I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 45 The King's Conversation with Friedrich Schumberg

Three days later, the people in the old town of Hertel got the news from Paris. Viscount Turenne was surprised and helpless at the result, and there was a bit of fluke and joy that could not be expressed in words. The clothes given to him by the king—for people at this time, a luxurious coat is hard to come by, Viscount Turenne has earned a good fortune for himself by virtue of his talent in war, but compared to the royal family, he The best clothes prepared for oneself are also inevitably eclipsed, not to mention that the costumes bestowed by the king have applied many elements from the Netherlands, or, in other words, this is a set of Dutch knight costumes.

Viscount Turenne would of course be very fond of such clothes, because when he entered the army at the age of twelve, he went to his uncle, Prince Maurice, to serve in the Dutch army, and everyone around him was like this. attire, which he maintained until, at the age of twenty-four, he decided to serve in the French army.

The clothes of the Dutch are slightly different from those of the French. For the Queen Mother Anne, they are more frivolous, but the king likes its lightness and simplicity - the shirt inside has a pair of long and broad white collars, like a swan. The wings were so softly draped over the shoulders, and the edges were delicately lace of the same color; the coat was made of heavy, lustrous satin, with a slender cut on each of the chest and arms, longer than the hips, and fastened with a thin belt. , a leather bag with a purse, a short-handled musket, and a rapier, ornate patterns embroidered on the front of the shirt, and a button seam on the waistline to hang the trousers; the trousers are somewhat loose, tied with a ribbon below the knee, Tied in the shape of a bow, the shoes are open booties.

This kind of dress made Viscount Turena several years younger, but at the last step, he hesitated, because there was a light maroon shoulder **** the tray. The color of the Prince, Viscount Turenne happily wore it before to show support for his friends, even when he was going to see the king.

  —

Louis was still waiting for the Viscount Turenne in the original room. As soon as he saw the Viscount, his eyes fell on the shoulders of the Viscount. When he found that the place was empty, he asked the Viscount to come to his side - to say, Thirteen Viscount Reina is also uneasy now. After all, he is still a little ashamed. He is full of expectations for Prince Kongdai and the king. The king does not have the red shoulder strap he thought, which makes this soldier who was in the past year in the heart. A sinking, after all, the king suddenly changed his previous mind, this is not the first time, nor the last time.

  While he was still stunned, the king had taken off his red shoulder strap, put it on the Viscount's shoulder, and then took off a large diamond pin to fasten the shoulder strap.

This kind of honor made Viscount Turenne unbelievable even more than the previous blow. He was so frightened that he couldn't speak, or that he tried his best to express his gratitude, but no one could understand him. The king was ironic and could only Let him sit next to you and let him drink a glass of wine. It took a while for the Viscount to calm down, and he was almost speechless as he stroked the silky silk shoulder straps and the gleaming diamond pins on them.

"Monsieur Viscount," said Louis, kindly and slightly reproachfully, "I thought you already understood what kind of person I am." He stretched out his hand to take the Viscount Turenne: "your behavior is for a king. , of course it is unforgivable, but as far as France is concerned, you are just keeping the right idea and taking the wrong path! That is to say, I should probably punish your behavior, but to your heart, I But it is beyond reproach, next, I don't need you to pay any debts, I just hope that I can become your friend like Prince Kongdai, which is enough to make me happy."

This sentence Louis really came from the heart. After all, the people around him, except for Bontang and Marie, were all from Mazarin and the Queen Mother Anne, oh, and maybe Lariviere, But this Mr. Dean is too slippery, you can use him, but if you want to rely on him, you might as well go to **** to fetch water.

Of course, Viscount Turenne could also feel this sincerity. He sincerely apologized to His Majesty the King again and again. The King accepted his apology and compliment, and brought up another matter. When he mentioned this matter, Turenne The viscount went from a crappy courtier to a sane general, because as we said before, General Friedrich Schumberg from the Holy Roman Empire brought a thousand infantry and fled There were about 300, and 500 were added, and now there are 1,200 people, and the soldiers brought by Viscount Turena to attack the old city of Hetel are about 3,000, and there are twelve artillery pieces, which is why He originally thought that he could go down in one go.

Of course, these soldiers are now all owned by the king, a total of 4,000 people - because some people have been wounded or killed in previous battles, and then a big problem is put before the king, and that is the salaries of these people With supplies, disappointing these people is extremely undesirable for Turenne, but even Prince Condé would be embarrassed to meet their needs.

  The king asked Viscount Turenne what he was going to do while he was still in the service of Prince Condé. After capturing Hertelle?

  Viscount Turenne replied frankly that he would take part of the money from Hertel and the king's luggage, disband some of the soldiers on the spot, and then return to Paris with the others.

He suggested that the king should do the same. After all, the cost of dismissing soldiers is much cheaper than stipends and supplies, but Louis did not want to do so. It is a pity that the French army, the British army or the Spanish army at this time The army is not bound by the so-called morality and regulations. Soldiers are robbers. No matter the city or the farm, what they do most is looting and stealing. That is to say, two thousand people. These two thousand people may not be able to help the old city of Hetai, but the peasants around the old city will go into living hell.

"But four thousand," said Viscount Turenne, "is too many." He wanted to suggest that the king at least disband Friedrich Schumberg's army first, but after a moment's hesitation he gave up the idea. , which made him look a little weird when he left the king's room and met General Schumberg in the corridor.

  ——

The king did not call General Schumberg, but he would not refuse General Schumberg's request to see him, asking him to say that Schumberg was even more credible than Viscount Turenne, even if it was only a transaction at first, but Not every employed soldier can demonstrate his willingness to remain faithful to a contract and to maintain a tenacious will at all times.

General Schumberg is actually younger than Viscount Turenne. He was born in 15 years and is thirty-six years old this year. For a general, it was the best time of his life. He saw Thierry in the corridor. Viscount Rainer's red shoulder strap and the diamond pin on the shoulder strap, worth at least a thousand livres, were envious and a little sad at the same time.

   "You came to see me," the king said with his usual kindness, "and with such a sad face, is there something that cannot be resolved?"

   "Yes, Your Majesty," said Schaumberg, "I have indeed encountered something that only you can solve."

   "Please speak."

   "Your Majesty, I'm here to bid you farewell, yes, I'm leaving."

The king was taken aback and even stood up: "God," he said, "why do you have such thoughts, you have protected me and my mother along the way, and you have just won a victory for me , I was about to give you the corresponding return, but you said that you were leaving, who was rude to you?"

   "No, Your Majesty, no."

   "So who is short of salaries for you and those loyal soldiers?"

   "Neither, Your Majesty."

   "Then someone must have deducted your wine, bread, and dried meat."

   "No more, Your Majesty, we even have cheese to eat."

   Now it was the king's turn to be puzzled: "Then tell me," he said, "what was it that forced you to leave?"

General   Schaumberg hesitated for a while, apparently not wanting to give that reason: "You now have General Turenne."

   "God!" said Louis, "Have you ever seen a man who has his right hand cut off his left?"

   "What if the left hand is always reluctant to dip in holy water to draw a cross? (There must be a holy water bowl at the entrance of a Catholic church, and believers dip in holy water to draw a cross after entering the church, but not in Protestant churches Schumberg said.

It was only now that Louis came to understand that, as a person who had no faith, he would always overlook something, and now Schumberg was reminding him about it, because Schumberg was a Protestant, and The French royal family, from the Queen Mother Anne, to the Bishop Mazarin, and himself, are all Catholics. The St. Bartholomew Massacre is imminent, even if Schaumberg has a lion-like courage, he must consider it. Whether France can get the reuse it deserves.

   "I can understand your concerns," said the young king, "but I must also say, General, that I am not going to let you go."

"but…"

"You are a Protestant," said Louis; "you have nothing more to worry about than your honor and your life, and perhaps your soldiers' salaries." He went to his desk and sat down, and Bontang fell for him at once. Some ink, a quill and parchment, Louis wrote a few lines on it, and gave the parchment to Schaumberg.

Schaumberg took it and looked at it, and it said: From the day I entered Paris, General Friedrich Schaumberg was granted French citizenship and a marshal's scepter, and he was immediately paid five Miles' belongings. Then came the king's signature.

General   Schaumberg's face instantly turned red, and he had to admit that he came to the king, and did intend to get some... promises from him, but the king did so, and he began to feel ashamed again.

"You don't have to worry about that at all," Louis said, "because these are what I originally wanted to give you, and there's more to it than that." He opened the drawer of the desk, took out a flat, long box and handed it to Shaw Mberg, and motioned him to open it immediately, Schaumberg complied with the king's order, and as soon as he opened the box, he saw the bright red wide shoulder strap, and a diamond pin pressed on the shoulder strap, from the value of Looking up, it is no different from the one worn by Viscount Turenne on his shoulders.

When   Schaumberg saw it, he immediately lifted the shoulder-strap and hung it on himself, and the king pinned him with his own hands.

   "Now you must stay," Louis said, brushing his shoulders, which were shaking slightly from excitement.

  ——

What General Schumberg didn't know was that, just as he was content and relieved, he walked into the courtyard when he was looking at his king from the window of his study and said as if to himself: "Don't say Catholic, A Protestant, an Orthodox Christian, or a so-called Brahma worshiper, as long as he has talent and is willing to be loyal to me, even if it is the devil, I will want to use it.”

Of course, this sentence cannot be said to others. Schaumberg cannot, Viscount Turenne cannot, Bishop Mazarin and the Queen Mother are even more impossible, even Bontang is no exception, the only possibility is probably only Marie .Mancini, a witch too.

   (end of this chapter)