The painters of this era have always had the habit of painting themselves in group portraits, sometimes they are sinners (as Michelangelo showed in the Sistine Zenith), sometimes they are spectators (like Botticoni in "The Doctor's Visit"), sometimes they are simply the painters as they are, (the mirror of "Portrait of Arnolfini and Couple" is reflected in the mirror of the Dutch painter Jan van Eyck), and "Seven Blind Men" The last man is Bruegel, who gives the impression of a haggard old man, in fact he was only forty-four years old when he "died", in the prime of life, and from the picture is a strong farmer, his body exudes a thick smell of oil paint, and the pupils in his eyes are only a little the size of a pinpoint, which is intimidating.

The Chancellor gripped the armrest of the chair behind him, as if to give himself a little courage, but Bruegel only sneered, he was the disciple who most resembled Bosch, but not the most gifted and liked him, perhaps precisely because Bruegel's soul was also as evil as Bosch, and his fit with Bosch made Bosch lose his interest in torturing him - Bruegel firmly believed that this was the teacher's love for him, well, whatever the devil said, "It seems that you have thought it through." He looked around and said arrogantly, "Mr. Prime Minister." ”

"Make a deal with you, and I'll definitely go to hell, but it's okay, I'll see my enemies ahead of me. ”

"I don't know how you can convince the despicable merchants," said Bruegel, "but do not forget that we are wizards, and followers of the devil, Mr. Chancellor, and you will be punished with the most terrible reprisal for breaking your pact with us." ”

The Chancellor's heart palpitated at the thought of the annuities, the lands, and the mansions that Bruegel had demanded—and the slaves—and he knew that the parliamentarians had hired wizards to do things, but that those wizards were almost all in the colonies to deal with the infidels—as if there was a tacit understanding, and that the merchants had enemies in Holland and in Europe as a whole, but that they had never made the situation so bad as to require wizards to be involved, and that had nothing to do with their faith, and last of all caution, but today, John de Witte was about to break the taboo.

"If they don't want to," said the Prime Minister, gritting his teeth, "I will sell all my assets and complete the deed." ”

"That's great. Bruegel said that he came from a peasant family, and of course he did not have a good opinion of these merchants, let alone tell him that the remnants of the Flemish dark wizards had decided to snipe King Louis XIV of France again- Since he was the first to break the barrier between the inner world and the outer world, then he had to bear the consequences, and Bruegel still had a little selfishness of his own, that is, he heard that when he completed the curse on the king of France, Boss did not summon him but summoned Rubens, which made Bruegel, who was already jealous and hated Rubens, angry, if he could complete the work that the teacher failed to do, then, wouldn't it mean that he not only surpassed Rubens, but also surpassed Bosch?

Bosch's reputation among the Flemish dark wizards was almost ruined, but it was no less powerful, and Bruegel was fighting for his place to stay, and cursing a king was a medallion – just like Bosch's role in the death of Louis XIII.

After a final deep glance at the Chancellor, Bruegel returned to the picture, and the brown bearded farmer was motionless again, but the expression on his face was a little more sarcastic.

The Prime Minister found that his mouth was full of blood—he had gritted his teeth too hard and hurt his gums, so he hurried back to his office, lifted the silver jug, poured a full glass of wine, drank it with his own blood, looked in the mirror, wiped the remaining blood between his teeth with a silk scarf, and went to the civic hall to meet the messenger of Leopold I.

Leopold I, if he could still endure when France attacked Flanders, and only secretly contacted other countries in Europa to fight against France, then after Louis XIV obtained the whole of Flanders, not only did not withdraw his troops, but even continued to increase the bargaining chips, everyone could see that his appetite was unexpected, even if it was only the first time to drive in person, he not only captured Fmerders, but also captured the Netherlands.

The Low Countries, that is, the whole of the Netherlands, were in fact originally Habsburg domains, but the Habsburgs gradually weakened over time, which gave his vassals and enemies an opportunity, how could he endure Louis XIV's step-by-step pressure - even if his secret pact with Louis XIV was still in the hands of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, but now, could Spain still not see that Leopold I must have had some plans of his own? Leopold I had decided not to disguise his actions against France, and sent emissaries to Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Brandenburg, Spain, and the territories of the various princes of the Holy Roman Empire with great fanfare, in an effort to strangle French ambitions in the cradle.

No one knows what the conversation between Leopold I's envoy and Mr. Prime Minister is, but after that, Mr. Prime Minister's envoy also quickly went to the surrounding countries and regions, including Sweden and England, and Mr. Prime Minister was also a businessman, and the merchant always knew when to accept the fact of loss, but as long as he kept the foundation, there was always a chance to earn back.

————

The emissaries of Mr. Prime Minister and the emissaries of Louis XIV met on Queen's Island in Stockholm.

Louis was never a man of arrogance, and he also knew that as long as the kings were in need, they could tear up the covenant anytime and anywhere - the game between countries never allowed the existence of innocence and dignity, only interests, interests in all respects - the envoy of France came with confidence, after all, the princess of France had a marriage contract with the king of Sweden, and he came to send a portrait of the princess every year, and he also wanted to bring back the portrait of the king- Princess Elizabeth is a year older, the girl matures quickly, and the court painter LeBron will also bring this kind of portrait closer to the dignified and elegant, unlike the mediocre mother, Queen Teresa, the little princess's appearance is similar to her father's, with a slight upward curve, as if she is always smiling at the corners of her mouth, and a pair of jewel blue eyes like a lake under the snow, her skin is as white as cream, there is no excessive jewelry on her body, only wearing a bead chain given to her by King Carl XI of Sweden, a round pendant hangs on the bead chain, and in the pendant is a small portrait of Carl XI, although behind her is a curtain of golden lilies, but on her head is a crown of lily of the valleyThe lily of the valley is an extremely common flower in Sweden, and the meaning is self-evident.

Karl XI was fifteen years old this year, and was already a real teenager, as Louis XIV expected, even if he was not very handsome, but at least he was healthy and strong, he was almost as tall as the Count of Dardane, the messenger of France, and his dark hair and eyes made him look more mature, but when he was around the Queen Mother, he was silent, and could only glimpse a little of the young man's spring heart from the gesture of glancing at the portrait from time to time, and his satisfaction with the marriage— Although the marriage between the kingdoms at this time was more like a covenant, who would not want to have a beautiful wife? In any case, the orthodox heir can only be born from the womb of the queen, and no matter how beautiful the royal wife is, their children will never be recognized by the people and the princes.

The Count of d'Artagnan was already gray, but his age did not affect his grace in the slightest, and the brilliant results he had easily achieved in Paris and Versailles were repeated again in Stockholm, and the Queen Mother of Sweden was constantly laughing at him, and of course would not refuse him to go out hunting with the king - when the Count of d'Artagnan got on his horse, he jumped up without help, and his posture was so beautiful and refreshing that Karl XI could not help but applaud.

The hunting grounds on Queen's Island are just a bush by the sea, after all, this can only be said to be the king's residence - John III, his younger brother is Karl IX, that is, Karl X's father-in-law, Karl XI's maternal grandfather, this palace was built by John III for his queen Polish princess Catherine, this island is also called Queen's Island, but to say how beautiful and rich this island is...... "there are still a lot of goats here." Karl XI said.

Of course, the long-sleeved Count d'Artagnan would not say anything to disappoint the fun: "Oh, Your Majesty," he said courteously, "I like lamb the most." ”

A few shots caught the attention of several fishermen, but they soon realized that it was the king hunting, so they raised their hats in high spirits, waved them at Karl XI, and went on to their work.

The Count of d'Artagnan took this to heart, adjusted the crosshair of the spear, and then, his results were not inferior to the king, and as he speculated, Karl XI was not only not angry, but also relieved, he reminded d'Artagnan of his king, when he came to the king, Louis XIV was the same age as Karl XI now, but not all kings were like this? Karl XI's mother, Ilionora, is not as good as the French Queen Mother Anne, Karl XI's education has been greatly delayed, although he has set a marriage date with the French princess, but his French is still very bad, and it is bad to reach d'Anignan to guess that the Queen Mother of Sweden allowed him and the king to go out hunting so easily, is it because even if they want to do something, they can't communicate freely without a translator.

You know, at such a critical moment, there is no room for mistakes or misunderstandings.

Behind the king's retinue, which were filled with goats and rabbits they had hunted, the king, who spoke almost as little as a peasant could write on a piece of paper, suddenly raised his horsewhip, pointed forward, and then suddenly rode forward, and only d'Artagnan of those present reacted— Perhaps it was because he was a musketeer after all, or perhaps because he had been keeping an eye on the king's every move, but he quickly pursued him, and before everyone else, they were swiftly weaving through the sparse woods, constantly being whipped by the hanging branches, and d'Artagnan's heart was beating violently—not for himself, but for the Swedish king if he would break his neck by such an impulsive act.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, Karl XI stopped, and d'Artagnan found them running under a deserted cliff, the protruding tongue rock pressed against their heads like a huge canopy, and not far away was the gray water, and Karl XI turned his horse's head, and d'Artagnan looked along his line of sight, and saw that it was a corner of the palace beyond the treetops.

"This palace was built by John III for his queen Catherine," said Karl XI, in that slow, biting as fast as possible to pronounce it correctly, "it, well, burned down nine years ago, and now it ...... We've done some repairs, sir," he said, turning his head to d'Artagnan, "can I have the privilege of knowing...... What about Princess Elizabeth's preferences?"

D'Artagnan's heart jumped suddenly, he immediately understood, even if the Queen Mother of Sweden and the regent wavered, but Karl XI still decided to fulfill the covenant with France, although now the young king has not yet been in power, but his performance is not inferior to any king, he not only revealed his attitude, but also directly with the envoy of the King of France, which can almost be said to be an omen, as a Frenchman, d'Artagnan is of course happy to see it, after all, Karl XI is in vain, or in power, directly affecting the situation of Princess Elizabeth, just like Queen TeresaAlthough the Queen Mother and the people in the French court did not like her very much, she could still be respected and favored because of Louis's authority.

"I will convey this to the princess, and ask her to tell you in her letter. ”

Karl XI smiled kindly, and King Louis XIV of France did not restrain his daughter too much— This is not quite like the education of the Spanish court, everyone knows that the Spanish court is a representative of the old-fashioned and harsh, Princess Elizabeth and Karl XI have always exchanged letters, from these letters, which are as simple and clear as possible, but not lacking in sincerity, it can be seen that Princess Elizabeth is not as vulgar and ignorant as the noble ladies that Karl XI has seen, she said that she was educated with her brother, and even under the guidance of her father, her letters also prove this- There is almost nothing empty and boring, even if it is a small matter, the princess can make Carl XI read it with relish, and then even more thoughtful - it is such a wife that he needs, and Carl XI almost has to thank Lady Christina, the former Queen of Sweden, after all, if she was not so reckless and short-sighted, King Louis XIV of France would not have easily given up on her and turned to support Carl XI.

But today, he is speaking to Princess Elisabeth, and even more so to King Louis XIV of France, who does not approve of the ideas of some ministers - in other cases, Princess Elizabeth can get a Flemish fief as a dowry, and will the Netherlands be willing to cede a province, even if it is just a port city, The Hague or Absterdam to Sweden?

And anyone can see that Louis XIV had a very big chance of winning.

"By the way, Your Majesty," said Count d'Artagnan suddenly, "do you know Livonia?"