I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 118 Mr. Squirrel Convicted and Louis' Wife Candidate

Mr. Nicholas Fouquet can be said to be proud of the spring breeze. Although Bishop Mazarin is his benefactor, he is also a huge rock on top of his head. He is glad that when the king was seriously ill, out of fear of Bishop Mazarin, He did not choose to stand by his younger brother Philip. When the king returned to Paris, this little man who was actually very good at turning the wheel took this cautiousness as his own credit. When the bishop was dying, he did not. He was full of joy, because he didn't think anyone could surpass him and be more qualified to be the heir of Mr. Bishop, even that Colbert, although he was greatly used by the king, his origin was the biggest weakness. The arrogant nobles would never allow the son of an accompanying merchant to be one of them.

He also noticed that the king was not very happy lately, but he didn't even think about the reason, but he wanted to court the young king to make him happy. Maybe the king would appoint him when he was happy. What about the new Prime Minister?

Fouquet had such an idea, and he did not hesitate to send an invitation to the king after a royal meeting. What he didn't see was the unimaginable look in his brother Philip's eyes. "It's just selfishness." Louis said .

   "So are you going?"

   "Why not?" said Louis. "I'm also curious about what the acclaimed Castle of Wallaviconte looks like."

They set off at dusk, and reached the castle of Wallevikonte when the sky was dark, and as they turned from the road to the castle, at intervals there was a servant holding a candle holder that shone with silver, white and white. The end of the candle swayed with golden flames, illuminating the road and the unhappy face of the king's brother, but Louis remained calm. The lights in front of the castle were even brighter, and countless torches turned the geometrically symmetrical courtyard into a During the day, the king's carriage drove straight in, and M. Fouquet proudly greeted him at the door. Compared to the king's dull dark coat, he wore a red coat interwoven with gold threads and embellished with diamonds, which looked like a The gorgeous bird, the king's younger brother Philip almost pouted. Because of Louis, he was wearing a silver-gray coat today. Although the value of this coat may not be inferior to that of Fouquet, it is obviously inferior in color. .

Seeing the black coat on the king's body, Fouquet was slightly startled, and a vague feeling rose in his heart, maybe he did something wrong, but soon, the nobles who came up made him have to put this doubt aside. behind the head.

There are three designers in Wallaviconte Castle, one is in charge of construction, one is in charge of decoration, and the other is in charge of courtyard. It can be said that they are all talented people, and it is not surprising that people are envious of Nicholas Fouquet's new house. Even in the dark, the quartz mixed with the golden flower marble used in this building still shines brightly. Exquisite marble statues, heads and garlands can be seen everywhere. Entering the mansion, the ceiling is full of brilliant colors. The frescoes, velvet drapery draped with filigree tassels, walnut or oak siding and silk wall coverings were decorated with ornate daffodil, swirls, floral arrangements, and mystical creatures, as the people preferred at the time.

In the spacious dining room, the long table is covered with white linen, gold plates and silver plates, glasses or utensils are neatly arranged like soldiers, and everything has been wiped off for anyone to see. One piece, you can see that the emblem of the Fouquet family is engraved on it, which is a squirrel (squirrel is pronounced Fouquet in the Anjou dialect). "

The king could of course understand, but he put down the plate with just a glance, and no one noticed except the king's brother, Fouquet instructed the servants to pull back the curtains of the dining room leading to the rear courtyard, so that they could see through the huge landing The doors and windows directly see the garden, but today there are not only flowers and trees, but also Mr. Molière's Brilliant Troupe. He originally wanted to win the favor of the king through the introduction of the Duchess of Montpensier or the Count of D'Artagnan. Knowing that Paris has not been calm since he came to Paris, and then the king went to Dunkirk, he was useless. Fortunately, some of his satirical dramas appealed to the appetite of the Parisians. It caught the attention of Mr. Nicholas Fouquet and was hired to perform for the king.

It is certainly pleasant to be able to enjoy a sumptuous meal while watching an interesting drama. Not only the king, but even the people invited by Mr. Fouquet today, whether they are his enemies or his friends, can't help but smile, only a few. Displeased faces of serious men - among them the Prince of Condé and his friend the Viscount Turenne.

The king didn't pay attention to Molière's drama. His eyes were not so angry, but he had been estimating. He steadily ate the thirteenth course from the first course. Sitting down to eat, people couldn't help feeling tired. At this time, the sky was black as ink. When Fouquet saw this, he gave a signal to his servants. The horn sounded, awakening the drowsy guests, and then they were invited by Fouquet to the heights of the castle to enjoy a fireworks show like flying flowers and shooting stars.

  Fouquet did his best for tonight's banquet. Everyone could see that he was trying to please the king. Unfortunately, the king didn't make any hints even when he parted, and some people couldn't help snickering in secret.

As soon as Louis returned to the carriage, he immediately leaned on the cushion. He had been cursed and poisoned before. Although he had recovered, his body would be weak for a while. Anyway, there was only Philip, the king's younger brother, in the carriage. He was in front of his younger brother. There was nothing to hide, Philip took off his cloak immediately and put it over his brother, the cloak was still warm to him, and Louis sighed a long time, feeling much more comfortable - the carriage rocked regularly, the king was in the window glass After the reflected fire finally disappeared, he opened his eyes: "Philip, do you remember what I asked Fouquet to do in order to welcome the former Swedish Queen Christina, and how he betrayed my trust? ?"

   "Of course, Your Majesty," said Philip, "he is a man of boldness," and the Duke of Orleans hissed in disgust, remembering what they had seen a few minutes ago: "It seems he has done more than that."

   "Then you should be happier now," said Louie, "because he will soon be punished."

  The king's younger brother Philip just had a meal, and immediately understood what the king meant. When he smiled, Louis curled his fingers and tapped on the carriage. A musketeer immediately rode his horse close to the king: "Your Majesty..."

   "When you return to Paris, ask the Count D'Artagnan to come to my room."

  The musketeer immediately galloped away, and the Count of D'Artagnan got up and set off immediately after hearing the order. When he arrived at the Louvre, the king's carriage drove into the street ahead.

  The king met Count d'Artagnan in the small drawing-room outside the bedroom, "I want you to arrest a man."

   "Please speak, Your Majesty."

   "Nicholas Fouquet. My Treasurer."

   "Three hours, please, Your Majesty," said D'Artagnan, "tomorrow morning you will see him in your prison."

"I believe it," said Louis, who, as D'Artagnan was backing away, heard the king still instructing Bontang to prepare a list of credible judges-to come to M. Nicolas Fouquet when he arrived in Paris. The jury is also ready.

How Mr. Nicholas Fouquet was terrified by the inexplicable Louis and neither of us would care. Louis stayed in the world for more than a quarter. Although there was Mr. Mazarin, his legacy was still piled up, and since Mr. Bishop After returning to God's embrace, the king who decided not to set up the prime minister's position is bound to face countless complicated tasks while he is in power. - He almost wanted to cancel the daily morning prayer, but thinking of the church in Rome and the monks around him, the king could only do it as an important job.

The Queen Mother knew this, of course, but some things were urgent. In Louis, I saw a document - a few months ago, Mr. Bishop shelved a bizarre proposal, which was in the Holy Roman Empire's Emperor Ferdinand III. After his death, some people intended to push the king of France to compete for this glorious throne, but even Mr. Bishop, who had infinite expectations for Louis, was not moved at all—if it was during the time of the beautiful man Philip IV, that is, the Church of Rome lamented. Today's shame of Avignon may still be possible, but now, either the wealth of France can be enough to impress those greedy electors, or the French army can go straight to Rome, or don't count on the electors of the Holy Roman Empire We would have allowed people outside the peninsula to get their hands on the throne, but today it's brought up again because the new Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III's eldest son Leopold, now Leopold I, was Compete with Louis for the same bride.

For kings and emperors, their marriages are destined to be sacrificed for the country. Before Louis was assassinated, Mr. Bishop was preparing for his marriage. Maybe this was also when the accident happened, Mary thought without hesitation. As the niece of the bishop of Mazarin, she must know a lot because of the blood oath to restrict Louis, but as long as Louis is still king, her imagination will not become a reality - the transaction with the Mancini family allowed Louis to Avoiding a big crisis, but that doesn't mean he's willing to forgive Mancini, whether it's the family, or Marie - since what Marie wants is marriage and children, Louis will give it to her, only hope When her long-cherished wish is fulfilled, she can safely accept the backlash that follows.

   shook his head lightly, Louis left Mancini and Li World behind, and Bishop Mazarin fought for him two possible marriage contracts between his death, one from the Duchy of Savoy and one from Spain.

The Duchy of Savoy is a small country, located on the south side of France, but it can be said to be the gateway to the Paris Basin, so its princess can of course be chosen to be Louis's wife. As for Spain, Louis' mother was born in Spain, the Spanish princess. Mary Teresa and Louis are double cousins. Louis's father, Louis XIII, is the elder brother of Teresa's mother, Elizabeth, and Teresa's father is the younger brother of the Queen Mother Anne. This kind of kinship gives Louis a headache. If possible, he I won't put Teresa on the list of candidates for his wife, but the meaning of the Queen Mother and the important ministers is infinitely inclined to Spain instead of Savoy. After all, Savoy can be said to be a vassal of France, and although Spain is the enemy of France, but this identity has shown that they are evenly matched.

After the Thirty Years' War, and the civil war between France and Spain, which were both enemies of each other, both were tired, and it was time to extend the olive branch of marriage, but Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire was also a good one. He is two years younger than Louis and has better control, but it is said that he is also an ambitious person, but no one who can sit in this position will be a good match. Louis is considering how to reverse Spain. Philip's thoughts, while signing the sentence of Nicholas Fouquet.

Nicholas Fouquet may indeed have stolen a lot of money from the state and the king, but the money now belongs to the king. Although it cannot be compared with the bishop of Mazarin, it is enough for the king to arm a team of what he wants. The army, for which the king is willing to give him a chance, he will be imprisoned forever, but not executed.

Now that the decision has been made, Mr. Fouquet has become a darkened name in the king's heart. There are not many such names now, but there will be more and more in the future - the king has brought his marriage to the top. I went to the front, and then went to see the Queen Mother. Unexpectedly, the Queen Mother smiled and told the King that she had a wonderful way to do this.

The Queen Mother is not like Bishop Mazarin, a natural political animal, but she is also the sister of the current King Philip IV of Spain in any case, and she may know him better than anyone else, and even if her method fails, she is right. There was no harm in France, so the next day, the portrait of Louis was sent to the Duchy of Savoy, which at this time was tantamount to saying that an engagement was imminent.

Of course, Philip IV was very anxious about this, and he repeatedly urged Leopold I to give a clear answer, but at this time, Leopold I was being overwhelmed by the attack from Sweden and the rebellion from Hungary. Not even taking the time to think about marriage was a disappointment to Philip IV.

  So, Philip IV's daughter, Marie Teresa, became Louis's wife after all.

   (end of this chapter)