I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 471 The Count of Barcelona (Part 2)

  Louis XIV only stayed in the apartment of the Charles for a while to appease the uneasy emotions of his wife and eldest son. This may be the biggest test that France will face under Louis XIV. He shared with them the tea and snacks that Bontang served, got up and left, and went back to his suite.

Unlike Louis XIV, who was always in the signature hall of the Louvre or the Jupiter hall in Versailles when he first ruled, the French king has become more casual now, and he holds meetings in his suite, the small hall, Meet the officials, but today those who are eligible to wait for the king in the small hall are the top figures in the pyramid of power—if their names were written, the room would be lit up even without candles.

Of course, the most dazzling name among them was Louis XIV, the Sun King, who left his coat in Charles' suite, wearing only a loose silk shirt and tight pants, and walked slowly into the room with a cane, everyone. They all stood up and bowed to him, and Louis said, "Get up." They raised their bodies, then bowed their heads slightly, and when the king sat down, they took their seats one by one.

All the preparations were completed a few months or even more than a year ago, but everyone was still very anxious. The huge war machine of France finally started, steaming and making a loud noise that shook the world. But it is no exaggeration to say that it is almost at war with most of Europa and a UK, and the people here can see the rough road ahead better than the people who trust the king.

   "But this is the way to go," said the Marquis of Lois.

"We didn't choose war, but war chose us." The Duke of Vendôme sighed. He was the oldest in the room, but his eyes were brighter than many young people, as if the flames of war were burning in his eyes. As the illegitimate son of Bourbon, he was able to reach a reconciliation with the Bishop of Mazarin after rebelling, conspiracy and fleeing. He won several battles for France before Louis XIV came to power. Of course, there is something irreplaceable. Seeing him Louis thought of the young Joseph. Their grandson and grandson were even more similar than Joseph and his father. No wonder the Duke of Vendôme gave all his contacts and assets to his grandson instead of his son.

   His words immediately aroused a chorus of approval.

"We have nothing to fear, but we have to be vigilant," said Colbert, who is also a 60-year-old and has been feeling low energy lately, but the reason for him saying this is basically the same as himself. It doesn't matter - because he is equivalent to holding the keys to the French treasury, so he has a clear idea of ​​where the Louis Gold went and where it came from, and he is probably the one who knows the best about the war after Louis XIV - even if it is Those generals who went to battle may not be able to understand the king's arrangements.

"An enemy becomes a friend, and a friend becomes an enemy," he continued, and all those present could not help but look at the vacant chair beside the king, the one closest to the king, where Louis XIV allowed the Duke of Orleans The Duke has been sitting here since he entered politics.

The Duke of Orleans left Paris in the name of a dowry, but they all knew that he had diverted to Catalonia, which was the king's will and his expectation, and related to the Duke, one was with the Kingdom of Prussia The marriage of , a deal with the Catalans, is also in line with what Colbert said.

   King William I of Prussia probably made up his mind to be a weather vane, and the Catalans are not so credible.

Colbert said this because the Duke of Orleans suddenly allocated a large sum of money. Although it was the Duke's private property, the merchants in France and even more places were Colbert's slaves. It was impossible for him to see such amazing things. A flow of water.

   "The Duke of Orleans has arrived in Roussillon, Catalonia." The Count of D'Artagnan said: "The Catalans are fighting against the Spaniards under his command."

   A smile appeared on the king's face: "Yes, the duke wrote to me that the situation of the Catalans is even more chaotic than that of the slingers."

   "So can the original plan continue?" Colbert asked.

"Of course, in the latest letter, the Duke and his Catalan army have achieved a great advantage. As for Pepilion and Barcelona, ​​it is only a matter of time." The king said: "He said, wait for the victory. With Barcelona, ​​he will accept the Catalan allegiance on behalf of Charles."

   "This is the best news." said the Marquis of Lois: "But those Spaniards, should we continue to wait?"

   "I have given them time," the king tapped on the armrest and looked at the Count of D'Artagnan: "But the information the Count brought me indicates that the development of the situation may not be so optimistic."

"Now we are inclined to the Duke of Don Juan and Patinho, that is, the Spaniard's Admiralty. The forces left behind by the Queen Mother and the Archbishop of Tolede have apparently decided to accept Leopold I's only son as the new king of Spain. , so today's Spanish court has divided into two distinct forces, Madrid is one, Toledo is another, but Toledo is stronger, the princess of Habsburg (referring to the Queen Mother) side At any time, they can make their decision public, and Madrid is still hesitant."

   "The Duke of Don Juan must know about this," said the king, and the Count d'Artagnan immediately stood up and said that he obeyed, and waited for him to sit down.

"If the Spaniards respond, will His Royal Highness continue to stay in Catalonia?" This is the question of Viscount Turenne, and everyone can only try not to show any strange expressions. The Duke of Dome didn't bring it up either—in view of the fact that fathers and sons were often in conflict with each other in the history of France, even though the Duke of Orléans always respected his elder brother, Louis XIV also cared about his younger brother very much—but no one knew if this was a coincidence. A show without stage and curtain.

The Duke of Orleans is called the second son of the young king. His nephew went to Roussillon to accept the allegiance of the Catalans. In fact, he is equivalent to the eyes and ears of the hostage and the king. One of these two identities may lead to death at any time. , who can be sure that Louis XIV was not excluding dissidents? But Viscount Turenne asked. After all, he has always been an upright soldier - he had a small stroke a few months ago. If there were no wizards around, at least he would be paralyzed. Therefore, although Viscount Turenne is very interested in Holland Importantly, the king still recalled him to Versailles temporarily, and let his deputy govern the French territory in the Netherlands on his behalf—Jean Barr and Vauban helped both on land and on the sea, and he could barely cope with the past.

However, Viscount Turenne has been begging the king to allow him to return to the Netherlands. At this critical moment, William III's surname Orange is easy to incite the Dutch people's memory and yearning for this family, except for the same Orange The bloodline Viscount Turenne, no one can stand against him.

   There were several of the people present who helped the king to comfort him, and now they couldn't help but glared at Viscount Turenne, it's better to let him go back to Holland.

Viscount Turenne has to ask, he has no personal relationship with the Duke of Orleans, but he hopes that His Majesty can have more human feelings than a king. Even though he is old, he is still willing to gallop on the battlefield for Louis XIV, more than the king. His Majesty's reward and value, what he valued more was the kindness of the Sun King Louis XIV.

Fortunately, Louis XIV did not disappoint his old ministers this time. "The Duke of Orléans and the Duke of Luxembourg can leave Catalonia after the handover." The second son of the king, who is still learning to walk, of course, cannot visit Barcelona in person. But as the guardian of the new king of Spain, Louis XIV could of course appoint credible officials and generals to oversee his son's territory: "Are you going to wait for him to come back?"

   "No, Your Majesty," said Viscount Turenne, "I wonder if you heard me yelling last night..."

   "No," said Louis, "what's the matter?"

   "I was so looking forward to returning to Amsterdam. I woke up suddenly last night and saw an unfamiliar arrangement. I thought someone had kidnapped me to some weird place."

"Well, Monsieur Marshal," said the Count d'Artagnan, "that strange place, as far as I know, ten thousand people would give their souls in exchange." More recently, although it did not disturb the king as Viscount Turenne said, it also made many people jealous to the point of madness.

   Their words made the king laugh, so everyone laughed along with them, and the originally depressed atmosphere also dissipated.

   "Well, Mister Marshal," said Louis, "but you will go hunting with me first—to-morrow, and then you can go back to Amsterdam."

The hunting that Louis mentioned was also one of the grand ceremonies to celebrate the enthronement of Carlos III. In the Middle Ages, people celebrated with tournaments of martial arts. Now it is hunting, but it is equally important. As the king's generals and ministers, Thierry If the Viscount Nat does not appear at tomorrow's hunting event, some will doubt whether he is no longer favored by the king.

   This is also the heart of Louis, an old minister in Ann, who said that he was not angry with the question of Viscount Turenne.

   Viscount Turenne stood up and accepted it with sincerity.

  ———

   The hunt in the forest of Versailles begins almost at the same time as the hunt in the mountains of Corcerola.

Corcerola is a coastal mountain range on the Iberian Peninsula. From the top of the mountain, you can overlook the city of Barcelona. The Spaniards built fortifications and fortresses on the top of the mountain. They had to wait until the French king's fleet was in place before sending envoys, and if they were the generals of the defenders of Barcelona, ​​they would have also chosen to surrender.

The Duke of Orleans spent four hours getting dressed up this morning - the French squires around him are not used to it, the Catalans are amazed that even the most delicate princess they have ever seen has not spent that long grooming Dressed up, but it must be admitted that the results of four hours were quite impressive, and the young men and women could hardly take their eyes away from the Duke.

Although it is said to be dressing himself up, the duke did not put on powder, wear a wig, and tie a ribbon as people think. His attire is closer to the traditional Catalan clothes-that is, black leggings, white shirts, He wore a black vest and a short dark blue coat, but instead of wearing linen shoes like those lads, he was wearing lambskin boots, and he might have worn an army in On his body... no no no, it's not that he's fully armed, I mean, from trousers, to shirts, to wide-brimmed hats, vests, and short coats, all covered with sparkling diamonds.

A poet said that gold can turn an old woman into a maiden, an ugly lame man into a saint, and diamonds are more effective, and their light can cover wrinkles and spots better than lead powder, not to mention this noble man, although he is young. Forty, his daughter is also married, and from the outside, he is still young and beautiful. He tied his long curly golden brown hair with a ribbon and pressed it under the slanted wide-brimmed hat. The wide-brimmed hat is very skewed. The needle is fixed and may fall from his head at any time. The ostrich feather on the brim of the hat hangs down to his waist. The diamond pendant attached to the end of the feather matches the silver short scabbard on the waist.

   "He eclipsed everything in the world," said a lady with admiration.

   "I really don't know what the face of the Sun King Louis XIV is." Her friend said.

Father Clarisse didn't want to participate in such a noisy gathering, but he is now thankful that he is here. Compared with the fear and disgust of a few months ago, the Catalan people's rejection of the Duke of Orleans is now a few times. Nearly nothing, compared to the complicated and strict requirements of the people of later generations for the superiors, the people of this era really don't want much - worry about food and clothing, living and working in peace and contentment, and... victory.

In private, some people say that if the French king is willing to let the Duke of Orleans serve as the regent of Spain, they are not unacceptable. After all, some people even accepted it before... But for Senator Tamarit and Father Clarice As far as careerists are concerned, the Duke of Orleans, especially the Duke of Orleans who has the support of the French king, is about to become a hindrance.

The Duke of Orleans entered the camp. The hunting camp was located deep in the forest. It was an extremely empty field. The carriage was surrounded by it, and an open tent was set up in the middle. People and horses gathered in groups, some cheered him, and some saluted. Compared with the councilors and priests around him, these people were more energetic and more willing to be close to the duke.

Most of them are young people, the men are as I said before, black trousers and white clothes, linen shoes, the ladies are dressed in black, with large white embroidered shawls, and colorful long skirts, but this kind of skirt is not like the court. The lady in the middle hung down to the ground like that, they only reached the knees, and below the knees were white stockings, and the long black straps started from the ankles and went all the way to the knees.

   Some of the men wore purple pocket hats and the women wore headscarves.

   One person walked over first, followed by several large long-haired dogs, panting, and looking at the Duke curiously. The two attendants behind him were holding two spears and falcons.

   "Philip!" the man shouted, making everyone around the Duke of Orleans look uneasy and disgusted.

   "Lupo!" the Duke responded happily.

   This Mr. Lupo is none other than the leader of a group of people who, after the Duke decided to select some people to use as special "skirmishers", showed their edge from the legion like an awl.

   (end of this chapter)