I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 456 The First Horn (5)

   "No matter what thoughts you have," Amon peeped at the light between the window curtains: "You need time."

   "We'll have time," Henry said.

   It was the Russian army itself that gave Henry such confidence.

Anyone with military knowledge should know that in an army, there should not and cannot be two voices, but Henry learned from Amon that this Russian army has three generals, one Romanov side branch, Trusted by Alexei I, a Cossack married to Naryshkin's daughter - the commander of the cavalry regiment, and a member of the Miroslavsky family - he went to Holland to learn how to make and use artillery , so proud that he had all the artillery of this army in his hands.

These three people have their own pride and their own capital. On the surface, the Cossack Golovin and Alexander of the Miroslavsky family still respect Boris Romanov, but in private they are not convinced by any of them. Boris is a fat and dull person. For the other two people, he should stay in a tent or room like a mascot, hug a woman, eat meat, drink and don’t care about anything, but said to Boris, One was a cossack as lowly as a slave—even if he married a noble daughter of the Naryshkin family, and Alexander of the Miroslavsky family, whose family simply climbed up by grabbing the queen’s belt—here He ignored that Romanov was originally only the surname of Empress Ivan the Terrible. The two of them were very clear about his contempt for him, but they had not yet found a chance to attack.

Unlike Alexei I, who was still on the sickbed, they did not think that Karsava would be a great obstacle. However, for both sides of the war, armament, situation, location, and people's hearts all needed to be carefully weighed. things, but Karsava's disadvantage is too obvious.

   Their only concern is Crown Prince Henry of Poland, they are eager for merit, and a crown prince, especially the crown prince of Poland, Russia's old enemy, is too precious.

"They must not be allowed to escape!" Boris said, pausing his cane on the ground. The Russian court has not yet captured the Parisian fashion in its clothes, but Louis XIV's habitual behavior of holding a cane is not It was imitated by many, from the tsar to the officials, and it was a great relief for the sick or obese like Alexei I and Boris.

   The generals and officers in the tent were of course approving and flattering, and then the Cossack Golovin said, "Then why do we stop here?"

"I know," said Boris, clutching the cane repeatedly, his palms wet and warm, "that you want to pry open their walls with artillery, then rush in, drag him out of the bed, and hang him on the On your horse—but no, Golovin, we're not savages."

   He looked around. "I will send an envoy to Karlsava to demand the surrender of the Poles and the French."

This sentence could not be unanimously approved for the time being. The officers exchanged glances secretly. The generals either pretended not to hear, or lowered their heads to think. Golovin, who was called a barbarian, showed a look of shame. , while Miroslavsky's Alexander clasped his arms, enjoying the jokes of the two enemies.

   "What do you think, Alexander?" Boris could not allow this person to stay out of the way, he stared at Alexander and demanded an answer.

   "...according to tradition and etiquette." Alexander said slowly: "We really should do it..."

"Look, I knew you would support me," Boris clapped his palms (the cane almost fell to the ground): "If our army has indeed overwhelmed this highness, then we can also promise to give him enough courtesy, To put it simply, treat him like our Highness the Crown Prince, and we will bring him back to Moscow, where he will be the most dazzling trophy in the triumphal parade." He imagined fascinatedly: "He may be in There's a room in the Kremlin, good luck guy!"

   "Possibly in a prison," Alexander said coldly.

The grievances between Poland and Russia can be traced back to before the Romanov dynasty. After the Rurik dynasty died out, there was a chaotic and terrible blank period. relationship) first promoted three fake Ivan the Terrible's "youngest son" Dimitri as Tsar - the last one even succeeded, but his unbridled inclination to Poland quickly overwhelmed Russia's The nobles became suspicious, so they were quickly overthrown and executed.

After   , the Polish king also wanted his son to be the tsar of Russia, but it was unsuccessful because the Russians responded too violently.

It can be said that Romanov even wanted to thank the Polish king. Without the king's help and misbehavior, the Russian nobles would not need a tsar so urgently. When they asked Romanov to take the throne, they agreed. There are a lot of conditions that I would never agree to.

But for a big family like Miroslavsky, the Poles were the worst enemies, and he would have liked to march with the Polish crown prince—if the latter was tarnished and feathered, and Those Poles, officers and soldiers, should be crucified all the way from Karsava to Riga.

Boris's idea is also very simple, he has no military talent, only because he has the same surname as the tsar can sit here, if it takes a battle to capture the Polish crown prince, everyone knows that it can't be his credit, But if the Poles surrendered before the war, he could take the biggest credit.

   But he is Romanov.

Because the queen has died, she and the two sons of the tsar are not satisfactory. Alexei I still did not give up the idea of ​​creating a more suitable heir. Alexander looked to Golovin. If Golovin objected, He also avoids being hostile to Boris. It is a pity that Golovin can come here as a Cossack and marry the Naryshkin family, so he is destined not to be a reckless idiot. Only grinned at Alexander.

Both Alexander and Golovin are reluctant to provoke Boris, even if he is just an empty skin with no appearance, Boris' decision is naturally unopposed, and there are many supporters. After all, the Russian court and army have not yet broken away from the old. The rut of the times, let alone when such an absolute advantage was occupied, a hundred years ago, no, fifty years ago, even if the two armies were evenly matched, the siege side would still send messengers to ask the defender to drop the gate. , bowed his head in surrender.

   "Who will go?" Alexander asked: "If I can, I am willing to be the messenger."

"You can't." Boris would not let Alexander appear in front of the Polish crown prince: "You are the most important person in this army, my dear friend, even if we lose me, we can still win, but if we lose Without you, our future is as bleak as the sun." He pretended to say a word, and then set his eyes on Golovin, the Cossack shook his head immediately, he may have such a talent, but he also It is clear that, in the eyes of these Russians, a good Cossack should be as strong, capable and "quiet" as a horse.

Fortunately, Boris didn't really want to send Alexander or Golovin, and he didn't dare to go to the Poles' camp in person. After thinking for a while, he showed a subtle smile: "Father Adrian? "

  ———

  In the Russian army, in addition to Boris, Alexander and Golovin, there is a fourth voice.

   The voice of religion.

Hundreds of years later, there are still black priests in the Russian army. Today's army is even more impossible to leave the priests. Although they are not priests of the Roman Church, they are priests of the Orthodox Church, but it seems that the priests are everywhere. It is the same, they are like vines coiled around the trunk, while relying on the kingship, they are also competing with the kingship for power.

But in terms of religious power and kingship, Russia and Britain have many similarities, that is, the archbishops of the Orthodox Church have always been appointed by the tsar, and they are usually their confidants, such as the archbishops in the period of Ivan IV. Therefore, it is almost impossible for the tsar to give in to the archbishop because of his beliefs. Even if the archbishop wants to let the religious authority surpass the kingship, he will face the calamity of death—this is also what Ivan IV did.

There is also a special place in the Romanov dynasty, that is, their first tsar, his father was forced to become a priest, and later he was revered by the Russians because he stood firm in the face of the captivity, torture and threats of the Poles. With the beloved Elder Filaret, although he is a religious leader, his heart belongs to his son without a doubt. Between the religious authority and the kingship, he naturally prefers the latter, which also makes the Russian church go further. restrained.

   Such a church must not be able to interfere with the tsar's decision. When Alexei I decided to use inhuman power in Russia, he encountered less opposition than other monarchs of Europa.

  In this army, it is full of wizards, shamans and the spirits they keep.

  The fact that more than 10,000 people were able to approach so close to Karsava so silently was also caused by the sorcerers driving their "slaves" - a monster called Lesh, the demon of the forest.

Monsters like Lesh have always lived in the deserted jungles and swamps, and if anyone passed by them, they grabbed him, took off the traveler's clothes, stabbed them in the eyes, and devoured their flesh, in order to escape the human hunt. Instead of paralyzing their prey, they use shrubs to disguise themselves as roots and dry branches, they can also be used to fake pavements that appear to be walkable, or to block entrances to burrows and passages.

Father Adrian, who was mentioned by the commander-in-chief Boris, was raising three fingers together, making a sacred gesture. The white light jumped on his fingers and landed on a mess of bushes, accompanied by a few sharp and anxious chirps. With a sound, the two "Lesh" quickly sprang out of the shadows, and as they were burned into powder by the white light, the illusion of shrubs they created disappeared, revealing the entrance to the room.

   Adrian uttered a curse in his heart, no matter whether it was the Roman Church or the Orthodox Church, no priest would like wizards and spirits, but as the general trend prevailed, they had nothing to do.

In the room there was the disgusting smell left by "Lish", the greasy mucus, and something that Priest Adrian didn't want to know what it was. He stood outside the room, wondering if he should let a few servants first. When I came to clean up, I saw Boris's squire was running towards him quickly.

   An ominous premonition came over the priest.

   (end of this chapter)