Chapter 282: The Amazing Journey of Anna Maria Luisa de Medici (2)

The first impression that Paris made on the Medici Anna was that of an innumerable number of people.

Anna was not loved by her mother, or rather, all three children were not loved by her mother, so she grew up under the knees of Cosimo III's mother, that is, her grandmother, which kept her from being badly influenced by Margaret, and also lost all the innocence of a child- Cosimo III's mother was also an ambitious woman, she ruled Tuscany on his behalf when he was a minor, and when Cosimo III became an adult, she briefly fell silent for a while, but when Cosimo III lost interest in politics, she became the uncrowned king of Florence in high spirits.

It is unlikely that Anna would have received much affection from such a grandmother, who grew up quietly in a monastery, and who, like many noble women, would normally stay in the monastery until she was fourteen or fifteen years old, ready to marry, and constantly from her father to her husband— But her luck lies in the fact that her fiancé is the most powerful country in Europa, and the king of France does not choose an unworthy husband for his daughter, nor an unsuitable wife for his son, even if their marriage is based more on political necessity than love.

After Louis XIV was betrothed to Theresa of Habsburg, he wrote letters to his wife to know himself, France, and the court, so that she would not be as depressed and embarrassed as the former queen mother after marrying to France—a method he used on his son's wife, because Cosimo III and Louis's cousins, daughter of Duke Gaston, had formed a de facto separation, but in this respect the French king was willing to "reclaim" Their princess was arguably quite magnanimous, so he relented by allowing his daughter to be educated in Paris and Versailles instead of staying in the monastery of Rome.

Nominally, Anna accompanied her mother back to Paris and was introduced to Versailles, but she would spend six years or more as a student at the King's school—but that was the time to do so, as they went to meet the King at the Louvre.

Montmartre is not far from Paris, but because of a certain flattery that cannot be expressed, the official in charge of receiving the princess entered Paris with a convoy from the Porte Dauphin in the upper left corner of the Louvre, although it is called the City Gate, but the Porte Dauphine is only an independent building in the style of a triumphal arch, although it is extraordinarily beautiful, but it has no practical effect, which involves Louis XIV's re-establishment of Paris, because he does not intend Paris to continue to be the political and military center of France, then the original collapsed and decaying walls of Paris are almost useless, he can certainly rebuild, but now that the power of artillery is becoming more and more amazingThe defensive role of the city walls became less and less, so the royal brother Philippe finally demolished all the walls and built a wide boulevard around Paris.

This boulevard around the city was connected to the Boulevard du Queen's after the Pis du Princess, which surprised Anna and her entourage, because in this era, the walls and gates had the function of distinguishing the city from the countryside in addition to defending against foreign enemies, but they recalled that the suburbs of Paris were almost not much different from the towns they knew of them, with the same clean roads and grounds, dense houses and crowds, but this scene was even more obvious after entering the Dauphine's gate.

The Queen's Boulevard was large enough for four carriages to walk side by side, but even then, the horses, carriages and people were able to keep order and keep moving on thanks to the clear division of the sidewalks and carriageways, the rule of keeping to the right and the occasional policeman.

Anna's carriage was swept forward at a speed that could almost be said to be creeping, no different from the commoners on foot, and the princess's nurse could not help complaining, thinking that the officials who received them should take some measures, but Anna's female officer shook her head after watching for a while: "I think it is unlikely," she said, "I see the carriage of the Duke and the Marquis, not far from us." ”

"Are we ......?" asked the nurse hesitantly, wondering if this embarrassing situation was caused by someone in the court, but the lady only waved her hand, "it must have been just an accident." She saw a man get out of the carriage, untie one of the horses from the carriage, mount it, and go away, but faster than the carriage. But they could not do it, and there was no need, no matter how slow, they could reach the Louvre in an hour, and they would not see the king until tomorrow.

She was not annoyed or suspicious of Anna Medici, but for the first time she had seen so many people, she was almost startled—they walked in huddle with ruddy faces and spirits, most of them dressed in satin and velvet, and if not so, adorned with many laces and ribbons. Many of the young or in the prime of life wore royal blue, crimson or white coats with epaulettes and straps, which made it easy to see that they were in military service for the king—and some of the strong men had gold tassels hanging down from the waist, a wide knotted waist that hung down from one side, the same fringes around the edges, and a dazzling medal on the chest...... Young Anna may not know what that meant, but the maid beside her was already smiling meaningfully, and after only being glanced at by the female officer, she had to restrain herself for a moment, but after a while, she couldn't help but look greedily again.

The female officials also felt a trace of helplessness, the Medici family could not be compared with the Habsburgs or Bourbon in terms of background, in the court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, there were not many real noblewomen, and there were not many choices left for these maids, they followed the princess to Paris and Versailles, and the most important thing was to rely on their looks and rich dowry, to obtain a husband for themselves- It is unlikely that they will be members of the royal family or great nobles, but those nobles in robes, especially the upstarts in the army who have been single-handedly promoted by the king because of the two wars, are still very likely, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that these people have a bright future.

As for the Medici Anna, though a little more calm than her peers, she was still a child after all, and she was completely attracted by the bright windows on both sides of the street— The new districts, built by Philippe, Duke of Orleans, were all three- or four-storey houses, with shops on the ground floor, second and third floors, and attics, and because the king had issued a temporary charter allowing Parisians the greatest freedom during these fifty days, the shops did everything they could to attract customers, whether they were shouting, or blowing trumpets and bells, or making huge signs, or hanging their goods directly outside the windows and doors, or letting some nimble boys run around and distribute leaflets, or hiring itinerant entertainers to perform magic tricks and burlesques, which undoubtedly led to further congestion。

Before the police could drive them away, someone in the crowd shouted that something had been stolen, and of course, it was a carnival day for the thieves, everyone dressed in their best clothes, jewelry, wigs and handkerchiefs, and soldiers and officers carrying muskets and short swords...... There are thieves who are caught, and there are those who are not, the police are tired of running, and the onlookers are gloating and laughing.

There are also scheming scoundrels who put their hands into the woman's shawl, causing a scream, and in the same way, it is a good beating to be caught, not caught, or caught, but the lady does not care, then it is possible to achieve a good thing, and it does not matter - the female officer took one look, and reached out and pulled the curtain of the car, covering the last gap.

In short, "too depraved, too depraved." Anna's nurse said as she drew a cross.

The female officer just smiled: "The Romans are not in such a position to accuse others. ”

The nurse moved her lips disapprerovingly, but she still did not refute. This lady was not of a very glorious background, it is said that her father was a prisoner, and her mother was the daughter of the prison warden, and although she was intelligent and agile, because her appearance was only delicate, there was almost no dowry, and at the age of sixteen she found a forty-two-year-old husband, who died a few years after marriage, and did not leave her children and much inheritance, this lady was able to find a job with the Grand Duke of Tuscany by virtue of her outstanding talent and a few connections of her husband, and she was only a nanny for the eldest son of the Grand Duke at first, but her talent eventually attracted the attention of the Grand Duke, after the eldest son of the Grand Duke no longer needed a nannyThe Grand Duke asked her to take care of her eldest daughter, Anna, after all, no one expected the princess's mother to do anything.

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"It looks like we're about to start evacuating people three miles from Paris. Said the Duke of Orleans.

"I really didn't expect so many people. Louis said, "I thought I had only 20 million people." ”

"You have to be sympathetic to people's feelings. The Duke of Orleans bit the tip of his quill and said, "Although you have held a victory banquet in Versailles, not everyone is entitled to enter the Palace of Versailles, and since your accession to the throne, there have been few great gatherings in Paris—it is clear that Paris is much better now than it was in the past, and the people of the provinces have long wanted to have the opportunity to see its beauty, and the Parisians have long hoped for it, and they have always feared that you have completely abandoned Paris and only become your king in Versailles." ”

"And the French today have little fear of famine," said Colbert contentedly, "and any merchant knows that when people are hungry, not even the wheat business, but when they are full, even dog shit can be sold." You have not convened the Estates-General for twenty years, and you have even preferred to pawn Fontainebleau rather than continue to raise taxes on the peasants, and I have never seen Saint-Louis, but if your Majesty were to be pointed at you and say, 'This is Saint-Louis), I don't think anyone would object. ”

Ten years ago, Louis would have been embarrassed, but now he was completely accustomed to it—the ministers of Paris and Versailles only occasionally complimented him, and the provincial officials and clergymen would not always be jealous of Oliver Cromwell if they could use this power for military or civilian purposes.

"One more thing," Louis said to Colbert, "I intend to allow the inhabitants of Paris to rent out their spare rooms for these fifty days." "There are so many people coming to Paris that the original hotels and inns in Paris simply can't accommodate so many guests, but it's not realistic to encourage people to open hotels, after all, such a flow of people only occurs for fifty days, and if someone is willing to rent out empty rooms to make a profit, it will be beneficial for both parties.

"That's a good thing," said Kirbel, "so how much tax are we going to leave?"

"One fifth. The king said, "It is an additional benefit after all, and it does not cost much." He paused: "Set another price, and they are not allowed to increase the price without limit." "He did this because the Count d'Artagnan said that the room on the Boulevard du Queen's was ten gold louis a day, and it was not all meals.

As they said this, the Dauphin Louis the Younger asked for an audience, and they saw a group of children come in with a look of incredulity.

It turned out that in order to calm the disputes among the artists, the crown prince Louis Jr. came up with a way to determine the superiority of the "appreciation" of real money, which was not perfect, because the public's appreciation was often restricted by identity and status, but at this time, there was only one way to let these unruly guys accept the king's arrangement.

"Is there anything wrong with you?" asked the Duke of Orleans.