I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 473 Fangs

However, their relaxation was only for a moment, and the surroundings were still in chaos, the falcons screamed, the hounds barked, and people shouted each other's names. Although the duke and Lupo's guards were doing their best to maintain order, at this time there was another Several wild boars rushed out. Lupo didn't hesitate, he whistled and led the duke straight to the jungle.

The cavalry has never entered the dense forest, because the branches of trees, the stems of vines, and the grass stalks climbing on the ground may cause a well-trained military horse to fall with its owner, but at this time, it is too much to care about. Now, they had to get out of this quagmire that was inseparable between friend and foe. With the mottled light cast from the gaps between the dense branches and leaves, Lupo steered his horse to a path that looked like a forest ranger, and the branches on the path passed by. Crude folds and cuts, but all below the height of the heads of ordinary men, they had to close their heads and bow their bodies.

   At this time they heard the barking of dogs, and a few fluffy hounds chased them from behind. The hounds could pass through the trees, passing them in a moment, and two extraordinarily large hounds circled around the horse's hoofs, and the horses stamped their hooves uneasily, trying to get out of their way but could not do so because of the narrow path.

   "Hold down the horse's ears," said the Duke.

Lupo obeyed immediately, holding the reins, folded the horse's ears forward with his palm and thumb, and then he heard a loud gunshot, the loud noise made him suddenly lose his hearing - he even felt a wet liquid coming from it. out of the ear

The hound fell to the ground whimpering, the duke carried two short shotguns with him, and he used two bullets without hesitation. Still shaking, Lupo kicked it hard in the stomach with the silver spur before it continued on.

   The Duke of Orleans and Lupo couldn't be sure if it was theirs who released the hounds, and they kept going all the way in silence - until they left the hunting area.

This is not the first assassination nor the last. The people in the hunting ground, whether they are intact or injured, or dying, are all under control. The conspiracy planned by the French forces, but some discerning people can see that this assassination may be because the Duke of Orleans touched the interests of some people, or made them feel threatened, just like the current France.

Since they were friends at first, and then turned into enemies, it was extraordinarily difficult to guard against, and while the Duke sat by the fireplace, enjoying mulled wine on a chilly night, the cat licked the wine from his glass and said: "It appears that the Tamalet and Father Clarice's grip on the Catalans is not as perfect as we thought."

"I'd almost say it's a good thing," Senator Tamarit and Father Claris are an out-and-out hidden danger for the future Carlos III, but now they are not only helping, but hindering, just Like when the duke wanted to go after the perpetrator of the assassination, they stood firmly on the Catalan side, not on the duke's or the French's side, when they were in Paris, or in Roussillon Pledging allegiance to the future king of Spain, they now seem to prefer an independent Catalonia.

"..." The Duke lifted the cat and held it in his hand, watching it lazily nestle into a ball. After they left the hunting ground, Lupo's expression was amazing when the cat ran out of his pocket. Maybe he said in his heart: French! But he didn't know that if the situation was out of control, this cat boy would tear up all those who were bad for the Duke: "Mr. Theoderic, guess what I'm thinking now?"

   "Goldin's knot," said Catboy.

The situation they now face, though victorious all the way, is becoming more and more chaotic, the authority of Tamarit and Father Clarice is not enough to subdue all Catalans, but this insufficient authority is the Orleans of France The Duke's constraints, but if they suddenly encountered misfortune - this situation can instead develop in France's favor.

   Because in today's crowd, no one can take their place, except the Duke.

Those who dared only to curse in the shadows, or to stab with daggers, the duke was not afraid, what troubled him were those who were neutral, vacillating, or stubbornly remembered as a Catalan despite their leanings towards France The people of Asia, when confronted with contradictions, they will inevitably turn to "their own people", so he cannot solve his enemies as neatly as in Paris, so the Catalans will inevitably turn to Habs Fort.

Theodoric says the situation is as complicated as Goulding's knot - he's talking about a problem Alexander the Great faced when he conquered Asia Minor, and the locals asked him to look at a legendary chariot with A knot of cowhide knots tangled oddly by the belt of the pole. It is said that someone prophesied that the person who could untangle this dead knot was the king of Asia. They hoped to use this topic to embarrass Alexander the Great, but the emperor only thought for a few seconds, then drew his sword and split the knot with one sword.

The Duke of Orleans had such a plan - from Tamalet to Father Clarice, there were few available among these Catalan nobles, their mediocrity was not a sin, but it did become a drag that led to After the failure of the previous riots, the duke did not want himself to be one of the victims - he wanted to behead their heads, and when the Catalans were looking for the leader, they could only look at the duke.

   "It's not difficult to do this, but how to do it is the problem." Maozai said.

   "This is Catalonia," the duke nodded. "We may have to wait." He said, "When we take Barcelona..."

   At this moment, someone knocked on the door, the attendant outside the door came to ask the Duke, and Senator Tamarit suddenly came to ask to see the Duke. The duke looked out the window, the night was dark, "Now is not a good time to visit," he said.

  Catboy got into his pocket, "He must have something important."

   Isn't there something important! The duke was stunned. He had known for a long time that these Catalans had all kinds of eccentric views of him. They might have thought they would welcome a vulnerable "noble" who only knew how to dress up and have sex. When they found him Although they are really good at dressing up and falling in love, they are also very good at fighting and marching, and they can't help but become anxious. They neither want to let him have any accident, nor do they want him to truly become the French in Catalonia. 's representative.

   At least that's what the former Duke thought tonight.

   "You...how do you think like this?"

"I think it makes perfect sense. Your Majesty," said Tamarit respectfully and cheerfully, "you know that the title of Count of Barcelona dates back to the Carolingian era, when Charlemagne conquered Catalonia. He set up vassal guards in this far-flung territory, although we don't know why he did so - but before the twelfth century, the Counts of Barcelona were almost independent from the French kingdom - after all, they were originally from Canada Allegiance to the king of Lorraine."

   "But the subsequent kings of France also inherited the Carolingian heritage," said the duke.

"I do not deny it," said Tamalet, "and then in 1258, although the relationship between the two existed in name only, the title was inherited by the king of Aragon by marriage, and in the Treaty of Corbe, Aragon gave up his claim to southern France, and in return, Louis IX ceded Barcelona to the King of Aragon, that is, the title of Count of Barcelona was given to the King of Aragon."

"So to speak, but in 1641 it was retaken by the king of France, and given what the descendants of the king of Aragon did in the Thirty Years' War, I can say that my father, Louis XIII, took back the count of Barcelona. The title is in full compliance with canon law and secular law."

   "There is no doubt, so." Tamarit said something earth-shattering: "So, why don't you come to inherit your father's estate?"

  ———

When the Catalan aristocrats changed their minds and were about to push the Duke of Orleans to the position of Count of Barcelona in order to seek the independence of Barcelona, ​​they probably forgot the loyalty of the Duke of Orleans to the Sun King Louis XIV. When she disappeared, she was unwilling to accept the position of "king regent" with the support of the Queen Mother and Bishop Mazarin. Perhaps they did not forget it, but thought it was an impossible thing.

   Who can be indifferent to the monstrous power?

In their thoughts, the Duke of Orleans will definitely be moved - he is thousands of miles away, and there is no one around him who can restrict and threaten him. If he takes the lead in accepting the allegiance of the Catalans, it can also be said that he His own nephew, Carlos III, opened up a smooth path - the Catalonia of the Duke of Orleans could also be the backing of the French army.

   Of course, this is just a hypocritical statement, and everyone knows what this means - but Catalonia... don't forget, it was even a country.

   "The Duke of Orleans will not agree," said the Archbishop of Toledo. He rolled up a small piece of paper with information written on it and lit it on a candle. Sitting in front of him was Perrault, who was also an important minister of Spain. It is worth mentioning that he was a supporter of the Queen Mother Maria Anna. , also a **** placed beside her by Leopold I, a ardent supporter of the Habsburgs, and an Austrian - people like him made up the majority at the court of Toledo, they of course He is the last person who wants a Bourbon to inherit the Spanish throne.

If the heir is the son of Leopold I, there is no doubt that the future Spanish court will still be dominated by the Habsburgs, their status and property will not be reduced, but will increase, but if Bourbon is replaced... From what they can see now, even if Spain and France will not merge, according to Louis XIV's heart, Spain will change like France - the power of nobles and officials will be taken away and replaced by centralized kingship.

Therefore, even if the sudden death of Carlos II caught them by surprise, and the death of the Queen Mother made them lose their main spokesperson, they still firmly and stubbornly guarded the Habsburgs in Spain. The position, Bourbon will never be allowed to enter Toledo or Madrid, Madrid, thinking of this minister Perrault's expression becomes extremely gloomy, it is obvious that the court of Madrid is inclined to accept Charles, the second son of Louis XIV. …

   Carlos III? Pooh! He spurned in his heart, didn't they know that the death of Carlos II must have something to do with the Sun King? That's the villain who will make deals with the devil! They don't even have to curse him to **** because he's already in hell! It is a pity that Patinho, the Admiralty, was a cowardly traitor, and he went so far as to say that the genetic disease of the Habsburgs might bring them another mad or sick king. How could it be possible! Everyone knows that the little prince of the Habsburgs was healthy and...strong...

Perrault finds himself really incapable of being pretty or smart, though he and the Prince of the Charles of France are toddlers, but not smart, as a baby can tell in a few months - but what's the point? relation! They need such a king!

After Louis XIV, Leopold I also announced that his son Philip would become Philip V. The meeting between Perot and Bishop Toledo was to determine how they would respond to each other. Must be allegiance to the Habsburgs, so that Louis XIV must have regarded them as enemies: "Then will Madrid go to war with us?" he asked worriedly.

   "Yes." The Archbishop of Toledo replied wearily: "Yes, there will be a civil war in Spain."

  Perot turned his head: "Then I will reply to the French like this." The archbishop nodded.

  Perot got a response and left the room. Bishop Toledo sat in place for a while, stood up, and opened the door leading to the next door.

  Behind the door is a small room for repentance and prayer, in which stood Alberoni, a disciple of the archbishop.

  The Archbishop took off his mask.

  Alberoni may be the only one who can stare at the face of the archbishop without turning his head. He watched it for several months while serving the archbishop, and he was used to it no matter how grim he was.

   And because of this credit, Alberoni was not held accountable for the crimes he committed in that turmoil. He was still a disciple of the archbishop, but his future was uncertain. Compared with Jose, who has been taken to Madrid, he has his life in danger at any time.

   But perhaps he was the only one who thought so, because the archbishop asked him bluntly: "Do you want to go to France?"

   The stupid author made a mistake, the Queen Mother of Spain was written to death by me before! Groundhog screams!

   Go and change it... Readers who have read it, please remember that it is the remaining forces of the Queen Mother rather than the Queen Mother herself. Bow in apology.

   (end of this chapter)