I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 56 Versailles and Paris (Part 1)

Unbeknownst to the king, two vampire princes were watching them leave Paris—their carriages at first only ran along the Seine, but when they were about to leave the Louvre, they turned to the southwest—they were going to Versailles, Then they were bound to pass the town hall, Notre-Dame and Bastille, and by the aqueduct near the Bastille, the carriages hidden in the shadows opened their curtains, and a mob noticed the flashing of the windows, and they ran away Come here, I want to get some benefits from it, but the sharp swords and spears in the hands of the monks of Elari can not only deal with dark creatures, but also deal with fallen human beings. Compared with the king's musketeers, they may be more intimidating. These stone-silent holy knights wouldn't even utter a scolding—of course, no one would say anything to a group of dead men.

Elarius has been paying attention to the face of the king. As far as he knows, the young king seems to be a very merciful person. When he was still in Paris, he could not bear to see the poor in Paris starving because of the continuous rising prices. Starved and quarreled with Bishop Mazarin, and took advantage of the opportunity to repair the chapel to help as many people as possible; on the way to escape, even though he himself was precarious, he still could not watch his people at war The famine caused them to die in droves. Those "Queen Mother's Crosses" don't know how many people have been saved. It's not surprising to Elaius that maybe they will become a super holy place in the future; The refugees who came to Versailles, if it was Louis XIII or Henry IV, they were lucky not to be driven or put to death, and this king not only gave them food, water, but also land, Let them farm well and live like a human again.

   So would he sympathize with these people?

"Why do you think so?" said Louis, and Elayo was startled, and then he heard the king say, "I issued an amnesty more than a hundred days ago, wishing my people to go to Versailles, and all those who stay Here, I can only say that they at least don't recognize me as their king - I love my people, but only if they are my people, not the Duke of Gaston or the Prince of Condé soldiers, or criminals in the premeditated criminals." Having said this, the king turned his head and smiled slightly, "Look, it's not that I didn't give them a chance."

Louis admits that his good deeds are not simple. He repaired the chapel just to calm the faint signs of riots in Paris. He erected a cross and sheltered the refugees on the road of exile because he needed his own tenant farmers and soldiers. The edict issued let the poor of Paris go to Versailles, promising to give them land, farm implements, seeds, and also to build a city of their own - Paris he would not give up, but he would never believe in Paris.

There may be many reasons for those who are unwilling to leave, but the king knows that they are more because Prince Condé and Duke Gaston have offered a high salary, able to wear beautiful coats and have weapons to hold in their hands. either, as he said, they have been planning for a long time, ready to take advantage of the turmoil and make a fortune, or they are simply unwilling to trust their king, in which case Louis will not force them To obey his will, just like he looked at this city covered with a red cloak by flames, and didn't feel any pity, it didn't belong to it.

Elaius smiled, his slender fingers moved nimbly at the car window, like a white spider crawling in the dark, the carriage started again, but after a while it stopped again, and a monk came to the carriage , and said a few words with Elalius, "It seems," Elalius said, "we need to change the way to continue on."

  Prince Condé and the army of the Duke of Gaston met suddenly on the Place de la Bastille. Prince Condé personally led his soldiers, while the Duke of Gaston was led by the Duke of Guise.

Although Prince Condé's military strength and military talent have surpassed Gaston's, it can be said that Condé was caught off guard this time. Perhaps for him, King Louis XIV is the one he shares with Gaston. Although the relationship between him and the Duke of Gaston was very stiff due to a series of operations by Mazarin and Louis, in order to gain power, the Duke of Gaston kept his relationship with him until the sound of the fight. Due respect - so much so that when he jumped out of bed and tried to summon his officers, he found that several of them were missing.

He originally had the Duke of Longueville and the Duke of La Roche Foucault by his side, but the Duke of Longueville was assassinated during the war, and now his life is unknown, and the Duke of La Roche Foucault is protecting him and rushing out of Gasth When Duke Dong was trapped, his eyes were injured and he couldn't see anything. He could only fight alone.

Compared with Prince Condé, the Duke of Guise's side is much more calm. Their total number may not be as good as Prince Condé's army, but in this area, they have an advantage, and the previous provocation of the Duke of Gaston has caused Kong. The prince lost two capable subordinates, the duke of Longueville was seriously injured, and the duke of La Rochefoucault also withdrew from the battlefield. If he is captured or captured, who else will command his army?

  ——

At first, the king still didn't understand what Eraeli meant by the other way, but he soon understood, because he and Eralio were shouldered by the knights of the Inquisition, and when the carriage could not pass, Even if they are carrying a person, they can still walk on the water or the roof ridge, which is a very strange experience, because when you look at it with your eyes, these tall knights or monks are like rocks or steel, But if you close your eyes and feel it only with the touch of the wind on your cheek, you will feel like you are being carried by a huge eagle, gliding through the deep, icy night.

   Their speed was so fast that in a blink of an eye, the carriage was almost left behind by them, the king suddenly turned his head and glanced, "Is that the Duchess of Montpensier?"

  Elarius raised his hand and they stopped. Yes, that is the Duchess of Montpensier, they are condescending, you can clearly see that she is also in the legion, perhaps because the duke Gaston deliberately used the title of the so-called Daughter of Orleans to the end. , She was specially put on a shiny armor with white feathers dotted on the helmet, down to the shoulders, her lips showed a blood-like crimson congealed under the firelight, and her expression was anxious.

   "Alas." Elalius said, "Is the rumor true?"

   "Elarius," said Louis, "may I ask you to lend me one?"

   "Please tell me, Your Majesty." Elayo said with great humility: "I really want to serve you."

  Louis paused: "Can you see the man in the dark green velvet coat?"

   "I see, he is beside Prince Kongdai."

   "Because I sent him to the Prince," said Louis. "Will you send your men to him, and then take him to the Duchess of Montpensier?"

   "What do you want him to do?"

   "Go and say something the Duchess wants to hear."

  ———

Prince Condé is at a disadvantage. This is something everyone can see. The most terrifying thing is that the Duke of Guise has commanded his soldiers to cut Prince Condé away from his legion, and he and a small group of soldiers. Besieged in front of the Bastille Fortress, which was built by Charles V in the style of a famous military castle in the 14th century. It can be said that it is a stronghold standing beside the Louvre Museum.

The fortress was occupied by the duke of Gaston before the war broke out. Perhaps considering that the entire square had become a battlefield, the duke of Guise asked the Duchess of Montpensier to enter the Bastille. Only the Duke of Mortemar, he could not get close to the Duchess anyway, but the monk of the Inquisition, he can be said to have appeared behind the Duchess of Montpensier without knowing it.

The Duchess was startled at first, because the soldier beside her fell silently, but the visitor immediately unfolded a necklace—the one that Prince Condé had bought her at the Red Boys Market. Because of the arrival of Prince Kongdai's sister and wife, they had some disputes, and she returned the necklace to the prince. Who knew that it would return to her as a reliable token?

   "How is your Highness?"

"Very bad," said the Duke of Mortemar. He described haggardness and scars. These are more convincing than his words. He is also a beautiful man. Seeing him, the Duchess of Montpensier is like seeing him. Prince Kong Dai: "How bad is it? Can't you escape?"

   "Look down," said the Duke of Mortemar. "Look, you can see him."

So the duchess went to the crenel and looked down. Prince Condé and his soldiers were being driven to a small area in front of the fortress. They built a rudimentary fortification with the corpses of humans and horses, but it was only a blink of an eye when they were breached. thing. But maybe because the Duke of Guise didn't want to kill a prince either, so he asked the Prince of Condé to surrender, so the situation was at stake.

   "You are the only one who can save him now," said the Duke of Mortmar.

   "You can come to me like this," said the Duchess, "why can't you take him away?"

   "Because His Royal Highness is unwilling to abandon his soldiers," said the Duke of Mortemar, "just as he would not surrender in such humiliation."

   "He should surrender," the Duchess murmured.

"Then he will die," said the Duke of Mortemar, "if he is facing a king, he can, but he is facing another usurper, your father, he can't—don't argue with me If so, you know, your father would do it."

   "I cannot rebel against my father."

   "I advise you to do this," said the Duke of Mortemar, "because it will do you no good if the Duke of Gaston wins."

   "What a foolish thing to say," said the Duchess, "he is my father, and I am his daughter."

"He already has three daughters." The Duke of Mortemar said cruelly, these three were born by the Duke of Gaston and his step-wife: "If you count the illegitimate daughters, there are four, and you have an illegitimate brother. , he has no shortage of children, especially you, the venerable grand princess, please look at your father and think about everything he did to you, you may love him, but he only thinks you are him With the stumbling block of Montpensier, he does not need your intelligence, nor your sharpness, nor your great reputation - although he may still need the daughter of Orleans now, but when the war is over and the dust settles, you will. He will be the person he hates the most. But if that time comes, Grand Princess, you won't even have anyone around you who will lend a helping hand."

   He stepped forward: "What can you do then?"

The Duke of Mortmar looked at the necklace in his hand: "But if he fails, of course, I'm not saying he's dead, or imprisoned, and His Royal Highness can't do that, then they'll go back to one. At that time, even if he gets angry, he still has to ask for your help, whether as the daughter of Orleans, or as the Duchess of Montpensier, and your help to His Royal Highness is enough to make him Remember for a lifetime.”

   "This way, you can get a lot more than you have now."

  ——

   The events of this night have always been talked about by people in Paris.

In their mouths, they were forced to retreat under the walls of the Bastille fortress. The Prince Condé in front of the moat saw the Duchess of Montpensier standing on the city wall in desperation. Out of trust and love for his lover, Without hesitation, he shouted to the Duchess: "Grand Princess! Save me!"

   So the Duchess of Montpensier ordered the defenders of the Bastille to aim the guns on the wall at the army of the Duke of Guise (that is, her father).

  The artillery fire suddenly tore a hole in the dense encirclement, and Prince Condé immediately ran out with his soldiers, and then joined his own army.

Much of this story is indeed true, that the soldiers of the Bastille fortress did receive a wrong order, for there was no one in the fortress at that time more powerful and powerful than the Duchess of Montpensier, and they did His own allies opened fire and released Prince Condé - but it's almost impossible to say that Prince Condé saw the Duchess and cried out for her to save him. Because the height of the Bastille fortress wall was about 80 feet at that time, and the tower was 100 feet high, which is equivalent to the current ten-story building. It is impossible for Prince Kongdai to see who is standing on the city wall, and if no one reminds, the Duchess may not be able to find the trace of Prince Kongdai on the chaotic battlefield.

But for people, these little things are irrelevant, imagine a delicate and noble beauty, in order to save her lover, she did not hesitate to fight her father, and her lover was indeed saved because of this, this is a What an unforgettable romance...

   Although the Duke of Gaston would not think so.

The Duke of Mortemal didn't think so either. After he left the Duchess of Montpensier, he did not return to the Prince of Condé. After all, he had completed all the tasks that the king had given him, and he had done it quite well. He repeatedly encouraged Prince Condé to compete with the Duke of Gaston, or leaked the whereabouts of Prince Condé to the Duke of Gaston inadvertently, or concealed Prince Condé's eyes and ears before the war, and the king was watching The wonderful idea that suddenly arose after the Prince of Condé and the Duchess of Montpensier—he was done.

His ability and daring comforted Louis. After all, from a moral point of view, the Duke of Mortemar was really not a good person, and Louis could also be said to be abusive - he could force the Duke of Mortemar to surrender The potionist's wife and daughter, but to be harsh and cruel, what does the potionist's pain have to do with him? If the potionist had begged to serve the king when he first saw him, the king might have thought about it, but obviously, like Mary's father and uncle, as a wizard of the inner world, the potionist would face the world. The common man, even a king, still maintained an arrogant attitude - even if they coveted worldly power or depended on the protection of mortals.

   Therefore, the king will not give him any extra help. Whatever he wants, he must first exchange his own merits.

In comparison, the attitude of the Duke of Mortemar can be described as quite respectful, not only respectful enough, but also sincere enough. The gift he presented to the king was expensive enough, and when the king needed him to serve him, he did not hesitate at all—perhaps he It is true that he loves his witch wife deeply, but it is hard to say that he is not using this to show his attitude.

The Duke of Mortemar had some hesitations before he came to Paris, but after he came to Paris, he made a decision immediately. The Prince of Condé and the Duke of Gaston may have outperformed the young king in many places, but they The only thing missing is the grasp of people's hearts. They rarely treat someone with sincerity, but this is also a common problem for the superiors at this time, especially the Prince of Condé and the Duke of Gaston. King-like person. But, like a king... there's a real king here!

As soon as the king saw Mortmar, he extended his hand to him and invited him to sit in the same carriage as himself - the carriage was a bit crude, and the king saw Mortmar move unnaturally - the seat was a little awkward. Feeling comfortable, I ordered some carriages: "My carriage was left at the Bastille Square," he said.

   "Did you see me at that time?"

   "Also saw the Duchess of Montpensier, and the Prince of Condé."

   So you immediately got the idea? The Duke of Mortmar thought to himself that although he tried his best to hide it, Elarius still saw in his eyes 'So you are...' Long laughed happily.

  Louis sighed silently. Indeed, there was really no good man in this carriage.

   Two shifts in one.

   (end of this chapter)