I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 169 Hofburg (5)

To the surprise of the emperor's chief attendant, Olympia Mancini, the Countess of Soissons, did not even make a sound, and did not even say that at least Eugen would be left in the royal manor, so he meekly accepted it. This order was just to say goodbye to the emperor, and Leopold I also promised that as long as the matter was finished, he would pick her up immediately, and immediately gave her a set of precious sapphire jewelry as a comfort. with rewards. Just waiting for the curtains of the carriage to be drawn, hidden behind the veil was a surprised face, and the Countess of Soissons thought at first that the French were just trying to send a eloquent man to Leopold's court. A lobbyist, but now it seems that a lobbyist will never be treated so carefully and politely, so who did they arrange through her hands? Feeling vaguely that she might have been deceived, the Countess of Soissons began to consider carefully the advice Milady gave her, should she return to France? Although Leopold I seemed to have some sincere affection for her, if what she wanted was jewelry and clothes, she could get it in France and Italy without going to Austria.

At the same time, she would also like to thank Leopold I for always being reluctant to publicly admit the behavior of their mother and son. As long as she returns to France, all rumors will disappear because of time and distance, and those French people did not ask her to directly recommend, but Asking her to try to pass this person over to her enemies through some not-so-bright means is also because "she" is supposed to be unknown, especially to foreigners. The Countess of Soissons would also like to thank her enemy, perhaps because she has a unique advantage in identity, that lady is not smart, and in order to fight for the emperor's favor, by her side, Madame Soissons has long arranged Countless nails were dropped.

If...if there is really any problem, then the first person to be held accountable is the lady of the royal family, not the Count of Soissons. Although it is said that if the emperor insists, it may fall to her in the end, but at that time, It is hard to say whether she is still in Austria.

   "But what exactly do you want to do?" Countess Soissons muttered to herself, holding her son tightly in her arms.

  ———

"What on earth are you trying to do!" Prince Conti shouted angrily, while Madame Milady just raised her hand, opened her fan, covered the lower half of her face, and said with a sweet smile: "Don't Be nervous, don't be nervous, my good man, it's just a necessary procedure."

  Prince Conti just stared at her, "Does the king know what you're doing?"

   "His Majesty the King asked me to come here because he knew what I would do," Milady said.

   "Then he's mad too!" said Prince Conti: "I want you to stop everything immediately and leave Austria immediately, oh, maybe I have to go too."

   "Your panic is unreasonable," said Milady, "and your task is nearly done."

   "You are deceiving a monarch!"

   "Oh, isn't it commonplace, kings and emperors are always deceived by their lovers, ministers and priests, you say that in every book you open."

   "Ha, but you're not Leopold I's lover, minister and priest, you're just an unborn... inferior."

Looking at Prince Conti's face, Milady knew that the words that were swallowed would not be good words, but she didn't care. The king's royal wife is also a hot position, and those ministers are always muttering. , is because the two "ladys" of His Majesty are either foreigners or a woman who has been in prison, but if you care about people's rumors, Milady should have entered the convent to become a nun long ago, how could it be possible to stand here with a woman Prince on an equal footing?

She closed the fan with a smile and pressed it lightly on Prince Conti's shoulder: "Then you should also know that His Majesty the King doesn't care about the background of his ministers, he only cares about two things, one is loyalty, and the other is loyalty. It's ability, I want to say I have both, how about you?"

Prince Conti couldn't help blushing. In terms of loyalty, he and his brother were still charged with treason. In terms of ability, his brother could still be used by the king with his military talent. The first big thing in his hands, even his elder brother is very hard to see him. If he admits defeat and goes back to Paris in despair, then he will spend time in the fief by dancing and hunting, or in the queen mother's house. Under the skirt, she is joking and flattering like a noble lady—the problem is, depending on the king’s methods, I am afraid that he will not be willing to let a duke or prince who holds a large territory do nothing like this, at least, his territory. Can't do nothing, then in the end, he can only accept the same result as the Duke of Lorraine, hand over the territory, and be a parasite with no future in Paris.

The problem is that the Duke of Lorraine is running out of time. What he can accept, Prince Conti can't accept. He stood there, his expression unpredictable for a while, and finally clenched his fists: "What do we do now?" He said: "Leopold I will certainly seek to verify the truth of this matter as soon as possible."

   "I have sent people to spread rumors in Bosnia," Milady said. "You know, about the succession laws of the Ottoman Turks."

"Oh, yes, he has two brothers." Prince Conti said, because the current Sultan Mohammed IV was only six years old when he ascended the throne, so the government was first controlled by his grandmother, and then by him. Controlled by his mother, the two weak women did not become the second female sultan of Shirem as people expected. They were weak and indecisive. The two brothers of Muhammad IV should have been They were executed after the sultan ascended the throne, but under the repeated persuasion of people with a heart, they only imprisoned the two brothers in the prison of the palace, only to ensure that no one could see them.

   "So it's no wonder that one of them escaped," Milady said.

   "That Governor..."

"It's not difficult to forge a private letter with the concubine in the palace." Milady returned to the desk and opened the drawer: "And we don't need to be truthful enough to be able to hide from the Sultan and Davech, we just need to guarantee This rumor sounds mysterious and interesting enough." After speaking, the lady sighed softly: "The more difficult thing is that we have to let the envoy of the Governor of Bosnia die."

Hearing this, Prince Conti couldn't understand Milady's intention at all: "Why, we have spent a lot of time finding this person." This person is indeed the son of a French fisherman, and he has indeed been robbed by pirates. It was indeed the viceroy's slave who later became a soldier, but he hardly ever met the viceroy, let alone become a henchman of the viceroy, but if the Austrians went to investigate, they would find that this man's origin and past were real, as to whether he was The governor's confidant, but it is difficult to verify - Leopold I should not be stupid enough to send an envoy to politely ask the governor of Bosnia if he wants to sell Bosnia to them.

"I've known since I was very young," Milady yawned, waving her fingers to sprinkle sand so that the ink on the letter would dry as quickly as possible, "Bread **** is the sweetest, when I grow up Some, I also know that other people's lovers will be more attractive. Your Royal Highness, please think about it. Don't you feel suspicious that such a great deed has fallen in front of you? Yes, of course Leopold I will, and there are no competitors, of course he can take his time and plan and measure safely," She turned from her chair: "So we can't let him have time to take it slow. Think, think over and over again.”

   "What do you want to do?" Prince Conti found his voice so weak.

"Don't do anything, Your Highness," Milady said. "We're going to find some opponents for Leopold I, not many, our King, and His Excellency the Grand Duke of Transylvania of Hungary... um, Let me see, and maybe the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who might also be interested."

"God," Prince Conti would never have imagined, even in his nightmares, that someone would dare to fool four monarchs at the same time, no, it should be five, including the words of Muhammad IV, "His Majesty does not You will be allowed to do so."

   "Permitted or not," said Milady, "just see if the king does something."

  ———

If Leopold I was only surprised by the sudden death of an envoy sent by the Governor of Bosnia in the royal manor, then the news that the French caravan was not only heading north, but also heading south made him even more troubled. -Everyone knows that supplies and armaments are the two pillars of the army. For Flanders, French merchants began to allocate horse grass, wheat, dried meat, etc. to the Aisne River Basin as early as before Lent. To Provence? Provence is certainly not a peaceful region, but not yet to the point where the king of France has to take it seriously.

Then in Paris, in Transylvania and Austrian spies in Italy, there was news of the presence of Ottoman Turks, and Istanbul has been in turmoil recently. It is said that one of the two brothers of the sultan, or all of them escaped. The sultan was mobilizing the army to encircle the rebels, and the governor of Bosnia seemed to have rejected the call from Istanbul. Perhaps he also knew very well that if he returned to Istanbul , I am afraid that I will be hanged by the bowstring immediately. So, if he wants to exchange Bosnia for a lot of money, titles and territories, it is not impossible.

  Prince Conte was stunned.

As the initiator, except Milady, no one could know how this huge vortex rapidly expanded, flooded, and even raised the gravel on the bottom. At first, he still doubted whether Leopold I would believe this bizarre The thing - he looked at the piles of letters under Milady, all sent by the raven. Since the king began to use wizards without hesitation, the French intelligence network has been much faster and more complete, the interesting thing is that , One of the spies actually reported that they had intercepted a group of assassins from Austria. It was said that they were here to assassinate the Turkish envoy to Paris, lest France take the opportunity to seize Bosnia.

If Leopold was most worried about something, it would probably be that France had taken Bosnia. If France had taken Bosnia, they would not have stopped so peacefully. Their biggest possibility was to attack Inner Austria, alone, or Team up with their Turkish allies, or the Grand Duke of Transylvania, so that Austria can really only exist as a landlocked country, with Spain, Holland and England ahead, and make these monarchs pretend to be invisible The advantages of maritime supremacy and colonies unless they and their ministers have become idiots—Prince Conte, looking through the letter, lamented at the nervousness that leaked out involuntarily, they lied almost half of Europa, Li Opold I would only be more anxious.

   "When will we have the second messenger?" asked Prince Conti.

"Let him appear in Vienna? No, the Governor of Bosnia will never send a second messenger, he will just wait quietly in Bosnia, there are not many people that Leopold I can send, and I have a list here ." This list was also obtained from the Countess of Soissons, who had already expressed her desire to return to Paris, as Milady was writing to the king.

"Then what should we do? As soon as he sees the governor of Bosnia, he knows that they have been deceived." Prince Conti asked. Fortunately, with the previous lessons, he knew that Milady must have arrangements, but Milady just smile.

  ———

Eugene Maurice, the Count of Soissons is a man with a good appearance and a calm demeanor. If he has any shortcomings, he is probably not tall enough, but he has a broad chest and shoulders, and he walks with great manners. He is also in Los Angeles. Lin's battles with Alsace (one of those whom the king later sent to aid the duke of Orleans), one might say, does not tell whether a man is truly in this crushing battle of nations and regions. The land has military talents, but the fact is just the opposite. It is not difficult to blindly destroy the land. It is rare that they have to retain the vitality of this place while conquering and ruling.

He wears the king's coat today. Starting with the Viscount Turenne, it has become a custom to reward a proud courtier with royal blue or a coat with golden lilies. If the courtier really likes the king, he will also They will be given bright red king shoulder straps and diamond pins, the latter from General Schumberg - anyway, when they are going to see the king, or attend important occasions, they will definitely wear this kind of dress, but Such a gift is rare. After the Duke of Orleans, the Viscount Turenne, the General Chaumberg, the Prince of Condé, only a few people have received such an honor. Before the Count of Soissons was Lois, a robe Noble, he was once the custodian of Lyon, but he was rewarded not only for his loyalty to the king, but also because he had not long ago offered a musket with a dagger, which was emptying the gunpowder, or entering the vicinity. When fighting hand to hand, it can immediately replace the spear, so that the French army does not have to mix the spearman and the musketeer for a while, as in the past and other countries, although it still needs training, but a little trial , the result is quite gratifying.

The reason why the Count of Soissons received the king's reward is that after the riots in Lorraine and Alsace were quelled, he and the Duke of Orleans, who appreciated him a lot, unified and determined the military rank system under the king's will. After repeated scrutiny and careful consideration, the system has been issued to the king's new army as a trial rule. As the Count of Soissons had seen before, the soldiers were always uninterested or full of fear in the upcoming war. , compared to the situation where the king's new army is just like a pot of boiling oil, it seems calm, but under the calm, it is fiery that no one can imagine - the military rank corresponds to the salary , Real estate and title, climb level by level, although the Count of Soissons knows that he wants to climb to the highest level, that is, "Marshal", I am afraid that it will be difficult to get one out of a million people, but he can't help but be excited for a while. Even if his mother is the Countess of Soissons, the county lord, because his father is only the second son of a duke who has no right of inheritance, and his future is quite difficult, but compared with those commoner children, he still has a great deal of power. Not to mention, his marriage to the niece of the bishop of Mazarin helped him a lot - he was able to appear before the king, it was the bishop's recommendation.

But the Count of Soissons is indeed one of the few people who looks at the commoners with a peaceful gaze. When he sometimes sees an outstanding young man, when he wants to promote him, but he has to hesitate because of his background, he will feel in his heart. A sour sense of guilt emerged spontaneously—when the Duke of Orleans told him that the king intended to determine the military rank system and have corresponding treatment and status, he agreed without hesitation.

But he also knew very well that this could almost be said to be a betrayal of his class, the oldest sword-wielding aristocracy. Since then, not only nobles could become officers, generals and marshals in the French army, but a large number of them Talented commoners, encouraged by their rank, will rush forward to shed the last drop of blood for the king and the country, and the king can also get his army, not the vassals of the nobles - for more than a thousand years, France's inherent military The system is being broken mercilessly, this change is good for the commoners, it is also good for the king, just for the stubborn old people...

  The door to the king's living room opened gently, and the Count of Soissons took back his thoughts, tidied up his coat, and walked into the room.

  ——

   "Sit down, Mr. Count," said the king.

Anyone who is fortunate enough to have seen the king knows that countless documents are always piled up on the king's desk, and he occasionally continues to correct documents in front of those who have been granted the audience's permission or who have been summoned. This kind of intimate attitude means that the king will not pretend to be in front of you. Sometimes, the king will read the documents while instructing the people who are called to read the materials related to the following issues. Just like now, the king is in the After Bontang served two glasses of mead, he asked Bontang to place an open letter in front of Eugen.

After that, Bontang went out. The Count of Soissons read the letter under the king's signal. He only read a few lines, and his hands trembled. Her marriage, like most marriages at the time, was a deal, but Mancini's ambition still surprised him, especially when he saw that Olympia was already married to the Archduke of Austria, Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire. Secret dealings and having a three-year-old child - this infinitely close to treasonous behavior made the count arouse a wave of anger, and then he thought it was ridiculous, how did Olympia think he would be a fool?

Although the title of the Count of Soissons cannot be compared with the Prince of Condé or the King, the Count of Soissons used to belong to Louis XIII's cousin, but he once plotted with the Duke of Sedan to overthrow the Bishop of Richelieu. Died in the war, the Duke of Sedan was deprived of his territory, and the line of the Counts of Soissons was also away from the court. This title was also transferred to the woman who married into the royal family of Savoy, that is, the youngest son of the Duke of Savoy. The heir, she is Eugene, Maurice's mother, Countess of Soissons.

How absurd Olympia is, the Count of Soissons doesn't care. Although his wife has an illegitimate child, he also has two daughters with his de facto wife. In this game, he can even be called a victory. But she really shouldn't be in love with the enemy of France, and the Count of Soissons can't help but feel a little scared if he doesn't know anything about it and continues to get along with her as husband and wife after this, after all in a family , the hostess has no less rights than the male host.

   "Your Majesty," thought the Count of Soissons, "May I ask your opinion first?"

"My opinion?" said Louie, and seriously, since he was supposed to receive some "education" in the bed curtains, he found that his old ideas and norms about love and marriage were constantly being destroyed. , Olympia, the matter of Mancini is nothing new in the court. Similar to the Count of Soissons who was angry that she had a blind date with an enemy of France, the king was also angry because she betrayed a general he valued. But he needs to know, Eugene Maurice, does the Count of Soissons really have no affection for his wife, or is he disappointed by her indifference to him? After all, the Mancini family is a famous beauty family, and almost no one can escape their charm, otherwise Felipe Mancini would not have dared to act so recklessly.

"Did you mean what I thought?" said the Count of Soissons happily: "No, Your Majesty, I have never been moved by her. No love or gratitude for me, or virtue as a wife, she doesn't care about me, and I don't care about her."

   "Then, that child..." said the king, "I will find him a suitable family for adoption."

   "Adoption? No, Your Majesty, there is no need at all," said the Count of Soissons simply: "Let him be my son. He is still a king's heir after all."

   "But then he will be your eldest son." Louis reminded that in France, where the law of primogeniture is implemented, this means that the Count of Soissons' domain and title will be inherited by his wife's illegitimate son.

"I only have two daughters now. If I have a son in the future, Your Majesty, I hope I can get your permission to enter the army to serve you." With the military rank system, Count Soissons did not think his son would be unable Relying on his own ability to fight a world: "Also, Your Majesty, I also hope that I can use this to get your permission."

   "Tell me."

   "I hope to be able to officially marry my current wife, and get your permission, so that she can enter and leave the court, and our children, whether before or after marriage, can also receive your blessings."

   "I will." Louis also gave his promise simply and neatly.

  ——

When the harsh winter was approaching, a carriage galloped into Paris, and in the carriage there was only a frightened boy and his maid, the wet nurse, who was little Eugene Maurice, the future Count of Soissons, unfortunately, On his way back to Paris with his mother, he encountered a brutal mob, and in the chaos, his mother, the Countess of Soissons, was killed.

   (end of this chapter)