[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

Ever since he boarded the big ship Prince of Wales, John Dudley has deeply experienced the resistance in his career, which is more than a star and a half less than when he first came to London. It is almost as if the coefficient of friction is close to zero, and the speed of the rocket is almost zero. Soaring to the sky, he was only inferior to the brothers of the two queens in the court, as well as Thomas Cromwell, who was capable of defying the sky.

At least compared to those bitter little nobles who are still working as bodyguards, John Dudley is very grateful for the support of Thomas Cromwell and the Prince of Wales, so after winning the fat job of fighting pirates, he is very good Sending filial piety one after another, they know how to maintain interpersonal relationships far better than the Seymour brothers.

"He is well-behaved." When William Tudor met Thomas Cromwell, he talked to him about John Dudley: "I didn't eat any of it myself, so I first gave the fattest place to him." People from all parties. Presumably in a few years, he will become one of my father's favorite courtiers."

After all, he is a capable person who can send the Lord Protector, who has power over England, to the guillotine. John Dudley, who has experienced several ups and downs in his forties, knows far better than Edward Seymour "reluctant to bear children, not to set him up." Live the wolf", "shoot the head bird" principle.So when facing the several mountains of the Whitehall Palace, he showed such humility that he almost bent down to the point of kissing the tip of his shoe.

Even some low-status servants who were not of noble origin had good things to say about this upstart who was generous and gentle.After all, under the weight of the pound, the curvature of the corners of many people's mouths will be quite real.

"It's because you have a good vision, so you can find such an interesting subordinate." Thomas Cromwell knew that John Dudley had taken care of Henry VIII's servants, and even had a good opinion of Richard Cromwell and him. I also have a lot of bribes: "You don't seem to want to spit out the money?"

"Although there is nothing to be courteous about, adultery is theft. But on the premise of knowing what the other party wants, who would refuse this door-to-door cake?" William Tudor most admired by Thomas Cromwell , that is, he remembers every benefit of his subordinates, so those who follow him will work harder for the master.

Such as Richard Cromwell and the Brandon sisters.

Under the control of William Tudor, the former will be named a baron in a few years, and the latter will also receive the property inheritance rights of the Duke of Suffolk, so he is a firm Prince of Wales party.

"You know, although John Dudley is called a knight, he doesn't have a title on him." Thomas Cromwell casually suggested: "Although his stepfather is the illegitimate son of Edward IV, he also retains a royal title." The status of Viscount Lyle, but Lady Elizabeth Gray (John Dudley) has long since passed away, so the position of Viscount Lyle cannot logically fall on him."

"But he made my father happy, and gave me such a big gift. I have no reason not to fight for him." William Tudor tapped on the armrest with his fingers, pointing out : "It's you, Your Excellency the Minister of the Seal, I guess you have been tossing and turning in the past few days, and you can't sleep all night."

"How do you say that?" Thomas Cromwell clasped his hands on his knees, assuming an attitude of humbly asking for advice.

"Your eyes and ears are all over Europe, you can't even detect the clues in Hampton Court Palace!" William Tudor knew that Thomas Cromwell was playing stupid with him, otherwise the other party would not Will come to him frequently: "Is your relationship with Bishop Gardiner good? I remember that at the trial of Anne Boleyn, you were very understanding."

"Of course." Thomas Cromwell laughed at himself: "so good that he still regrets not being able to find my fault in Anne Boleyn's trial, and then hang me, the closest heretic to the king, in London on the tower."

"Then he will probably regret it for a long time." William Tudor turned the ruby ​​ring on his right hand and said meaningfully: "I guess you were hanged on the front foot, and I died suddenly on the back foot. If it is about the king, or even England's Influence, I guess Bishop Gardner hates me more."

Thomas Cromwell's face softened slightly, because he was sure that the Prince of Wales, like him, was an enemy of Bishop Gardiner, so he also revealed his concerns to William Tudor: "Her Majesty is pious Catholic faith, I think Bishop Gardiner is likely to support the future Duke of York."

"Tsk! What's the use of his support?" William Tudor showed a spicy smile, which reminded Thomas Cromwell of Henry VIII: "Jane Seymour and His Majesty the King held a Protestant wedding ceremony , so in the Catholic faith, the Duke of York is just an illegitimate child, but in the Catholic faith..."

"Jane Seymour betrayed her faith, so the Duke of York is still an illegitimate child." Thomas Cromwell said very tacitly: "But in law, His Majesty the King will insist that his second son is a legitimate legitimate child, so Everything you said can't be said clearly."

[This is not necessarily. 】

William Tudor remembered the series of preparations he had made before Anne Boleyn became queen, and changed his tone slightly: "If His Majesty the King insists legally that the Duke of York is a legitimate legitimate child, but he is not sure in his heart He is his own son, what will happen?"

Thomas Cromwell narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at William Tudor for a while, and said slowly: "I would like to hear more about it."

"The doctor who consulted the queen was recommended by Bishop Wolsey to the king, and he was also in charge of my mother's pregnancy." William Tudor wrote lightly: "You were the most trusted secretary of Bishop Wolsey before his death. , I think you have a way to strike up a conversation with the other party, and then let him say something that is beneficial to us."

After all, William Tudor also deliberately added a sentence to lower Thomas Cromwell's vigilance: "I don't want to directly harm pregnant women and unborn children, but I don't want to see Bishop Gardiner and West The Mo family is getting bigger and bigger."

If William Tudor is going to kill Jane Seymour, Thomas Cromwell needs to re-examine whether he has found the right person to follow, lest William Tudor will treat him more cruelly someday.

After all, the other party is the son of Henry VIII.

"What do you want the other party to tell the king?"

"What month is the queen's due date?"

"In November, the court doctor estimated that the queen conceived in February."

"You asked him to tell his father that the queen conceived a child in January, and the due date is October." William Tudor remembered that Edward VI was born in October in history, so he wanted to play around with the date of birth: "Father left for Calais in February, so it is unlikely that the Queen will conceive in February."

"But Your Highness, a woman's pregnancy period is inherently uncertain, so what's the difference if it's a month or two away?" Thomas Cromwell asked, puzzled.

"After the Duke of York is born, you will know why I did this." William Tudor did not answer Thomas Cromwell's question directly, but said euphemistically: "I think the Seymour family also believes that the queen is The Duke of York was conceived in January, so if the court doctor doesn't want to be too fussy, just do as I tell you."

"Yes." Thomas Cromwell didn't take William Tudor's words to heart, so he quickly made arrangements.

William Tudor was left alone, staring at the fire in a daze.

If Edward VI's frailty was due to Jane Seymour's premature birth of a prince due to improper rest during pregnancy, then in terms of timing, William Tudor could make Henry VIII produce Edward VI who was not his own son. illusion.

In history, Princess Mary did not marry during Henry VIII's reign, so there was no such thing as Henry VIII leaving England in February 1537.

But now, due to the appearance of William Tudor, Jane Seymour was pregnant with Edward VI as scheduled, but Henry VIII did not have intercourse with the queen frequently during the months when she was pregnant with the prince.

William Tudor had no doubts that Henry VIII would feel that the Seymours had cheated him about the Queen's delivery after the Duke of York was born.

Obviously a full-term prince, but sickly like a premature baby.

Plus the king had left England in February, and Anne Boleyn's adultery trial.

It is estimated that before Edward VI gradually opened up, Henry VIII would look at his second son with suspicion, and then look at Brother Seymour with even more suspicion.

Time passed by little by little under the superficially peaceful atmosphere.

After attending the wedding, Henry VIII did not stay long in Calais, he hurried back to London, and then recruited Thomas Cromwell to draft the third "Inheritance Act".

"Is William okay?" Henry VIII, who has been away from home for a long time, is most concerned about the Prince of Wales, followed by the pregnant Jane Seymour: "And the Queen, have you ever arranged for an excellent court doctor to stay by her side? ?”

"Everything is safe." The Duke of Suffolk answered first: "The Marchioness of Dorset and the Queen's sister-in-law have always lived next to her house, and the Bishop Gardiner and the court doctor also visit the Queen regularly. As for the Prince of Wales , and everything is fine with him, but he can't help here, so he returned to St. James's Palace for the time being."

"Well! It's good if William is not here." Henry VIII glanced at Brother Seymour, then at Bishop Gardiner, and then called Thomas Cromwell and said: "Princess Mary and the little Duke of Lorraine must be A very happy couple, just watching me get this good son-in-law, François was very worried that I would invade France again with the Spanish emperor, so he sent an envoy to Calais to propose a favorable alliance for me."

"His youngest daughter, Margaret, is only three years older than William, and Francois has promised to make her the Duchess of Berry when she marries. So Cromwell, I hope you will discuss this matter again with the French envoy. After all, Charles and François are increasingly at odds, and England is a big part of that between the two."