No one knew that Louie was also about to reach his limit, whether it was physical, mental or financial pressure, the war against the Netherlands started too quickly, and it was too closely connected to the war against Flanders, but Louie realized after reading the information about the Netherlands that if he thought of getting the Netherlands, there was still such a chance- The Netherlands seems to be powerful, but it is rotten internally, and the Orange Belt Party, which advocates the monarchy, is at odds with the Republicans who adhere to the parliamentary system, and even does not hesitate to gamble with the country and the people, and his seizure of Flanders has awakened many people, if the descendants of Orange, William III and the Dutch Prime Minister Johann de Witte raise their vigilance, and thus compromise and unite with each other under the threat of France, things will become ridiculous.

In order to be able to catalyze this battle into a victory for France, Louis XIV can be said to have bet on the last bargaining chip - he not only borrowed from the Queen Mother, the royal brother and the Duchess of Montpensier, but also from the princes and merchants of the country, and even increased customs duties and military taxes, the last tax was directly aimed at the common people, if possible, Louis did not want to go to this point, and then there were all kinds of secret contracts, only a few people knew, Louis even mortgaged the Palace of Fontainebleau - If this news spreads, it will inevitably shake the whole country and even affect the course of the war...... The consequences were devastating, but there was no secret in the world that could last forever unless it didn't matter, which was why Louis had to seize Holland as soon as possible.

Fortunately, his generals such as the Prince of Condé, the Viscount of Tyrenne, and the Duke of Luxembourg were also quite supportive of the king's idea, and they also believed that the final victory could only be achieved by abandoning those small towns and areas with ambiguous attitudes (such as Zeeland), leaving no garrisons for the time being, and concentrating all the main military forces on the five provinces of Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, and North and South Holland, led by Amsterdam. Just like a hunter hunting a bear, it would be a foolish mistake to spend too much energy on the bear's heavy fur or thick, but not lethal body, and the only way to do it is to plunge a bullet or dagger into the bear's throat or heart.

Amsterdam is the heart of the Netherlands, this is the last battle of the Netherlands, it can also be said that Louis XIV's first or last battle with foreign countries - The countries that did not expect the French army to be so fierce and ferocious, and that the Netherlands would be so fierce and fierce that the Netherlands would be thrown into such a situation, were hastily recruiting soldiers and gathering troops, and they and Louis XIV were buying time, and if Louis XIV did not get Amsterdam before the other countries intervened in this war, then they would brazenly raise their troops and force Louis XIV to give up all the fruits of his previous victory, at least a large part of it, and if Louis preempted to become the lord of the Netherlands, then they would have to intervene in a different and moderate way...... What they can get from Louie also depends on whether Louis is willing to give it.

Louis did not even dare to continue borrowing from the merchants of his own country, who were either English, Italians, or Dutch, and the last loan the king had borrowed from them was used for the last battle—the merchants had taken a thick stack of bonds, and had brought real money, and the pounds, guilders, and florins, were packed in boxes, and when they arrived in the city of Nalden, the hooves of the Shire horses pulling the carriage were constantly trembling— These stout horses with four hooves have always been good at transporting goods, but they probably have never pulled such "valuable" goods.

The boxes were inspected by the king's tax collector and sent directly to a small city in front of Naarden, which was under Amsterdam, called Moiden, which is also interesting to say, Moyden was neither attacked nor taken the initiative to open the city to give the key, but several soldiers, together with their non-commissioned officers, got lost after probing the battlefield, and when they saw the walls and gates, they went up and asked for directions, but after they waited for a few minutes, the gate opened, and the mayor came out with the key, it turned out that they thought that the French had already called, as a small city, they looked at the mercenaries who were less than a hundred people, I thought it was better not to trouble each other - the non-commissioned officer was also taken aback, but he was a native of Versailles, and the officer in charge of teaching them had mentioned how such a thing should be handled, so the non-commissioned officer immediately sent a soldier to report the news, and the soldier met Captain Vauban on the way, although it was only a small town, Vauban did not let his guard down in the slightest, and while he let the soldier continue to report to the Viscount of Tyrrenne, he took his company, about three hundred men, into Moiden.

They arrived unpleasantly, untimely, for the men of Moydon had discovered that they had made a mistake, and were planning to kill these fools who were so stupid as to get lost in the enemy's territory at the feast—the arrival of Vauban shattered their illusions, and they were at once docile again— However, they still tried to confuse Captain Vauban, but this Captain Sebattisian had a heart of steel, and the only thing that could shake it was the king and the war, and when the messenger of the Viscount of Tyrrenne arrived on horseback overnight, he learned that Vauban had mastered several important people in the city, and asked them to write to the mayor and councillors of the mirror city, Wisp, not far from them, asking them to surrender to the King of France like Moyden.

Here we have to mention the terrain between Naarden and Amsterdam, between Naarden and Amsterdam, is a narrow area like a woman's waist, and Wisp and Moyden are just on both sides of the waist, and the plain between them is just enough to meet Louis's garrison requirements- Of course, even if Louis XIV had not devoted all his military forces to the Battle of Amsterdam (which was really not that large), the number of soldiers here reached 30,000, and this number of soldiers was not acceptable to a small city like Nalden, who surrendered because of a misunderstanding, and Wisp, who was framed by it, formed an elongated triangle with Narden, and three cities were just enough to meet the needs of the king's army.

And the soldiers in this triangle, like the sword of the king, point to Amsterdam, which is only ten miles away.

————

Louis XIV took a rare potion of wizards before going to bed, guaranteeing himself a quiet and dreamless night, and when he awoke he was in good spirits and bright-eyed, and today he did not wear the fine clothes of the merchants, but chose a coat that, although also royal blue, was very similar in style to his military uniform, except that his hat was adorned with what was probably the longest ostrich feather ever built, which was not only long, but also fluffy, and stayed above the king's head like a shining cloud.

Captain Vauban built a high platform for the king, according to "tradition", on which a huge white tent was erected, and the banners of the Sun King and France were hung, and the king's soldiers were neatly arranged under the high platform, and when they saw a man surrounded by ministers and generals appear in front of them, they suddenly burst into a loud shout!

The king made only one gesture, and they fell silent, and this majesty could not help but make a deep chill chill in the onlookers, who had bargained with the Marquis de Loiss, not to mention the king's authority, even their own lives, but now they felt deeply the horror of the monarch, and at the slightest sign of his signal, these rude soldiers would pounce on them and tear them into pieces that could not be put together—Louis XIV did not notice them at all: "My soldiers ......," he said.

Thirty thousand is a rather terrible number, even if there is a high platform in Vauban, with Louie's throat and vocal cords alone, even if he shouts to the point of hoarseness, only the soldiers who are no more than a hundred feet old can hear what he is saying, but since Louis dared to use a witch in the field councilor, now he also dares to use a wizard to amplify his voice to ensure that everyone hears his voice, the soldiers were surprised and turned their heads curiously, of course, they couldn't notice anything, they could only think that it was a miracle.

"My soldiers," asked Louis, "have you got your bread?"

Unexpectedly, the king would be the first to ask such a question, and the soldiers could not help but smile while being stunned: "Got it!" they cried, it was the best white bread, with sugar and salt.

"Where's the meat?"

"Got it. ”

"What about wine?"

"I got it too!" and then the soldiers shouted, "Thank you so much, my majesty!"

"So, today, you can get some other shiny little things. Louis said, and then the carriages slowly turned from behind the high platform into the passage between the arrays, and although they did not know what was inside, some of the veteran soldiers had already guessed - after all, these ruts were so deep that they could put down a finger, and they became excited, and kept talking to each other, and the officers quickly opened the boxes, and sure enough, they were full of shiny little things, and each soldier could receive three gold florins, or gold pounds, or gold guilders, ten silver coins, and for each person distributed, the officer said: " The king thanks you for all you have done for him. ”

The money the king had collected from the merchant last night had been squandered in just an hour, but it was worth it— In this era, generals and kings often owe their soldiers money, sometimes decades or even centuries, a country may have changed the king's banner, and it is common for veterans to still ask for their money when they fought for the king of the previous dynasty, and Louis's soldiers were willing to fight for their king for several years without interruption, because Louis was able to do not default on his salary, they sent the money home, the family did not starve, or equipped themselves with horses and weapons, but also to improve the survival rate on the battlefield, if they were injured, they did not have to worry about the future lifeThe reward given by Louis today was a complete surprise.

A soldier suddenly walked out of the queue, and just as his commander was about to reprimand him, he suddenly shouted: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward, but what else can we do for you?

As he spoke, the soldiers around him began to clamor along with him.

"I don't need anyone to fetch water for me, my good boys," said Louis, and the cries from below died down in an instant, and the soldiers listened attentively to the king's words: "As your commander said, these shiny little things are only to thank you for all that you have done for me, good people. He said with sincere emotion: "I know that you have been fighting for nine seasons in this strange place for the sake of France, for Bourbon, for your king, and that you must have been tired, my soldiers, yes, even I am almost exhausted, not to mention you, but listen to me, we are about to reach the end!"

"Behold, just before you, less than ten fathoms, is our end, our place of glory! My soldiers, my generals, my ministers, if we take Amsterdam, we will be triumphant, and we will go home! I swear to you, good children, that you will not go back empty-handed! Your purses will be full of gold and silver, and your carriages will be full of silk and wool! You have necklaces around your necks and rings on your hands, your fathers and mothers will dance around you with joy, your wives, or the girls you like, will be able to wear the most beautiful clothes! Your children, whether they are born or not, are destined to no longer have to work in the fields or be beaten by their masters in the workshops!

And all of this is very close to you!

Go, my soldiers, to Amsterdam!

Then we will be able to go home, back to France, with victory and gold!"

"Hooray!" replied the soldiers, like a landslide and tsunami.

The officers mounted their horses, and with the sound of the horn, the behemoth, which was terrifying to the sight of it, turned slowly and set off with a hot heart.

————

"I didn't expect you to say that. Viscount Tirrena said.

"Compare hearts to hearts," Louis slumped down in his chair, and where there were no strangers, he could look tired, "I am tired, you are tired, and so are our soldiers, and we have beaten Flanders, and then Holland, without interval, and some of them have not seen their relatives for years, sleeping in their bedrooms—and if anything can drive them more easily than a heavy load of gold or silver, then the only way to do it is to go home, of course," he said jokingly. " It's best to go home with a bulging pocket. ”

"You really have a delicate and correct understanding of people's hearts. "From the tenth century onwards, the generals and kings were most troubled by the fact that the soldiers could not hold on to a long war, they may just be tired of fighting, or they may be afraid of constant injuries and deaths, or they may be worried about their relatives, anyway, at the end of every war, a large number of escapes are inevitable, and it is very unexpected that these soldiers can hold out for so long, and it is very unexpected that the king can bring up what they fear the most, as an incentive to the soldiers.

"It's also a matter of no choice," Louis said, "and I'd prefer to do it in other ways if possible." ”

"What else can you do? I have heard some very bad rumors, Your Majesty, that you have mortgaged all the Fontainebleau. Viscount Tirrena just said casually, but he didn't expect the king to deny it: "...... Oh my God," he whispered, "are you crazy?"