seen many soldiers and knows that. What a soldier is like.

Tekei was also carefully observing Louis XIV, who had met Mohammed IV more than once, and his grand vizier, the unlucky man who was ruthlessly defeated by the king in the great battle, He was lucky to die on the battlefield, otherwise the sultan would have sent eunuchs with long bows to hang him with bowstrings.

The Grand Vizier was a slave in front of the sultan, but a master in front of Tekei. When he looked at Tekei, he didn't even see him as a person, but just looked at a tool to see if he was still in his hand, Whether or not there were disgusting barbs, it could be said that every interview with Tekei was like a dangerous journey, and no one knew when he would be dragged down to his death.

This time Tekei insisted on coming to see the French king, but the people around him also repeatedly stopped him, because France has always called itself "the eldest daughter of God" and "the defender of the Church". Although everyone knows what this is all about, but Tekei is part Protestant and part Ottoman Turk's "dog" - if he is sent to the beheading or the stake, no one will say a word, and the church will even praise the king of France.

And although the French king cannot be said to be a religious fanatic, he is indeed a Catholic, and because the Huguenots have set off several rebellions, his attitude of not paying attention to Protestantism is enough to make people feel Say "tolerance", who knows what will happen when a pagan walks up to him!

   But Tekei still insisted on his own idea. This time, it was not the arms or food business, but a more important matter. Without him, it would be difficult for others to win the trust of Louis XIV.

His eyes stayed on Louis XIV, the shining Sun King for only a moment, perhaps pampered, or without a beard, Louis XIV was much younger than he thought, and those portraits could not have passed too much. The monk - but it is said that his children, even the younger brother's children are very beautiful, and the eldest princess can be quickly accepted and recognized by the Swedes - this advantage is indispensable, and the little prince Louis is also described as a bright moon, and The big county master, it is needless to say, King Carlos II of Spain is crazy for her, and the crown prince of Prussia is about to become half French.

   But these people must not have seen Louis XIV with their own eyes.

In this day and age, people think that beautiful people must be noble in nature and have a high status - this is not nonsense, because only people of noble birth, rich money and plenty of leisure time can take care of themselves, change clothes frequently, use Perfume and fat, keeping teeth white, and skin white—something that can't be fulfilled by someone who has to work or train a lot, like Tekei.

   As for the Grand Vizier and Sultan he had met, they were also decent-looking people, but they were still no match for Louis XIV in front of him.

People always say that beauty brings power, and power brings beauty, but Louis XIV completely combined beauty and power. He is the embodiment of power and beauty. His power and authority are like The sun was shining brightly, but it was impossible to look directly at it. Everyone in front of him would bow their heads involuntarily.

   Tekei did the same.

Louis XIV didn't know what Tekei was thinking, but Tekei had always maintained enough humility-he knew very well that the so-called Grand Duke of Transylvania and even the prince had not been recognized by the monarch of Europa, and the ceremonial official informed him. At times he was only called "Mr. So-and-So", not "Duke", "Grand Duke" or "His Royal Highness" - he was only a lower noble of the knight class at Versailles, if he was not Tekei, and the war was imminent , he is not qualified to meet the king.

But now that he was in the presence of the king, Louis XIV was as gentle and amiable as any friend - said by those who are qualified to approach the king, not a hypocritical disguise, but in Louis' position, he did not need to resort to bluffing It reinforces the impression others have of you.

   "I beg your pardon," Tekei said calmly after being allowed to take his seat, "Your Majesty, I'm not good at conversation, so I can only tell you plainly..."

   "Leopold I and Muhammad IV made a secret covenant."

   The addition is complete!

   (end of this chapter)