I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 58 Versailles and Paris (Part 2)

The Duke of Mortmar was unfamiliar with Versailles. Although he also had a prominent title, Mortmar was not an impressive surname for Henry IV and Louis XIII. He was not invited here. , but he still heard about Versailles, and he was a little curious about everything here, but not so surprised, because he had never seen Versailles before.

Compared with the Duke of Mortemar, Elatrix's mood is much more complicated. Of course, this ambitious young man is not unfamiliar with Versailles. This is one of Louis XIII's favorite hunting places, because of the king's Favored, so the place should also be "cleaned up" frequently, so as not to disturb the dignitaries - at that time, there was only a small building here, surrounded by scattered farmhouses and hotels, and almost all the people here relied on following the king to Versailles. The hunting nobles lived, and there was no continuous and long-term work. How can I say that at that time Versailles was very much like a theater. When the king came, it was full of vigor and drama, and when the king left - those vigorous hounds, Those beautiful horses, those elegant knights and beautiful ladies, just like the scenery on the stage, disappeared all at once, revealing the tattered bricks below, which is more bleak than the usual desolation in other places. Ridiculously tragic.

Now, the road from the Hunting Avenue (that is, the road from Paris to Versailles) to the palace has been repaired, and the pavement enough for four knights to walk side by side is a new material developed on the basis of ancient Roman cement. The surface was covered with tiny stones, and the wheels of the chariot could not do any damage on it, and even the horses’ shoes could only leave light white marks. It is like a stone, and repairing the road in this way and material is bound to be expensive, and the labor required cannot be underestimated, but Erale quickly thought of the refugees who followed the king all the way to Versailles... Although the king gave them the seeds of wheat and potatoes, even the potatoes would take four months to harvest, and it is impossible for people to wait for one hundred and twenty days on an empty stomach. The king once built a chapel in Paris, then Of course the roads can also be repaired here.

Almost at the next moment, Elarius' guess was confirmed, because some people were repairing a narrow path, which was said to be narrow enough for two knights to pass through each other, and it was extending into a forest of thorns. Elarius, if he remembers correctly, also executed a tragic Nophele there - as he walked past, the workers spotted him, and when they saw Elarius' black robe, they were immediately in awe, and immediately took it off. He took off his hat and put it on his chest.

   "What are you doing?" Elarius asked.

   "We're building a road, Master Priest." The leader replied respectfully.

   "But doesn't it lead to the Thorns?"

   "There is no more thorn forest," replied the man, "We managed to burn all the thorns there, and now it's a potato field."

   "Oh," cried Elarius, "by God's blessing, have you begun to farm?"

   "What's more," said the worker, perhaps also a farmer, proudly, "the potatoes have even been harvested once, and now the king's officials have told us that we can continue to grow peanuts."

   "Peanuts?"

"It's also a new thing," said the man. "My lord priest, I swear to the Virgin, if it wasn't for the king who likes to eat this stuff, I would never plant it, but they all say it's an angel. What was given to St. Francis was a very good fruit to eat and to press for oil, just like the olive fruit that grows in the ground."

He said this, which made Elaius curious: "What kind of fruit is that?" He put his hand into the purse, and then took out a large aegis and gave it to the peasant, and he was immediately happy, " Well, clergyman," he said, "it won't be easy, but I do keep some seeds at home that won't germinate." He handed the tools to the others, and ran home as fast as he could--probably only In a very close place, because he came back almost in a blink of an eye, there might be only four or five nuts in the tightened cloth bag that looked neither good-looking nor full, it looked more like it was knotted on a tree, But as the farmer said, it was born underground, like potatoes.

And what that person said about the so-called seeds that will not germinate is probably nonsense, because the seeds inside these fruits are still very fresh and full of vitality after they are broken apart. "Don't be like this," Elarius said, "Didn't you hear that this is the fruit that the king likes?"

   "There are so many things that the king likes." A monk couldn't help but say.

"That requires people to be willing to believe him." Elaly said, they have also heard about the potato and investigated it. After all, this fruit used to be related to the devil, but it turns out that it is not only irrelevant to the devil, but also very important to the devil. Delicious, as long as there is enough fat or meat, it can completely replace bread - of course, if there is nothing at all, just add a little salt, this soft and easily filling thing has nothing to blame in terms of taste , and it does take less time to harvest than wheat or beans.

  As for Peanuts, the king didn't even make a fuss. Almost all the people in Versailles were his loyal subjects. As long as there was an edict from him, everyone would do as he wished.

Elalio walked along that road—the unrepaired road was not so bad, at least that was the way it was in almost all of Versailles before—to put it simply, people's feet were trampled on the grass and the wasteland many times. After the natural formation of the trail, the sides are still overgrown with thorns and thorns.

After crossing a low hill, the eyes of everyone suddenly opened up—a man-made plain, the charred land showed that it had indeed been burned. On the edge of the cultivated land, next to the dense forest, was a row of gray and rough surfaces like the road. The hut looked like it was made of several wooden boards, but it had very small window panels and simple wooden doors. When they got closer, they realized that it was indeed a "board", but it was not a template, and It's cement board.

Seriously, these rooms are ugly, small, dark, and boxy like a box, but they are the kind of room that Elarius had hoped for—warm, unbreakable by wind and snow; dry , the rain is impermeable; solid, no need to worry about the intrusion of wild animals, and no need to worry about being surrounded by flames when you wake up... He smiled and saw some people burrowed out of the house, some of the most humble and meanest , they bowed their heads in awe, unlike the peasants they met before, they didn't even have the courage to cry out to the priest.

   But Eraeli heard the cry of the baby.

that's enough.

He turned to leave, and along the way, he saw more people, and the interesting thing was that they could be said to be very distinct, and the king did not rashly place the former refugees with the poor he recruited from Paris, their settlements Unlike work, the refugees were almost all sent to clear fields and grow potatoes, while most of the poor in Paris were busy building roads, palaces, and their own houses.

When Elarius came to the palace, he also saw a large group of well-dressed but timid gentlemen gathered in the courtyard. He asked a musketeer, and the musketeer told him that these were all. Accompanying merchants, they came to see the king.

To be allowed to see the king, is undoubtedly a matter of honor and fear for these ordinary merchants. They arranged the most appropriate clothes as possible, and bribed the attendants and ministers to ask them how to meet the king. It's not too rude to be too rude - although Louis doesn't care.

These merchants were called in one by one. Some of them, perhaps out of nervousness or fear, could not even say a simple hello. The king could only smile and then be led down by his attendants. The good one also had a trembling voice, his face was flushed red, and his knees were shaking desperately, causing the king to worry about his health.

Louis remembered Colbert. The young businessman was still guarding the door for him when he first saw the king, but when the king summoned him, he was able to analyze and guess Louis' intentions very calmly. , he gave his proposal almost immediately, and for this alone, he didn't know where he was more astute than these merchants - thinking of this, the king almost wanted to dance happily, after all Colbert could Said to be the first person he personally promoted, and he did not live up to the king's expectations for him.

It was only when the last merchant was taken out that Louis stretched, and in the helpless eyes of Bontang, he glanced at the loyal first squire. "There will be no more," he said: "You know, Bontang, I need money."

   "You can borrow it from the Bishop or the Queen Mother, Your Majesty," said Bontang.

   "I owe them hundreds of thousands of livres," said Louis, "and they may not be able to afford the follow-up, Bontang."

   "But what are you going to do?" Bontang asked, puzzled. "If you're going to resettle these refugees, aren't they already at Versailles?"

  The king smiled: "Not enough, not enough, Bontang, not enough at all."

   How many people are there? The king looked out the window, thousands of people, or tens of thousands, but how many people in France? He is a greedy man, and he hopes that, wherever he sees, and where he cannot see, there are his people, truly, who are willing to be loyal to his people with life and honor.

   He was both Parisian and King of France, or…

   of this world.

   (end of this chapter)