Paul always felt that he was much luckier than others, and those who knew him were right to say this.

Like most of the people in the North Pas-de-Calais region, he had a fate that could be seen at a glance – sometimes English, sometimes French, and sometimes neither, and their lives depended on smuggling and looting, from France to England and from England to France, with simple-minded, able-bodied men going out to "work", women, the elderly, and children taking care of the stolen goods. Dividing and disposing of stolen goods (stripped of the overly obvious markings on stolen goods or smuggled goods), and there were also frail but clever men who became merchants, who bribed officials, bought and sold "goods", and there were also gifted children who had the privilege of becoming such figures as secretaries and priests, and climbed out of this damn quagmire.

Paul's uncle was one such person. Their great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were privateers, in other words, smugglers and pirates, but Paul's great-grandfather was a rather far-sighted man compared to other privateers, and he realized early on that piracy was not a long-term business, and that the benefits were far less than that of an official who could get paid from the comfort of sitting in a large spacious house. Of course, as a sailor, he was deceived nine times out of ten, in exchange for a lot of ridicule, but his persistence finally paid off in Paul's father's generation, Paul's uncle was a smart and beautiful boy, he was sent to Italy to study, and he managed to make some friends, and finally got a position as a parish priest in Naples, which is why Paul was almost hanged for smuggling, and still became a "clean and innocent" priest.

But the priest was also dying, and Paul was almost fifty years old, and there was no one in their family who could be called a man of great proportions, except for the young Jean Barr, who was studying at the military academy established by the king, but because he was too young and a junior officer, it was difficult to say what the future would hold. After some reluctance, Paul relented, and continued his old business in the holy earthly dwelling of the Lord, ready to get some more money and bring back his uncle who was far away in Italy, for it would be a good end for anyone to live out his old age in his own homeland.

But fate is always so bad, on that night, he first welcomed his long-lost nephew, Jean Barr, who he had not had time to entertain his long-lost nephew, and Eva, who was only one step away from the visit of death, suddenly ran to his chapel - Eva and Paulic's blood are a little far away, but Eva can also call him uncle, and he also watched Eva grow up, after all, many people here are related to the old - Then there was the damned Englishman who rioted, and his chapel was burned, and Jean Barr went to Dunkirk overnight to report it, and he waited in the house while he took care of the poor girl......

Needless to say, the English riots were soon put down, and the man who punished them, ha, was his good nephew Jean Barr, and it was said that the Duke of Vendôme, the governor of Dunkirk, admired the young man and promised to promote him and reward him, and it was also true that when the head of "Jack" was hung on the wall, Jean Barr also became a young school officer, and he brought his uncle a bounty enough to rebuild a chapel of white marble.

And that's not all, the king heard of the unfortunate girl Eva, and sent her to Versailles to meet the king. Priest Paul was at first a little apprehensive because she had not returned, but Jean Barr wrote to him that Eva had been favored by the king and the lord of Versailles, and that she was now the lady-in-waiting of the lord of the princess, and that she might marry to Spain or Prussia in the future.

Priest Paul did not worry about marriage, and although he came from a humble background, he was a businessman and a clergyman. Eva had always been silly, but she was also the daughter of a privateer, and she had seen blood and corpses, and she may have been deficient in her words and calculations, but her decisiveness and madness when necessary made it easier for her to gain an advantage in an unfamiliar environment.

What he didn't expect was that Eva actually mentioned herself to the king, and when the king came to Dunkirk, the king summoned him.

While he was glad that while he was rebuilding the chapel, he also cut a few new vestments for himself—with complete confidence, because all his vestments had been destroyed in the fire, and he could not ring bells and chant for people in the clothes of ordinary people, and it would not cost him much if they were smuggled wool and silk. Dressed in a black robe of thick satin, with a gold cross, and delicate ivory and garnet rosaries on his wrists, he respectfully stepped into the king's palace.

Pauline, or rather, all those who meet Louis XIV for the first time, will be amazed at the king's appearance, his posture and age, in which forty years of age can be said to have entered the age of decline, but the king looks like Jean Barr, who was born in his 50th year, his eyes are still as clear as a child, his cheeks are ruddy, his hair is thick, he is tall, slightly thin, but his demeanor and action appear very powerful.

The king graciously asked him to sit beside him, asked a little about the reconstruction of the chapel, and promised to build a church in Dunkirk for the Grand Lord, and that he could be the resident priest there if he wished. Of course Paul was willing, and he rejoiced in mentioning to the king that even if he had no experience as a parish priest, his uncle could help him—for there was only one man in his family, no, now two illustrious men, and he could not help mentioning his uncle in Italy, and the king paused slightly when he heard his uncle's cathedral, "what a coincidence," he said, "I have heard of this church again." ”

"Have you heard?" said Paul's surprise: "It's a new church. ”

Given that Priest Paul's uncle is also over 70 years old, this church certainly cannot be younger than him, it was built at the beginning of the 17th century, but in Naples, the most are churches, many of which were built in the 6th century or earlier, but have undergone many renovations in the later period, and because this church is a new church, it is possible that Priest Paul's uncle will become the resident priest there.

As for how the king would have known - it was because the church was next to the Bay of Napoli.

Because of Paul's words, he was given a seat of worship.

After receiving the throne, he could not leave Dunkirk for the time being—and the Pauline priests had no objections, and it was a well-known fact that the king's assassination in Dunkirk had been made, and that after the battles of Flanders, the Netherlands, and the Camnico, the rise of a strong and wealthy power had become an indisputable fact, how could the enemies of France be willing to sit idly by? Assassination has always been the best strategy, let alone in France, where both politics and the military are in the hands of one person— The crown prince Louis Jr. has no way to deter those powerful generals under the command of the Sun King, they are now so submissive and dedicated to national affairs, but because it is the Sun King who sits on the throne, if the Sun King dies suddenly, there must be people who want to plan for themselves.

A weak and chaotic France is what the Habsburgs and even the British want to see.

After enjoying a delicious and hearty meal in his room, the priest did not light a candle and went straight to the window to enjoy the view.

For the son of a privateer, the sea and the harbor were the most common things, but this position was not something that a man like the Priest Paul could have every day— The King's Castle, also known as Dunkirk Castle (the King's meagre naming talent), was a newer building than the church of Paul's uncle, because it had been built only after the completion of the first Dunkirk dockyard, and was more like a fortress than a palace, but it was no longer as airtight and dark as the castles of the past, and the windows of the rooms were inlaid with large, translucent glass, and the glass in front of Paul's eyes was five feet wide, and he could overlook the whole harbor without hindrance.

The port of Dunkirk now has three docks, like a sharp trident, straight to the English Suffolk, Essex and Kent, especially Southend, that is, the mouth of the Thames, everyone knows that from the mouth of the Thames is London, the key point of Britain, so Louis XIV turned to Charles II from an alliance with himself to the Habsburgs, and even intended to set off the Dunkirk riots, not surprisingly, the king is selfless, which has long been proved by countless people.

Louis XIV was satisfied to get the last foothold of England in France from Charles II.

The three docks, which had been built by French craftsmen and architects, together with wizards unknown to most people, were surprisingly empty, and the priest remembered that he had seen at least a hundred ships moored in the docks when he occasionally visited the priest-in-residence of Dunkirk, but now they were taken away by a mischievous child, and the sea was shining with silver without a trace of it.

While the priest was wondering where they had gone—he could not help but think of war, with the English or with others, but the king was here, and it was impossible for a ship to remain in the harbor...... He wondered what tricks these people were playing, perhaps it had something to do with the so-called ceremony, and he thought that he would almost go to his nephews and ask them if they were planning something big, but then he dismissed the idea.

At this time, there was a knock on the door outside.

The priest thought for a moment, drew a dagger and stuck it in his coat, walked over and opened the door, and outside the door stood his nephew Jean Barr, full of spirit, with arrows and stars shining on his shoulders, and as soon as he saw his uncle, he raised the bottle in his hand.

"Why are you here?"

Priest Paul asked casually, closing the door for his nephew, and was a little surprised to see him pull out his dagger and place it on the table: "You are in the king's castle." He said.

Priest Paul glared at his nephew: "There is a saying that when you go on a swing, everything is over." "Swinging" is a popular saying among pirates, because at that time, in order to deter criminals, pirates would hang pirates on the gallows in the harbor until they completely rotted, and when the water in the corpse was dried and the weight was reduced, the corpse would sway on the gallows to look like a swing...... "Even Eva would not say such a thing." ”

This is not a joke, poisons and daggers were not uncommon in Louis XIV's court, and the most effective way to destroy the body was to disagree or remove stumbling blocks in the future. There weren't many people the king cared about, and it was hard for a dead man to spare Louis XIV's precious time from his busy schedule, unless you were a figure like the Duke of Luxembourg, and the Pauline priests were even more careful when they received the king's favor - with the two princes in red in front of Richelieu and Mazarin, who wouldn't want to take great power out of the king's trust? Even if not, look at Lalivière, a fat philistine who was better than he did early, and Elarius, who was just the presiding judge of the Inquisition, and Elelius, who was now dressed in red in Rome.

The clergyman's struggle was far more dangerous and intense than the pirate fight, and it was difficult for the priest to guarantee that one or two impulsive fellows would give him a knife or two before the people could figure out why the king was so favored to him. Of course, you can not believe it or feel wronged, but the most important problem is that you have not had the opportunity to appeal in person at that time.

"Why don't you light a candle?" said Jean Barr, as he went to the table, put down the bottle, found a match in the drawer, lit the candle, and the room lit up.

"I'm looking at the port. The priest said, "Do I really care, from here I can see three docks, and the fortifications around them." ”

"What a person in Dover can see with a telescope has no value in secrecy. Jean Barr said: "You can see it, and so do those who can see it." ”

"I saw that the docks were empty. The priest said.

"Gee, I can't tell you where the ships have gone. Jean Barr said.

"I don't want to know," said the priest, "but judging by the way you grin, it shouldn't be a big deal." But I guess you're going to have to talk to me about something. ”

"It's not a big deal. Jean Barr looked at his uncle and said, "I want to know more about that uncle." ”

"Oh," said the priest, "I think that's all I think." ”