I Am Louis XIV - Chapter 563

   Chapter 563 William III bids us farewell (below)

“Unfortunately, it was God who crowned me, not the people of England.” William III said, ignoring the displeasure on the messenger’s face, “I should have self-knowledge, shouldn’t I?” He took a deep breath: ” I’m sorry, sir, I want to go back to the cabin so that no one can see me.” After speaking, he went straight back to his room.

The messenger gave a silent jeer behind him – before William III stepped into London, MPs were writing the Bill of Powers, an act to limit the power of a monarch, and of course, Charles II or The Duke of York would never sign, so they would be equivalent to parliamentary puppets, but William III and his fiancee, Miss Mary, countersigned, one of them was a foreigner and the other was a woman, and both needed parliamentary support to become king.

Let William III see for himself that his right of succession is unquestionable, and he has that ambition and talent, but now he has to accept blackmail from the British, which makes him in a bad mood, and he has to They were in the same boat, especially with Charles II and the Duke of York, no, we should probably call him James II now – when they were alive, they had spies and armies in their hands, and once they found out who had the right to the throne A third person appeared in London, and they would immediately turn their guns and take out William III.

“Wait until tomorrow…” William III sighed, and lay down on the cot with his clothes folded on his chest. Although it was not comfortable at all, it still smelled of dampness and stench. A fishing boat, but he knew that he should recharge his batteries so that he could gain the upper hand in the subsequent escape and battle.

   But a sudden jolt threw him on the wet deck all at once.

William III immediately jumped up, grabbed the short burst gun that he never left, and leaned tightly against the porthole, “Mr. John!” He shouted the name of the messenger: “What happened? Yes Encountered a pirate?” He heard someone running, someone screaming, someone else cursing, and after a moment of hesitation he put his eyes into the gap of the porthole – like all honored guests, he He lived in the **** cabin, where he could see the white smoke rising out of the darkness and the red flashes of fire, but luckily they weren’t on his ship.

The torches were lit one after another, William III saw the messenger, and the red fire could not hide his livid face. When he saw William III, he showed a bitter smile: “Ah, Your Highness,” he said : “Not a pirate.” But it might as well be a pirate.

Jean Barr commanded his flagship across the front of the three-masted ship, while whistling, he raised the golden lily flag with his own hands, even at night, under the moonlight, the golden lily embroidered with pure gold and silver threads The sun on his face was still shining, “Oh!” He also recognized William III at a glance. Who made him make his portrait appear in galleries and newspapers?

The messenger and William III thought for a moment whether they could use deception or bribery to escape the disaster, but the messenger shook his head first. The French fleet, although it was the smallest organization, suddenly appeared at this time. Appearing here… (now people still try to avoid naval battles at night), it means that their plans are still shattered because of leaks, and this general, since he can be entrusted by the king, can’t be easily deceived or bought. of.

The fire and smoke that William III had seen before were just a warning to the French ship, forcing it to stop, and then the golden lily flags appeared on its front, back, left and right, but even without such a battle, the captain of the British fishing boat would not If he wanted to escape, his ship was the most common three-masted sailboat, how could it compare the speed of a French warship with a steam turbine?

“Pang!” It was louder than the previous shelling. A long gangplank with spikes was put on the deck of the fishing boat, allowing Barr to go from his flagship to a small ship before he could get to the British boat – you know The flagship was almost twice as tall as the barque, but it was his soldiers who leaped briskly first, and with the help of their companions, unloaded the British’s weapons, from daggers to muskets. , do not miss any place.

And then there is Jean Barr. As soon as he raised his eyes, he saw some people’s faces crossed with unconcealed regret. Of course, in novels and dramas, there is always a heroic warrior who can hijack the enemy’s leader to make unfavorable The situation became favorable for him, but Jean Barr was first a pirate, a privateer, and then an officer, how could he do such a stupid thing?

   “Mr. William Hendrik van Orange,” said Jean Barr. However, he was standing in front of William III, which means that he had already spotted his prey. William III waved his hand and did not let the guards around him come forward – they may be the last loyal to him: “It’s me. “

   “Follow me,” said Jean Bart.

“Where are you taking him?” the messenger shouted: “Sir, I am John…” There should be a long first name, a surname and a title, but Jean Bart just shook his head back, the French The soldiers tied him up and gagged him, and they arranged the same for the others. William III watched them being sent into the cabin one by one, and suddenly a chill rose from the soles of his feet: “You…” He shook his lips and asked, “Your Majesty… will not allow you to do this.”

“You are wrong,” said Jean Bart easily. “It is precisely because he wants to do this that he let me come here.” Because a duke is to be executed privately, and he may become the duke of the King of England, he cannot Let Joseph do it—he is the grandson of the Duke of Vendôme, and will be the Duke of Vendôme, and neither can Villar, a solemn and virtuous soldier, alas, it is not here that the king thinks Jean Barr is a despicable villain, you can send him to do “dirty work” at will, but Jean Barr is the most suitable, he was originally a pirate – to be honest, he has never been a good person, if you want to count him as a king’s officer For the previous crimes, even being hanged a hundred times was not enough—so there would not be too much psychological pressure. After all, for pirates, apart from them and their companions, they could hardly be regarded as human beings.

  Sometimes companions can’t be counted as people.

   “Leave at least my bodyguards!” William III exclaimed impulsively: “And those sailors! They don’t know anything! Good people, you can send them to the slave ship or the quarry!”

Jean Bart, who had been staring intently at those who seemed to realize that something had begun to struggle, but in vain, heard him say this, and turned his head to look at the distinguished guest: “It’s a pity,” he said. : “I promised my king that I would never let this matter become a black spot in the sun.”

William III opened his mouth and felt the fatal suffocation like a fish: “I am… his defeat.” No, it should be said that he has always been a complete defeat against the Sun King, and he does not understand why Louis XIV would …to do such a thing that is completely inconsistent with his character and image, but he must struggle to the last moment, his future is less than a hundred miles away, almost within reach… He originally thought that tomorrow, or next year, He will become King of England.

“You may not be able to fight against my majesty in your life,” said Jean Bart cruelly and calmly. Before he came, Louis told him the origin of this mission in detail, so he was not at all affected. William III was moved: “Your hatred will be inherited by your heirs along with your crown, and maybe in the not too distant future, they will be brewing into another Hundred Years’ War, so, even if you are reluctant, Your Majesty must make this decision.”

   He stopped talking, and the situation on the ship was completely under control: “Come with me, sir, and don’t embarrass yourself.”

William III stepped on the springboard, and when he looked at the black water under his feet, he even wanted to jump off, but whether he was a Catholic or a Protestant, suicide was an unforgivable felony, and he embraced a little luck, since Jean Barr asked him to follow him—isn’t he, he still had a chance, he knew that there was once a masked prisoner in the Bastille, even if he had to wear a mask forever, and not talk to anyone, write letters, or do anything Any communication, he is also alive.

  There is hope in life.

   until he saw the priest.

The priests had come to do the sacrament of his death, and they had anointed him, and the poor man, pale, and though he tried his best to be calm, nearly fainted, and that was because he almost passed out. Just as he was about to fall, he heard the sound of a cannon. He immediately jumped up and rushed to the porthole, which surprised Barr, but did not stop him.

  The eyes of William III reflected red light – perhaps those sailors, envoys and soldiers thought they could get away with it, but as Jean Bart said, how could they allow Louis XIV’s reputation to be damaged? After they distanced themselves, they bombarded the fishing boat. Now, the three-masted ship was burning on the waterline, but it was constantly flooding below the waterline, and then it sank. He could only pray that his squire had been shot by the shells. Torn apart, it will not suffer from fire and flood.

   “How are you going to kill me?” he asked, the previous fear seemed to disappear in an instant just now, perhaps because he knew there was no room for improvement.

   “There is a sand island not far from here,” Jean Bart said. “In the future, His Majesty the King will let people build a monastery on it.”

   “Looks like I would like to thank your Majesty.” William III said sarcastically.

What made him want to laugh even more was that they actually arrived at the sand island when the sun first rose. The sand island is the name of the pirates, which means a small island made of sand and gravel with almost no vegetation. Depending on the color of the sand and rocks, it is also possible that it is often flooded, and only pirates will remember it, used to exile crew members and bury treasures – it is almost impossible for merchant ships and military ships to find it, and it will not be boarded. Island – meaningless.

The sun shone on William III’s body. Even without a mirror, he could guess by the heat that the golden light on his head was flickering. As the messenger said, it was like being crowned by God. He stumbled a few steps, waiting for him in Jean Bart. The place burst into laughter, and let Barr look at him calmly. He saw many deaths, all kinds of things, “You come, or I?”

   “Ah, so you are still the executioner.” William III said: “I can’t kill myself, sir, are you going to use a knife or a musket.”

   “Musket,” said Jean Bart, “soon, sir, you will not be in pain.”

William III murmured a few words, Jean Barr didn’t hear it clearly and didn’t care. He turned behind William III and shot him in the back of the neck. This was tested by the doctors. The skull, bullets may stick in the bones or fly. Although William III was an enemy, he did not have many encounters with Jean Bart. He did not hate or despise him. For Jean Barr, this was just a problem More careful work is required.

   William III fell down, as Jean Barr said, the death came unexpectedly, and his face even had a twisted smile.

   “Ah,” said Jean Bart to himself, “you almost killed a king too.”

  ———

   “He killed a king!” cried Charles II!

He got up from his seat and smashed the doctor’s head with his cane, the doctor was crying, running, begging for help from anyone, the problem was that he was now in the Prince of Wales’s bedroom, surrounded by kings other than kings how could they go against the king’s will? Even though she has always been kind to him, the generous queen now only remembers crying beside the bed.

   It’s just that this emotionless howl is because of the loss of a son, or to escape the wrath of Charles II, we don’t know.

When the imperial doctor fell to her feet, she even remembered to pull up her skirt so that it would not be stained with blood. Although as the Queen of England, she was entitled to a new set of clothes every day, but… she She bowed her head and hid her face, lest Charles II find her without a trace of sadness.

The queen had loved the child, but this child—perhaps as the priests say, a gift from the devil would only lead to endless misery and sorrow, he was weak, always sick, and dull of mind… a A child who is difficult to like, except for his father Charles II, but Charles II said that he liked this child, it is better to say that this child stabilized his throne and allowed him to get rid of the thorn in the eye – that is York The Duke, now James II, his own brother.

Charles II’s anger finally dissipated when the doctor swallowed the last breath, and he looked gloomily at everyone in the room, thinking whether the death of the Dauphin could be concealed, and between him and the Duke of York. The battle is coming to an end, both sides are exhausted, and when he only waits for someone to make a mistake, he must not lose points on the heir.

  The only good thing is that the Duke of York has no son.

   “You must be pregnant, Queen,” he said hoarsely.

   “But… Your Majesty,” the Queen replied in a low voice, cautiously, “I am not pregnant.”

   “I know!” cried Charles II furiously! “But I need you to be pregnant! Now, Queen, now! Announce to the people that we have a new heir!”

   (end of this chapter)