I Am Louis XIV

Moreover, the envoys Charles II wanted to meet were not one, but two.

Here we also need to mention the current situation in the Netherlands. As we all know, the Netherlands has not been independent for a long time. It originally belonged to the Spanish royal family of Habsburg like all the Netherlands, but because the Spanish king and queen did not control this area. Without much compassion, they just kept sucking blood on them, so that the people of Holland set off the biggest rebellion in 1568, and thus broke away from Spanish rule.

Now, some people may be surprised, because their leader is none other than Prince William of Orange, and who is this prince? Earlz, the Earl of Nassau also belonged to the then Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. When he was young, he grew up in the palace of the emperor and his sister, Maria, the governor of the Netherlands, in Brussels. Later, his cousin René Sharon unfortunately died in battle, and he inherited the title and territory of Prince of Orange (Orange is located in southern France). He first married the daughter of a lord of the Netherlands, and the two The combination of the former made him the largest lord of the Netherlands. Later, his wife died and he married the daughter of the Elector of Saxony at the age of twenty-eight.

Such a person should have been the most trustworthy person in the Habsburg family. Who knows, after seven years in power in the three provinces of the Netherlands, Zeeland, and Utrecht, in the face of the "Icon Destruction Movement" When the rebel army became more and more raging, the apostle of Habsburg not only did not stand on the side of Habsburg, but on the side of the people. Even at the beginning, the strength of the rebel army was far inferior to that of the Spaniards. , William Orange had to flee to the Holy Roman Empire, even so, he still took out all his property, recruited a mercenary army, together with the people of the Netherlands and the enemies of Habs, dragged the Spaniards Into the endless abyss of war.

The war lasted eighteen years, and William Orange changed from being rich to being a poor family. However, this was not without compensation. The people of the Netherlands always believed that William Orange was qualified to become the king of the Netherlands, William Embracing the popular adulation, he was then assassinated by a fanatical Catholic two days before his coronation.

Here is the reason for the rebellion in the Netherlands. In addition to the heavy taxes mentioned earlier, there is also the fact that most of the people in the Netherlands are Protestants, and the Spanish Inquisition not only has the right to judge These heretics still have the right to confiscate all their property. After being continuously exploited, even the last bit of property and the safety of themselves and their relatives cannot be guaranteed. The tyranny of King Philip II of Spain—William Orange was originally a Catholic, but after he decided to fall to the Netherlands, he converted to Protestantism and became a Protestant.

It’s a bit cold to say, William Orange can be said to be the most important reason for the independence of the Netherlands. It can be said that without him, there would be no Netherlands today, but after his death, the Netherlands seems to have immediately Forgot his kindness-the Netherlands is clearly divided into two factions, one belongs to the republicans, that is, the main members of the current Dutch parliament, they believe that any autocratic regime, any autocratic king, They are all blasphemy against freedom and justice, and they are not allowed to exist. They firmly disagree that the Netherlands should be ruled by a king again; while the other faction is someone who is more inclined to the monarchy system. They support William Orange The heir, William II, as Regent of the Netherlands.

This William II was naturally quite dissatisfied with the republicans. For him, his father was the founder of the Netherlands, and he and his descendants were also the undisputed rulers of the Netherlands. Louis XIII had contacted, intending to use the power of the French to attack those areas that did not obey him, so as to own the whole of Holland, but before the covenant was concluded, he suddenly died of smallpox infection, only 20 years old when he died. Four years old, his posthumous son came to this world eight days later-it's hard to say whether there is a black wizard like Bosch in it.

Now the heir to William II who can speak as the ruler of the Netherlands, the nineteen-year-old William III, his mother is the daughter of Charles I, that is to say, he is the nephew of Charles II, but it is a pity that this It does not affect the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands-because the young prince is temporarily unable to grasp the power that originally belonged to the Orange family, his father died suddenly when he was born, and in order to fight for the custody of William III, It was the so-called Regency, and an unprecedented war broke out between his grandmother and his mother. His grandmother wanted to educate William III in the model of the heir of the Orange family, that is, the king of the Netherlands, but his mother preferred to let his Surrounded by enough British people... This displeased many people, and later the Elector of Brandenburg and his wife (sister of William Orange) inserted it at the behest of Parliament and became the real dominant Since then, William III's educational rights have been transferred to the Dutch Parliament.

The Dutch parliament, which advocates republican self-government, is not polite to the benefactor's descendants. It can be said that the Netherlands is not so much the guardian of William III as the caretaker of William III. Everyone he came into contact with during his growth has seen Every book he writes, and every word he speaks, is subject to strict scrutiny.

Not only did the Dutch Parliament happily convene the State Council in the second year after William II’s strange death, announcing that the Dutch Republic would no longer set up a unified army (that is, an army loyal to the king), and that the defense affairs of each province would be measured by the provinces themselves , they abolished the ruling post, and excluded all those who supported the Orange family, issued related decrees, deprived the Orange family of political rights, and stipulated that the descendants of the family could never hold public office.

Things changed after Charles II ascended the throne. As the younger sister of Charles II, Mrs. Prince of Orange went to London to congratulate her brother. Who knows, on the way home, this noble lady fell ill. , had to entrust his son to his elder brother Charles II. Although Charles II was very cowardly when facing the British Parliament, he never shamed his identity when facing the Dutch Parliament. Although Britain was still the loser in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the Netherlands did feel the difficulty of this enemy. At this time, Charles II took the opportunity to pull William out of the control of the Dutch Parliament. His guardian thus became his grandmother.

Under the teaching of his grandmother, William III became a man with a firm will and a ruthless temperament. He never forgot the glory of his ancestors and the ingratitude of the Dutch. During the long period of ruling, the originally tight provincial alliance gradually split. The omen, coupled with the moderates in the Netherlands, can also be said to be fueled by the royalist party. Even though the republicans in the Netherlands strictly guarded against death, William III eventually became a member of the Communist Party, and he was also a member of the army. supreme commander.

It was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Johan de Witt and his brother who were hostile to William III. The Prime Minister was an extremely stubborn person and also a representative of businessmen, so he ignored William III's concerns about France time and time again. , constantly weakening the army under the command of Prince of Orange, vetoing a series of proposals made by Orange and his subordinates to build forts, walls, and fortifications, exerting influence on any decision made by William III to cause inappropriate Some failed and so on-they were not stupid, but thought that they should guard against the rise of the Orange family more than the French army.

The prime minister's envoy and William III's envoy can be said to have arrived in London successively, and their missions overlap to a certain extent, that is, trying to reach an alliance with Britain to resist the invasion of France.

It’s just that compared to the envoys of William III, the envoys of the Dutch Prime Minister are much more slack and perfunctory. Obviously, they are also very clear that Charles II, who has been fighting for power with the British Parliament, does not have much value to fight for. Charles II also saw this. After more than ten years of torture, the "Happy King" was able to send the prime minister's envoy away calmly, but he couldn't help but feel angry-as soon as the envoy left, he would A wizard came to report and told the king that the messenger had gone to Mr. John Locke, who said he was a philosopher, but in fact he was the brains of the Earl of Shaftesbury, Shaftesbury The Earl of Li used to be a royalist, but since the time of Charles I, he has become a crazy rebel. Not only is he always on guard against the king, whether it is Charles I or Charles II, he is also extremely hostile to France, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands His messengers came to him, doubtless to perform his real duty, to make a covenant with the Parliament of England, and not with the king.

Charles II laughed angrily, and what made him feel even more humiliated was that this envoy did the right thing. He is now in name only and does not even have his own standing army—and then, the envoy of William III dealt him another huge blow Well, it's not that the emissary also went to Mr. Locke or any rebel, but because Charles II found that he couldn't help his nephew.

He has no money, no armaments, and no soldiers. His ideas cannot shake the minds of the members of the parliament, and his suggestions will only make them make the opposite decision.

It is impossible for him to become an enemy of France, not to mention the asylum and assistance that Louis XIV once gave, just because Louis XIV valued and supported the power of the monarch, Charles II, who is also a king, had to applaud loudly in his heart, Would it do Louis XIV any good if he was defeated in a war with the Netherlands? No! The only one who is proud is the parliament, and the little power left in his hands will be further taken away!

When the envoy of William III left, the sight that he thought he had hidden well - mixed with pity and disappointment, was like a file that bruised Charles II's heart, and he almost canceled the relationship with Princess Henrietta. Fortunately, he resisted his urge. When people lit the candles, the wizard brought Princess Henrietta. She was the sister of Charles II and had the same name as their mother. Before Charles II was enthroned , when she was in exile, she and her mother took shelter under the Queen Mother of France,

Princess Henrietta, who is also the Duchess of Orléans in France, the first thing she did when she met Charles II was to look at each other's faces in unison. Both sides had the same thoughts, so they immediately laughed together. Henrietta, his little sister, rosy-complexioned, round-limbed, wearing costly jewels of pearls and diamonds, had an untroubled face, as could be seen, though she was an Englishman, and had only one daughter with the Duke of Orleans for the time being, but in In the French court, he didn't get too much attention. When he was relieved, Henrietta was also looking at his brother. Compared with Henrietta, Charles II was much worse than she thought—Charlie King II was born in 30 years, eight years older than Louis XIV, but now he looks like he is eighteen or more years older than Louis XIV, his curly hair is covered with a layer of hoarfrost, and his cloudy eyes are drooping With a pair of huge bags under the eyes, the corners of his mouth and eyes are full of mean wrinkles, although his clothes are luxurious, but his arched stomach and thick neck indicate that his health is in trouble.

"Oh, my brother," Henrietta couldn't help crying out, and she rushed forward, threw herself into his arms, and wept bitterly: "God is my witness," she was sad and angry Say, "They tortured you like this!"

Even Charles II couldn't help being moved. He didn't have much affection for this sister—the main reason was that they had hardly met each other. It wasn't long after he ascended the throne in London and brought Henrietta and his mother back to England. , Henrietta married to England again, but Henrietta's feelings were not too hypocritical. Of course, she didn't have any deep memories of this brother, but she had been in the Louvre for a long time. Because of Louis, She couldn't be more clear about the feelings between her relatives and the authority that a king should have. When she saw her elder brother decadent like this, she couldn't help showing some true feelings.

Charles II touched his sister's back, "Come on, sit down, my dear sister," he held Henrietta's hand and let her sit beside him, "It's really nice to see you like this The only good thing during this time is that you look very good," Charles II observed again: "better than when you were in London."

"This is because there is no one in Paris who dares to tell the king what to do," said Henrietta.

Charles II's face sank immediately.