Prince Condé's greatest enemy was in fact not Monsieur Lorraine the Younger, but Jan Sobiesky. The sturdy soldier was twenty-nine years old, in the prime of life, and now he was in Versailles, and Louis glanced at him as he walked through the hall because of the sudden turn of events, and it was a stout middle-aged man, with olive skin, dark eyes, hair, and a curly mustache, and he did not smile as any soldier, and bowed when he saw that the king was watching him.

Louis and Prince Condé were a little hesitant about this man, how to say, this Monsieur Sobiesky needless to say is also a Schlachita, who was born into a noble family, his mother's grandfather was in a high position, and he was at the top of Madame de Montespan's list— He was also one of the first nobles to accept bribes, promising to elect the Prince of Condé in accordance with Louis XIV's wishes, but Madame de Montespan, in her later information, also made it clear that this Monsieur Sobieski may have been happy to accept a French king at first, but in recent years he has made no secret of his hostility to Michal, who was at least a Pole, and that he was so disrespectful to his own king not because France satisfied his greed, but because he was also interested in the Polish throne— Perhaps it was because a man like Michal could become a king, and this king was not even as good as John II, so why couldn't he try to be on the throne?

It is likely that he accepted the bribe because he was now in Versailles, and if he showed his ambition and rejected Louis XIV, it is difficult to say whether he could return to Poland intact - Louis XIV could not kill him, but he could also find a false reason to tie him to Versailles or Paris, where he could not get out of it alone - so should we take the opportunity to execute him and eliminate the hidden danger? Prince Condé did not think that was a good idea, because Sobiesky was a rather admirable general, and in the war against the Ottoman Turks, he was one of the few people who was able to achieve victory from the Ottoman Turks.

The Prince of Condé was not afraid to fight the infidels, the problem was that he could not look at the chest and the back at the same time, in this case, the best way was to really convince the ambitious general that he could drive for the Prince of Condé, except that Louis had to find the bull's-eye that could be directly hit. What he didn't know was that Sobieski was also distressed at this time, he didn't know whether he should give up his ambition for the Polish throne, because if he wanted to compare the financial and manpower with the French king who had already obtained the Netherlands and Flanders, he was only one of the great nobles, he had no chance of winning, and he even envied Prince Condé a little, everyone knew that Prince Condé had set off a rebellion and pointed to the throne, but his king not only did not have the slightest fear of him, doubted his intentions, but was also willing to support him to become the king of Poland.

And the former John II, or now Michal I, Sobiesky's perception is not very good, John II's Vasa dynasty, three kings in a row, love Sweden more than Poland, day and night is to return to Sweden, re-ascend to the throne, although John II can also be said to be a great effort, but in 1655, the war between Sweden and Poland could have been avoided - People only see that he first opposed John II, and then changed course and expelled the Swedes, in fact, it was just an attempt to use the Swedes to make John II abdicate, but he did not want to really abandon Poland to the Swedes, of course, his behavior made John II very dissatisfied, but he could not hide Sobiesky's great exploits in any way, and the power of the noble council was much greater than that of the king, Sobiesky became the generalissimo in 65 and the commander-in-chief of the Polish army in 67.

Needless to say, Sobiesky was regarded as the greatest obstacle by Michal I, and although the king was cowardly by nature, he always tried to restrain Sobiesky, and when Sobiesky was at war with the Tatars, Cossacks, and Ottoman Turks, he took the opportunity to contact other nobles and directly threaten Sobiesky's domain.

Yes, he hated Michal I and made his own plans, as long as he could return to Poland, the problem was that the voices of Schlachita, who could never be united, reappeared, and this time they harmed not only Michal I, but also Sobiesky, who asked the king of France to take his leave, but was immediately retained, and Sobieski knew that Louis XIV would not get a satisfactory answer and would probably not let him go.

After the victory banquet on the 15th, most of the envoys had already left Versailles, some were anxious, some were reluctant, and the envoys who remained could have a room in the Palace of Versailles, Sobiesky had heard that the palace had 1,800 rooms, but the suite he had undoubtedly exceeded the size of an envoy, it was a small suite of three rooms, and every day various invitations were handed to his desk, as well as money bags containing the Golden Louis, beautiful and luxurious clothes, sturdy and tall horses, and even a barking dog...... It has to be said that if Sobiesky had been just an envoy, he would have been delighted, in addition to the opulent Versailles, which is like a paradise on earth, there are constant theatrical performances, concerts, hunting and picnic parties, and in the evenings there are feasts for the gods, and after a full meal you can walk through the halls to dance, gamble, play billiards and even have private meetings with the ladies......

Sobieski had no doubt that if he had not been in charge, he would have indulged in the all-pervasive revelry, and Charles II of England was called the King of Pleasure, and he was asked to say that Louis XIV of France was entitled to do so.

It was the third month of his stay in Versailles, and Sobieski could no longer bear it, and his wife, Maricinca da Quin, a Frenchman, was trying to find an escape for Sobiesky—perhaps in the last few days, Sobiesky had noticed that he had lost sight around him, but tonight he had been invited by Madame de Montespan—and she had received permission from the king to hold a masquerade ball in the Venus Room.

For the people of Versailles, the masquerade ball was nothing new, but it was the first party held by the king's new royal lady, and it was of great significance, and no one dared to test the weight of this lady in the king's heart, just as no one could deny her beauty- The king and queen also appeared in the guise of Jupiter and Juno respectively, and the queen soon retired, leaving the place to the king and Mrs. Montespan, who was rightfully dressed as Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, wearing a long tunic and a long toga, boldly exposing her arms and half a chest, and her hair was adorned with white roses, and although she wore a silver mask, even women could not help but be shaken by the flow of her eyes.

Sobiesky pretended to be a god of fauna, which is commonly known as the god Pan, with the hooves of a goat and fur from the knees down, and his costume was realistic enough to fit the gist of the masquerade ball compared to the others. Masquerade evolved 3,000 years ago as a night of the Celts living in Ireland at the turn of the New Year to avoid the sacrificial rites of the souls brought by the god of death on their torsos (which are said to take the place of the living).

A fat figure swept past Sobiesky, who glanced curiously at him, a fellow dressed as Bacchus, the god of wine, who had no difficulty recognizing it as Cardinal Larivière, though he wore a mask, a robe, and many grape branches made of silk and satin— In the Roman Church, masquerade balls were frowned upon, but at a time when popes and cardinals were in high spirits dressing up as pagan gods in the halls of the Vatican, the precepts were a dead letter. However, this was not the reason why Sobiesky paid attention to him, Cardinal La Rivière was also one of Louis XIV's favorite courtiers, if he was willing to say a word for Sobiesky, he could withstand the words of others a thousand times, Sobiesky immediately chased after him, but at this time the half-drunk crowd immediately swallowed up the figure of Mr. Bishop, and Sobiesky only chased a few steps, and he was never seen again.

And at this time, His Majesty was gone—his presence was enough to show his affection for Madame de Montespan, after all, it was known that His Majesty did not like such occasions, and people were on their knees to send the King, and Sobieski was no exception.

When the music was played again, Sobieski returned to the back of the pillar in a daze, completely unprepared to deal with the wandering Frenchmen, and a few minutes later some of the "Mizusawa Nymphs" spotted him, and took him by the arm with a smile, trying to get him to participate in their game— Sobieski was not a strict Puritan, but as a Catholic he also believed that he should be faithful to marriage, which was not the norm at the time, but it would not be too surprising to know how he ended up married to his wife, Mariscinka.

Sobiesky's first wife was the sister of John II Casimir, but the person he always loved was Marishenka Daquin, and when they fell in love at first sight, Marishenka was still a married woman, although they later had their own families, but after the death of Sobiesky's wife, he has been waiting for Marishenka, and in the fifth month after the death of Marishenka's husband, he couldn't wait to propose to Marishenka, no matter how others criticize, their relationship is quite sincere.

While Sobiesky was pestering with the maids, a "Mercury" with a snake staff came to his aid, but before Sobiesky could thank him, he lit the snake staff and said, "Don't worry, sir," he said, "I have come to deliver a letter to you." ”

"Whose letter?"

"The master here," said Mercury, pun intended, "the goddess of love and beauty, invites you to her little hall, and she wants to talk to you." ”

"It's a great honor. Sobieski said that the royal lady, Madame de Montespan, was of course a lobbyist for them, and that in her letter to him Maricinka said that she had offered her a diamond ring, the size of a hazelnut, to which she seemed to have at last impressed her, and although Sobieski had high hopes at the time of the invitation, he could say that victory was in sight when he heard that Madame de Montespan was willing to see him in person, especially when His Majesty had only been away for a short time.

He clenched his fists and followed "Mercury" into the little room, which, unlike the brightly lit and mirror-flickering Venus Hall, whose walls were covered with brocade wallcoverings and hung with heavy velvet, where Madame de Montspan was half-lying on a couch, and a rich breath came with a scorching breeze— This balm, which is mainly composed of nutmeg and rose, Sobieski also bought it for his wife, but even if he loved her deeply, he must admit that no one was more suitable for this balm full of irritation and seduction than this lady.

"You may be seated, sir. Madame Montespan said.

——————

Sobieski finally got what he wanted from Madame de Montespan, who was willing to speak for him, of course, at a great price, but it was worth it for Sobiesky, and he almost left Versailles in despair.

"I don't know what choice he'll make. Standing on the terrace, watching a little torch fade into the darkness, Prince Condé said with a complicated temperament.

"He was a Pole," Louis said, "and he still had a love for his country, and even if his ambition trumped his patriotism, his actions would have caused others to dislike." ”

"Those Schlachita won't ask much of a foreigner king, but they will find fault with their marshal. "I hope that there will never be such a person in France." ”

"This is precisely the scourge of the so-called aristocratic democracy," Louis said, "and too much decentralization of power will not lead to success, but only to perfunctory, procrastination and prevarication." ”

"Madame de Montespan......" Prince Condé said but stopped.

"I've had a guess, but now I'm a little unsure......" Louis skimmed over a word, "They shouldn't have fallen to this point." ”

————

Jan Sobiesky, unable to get tired, left the Paris basin in one breath, where his wife and companions were waiting for him in a town, and before he could smile at them, he was startled by their heavy looks.

"Two pieces of bad news, sir," said one of his subordinates, "you want to hear that?"

"Is there a difference?" said Maricinka, who stepped forward and took Sobiesky's arm: "Michal I is dead. ”

"It doesn't seem too bad. Sobieski tried to put a smile on his face. "Let's talk about the second one. ”

"The Tatars of Ripka rebelled, and they brought in an army of about 80,000 Ottoman Turks. ”