I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 417 The Arc de Triomphe of Orange

  If the Paris Basin is the heart of France, then Provence is the soft belly of France.

   And this belly must be the belly of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. The same beauty, softness and richness are unforgettable.

  The sand on the beach is as white as the skin of a goddess, the roses are her cheeks, and the lavender are her eyes. The sea breeze here is like her breath, warm and with a fragrance that never dies.

   Most of the people here are engaged in agriculture and fishing. Countless fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil and garlic, as well as spices and fish and shrimp fill the tables of Provencals.

To say how the people of Provence feel about the king, the good feelings must outweigh the bad feelings. After all, a series of measures and decrees of Louis XIV obviously made this southern region a better development - the king's cosmetics industry and perfume industry , the dye industry uses the roses and lavender here; the king's road is to allow their fruits, vegetables and fishing to be transported to farther and more places; the seeds brought by the king's officials, such as potatoes, tomatoes , coffee, etc., they are also trying to grow; and according to businessmen, the king intends to build Marseille from a military and fishing port into a commercial port, just like Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

From the perspective of Provence, Marseille can fully shoulder this important task. It faces Corsica and Africa, Italy to the east, France and Spain to the west, and the interior of France and the Holy Roman Empire. By sea, or by land, it is a shining nail - yes, it will be as expensive and dazzling as diamonds in the future, and it will also become the foothold for the French king to conquer Italy.

  Louis XIV never concealed his plans for Italy, as evidenced by the fact that he went to great lengths to marry the illegitimate son to the daughter of Cosimo III—albeit in a brazen and devious way of succession.

Bastards have no right of inheritance in canon law and other laws based on canon law, so although he is the eldest son of Louis, he must seek power over Naples from another descendant of Bourbon, the daughter of the Duke of Orleans— Because the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Anna, had inherited Naples from her mother, only by becoming her husband would the Duke of Colonna be eligible to initiate a war of succession in relation to Naples.

Of course, if things develop to this stage, neither the Church of Rome, nor Spain nor the Holy Roman Empire will stand by and watch, not even the princes of Italy. It was not that there were no signs of unification in Italy at the beginning, but they were all swayed by them. Destroyed - the Habsburg system will not allow the French Bourbon to expand further, and the Roman Church will not tolerate a complete Italy - are they really satisfied with just one Vatican?

   As for the vassal states such as Milan, there is no need to say more. They do not know how many times they cursed Cosimo III of Tuscany - this wolf was undoubtedly introduced to Italy by Cosimo III.

But Cosimo III is also very clear that the Medici family is still a merchant family in the final analysis. When the Europa people have almost no concept of "standing army", and all wars are controlled by mercenaries, money can play a pivotal role. The role of - until now, no, a century ago, this practice has proved outdated and unreliable.

As the Duke of Colonna said occasionally - the army is a violent machine belonging to the state - this sentence Cosimo III can swear by his aching knees is definitely from the mouth of Louis XIV, he also sees, this head. How terrible is a beast kept by a whole country If Louis XIV is determined to march on Italy, who will stop him? Are those mercenaries who go to the battlefield like they are doing business?

He didn't regret doing it at all, especially after seeing the state of his eldest son Ferdinand and the younger son Gian, they were not vicious people, but like all Medici, they lacked political and military awareness. talent.

Moreover, although Ferdinand was a young adult, he also developed symptoms of gout. He had suffered from gout for many years. He knew that once the disease occurred, the patient could do nothing but wailing. Although his younger son Ji An had no symptoms, he was also weak. Until now there is no way to ride a horse, swim, or stay outside for long periods of time.

Therefore, when Ferdinand went to Versailles and did not want to come back, his courtiers were very troubled, Cosimo III was very sullen on the surface, but very calm in his heart, if Ferdinand could get as much as the Duke of Lorraine did A carefree life is not a bad thing, and the body of the future Italian king will also have the blood of the Medici family.

  Cosimo III thought he might still see the birth of a future king of Italy.

But if the Duke of Colonna really wants to do this, then the support from France is absolutely indispensable. Marseille is still an important military port. In the future, it will become a two-shot into Italy's chest along with Gayola, which is still a hidden place. Sharp arrows.

Marseille has been identified as a foothold for the King's Parade, but the people of Marseille may have to wait for a while, because the King's chariot will enter the Provence region from Orange after the king's ministers and generals have negotiated for a period of time. , then down, to Alvignon, the place considered a great disgrace by the Roman Church, then to Aix, the old capital of Provence, and finally to Marseille, and then the king will continue east, and south—probably at Monaco for a short visit and stopover.

  Orange is actually quite a sensitive place - because not so long ago it belonged to the Netherlands. William of Orange refers to William I who owned Orange. This territory originally belonged to the Nassau family and was later inherited by William I. After that, he and his descendants took Orange as the surname - even if this The territory has always been in the heart of France and was essentially owned by the king of France, but it was indeed a state within a kingdom until William III had to cede it before the fall of the Netherlands.

Louis XIV's grand parade took Orange as the starting point of the Provence region, precisely to reaffirm to the people here the legal right and ownership of the French king over here, and to deter potential supporters of the Orange family , To this end, the king's carriage will pass under the most famous Arc de Triomphe of Emperor Tiber in Orange, which was built by the Romans to celebrate and commemorate Julius Caesar's defeat of the Greeks at Massena, and was built in BC The 17th year was dedicated to the then Roman emperor Tiber - amazingly, the intention at that time was almost the same as the intention now, and it was also to warn the residents of Orange and to eliminate their fighting spirit and courage.

This Arc de Triomphe walks with huge limestone, three arches one large and two small, the highest point is sixty feet high, and there are bas-reliefs on the column, depicting the great exploits of Julius Caesar, the Marquis of Lois and Prince Conti. The arrangement is also a subtle and profound compliment to Louis XIV.

Prince Conti also did something ironic. Of course, it was not a bad thing for the parties involved, that is, Mr. Molière and his dazzling troupe. There is one in Orange, which is also the oldest and the largest. The ancient Roman theater, with the division and decline of the Roman Empire, the loss of time, and the destruction of wind and sunlight, this theater, which can accommodate 8,000 people, has long been completely abandoned, and the spectacle-like roof has collapsed. Leave the walls and columns, and the funnel-shaped seating.

  Orange people once used its walls as fortifications, and later the theater also lived in people and became a small residential area.

  Prince Conti had all these people relocated, renovated the Colosseum, and let M. Molière rehearse a new and delightful play for the king.

"Don't do anything too risky." The gentleman with long sleeves and good luck said meaningfully, and Molière sighed deeply: "Believe me, my courage has been exhausted. Just last time, I didn't dare to jump even a step." Even if he wanted to go crazy again, Beauchamp and others would not cooperate with him: "But sir, what makes you think that I can do it in a few days? How about a new play right away?"

   "Can't you?"

"cannot."

   "Then you can figure it out, Monsieur Molière, the king already knows and expects it anyway..."

We don't know how Molière cursed Prince Conti when no one was there, but Prince Conti was happy to embarrass this guy - Molière's behavior did please and comfort the king, but it also made many people unable to get down Taiwan...especially someone like Prince Conti, who is also surnamed Bourbon, who happily walks across the square to the king's palace, and of course he can also have a room near the king's suite - as he is about to enter, look at "Who is it?" he asked curiously, as the room was obviously closer to the king than he was to a group of people coming and going carrying furniture and draperies and rugs and the like.

  Everyone in Versailles knows that the closer the room is to the king's suite, the more favored the people who live in it. In the past, there were also favored royal ladies whose rooms were small and few, but closer to the king than the queen.

   But the Crown Prince was standing outside the door. His things were being moved out of that room. Prince Conti was speechless, not knowing whether he should go over and greet the Highness.

  The crown prince had already seen Prince Conti, he nodded to the prince, and the prince came over immediately.

"The Duke of Colonna will live here." said the prince, little Louis. Prince Conti was stunned, and immediately looked at each other's face, but there was nothing unusual in his tone and demeanor. Knowing what these people thought, he smiled lightly: "Don't think about it, uncle," he said affectionately, "The Duke of Colonna has just come from Calais, and I think he will definitely want to spend more time with His Majesty."

Prince Conti gave him a sigh of relief. They really liked this gracious and kind prince, but he was so good sometimes that he didn't feel real. If the church refused to give Louis XIV the title of a saint , but he can give one to the future Louis XV - of course, at this time he does not know another "great achievement" of Louis XV in the future.

  ——

The Duke of Colonna, described as haggard, had lost his mother, so to speak - exactly twice, the first time he had to bow to the authority of his father and the king, and could understand the latter's pain, but the second time he was finally able to fully He poured out his anger and sorrow.

   As soon as he saw Louis, he took a few steps forward and knelt on his father's knees, a gesture he had rarely seen since he was past ten.

  At first, he could barely hold back his tears, but when a warm palm fell on his head, he couldn't help sobbing.

   "I will never let them go, never!"

   "Me too," said Louis. "Don't worry, Lucy, we won't have to wait too long."

The conversation that followed    was only known to a few people, and more content was even engraved in the hearts of the father and son. Most people only saw the Duke of Colonna accompanying His Majesty the King in the Ancient Roman Theater of Orange.

  The king is powerful, the ministers and generals are luxuriously dressed, and they look arrogant. Behind the crown prince, is a young man who is unfamiliar to people. Countless pairs of eyes are focused on him, because he actually shares the box with members of the royal family.

The identity of this young nobleman quickly flowed into everyone's heart like the aroma of roses sent by the wind. In fact, the local nobles in Provence have also seen him, but in recent years, the Duke of Colonna has been in Tuscany, Canada. From teenagers to young people, there are always great changes in appearance and body, which will make people feel unfamiliar.

   But even if the Duke of Colonna appeared by the king's side for the first time, he was enough to become a great figure in Versailles and Provence because of the love and compassion of Louis XIV for him and the gentle treatment of the prince.

   In just a short distance, many people have already planned to rewrite an invitation letter, prepare a new gift, and call in a few good people who are knowledgeable and interesting.

The Duke of Colonna didn't look at the heads that kept bowing before his father and the king. When he was very young: he didn't understand the meaning, but now he can't help but feel uneasy - he knew that these people were before the king's statement. How to pretend that nothing happened.

   Also, those vicious sinners, did they choose Marie Mancini because she was just a royal lady who had stepped down from her post? And he's just a duke without territory?

   If he was already the king of Italy, would they dare to do this to a king's mother?

The Duke of Colonna didn't want to resent his father. This is what Marie Mancini said to him. She didn't have a choice, the king didn't deceive her, and even the engagement between them was established with her acquiescence. of.

   The Duke of Colonna cannot erase his mother's sacrifice for love, he can only turn his anger on those who destroy all hope.

  It is not that Louis, Philip, Bontang and others have such an idea. As long as they are insiders, even the queen, they feel that one day, they will reconcile.

   (end of this chapter)