I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 314 The King's Royal Expedition (5)

Therefore, the gold necklace that Ludwig I gave to Bontang was not so much to please the king's first attendant, but to make Louis XIV happy. Prince Condé knew Louis quite well. Deep, know this majesty, seeing the benefit of the one he loves is far better than being gifted, or, as the sun king, he owns the whole of France and the colonies, and now Holland and Flanders, Lorraine and Arles Sass, nature doesn't have much demand for material things.

This is why, when Louis meets his close friends or relatives, he always wears very simple clothes - the clothes Bontang prepared for Ludwig I are actually like the king, except for the color of royal blue. There is no extravagance that is too obvious for the royal family - no embroidery of gold and silver threads, no inlaid pearls and gems, no ribbons and lace, the king only pinned an amber pin on the scarf, more practical than decoration, after all, silk The scarf is easy to loosen even if it is knotted.

   As for why it is amber, of course, it is because it was selected from the gift that Ludwig I gave to Louis, in order to honor his love.

Yesterday afternoon, the sky was gloomy, and Louis only glanced at it, and was frightened by the pale face of Ludwig I. Without the Grand Condé, Henry, the son of Grand Condé, could not control the great nobles and nobles of Poland. Schlachtas, the investment of Louis XIV and the Condé family in Poland was in vain. Fortunately, the king always took Vesalius and several other reliable doctors by his side, drank the potion and fell asleep. After a good night's sleep, there is only one big meal left, and you can return to a better state at any time.

But this kind of thinking comes only after comparing it with the worst, because it is now around three in the afternoon, and the light gray clouds have dissipated a few hours ago, so the sun shining through the slit window, Still providing enough light for the room, Louis looked carefully at Ludwig I. He was much older than he had been in Paris, perhaps because his cheeks were deeply sunken, highlighting the cheekbones, and because of his brows. After being together for a long time, deep ravines were left there, and the corners of his lips turned terribly, like a machete that had not been drawn from its sheath.

However, if an angel or devil came to him and asked him if he wanted to change his previous thoughts - for example, to return to Versailles and continue to be his marshal and prince, Grand Condé would definitely be unwilling. Burning vigorously. Hundreds of years ago, it was not difficult for the second son, the youngest son and the illegitimate son to get a crown for themselves. Now, not to mention that there is no vacant land in Europa, even getting the territory through marriage has become a problem. A kind of delusion - the constant marriage between king and king, resulting in a legitimate heir that can count all the way to a hundred, or more, not pure enough blood, ranking in the forefront, enough to deter the military power of others, It's almost impossible to be king.

Although Poland is a monarchy, it has unruly ministers and generals, and the domestic situation is also very complicated, but Da Kongdai believes that what the ancestors of the Habsburgs once did, he can of course do it for a continuous period of time. After the two generations of the throne were held by the Kongdai family, it was only natural that the succession system would be put on the agenda when those big families were weakened. So, Ludwig I is not fighting for himself, he is still fighting for the glory of the Bourbon-Condé family for hundreds of years, or even thousands of years - the current coat of arms of the Condé family has added a crown , Ludwig I certainly hoped that this crown could be worn on his descendants forever.

Louis can't say anything about this. After all, he was the promoter and beneficiary in the Polish king election incident. The Kongdai family is a big family in France. The Grand Kongdai has an authority in the army that no one else can match. It was the leader of those great nobles, and his departure made the process of reclaiming the power of this class, title and territory for Louis much easier.

Ludwig I said before that it was renovated by the king's craftsmen like a new castle - they even inlaid glass in those long and narrow windows, just because of the need for defense, there was no expansion or increase, but they A thick and soft carpet is laid on the ground, and drapes are hung on the wall, or oil paintings and screens are used to block the cold, hard, bluish-black stones without showing any traces. Even the bathroom is easily damaged. The same goes for wet places.

All the furniture here can be seen at a glance from Paris or Versailles. Slovenia was once occupied by Ottoman Turkey for a long time. The artistic style here has a strong Istanbul style, which is different from the Baroque that the Europa people respect now. The styles were quite different, and as a French, Ludwig I of course admired the latter more, fondling the elastic armrests of the chairs with satisfaction—he remembered that when he left Paris, the furniture merchants were only wrapping the backs of the chairs in textiles I didn't expect that soon after he left, the armrests of the chair became soft.

But these artisans and officials have to be eclipsed again by Louis' chefs - Polish food is not too bad compared to England, of course, perhaps any place's food is more commendable than English food - because Poland Because wheat cultivation is very developed, Poles are very keen on pasta. In addition to bread, they will make flour into sour noodle soup or make dumplings. The latter is usually only eaten on Christmas Eve, but as long as You can also enjoy this delicacy anytime you can afford it.

Because of the king's request - after all, Dakongdai is now the king of Poland, so at dinner the hearty dishes on the table include wild boar, duck and spare ribs, which the Poles love, as well as sour noodle soup, beetroot soup and dumplings- Ludwig I didn't look at the conspicuous dumplings at all, and attacked the cod soup, shrimp patties, and sweet and sour dry fried herring... and oysters and clams stewed in eggs.

It's all to blame for the Poles who don't like to eat fish, shrimp, or anything fished out of the water. Ludwig I was fighting all the time, so he didn't have the time or time to satisfy his appetite, and the Polish cooks didn't Good at making fish... Louis waited for a while and found that Ludwig I didn't even give the plate of dumplings a glance, so he went to put two on the plate himself.

  Polish dumplings are not boiled cleanly with water like in the East, they are like beef, fried with onions and butter, and eaten with sour cream.

  Louis hesitated, put the dumpling in his mouth without dipping in sour cream.

   Ludwig I stopped and looked at him curiously.

"...you should have reminded me." Louis paused for a few seconds, then forcefully swallowed what was in his mouth, and Ludwig I waved his fork indifferently: "You must try, maybe you would you like it?"

   "I thought it would be pork." Louis said, "Why did they put sour cabbage in it?"

"It's their tradition, maybe your cook thinks it should be closer to the first time you try... Poles," said Ludwig I. "Poles are now filling their dumplings with potatoes, Your Majesty. , that's better."

"I don't think so." Louie imagined what a potato dumpling would taste like... His chefs occasionally make potatoes with cheese and bacon, except that too much can easily slip into corsets and leggings , it tastes great, but potato stuffed dumplings? Still not.

Of course, there are other Polish dishes that are worth trying besides dumplings, but Ludwig I insisted that their taste was greatly enhanced by the abundance of spices, although he and Louis then focused on French cuisine - the king's team of chefs brought in as much spices as possible, sugar, salt and honey, as well as cheese and wine. In addition to these, there are apples, pears, plums, cherries, hazelnuts, walnuts and sweet chestnuts, parsley, papaya, peaches, mulberries and starfruit; vegetables are onions, leeks, beans, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, cranberries , spinach and beetroot.

  Some people may ask, some of these fruits and vegetables are not harvested in this season, and some cannot be stored for a long time, how can they follow the king all the way here? Here I have to thank Mr. Pampa - you should remember that he made a pressure cooker, with a pressure cooker, there are not many detours to go from canning, and Lorraine is producing a lot of glass - these fresh and delicious fruits. And vegetables were brought to Slovenia in glass cans. Although they lost a little of their original flavor because they needed to be cooked, in the barren army life, even Ludwig I had problems because he couldn't eat enough vegetables. Cracked lips, bleeding gums, and, of course, some more embarrassing illnesses, will not be discussed here.

   "How much do these cost?" Ludwig I immediately put down his appetite and looked at the can that his attendant showed him.

   "If you want to use it in the army, it's not possible for the time being." Louis said: "We are still in trial production, not mass production, I can only say that you can take part of it."

   "A few boxes are enough." Ludwig I put down the can, showing some regret: "Although the Poles are also growing beets, their sweetness is not as good as that of sucrose."

   "I did hear that the sugar trade in Poland is very good." Louis said: "Who are they dealing with now, with the Venetians?"

   "And the English," said Ludwig I. "They are clearly trying to take over the Dutch caravans and shipping lines,"

  Louis shook his head, "More than that, they are still interested in competing for our alliance with the Ottoman Turks and trade in steel and coal."

   This information is more surprising to Ludwig I than the glass jar: "Charles II?"

"It should be him." Louis said, "after all, after the heads of MPs are stuck on the walls of Westminster Abbey and Abbey, he is the real King of England. It is said that the British people think that he will be the second Henri VIII, who is surprisingly not as opposed to him as we think." The French king raised his fork lightly and tapped the glass, and it let out a long, crisp whine: "Perhaps the English are also expecting A king with a tough attitude, of course, tough on the outside, but gentle and affectionate on the inside - those councillors may still laugh at their king as just a 'happy king' when they see Charles II mingling with each other all day long and drumming in unison, But I don't know that since then, the public has begun to prefer Charles II to the former - after all, many of the MPs are Puritans like Oliver Cromwell."

Ludwig I paused for a while. If the king in front of him was not a king, he would definitely say that even the most unbearable and incompetent kings should always be vigilant when facing them. And respect, because they have God-given power and talent, very terrible talent, and can push you into purgatory at any time - but then he remembered that he was a king now, so he just smiled: "So, we are Shouldn't the British and the Ottoman Turks be careful?"

   "If this battle," said Louis, "the British can't reach here yet, but they will certainly be more than happy to do some more lucrative business with Mohammed IV's Grand Vizier."

   "You mean artillery and muskets," said Ludwig I.

"Yes," Louis nodded: "While we are advancing, our enemies will not stand still. As far as I know, the Ottoman Turks' Sipatchi cavalry began to change their weapons a few years ago. I don't know. Knowing how the enemies you met in Lviv..."

   "They do have guns no less than ours in number and caliber," said Ludwig I.

   "So this war is probably not as simple as we thought." Louis asked: "Do you know anything about the current Sultan of Ottoman Turkey, Mohammed IV?"

"Speaking of him, he is the same age as you, and..." Ludwig I showed a complicated look: "In 48 years, at the age of six, he replaced his deposed father Ibrahim I as the The ruler of Ottoman Turkey - but until now...he should not be able to govern."

   "Let's talk about it," Louis pointed his finger on the table: "Let's correspond to each other and see if there is anything that can be used..."

"I think, Your Majesty, we should start with the Grand Vizier of Ottoman Turkey, their Prime Minister, who, as far as I know, is a figure like Bishop Richelieu," Ludwig I said. He didn't mention Mazarin because Bishop Mazarin was like a second father in Louis XIV's heart: "arrogant, cruel, and ambitious, this war can be said to have been planned and driven by this gentleman."

   (end of this chapter)