The Palace of Versailles in later generations had another name, the Palace of the Sun, because it was both the palace of the Sun King, and because it shone brightly during the day and at night—the light came from the gold and silver leaf that adorned the walls, statues, and door and window frames, as well as the sunlight and candlelight reflected by the huge floor-to-ceiling glass. In order to ensure the splendor of the palace, subsequent royal families and governments had to pay a large sum of money every year to repair the gold and silver leaf damaged by the wind and rain, and this fee was almost never in arrears, except during the two world wars.

At that time, the royal family and the government in order to defend the Sun King's huge legacy to France, can be said to be at all costs, in order to ensure that there seems to be no end to the military expenditure, the repair and maintenance of the Palace of Versailles also stalled for several months, and then on a day of fire, a poet occasionally passed by the Palace of Versailles, and saw that this magnificent palace like a giant also showed a little vicissitudes of life, and could not help but feel sad in his heart, his mood was transformed into a short poem that was published in the Paris Morning Post, at first not too many people paid attention, but I don't know that from that day, the people living in Versailles found that people were coming to them one after anotherArmed with their usual tools, instruments, paint, and small amounts of gold and silver leaf, they restored the giant to its original splendor without being hired by anyone.

There were more and more such people, and the journalists came, and after their propaganda, the French, who had been able to survive only on potatoes and corn, came up with the last bits of gold and silver - a dinner fork inscribed with heraldry, a maiden's hairpin, the base and handle of a ceramic kettle, and even a wedding ring, and dentures in the mouth of the elderly...... These have been turned into giants' cloaks, and no one knows if they will be reduced to a pile of rubble tomorrow – when the bombing of Paris is not over.

Later it became known that the enemy's generals had indeed received orders to bomb the Palace of Versailles - The Palace of Versailles was no longer a simple building at that time, or a work of art, it can even be said to be the spiritual sustenance of France and the Allies, the Palace of Versailles shined for a day, and the Sun King seemed to be able to protect his people for a day, but the general refused this order very firmly, saying that he did not want to be a sinner for the whole of mankind, and this order was quickly transferred to the hands of another general, although the general gave in, but the bomber crews that were sent suddenly became sluggish, and the bombs they dropped either destroyed the farmland or damaged the canals, anyway, the Palace of Versailles stood unharmed until the end of the warThe French government only needs to repair and dredge the artificial canal before it can be reopened to the outside world.

Surprisingly, the French government, although victorious, awarded the "Louis XIV Medal of Courage" to those who had contributed to the restoration of the Palace of Versailles (whether it was free work or donations of gold and silver), or to posterity (this was specially set up by the Sun King to inspire those who were armed with weapons, Logistics and transportation were not directly involved in the war, but had a great deal to do with the success or failure of the battle), and they and their descendants were forever allowed to visit the Palais del Soil, and the same preferential treatment was given to those soldiers who could be found to have received orders to bomb the Palace of Versailles but did not carry it out.

Although this has caused some criticism - but the general public, especially the French, still believe that their royal family and government have not degraded the prestige of the Sun King, who also sent one of his greatest enemies to be king.

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At this time, of course, Louis did not know that three hundred years later, his descendants and the government would be able to do such a miraculous thing, and he did not hesitate to give him the first cauldron, and his heart was only satisfied and excited now.

The original architect of the Palace of Versailles, Monsieur de la Vau, originally envisioned that Louis XIII's hunting palace would be expanded into a U-shaped building, and then spread its wings to the left and right, which was not incorrect, but it did not satisfy Louis XIV's appetite, his original idea was that the new palace was to replace the original political and economic status of Paris, and Louis XIII's hunting palace may be very meaningful, but even if you ignore its small size (relatively speaking), its location also makes a lot of constraints if you want to expand the Versailles area with the new palace as the center in the futureSo the king pointed out another, more expansive place, which at that time was still full of swamps and dense forests, and after several years of burning the trees and draining the swamps, a huge clearing was finally leveled.

The earth excavated during the canal works at the same time was brought here and rammed into a high platform, this artificial hill is about 300 feet high, and it is necessary to climb 700 steps to climb up from the hill, although every 30 steps there is a platform for rest and a view of the distant scenery, and enough for the usually inactive people to breathe, so on both sides of the steps, there are also winding ramps, and those who have obtained the king's favor can ride on the shoulder, but there are still very few people who have obtained this privilege for the time being, Prince Conte is one of them, and Philip, Duke of Orleans, in factPhilippe and the Prince of Condé can walk on their own feet - they are both soldiers, after all, but the Duke of Orleans has always been the most hated guy in Paris, unlike Prince Conte, who quietly admits his lack of strength and sits on his shoulder to enjoy the wonderful view, the Duke of Orleans's large hat adorned with diamonds and feathers is almost as striking as a flag, and he waves his hat desperately at his brother when he sees His Majesty the King standing on the terrace......

The Queen Mother sighed, "You should let the Duke of Orleans restrain a little," she said euphemistically, "after all, this is a formal occasion." ”

"I think it's good for Philip to be like this," said Louis, "Mother, all I have done is to hope that you will have no scruples. He glanced at Philip, who had jumped off his shoulder and ran towards him happily: "Although this is only the beginning. ”

Louis only thought that this was the beginning, but for many he was already standing in the hands of the goddess of victory, the king in the center of Versailles, that is, at the intersection of the crosses, the hall that was once used to celebrate the great victory of Flanders to receive kings, dukes and envoys of various countries. This hall has been commanded to be the Hall of the Goddess of Victory, and on the high platform where the gilded Goddess of Victory stands, the king under her favor stands under a canopy, dressed in fine clothes, wearing a crown on his head, and holding a scepter, and when he calls himself the Sun King, many people secretly ridicule it, but now, who does not think that this title is worthy of the king?

The first to come to the audience, of course, was one of France's most powerful allies, King Karl XI of Sweden, who was allowed to go one step away from the king and kiss the king's hand after saluting, as the Dauphin of France had long described, and even if King Charles II of England had been here.

As early as 996, the French king Robert the Pious achieved an equal position with the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire; when Henry V demanded the submission of Louis the "Fatty", the fat king immediately gathered tens of thousands of soldiers in Saint-Denis, and directly scared Henry V away, his "Bah, Germans." Philip II, after defeating the Holy Roman Empire's alliance with England, was confirmed by Pope Innocent III that "the King of France does not recognize all worldly authority above him"; Needless to say, Louis IX, also known as Saint-Louis, openly said that the king of France ruled France by royal blood more than any elected emperor (for the Capetian dynasty had been passed down for eleven generations), and the fourteenth-century jurists wrote in legal texts that "a king is emperor in his own domain." ”

Of course, all of the above can only have a real deterrent effect when France's national and military power is superior, and after Karl XI bowed his head and kissed Louis's hand, he stepped aside to make way for the future King Frederick IV of Denmark, who kissed the king's hand respectfully, and then the Portuguese regent Pedro II, who was born in 48 years and had a good look, but the expressions of everyone who saw him changed subtly...... Because his mother-in-law was the granddaughter of Henry XIV and his lover, and the wife of the current King Alfonso VI of Portugal, to put it simply, Pedro II not only seized the power of his brother, but also took his wife for himself – and in a sense, Louis XIV was the queen of Portugal...... Uncle.

Although there are not a few kings who have married their sisters-in-law, the most famous is King Henry VIII of England, but such a scene still makes people feel a little embarrassed- The three kings (although Pedro II is still regent now, we all know when he will become king is entirely up to his heart) were followed by the Duke and the Elector, and the messenger of England was none other than the Duke of York, who was pale and did not seem to have recovered from the grief and indignation of being deceived and tricked by his brother, and after his salute, his eyes unconsciously fell on the Duke of Orleans, who was beside the king, and for a moment he secretly cursed in his heart that the brothers would also have an irreparable rift in the future because of the wall.

The Duke of York was followed by the Archbishop of Münster and Cologne, who was also a religious prince after that, from Rome, and he was very angry that the Duke of Orleans had placed him in the Archbishop of Cologne or even the Bishop of Munster, but he was helpless, before the war against the Netherlands began, it was France who had a request for the Church of Rome, and the bribes from this Louis XIV were extremely rich, and even so, the Church of Rome was also in defiance, while constantly urging Louis XIV to fulfill his promise as soon as possible- That is, to persuade Charles II to restore the Catholic faith, on the other hand, he was at odds with Leopold I - before Amsterdam was conquered, the bishops of Rome agreed that the king of France would fall into the quagmire of Holland because of his greed, and that in addition to Leopold I, there was also this group of bastards who were always sanctimonious, and they could be said to be full of hatred for France, and they might have been able to threaten them with the world, but since the king who had no taboos had continuously bribed the priests of the Inquisition, After vampires, werewolves, and wizards, they don't have many cards to play.

The cardinal stepped back and stepped forward with Jan Sobieski, a name that was still a little unfamiliar to people, because he was only a great Polish nobleman, and the grandfather of this great nobleman was the great commander of the Polish royal family, he inherited the maternal lineage, and he had military talent and courage beyond ordinary people, and he did not pay attention to the two kings of Poland, whether it was the former king John II who had abdicated to the monastery, Casimir, and the newly elected Michau Krebut Wichniovitsky, he did not pay attention to it, and worked tirelessly to make himself the king of Poland, and his wife was a Frenchman, and he thus enlisted the support of Louis XIV.

They were followed by envoys from Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Brandenburg, and so on, who made as unhurried gestures as they could, but everyone knew that they must have been frustrated—especially the envoys of Carlos II and Leopold I, but on such occasions no one dared to speak out—compared to them, the Russian envoys were at ease, and he was commissioned by the Romanov Tsar to inquire into the flourishing country and its rulers— Especially since Sweden is already allied with France, and relations between Russia and Sweden are not very good.

In addition to these people, there was another surprising guest, that is, the envoy of the Ottoman Turkish Sultan, if Louis XIV and France were like the rising sun, then the Ottoman Turkey was like the setting sun, although the color was dim, but still with a huge body, which was terrifying, and their sultan was at war with Poland not long ago, so Jan Sobieski glared at him angrily, and his heart could not help but rise with a deep worry- After all, the alliance between France and Ottoman Turkey dates back to the time of François I......

The last to be allowed to step forward was the Swiss Confederation Ambassador, Switzerland has always had a long-term employment relationship with France, and the Swiss were not uncommon in the French army, but after Louis XIV came to power, the king encouraged the French to protect their country rather than hire foreigners, so the proportion of Swiss in the French army was greatly reduced, and the Swiss parliament suspected that this was a precursor to France's intention to divide from Switzerland, or even invade, so that they would side with France in the previous war - their bet was undoubtedly on the wrong place.

What is even more ironic is that when the envoy from Basel was signaled to retreat, he had the audacity to ask, "Venerable Majesty, Radiant Sun King," he said, "and the envoy of Holland is waiting for your summons." ”

Louis XIV, who had already half-turned, paused, then he turned, with an elusive smile, and tapped the ground with his cane, and after the crisp tuk tuk, in the silent hall of the Goddess of Victory, one could only hear Louis XIV's voice, "Holland?" and he said softly, "What Holland?"

No one dared to make a sound any more, and everyone bowed deeply or curtsied their knees to send the mighty ruler out of the hall.