[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

Before William Tudor could meet with the Ottoman envoys, he received a letter from Princess Juana, detailing the oppression of the Protestants in La Rochelle, and her father's oppression by the King of France. Therefore, they had to face a dilemma - either hang the "thugs" in La Rochelle, or let all the Dutchmen in France go back.

Because Henry VIII was a little depressed after the death of the Duke of Suffolk, and even the old injuries on his legs began to come and go again and again, so William Tudor took over the affairs of the country during the time when the king was resting. The members discussed all the results before two o'clock in the afternoon every day, and then submitted them to Henry VIII for review and approval.

He is simply a tool to help the king filter spam.

William Tudor, who finally met the royal power, sighed. Facing the pile of documents, he felt the importance of Thomas Cromwell more and more, and hoped that Princess Juana would come back as soon as possible to help.

Because William Cecil was Lord Seal for William Tudor by Henry VIII, he was also eligible to sit on the Queen's Council, which made the real Matthew Stuart feel a little ugly.

John Dudley, on the other hand, watched Earl Lennox crazily targeting his secretary with great playfulness, feeling annoyed (William Cecil watched him being kicked out of the room by Henry VIII), and at the same time Despise the pettiness of the Scottish nobility.

"Your Highness, I don't think England should accept La Rochelle's Protestants." Matthew Stuart, as the Lord Seal, was naturally the first to express his opinion: "Because of the American Silver Ship, we The relationship with Spain has reached a stalemate, so it is not easy to anger France now, so as not to suffer enemies like Spain before."

"I agree with the Lord Keeper of the Seal." John Dudley immediately echoed: "Besides, we don't need to get involved in the affairs of France. As a monarch, King Francois has the right to deal with everyone in the territory of France. "

"But the question is, who is the king of France?" William Tudor casually raised a fatal question, and his eyes swept over the ministers present one by one: "Is King Francois the ruler of France, or is he the king of France?" My father was ruler of France."

Let alone the eloquent Matthew Stuart, even the sure-fire John Dudley was choked.

You must know that the full title of Henry VIII is "Henry VIII, by the grace of God, King of England, France and Ireland, Guardian of the Faith, Head of the Church of England and Ireland."

Although on weekdays, everyone defaults to the ruler of France as King Francois, but have you ever heard someone call King Francois the King of France in Hampton Court Palace?

Henry VIII is definitely out of his mind for not letting you go to the Tower of London.

John Dudley only felt a cold sweat on his back, so he quickly lowered his head, praying that Henry VIII would not make too much association with today's conversation.

William Cecil on the side had already inquired about La Rochelle's situation through his father-in-law's network, and judged that the Prince of Wales and Henry VIII most likely wanted to help La Rochelle's Protestants, otherwise they would It is difficult to maintain England's Protestant leadership - why should a Protestant country that does not dare to challenge France or Spain become a beacon in the eyes of Protestants.

William Tudor knew very well that England could not lose its status as the only Protestant power, otherwise they would not be able to barely compete with France or Spain.And now it's too late to turn around and show favor to the Catholic Church. At most, the superficial peace is maintained. However, through the Pope's dissatisfaction with the weakened teaching power, he stabbed France or Spain in the back.

only……

"What I'm most afraid of now is that King Francois will shake hands with the Spanish emperor to make peace." Although the two have a bloody feud between them, under the interests of the family and the country, Henry II, who hates Spain so much (not yet enthroned) He can marry his daughter to the son of his enemy, not to mention the cold-blooded Francois I.

As long as Spain gives enough prices, William Tudor's concerns are not groundless.

"Your Highness, in fact, you don't need the Spanish emperor to shake hands with King Francois." Just when everyone was distressed, William Cecil, who had been preparing for a long time, suddenly made a voice, which made everyone's eyes surrender. The last member of the Imperial Council.

Matthew Stuart's face suddenly became ugly, but in front of William Tudor, he still suppressed his anger and said softly, "Dare to ask Sir Cecil what's your opinion?"

Although William Cecil's father had passed away long ago, Matthew Stuart deliberately called him Sir "Little Cecil", no doubt cryptically reminding everyone that this brat is now on top of them.

Regarding Matthew Stuart's little trick, William Tudor frowned, somewhat puzzled why Henry VIII chose an idiot to take over the position of Lord Seal.But at the same time, he also wanted to see how William Cecil would react.

It has to be said that Henry VIII's vision of picking ministers is still very good.

Whether it is Thomas Cromwell, who was promoted by him exceptionally, or the Seymour brothers, who borrowed his sister to take over the position, in fact, there are more or less two brushes.

It's just that in the parallel world with William Tudor, the Seymour brothers were suppressed by Henry VIII for various reasons, but this cannot conceal that they did make some achievements in suppressing the rebellion.

And now, William Cecil, who was chosen by Henry VIII, also showed his political ambition and political potential that did not match his age, so he was indifferent to Matthew Stuart's hostility, even Somewhat want to laugh: "As far as I know, France has long faced the division of three forces."

"The first party is the royal power centralization faction headed by King François, promoting the enclosure movement and weakening the power of the great lord."

"The second party is the Regency faction headed by the Duke of Guise and the Duke of Montmorency. They exploded quickly after King Francois was captured, so that they became a powerful force to limit the royal power."

"What about the third party?" William Tudor looked at the eloquent William Cecil with great approval, and lamented that if he hadn't had a future perspective, he would never have seen more far-reaching than this young English jazz.

It is worthy of being named "Elizabeth is a woman and a man, a combination of herself and Cecil" by later generations.

It's a pity that his son is still much worse than his father, but the tiger father has no dogs, so he is always a middle-class minister with some strength.

"The third party is the budding Protestant forces in France." Before William Cecil finished speaking, he was interrupted by Matthew Stuart.

"Sir Cecil, do you want us to support a budding Protestant force?" Matthew Stuart felt a little displeased because he was a hidden Catholic and had always believed that England had converted to Protestantism It's just a political strategy, not a complete departure from Catholicism in terms of core teachings.

But those Huguenots in France were different.

On the basis of Lutheranism, John Calvin further cut out the parts of Protestantism that overlap with Catholicism.

Therefore, Huguenots were far more radical than Lutherans, and it was more difficult for them to live in harmony with Catholicism.

"Sir, our starting point is not doctrine, but England's national interests." William Tudor, who was in control of the overall situation, stopped the signs of doctrinal disputes in time and explained William Cecil's proposal: "We only support The side that's good for England, not purely Protestant, you understand?"

"Yes." William Cecil understood that the Prince of Wales was giving him a step, otherwise he would not be able to explain it when he got to Henry VIII.

"Compared with the Netherlands, the Huguenots have a local advantage in France, but considering that they have to face the blow of King François, it is easy for people to ignore this point." William Cecil said At the critical point, I only felt my palms sweating, and my whole person became tense: "Not only the Duchess of Ferrara who publicly sheltered John Calvin, but even the Bourbon family, there are also people who secretly converted to Protestantism."

"But the people in power in the Bourbon family are not Protestants." John Dudley cleverly grasped William Cecil's language loopholes, and put on an extremely false attitude of asking for advice: "A Protestant without a core leader Faction, is it really worth our support?"

Speaking of this, John Dudley also explained: "At least Lutheranism has the Schmalkar Alliance, so it can resist the tyranny of the Spanish emperor, and on the French side, please forgive me, I don't see the potential for the time being."

"This is because Calvinism appeared later than Lutheranism, so it was a step behind in development." William Cecil did not deny this, and frankly made John Dudley a little speechless: "If they really have a core leader, then a religious war will definitely break out in France, and this is precisely what all parties do not want to see."

"Not only does the Pope need France to compete with Spain, but England also needs France to stand in front of Spain." William Cecil knew that it was not time for a thorough reform, so he tried not to reveal his clear thoughts in words: "So We must accept the Protestants in exile, but we don’t have to let them enter England, but have a place to settle in Belgium, Flanders, or even the Netherlands, so that they can continue to spread Protestant ideas in France.”

"But what if King Francois, the Duke of Guise, and the Duke of Montmorency join forces to expel the Protestants?" John Dudley was unwilling to let William Cecil shine so easily, so Hard to find out his big "mistake", "The Dutch merchants have been driven out of France, how do we still do business? England's economic situation will definitely be affected like never before."

After all, the Spanish emperor was already very dissatisfied with England because of the American silver incident. If King Francois took the opportunity to dispatch again...

In this regard, William Cecil did not answer John Dudley's question, but looked at the most senior Prince of Wales. The latter glanced at John Dudley lightly, and said firmly: "Franco The King of Val would not join forces with the Protestants or with the Duke of Montmorency or the Duke of Guise."

"If he still sits firmly on the throne."

"As for the merchants of the Netherlands..." William Tudor counted the days and dropped a bomb: "If we can break France's monopoly on Turkish spices and jewelry, do you think King Francois will follow the French?" Shall we make peace?"