"By the way," asked the priest Paul, after a rough understanding of the king's intentions, "what does the altar mean?

"Then you also know that Your Majesty's birthday is a month after the feast of the Assumption of Mary. Jean Barr said.

The priest's eyes widened: "But how can those Parisians, Versailles, put up with the king's celebration in Dunkirk?" Although he has been living in the small town of Dunkirk, the merchants and smugglers need to be well-informed, of course he knows that the Parisians and Versailles almost treat the king as a statue of the god in the Palace of Versailles or the Louvre, even if the king goes out to fight, they have to complain, this time the king decided to make a big parade, they also muttered non-stop, look at the king's royal car, except for those who are fortunate enough to serve the driver, more people come with themselves, of course, this is not the cost that everyone can support, so these people are almost all high-ranking officials with bulging pockets。

If those people had known that the celebration of the King's birthday had taken place in Dunkirk, they would have exploded like fireworks at night, the priest thought to himself, and at the same time a feeling of joy rose in his heart, for he knew many Parisians, and had read the Parisian newspapers, and he knew that Parisians regarded themselves as first-class citizens of France, and regarded the provinces as slaves and aliens, and that they were daily bombast, arrogant, and disgusting— If the king did decide to start the celebration in Dunkirk (the king's birthday celebration usually lasts a long time), he would be very interested to see the faces of the "gentlemen" of Paris, and he must have been embarrassed.

"All I can say is that it is difficult for both Parisians and Versailles to raise objections. Jean Barr said with a smile.

The priest blinked.

——————

"After all, compared to Paris or Versailles, Dunkirk has an incomparable advantage. Louis XIV turned around with a smile, and for the first time he willingly put on a luxurious and heavy garment: "I don't know how you can endure it," the king complained to his brother with a frown, "This garment can be used as armor." ”

The Duke of Orleans to-day took the place of the king's first servant, dressed the king, and the coat that the king complained about had been carried by him before, and of course knew the weight—probably fifty pounds, about the weight of a suit of armor? Some armor is even lighter: "The fabric of this garment was originally woven with gold thread?" Then the maid embroidered it with delicate patterns," the Duke of Orleans knew all too well: "And then the trim of pure gold filigree and the clasps of precious stones?" Pins or something. ”

He took a step back? "Impeccable, brother?" Of course, I'm not talking about clothes. ”

Louis XIV smiled? Is he two years older than the Duke of Orleans? But now the Duke of Orleans looks older than him, and the Duke is of course pampered and cares about maintenance - he doesn't forget to apply facial fat on the battlefield, and he looks younger than his peers? But it still can't be compared with the king. Two noble brothers looking at each other? Hurriedly moving away, only a handful of people know what happened to the king in the period after his assassination in Dunkerke, and even fewer know how the king took his life from the hands of death - although the patriarch Vandra swore that one of the Blood Artifacts he held could transform a mortal into a wizard, or a Bloodline? But after the infused blood is depleted, it will not leave any traces - maybe? After all, if that artifact could create wizards and bloodlines without limit, there would be no place for mortals in this world for a long time.

Only Louis and Marley know? After he entered the inner world, he was indeed stimulated with a talent that only belongs to wizards? And quite outstanding? If it weren't for the fact that Louis was originally the head of a country? Maybe he will really stay, or will he be left behind.

But had the extraordinary blood really left Louis XIV's body entirely? Attempts were made to use the Dauphin and the Duchess of Montpensier to prove that the king was a wizard, perhaps they were suspicious of the king, who had a longer life and a longer youth than mortals.

"Wait a minute. The Duke of Orleans suddenly said, "You should use some flour and rouge." ”

Louis glanced at his younger brother, and the servants on the side were a little confused, the king never used fat powder, but Bontang also suddenly interjected: "I also think you need to use some fat powder." ”

"The sea breeze is too strong to-day," said the Duke of Orleans, "and the skin will be tingling and the lips will be chapped, so you will have to take some protection." ”

"The Duke is right. Bang Tang said that he was not on the king's side, and it was new to him to be on the other side, but he had already guessed the intention of the king's brother, and of course he had to show his support.

"The two most weighty men have spoken," Louis said, walking back and handing his staff to the servant beside him, "and with one opinion, it seems that I have to submit to your oppression." This sentence made others tremble when they heard it, but for the Duke of Orleans and Bontang, it only felt intimate, and the Duke of Orleans settled down and took the fat powder sent by Bontang - the king did not use fat powder, but his bathroom must have a brand new fat powder equipment, because Queen Teresa, Madame Montespan, and the royal brother Philip, who might stay in the king's bedroom for the night, had to carefully dress themselves many times a day.

It may be that these fat powders do not have to pay for it, and the Duke of Orleans unceremoniously rubbed a thick layer on the king's face, carefully rubbed some rouge on his cheeks, and also gave the king some lip grease. By the time the king got up from his chair again, he was no longer so obtrusive in the mirror...... Even if someone confronts the king, they will only think that the king is energetic and youthful because of the fat powder.

Louis took the cane and tapped lightly on the ground: "Let's go." ”

The Duke of Orleans stepped forward, Bontang took a step back, and the royal brother walked behind the king, and while his eyes were suddenly pierced by the white light, he heard the cheers of the people as if they could alarm the heavens and the earth!

His steps slowed down, and the cheers were for the king.

Louis walked straight to the huge terrace, this terrace faces the port of Dunkirk, the snow-white marble and gold and silver leaf make it like a semi-circular jewel plate, from the edge of the terrace hangs the sun king, or the French blue background gold lily sun flag, the sides and the top of the snow-white curtains hanging, the strong sea breeze lifts and lowers them, rolling like waves on the sea, the king first to the nobles gathered under the terrace, The officials and the public bowed slightly, their fingers touching the brim of their hats, and then turned back to sit down on the gilded chairs slightly in the center.

The bands in the square began to play, the crowd dispersed, nay, it should be said, the nobles and officials were taking their places—they had special stands overlooking the whole of Dunkirk Harbour, as Pauline had seen, and the common people remained in the square, enjoying the bread and beer offered by the king, while waiting for the grand ceremony to begin.

The people behind Louis, from Queen Teresa to the Duke of Orleans, also sat down one by one, almost all of the royal family members on this terrace, the queen's gaze quickly swept over the seat of the Duchess of Orleans, and then breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately, although the Duchess of Orleans had been too weak to attend the banquet and ball, she still insisted on coming today— She had to be present at the ceremony, or the gossip would have intensified, and the Queen was not very fond of the Duchess of Orleans, but she was not so bad as to see her die.

Priest Paul sat in the most remote part of the stands, and he had no resentment about it, and his hands and feet and cheeks were tingling—for he could probably guess why the king was there, and dared to open the opening curtain of this great celebration at Dunkirkla, and he heard whispers behind him whether the king had arranged some special show at sea, whether it was fireworks?

Some say it must have been fireworks, because he had already heard the sound of a gun salute.

The corners of Priest Paul's mouth were pulled apart, indeed, at first it was the sound of the cannons of Dunkirk, but it was not an echo that came back from afar, and the people began to stir slightly from the unknown silence, and some of the people with excellent eyesight had already seen a few dark shadows emerging from the southwest, and they stood up, causing some displeasure, but soon, all of them stood up.

Ships are coming towards them.

At first, they looked so small, small enough to be covered by a pin's nose, but as if in an instant, they expanded to the point where they could not even be covered by the palm of their hands, and people exchanged heads and ears—because they did not see the huge sails that matched such a huge hull, but they saw gray-white smoke rushing into the sky, and some of the generals who had fought at sea had seen their ships shrouded in smoke— It was smoke from the artillery bombardment, or the burning of the hulls and canvases, but the ships, the blackened ones, didn't look like they had been destroyed at all, they were cleaving the waves at speeds of more than six knots.

In fact, because the voyage was here, it would still take some time for even the steam-ironclad ships to move at speeds of more than six knots, but the populace was curious about this strange new ship, and more ships followed, and they counted them excitedly, not even perceiving the passage of time—one, two, three, four...... Ten, one hundred, two hundred, three hundred! When this number appeared, even some ministers could not help but be dumbfounded, they had heard that the king was building a navy and fleet belonging to France, but ...... France's maritime power was almost a blank slate during the Mazarin period.

How could it be that the Duke of Saint-Simon and his henchmen stood out among them, their expressions as weak and dazed as the French navy of thirty years earlier, who could scarcely believe their eyes, and who refused to rush into their ears to count the numbers......?"

But they were soon to be disappointed, and in the midst of the excitement of the people, the black ship at the head was already preparing to enter the harbor, and the ship that had shaken Louis XIV had suddenly silenced the people, what kind of behemoth was this? It was a fortress floating on the sea, and it was even more incredible to a man like the Duke of Saint-Simon, who had once made a living by intelligence, because it was huge, but it was fast, and the steering was light enough, like a knight in full armor dancing a pleasant minuet...... The Duke of Saint-Simon jerked up his binoculars, as Jean Barr had done in that little naval battle, pressed tightly against his eyes, and though painted, he could still make out the traces of the rivets joining the plates.

Anyone who has seen a ship knows that the hull shell panels of a ship will not be one by one, but one by one, so that they can be fixed to the ribs, so what are those square plates? The Duke of Saint-Simon remembered some rumors he had vaguely heard—he didn't believe it at the time, maybe he did, but it shouldn't have been...... There were so many, how many he saw, there were thirty ships that were also covered with heavy armor.

The Duke of Saint-Simon, of course, remembered that the princess Henrietta and the Duchess of Orleans had thirty Calais in her dowry, and there was much discussion at the court and in the court and the public, mostly accusations, that the king should not allow the English to use the frivolous Calais as a dowry, but at the king's insistence, the thirty Calais were delivered to the French as part of the dowry.

The Duke of Saint-Simon followed them for some time, and when he heard that they had been sent to Nantes, probably to be used as merchant ships, he paid no further attention to them.

Then, after a gap of more than ten years, they reappeared in front of him as ...... Iron Ship!

The Duke of Saint-Simon felt that he was having a terrible nightmare, if he had known about it...... Why did he go to the English and the Austrians? But it was not his fault, who could have built such iron ships, and by what means could he drive and control them? Where did Louis XIV get so much iron?

————

"Thanks to Leopold I. Louis XIV said solemnly.