I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 144 Something about Fontainebleau (2)

   "You were soft back then." Louis said with emotion: "It's like a piece of dough with cream."

   "I heard that you are planning to use your childhood textbooks as textbooks for general education," Philip reminded worriedly: "But you should think more about grammar."

"That's because you forgot what you were like at that time, but I remember it very well, Philip." Louis said, "you know, if I send you to Lorraine and you die in this will, Then I will spend the rest of my life in pain and remorse."

   "I swear I won't, I'll protect myself as I do you."

   "Then remember your oath."

   "Never forget."

In front of    is the King and Queen's suites, and the conversation and the walk will stop there.

The ministers do not yet know what kind of decision the king made, but for the king, Philip the Duke of Orleans is his favorite candidate. First of all, he does not have to doubt Philip's loyalty to him - the one before Alsace and Lorraine. Hundreds of years have been only nominally belonging to France but infinitely inclined to the Holy Roman Empire. If it is an ambitious or stupid person to go there, Alsace and Lorraine may be like those who fell into the snare but Like a bird jumping out of an open gap, out of the king's control; secondly, the duke of Orléans was already rich enough to lend money to the king before he inherited the duke of Gaston. The thirst for money will not be too eager, and the king can rest assured that he will manage the new industry that Lorraine and Alsace is about to develop, without worrying about the emergence of a second Fouquet or Mazarin; finally, as Philip said, Lorraine Lin is dangerous, but compared to the real battlefield, one or two small rebellions can be used as a test for the king's younger brother. For people like Philip, who have status, titles, and talents, only put him in Paris or Versailles. It's a pity, but too many young people died on the battlefield, and even the commander was not spared—; both Lorraine and Arthas can be used as whetstones before the war, so that if there are more Dangerous work, the king can safely leave it to Philip to do it.

  The king and his party said good night, and everyone went to rest. After all, there is a big event tomorrow.

Even if Louis came to Fontainebleau, he could not really be immersed in the flowers and clear waters. In addition to government affairs, the British embassy arrived in Paris a few days ago, and today was the day they were allowed to meet the king in Fontainebleau - so although The king and the duke of Orleans have agreed, but the duke of Orleans cannot go, and the young painter of Le Brun, a young man recently introduced to the king, is to make a fine portrait of him, so that the messengers can take it back England, for Charles II and the Queen Mother, and Princess Henrietta. Although the latter two have only been out of Paris for a few months - Philip mocked Princess Henrietta's new haircut at a ball, making her cry in front of people as if they were still in their ears, but Since this was a tradition and an unwritten rule, Philip could only obediently obey the king's orders and take an hour or two of his precious time to act as a model for the painter.

The painter Le Brun was not yet thirty years old. His teacher was Poussin. He had studied abroad for many years in Italy. As soon as he returned to Paris, he was fortunate to be recommended to the king by the Chancellor Serguier, who was the first to comply. The king's order was relocated to one of the fourteen judges of Pontoise, so after the king's return to Paris, he was undoubtedly reused, and was even able to act as messenger and bridesmaid at the king and queen's wedding, This man who can also be said to be the favorite, also, as it is so popular, constantly recommends all kinds of talents to the king.

The reason why Le Brun was favored by the king was not only that he was a Frenchman, and his family had been loyal to the king for generations, his realistic and gentle brushwork was more liked by the king than other painters. In front of the painter, told him that he hoped that the painter could depict the most noble and tender side of the king's brother as much as possible. The place for the portrait was arranged in the room of the Duchess of Epdan, the royal wife of François I, where the light It is sufficient, and it is extra spacious because most of the furniture has been removed.

   The younger brother was quite disapproving of this. He didn’t think that Princess Henrietta’s memory would be so bad. As soon as the king left, he made faces at the painter.

Le Brun heard that His Royal Highness was not only not keen on this marriage, he didn't even care, it seemed to be true, but even if he was just a painter, he knew that this marriage was a must, and the king already had a Spanish princess Being a wife and reaching a covenant with Spain, the marriage of Philip the Duke of Orleans will not be wasted easily. Similarly, they will no longer allow a Habsburg daughter to enter the Louvre, so the choice of the Duke of Orleans will be limited. It has become very narrow. Although there are also countries such as the Netherlands and Hungary trying to test it, after a long hesitation, the king and the queen dowager agreed that Princess Henrietta, who had grown up by their side, would be a suitable candidate.

But just like any kind of agreement, there will never be so-called trivial matters between countries. Emotions are placed at the back and interests are placed in the front. The British embassy is appointed by George Munch, who has been known by Louis for a long time. Ambassador—this venerable gentleman, who was first a minister of Charles I, then bowed allegiance to Cromwell, the Protector, and when Cromwell lost the confidence of the people, he turned to Charles II, perhaps Someone to laugh at him for turning around like a rooster weathervane, if you know, when Oliver Cromwell was dead and Charles II was in exile, he was encouraged to board The king's throne, but he firmly rejected it?

Louis is king now, so he knows very well how attractive this position is, he can twist the mind of any strong-willed man and make the good man evil, the tolerant man vicious, the naive man To be cunning - this is his personal experience, so this Monk, now the Duke of Albimar, Louis has a sense of admiration and vigilance.

Sure enough, the whole negotiation process was long and arduous. Britain saw that France did not want to make itself enemies on all sides, and France also saw that the situation in England was not as smooth as the Duke of Alnimar had described. Charles II. Although the world is immersed in feasts, dances and hunting all day long, he has never given up to regain the kingship lost by his father. The Duke of Alnimar wants to support him, but he is worried that the king's power is too heavy, so that Charles The second generation inherited his father's arrogance and radicalism, making life difficult for the people...

But the French king's request, the British really can't agree, whether it is to buy warships, merchant ships or shipbuilding workers, designers, or borrow naval officers, soldiers, etc., it will not work, don't forget, they sold it before. Given a Dunkirk to the French, who were said to be building a dock at Dunkirk that would accommodate thirty warships, and two dry docks for repairing and building ships, they couldn't help but wonder. Think about the British merchant ships that were tortured by the Spaniards. Could it be that after the Spaniards are gone, they will welcome the French?

"A warship is absolutely impossible." The British envoys whispered, "We are at war with the Netherlands, and there will be continuous warships being thrown into the war." In addition to some of the ships that were abandoned during the period of the Protector, they themselves Some are stretched, let alone the French.

"But Princess Henrietta's dowry..." This sentence made the envoys a little impressed. Unlike the French treasury, even the king's private treasury, Charles II could only ask for some so-called royal fees from the parliament. These also ensure the operation of the palace, castle, territory and army, not to mention the preparation of the dowry for Princess Henrietta, it is not bad that Charles II does not borrow from the princess.

"Even if he wants to borrow it, the princess doesn't have the money." What a pity, a messenger said with a sigh. Compared with the French ladies they saw, headed by the Duchess of Montpensier, they were all dressed up with flowers and jewels. It is said that The Duchess changed into several sets of clothes every day, and each set of clothes was only worn once. Other nobles followed suit. It is said that many of the accompanying merchants outside Fontainebleau were buying and selling second-hand clothes. These nobles When the clothes are in their hands, they are changed, and even sent to other provinces without moving, and each piece can be sold for a big price.

And Princess Henrietta, whose jewelry can fill a jewelry box is hard to say. Although she left Paris not long ago, it is obvious that the style of Parisian clothes has reached a new level in just a few months. There was more exposure, larger skirts, and under the leadership of the king's royal wife, Miss Lavalier, the ladies began to have more furry accessories.

The British are recording all this with their eyes, and even if Parliament is reluctant to allocate more money to ensure that Princess Henrietta's dowry is not too ugly, they also want to ensure that the princess' dowry, although small, will not be laughed at from the Some backcountry.

  ——

"How's it going?" Philippe saw his brother walking out of the second hall with a rare stretch. He knew that today's negotiation would probably be a waste of precious hours. Louis nodded to him, while still closing his eyes. Yawning, "Give me coffee," he called to Bontang. "I have it here," Philip said. "I asked my servant to prepare it for me... do you want it?"

   "Give it to me," said Louis. "I'm thirsty and tired... God, Philip, how much sugar have you put in?"

Since Louis was able to speak, he has made a lot of changes to the dishes in the court, but there are some things he can't change, and whether it is Bishop Mazarin, the Queen Mother, or the king's younger brother Philip persuaded him not to. What has changed - is the abuse of sweeteners. Before the extraction method of sucrose, the nobles were addicted to honey, and they could use honey for almost anything - such as honey pigeon meat, peach, and honey cream soup. Something like that, when the Crusaders got sugar from the Arabs, and sugar became a staple at the table, a nobleman would be laughed at when he was entertaining guests without enough sugar, and at a king's banquet, Something more astonishing needed to appear - like the Palace of Fontainebleau carved from solidified sugar, as Louis saw it not long ago...

   "I'll get you some coffee," said Philip.

Louis shook his head to push his terrifying energy aside. As a remedy and consolation after a lengthy meeting, he spent the time before dinner by admiring the portrait of his younger brother. It was also a wonderful way to rest. .

This portrait is in a semi-finished state, that is to say, the face of Philip, Duke of Orleans has almost been completed, but the clothes, hands and feet, and the background behind him are still blurred, and the details need to be added urgently, but the beauty of the Duke is indeed cut. It was really revealed—because of his tall stature, Le Brun did not use the usual methods of painters to let him sit on a chair or ride a horse to confuse his height, but let him stand on a tall tree. Beside the pillar, behind which was a luxuriant white and pink rose flower, and a dark blue drapery hung from behind him, embroidered with golden lilies, and he wore a cream-white silver-embroidered coat with bright red shoulder straps, At the waist is a belt of gold embellished with gemstones, with muskets and rapiers hanging. It looks really unusual and majestic, and he is handsome and manly.

   "There will be many beautiful ladies who fall in love with you at first sight." Louis said with a smile.

   "I'd rather go after someone I like," Philip said.

  Louis glanced at him: "Henrietta is a good boy."

"I know," Philip said. Although he always bullied Henrietta, he would never look at anyone who really didn't like the Duke, but what made Philip unhappy was that Princess Henrietta preferred to be His brother's wife, but if it's out of love, it's not, she has been silently enduring Philip's bullying, just to get the king's mercy, but she doesn't love the king, just wants to be the queen of France, In the unfortunate assassination of Louis in Dunkirk, she even mentioned vaguely...Charles II might support Philip to become the regent king or the real king, this kind of behavior that is close to falling into trouble makes Philip thoroughly tired. .

   But the problem is they have to get married now.

   This is a matter between France and England, not Philip and Henrietta. I just hope that after she gets married to France, Philip thinks, she can become smarter and more rational.

   "To speak of love at first sight," said Philip, "it would be better to speak of yourself. There must be more people who love you than me, even if you are not a king."

   "Not necessarily," Louie said. "I'm a very boring person."

  ———

Louis knew that he was not ugly, but he was very attractive to him. He felt that because he wore a crown and a crown robe, Philip could dance better than him, and knew how to appreciate music and dance. He did these things. Purely out of etiquette, not out of heartfelt liking.

   is not good at it either.

   (end of this chapter)