In front of Louis XIV was a linen robe so crude that he could see through the holes that he could see through all kinds of secrets, a belt of chains, and a crown of thorns.

Louis XIV regarded the pilgrimage as a pleasure with his son, and at best a special show, and when Bontang came in and told him that several Franciscan grey friars had asked to see the king, he casually agreed, instructing little Louis not to always eat meat, and at the same time watching that little Luciano should not eat too many sweets, and scrubbing his face and hands in hot lemonade before going to another room to meet the monks.

Then he saw the first gift he had received when he came to Rome.

The Franciscan friars only smiled at the sight of the handsome and easy-going king, and looked at them, and saw their feet from their hoods all the way to their feet, and although their clothes could be changed and their countenances could be pretentious, there must have been more distinctions between a farmer and a lord, and these characteristics could hardly be concealed—how could a priest who was pampered in a Roman mansion be the same as a monk who toiled with his own hands in a remote monastery?

These monks were real monks, and Louis XIV's gaze was less sharp and terrifying: "Who told you to come here?"

"God. The head monk said.

"God can only speak to one thing," said Louis, "and that is the heart of every man, who, in the darkness of the night, goes into the hearts of men, and speaks to every heart of goodness or absurdity, whether its owner does what he wills, or has forsaken his teachings, or does he read the scriptures in his mouth, but acts like a devil? how does he speak to your heart? He tells you, am I pious, or am I hypocritical?"

He lightly touched the sackcloth garment: "Jesus Christ said to the people, 'Whoever of you is not guilty, let him throw a stone at this woman!' Now I will come to you and ask you if you have the right to declare me innocent or guilty, and if I put on sackcloth, and put on a crown of thorns, and put on chains, and walk through the whole Holy Sepulchre on foot, as you have requested, then I am innocent?

He paused: "If a heinous criminal is allowed to do this, will he become a good man? If an abominable heretic does this, will his sins be atoned for? What if the devil and his servants?"

"How is it the same?" said one of the monks, "You are different from their sins." ”

Louis sighed: "The tone of your voice reminds me of the vendors in the market, they have a weighing rod, where is your weighing rod?"

"Your remarks remind me of the radical Protestants," said the leading monks, "who are also convinced that the Lord dwells in their hearts, and that they believe in no one but themselves." ”

"You are wrong," Louis whispered, "I believe it, for for anything in the world can fall into my pocket if it has a price." ”

"What then, is God's call not to redeem the purity of faith for you, for the people of France?" the monk at the head put an end to the anger of the other monks at this blasphemous, lifted his hood, and looked at the king with piercing eyes.

It depends on whether the real God or the devil has called me. ”

"I thought he who called the devil was before us. "The monk at the head is aggressive.

"Some devils can be seen, others come and go, and the pious and good are sometimes blind and sinful, like those who hold a stone to stone the woman. ”

Louis said: "Take this and see, brothers of the little bird (as Francis used to call the little bird), and see whether it is the holy dove or the vicious vulture that drives you." ”

The monk bowed and took the document handed over by Bang Tang—it was just a thin piece of paper—and then he showed a sad look: "I don't want to believe that there is such a thing, but you have come up with real evidence. He said, "The problem is, in any case, you are guilty." ”

"Man is born with sins," said Louis, "but even now that the ground is cracked and hell is under my feet, I will not think that I have done anything that would require me to act in order to atone for it," he said sternly. He is wrong when a sharp sword does not cut armor but chops grass and trees, when the hound does not go after a hungry beast but bites a horse that has only gone astray, and when the people of a place do not put to death a thief who has plundered many people, but hangs a thief who stole three copper coins, they are even more wrong, and I respect you to not hold you accountable, but that does not mean that I am too weak to compromise. ”

"You are as arrogant as King Solomon," said the leading monk, "Your Majesty, you are in Rome, not Paris, at the feet of God, and you ought to be humble." ”

"I bow down only to God," Louis XIV said bitterly, "unlike you." ”

"We have long since forsaken the prosperity of the world," said the monk at the head, "and I have nothing to ask for but to serve my Lord." ”

"It was Gregory VII who had made a king barefoot, dressed in sackcloth, and wearing a bitter chain standing outside the castle in repentance. Louis laughed, "He is now a saint, and if I did, the Romans would remember your name," he pierced the minds of the monks who were not even aware of themselves: "I can only tell you what Henry IV did in the first half of the way, but probably not in the second half." ”

The monks turned pale, what did Henry IV do after such humiliation?

He led his army south to Rome, drove Gregory VII out of the Vatican, and killed Salerno in southern Italy.

"I don't even have to go back to France. Louis whispered, "My army is here, in Rome." ”

“...... But it doesn't hurt you. After a period of silence, another friar argued: "St. Louis celebrates Mass twice a day, recites the Virgin Mary fifty times before going to bed, gets up at midnight in order to participate in morning prayers, was a Franciscan friar, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, he once gave food to the poor blind, you touched the lepers, your majesty, austerity does not bring you humiliation, it only increases your virtue." ”

"You may be right," Louis turned his gaze to him, and the monk bowed his head as if overwhelmed, for no other reason - the king's eyes were too bright," But when you heard it, St. Francis would have laughed, and St. Francis had been ridiculous in his youth, but when he repented, he did not say to his friends, "Do as I do, or it is wrong;" when he walked out of the house with his hands empty, dressed in a rough robe, and when he walked out of the house empty-handed, he did not say to his father, "Your actions are wrong, and you ought to give up your worldly life, as I did, and go into the arms of the Lord; when he went out into the crowd and persuaded them to obey the Lord's will, he did not beat them because they did not want to listen; when he lived alone like a beast on a rocky mountainNor did he regard his brothers who had never been ascetic as lazy and foolish—and now I have to ask, what makes you think that you can dictate a man's actions by his own will?"

He picked up the crown of wattles, "How easy, just take it, walk a short distance, say words of repentance, and I will become a saint as you say." It's not hard, it's not dangerous, it's huge, and if I believe as you say, I should do it, but I think there's a thorn in my heart that can't be pulled out, and every time I disobey my soul, it will hurt me. ”

The monk seemed to want to say something, but was stopped by their leader.

"All I can say is that may God bless you, Your Majesty, and thank you for your kindness. The leading monk said that his words were not unfounded, and that the ascetics would be glad to be eaten by kings like St. Louis, but they might also be scorned by kings like Philip the beautiful man, and they might even be driven out in embarrassment, but Louis simply raised his hand and let them leave with their garments, chains, and crowns of thorns.

"It may make sense to change someone else," Louis and Bontang complained, "but the people behind them only want to see two outcomes." ”

"I'm listening. Your Majesty. ”

"The first result is that I became a second Saint Louis," said Louis, "you know, Bonton, people are tolerant of thieves, because they know that the other is a fallen devil, but to a saint they will always hold a magnifying glass in their eyes, and if the church behaves like this," he pouted, "I am afraid that I will be constrained at every turn." ”

"You will receive the blessing of the Pope and then die for his will. Bontang also saw it clearly: "It's like Saint-Louis." ”

"At the time of the Eighth Crusade, Louis IX was sixty-six years old. Louis said: "If it were only his own will, he probably would not have traveled all the way to Tunisia to fight." ”

"It wasn't the Jews who were the best at lending," Bontang said, "and the church would get a hundredfold return for every penny." ”

"There is a second possibility," said Louis, "and that is to create a little accident, whereas people are willing to hear how a saint is an ascetic, but they are more willing to hear how a devil is punished before the Holy Sepulchre." ”

Bang Tang's expression became cold: "I will order them to clear the parade route again." ”

"Don't worry about that," said Louis unconcernedly, "they can only use wizards and monks, and Barras is by my side now, and Elelius will arrive tomorrow." ”

——————

As Louis said, with Barras and Elelius, their pilgrimage was peaceful, and although Louis XIV did not want to be a second Saint Louis, he did what Saint Louis did, promising to build a church and a monastery in Rome in the name of Saint Louis, and to enshrine in the church a number of relics captured in this battle, and to feed a hundred poor people a day with bread and milk during the pilgrimage, and to dine with three of them.

The Duke of Colonna was keenly aware that these three men could not be said to be really poor either, and he told Louis, who replied with a smile that there could be no real poor people in Rome, because the charity of pilgrims alone was not a small number, and of course it was not the same as the real poor that Colonna saw in Naples.

At the Great Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, the Dauphin appeared with the Duke of Colonna, standing behind Louis XIV on the left and right, watching their father and the king receive the blessing of the Pope, and the new Pope Innocent XI also blessed them, which made some people look ugly, because little Louis was forgotten, and the Duke of Colonna was a well-known illegitimate child.

Innocent XI's move may have been an attempt to undo some undesirable consequences...... But this was not enough for Louis XIV.

"Are you sure?" Innocent XI and Louis XIV then had a private meeting, they sat face to face as if they were two strange but friendly guests, the Pope did not salute Louis, and Louis did not kiss the Pope's ring, "You should know Ballas," said Innocent XI, "a stupid old dog!"

"It's just a couple of years, I have someone I really like, but he lacks qualifications. ”

"Elehos?" Innocent XI frowned.

"Elarius. ”

"He's a judge of the Inquisition. Innocent XI said: "The conferment of the priesthood by Barras has been criticized by many. ”

Then Elarius is not the first. Louis said, "Anyway, he's going back to Paris in a few years, are they still worried that he will become pope in this short time?"

"Of course not. Innocent XI said, "Bishop?"

"I hope it's the archbishop. ”

In a few years' time, he would be promoted to cardinal. Innocent XI said: "Unless he does do do something that leaves nothing to say." This is an allusion to church taxation and priesthood appointments and dismissals.

"This can't be. Louis said, "But I can give away a part of the dye and woolen wool for your family only." ”

"Not enough. ”

"Enough, just a position for the archbishop. ”

"I'm Benedetto Otterscalci and I'm Innocent XI. ”

Louis leaned back in his chair: "I can't be sure, but I do have an idea." ”

"What thoughts?"

"Crete. ”

(This chapter will be updated by 1,000 words tomorrow morning.) ）