MTL - I Am Louis XIV-Chapter 520 King of Italy (3)

   Chapter 520 The King of Italy (3)

Cosimo III did not urge Ferdinand, hoping that he could return to Italy as soon as possible, his father's side - he originally wanted Ferdinand to study at Versailles and the University of Paris, as well as the king's side - especially the latter Kind of, words and deeds are not just a noun. What can be learned with Louis XIV is far more useful than what can be learned from any learned scholar in any university, and no university can teach a king to a future ruler.

The problem is that things backfired. When Ferdinand arrived in Paris, he was simply reluctant. Although he was not a fool, he lacked ambition. When a young prince like Frederick met Louis XIV, he would breed "I want to be like this." The idea of ​​the king", Ferdinand seemed to think that if Luciano, his brother-in-law had one-tenth of the talents of Louis XIV, he would prefer to be a rich and idle man.

"If Luciano, the Duke of Colonna eventually becomes the king of Italy, then I will still be the Grand Duke of Tuscany, if not, the future Grand Duke of Tuscany will still be a descendant of the Medici, about this, We don’t need to worry too much.” This is what he said in his letter to Cosimo III. We don’t know how Cosimo III saw it, but future generations are all moved by this man’s open-mindedness or laziness – he He was well acquainted with the hedonism pursued by people in peacetime, and was dismissive of any laborious thing, and had no interest in being a grand duke or king, so he insisted not to return to Italy, because he knew very well that once he returned Italy, don't even think about leaving, someone will always push him to the side of Leopold I or Louis XIV.

   Can the dwarf between the two giants survive their battle? Ferdinand didn't think so at all.

Apart from the above reasons, Ferdinand also has another reason why he is reluctant to answer Italy, that is, his gout symptoms have improved a lot in Paris and Versailles - gout is a traditional disease of the Medici family, and we now know that it is because of the patient Caused by ingesting too much alcohol and seafood, but people at the time didn't know it - they only used bloodletting and absinthe to treat gout, which was undoubtedly effective, and the latter was a gift from wizards , the point is, when the patient is receiving treatment while still drinking heavily, eating meat, and eating marine fish and shellfish, even modern medicines are useless.

Moreover, gout was not regarded as a "wicked disease" in this era (for example, leprosy would be regarded as a sinful person to be infected), but gout was regarded as a noble disease because it often appeared in princes and nobles. ...even Roman doctors say that the daughter of the **** Dionysus and Aphrodite, the **** of love and beauty, the "goddess of gout," endowed them with "sickness of the gods" because of their partiality to prominent people, and the bible also It is recorded that King Asaph of Judah suffered from gout - because of this, people suffering from this disease are not very urgent about how to treat them, and may privately become complacent until the pain is so severe that it seriously affects the movement and life. will feel apprehensive.

Even the kings of France had two very serious gout symptoms, but when Louis XIV was, Louis XIV only tasted champagne and wine occasionally, and was not very keen on sea fish and shellfish-because at this time Preservation measures are not so convenient. It takes a lot of human and financial resources to keep the fish fresh, and it is also very restrained on meat. In short, in the Palace of Versailles, eating and drinking is not respected, and delicate and light food is what people like.

When Ferdinand arrived at the Palace of Versailles, he was quite uncomfortable for a period of time. More importantly, Versailles was not like Siena or Florence. It was a long way from the sea. He could not eat the fresh seafood as before. Slowly. , his eating habits have also been reversed, and his gout has greatly improved.

It's a pity that getting better doesn't mean he's cured. He still has frequent attacks in spring and autumn, and sometimes summer. The pain of gout attacks can be comparable to any torture. At this time, he can't think, He couldn't move, so Ferdinand was deeply puzzled. How could the people in the Tuscan court expect him to compete with the healthy and strong Duke of Colonna for someone like him?

Cosimo III is not ignorant of the heart of the eldest son, especially he himself has been a gout patient for more than 30 years. Compared with the eldest son who can still move, he can't even leave the bed. Looking at the Duke of Colonna who was approaching him, his heart was sour. Although he initially decided to marry Louis XIV, part of the reason was that the Duchy of Tuscany would not be divided up because of extinction— The worst situation is that he is dead, his eldest son is dead, his second son is dead, and the Duchy of Tuscany no longer exists - but if the Duke of Colonna is still there, then the Medici blood will still be there. passed on in the bodies of their descendants. If the French king could not make Luciano ruler of Italy, he could at least ensure the continued existence of the Duchy of Tuscany.

Things like this, where the son-in-law finally took over the power from the father-in-law, are not only common in Italy, but also in France, or any Europa country. Blame Cosimo III for the pain.

Louis XIV stood up, walked towards Cosimo III, stretched out his hand and shook his friendly hand, and then he looked at a boy beside Cosimo III, who had the characteristics of a prominent Medici family, It seems that this is the second son of Cosimo III, Jill.

Gil is not yet ten years old this year. Under his father's instructions, he took a few steps to bow to the French king and saluted. After just a few steps, Louis could not help but be slightly surprised, and he also guessed why the Tuscan Archduke was so humble— Where a father and a king have two sons, the second son is almost a backup for the first son. If the eldest son is not inferior or incompetent, the second son will take his place, but... look at this child carefully, although He was still so small, but he was already showing signs of unhealthy, swollen face and staggering feet—because gout causes pain in the big toe first, so he would habitually walk on his heels to avoid causing pain, even when it wasn't. It would be so, so it looked ridiculous, and then there was his extra big belly, if you take out the rest of it, you'd say it's an adult belly Louis would have believed.

The wizards reported that Cosimo III was dying, maybe in the next few months, so even if his eldest son Ferdinand could return to Siena, how much courage and talent he would have, as long as the gout attacks, Tuscany is a leaderless group, and Jill is like this now... Even if he suddenly fell, it would not be surprising to go to heaven with his father, and he was so young, at this critical moment, no one would Give him time to grow up.

Cosimo III was about to rub the holy oil, and he insisted on coming to see Louis XIV. What he expected was nothing more than those things. Because his physical condition did not allow it, the negotiations between him and Louis were quick and brief, and he left the room again. At that time, he had already handed over all the power in his hands to his son-in-law - although this was the case before, but without a formal procedure, it is not impossible for someone with a heart to make a fool out of it - he will evade to a monastery in Siena to cultivate and bring with his second son, Jill.

This is equivalent to the grand duke of Tuscany sitting openly with France at the poker table, more reliable than a verbal or written covenant. For the Medici family, it was a big gamble and lost. It is worthless. After winning the Medici badge, a crown can be added to it. After becoming the tyrant of Florence, the Pope, the mother of the Queen of France, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, an inconspicuous small drug dealer in Florence finally became the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Lord of a country.

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  Compared to Cosimo III who was decisive, the nobles of Anjou in Naples were much slower.

The Anjou Dynasty in Naples, the first person was Charles I, the younger brother of Saint-Louis IX. After he was named Count of Provence, he and his brother participated in the Crusades. Later, he reached an agreement with the then Pope to jointly Against their enemy, the then Holy Roman Emperor Conradin, who took Naples and Sicily from him, and has since become King of Sicily and Naples, and later King of Jerusalem, etc. Not to mention - Spain, or correctly , King Pedro III of Aragon has always claimed his dominion over Naples and Sicily.

After that, the Anjou family ruled Naples for about two hundred years. Alfonso V of Aragon inherited the will of his ancestors and finally took Naples and Sicily to his own name. When he died, he gave Sicily to him. Son - which is now all of Sicily in Spain, and then gave Naples to his illegitimate son Ferdinand I.

   Therefore, if you insist on pursuing it, according to canon law, the Spanish rule over Naples is not legal, because illegitimate children have no right to inherit their father's property, which is why France has been seeking the throne of Naples.

But compared to the former René of Anjou, Louis XII of Valois... the identity of the Duke of Colonna is not so righteous, although he used his wife's identity as the granddaughter of the Duke of Bourbon-Gaston, but Everyone knows that he can have the status he is today because he has a good father.

The nobles of Anjou suffered a serious blow during the reign of Alfonso V, but with the decline of Spain, their power once again climbed to the top, and they are certainly willing to accept a descendant of Capet - Capet's The bloodline has never been cut off, but like all the princes, they hold on to the power in their hands and are unwilling to let go.

   They said that if Louis XIV came to be the king of Naples, they would be willing to bow their heads and knees, but such a young man... they were not convinced.

   Again, if there is enough time, Louis XIV has thousands of ways to slowly kill their will - after all, he is not a novice, right? But now, in the face of the Ottoman Turkish offensive - given their tactic of overwhelming the enemy's superiority by numbers, which has hardly changed for hundreds of thousands of years, Mohammed IV's soldiers will continue like howling waves. Constantly flooding this peninsula, Naples and Sicily are the first to bear the brunt.

Sicily can already be said to be one of the important assets managed by the second son of Louis XIV, and Naples is the place where the eldest son is king. These two places are inevitable to become battlefields, but they must not be occupied by the Ottoman Turks, otherwise Even if you can get it back, the Ottoman Turks will only leave you a mess of white land.

But just like all regions in Italy, the nobles of Naples are also independent, and they also have people with long-term vision and people with strong discernment. The problem is that no matter how smart people are, once they touch their own interests, they will inevitably become Sluggishness is abominable - in Naples, Luciano's policies aren't completely untenable, they're just very...very...very slow, and when you're blaming someone, it's hard to find the root, or at least even if you do. , you will find that the other party has nothing to pursue... After all, everyone's private property should be protected, which is written in any legal book.

   But everyone has to negotiate and negotiate, time is wasted in vain, and there will even be futile situations...

   That's why Luciano cried uncontrollably when he saw his father. A young man like him is not afraid of suffering, injury, or fatigue, but he really can't stand such a small, complicated and lengthy torture.

   (end of this chapter)