I Am Louis XIV

Rule is a Catalan young man. His family is a typical Catalan family, with his father, uncle, mother, sisters, and a little brother.

He still remembered that his grandfather once took him to a cliff on the coast and showed him a fortress that was about to collapse. He said that their ancestors had served a Catalan nobleman in this fortress for thirty years. He was almost granted permission to become a knight, but unfortunately, before the nobleman could fulfill his promise, he was falsely accused and imprisoned during the dispute with the Castilians, who had no children, and Castilian The Romans sent a count to manage this place. The count was disgusted with the gloom and narrowness of the fortress, so he found another place to build his own castle.

The man who spent his whole life returned home in frustration. He became an ordinary farmer, living by planting olives and grapes. However, while working under the nobleman, he still accumulated a little money, which was not even a small amount of money. It would make those noble people wince, but it was enough for him to open a small pressing workshop on the edge of the field. He had three sons, all of whom were very strong. They worked hard day and night, and finally accumulated a sum of money. He sent his youngest brother to a merchant's ship.

The younger son later accidentally escaped from a shipwreck and brought back a money bag containing a considerable amount of gold florins (Italian currency), which they secretly used to buy more Their fields were expanded, the scale of their workshops was expanded, and they each also married wives and had children.

By Ruhr's generation, the number of members of this family had expanded to 157, but it had rapidly shrunk in the past two years.

The first ones to be taken away were strong young men, and Ruhl was originally among them, but his father managed to use their workshop to pay off this "military service debt", otherwise Ruhl would have to stay away like other young men. If you are lucky, you will come back to your hometown in a few years, ten years, or even decades, dragging an old and broken body. If you are unlucky, his family may never know where their relatives were finally buried. No, maybe Not even a chance to be buried.

But soon, the Spanish wolfhounds began to chase the Catalans again and levy various taxes on them. The poll tax was necessary, and the war tax had always been decided by the adults in Toledo or Madrid. , before it falls on them, officials and governors will also add more and more, and the fields in their hands soon disappear, turning into jingling "pistors" (Spanish gold coins), falling into the hands of the greedy in the hands of the enemy.

When another conscription came, Ruhl's father could no longer afford the money. Ruhl could only be driven out of home by the soldiers in the tears of his mother and sisters, but this was not the reason why he finally decided to resist - as a For an ordinary person, it is difficult for you to let him take risks that may put his life in danger, not to mention that the Spaniards will pursue him all the way to his home, but it will not be long before - he has not yet walked to the place of service like others (the Spaniards always (will break them up and send them to far away places), he met a businessman, who told him that his father was thrown into prison, his mother fell ill, and his younger brother was also conscripted into the army. , the sisters were forced to flee to the monastery because they could not raise enough tax money.

He immediately wanted to go home, but it was not easy for a Catalan to leave the army. The Spanish people did not treat them as soldiers. They were coolies, servants and gun fillers in the army. Shield, they were strictly supervised, had no weapons, were in a strange place, had to work to exhaustion every day, and ate little and bad food, but Ruel still seized an opportunity and escaped.

In fact, he should not be able to escape back, but he was so lucky that he happened to meet Lupo's mercenaries. At that time, Lupo had already surrendered to the Duke of Orleans in France. In other words, he was destined to be the enemy of the Spanish. Under Ruhl's guidance, they successfully sneaked into the Spanish camp and burned it down. The number of Spaniards who could escape was not enough to count on one pair of fingers.

Ruel and others could not wait to return home. They were pleasantly surprised to find that because the Duke of Orleans' army had captured their city, his father had been released, his mother's condition was improving, and his sisters had also recovered from the disease. He returned home from the sheltered monastery. Although his little brother did not come back, because of the meager contribution he had made, the Duke’s attendant actually went to inquire about him. Thank God, the child did not die on the battlefield, because he He was so handsome that his superiors wanted to sell him to the pagans, and he is now in Barcelona.

Rule was grateful, as was his family, but that didn't mean they didn't panic when Lupo arrived with a recruiting warrant from King Louis XIV of France to recruit soldiers. They firmly opposed Ruhr's decision - Ruhr wanted to fight for the King of France. Of course, for many Catalans this was a good thing, a good thing that showed their courage and noble character, but in the world There are also families like the Ruhl family who just want to spend the rest of their lives in peace. They don't expect their children to get ahead, they just want them to be safe.

"But we have no fields and no workshops anymore," Rule pointed out calmly.

This sentence silenced everyone. Yes, they were lucky. There were many families in cities and villages where none of the last members survived, even if they had many members or even wealthy families, just like that one The poor girl who killed the congressman and the priest; some families were torn apart, and maybe only one or two people survived. Their homes are still there, and their families are still there, which is extremely enviable. But as the two sisters, the little brother, and Ruel returned home, they were faced with a problem, that is-they had no food.

Although Ruhl's father was forced to sell his vineyards, olive groves, wheat fields and pressing mills, the businessmen who bought these assets could not suffer losses in vain, not to mention their willingness to accept the deal at the time. The pity of fellow Catalans - everyone knows that Spanish taxes will become heavier and heavier, and people can escape with their money, but the land will not grow.

What they now rely on is a bounty that Ruhl received from the Duke and the leader of Lubo. This bounty is extremely rich for a person, but for a family, especially a big family, it is simply a drop in the bucket. What's more, Ruel's father received help from many people when Ruel disappeared, and now he should repay their kindness.

"Even if you don't believe in the French, you should at least believe in Chief Lupo." Ruhl said. He awkwardly took out a piece of paper from his arms. It was folded very carefully, and the words on it were all printed. Rule's father took it over and squinted at it with difficulty, "These are the conditions for conscription." Rule explained carefully, but the paper was in Catalan and was very simple, so even if Even Ruhl's sisters can understand.

"They spelled the words wrong," Ruhl's father snorted dissatisfiedly. "Is everything in this true?"

"Here is the personal coat of arms of His Majesty Louis XIV." Ruhr said, pointing it out to his father. In fact, Ruhr's father had seen it a long time ago, but he was indescribably sad - for Catalonia For Asians, independence is their greatest expectation, but facts have proven that no outstanding figure like the Prince of Transylvania has emerged among them. The nobles are intrigues and the people are blind and ignorant. Hot blood, but I don’t know where to throw it.

It can be seen that it should be printed in large quantities, and the paper distributed afterwards clearly states that Catalan young people will serve as reserve or auxiliary forces for the French army, or will be invested in the logistics force. To go, it depends on whether they have combat experience, whether they are physically strong enough, whether they are determined, or whether they have a place they want to go. Of course, the reserve army has the best treatment, and serving in such an army is of course the best. Dangerous, because reserve troops may also be sent to the battlefield and are more likely to be far away from their homeland.

But unlike the Spanish, the Catalan reserve army recruited by the French has its own organization, coat of arms, military uniforms and a series of equipment and supplies like the regular army. They also have to undergo strict training for three to six months. Training, during the training period, there is a salary, which is fixed every month, but this fixed salary is enough to feed the Ruhr family. When they go to the battlefield, they can get battlefield subsidies every day. If they capture the enemy's fortress, Or if they break the enemy team, there are more bounties and promotions waiting for them.

What makes Ruhr excited is that whether it is salary, subsidy, or bounty, he can get it every month.

Instead of waiting until the war is over to get the money like mercenaries.

Ruhr, of course, hoped to join the reserve army, but his father roughly pushed away the fingers he held out in anticipation, and continued to look down. The auxiliary army was similar to craftsmen, doctors, or people who did rough work. To put it simply, , that is, they are responsible for the maintenance of various equipment in the army, setting up tents, building fortifications, digging trenches, and following doctors to the wounded camps. They also need to carry the wounded and dead on the battlefield, and their salaries are also paid every day. Every month, you will also receive battlefield subsidies, or if the officers or doctors you follow think you are diligent and hardworking, they will also give you a bounty.

But the safest thing is the logistics troops. What they do is almost always transport armaments and build roads and warehouses. They are more like workers than soldiers. They are far away from the battlefield - there is no doubt that they are not required to interact with them. When the enemy is fighting, they may stay and work locally instead of going to places where their parents can't see them. Of course, their pay is also very low, so low that if Ruhl chooses this, Ruhl's father, Ruhl My brother and Ruel have to go to work, so that the others can barely survive this difficult time.

"Either," Ruhl's sisters couldn't help but wring their fingers in embarrassment after reading the content, and whispered: "We'd better go back to the monastery."

Ruhr shook his head, "Maybe I'll do auxiliary work," he said reluctantly, "It's not impossible if we save a little more."

Ruhl's father habitually put his hand into his pocket, and then remembered that when he was in prison, his pipe and tobacco bag were snatched away by the jailer. He coughed twice: "Don't talk about the monastery," he said, "Since Your brother and I are back, so I won't let you go there again." Although the abbot of the monastery is a good person, she is not good enough to sacrifice herself for others. Her ability to take in the two sisters is considered compassionate. The two sisters almost lived on the little food, wild fruits, and grass they brought with them in the monastery. Now their eyes looked as if they would fall out of their protruding sockets at any time. He used his thumb and If you circle your index finger, you can wrap it around both their wrists.

"Tell me," said Rule's father seriously, "did the French say when the poll tax was due?"

Of course they paid the poll tax this year, but it was paid to the Spaniards at that time, not to the French. Now that Catalonia has become a French province, it stands to reason that they should pay it to Louis XIV. Even Catalans think this is a completely understandable and logical thing about the poll tax. They just hope there will be no more war taxes, or that when they get through these few months, the harvest in the fields will Turn into jingling coins and then collect taxes.

Rule was silent for a while, then he took a deep breath, and when his father was so anxious that he was almost losing his temper, he said: "The King of France said that Catalonia has no taxes this year." No need to pay.”

"How is this possible!" Rule's father shouted uncontrollably. "How is this possible! He... Your Majesty, isn't he going to fight the Castilians?" He shook his head desperately: "This is absolutely impossible! Ruel, you must have heard wrong, at least, at least There should be a poll tax, maybe less, but there will definitely be a poll tax!”

"Really not." Ruhl said: "I asked Chief Lupo," he said with an incredulous expression similar to his father: "Chief Lupo said there will be no taxes to pay in these four months. "

"He must have misunderstood." Ruhl's father said stubbornly, although his wife and daughter had tears of hope in their eyes.

At this moment, they heard a sudden noise outside the door. Someone was beating drums, blowing trumpets, and shouting something. Ruhl's sister jumped up from her chair and ran behind the door to observe the situation outside through the crack in the door. , a moment later, she came back in panic and said, "They want us to go to the square!"

Ruhl's father shrugged his shoulders reflexively, as if he was ready to be beaten at any time. Although he didn't say anything, his look showed that the months of imprisonment had destroyed his soul, and Ruhl felt heartbroken. , "I can go and tell you what they are going to do when I come back."

"...No," Ruhl's father said subconsciously, and then he mustered up the courage: "I will go with you, and the women and children will stay at home." He was talking about his wife, daughter and youngest son.

"Don't leave me, honey," Ruhl's mother said. "I don't want to be left behind by you again."

Then Ruhl's two younger sisters also insisted on going. They had had enough of staying at home and being scared. Since they wanted to go too, Ruhl's little brother was not suitable to stay at home alone. After all, it was still a bit chaotic now. , the shadows were full of bandits, so the family neatly put on their best clothes - cotton clothes exchanged for Ruhl's bounty, and went to the square.

They also saw other people on the way. Everyone looked at each other in a hurry and left. Even if there were greetings or conversations, they were quick and short. Ruhr saw some young people like him, some of them were alone, and some of them were alone. Holding their arms around their families, there were many people who had the same idea as the Ruhl family. They clutched the "paper" that Ruhl's father was familiar with. It seemed that the French had issued many such recruitment documents.