I Am Louis XIV

The expectation of Turkiy is naturally to form an ally with France. With such an enemy who can be called the confidant of Austria as an ally, Louis XIV is of course happy to accept it, but everyone other than him seems a little sad——Louis XIV During the Great War, it cannot be said that the Ottoman Turkish army was defeated, but the Grand Vizier and the Grand Priest died unexpectedly at that time, and the army lost its generals—especially for the Ottoman Turkish army with a severely fractured middle layer , In addition, Mehmet IV may not really want to continue this war. The evacuated Ottoman Turks are far more than the number of casualties. Louis XIV's musket failed to cause fatal damage to this behemoth. the wound.

But if Leopold I intends to indulge the Ottomans to drive straight into the Italian peninsula, then the southeast side of France will have no peace, and Louis XIV's arrangement in Naples will become a mirror image—after all, a king who cannot shelter the people cannot get Supported, the people and nobles of Naples and Sicily have always maintained a cautious attitude towards Luciano. If it was in peacetime, Louis XIV could afford to wait for months or even years, but the current situation is persecution. He made a choice immediately.

But to face the Ottoman Turks' army of hundreds of thousands, the French standing army of 150,000 was immediately stretched. It is conceivable that Mohammed IV would never be so stupid as to leave Louis XIV with time to turn around. The large army will maintain a subtle tacit understanding with the anti-French alliance, just like a pack of wolves and a tiger biting a lion together.

"On the bright side," Louis seemed not to feel the uneasiness of the crowd, "if we still play a good card this time, then Italy will not be a problem."

"I really hope that the future development can be as optimistic as your guess." Bon Tang said.

Tekyi, who brought a bad news, left as quietly as when he came. He was satisfied with the secret loan from the Royal Bank of Paris, armaments and personnel, and swore that he would definitely bring it to Leopold I. An unforgettable lesson in his life-in view of the fact that Leopold I and Mehmed IV only had an undisclosed "secret contract", he would choose to send troops at the critical moment when Louis XIV agreed, and quickly occupied Leo The upper Hungary owned by Pod I-this is necessary, otherwise when the envoy of the Sultan comes with a bowstring, it will be difficult for him to perfuse it.

Of course, in addition to these, Tekoy also left another sincerity—he left his arrangements in Istanbul for many years to Louis XIV, including the white eunuchs in the Tokapa Palace. As we all know, the white eunuchs are Those who can go out of the palace also have the identity of half envoys. They should be loyal to the Sultan, but there are always contingencies. At least Tekey spent several years and tens of thousands of livres of money to finally buy it. A mouth and an ear.

The problem is that this ear and this mouth are very cautious. It is not wrong to say that they are disposable, and they can only be used in the most critical time.

If it is used to detect the time of the war, it is so stupid that it is a bit ridiculous. Such a war of astonishing size cannot hide its tracks at all. A few months later, even the humblest Provencal peasant, or the slave in Istanbul, or a church servant in Rome, or a craftsman in Spain, or a fisherman in England, can look up and see the cloud of war looming. over their heads.

Servants and envoys of the ministers were running on the road day and night. The generals bid farewell to their wives and children and entered the barracks. Although the banquets and balls in the court were not interrupted, the atmosphere became more and more tense day by day. The king seldom appeared at the gambling table or In the hunting forest, the documents piled up on the tables and carpets, like wheat and meat powder pouring into the armament warehouse.

Tekey's most important informant will be kept for the time being, but the other people he bought have finally come in handy—with the cooperation of these spies, Mrs. Milady sent her two favorite "Little Bird" was sent out and entered the mansion of a Vizier Habi (Military Minister).

This is a very dangerous thing, because the two "little birds" are witches.

If it wasn't for the accidental death of the Grand Priest during the great battle, they might not be able to get close to the Vizier. After all, the current Grand Priest is not as vigilant and experienced as the previous one. Betting on Muhammad IV and the new grand vizier, so that every vizier could not be included in their protective circle.

These two little birds didn't do too many unnecessary things. In that heavily guarded mansion, they were just slaves, and they must not arouse the slightest vigilance of others, but witches are witches. With the help of potions and spells, they Some documents were stolen from the desk drawer of this Vizier Harbi - these documents did not mention anything related to Leopold I, but just by looking at them, they knew the war that Muhammad IV was about to launch What the long sword refers to is definitely not the Holy Roman Empire, which is also the target that Ottoman Turkey has always chosen, but the Italian Peninsula.

The information was quickly sent to Versailles, and then Naples, because Louis XIV wanted to use this to persuade the Anjou nobles in Naples to submit to his eldest son, even if the duke's identity was open to question-but to take a step back, he There is no trace of the inheritance from his wife, and besides, the king's illegitimate son also has noble blood flowing, and many people just need an excuse.

Moreover, the division of Italy is also doomed that he does not have a real ruler, and the origin of the Aragonese royal family in Naples can also be picky. When King Alfonso of Aragon worshiped Anjou and captured Naples, Naples was handed over to his illegitimate son Ferdinand—from the perspective of canon law, this was illegal and unreasonable, but at that time the king of Aragon was so powerful that the church would naturally pretend to be deaf and dumb.

As for Luciano's inheritance—of course, nominally he was first a legitimate son, and then his inheritance came from his wife, who in turn came from her father, and as for the Duke of Gaston, that is, Bourbon One line, again from François I of Angoulême (that is, the brave man who made a secret alliance with the Ottomans), and Francois I got it from Louis XII of Orleans (the The king was also Duke of Anjou, who also briefly ruled Naples).

In the past few years, Louis XIV and Luciano have used the Principality of Tuscany as a base to explore and expand to Naples. It stands to reason that under the rule of the Habsburgs in Spain, the life of these Anjou nobles is not easy. Charles The defeat of King VIII and Louis XII made them full of wariness. It was not until Louis XIV conquered the Netherlands that this situation changed slightly. However, it will take a long time to gain their trust if they want to proceed in a regular and orderly manner. .

For Louis XIV, the true Sun King, the nobles of Naples admired and were wary, but Louis XIV was kind of nice, at least on the surface, he was a person who was willing to keep his promise and never lied... (Lee Opold I: Bah!) When he said this, he brought evidence, and with the support of the people installed by the Anjou nobles themselves, they had to believe that Italy was about to usher in another terrible catastrophe.

The grievances between Ottoman Turkey and Italy even preceded Britain and France. After all, Ottoman Turkey is lying between Europe and the rich America. The islands of Crete control even the sea routes. Of course, the Italians who developed by relying on sea trade are unwilling-the problem is that in the 15th and 16th centuries, no matter whether it was armies or weapons, the Europeans did not It cannot be compared with the Ottoman Turks, not to mention taking back the islands. The Ottoman navy often rushed into the port, plundered wealth and young girls, burned churches, slaughtered merchants and soldiers...

No one would naively think that once their territory is occupied by the sultan, they can still be the masters here - all slaves under the sultan, whether you are dressed in silk or hemp - even merchants and craftsmen, Anyone who has seen or heard of Istanbul will not feel that they would be better off under the sultan's rule than they are now.

The Ottomans allow you to continue to believe in God, but this means that no matter what occupation you are in or what your origin is, you can only be a slave of slaves—those who worship the true God must be superior to them, which is no longer Paying more taxes and doing more hard labor can endure things in the past. You can get a glimpse of how many Catholics fled or converted under the Sultan's rule.

People in other places can still have illusions in their hearts, and the Italians who often deal with the Ottoman Turks are not so naive.

As for the Pope of Rome, his attitude is also very clear. In the past, if he was not severely blackmailed, it may be delayed for months, years, or even decades. Regarding the succession of Luciano, Duke of Colonna, he will take a This speed passed so quickly and smoothly that it could almost be said to be weird-Luiano can now be crowned the title of Duke of Anjou, although there is something about Naples that depends on the outcome of the war.

Although Luciano also went out to sea to destroy pirates in the past few years in the Principality of Tuscany and won the victory, but he would still feel afraid when he really faced an enemy like Ottoman Turkey. Young man, fortunately Louis XIV knew of this, and has sent his navy and generals to Naples.

It's just that this general disappoints some uninformed people, because he doesn't look much older than the Duke of Colonna, and his father is not a famous general like the Viscount Turenne or the Grand Condé, but the well-known Colbert, a businessman-turned-chancellor of the exchequer.

Before the establishment of the military academy, almost all military strategists were inherited from the family, such as Viscount Turenne, who served in the army of his uncle, Prince Maurice, and Prince Maurice himself was a very talented and talented military strategist , and Jean Bart, whose father, grandfather and uncle were all privateer owners, do you think there are any talented people, yes, but too few.

The Marquis of Seigneille is neither humble nor overbearing, and he is not in a hurry. Anyway, all doubts will disappear after seeing the fifty-five ships behind him, including twelve ironclad ships. Some people also reminded that it is precisely because of Seignelai The Marquis is Colbert's son, and the Minister of Finance who planned the overall situation for His Majesty the King in this war will never hold back or hesitate in terms of armaments and supplies.

The arrival of Colbert reassured the Duke of Colonna. He had infinite trust in his father and the king. He held the hand of the Marquis de Seigneilles and welcomed him into his palace—Louis XII had prepared For the coronation here, the nobles of Anjou felt that this place was very suitable for the future king of Naples and even Italy, so they enshrined the Duke of Colonna here.

"It seems that they respect you enough." Marquis Seigneille looked around. The place was magnificent, even as magnificent as the Palace of Versailles.

"I can only say that most of them are people with ulterior motives." Without anyone else, the Duke of Colonna, who spent some time in Versailles with the Marquis Seigneilles, collapsed on a chair exhaustedly: "They want me to lead them to obtain Victory—I now know how my father felt about Flanders and Holland. Those ministers, generals, soldiers, and merchants were all watching. After the fatal blow, he rushed to tear a piece of flesh from him."

"My father is just a businessman, but he also said that people's desires are driven by profit." Marquis Seignelai said: "You can't compensate them for their losses, and they will naturally have to find them elsewhere."

The Duke of Colonna smiled bitterly, "I don't know what to say, I hope His Majesty can lend a helping hand, and I am deeply afraid of this."

"Are you worried that His Majesty the King will lose his strength and be taken advantage of by others?" Marquis Seignelai said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty has been preparing for this war for twenty years. What kind of situation does he not envisage?" pass."

"If only I could... be faster."

"Haste makes waste," Marquis Seignelet said, "and it is easy to follow in the footsteps of Charles VIII and Louis XII. His Majesty originally planned to spend another twenty years on this matter, but now... He took a deep breath: "Maybe it's an opportunity, Your Highness."

"You are right," said the Duke of Colonna, rising from his chair: "I think I must take my leave, sir, for you have come a long way."

"It's not more strenuous than in training, but you really should take a good rest." Marquis Seignelet said: "You look exhausted."

The Duke of Colonna nodded. He knew what he looked like. His eyes were slack, his hair was disheveled, and his face was pale. He hadn't been able to sleep well for several nights, but with his father's response and support, he could truly relax. up.

He returned to his room and fell on the bed before he had time to wash up, but things went against his expectations, and he was awakened by a violent knock on the door after falling asleep!

"They're coming! They're coming!" cried a voice.

"Ottomans? Are they Ottomans? Where have they gone!" Duke Colonna also asked loudly.

"No, no, no, Your Highness! It's the Russians! They're attacking Poland!"