The king's words calmed down Nicolas Fouquet.

"The delicious fruit is always guarded by ferocious vipers. Fouquet said: "Only the brave can get it." ”

"And what do I want you to go farther?" Louie asked.

"As you command?"

"Can't be in Paris. ”

"Not in Paris," Fouquet bowed to the king, fully understanding what he meant, in addition to the fact that Paris was the capital of France after all, the king's domain, there was also that it was already turbulent enough, that the slightest spark would explode, and the king would not let him issue lottery tickets there, both for the sake of Paris and for his safety, which he engraved in his heart: "What about Orleans, what about Bordeaux?"

"Neither," said Louie, " The people there must be a hundred and twenty thousand wary of outsiders, and I want you to go to Bourges, to Lyon, to Provence, to those places where the banner of rebellion is not openly raised, but where you are always watching and playing tricks, not as an official of the king, but as a merchant, wherever you are, first visit the lord there, give him gifts and sincerity, and promise him dividends and taxes, to the extent you can control yourself. ”

When Fouquet heard this, he instinctively straightened up, for he knew very well that since the king had said that the extent of it was up to him, that is, in addition to the position of treasurer, he also had a part of the profits that could be made from these lotteries, and he could not help but tremble again at the thought of how he balanced the interests of the king, the lord, and himself, and the thought of the great wealth that might be amassed.

"So how big do you think I should set the prize?" he asked.

If you want to talk about lotteries, in fact, they have appeared since ancient Rome, until now, but before Louis, few people used it to make profits, more to get support from the common people, like bread and the Colosseum, so it is not so much a lottery as a more interesting reward, but now Louis wants to make it a long-term business, and like all transactions, he has to make detailed calculations of expenses and benefits.

"I'm going to leave this matter to you. "......Otherwise, Louis said, why would he recommend Fouquet to Bishop Mazarin in his letter?" Probably...... Ten thousand livres. ”

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Fouquet, "that's too much." ”

Of course, a lot, knowing that even General Schaumberg, Louis only promised him 50,000 livres, and he could not fulfill it until Paris.

"But if it's lower than that," Louis said indifferently, "people won't be crazy about it." ”

Fouquet took a deep breath - he could almost see how many people were going to lose their money...... No one can stand such an irritation, compared to a gamble of only two or three deniers or a few ejue, at most one gold louis...... Fouquet had heard before that when the Bishop of Richelieu was appointed as a cardinal, he had an annuity of five thousand livres per year, and then Louis XIII gave him ten thousand livres that year, that is, a commoner who could take a small eju, as long as the goddess of fate was willing to smile at him, he could be a cardinal for two years, or the king's best friend for one year.

Not to mention anyone else, even Fouquet has the urge to take out all his money and buy every lottery ticket he can catch.

"When the lottery ticket is drawn, it should be open so that everyone can see it, and whoever wins the jackpot has to put the gold louis code in the box, give it to him neatly, and open the lid,"

Fouquet imagined that scene, and only felt that his mouth was dry.

"And," Louis hesitated, "you decide." ”

"Excuse me...... Your Majesty. ”

"Do you want to limit the number of tickets that each person can buy, and...... There is some protection for those who get the jackpot. ”

Fuquet lowered his head and thought for a while to understand that restricting the purchase of bills is obviously not conducive to them, but it will not cause too tragic consequences, even if someone will buy bills from other people, it is difficult to supervise, but in the face of the accusations of some virtuous people, such a regulation is obviously more able to ease people's emotions, and he can stand in a more advantageous position; as for whether to protect the person who gets the jackpot, this is certain, and Fuquet is even ready, or rather, maybe he will deliberately urge a poor person to get the jackpot, so that it can spread faster and wider, after all, in people's cognitionA noble person gets an unexpected income, he will not care, and he will only be mentioned casually occasionally, only a lowly person who has only jumped into the class that he can only look up to before because of a small Eju, is the most talked-about.

That being the case, in order for this rumor to continue to circulate, not only must the first person win the jackpot not be surprised, but Fouquet must try to escape the exploitation of lords and judges, the robbery of robbers and officers, and make him happy and smooth to become a squire or a priest, or any position worthy of respect and envy.

"I'll think about it, Your Majesty. Fuquet said.

"Very well," said Louis, "then hand in a work plan tomorrow." ”

"What?"

"Analysis of the situation, tasks and requirements, methods, steps and measures, possible problems and solutions, finishing and preparation for the next stage, etc., ......" said the young king briskly and gently, completely ignoring the fact that Fouquet had never written such a thing before, and that it would not be a problem to say a love letter full of sweet words or a gushing compliment. If he was just a fool who didn't know anything about it, maybe he could have relaxed, but he was Fouquet, a robed aristocrat who prided himself on his shrewdness and perceptiveness, and he knew that he might not be able to deal with his new master as perfunctory as he did with those fools...... How excited he had been when he heard that the king had put him in charge of the lottery was now so frightened that he was like a dog that had seen a steak, salivating and hesitating because of the whip hanging from the steak.

The king was not in a hurry at all, he knew that as long as he was a smart person, he knew that as long as he handed over this document, he would undoubtedly put a set of bridles on himself, and what was even more hateful was that this set of bridles was still made by himself, but could he refuse?

It was impossible for Fouquet to refuse, "Please give me a little more time." He whispered, losing his previous spirit: "Your Majesty, give me three days, no, five days...... I'll give you what you want in five days. ”

Louis also knew that he could not finish this document in one night, it was only a small threat, after all, Fouquet was a very different person from Schumberg or Viscount Tyrenne.

——————

Bontang watched the Mr. Fouquet come out dejectedly, and then pushed the door open and walked in, and the king glanced at the sky, "Send lunch for three." ”

"Are you going to have lunch with those two gentlemen?".

"Two counts of d'Artagnan. Louis said: "They are now my musketeers, Pierre de Montesquieu and Charles de Baz Casdelmo." ”

Bontang obeyed, and soon there was a respectful knock at the king's door, and two imposing young men appeared before the king: "Oh," said the king, as soon as he saw the somewhat familiar face, "no wonder I hear you speak with a Welsh accent, for you are both from Gascony." "Gascony is a region located in the southwest of France, which once belonged to King Edward I of England, and was later captured by King Philip IV of France, and then because Philip IV was busy fighting with the Roman Church, he negotiated with Edward I to return Gascony to England, but in the Hundred Years' War later, France and England fought again and again in Gascony, although in the end France obtained Gascony, but some foreigners still stayed in Gascony, including some Welsh, everyone knows that Welsh are the most unruly guysSo gradually some people think that the Gasconians are dishonest people, but for Louis to say, what he needs now is someone who needs to change his situation, like Nicolas Fouquet and his cousins.

Pierre was thrilled when he realized that the king had spoken to him first, for Pierre de Montesquieu had a mediocre face and was not good at words, and although he tried his best to dress up, he was not as popular as his cousin Charles in front of friends and ladies, but he loved his cousin, who was always fond of boasting and boasting, or he would not have lent him his title of earl.

Charles de Baz Casdelmo knew this, and was grateful, for he did not know when he would be noticed by the nobles by the surname Casdelmo, and the young gentleman had never cared for virtue, and it was a matter of pride for him to accept the generous financial support of the ladies (which they had almost always taken from their husbands' cashiers), or to rise to high positions by compliments, boasts, or false titles.

If there was someone else standing beside him, and the king spoke to that man first, Charles would have been angry, and perhaps when he had gone out he would have asked for a duel with that man, and prove with his blood which of them was more worthy of the king's trust, but if this man had been his cousin, he would have been glad for him.

"I have heard that one of you is the Count of d'Artagnan," said the king, "and the other has borrowed the title for the time being." ”

"Yes," said Pierre, "I am the Count of d'Artagnan, but I have lent this title to my cousin." ”

"Shall I call one of you, then, d'Artagnan?"

"Please call my cousin d'Artagnan," said Pierre earnestly, "as for me, my companions and friends call me Pierre, and I am accustomed to it, and your majesty calls me so, so call my cousin by the name d'Artagnan." ”

"Then," said the king, "Pierre, d'Artagnan, two dear gentlemen, sit down at the table and join me for lunch." ”

The two musketeers immediately bowed to the king, indicating that they were happy to obey, and as soon as they sat down, sumptuous dishes were brought to them, and the king was growing up, and the two musketeers were at their most hungry, and at first they may have been a little restrained, but soon they devoured them, and among them were the king's dishes, which did not skimp on spices and salt, and butter, and tasted incomparably delicious.