I Am Louis XIV - Chapter 530

   Chapter 530 The Last Sforza

  The promise of the Sun King made everyone present look unmoved, and a ship, possibly even a steam-powered ironclad, meant they knew exactly what it meant. Unlike the thirty Calais ships in the dowry of Princess Henrietta in England, everyone knew that these ships were equivalent to half-abandoned ships. If anyone wanted to buy or sell them, they were also sold as merchant ships.

But, I mean, if Louis XIV was willing to sell one of these ironclads, the sultan would be willing to exchange a year’s tax from Istanbul, which would be a very expensive dowry, given that the little princess is not a statutory Bourbon, Louis XIV showed exceptional generosity – not to mention that the little princess’s wedding will be at least ten years later, and the French Sun King is not so stingy as to be willing to give only an outdated and scrapped ship.

“Anna Maria will definitely have many people who propose to her in the future.” So far, none of the Italian princes can have ironclad ships, even if they can build or buy large ships, covered with iron plates, as the steam-driven heart of the heart The installation is still firmly in the hands of powerful countries such as France, England or the Holy Roman Empire. And galloping on the sea, it can even be said to be the condition and root of the Italians to thrive – the first tyrant of Venice once said that their wealth came from the sea, warning their descendants that they must always maintain the supremacy of the sea, so that To ensure that their property will not be plundered.

   Facts have also proved that this is the case. Even though there is only one ship, for this dowry alone, Anna Maria can choose a husband in the Italian peninsula.

   At this time, Bontang came in and informed Louis XIV that someone had asked for an audience.

  It was Madame Milady who came. Grand Duchess Anna heard that she had been dispatched to contact the Sicilian people. As soon as she saw her, she immediately picked up the little princess and resigned to the two kings. Madame Milady looked haggard—she was taking care of Palermo’s youngest son, lest he really suffer and be in danger, while dealing with all kinds of affairs in Palermo—inciting, intimidating, and slandering It has always been a good show for the “birds”, but just like a puppet show, there must always be someone who can lead the way.

She managed to rescue Alberto before the war, which was agreed in her contract with Palermo, not to mention how the rest of the life Alberto embraced his weeping relatives, once the affairs of Palermo When the dust settled, Milady rushed to Florence without stopping. She has not eaten or slept for more than ten hours in a row. She can’t be said to be in high spirits, but like a rapier waving in the air, her actions are carried with sharp wind noises.

  The Grand Duchess passed her by, feeling a little creepy.

   The Duke of Colonna did not care, Madame Milady could be said to be his second mother, and he embraced her deeply and brought her to Louis.

Madame Milady briefed the king on the situation in Palermo and the rest of Sicily – the war was not over so soon, but things did turn out as they had hoped – and rumors were spreading among the Ottomans in Sicily that they had been together. There should also be smart people, but we all know that the foolish people must be the majority in the Ottoman army. , let alone the French army, the Sicilians are enough to destroy them one by one.

   “How about Muhammad IV?”

   “As soon as he saw the flames of Sicily,” said Madame Milady, “he ordered the fleet to turn back.”

Louis XIV nodded. Muhammad IV was not decisive. As long as he, no, even if the Sultan’s king ship and tent appeared, those disturbing lies would naturally be vulnerable. , he only needs to gather up the army as soon as possible – the Ottoman army built on a huge base, even if only a tenth of it can be gathered, it can still pose a threat to the Sicilian.

   “Then your fleet stopped them,” added Mrs. Milady.

In terms of total tonnage, the Aussian fleet is definitely better than any other country. The wealth accumulated by this huge empire allows the sultans to throw them at will without considering the numbers. Although they have not yet been able to obtain information about steam drives, But there was nothing wrong with buying galleys from merchants, especially the Dutch, who must have been delighted to see Louis XIV embarrassed, and for the time being—Louis XIV couldn’t take his hands off the remnants.

But in any case, wood can never stand against steel and fire, and in the end, they even had a ramming battle at sea, and the Ottomans were slightly better than the French in this regard, but the French ironclad ships were in any case better than The wooden galleys were larger, and although injuries were inevitable—the worst of the ironclads had a boiler damaged, it had to be filled to make sure it didn’t explode, and then it had to be towed back to port by a companion—but the final victory still belonged to France and Italy. combined fleet.

   “They suffered very badly, and when the sky was bright the Ottoman ships withdrew,” said Madame Milady.

“If I were Mohammed IV, I would do the same.” Louis XIV said that at first Mohammed IV wanted to return to Sicily because he realized he had been deceived, but later: “At that time The fleet is not far from Sicily.”

“Yes.”

“If he continues to entangle with us, it will really prove the truth of the rumor.” How could those Azapus, Tatars and even Albanians understand the victory or defeat of the naval battle, they only saw the fire ships, smoke and empty harbours, despair and despair.

   “It’s strange that Muhammad IV didn’t leave enough ships at that time,” said Mrs. Milady.

“The sultan will not consider his slaves,” said Louis XIV. “What’s more, he left behind his land army instead of his navy, and the ships are only used for carrying. He must not have sent all the Sicilian people. For him, these were the ships left for the soldiers. And he probably thought that when the rebellion in Transylvania was quelled, he would return to Sicily.”

   “That’s right to think so,” said Mrs. Milady.

   “You go to rest first,” Louis XIV nodded to her: “You can recover as long as you feel comfortable, and then go take over the ‘birds’ in Naples.”

   “Then it will be a little late,” said Madame Milady. “Don’t worry,” she smiled at the Duke of Colonna. “When this is over, I can rest in peace and rest for a while.”

   After she finished speaking, she was like a gust of wind—no, she left like a gust of wind. Duke Colonna withdrew his worried gaze: “It’s a pity that they failed to keep Muhammad IV.”

   “It’s not as easy as it used to be to keep a distinguished guest.” Louis XIV said casually: “But it is said that he was also wounded in the naval battle.”

   “After Muhammad IV returns…” Duke Colonna said: “Will he face impeachment?”

“Impeachment?” Louis XIV smiled. “You can also say the same thing, but for the Sultan, impeachment is also a fatal thing.” Those who have bowstrings around other people’s necks should be able to imagine that they will have such a day too, it just depends on how fate arranges.” He rubbed his cane: “The person who holds the power in the Istanbul court and the imperial court should be the queen dowager, and …Although the previous Grand Vizier is dead, the Koprulu family is still there.”

Any family, once there is a person in power, will definitely be able to quickly rise and become stronger, no matter where it is. The Queen Mother and this family were once allies. Up to now, if Mohammed IV The harem already has a male heir… Muhammad IV’s ending is not so good.

Of course, if the dignitaries in Istanbul can take the overall situation into consideration and continue to support Mohammed IV, then relying on the accumulation of Ottoman Turkey in the past, even if they cannot continue the expedition, even if it hurts their vitality, they can still ensure that the original territory is not damaged. suffer loss. But if, if their ambition exceeds their reason, after Mohammed IV was impeached, the younger son and the old minister, the old and the new, the internal and external troubles – the return he promised to the Italian princes on behalf of Luciano may not take long. .

   “Let’s just wait here for the results.”

  ———

   Francisco Sforza is waiting for the results.

The news that the Ottoman Turkish army went from victorious to defeat is not what he wanted to hear, although almost all Catholics would rejoice at it, yes, although he would also like to see those pagan devils Banished from the peninsula, but now he has an enemy worse than the devil.

Louis XIV.

   “I think your choice may be wrong,” said his old servant.

“I know what you have in mind,” Francisco said, “but Louis XIV couldn’t promise me a Duchy of Milan,” he lowered his head and smiled, “not to mention those unreachable lands, even if there are, It also belongs to the great nobles… After all, the king of France is the rightful heir of Milan, or his son.”

From a written point of view, Sforza, who once made his fortune as a mercenary and was promoted from commoner to archduke, has long since died. In 1535, the last Sforza died in Turin, Milan, but the Sforza family is still stubborn. It is rooted in this land, but, just like Anjou in Naples, it has experienced the rule of the French (Louis XII) and the Austrians (Charles V), and this family is like a candle in the wind.

   Francisco was not originally this name, but the last Sforza was called Francisco, and the emissary of Leopold I suggested that he change it to this name to evoke the memory of Sforza in Milan.

As Francesco said, the Duchy of Milan changed hands several times, and finally fell into the hands of the Spanish Habsburgs. According to tradition and law, they should swear allegiance to Carlos III of Bourbon, but out of Louis XIV’s selfishness – he Deliberately handing over a complete Italy to his illegitimate son, like the first king of Naples, Milan will inevitably become part of the federation of Italy in the future.

Moreover, in this part, the Sforza family, which has become extremely weak, has almost no room to intervene. There are families older than them, and families newer than them. They may not be able to seek a place in the future Italian court. This can be seen from the fact that there were no people from Sforza in the Tuscan Conference (determining the establishment of the Commonwealth and the launch of the Tenth Holy War).

Francisco, of course, knew that Leopold I had bad intentions, but Leopold I clearly left Sforza with more leeway than Louis XIV did—he said that if Sforza was willing to pay his son Philip Allegiance to Li V, he will leave a considerable territory for Sforza in Milan, and what he wants is also different from Louis XIV, who wanted to unify Italy, while Leopold I only Hopefully, Italy will continue to be torn apart.

   “Such an Italy,” said the emperor’s emissary, “for the Habsburgs, and for the Sforzas.”

Divide can lead to chaos, chaos can lead to benefits, how Sforza climbed back then, Sforza can do it now, Francisco made a decision in minutes—he was going for Leo Pod I.

  ———

The news of    Milan came shortly before Louis XIV was about to leave for France.

Sforza’s last Francesco, with a pretense of hospitality, invited and entertained a large number of guests – all of them Milanese dignitaries, and then poisoned the food at the banquet – which is Italian tradition, and then Blood-washed their family, he had taken Milan with the help of a Habsburg army, and then bowed his knees to Philip V of Habsburg and declared his allegiance.

  Since the current Philip V is still a baby, just like Carlos III is still a young child, Sforza is also the enemy of Louis XIV.

   “It seems that Leopold I had the same thoughts as I,” said Louis XIV.

“what idea?”

  Louis glanced at his son. “He doesn’t want to put the battlefield in any part of France, Spain, or Austria, or any part of the Holy Roman Empire.”

The Duke of Colonna was taken aback. He was a man who had gone to war. Of course, he knew how much damage the war would bring to the local people, but as Louis XIV said, if the war of Spanish succession was not in France or It’s the best in Spain.

   “I don’t know if Francisco Sforza will regret it.” Duke Colonna murmured.

   “Regret is never helpful,” Louis XIV stood up, facing the rising sun: “He has made a choice.”

   (end of this chapter)