MTL - I Am Louis XIV-Chapter 570 Leopold I bids us farewell (middle)
Chapter 570 Leopold I bids us farewell (middle)
The nobles of Versailles have a hobby - staying on the terrace in front of the Palace of Versailles overlooking the crowd below.
As we said before, the Palace of Versailles stands on a high platform. There are more than 300 steps from the square at the bottom to the terrace at the top. Only a few people who are lucky enough to be allowed to enter the Palace of Versailles have the privilege to use the sedan chair. Everyone else has to walk up step by step, and these nobles will lean against the railings of the terrace lazily between banquets and dances, swinging fans and holding canes, enjoying the breeze while tickling. Pumping bald, whispering.
Everyone who leans on their own feet and slowly walks on the steps will be commented by these arrogant guys one by one, guessing their intentions, and even making fun of them, but if they see a simple or gorgeous sedan chair Slowly from bottom to top, they had to get dressed again and ran down to wait impatiently—after all, there are fewer and fewer people qualified to ride on the sedan chair, and it is more and more important.
However, some nobles who served for the king in the army did not even bother to use this right - in order to show their health, sometimes they even walked to the big gallery without stopping.
Like the most beloved grandson of the Duke of Vendome, and the king's adopted son Eugene Savoy.
Countless pairs of eyes stared at him, openly or secretly, people whispering under fans and wigs, men's tongues as long and boring as women's, things that might have embarrassed him ten years ago, but now they can't. Shake him a little more - anyone who has been on the battlefield, seen blood and blood, and heard the last whine, sigh, or cry will not care - what are these gossips compared to life and death?
"Don't pay attention to them, a bunch of idiots doing nothing." Joseph, who was standing beside him, said, if someone cast an ambiguous gaze, he would stare back viciously, this is Bourbon, and the future Duke of Vendôme, He is also liked by the king, and there are not many people who can insist on confrontation and provocation with him.
"I didn't care either." Little Eugen took Joseph's arm and put it down—either he didn't want it, or Joseph was a step higher than him. When they walked side by side, holding their arms would hinder each other. When he was young, little Eugen was angry because of it: "I experienced this kind of thing as early as ten years ago."
He would like to thank the Count of Soissons for his generosity, which allowed him to walk away from his humiliating birth and walk in Versailles as a decent legitimate child, but those who know will always know, especially those who not only know that he is not the Count of Soissons The eldest son, the illegitimate son of Leopold I, the enemy of France and Louis XIV—they didn’t like him, and here, dislike is enough to make you impossible, not even to the point of being hated—without Louis X Four.
Louis XIV's lenient treatment of him was nothing more than a love for the house. He owed Marie Mancini, and he was unwilling to let her reputation be damaged, but for whatever reason, little Eugen should be grateful to the king for his love and care for him. Nurtured, he and his queen treated him like another child of their own. He means that even if he had an accident with his mother, he would have nothing to complain about, not to mention that he could have a room in Versailles and grew up with the prince and the son of the duke.
Just like Joseph next to him, although his grandfather was also the illegitimate son of Henry IV, he was legally recognized and he was also a legitimate son. Unlike Little Eugen, the former could still be respected in Versailles, If there is no Louis XIV, he is not qualified to have this close friend.
There is also Prince Louis, the crown prince. There are countless people who want to be by the crown prince's side, but little Eugen gets it easily.
You must know that if you say that you are liked by the king, it means that you can quickly rise to the top, and you can get the likes of the crown prince, then you are saying that not only you, but also your relatives and friends, and even the whole family has the possibility of climbing.
It's no wonder that there are always people who are full of malice towards little Eugen.
Family - little Eugen thought, he had decided long ago to leave the Count of Soissons, or he would take the title, title and estate of the eldest son. He doesn't want to escape into the repair door like the "eldest son" of the Duke of Longueville. He likes the army, the court, and the wine and beauty, but Louis XIV has already told him that if he insists, the king will be re-canonized. For him, this situation is not unique in history. If his elder brother obtains another title, he can transfer everything that should have been inherited by himself to his younger brother.
When he gets his own title and territory, gets married and has children, he will also have his own family. Thinking like this, he couldn't help feeling satisfied.
"Versailles is still the same." Joseph said that he had not been away for as long as Eugen, but he had not returned to Versailles for several years.
They stood for a while at the entrance of the great gallery. They were strong enough, but they were still a little tired as they climbed the three hundred steps without a single pause.
"Who said that," Eugen said, "there is still a change." Although the large gallery was full of people, he could still see that the murals on both sides of the corridor had changed content. It is said that LeBron now has hundreds of people. Disciples, can meet the needs of the king and the royal family - he paused slightly before the last fresco and smiled involuntarily, which is exactly the picture of him putting the key of the city of Leon in the reliquary to the sun king - of course , This scene is completely fabricated by the painter, but it is exactly what Eugen wanted. The city of Leon is of great significance, and he won it at a very small price. It is really worth writing about.
"I have it too." Joseph pointed to a mural of a naval battle and said that it was his ship. Unfortunately, although the commander above has also been carefully depicted, it is really difficult to recognize who is who from above. possible.
"Okay, boys, I can totally understand your vanity," a voice interjected: "But don't keep Your Majesty waiting."
They all looked up and saw that it was another Bourbon, Prince Conti, who had come, and they hurriedly took off their hats to greet him, and followed him to the king's living room.
———
If Louis XIV wanted to discuss political affairs with his ministers, he would usually be in the Jupiter Room, but if he was talking to close friends, it might be in the slightly smaller and more comfortable Juno Room, and up, such as The Viscount Turenne, Colbert, the Marquis of Lois, and the Count of Soissons, etc., would be in the small chamber adjacent to the king's suite, and if they spoke to blood relatives, they would mostly be in his living room or study. .
Little Eugen, though not a Bourbon, was the king's adopted son, and he too could enter this room, but every time he felt a pang of shame—he was a Habsburg, not a Bourbon, more unfortunate It was when he was a child that he could still vaguely see the beauty of the Mancini family. When he grew up, he inherited all the ugly characteristics of the Habsburgs. The big chin was a replica of Leopold I, and his height was not satisfactory. — Not even the Duke of Montreal, let alone the other bourbons.
As for the Bourbons, the king and the duke do not need to go into details. The Duke of Montreal is slender and delicate like a ceramic statue. The appearance of the Duke of Halleboul does not conform to the aesthetics of Versailles, but it is difficult to pick out any major shortcomings. Louis is the template of the "Holy King" imagined by many people. Even the Duke of Vendôme with silver hair on the temples and the uninhibited Prince Conti have their own charms, attracting people's attention.
"The sun is shining, the stars twinkling, and the moon is shining," he said mockingly.
"This stubborn stone has its own treasures in its heart." Louis continued.
"You also have a pair of discerning eyes," said little Eugen. He stepped forward and kissed the king's hand. "Sit down." Louis said: "My boy, I think you have probably guessed that there are some things I have Let you decide for yourself."
Little Eugen sighed.
"Looks like you already know," Louis said bluntly—young Eugen had been on the battlefield for ten years, and while Louis would still call him my boy, it was almost humiliating to continue to treat him as an unworldly child. He did: "Yes, Leopold I sent a messenger to negotiate with us."
"He was going to negotiate with us ten years ago," little Eugen raised his head arrogantly. Ten years of military career was enough to make a young man a battle-hardened general. He was so young that Louis XIV could do it all. Understanding Leopold I: "What can he offer in ten years?"
"No accident, no accident," said the Duke of Orleans. "It's quite fair."
The Duke of Vendôme coughed before suppressing his laughter. "After all, Leopold I is not Charles II. Gentlemen, he is a good king and will not blindly do things he knows not to do." According to that Queen Catalina said that the reason why England is still in turmoil after Queen Anne's accession is because Charles II emptied the treasury, merchants and people's money bags for ironclad ships and wars. What will happen to the empty treasury? The harm aside, in order to pay off the money lent to the king by the bankers, it is necessary to offset the account with taxes - just like in France before Louis XIV came to power, the tax collectors once again ran rampant in England, Ireland and Scotland. But the war tax levied by Charles II several times before has drained the last bit of blood from the people, and they have nothing to offer except hunger and anger.
The recent sudden surge in Irish immigration to America seems to say it all.
It's a vicious circle, can't pay the tax - the people flee - the rest have to pay more tax - they have to flee - the tax is shared again... It is said to have shouted "only three workers, one to herd" , the English nobles who were shearing wool by one person and weaving by one person began to panic - in their hearts, there were as many serfs and workers as fleas, and they couldn't catch them all. Who knew that suddenly there would be such a day, they all disappeared Woolen cloth?
Compared to Charles II, James II, and the incompetent Queen Anne, Leopold I was obviously wiser and kinder. His only mistake was not to indulge his competitiveness against Louis XIV. It is indeed painful to be suppressed again and again by a peer of this age, but he should take a longer view - at least before Flanders, Holland and Spain, he should secure his kingship and ensure himself among the electors of the Holy Roman Empire. majesty and status.
Well, he has done his best. It is not easy to surround these princes with different minds and the right to vote. On the issue of the Spanish throne, as a direct line of Habsburg, he really should Going to the last step - in fact, he is also difficult to ride a tiger. If he does not dare to attack France on such an important and crucial matter, he will not even want to gain the respect of those careerists.
Even so, the final battlefield is still not part of Austria, Spain or France. Both sides have tacitly bound the field of competition to the Principality of Milan, which means that not only the French people do not have to bear the damage and sequelae of the war, Neither did the Austrians, and apart from the brief, thunderous clashes in the first few years, and then the long, intermittent tug-of-war, eventually not only the French, but the Austrians also began to build forts and walls, in short In other words, he didn't attack or retreat, completely posing as a rogue.
This approach is not very beautiful, but it does reduce the pressure on Austria caused by the war. Leopold I has been waiting for an opportunity to find a gap, but ten years later, he also became seriously ill, and his life in this world seems to be over. How many, his son is not even underage, he must admit, he still lost the war, in the end, he was forced to bow to Louis XIV for the sake of the country, the people and the family, and was willing to admit the second son of Louis, Charles , that is, Carlos III's power over Spain in exchange for Louis XIV's support for his son - don't forget, the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were elected.
If Leopold I defeated Louis XIV, of course his son Philip could become the master of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire at the same time as Charles V once did, but ten years of futility have made the electors feel Dissatisfied, he had to consider whether someone would take the opportunity to usurp the authority and crown that the Habsburgs had held for hundreds of years.
"So," Louis said in detail to the little Eugen about the current situation in Austria and the difficulties that Leopold I would face, "Leopold I hoped that you could return to him, He'll legally recognize you, give you an army - and maybe make you king regent, and before his son Philip comes of age, you're arguably under one man over ten thousand in Austria, and, in Holy Rome, Before the princes of the empire, you can also maintain a lofty position and great power..."
Seeing what little Eugen seemed to want to say, Louis raised his hand: "Don't rush to answer me, child," he said: "Leopold I still has some time, you can think about it.",
(end of this chapter)
