Chapter 1554: Not Holy, Only Roman

The Duchy of Lorraine, the fortress of Metz.

Since the tenth of March, King Louis XIV of France had led his hundred thousand French troops across the Moselle River and encamped in and around the fortress of Metz — by now some twenty days had passed.

This great army had marched into Lorraine in the name of saving Vienna, yet after reaching Lorraine it had not advanced a single step in twenty days. The hundred thousand troops, along with the favorites and mistresses who had arrived with Louis XIV, all had nothing to do. The French soldiers busied themselves harassing the local people of Lorraine, naturally raising utter havoc and boiling public resentment.

Louis XIV and his favorites and mistresses passed the time even more comfortably, with an endless round of balls, banquets, and hunts. Only no one dared mention the matter of relieving Vienna — whoever dared bring it up was certain to fall from favor at once and land on the blacklist in the Sun King's pocket.

The reason was simple: the Sun King's warm face seemed to have been pressed against the cold backside of the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I.

Especially after he learned that tens of thousands of Ottoman troops had pushed recklessly forward after leaving Belgrade and were bearing straight down on the fortress of Győr, he very much wanted to take his hundred thousand troops to Vienna to join the excitement — but he was blocked by the Holy Roman Empire's forces stationed along the Rhine. The Grand Duke of Bavaria, Ferdinand Maria, who commanded the troops on the Rhine, was quite courteous to the envoy Louis had sent, saying that the entire Holy Roman Empire was deeply grateful that the Sun King could lead an army in support, but for the moment the French could not be admitted, because permission from His Imperial Majesty had not yet been obtained — so would His Majesty the Sun King please wait patiently!

What sort of talk was that? The King of France, to defend the Catholic faith, had brought a hundred thousand troops to save Vienna, and still needed the approval of the Holy Roman Emperor? Who was the greatest in Europe? The Sun King or the Holy Roman Emperor?

Louis XIV's great nose was nearly bent out of shape with rage. Had Catholic Europe not faced a great enemy, he would have wanted to march on the Rhineland — but however angry he was, he could do nothing about Ferdinand Maria.

This Grand Duke of Bavaria was at that very moment holding the line of bastions along the Rhine with fifteen thousand troops!

These bastions had all been built at enormous expense after the War of Devolution, and they were exceedingly strong!

These damned Germans had actually built bastions to guard against the French Sun King who loved them! Bastions should be built in Hungary to guard against the Mohammedans! How could they be built in the Rhineland to guard against the Sun King?

This wounds those who love us and delights those who hate us!

But no matter how much it pained Louis XIV, it was useless. The Germans would not let him pass, so he could only lie low in Lorraine — and he was too embarrassed to return to Paris. When he had left Paris, he had boasted mightily, saying he was going to be the savior of Vienna.

And now look — he was blocked so thoroughly he could not even get through the Holy Roman Empire's front door. Sun King? Elder brother of Europe? All just self-amusement, wasn't it?

So Louis was now stuck in Lorraine, unable to advance and unable to retreat, with no choice but to eat, drink, and amuse himself here in Metz with a crowd of favorites and mistresses to kill time.

As for news from the Holy Roman Empire, he did not want to hear a word of it, yet he had to hear it — he, the Sun King, still had to maintain the dignity of a monarch of a great European power! Once Leopold had thrashed that rash, overextended horde of Mohammedans, he would still have to send envoys to offer congratulations, still have to announce the good news to the army here in Lorraine, still have to go to church to commemorate all the warriors who had fallen in defense of the Catholic faith.

He, the Sun King, even with his face slapped by Leopold, had to put on a grand show of saving face — he could not let the nobles and commoners of France look down on him.

Thinking of all this, the Sun King's mood was utterly foul.

Perhaps because he brooded by day and dreamed by night, last night he had actually dreamed of Leopold! And he had knelt to Leopold, knelt and kissed Leopold's stinking feet — good heavens! How could there be such an absurd dream? He was the Sun King! King of the strongest power in Europe — no, in the world. How could he kneel to Leopold? And kiss his feet — did he even wash them?

Even if it was not real, he still should not have such a dream!

What Louis XIV found even more unbearable was that in the dream he had begged Leopold's forgiveness — truly infuriating. Why should he beg forgiveness from that bastard Leopold?

Because of this dream, Louis XIV was unhappy all day long. He not only canceled a masquerade ball, but also berated his mistresses, Madame de Montespan and the Countess of Soissons, Olympe Mancini, ordering the two women to remove themselves from his sight at once!

But once the two mistresses vanished, Louis's mood grew even worse. He could not even eat lunch, and sat alone sulking in his bedchamber inside the fortress of Metz.

Just then, the door was suddenly knocked upon, and from outside came the voice of a court attendant: "Your Majesty, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs urgently requests an audience!"

"No audience!" Louis roared. "Today I will see no one!"

"The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs says his request concerns Leopold I!"

"Damnation," Louis muttered. "Come in!"

The door was pushed open, and a foreign minister with a face full of sorrow strode hurriedly in and bowed to Louis XIV.

Seeing the expression on Hugues de Lionne's face, Louis XIV's heart gave a lurch — nothing good, for certain!

"Your Majesty, Father Marco d'Aviano has arrived in Lorraine!" Hugues de Lionne said. "He has brought us terrible news!"

This priest was the leader of the Capuchin mission under the Franciscan order, and at the same time an important counselor to Leopold I, chiefly responsible for foreign affairs and internal administration.

What was this fellow doing in Lorraine?

"Terrible?" Louis XIV asked with a frown. "What news?"

"Your Majesty," Hugues de Lionne's voice trembled slightly, "Leopold I has become a saint!"

What? Become a saint?

Louis XIV was stunned again and again. "Hugues, if I remember correctly, Christian saints can only be those who have already died and are now in heaven with Jesus Christ! Could it be that Leopold —"

"Your Majesty, he died in battle at Győr," Hugues de Lionne said. "His army was defeated by the Mohammedans, and he himself was shot dead by a Mohammedan sharpshooter using a rifled musket!"

Leopold I had indeed become a saint — a man of his station, fallen in battle in defense of Christianity, was of course to be canonized!

"What? Killed — Leopold killed by a rifled musket? Dear God —" Louis thought to himself: the rifled musket that killed Leopold — it wouldn't be one I sold to the Ottoman Empire, would it? The rifled muskets I sold to the Mohammedans killed Saint Leopold — that sin seems rather great!

Would he go to hell after death?

In the audience hall of the fortress of Metz, the atmosphere had already grown incomparably grave. Louis XIV's face was ashen, the Prince de Condé looked as though he had lost his parents, Hugues de Lionne's face was full of sorrow, Marshal Turenne sighed without cease, and Colbert wore an expression of remorse — they were all sinners who had sold guns to the Ottoman Empire!

Now Leopold had become a saint, standing in heaven at the side of the Lord Jesus Christ, watching these sinners —

A somewhat elderly, balding, thin-looking priest was tearfully recounting the scene of the great Leopold I's ascent to heaven.

"Though he was struck by six bullets and blood poured from him like a stream, he still bravely charged the Mohammedans. Before his blood ran dry, he slew seven fully armed Mohammedan warriors, beat back one enemy assault, and covered the retreat of the remnant forces led by Charles of Lorraine across the Danube!"

As he spoke, the priest tremblingly produced a cloth bundle and handed it with both hands to Louis XIV, who was already weeping. "Your Majesty, this is the bullet that struck His Imperial Majesty — a most vicious bullet. Those who made it and sold it shall surely go to hell!"

Surely it could not be that serious?

Louis XIV thought to himself: guns and bullets do not kill people — people kill people!

But when he opened the cloth bundle and saw the deformed wooden-plug rifled musket ball inside, he was taken aback. What sort of bullet was this? It did not seem to be of French manufacture!