[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

After hunting, Henry VIII only felt that his shirt was soaked with sweat, so he gave up the idea of ​​making trouble with his little lover.His leg injury from falling from a horse in 1535 has not healed so far, which not only caused him inconvenient mobility, but also required a lot of perfume to cover up the sour smell on his body.At the same time, in order to relieve the pain, coupled with the various banquets held in recent years, Henry VIII's alcoholism and obesity are not optimistic.

The court doctor advised the king to lose weight to maintain his health, but under Henry VIII's increasingly irritable temper, many of his suggestions could not be made public, and could only be whispered to Thomas Cromwell or Suffolk The duke listens.

"I see." Regarding the court doctor's complaints, Thomas Cromwell only said a few perfunctory words, and after coaxing the other party to leave, he couldn't help feeling sympathetic.

It's hard for a court doctor, but why not for him, the Keeper of the Seal?

In just a few days, Thomas Cromwell had already met the ambassadors of several countries to England, and then, with their embarrassed but polite smiles, he raised the issue of Henry VIII's remarriage.

As he expected, big Catholic countries like Spain, France, and Portugal are more interested in the Prince of Wales than marrying the princess to Henry VIII, who is nearly fifty years old.After all, princesses are also judged by appearances. Since they can marry a young and handsome crown prince, who would want to marry a fat old man with leg injuries?

As for those principalities or electorate states...

The Duke of Lorraine has no sisters or daughters of the right age. The Duke of Guise has just married his eldest daughter to Scotland, and he is a devout Catholic, so he is unwilling to marry several younger daughters to the King of England as a successor.

So the marriage with the big country and the principality was so stalemate.

As for the remaining German electors, they were interested in pulling a Protestant country to resist the rule of the Spanish emperor, but it was difficult for them to send the princess over because of the obstruction of the Pope and the Spanish emperor.

"Elector Noxon is very interested in marrying England, but the Spanish emperor has been very strict with several elector countries recently, and they once supported Martin Luther, so we not only have to pay attention to the attitude of the Spanish emperor , and also to prevent Elector Noxon from giving up the alliance with England under high pressure." Thomas Cromwell was also secretly looking at Henry VIII's face while reporting.

Unsurprisingly, the old king's expression became ugly.

The servant at the side quickly handed over a glass of mulled wine with nutmeg and cloves. Henry VIII, who was lying on his back, did not get up, but leaned against the back of the thick velvet chair, and let the servant pass the cup to his mouth. After drinking half of the hot wine, he wiped his mouth and said displeasedly: "Mr. Cromwell, I have always recognized your ability. Can't you find a European princess who is willing to marry me? Man Why can't I do what Nuer I can do?"

Thomas Cromwell couldn't help showing a bitter smile when he heard this.

Manuel I, nicknamed "The Lucky One", not only possessed huge wealth and new world routes when he inherited Portugal, but also played a pivotal role in the battle against the Ottoman Empire.

In contrast, England's contribution to Spain is very small, that is, it will only be mentioned when Charles V and King François are busy fighting.

But these complaints could only be held back in Thomas Cromwell's heart.

Once it is revealed, it is a dead end.

"However, the elector of Saxony proposed Anne, the younger sister of the Duke of Cleves, saying that she is the best candidate for the queen of England." Thomas Cromwell thought of William Tudor's warning and the king's choice of the first three queens Taste, then carefully choose the words, carefully euphemistic: "Anne of Cleves has a Catholic mother, a younger brother who supports Lutheranism, and a radical Protestant brother-in-law, so she grew up in an environment of religious opposition In addition, the Duke of Cleves has a very strict family education, so Anne of Cleves seldom sees men other than her relatives, and she is as good at needlework as Queen Jane, and she is as good at needlework as you Same, like playing cards and hunting."

Speaking of this, Thomas Cromwell hesitated and said: "Although Anne of Cleves is inferior to Catherine and Anne Boleyn of Aragon in terms of knowledge, everyone I interviewed recognized that Cleves Anne is a gentle, caring, and noble person. In addition, the Duke of Cleves has started to let Princess Anne learn to read and write English, but..."

"Just what?" Henry VIII had already developed a strong interest in Thomas Cromwell's description, so he was very displeased with his sudden interruption: "Are you deliberately teasing my appetite?"

"No, how dare my subordinates have such an idea." Thomas Cromwell repeated William Tudor's warning in his mind, so he hastened to apologize: "Although Anne of Cleves has many amazing virtues , but compared with the previous three queens, her appearance is not outstanding, and even from the perspective of the English, she is a bit too serious, so that she looks older than her actual age."

"Huh! It's quite Germanic." The face-controlled Henry VIII instantly lost his interest in Anne of Cleves, but considering Anne of Cleves's tutor, background, and her nobleness, he would not With a character that seemed too smart, Henry VIII felt that she was a good marriage partner.

At least the serious Germanic princess would not cheat on her back. In addition, the Principality of Cleves is far away from England. It is also difficult for Anne of Cleves to interfere with the affairs of the English court. On the contrary, she can serve as a Protestant The symbol and peacemaker of the alliance, he solved many problems for Henry VIII.

From this point of view, the appearance defects of Anne of Cleves are not so unacceptable, and even on the other hand, to a certain extent, it also prevents her from cuckolding the king.

After all, the nobles also look at their faces. It is difficult for a serious, mature and unattractive queen to arouse the nobles' chivalry and desire for protection.

Even if Henry VIII can't be sexually interested in her, it doesn't prevent him from fulfilling his marriage obligations with his queen.

Big deal, after he married Anne of Cleves, he took some pretty mistresses.

This Germanic princess, no matter how beautiful she is, is no more unacceptable than a Habsburg shoehorn face!

"Go and discuss with the ambassador of Cleves about marrying Princess Anne." Henry VIII, who had made up his mind, drank sullenly and forced himself to make an unpleasant decision: "Let Princess Anne step up and deal with it." Learning English and English aristocratic relations, I don't want my queen to be unable to have a harmonious conversation with England's subjects."

"Yes." Thomas Cromwell, who had achieved his goal, breathed a sigh of relief. He was just about to summon the ambassador of Cleves, but was stopped by Henry VIII: "You are arranging my marriage with Princess Anne Don’t forget to ask about other princesses in Europe who are of the right age. Because William is about to get married, I don’t know if I can live to be 60, so he should get married quickly and try to have a baby before I die. son."

Henry VIII did not recognize his youngest son Edward, so while marrying the new queen, he also had to get a layer of insurance from the eldest son: "Princess Margaret of France is out of luck, and the rest is Charles." The bastard's eldest daughter."

Thinking of the territory of the Habsburg family, Henry VIII couldn't help but show a greedy look: "It would be great if his eldest daughter Maria could marry William. You can talk to the Spanish ambassador, understand?"

"Yes." Thomas Cromwell was determined to destroy the chances of marriage between England and Spain, because he had received a letter from a Calvinist friend a few days ago, and the other party had recommended Thomas Cromwell. The candidate for the Princess of Wales who shines in my eyes.

Princess Juana of Navarre, only daughter of Marguerite of Angouleme and Henry II of Navarre, niece of François and protector of Calvinism, a Calvinist Influenced by culture and education, she is a firm princess who has made good friends with Renee of France.

Once William Tudor marries him, England will not only get the support of Calvinism, but also get the Kingdom of Navarre through marriage.

The only fly in the ointment is that the Kingdom of Navarre is stuck between France and Aragon, and it is difficult for England to intervene.

So from this perspective, it is also necessary for Thomas Cromwell to have a good chat with the French ambassador and the Spanish ambassador.

While Thomas Cromwell was fighting for his marriage plan, William Tudor was inspecting irrigation in Wales and listening to the steward of Pembroke Castle, the cheap father of his illegitimate brother, Thomas · Perrot, there to report on the harvest of the season.

"Compared with last year, the situation this year is much better. In addition, there are people in neighboring lands in Wales who want to buy potatoes and invite Welsh farmers to guide the planting work."

"Is there any such intention in Ireland?" William Tudor didn't care that the neighboring nobles in Wales would rob him of his business. After all, he was the future king of England and held the direct port of Wales to Ireland, so If those people had brains, they wouldn't stretch their claws too far.

"Ireland's willingness is stronger than that of its neighbors in Wales. You also know that their land conditions are not good. In addition, before the port was established, they were robbed of merchant ships by Scotland several times, so this year's harvest is not very good. Hope to introduce new rations such as potatoes."

"There is no problem with the introduction, but I want to become the largest farmer in Ireland." William Tudor did not give a direct answer, because he was appointed Governor of Ireland by Henry VIII after the Duke of York was born, and he had the right to handle the small farmer. The estate of Mary's father, Henry Fitzroy, in Ireland.

The birth of the Duke of York did not bring much glory to the Seymour brothers. On the contrary, it made Henry VIII pay more attention to William Tudor

This has made countless potential investors see the value of William Tudor, so they are unwilling to bet on the Duke of York.

For a while, the Duke of Suffolk and his daughter and John Perott were in great demand, and some people even wanted to save the country with curves, so they mobilized William's two entourages.

"You will go to Ireland for me in a few days, and recruit some farmers there to grow potatoes." William Tudor arranged: "As for the irrigation issue, let's talk about it in a few days!" The channel has already cost a lot of money, so William Tudor can only solve the problem of agricultural control in Ireland in a few years.

After all, potato disease still has an incubation period of more than 200 years, so there is no rush.

At this moment, Richard Cromwell hurried to William Tudor, let Thomas Perrot avoid him, and whispered in the ear of the Prince of Wales: "One of the Netherlanders The merchant wants to see you, and he wants to tell you something that interests you."

William Tudor turned his head and caught Richard Cromwell's dodging eyes, so he asked casually, "Is that merchant a Jew?"

After all, many Jews in the Netherlands at this time sought a respite in the Netherlands, a place where business was booming, in order to escape religious trials.

By the way, after the Netherlands experienced a series of wars of independence, it became a number of countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium.

But now, it is still tightly held in the hands of Charles V as a purse, and the aunt and sister of the Spanish emperor act as regents.

"Can you see?" Richard Cromwell was not going to deceive William Tudor, but he also knew that asking the Prince of Wales to meet a Jew would definitely make Henry VIII so angry that he would hang him in the Tower of London city ​​wall.

"There must be a brave man under great profit. I would like to see what he has that interests me." William Tudor asked Richard Cromwell to arrange the introduction, and he was ready to meet this nun for a while. Merchants of Deland.