I Am Louis XIV - Chapter 543

  Chapter 543 Indians from Montreal and Jamestown (Part 2)

   “Can I say a word boldly?” The Duke of Orleans looked at His Majesty the King and said seriously.

   “Let’s just say, it’s not at the court, nor in the palace, Philip, it’s just a casual chat between brothers. You don’t call me brother, not your majesty.”

“Then I’ll say, if I’m not mistaken, you are very fond of the Indians,” said the Duke of Orleans. “No, I should say, you always seem to be full of sympathy and sympathy for the poor and lowly. Empathy, you were born a king, the most honorable man in France, but you seem to be…” He couldn’t remember what adjective to use: “Not only can you bend down and listen to their cries, but it is as if you were In… empathy… in general.”

“But you never got down to that,” the duke went on. “We were always together, brother, and at worst it was at the Château de Germain-en-Laye–to make sure we could afford the servants’ wages, our Mother dismissed a large number of servants, but we were not treated badly, and after Fouquet came to Germain-en-Laye, it never happened again.”

   “Oh, indeed,” said Louie, “that must be said, brother, perhaps because my soul has seen another world.”

“another world?”,

“Yes, another world.” Louis said: “A world without gods, kings, nobility and church. Although people there will be classed and discriminated against because of power, status, assets and even occupation, but still There’s part of the bottom line that is never allowed to cross the past…”

   “For example?”

“Like life. Like dignity. Like freedom,” Louis said. “There may be some greedy people, or arrogant people who want to destroy them, but there are always people who are ordinary and conscientious like a tidal wave. Let’s march forward together, and swear to the death to defend the peace and prosperity that finally came to the sacrifice of countless noble saints.”

   “But no king, no nobleman, no church,” cried Bontang, “how can they do it?”

“First, some people brought fire, some lit them, some led them to other places, some used their bodies to shield the cold wind, some gave up their property, some used blood as fuel, and countless righteous people went forward one after another. – They have also missed and hesitated, but in the end they still walked forward, shouting as they walked, calling to walk with them, and more and more people gathered behind them, even if their path More and more rugged, more and more dangerous, finally, they made it all the way to the light, to the blessed land they promised their followers.

They did not take this blessed land from anyone, nor did they obtain it by deception. Every part of it was cultivated by themselves, little by little, and their followers worked peacefully there. , live happily, with hope—in any case, they think that sin will be gone, that shadows will fade, that unjust judgments will be righted at last, and that those precious sacrifices will be rewarded. . “

   “This is the kingdom of heaven.” Bontang said: “This is the kingdom of heaven,” he could not help repeating: “But how can it happen in reality?”

“Who knows,” said Louis, “Philip, you’re curious that I’ve never lived as a commoner and yet understand their pain, and that’s precisely because I’m an ordinary person in another world, think about it. , When I came back here and saw my people living like pigs and dogs, how sad and horrified my heart was?!”

He stood up and walked to the window, “I don’t deny that I’ve been cruel and cruel to some people, but Philip, I’m also proud to say that since I took power, my people can only go in a better direction, and Not to fall into the abyss.” He looked out and could see the Bastille: “I hate Parisians, I love Versailles, people say that, but it’s wrong. I hate chaos, whatever. At the mercy of people with ulterior motives, or impulsive, or deliberately bad people who do all kinds of evil things.” Just like the two riots of the Frondists, the crimes committed by the thugs are innumerable.

“I like good people, good people who are willing to obey the law, have a conscience, are industrious and trustworthy—whether he’s a Huguenot, or a Puritan, or a Bohemian, or an Indian, or whatever, It doesn’t matter.”

   “You can always see things we can’t see, and have ideas and ideas that we can’t touch.” The Duke of Orleans said: “Mother and Bishop Mazarin have said that you are a born king.”

Louis sighed slightly and smiled. He knew that even if he said it, no one would believe such a bizarre thing. Bontang and Philip also only thought that their king was just imagining a new country that he hoped to create. , the new Rome, the new heaven on earth.

The duke pondered whether this answer could slightly appease the fragile glass hearts of the people of Versailles—they heard that a group of wildlings from the New World were about to enter the house, and they might be lucky enough to become the king’s officers and get a fief or two, and they couldn’t help but be shocked—this kind of The behavior is probably similar to the king conferring titles on his beloved horses and hounds and rewarding the territory. To be honest, those Indians are no better than the king’s horses and dogs.

This is also because Louis XIV is already a powerful Sun King. If he did this before or in the early years of his reign, the nobles would openly refuse to participate in his banquets, performances and imperial meetings, and they would seriously Then the duke will be replaced as the new king.

“Well, those Indians can be said to be tall, strong, and well-looking,” said the duke, wondering whether he should refuse the visit of the slave traders who came to the duke for shelter and support, and they have been in the last century since the beginning of the century. He is buying and selling black-skinned people, and now he intends to buy and sell red-skinned people, but if His Majesty the King intends to drive those Indians, as the king’s younger brother, he must respect them even more.

“It’s not all out of pity,” Louis said. “While my scholars are still in the New World, I’ve heard from wizards that the New World may be richer than we think.” Wizards are more abundant than mortals. Migrated earlier to the New World, simply put, they, like the Puritans, were chased by the Inquisition with nowhere to hide—their inner worlds were all cut from the land, when Europa was not so densely populated, The blanks on the map are not so conspicuous, but as the population increases, the wizards’ realm is eroded little by little, and they have to withdraw from their original ancestral land.

Some of their relations with the Indians are very tense, some are moderate, mainly depends on whether they will conflict over land, beliefs or ways of doing things, so some wizards are regarded as priests by the Indians, while some wizards become evil spirits, Demon…

The wizards who were regarded as priests and who were at peace with the Indians also had a greater reach, and after meeting with the wizards of Gayola, sent by the king, they also spoke to the wizards of the king about them. The discovery of – coal, steel, gold and silver… Boundless bison and endless wilderness, as well as water-rich rivers, hot deserts and wet swamps, no one has accurately measured the size of this continent. With the perimeter, but it is likely to outperform any country now – except Ottoman Turkey.

For those lands alone, it is worth making some concessions. Besides, the colonists on this land, the Netherlands, are already at the end of their power, and the United Kingdom is also alone. As for Spain, Portugal, etc., they have already given up their own. share, or only occupy a small area – now even if it is said that America belongs to France, no one will deny it.

If according to the idea of ​​Charles II, or any other monarch except Louis, since he has obtained the ownership of the New World, there is no need to give the inhabitants who originally lived there, those ignorant, backward, ignorant and barbaric Indians. Any treatment, or in other words, treat the beasts as they are. It would be better to wipe the Indians off the continent like dust.

   Fortunately, the man in charge of this new world was Louis XIV, who was willing to treat the Indians like the rest of the people, as long as they were willing to obey his laws.

   “That’s why you changed your mind and allowed those Indians to visit you at Versailles.”

“Yeah.” Louis nodded. People in Versailles and Paris were always willing to dance with the king’s baton, starting from Schumberg, to the officers and soldiers under his command, if only rudely asked them to respect and be equal It’s not easy to look at the Indians, but if they were the lords conferred by the king, who appeared at the banquet at the Palace of Versailles, they wouldn’t care too much about the color of each other’s skin.

  ———

It was also the first time that “Horn” and his companions officially appeared at the banquet at the Palace of Versailles. They were not allowed to wear their original clothes. , they’re going to be treated like a bunch of clowns.

With the help of their servants, they changed into the army captain’s uniforms. At this time, the uniforms did not have much military elements, except for the epaulettes and buttons, there was only a wide light gold belt between the long royal blue coats. Extraordinarily striking. Where they passed, there was inevitably a whisper after another. The men frowned and looked carefully, and there were some ambiguous elements in the eyes of the ladies – who let the horns, and Rolfe as representatives The Indians of all people are stronger and taller than ordinary people.

   After all, in the tribe of the Indians, the messenger was sent to another tribe, and that messenger must be the most powerful and fearless warrior.

   Even the king’s generals are good people with outstanding demeanor and good manners, but they must lack the kind of wildness that is very rare in Versailles and Paris.

Rolfe, “Cow’s Horn” and others actually behaved extremely calmly, which was beyond Bontang’s expectations. The attendants he specially sent by their side only needed to mention their positions and movements a little. Since they were only strangers, and soon If they were to leave, it would be fine if they made a slight mistake, but if they were in a panic and stiff limbs like some provincial officials and nobles who stepped into Versailles for the first time, they would have to laugh generously.

  What they don’t know is that “Horn” and Rolfe are just…incomprehensible.

Those things that make strangers tremble are not more beautiful in the eyes of the Indians than a well-textured feather, nor more amazing than a steep cliff, or the golden light of the sun on the river after the mist has dispersed. Sparkling is comparable, the light of candles is not as soft as moonlight and starlight, and expensive myrrh and sandalwood make them miss their fur and tent even more.

When the king and queen had danced and danced a minuet with Mrs. Montespan, someone walked up to the “Horn” and whispered that he should invite Mrs. Montespan, which he had learned before. How to dance – no more difficult than learning how to use a musket – “Horn” stood up immediately and came to Mrs. Montespan.

Madame Montespan had tentatively mentioned to Louis the events of that day, she was mercilessly locked out by Bontang, and Louis’s answer was almost a warning, when she realized that this was not only what Bontang meant, but also After it was the king’s will, the lady finally regained some sanity, even if the savage Indian who invited her to dance did not show any unpleasant expression.

   “One of my sons will be the Duke of Montreal.” Louis said to “Horn”: “This is his mother.”

Indians have always held an optimistic and free attitude towards marriage and love. Men and women can become husband and wife after a simple ceremony as long as they have a good impression. If the marriage is unhappy, they can also hold a separate ceremony to declare the death of the marriage. , and then husbands and wives can also find suitable mates again, and do not value chastity as much as people think.

Monogamy is practiced in the tribes of “Horn” and Rolf, but he knows that some tribes are polygamous, or polyandry, and he knows that when their “Sun Chief” has two wives It is not surprising, if the Great Chief is willing to let his son be the administrator of the tribe: “I hope he can be as powerful and wise as you.” Niu Jiao said.

   “He will study with me until he is fourteen years old and become a warrior before coming to you.” Louis said: “I guarantee he will be a good friend too.”

   “May our friendship with your gods bless us as long as a river,” said “Cow Horn”.

   Seeing that the king’s royal wife danced with an Indian, some people couldn’t help but look dim or changeable.

   “Get ready to stop.” Colbert said.

   “That’s a pity,” said one of his sons-in-law, “the king needs slaves too.”

“With the king’s trust, you can reopen trade at any time, but if you don’t have the king’s trust…” Although Colbert was just a businessman, and his son-in-law was all dukes, he scolded them without any hesitation. Show mercy: “You can try, it doesn’t matter, everyone, His Majesty can reserve a room for you in Versailles, and of course you can reserve one for you in Bastille.”

   (end of this chapter)