The Grand Marshire had heard of it, but she was no longer the little girl who panicked at the slightest hint of the wind two years ago, even if someone deliberately whispered it to her to hear—she would go to her father or uncle at once, and the King and the Duke of Orleans would immediately expel them from Versailles, if not to cut off each other's tongues.

Anyone who could be allowed to live in Versailles would not be an ordinary nobleman, and it was once said that they were a small king in their domain. But when they were actually "invited" out of the room, and saw the carriage waiting outside, and the luggage being rudely packed and thrown out, there would even be people crying out loud - if it was twenty years ago, although they were a little regretful but not unacceptable, but twenty years later, the king's magistrate, the magistrate who walked out of the high court, The police system and the garrison have long created a steely net for this majesty, and no one and nothing can get rid of their eyes and shackles, and when they return to their territory, they are at most a little more decent than ordinary squires, and it is impossible to hold power as before.

The Grand Princess's unsympathetic and resolute behavior made the envoys of Brandenburg hesitate, and he felt that the princesses of France did not seem to be as gentle and amiable as he had learned before, "Who gave you such an illusion?" said Frederick in surprise: " Her father was the richest Duke of Orleans in France, the king's most trusted brother, and an undefeated general, and her uncle was Louis XIV, the Sun King with a standing army of 150,000, who had conquered France a new territory almost equal to one-third of its original territory before the age of forty, and even the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I did not dare to speak directly to him—why should she be deferential to a group of villains who should have their noses?"

He smiled, "I know a little bit of my father's thoughts," said the young lord, who was merry in the gossip of the court, pinching his cane, "but the problem is that such a ...... is to be dealt with for the sake of an empty promise," he said, nodding out the window, "look at the officers and soldiers, sir, while we and Leopold I were still dealing with the leaders of the mercenaries, the French we saw were proud to be in the king's army, and the women chased them like butterflies chasing flowers— Look at them, what do you think of?"

The envoy was silent for a moment: "Romans, Your Highness." ”

"The Romans," Frederick said, looking at a column of soldiers walking down the street, coming out of a furniture store, one carrying a small wooden horse, one carrying a beautiful chair, and one carrying a folding ladder, and they lined up on the sidewalk, and then walked forward in unison: "How beautiful, sir, I read in the books about Luculus, Scipio the Great, Pompey, Antony, Caesar, Octavian's blood boiled when I was like these people, and how I wished I could go back a thousand years and fight side by side with those wise and valiant generals, but unfortunately, when I walked into the barracks, I saw something, I saw erosion, depravity, shamelessness and inferiority...... The so-called general is like a merchant who buys and sells the lives of soldiers, and the soldiers rush to avoid battle, flee and surrender, and if they leave the sight of the captain, they are to be raped and slaughtered, even to those who employ them, and wherever there is a war, people are roulin twice, once as an enemy and once as a 'friend'. ”

"In the Holy Roman Empire, in Brandenburg and Prussia, in Italy, in Hungary or Spain, the people around him would be ashamed to think of someone looking for work in the army, but in France, Louis XIV had a standing army of 150,000 and had already shocked the nations, and now tell me how many people would flock to Louis XIV if he issued an edict to call up more soldiers?" he said calmly. " And with the Dutch and Flanders victories, all the bankers could not wait to agree to the king's loan, even if he had no collateral. Sir, there are plenty of troops, a large number of people, advanced weapons and tactics, and so many famous generals, and he even opened a military academy - what kind of victory can't he take?"

"But other countries will not turn a blind eye - they will not allow a second Roman Empire to emerge. The envoy whispered.

I also used this reason to convince my father. Frederick grinned, "Sir, the world is now destined not to allow a behemoth like the Roman Empire to appear, so what did Louis XIV rely on to make France permanent, if not forever, to continue its brilliant life as much as possible?" In fact, Louis XIV was already doing this, and if the marriage with Karl XI of Sweden was for the Netherlands and Flanders, and the marriage of the Dauphin of France to the princess of Portugal was for the sake of faith and Spain, then what was the matter with his plot to make Prince Condé king of Poland?

"He was for the Polish-Bourbons. Frederick lamented: "Such a thing, Habsburg did, now it is Bourbon's turn." ”

"I think I understand what you mean," said the envoy, "but if you decide to marry the Grand Lord, Leopold I will never allow Prussia to become a state." ”

"Is it true that Leopold I will live forever?" said Frederick lightly, "with the support of Louis XIV and the dowry of the lord of the county, what does it matter if a title is made? He stood up: "I think the most important thing for us now is to settle this marriage." ”

He sighed: "The lord is not the kind of noble girl who will giggle and be fascinated by me as long as she says a little sweet words and gives some jewelry. ”

Frederick's distress was also the biggest obstacle for all the suitors of the Grand Princess, and even the Celestial Princess.

Because the eldest princess had long been determined to be the queen of Karl XI of Sweden, in order to ensure that her daughter would not suffer the torments that her mother and grandmother had encountered, Louis ordered his ministers and generals to open lecture halls in the court—this kind of thing was shocking, not to mention the princess who either married or studied in the monastery, and even the second son like the Duke of Orleans would not have received such a systematic and profound education- Louis XIV not only did this, but also made the Grand Marses a classmate of Princess Celestia.

But now it seems that this education was quite effective (though somewhat counterproductive to the Grand Lord), and the Celestial Princess, who corresponded first with King Karl XI of Sweden and then with Versailles in Paris for a time, it can be seen that Karl XI was able to communicate with himself in literature, Artistically, and even politically, it is as easy to communicate as if they were at their fingertips, and they can gallop with them, and the future wife who hunts and cruises the river is very satisfied, or rather, if she is not an incompetent, stupid, narrow-minded idiot, as a husband, of course, will also like a companion who can walk side by side with her.

In the past two years, the king found from the lord of the county that they were still a little lacking in education, so he and the Duke of Orleans took the children to most of France, to broaden their horizons and clear their minds, so that they would not be trapped in a small setback and unable to break free—at least the children saw that their worries were not only not worth mentioning compared to the poor commoners, but were easy to solve.

The Duke of Orleans, even jokingly saying that he was simply raising the king and queen while drinking with his royal brother...... The king replied that he was not wrong.

The lord of the county raised in this way is like a beautiful castle, and everyone will be shocked by its magnificence and grandeur, but it is not easy to capture it, and the gentleman under the noble lady's skirt is afraid that the loss of the gentleman under the skirt of this noble lady is not less than the soldiers lost by Louis XIV in the battle of the Netherlands.

Especially now that she lacked almost nothing - jewels, status, honor, love, and any courtesy could only be described as the icing on the cake. Not to mention marriage, most of the people who just wanted to impress the lord of the county and make her say a few kind words in front of the Duke and King of Orleans were all disappointed...... Some young people who don't have enough city government can't even hold on to a minuet under the calm but clear eyes of the lord or princess.

Frederick was well aware that he had few advantages, but heavy, one of which was that he was the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Brandenburg-Prussia and was destined to inherit everything from his father.

Second......

He stood up, straightened his clothes under the bewildering gaze of the envoy, and put on his hat, "To-day you are going to take care of yourself, sir," he said, "I have made an appointment with the lord of the county to meet." ”

The envoy opened his mouth wide, "Wait, who?" he looked at Frederick in disbelief, who was not dressed as he usually did in Brandenburg, and even a little shabby—a dark brown coat with only a little embroidery of the same color at the edges, light yellow amber buttons, black military boots up to the knees under the leggings, muskets and daggers hanging from the calfskin belt, only the diamond pin on the hat, and the white lace collar turned over the coat barely fit his class.

Frederick didn't say anything more, but went out the door, stepped on his beloved gray horse, and waved his hat at the envoy as he left.

He rode his horse through two streets into the market, and as the horse's hooves trampled past the people, he gazed at the streets with curiosity like any young nobleman tired of hunting and card games, and some people nodded politely to him, saluted, or bowed, but no one recognized him, he was soaking up the sun and smiling, and one of the shopkeepers could not help but shout, "Pretty sir!" he asked, "God forbid, have you met with anything good?"

"Yes," replied Frederick, "there is a great good thing waiting for me!"

This is also different from Brandenburg, Vienna and other places, the people of Paris and Versailles do not seem to have much ill towards the aristocracy - but this is also a matter of the last twenty years, mainly because the most vicious and subordinated nobles have passed through Richelieu, After the rebellion of Mazarin and the two slingers (here I don't say what kind of good people these two bishops were, it was just that the greedy hyena met the cruel lion) was cleaned up a lot, and when Louis XIV came into power, and the old people led by Fouquet were cut down by the king, and when the war against the Netherlands and Flanders ended, a large number of new nobles appeared in the army, and they were just like the original robed nobles, who were promoted by the king to move beyond the original class, and must have formed a system of their own, and because they were only craftsmen and peasants before, they did not immediately forget their relatives and friends。

Amazingly, when there were only nobles and commoners, the conflicts in France became more and more intense, but since the nouveau riche of the army (from officers to suppliers) was an intermediate class, there was a buffer between the highest and the lowest, and although the commoners would still mock the incompetence of the nobles in taverns and churches, and tell their jokes, there was very little idea of raising rude weapons, arson, looting, and building fortifications and fortresses out of wagons and straw bales.

If Louis XIV had known Frederick's thoughts, he would have told him that the nobles and the clergy always regarded the common people as foolish animals, but as an Eastern philosopher said, if you treat a man as a prisoner and treat him with all his vigilance, he will hurt you like a dangerous sinner, but if you are willing to treat him as if you were a friend, he will repay you with his life.

The people of France did not want much, they were now able to feed the bellies of each family, they could have a sheltered house, they could change their class by entering the army and schools, they could see hope while ensuring their survival, and they were willing to die for the king and France.

Looking at the scene in the streets, where people and horses and carriages came and went, lords, judges, officers and civilians, who would have thought that twenty years ago, when a slightly more luxuriously dressed man walked down the street, without attendants and servants, he would have the honor of being "bathed" in the dung thrown by the poor, dead cats and dead dogs?

Several peddlers crowded over and held up their baskets to Frederick, selling him biscuits, nuts, or preserves, as well as embroidered handkerchiefs, small toys, and other odds, and Frederick exchanged a large eju for a handful of red and white hibiscus flowers, which he was about to give to the lord of the county.

Like Frederick, the description of the Grand Princesse today is quite plain, of course, only compared to what she dressed at the banquets and balls at the Palace of Versailles, but it makes Frederick say that the Grand Princess, who only wears a milky white dress and sits quietly by the fountain like a hibiscus flower in his hand, makes his heart pound.