"Come down, Mr. Earl. ”

The Count poked his head and looked around, and in addition to the two gentlemen with muskets in hand, there were four or five fellows roaming around on horseback and watching the wind, and he suppressed the panic in his heart, "If you need some support......

The man laughed, he moved the barrel of the gun, and the other opened the door, and the count had to obey and get out of the carriage, and when he got out of the carriage, he saw his coachman and two attendants lying on the ground with a pale face, and they did not dare to move, and the count scolded in his heart, but he did not dare to say anything, or do anything— The robbers were apparently well-trained and experienced, and it was enough to be appalled that the Count had not noticed anything during the whole process, not to mention how they had forced the groom to drive the carriage here, and how the two squires standing on the carriage had not given a warning.

The Count got out of the car, and one of the robbers nodded, "Sir," he said, "take out all your weapons." ”

The Count wanted to say something, but he changed his mind under the gaze of two pairs of piercing eyes, the robbers were dressed in expensive black wool, except for the muskets in their hands, and the spare muskets and daggers pinned to their belts, and the stabbing swords clashed against their boots that reached above the knee—his gaze lingered on the boots for a moment, and he looked stunned.

The boots were beautiful, but only in the king's army, the officers wore the kind of sheepskin boots that would wrap the calves tightly, and, of course, the musketeers and the guards, and after a moment of silence, he drew the musket from his bosom, held the barrel in reverse and handed it to one of the two, then leaned down and drew his short sword from the barrel of the boot, which he wore with wide cuffs and up to the ankle, which is what most nobles wear.

"Are there only these two, sir?" asked one of the "bandits."

"I'm a gentleman, not a soldier. The Count replied, and the other bowed his head lightly, motioning for him to return to the carriage, and before the Count could sit down, the two robbers jumped into the carriage, and the other jumped into the coachman's place, and heard a soft cry from outside, and the wheels began to turn from slow to rapid.

The man sat beside the Count, who sniffed lightly, as if inadvertently, and confirmed his guess. Because their king had a high demand for cleanliness at a very young age, everyone around him paid great attention to personal hygiene, and this custom has continued to this day - it is now a common practice for people to bathe or wipe their bodies every day, and even the village ladies who could not set foot in Paris or Versailles in this life have learned to warm a little hot water on a coal stove to wipe their faces and hands in the morning.

A man like the Count has renovated his bathroom and washroom in accordance with the latest style in Paris early on, and there are also such facilities in hotels in big cities, so he will definitely not have any dirty and unpleasant smell on his body - this is normal, but a robber can be clean, only a little pine and cypress aroma is not right, not that they can't afford to take a bath, but for most people, spending time and money on it, once or twice may be acceptable, but it seems a bit ...... It's unrealistic, what is this money used for?

But what the nobles liked most was to throw away the senseless spending, so that they could be completely cut off from the group they despised the crowd. Although they often scolded the king in their homes, they did their best to support the king's new industries—sweet sweets, refreshing coffee, gaudy satins and woollen wool, porcelain as white as congealed grain, glass as clear as if it were non-existent, and bright gas lamps and candles...... and bathroom and bathroom furniture and utensils, plumbing and fixtures...... And so on and so forth, and so on, and the biggest consumers for the time being, maybe in ten or twenty years, are still these lords and officials.

The Earl, who was younger than the king, seemed to have been spared from the suffering of the older ones for as long as he could remember, namely, the filthy mansions and roads, but he had smelled the unbearable smells, especially the ...... There are many low-status people, even wealthy merchants, who would rather sprinkle more perfume than go into the bathroom every day, and the smell accumulated on their bodies seems to have been salted into the flesh, and even if they take a bath when they come to visit him, they are still like a piece of fishy pork in a soup pot in boiling water.

But the Earl smelled the same kind of thing in the body of this "robber", and he turned his head, staring at the other without blinking, and the kerosene lamps with glass shades hung in the carriage, because of the latest fulcrum suspension method, so that even if the carriage was slightly bumpy from time to time, the fuel in it would not be easily spilled.

"What will happen to my groom and squire?" asked the Earl.

"They'll be safe and sound, and they'll just have to walk all night before they're back to their homes." The man replied, his voice with a slight southern accent, and the count immediately remembered one of the king's favourites, the Count d'Artagnan. The Count d'Artagnan's origins have always been criticized, he was not a count (at the beginning), but he often called himself by this title, he was also a Gasconian, the Gasconians were a group of hillbillies in the eyes of the Parisians, if it were not for the king's blue eyes, d'Artagnan would not have climbed to his current position, and the most hateful thing is that after he took the throne, he managed to pull out a large number of fellow countrymen, so that there were many more people with southern accents in Paris.

"What about me?"

"What are you......" The man gently removed his mask, allowing the Count to see his smiling face.

——————

"Of course you will be treated with the best. ”

The Duke of Vendôme said, and in front of him was the enraged Duke of Saint-Simon, who shoved a glass of hot milk with whiskey at him: "Age, age, good fellow, you must remember your age, we are not lads anymore, and it is not good for our health to be angry like this." ”

"The king's gallows and decapitators are even more useless. "How dare he do this," said the Duke of Saint-Simon, "and he was quite upright and undaunted, and though he spoke of gallows and beheadings, but because he and his accomplices were still in the stage of the uprising, and had left no letters, no correspondence, not even contact with each other, Louis XIV did not wish to convict him lightly, let alone put him to death or imprison, not even to deprive him of his domain and title! Don't look at the many nobles who have become lackeys under the king's rank, but dogs also need to be appeased and fed, if the king really dares to do something to a duke without evidence, even if it is a duke with insufficient roots, it will inevitably cause widespread doubts and wavering, Louis XIV is a smart man, he will not do that.

"I thought you'd be happy. The Duke of Vendôme, seeing that the Duke of Saint-Simeon probably had no intention of eating, moved the large silver tray in front of him, and began to eat the Duke of Saint-Simon's "King's Bread" and the hot milk with wine, among other things, the King's cook was really quite good, even this kind of improvised snack was very delicious: "This is the King's invitation." ”

"What invitation...... "Duke Saint-Simeon," cried the Duke of Saint-Simon, "I have been caught here!" he clenched his fists, and as soon as he left the house where he had plotted, he felt that something was wrong before he could get into the carriage - he was still a spy leader after all, but before he could react, several shadows sprang out of the dark corner, and a large cloak covered him in it, and— About a hundred bulls sat on him, unable to move, and tied up strongly, and were carried into the wagon, which had gone some way to this place.

It would be false to say that he is not afraid, he is old, and it stands to reason that he should not be so afraid to see God, but his children are too young, and he will have to live at least ten years to ensure that he will be safe and secure in the future, which is why he accepted a bribe from the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I to oppose Louis XIV. If he handed over the list of spies in his hand, he would relinquish his power and stay in the mansion, or in a room in the Palace of Versailles...... His youngest son could see the future at a glance, that is, to be like the grandson of the Duke of Vendôme, to be loyal to the king, to spend a while in the army or the king's company of musketeers, to go to military school, and then to start as an officer - if he had talent, he might be able to become someone like Vauban or Viscount Tyrrenne, but even Viscount Tyrrenne had been wounded on the battlefield, even fatally wounded - how could he let his only son and the old man suffer such a threat?!

Of course, he can also keep his youngest son with him and not go anywhere. But in Louis XIV's case, there was no such thing as being able to rise to prominence by bloodline or the king's preference, and he even had to use the royal wife - although this can almost be said to be a joke, it can also be seen that the Sun King must be surrounded by some talented people - as a man who climbed from an ordinary squire to the current position, how could the Duke of Saint-Simon not know what kind of toil and hardship there would be in the process?

What he wanted for his son was an easy, prosperous, and noble future...... If the king is not willing to give, he can take it himself......

But all the assumptions, all the conspiracies, all the schemes, seemed to be an illusory dream: "I don't understand what you mean," went on to the Duke of Saint-Simon, "have I not met a band of abominable bandits?"

"It's not a good thing to say that the king's boys," said the Duke of Vendôme, scratching his nose with his fingers, "don't play stupid, I still don't know you?" Louis XIII's puppy wouldn't be so sluggish, you guessed it. It is the King who has invited you here......" he smiled, "and," he said, meeting the Duke of Saint-Simon's angry eyes, "how enviable you are to be allowed to ride, good sir, that you may follow your Majesty and bask in the glory of the Sun King throughout the Grand Parade." ”、

The Duke of Saint-Simon stared at him, as if to see a hell in the face of the Duke of Vendôme: "Ride?"

"Stay with the car. The Duke of Vendôme said, "Laugh quickly, what a wonderful thing it is!"

"How long?"

"Didn't I say, the whole Grand Parade," said the Duke of Vendôme, "a year." ”

year.

The Duke of Saint-Simon slumped feebly in his chair, as he said, the king had no power to arrest or murder a nobleman for no reason, nor could a baron, let alone a duke— The majesty of the king and the strictness of the law are always vulnerable in front of the nobles, even if it is the Duke of Sedan, his territory is not deprived of his territory for treason, but in exchange for the life of himself and his eldest son, as one of the conditions for returning to the royal family, so even if the Duke of Saint-Simon is almost semi-openly opposed to the king and intends to destroy the foundation of the king's rule, it is still difficult for Louis XIV to punish him directly, not even reprimand.

Perhaps in the long years afterward, the king could banish him from the center of power by marginalizing and downplaying the Duke of Saint-Simon, but the problem was that Leopold I probably wouldn't have given them that much time.

But on the other hand, if the king could not belittle a courtier and a nobleman without reason, should his courtiers accept the favor he bestowed on him with trepidation? If Louis XIV had sent an envoy to the mansion of the Duke of Saint-Simon to-day, the Duke of Saint-Simon would have managed to refuse—he was not the first to do so, and after the completion of the Palace of Versailles, there were those who were extremely reluctant to condescend to the attic, and there were those who stubbornly preferred only to remain in the domain.

But now he's already ...... The Duke of Saint-Simon strode to the window, he was already at the Palace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and presumably at the banquet tomorrow, he would have had the "honour" to appear at the king's side and accept the envy and compliments of the people. Needless to say, he would be taken away by the king like a piece of baggage.

For a year, a whole year, he probably couldn't contact his secret chiefs, and even if he could, wouldn't it mean handing them over to the king......? These people are not saints...... Without a fixed injection of funds, they will slowly disperse, and after a year, even if he wants to gather these people, it will be impossible, if his son is already an adult, maybe there will be a chance to redeem it, but hell, he is only a year older than the king's son, and now he can't even say a complete sentence!

At this time, the Duke of Saint-Simon did not know that the most desperate was yet to come.

The next day he met all the accomplices at the banquet - of course, they were all men who had the privilege of being invited by the king to accompany them, and they would accompany the king through most of France for more than four quarters, and of course the king would take the whole court with him and a few dozen men without difficulty, and the king generously provided them with servants and escorts......

Damn squires and guards!