"But......" said one of the attendants boldly persuaded, "Your Majesty, France is our enemy after all. ”

"I've heard a saying that there are no eternal enemies and no eternal friends," Charles II unexpectedly fell silent: "The reason why we want to marry Henrietta to France is because when we fought against the Netherlands, we didn't want the Netherlands to have an ally like France, and this alliance needs to be maintained until the end of our war with the Netherlands, but they still refused Henrietta's request, why?" he smiled viciously and looked around," Because they knew very well that Louis, as a king, was born to stand with me, so they could bow to the French, but not to a king. Whether he is French or English," he looked out the window, "Why, folks, don't you understand? Their refusal is because of me, not because of France. ”

These parliamentarians were also blackmailing King Louis XIV of France to stop interfering in Charles II's rivalry with the nobles, whether it was money, troops, or equipment, but in the final analysis, they still regarded their king as an enemy, and Oliver Cromwell's head hung on the spire of the cathedral, and perhaps more in the future.

Charles II had this desire, but he also knew that it was difficult to do this, if he was not careful, he was the second Charles I, and the people of London had already killed a king, and they would not care about killing the second, and he now finally understood why Louis would announce his mourning for his father Charles I when he was executed, not only for a loved one, but also for a king's mourning for the king, and he finally understood why Louis was always reluctant to recognize the legitimacy of the protector Oliver Cromwell, even though France and England formed an alliance in the Battle of Dunkirk, but the only people who came to greet the Minister of Protectorate were the attendants of Bishop Mazaran.

"It's like the difference between a tiger that has never tasted blood and a tiger that has tasted blood. He remembered what Louis had said when he said about another trivial matter, "The tiger that has hunted a man must be killed, whether it is old, sick, wounded, or young, because the tiger remembers the taste of its prey, it remembers that this is the smell of flesh, this is food, and it will never forget." ”

He was right, Charles II thought, that the people were tigers who had tasted the blood of kings, and that the king was no longer a noble monarch, a half-god, but a mortal, a sinner who could be humiliated, beaten, and put to death, and how could they really respect their king, or any monarch? They wouldn't, they only needed one...... An ornament, a chip, a scapegoat.

Charles II's sudden silence bewildered his attendants, and after looking at each other for a moment, one of them was about to suggest that the king go to one of the latest salons to relax, when there was a knock on the door.

The Duke of Albimar could not even wait for the squire to report, so he strode in, and as soon as he entered, he first bowed to Charles II, and then said quickly: "Your Majesty, London...... There was a black death in London's docklands. ”

For a moment, Charles II didn't even understand what the Duke of Albimar was saying: "Paris?" he subconsciously asked. Didn't they talk fiercely about the Black Death, which was raging in northern France?

"No, London. The Duke of Albimar said, completely contrary to Charles II's expectations, and his expression was not as serious as a joke: "Port area, Your Majesty. ”

The port district, the most chaotic part of London, surpasses even the ghetto of Paris, where there are all kinds of people, and where sailors and merchants always frequent, because it is full of innumerable prostitutes, and it is not surprising, even natural, that the plague first broke out there, but ...... But as soon as the news of the Black Death came, the British navy cut off the Anglo-French route at sea, and even the ship on which Princess Henrietta's messenger was traveling was almost sunk, not to mention ordinary merchant ships and fishing boats, and it was impossible for the Black Death to cross the sea.

"Lockdown there...... No, no, no, please go with the army at once," said Charles II hastily: "No matter what those councillors say, it doesn't matter, they won't live in the port area." Seal it down, Duke, and I will personally issue an order that all who wish to leave it be put to death—wait, bring pen and paper!" he called to his attendants eagerly, "Take your time, Your Majesty," said the Duke of Albimar, "my nephew has already gone with the army, and now you should first write a letter to the King of France, whose doctor is said to have developed a very effective medicine to prevent the plague from entering the human body......"

Charles II put down the quill with a snap, "You rejected Louis XIV." He said.

"Oh, it's nothing," the Duke of Albimar finally showed his true sense of a politician, "we can pretend that nothing happened, or that this question is your mistake." ”

Crucially, they knew that the Black Death had invaded Britain a little late, and even later when they knew that the French had a medicine to fight the Black Death.

Charlie's hand stopped there, the expression on his face was not a smile, he had just said that he was a scapegoat, and he did not expect to be so soon to fulfill this statement: "It's nothing," he said calmly, "I have to get used to it anyway, but you have to tell them, Duke, that I will return Sir Morley to the court." "Sir Morley was also a minister of Charles II's trust, but, like Hyde, he was a thorn in the side of Parliament, but he was extremely cautious and intelligent, and he had only been expelled from the court a few days earlier on a charge tantamount to a semi-imposed offence, and was afraid that he had not yet left London.

"This is your country. ”

"Not exactly. ”

The Duke of Albimar looked at Charles II - he had supported Oliver Cromwell, but unfortunately Cromwell disappointed him, and he turned to support Charles II, but the conflict between Charles II and Parliament became the biggest internal friction in England, but on this point, he could not completely stand on Charles II's side, because he knew very well what kind of monster that person would become if all the power was concentrated in the hands of one person, but as a king, even if he was regarded as a gentleman, he was called "Happy King" and "Banquet King" Charles II was also a monster, especially since he lived in Paris for a while, and saw with his own eyes how King Louis XIV of France took power back into his hands step by step, and knew that today, Louis has not stopped concentrating royal power.

It is not surprising at all that Charles II had such ambitions.

"Write, Your Majesty," he said at last, "I will do my best to bring him back to you." ”

————

And when Charles II dropped the first letter on the parchment, the Duke of Orleans was also writing, to be precise, he was writing - the last letter to his brother, that is, his deathbed will, although he believed that his brother would not give up on him, but Louis was still a king after all, not God, he could not come down from heaven to save anyone, so the Duke of Orleans was also prepared for the worst.

As soon as he looked up, he could see the red fire reflected in the glass window, these people probably cut down all the trees around Nancy, he remembered some of the things that his brother and he had complained about, and the castle should not be left with tall trees, lest the enemy use them as siege equipment, so from the Louvre to the castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, even the new palace of Versailles, the first thing the designer proposed was to cut down all the dense forests around him, which made the king helpless and angry, of course, he refused this request, in the words of Louis, if he was in power, and must rely on the castle to ensure his own safety, then he might as well be beheaded like Charles I.

Philip found that he could understand the meaning of his brother, who would not allow himself to fall into the same fate as Charles II, although the latter was also a king, but the rights enjoyed by this king were not as great as a member of parliament, and the parliament despised the king and feared the king, and these two emotions made them suppress their monarch by any means - As a vicious circle, Charles II's hostility also became more and more pronounced, of course, this was a good thing for France, like Dunkirk, if the king and courtiers of England could be unanimous with the outside world, it would not be so cheap, and it would even take another battle for France to get it.

"I'm really surprised," a voice suddenly sounded behind the Duke of Orleans, "Your Highness, is there anything else that can make you laugh right now?"

The Duke of Orleans calmly inserted the quill back into the inkwell before standing up and turning to face the uninvited guest: "Who are you?"

"Theoderick of Van Dro. The man said.

"You're not Theodryk, you're not even a Van Zhuo. The Duke of Orleans said, "I ask again, who are you, and is there anything that needs my help?"

This sentence made the person who came, no, it should be said, the Bloods who came laughed for a while, "No," he said, "although I don't know why you think I shouldn't be Theoderic, but you seem to have mistaken the situation, and now it's you who need my help, not me who needs your help." ”

"And who are you, sir, it is rude not to give your name, or to lie in front of a duke. ”

"I'm a Tsmich. ”

"Prince Amun?"

"Alas," said Amun, cheerfully, "you have not seen me, but you have heard my name, is it true that His Majesty has ever mentioned me to you?"

"Yes," said the Duke of Orleans, "Brother Wang, if possible, when I see you, stay away from you as far as I can, and if you can, it is best to ignore you." ”

Then Amon broke out into another burst of hysterical laughter, and then he wiped away his non-existent tears, and looked at the Duke of Orleans with those red eyes through his fingers, to be honest, since he saw Louie, a heart that no longer beats has been placed on this majesty, but who knows, his brother is so lovely, he even regrets not meeting this highness earlier-"I thought you were still a child," He said, and then he saw the Duke of Orleans straighten his back proudly, and the vampire burst out laughing uncontrollably, indeed, the two brothers were much taller than the average relative to the Frenchmen now, "how remarkable," he muttered, "It seems that I am not in vain this time." ”

He turned his head, as if to say something to the Duke of Orleans, but was met by a short crossbow that exuded a chill.

At a time when muskets were still firing at an unsatisfactory rate, the defensive weapon of the king and duke was still the crossbow, which passed through Amun's left eye, and he grabbed the bloodstained crossbow arrow from between his thick black hair, "It's a little cold," he whispered, "Your Highness, I need a little blood." ”

"Is my okay?" replied another voice, the light from the window suddenly disappeared, the corners of Amon's mouth twitched, and the glass was densely packed with small bats, and then with a gaz, the glass cracked, and the bats rushed into the room, occupying every corner of the room in an instant.

Theoderick stood angrily in front of Amun, "The territory of the Tsmich family is in the Carpathians," and he said, "If you continue to pester the King of France and his family, I will question whether you are deliberately provoking the Van Zo family." ”

"No way," said Amon, removing the hand that covered his left eye, the blood slowly disappearing from his skin, the eye blinking, as intact as the one before, "John II Casimir (note 1) is a stupid and incompetent pig, he is almost losing all his territory to Tsmich, and I want nothing more than to make him into ham." ”

Although he knew that he shouldn't, Theoderick's lips couldn't help but smile slightly, and when he heard a loud laugh, he thought it was his mistake - it was rude to mock a king, but he then found out that it was the Duke of Orleans, and the royal brother Philip, who was laughing.

"What," Philip looked at them, a little inexplicable, "shouldn't I laugh?"

He laughed once when he was sorting out the information.

Note 1: John II Casimir was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. He was captured by the French for fighting against France with the Habsburgs in the Thirty Years' War, and was imprisoned for two years. After the death of his brother Władysław IV, he was elected King of Poland (1648). During his reign, faced with an uprising of the Ukrainian Cossacks. In 1654 Russia raised troops in support of the Cossacks, and in 1667 was forced to cede eastern Ukraine to Russia. In 1655 Sweden launched an attack on Poland, which lost northern Livonia.