[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

William III's words have already reached this point. If the ministers below don't understand the king's meaning, it is not stupid, but deliberately finding fault.

Of course, from the perspective of most people, finding fault with the king is actually no different from stupidity.

Matthew Stuart, the Keeper of the Seals, suddenly had an idea, and said after deliberation: "Your Majesty, if you want to regulate witch hunts, I think you can take the measures that Spain took before, setting up the Inquisition Bureau, and punishing the use of witch hunts." Classified trials for acts of witchcraft.”

Matthew Stuart's words aroused the vigilance of some Protestants. After all, the deceased Henry VIII was vacillating between beliefs, so that the newly appointed William III never disclosed his true beliefs, and even let Jean Some Protestant stalwarts are not sure whether William III is a pure Protestant.

It is true that William III was surrounded by a group of Protestant activists, such as Queen Juana, Richard Cromwell, and Sir Cecil and other important members of the court, but at the same time, his mother , sister, and aunt are all staunch Catholics, and he was raised by Catholics since he was a child.

So you're saying William III rejected Catholics?

No, what he rejects is the religious authority over the divinely authorized military authority.

But do you say that William III did not support the development of Protestantism?

No, he actually deliberately increased the proportion of Protestants in Parliament, and never even stopped Thomas Cromwell's religious reform plan.

Therefore, Matthew Stuart wanted to use the witch hunt to test William III's belief bias, and to some extent increase the self-confidence of domestic Catholics: "I think ordinary criminal cases cannot be confused with religious cases. Only by separating the two, and having professional religious lawyers review and defend, can the greatest degree of fairness be obtained."

"This is indeed one of the directions I have considered." Although William III was dissatisfied with Spain and disliked the Inquisition Bureau, an illegal institution that tortured Jews and MSL, he had to admit that he was a member of this institution. Established, to a certain extent, avoided the rampant witch hunts, and even in the dark ages, the number of Protestants who died in witch hunts was much higher than the number of Catholics—at least the latter could go to the monastery to seek refuge, you always It cannot be said that a woman who is safe and sound under the eyes of God is a demon in disguise!

Then where do you let the face of the church go!

Seeing that Matthew Stuart had occupied the high ground of the king's will, Sir Cecil swallowed subconsciously, and calmly said: "I agree with the Lord Keeper of the Seal very much, and I also feel that religious trials should not be confused with criminal trials. , But Your Majesty, if you want to set up a religious trial bureau, then you need to recruit an additional group of priests who are familiar with religious codes to act as judges, and you need to build a new trial bureau."

Sir Cecil knew that the king intended to take this matter to the end, so he had to ensure that the existence of the Inquisition would not become another stronghold of Catholicism: "Besides, it is impossible to establish an Inquisition only in London because of the fact that witch hunts are sweeping the country. .Besides, the cost and manpower of sending the defendant to London should not be underestimated, and it is also difficult to guarantee that the reporter will not die on the way.”

As soon as Matthew Stuart heard Sir Cecil's speech now, he subconsciously raised his vigilance, trying to find out the other party's logical mistakes.

However, Sir Cecil did not give him time to think carefully, and said bluntly: "So, Your Majesty, I suggest that the accusation of witchcraft can be handled in the local church."

Sir Cecil was awarded the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer after William III returned, apparently becoming the second Thomas Cromwell: "After all, thousands of witchcraft cases are solved every year in the whole country, but there are only a few cases scattered all over the country. There is no need to gather more than a dozen cases in London for unified processing.”

"Your Majesty, I also agree with Sir Cecil." John Dudley said smoothly: "If it is only to solve the injustice in the witchcraft trial, it is entirely possible to introduce a witchcraft trial law instead of a law like Create the Inquisition with great fanfare, as the Keeper of the Seal says."

Speaking of this, John Dudley also deliberately joked: "Although I think there is a saying in the Spanish Holy See that most of the accusations of witchcraft are groundless, but in order to ensure the tranquility and governance of the country stability, it is still necessary to determine the procedures and standards of witchcraft trials to minimize the harm."

"Then let the religious researchers determine a reliable trial method and trial process, and then send the draft to me for review." William III glanced at the ministers present, and finally turned his attention to Matthew On Stuart: "Since the witchcraft trials in Spain are the most informative, this matter is left to the Lord Seal."

"Yes." Matthew Stuart, who was entrusted with the important task, was taken aback for a moment, and then nodded to William III.

"In addition, I would like to add another item to the draft." Of course, William III would not allow those idlers to carry out witchcraft accusations everywhere, so he added: "If the defendant is proved innocent, then she herself, Or her own husband and elders can demand one-third of her net worth from the whistleblower as honor compensation."

As soon as this remark came out, not only Matthew Stuart, but also the other imperial ministers gasped, knowing that the sword of Damocles would definitely greatly reduce the accusation of witchcraft quantity.

After all, who would spend one-third of his property for an uncertain matter?

William III grasped this measurement very well, not only will not let the whistleblower break the pot, but also limit the whistleblower's abuse of social power.

However, Sir Cecil still kept an eye out, and stated to William III: "Your Majesty, I think your proposal should be implemented separately. If some people with ulterior motives hire hooligans to attack their business competitors or family enemies, How should we deal with beggars who have no assets to accuse the other party?"

After all, barefoot people are not afraid of wearing shoes. You must know that when Elizabeth I was in power, [-] homeless people were executed, so the number of unemployed people in England is really not a small number.

"If you are a person with little assets, there are only two options." William III said in a deep voice: "One is that someone pays 150 pounds in compensation for him, and the other is that he is willing to pay with his life. But if you choose the former, you have to pay for it." Go through the judicial process to check whether the person who paid the compensation on his behalf has a bad relationship with the defendant."

Sir Cecil said clearly: "I will discuss the corresponding handover procedures with the relevant departments, please rest assured."

In this way, the issue of witch hunting in England can be regarded as a satisfactory solution.

After Queen Juana heard the news, although she had some doubts, she didn't say anything. Instead, she got a distress letter from Hardwick from Johanna.

What made Queen Juana very interesting was that the writer of the letter was not a religious pious person, nor an heir to some ancient nobles, but a squire's daughter whose status was only slightly higher than that of the common people, named Elizabeth. Talbot, nicknamed Bess in letters.

The reason for Bess to write to Queen Juana is very simple, that is, her marriage to her first husband was just a matter of paper. At the same time, even after his death, Bess did not get the due compensation and dowry that had been agreed.

Because Beth's younger brother was the last male heir in the family, after his death, Beth believed that he had the right to inherit his brother's estate and received corresponding compensation from the first marriage.

In order to increase the correctness of her appeal, Bess also listed various provisions on marriage and inheritance laws in the letter, severely criticizing the bullying and injustice of the Hardwick judge against her, and those collateral relatives greed and shamelessness.

"It seems that I am not her first person to ask for help." Queen Juana admired Beth's courage, because in traditional society, women are required to be humble and obedient, so even if they encounter injustice, they will choose to swallow their anger.

"In fact, Bess' lawsuit has been going on for two years, and the Hardwick Court has stated that it will no longer accept Bess' complaint on the grounds of obstructing the judicial process." Johanna carefully observed Queen Juana's expression, and said in a low voice : "This letter is supposed to be out of your reach, but someone deliberately opened the back door for Bess, so..."

Johanna said no more, but Queen Juana understood what she meant.

There are only a handful of people who can get in touch with the queen and have a certain path in the Whitehall Palace.But among them, Sir Cavendish, who is the treasurer of the royal family, can be so devoted to a young woman, even to such an extent.

"It seems that Sir Cavendish is in love." Queen Juana knew that Sir Cavendish had been married twice, but neither of the two wives left children, so he urgently needed a young new wife. Guarantee the continuation of your property and land.It's just that Queen Juana didn't understand that Sir Cavendish was the king's treasurer, and he was not short of money and titles. Why would he fall in love with a helpless girl from a small town?

Is it really because of love?

Queen Juana did not believe that a shrewd man who was almost young and had served two kings would easily fall in love with others.

"It may be that Sir Cavendish does not want to marry a noble wife, or that Sir Cavendish thinks that Bess is a smart man who will definitely please you." Johanna is also the leader of the royal family's attendants. This aspect can be considered to understand Sir Cavendish's approach: "If Sir Cavendish marries a noble girl, will you and Your Majesty still reuse him?"

After all, the treasurer is different from the female servant. Even if the latter marries a nobleman, she will temporarily leave the court due to family reasons, so she will not maintain long-term influence, but the treasurer is different from the royal housekeeper.

Richard Cromwell did not choose to accept the wooing of various forces, but married a The daughter of a rich merchant.

Similarly, Sir Cavendish is also a shrewd man, and manages the private property of William III, so it is impossible not to understand this truth.

Choosing Bess is not only to express loyalty to William III, but also to ensure that the existence of his wife will not hinder him.

Even Sir Cavendish was sure that Queen Juana would like Bess's character, so he planned to send Bess to Queen Juana's side to become an attendant lady.