The name Dunkirk comes from West Flanders, which means "church on the dunes" in Dutch.

With such a name, the topography of the city can be imagined, when the Viscount of Tirenne was ordered to take the king and the bishop to inspect the army, they saw a scene that was not spectacular, and from outside the town Dunkirk was an old and old city, although the Spanish privateers used it as a fortress and made a fortune by its shelter, but they did not value it very much, even the troops stationed here, and it stands to reason that the blockade of the routes and ports by the British warships a month earlier should have alarmed them, but they neither built new fortifications nor fortified the walls except to open the sluices and flood the nearby lowlands。

The water deposited in the low-lying areas had caused some trouble for the French here, but many of them were peasants from the south and were no strangers to marshes and pools, so they quickly managed to drain the stagnant water, and now there are no major problems in those places except for the damp mud.

The king, guided by Viscount Tirenne, visited their camp—there were about fifteen thousand men, and it would have taken four or five villages to carry such a large number of soldiers, which in normal times would have been a catastrophe for the villages and towns near Dunkirk—and, as previously recounted, the army at this time was no different from the robbers, who were fierce, brutal, and shameless, and had no sense of morality or shame. Old men and children would be killed, women would be used as a pastime for soldiers and officers, they would deplete the last bit of food for the inhabitants, and they would burn all the houses when they left, as was common in France, England, and two different denominations. The Lord said to love your neighbors, and the Bishop doesn't care if you kill them, as long as they are hereticals, although Louis never thinks there is any difference between three fingers and two fingers, between a long cross and a short cross, between wine and grape juice (all of which are grounds for waging religious wars).

The people here should be fortunate, for the Viscount of Tyrrenne, knowing the mercy of their king, asked him to provide sufficient shelter and food for the army when he accepted the surrender of the mayor of this town, and that the people of those villages, though still suffering from exploitation and expulsion, would still be able to save their lives, and when the army left, they would have to endure a very difficult time, but as the mayor had said, they would have to thank God and the king.

But Louis or Monsieur Bishop, don't dare to take this kind of sycophancy seriously, when the king travels, in addition to the musketeers, there are still two priests from the Inquisition with him, if you remember, there have been rumors in the court that the Duke of Gaston made a deal with demons in order to seek his brother's throne, and these demons were brought back by him hidden in some absurd paintings, and Louis XIII's accident originated from this - and this is the junction of Flanders and France, and no one knows what will happen.

Viscount Tirene had heard of ghouls here.

The king had no time to pay attention to these things for the time being, but he focused on the difference between the new model army of England and the French soldiers—in addition to the uniformity of their clothing, the new model monarchs were more ruddy and more calm than the average French soldier, and their demeanor was full of confidence and pride, and they were vigorous, like a tall new tree, like the Monsieur Munch at the dinner, and it was evident that they were far superior to the king's soldiers, both mentally and physically.

Louis did not like Cromwell, but he must also admit that he was an outstanding leader.

When he saw smoke rising from a house, he rode over, where three officers were partying, and although on the ground (the family should have taken as much furniture as he could when he left, and the king even saw a blank space in the wall of the outline of a spinning wheel) had a map spread out, but they must have dice or cards in their pockets, which made the king sigh again, that gambling was almost the only hobby of the French now besides dancing and hunting, and that the new model had a slight advantage, for Cromwell himself was a rigid Protestant, and that all kinds of entertainment had been banned in England, and gambling was certainly among themSo their soldiers never gambled, at least on the surface, and the king saw that all the soldiers in red coats were spending their free time training by taking care of their weapons and horses.

The house, which was occupied by the officers, apparently owned by the wealthy yeoman farmers of the village, had two floors, with a bedroom upstairs and a living room and kitchen below, brick walls instead of wood or mud bricks, a fireplace and a chimney, and a hearth where the officers were, above which hung a funnel-shaped hood from which the smoke from charcoal burning could rise into the sky, and an iron pot from which the king saw the steam and smoke coming from.

"Is this your breakfast or lunch, gentlemen?" asked the King.

"Lunch," said one of the officers nervously, "Your Majesty, is lunch for the three of us." ”

The king could almost guess why he was so nervous, for in addition to the fresh fish soup in the iron pot, there were dried meats, brown bread, cheese and eggs, and a barrel of ale, which could be said to be quite hearty—"What about the soldiers?" asked Louis.

"Fish soup and bread, too!" said the officer.

The king believed that he would not be deceived, but the supply of the French army was less gratifying than that of the new model army, which had a constant supply of meat and dairy products, and the king kept this in mind, and the soldiers of course cared more about their stomachs than a uniform coat or hat.

But all the way down, the mixed clothing of the French soldiers still gave the king a headache, at this time people did not have the concept of military uniforms, so everyone wore their own clothes, and the regulations of weapons were not uniform, at least there were several kinds of muskets, most of them were arquebuses, and the people who used this weapon could see at a glance, because they carried a wide shoulder strap with a gunpowder bag hanging from the shoulder strap - Pious soldiers would generally arrange the packets of this propellant into twelve packs, called the Twelve Apostles, with one pack of gunpowder firing once, a pellet bag containing round buckshot, and a flask of ignition powder, which was more delicate and used to detonate the propellant.

Those who use the revolver musket have a lot less cumbersome, because this musket ignites the gunpowder with the help of sparks generated by the friction between the sulfur ore and the steel wheel, or newer flintlock pistols, the flint on which can guarantee more than 30 fires, but these guns almost all belong to the officers, and in addition to being more lethal, they are more ornate in appearance - such as the black bottom of the rifle is inlaid with gold is just a basic operation, and there are people with precious stones, pearls, ivory embedded in it......

In addition to appearance, there are also people who go to great lengths to be inventive in their functions, such as large-caliber muskets with muzzles like horns, which can be stuffed with stones of similar size in addition to lead bullets...... Multi-barreled guns, from four to twelve...... Hybrid guns - no, they shouldn't be muskets, because they look like knives, axes, or shields with a musket barrel in them......

The king can only say that he was an eye-opener.

Viscount Tirrene was not surprised, and even interested in some of them, by the way, forgot to mention that the current thermal weapons, in addition to artillery, muskets can only play a role in consuming the enemy's combat power when starting a war, and in the end the left and right occupy swords and spears, so whether muskets are used or not, soldiers and officers have swords.

Louis made another note in his booklet.

They finally stood at the edge of the barracks and looked out at Dunkirk, the soldiers could be seen faintly walking around the grey walls, Viscount Tyrrenne had sent part of the army to besiege the city, while the main force remained here for reinforcements from the Spaniards, and before the end of the day, he had seen the king several times, and Louis knew what he was worried about, as any general in battle, and he feared more than someone who would have deliberately seized his command—but what if that man was the king to whom he had sworn allegiance?

In particular, Louis is twenty years old, the most victorious and complacent age for a young man, and he is not a stupid man, so it is difficult to say whether the king will have any opinion or opinion about the coming war, and Viscount Tyrrenne will not care if the king will want to direct him, he is afraid that the king will be too stubborn - he means that even if he has never commanded a battle, the king will be eager to show his military prowess to the people (the devil knows if there is).

Because in front of them, the Prince of Condé, who had already become an enemy, won a great victory as a commander in the first battle.

Louis saw his apprehension, and the young king could not help laughing: "No," he said, "no, Monsieur Viscount, I will not meddle in matters with which I am not familiar, Mr. Bishop, and so shall you, and you shall be my arm, and I shall not bind you as a child as I please—I only hope that you will present me a victory, you can, right?"

"Your Majesty. Louis's words put Viscount Tyrrenne to shame, and the man who was old enough to be the king's grandfather turned red, even to the ears of the innocent, and he did have this concern, but when the king pointed out that he felt that he had despised his monarch too much.

Louis had decided to be a bystander, he was a king, not a general, and even in the current wars, the kings often went on their own expeditions, but they could only be said to be a symbol or encouragement to the soldiers, and it was really up to Louis's personal bravery to turn the situation around—by then, he would not be far from the king of the dead country, like poor Charles II.

"So," said Viscount Tyrenne, "if possible, will you stay here until the war begins?"

Louis looked at him.

The general's eyes were staring at him, and his fingers were nimbly circling around, and it was obvious that the king had better not go to the dangerous battlefield...... "There is a bell tower here, Your Majesty, from where you can see the whole battlefield. ”

"You've decided on the battlefield?" Louie asked.

————

"There aren't many places outside of Dunkirk that can be a battlefield. Mr. Bishop said, opening a secret letter and handing it to the King: "The Prince of Condé and the Spaniards are rushing here in a desperate hurry, and in such a hurry, Your Majesty, they have even dropped their artillery. ”

"Thanks to your spies. "Whether it's misleading the Spaniards to Cambrai, or all the secrets about them," Louis said. ”

"It's hard to say. "I'm still confirming some news, Your Majesty, but it's certain that our Prince of Condé is not having a good time—the Spaniards speak very well, but it doesn't take that very well, and the main power of this army is still in the hands of Don Juan, who, of course, is the illegitimate son of Philip IV, who is a Frenchman." ”

"How many of them are there?"

"Similar to us, but with a more complex composition," Mr. Bishop paused abruptly, as his head suddenly throbbed violently, and he pressed his forehead and closed his eyes, "among them were the Spaniards, and the soldiers of the Prince of Condé, and the mercenaries of the Holy Roman Empire, and the royal army of the Duke of York. ”

"Wait, is the Duke of York the one I know?" asked Louis, who had been reading the secret letter so he hadn't noticed anything strange about Mr. Bishop.

"It is the same one, brother of Charles II," said Mr. Bishop, in an unchanged tone, "there are more people supporting him than his brother, and those who have gathered under his command support him two thousand soldiers, but still under the unified command of Don Juan. ”

As he spoke, Mr. Bishop glanced at the king deliberately, "That's the disadvantage of having brothers. He said.

Louis just looked up and smiled.

"That's right. Mr. Bishop suddenly said, "I may have to introduce you to someone in a few days." ”

"Who?"

"The man who wrote this secret letter. Mr. Bishop said.

This sentence really surprised the king, everyone knows that Mr. Bishop Mazarin inherited a secret agent organization from Mr. Bishop Richelieu, and the two consecutive bishops are like feeding a group of hunting dogs to feed them to the full, so that they can grow and reproduce to a terrible point in a short period of time, their tentacles are not limited to France, even Ottoman Turkey has touched, but Louis never thought to touch this fine net, this is the bottom line of Mr. Bishop, just like the throne under Louis.

But Mr. Bishop said that the secret agent, most likely the leader or an important nail, should be introduced to the king.

"Why?" Louie asked.

Now the pain that darkened Mr. Bishop's eyes had passed, and he raised his eyes and looked at the king, who was already 5.5 feet at the age of twenty, and given that the French unit of length was longer than in other countries (5.5 feet was basically 5.9 feet), the king was now a tall and toned young man, and he had begun to age, and every day when he opened his eyes, Mr. Bishop felt that the angel's little trumpet had become louder.

If he had been afraid of putting power (whether it was in the hands of the king too early) it would have caused him to do something out of his mind, but ...... The Duke of Anjou's affairs can finally allow Mr. Bishop to make the final decision.