[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

The Firth of Forth goes deep into the hinterland of Scotland from the North Sea. It is a vacation place that Stuarts often visit. Even the Scottish kings in the past 200 years have built a French Renaissance-style building here in order to enjoy the fun of hunting. The beauty of Falkland Palace.

However, now, the storm has hit the entire Forth Bay area, turning this paradise town into a lonely city in the dark, amidst the thunder and lightning, there is a bit of a military fortress-like chill.

In other words, the current Falkland Palace has become a temporary fortress for the Scottish army.Because the royal borough less than three miles north of the Firth of Forth is also the oldest village in Scotland - Earls Ferry is under continuous attack by the English navy.Looking from the Firth of Forth, the soaring flames almost dyed the dark clouds in the sky crimson.In a trance, it seems that the shadow of the devil protruded from the sky, casting thunder and lightning on the residents of Earls Ferry.

It's like the end of Pompeii.

And in this hell-like background, a group of black figures moved quickly among the trees, trampling the stagnant water as loudly as the sound of distant artillery fire.

"How long will it take to reach the Falkland Palace?" Sir George Douglas, who was running in the middle of the team, wiped the rainwater from his face, and the cloak he used to keep out the cold was blurred by the rain, and his vision was blurred into a dark gray. The sound and the galloping arc of the horse ensured that he hadn't lost track: "We've been running for a long time, why haven't we arrived at Falkland Palace yet."

The regent alongside Sir George Douglas, the [-]nd Earl of Allen, glanced at the close friend of King James with great difficulty, and retorted unceremoniously: "It's just the weather, and you have to avoid the English navy. The artillery fire. We can reach the Falkland Palace tonight, it is already the result of God's blessing."

Because Earl Allen had been on the line with the Angus Earl of the pro-British faction, he could also think about what he would say and what he would do after seeing the dying James V while he was on his way.

Although France also offered the regent a sufficiently generous price, and even used fiefdoms and titles as bait, Earl Allen was not the Queen Regent who kept his ears to the outside world and only cared about France.

He is very clear that with the current situation in France, no matter how many favorable conditions are offered to Scotland, it will be difficult to realize it for a while.

Among other things, the coastal areas of the Netherlands and Calais were either Henry VIII's territory or Enrique II's.Moreover, Brittany has not completely subsided the independence storm, so the French Navy will not be allowed to go to sea easily.

In the past few days alone, Marie de Guiss from Linlithgow Palace sent no less than five letters to her hometown, basically maintaining the frequency of one letter a day, but all of them were lost. Scotland's regular merchant ships were intercepted without a single one left.

Marie de Guise was so angry that she called the English ambassador to make a fuss. As a result, within a few days, news came that Henry VIII had received the Spanish ambassador to England and threatened to punish Christian traitors.

Marie de Guise was now at a loss for words.

Regardless of what kind of pig brains Catholicism and Protestantism have become, but in name, they all believe in the same God, so they are not really pagans.

However, the Ottoman Empire in Central Asia was different.

Even if Marie de Guis knew that Henry VIII had definitely reached some kind of agreement with the Ottoman Empire during the Netherlands War.But on the bright side, they did not receive the envoys of the Ottoman Empire and sign an agreement with Suleiman the Great like King Francois.

So Henry VIII called King Francois a traitor, which is really a valid argument.

Moreover, many Protestants and Catholics in the Christian world are cursing the alliance between the lily and the crescent. In addition, the newly appointed Pope Paul III is trying to restore the relationship between the Holy See and the Spanish emperor, and even formed an alliance with it. I have children and relatives.

Therefore, from the perspective of King Francois, he really did not want Henry VIII to shake hands with the Spanish emperor at this time.After all, the Ottoman Empire also had a lot of broken things, so in the joint effort with France, it did not exert its strength last time.

At this moment, Marie de Guise seemed to realize that she was abandoned by her motherland, so she wanted to discuss countermeasures with James V as if holding the last straw.

And Sir George Douglas and the Earl of Allen rushed to the hospital bed of James V overnight with Mary de Guise's last hope.

"Your Majesty." After dismounting, Sir George Douglas had no time to take off his coat, and rushed to James V's room with a continuous stream of water.

On this short road, the armor on both sides of the aisle was as pale as a skeleton by the moonlight and lightning.Those portraits interspersed among the armors were also covered with a layer of cyan lifelessness, as if waiting for King James to become one of them.

Earl Allen, who was following Sir George Douglas, couldn't help but trembled, and then cursed in his heart that Scotland had never had better luck.

At that time, the king's bedroom was filled with a strong smell of medicine.

James V, who contracted cholera, was as pale and thin as those abandoned soldiers, but he was luckier than the unknown soldiers, so he could hold on for a while.

All the doctor's entourage in the room gathered around King James's bed with sad faces, waiting for the moment when he died.

Hearing the sound beside the bed, the exhausted King James V struggled to open his eyes, and smiled weakly at Sir George Douglas: "My dear friend, it seems that God wants you to witness my last moment."

"Your Majesty, I have brought you good news." Sir George Douglas could hardly associate the man on the bed with the heroic King James V, so he forced a smile with red eyes, "Your Majesty gave birth to you A little princess, they are waiting for you to go back."

"Waiting for me to go back?" James V burst into a queer laugh that made him look terribly frightening: "Are they waiting for me to go back and give Scotland to France, or England?"

Not long ago, the Battle of Sovimoss was the same as the Battle of Froden Field more than [-] years ago. It not only defeated the Kingdom of Scotland, but was about to take away their king.

Today's Scotland is no longer as strong as it was when James IV.

Before returning to the Falkland Palace, James V gathered [-] soldiers with all the strength of the whole country. He waited for the Earl of Angus and the Seymour brothers to succeed, and they could go south to join the French navy and fight all the way. into London.

But now, all this has come to naught.

None of Henry VIII and the Prince of Wales died, but the Duke of Norfolk, Brother Seymour, and James V were about to embrace death.

Recalling his own life, scenes of painful experiences emerged in James V's mind, which made him extremely sad and indignant: "Perhaps I should be thankful that God has enough mercy on me and didn't let me be like my father. Drag it to the streets of London to show the public."

The most cruel thing in a person's life is that all the hard work in his youth has been reduced to ashes, and when his death is imminent, he has to accept the "preferential terms" proposed by his mortal enemy.

In the eyes of James V, whether he entrusts his wife and daughter to France or England, there is actually no essential difference, because the Stuart dynasty in Scotland will eventually be replaced by others, and the surname will be Tudor or Valois in the future. , are no longer under the control of James V.

"Our throne came with a woman, and it will go with a woman." Throughout Scottish history, Stuart, who was once a royal steward, married Princess Marjorie and passed away from the extinct David II. In his hand, he took the scepter of Scotland.

And now, the Stuart dynasty will repeat the fate of the Bruce dynasty, entrusting everything to others.

"My poor Mary, she will usher in an unimaginably terrible fate." James V coughed a few times, and kept alternating the faces of Henry VIII and Mary G. Des in his mind, guessing his daughter Will she marry the second son of Henry VIII, or the future grandson of King François?

Of course, considering that the Prince of Wales is already married and married to the heiress of Belgium and Flanders, maybe Henry VIII is willing to wait a few more years so that the future princes and grandchildren of England can inherit from their parents and wives like Charles V. a large piece of land.

"In this day and age, heiresses are lambs thrown to the heap of wolves, and believe me after death Eleanor of Aquitaine, Mary of Burgundy, Anna of Brittany, and Crowe of France Germany's fate will be repeated on my daughter."

And now, Henry VIII undoubtedly took advantage of the fact that France was held back by Spain, and took the lead in deciding the future queen of Scotland.

James V inherited the Scottish throne at the age of one and a half, and now his daughter is set to break the record, as all male heirs according to the Salic Code have died before James V.And when the last male heir of the Stuart dynasty dies, those swinging Scottish nobles will definitely use the baby queen to seek the best interests for themselves—no matter whether the bid is from France or England, Or the unworldly Mary Stuart herself.

"Your Majesty, the subjects of Scotland and God will be on your side, God bless Queen Mary." George Douglas tried his best to comfort the weak James V, but when he shouted the slogan, no one answered his call.

Earl Allen on the side patted Sir George Douglas on the shoulder, signaling him not to continue talking.

It was only then that James V noticed that Earl Allen was also coming, and the warmth on his face disappeared immediately, replaced by a coldness like ice: "When the English army arrives, Earl Angus must have followed, Is it right?"

The Earl of Arran knew that James V hated him, but he couldn't afford to argue with a dying man: "The Earl of Angus declares that you are responsible for the death of Princess Margaret Tudor, and hopes that you can return the royal family that belongs to you. The belongings of the half-sister."

"My half-sister is just an illegitimate daughter. The Roman Church has already denied the marriage between the Earl of Angus and my mother. Is it necessary to let an illegitimate daughter inherit the inheritance of the Queen Mother of Scotland?" James V. The world has long spent the inheritance of Princess Margaret Tudor in this war, and naturally can't give anything.

Earl Allen had expected this a long time ago, so he shook his head pretending to regret, and said mercilessly: "In this case, Earl Angus can only go to the Queen to ask for everything Mrs. Douglas deserves." .

James V suddenly let out a piercing cough, stared at Earl Allen for a long time but couldn't say a word.

Upon seeing this, George Douglas drew out his sword and placed it around Earl Allen's neck, and asked sharply, "Are you going to betray Scotland and your motherland?"

In this regard, the Earl of Allen was too lazy to argue with the dead-headed Sir George Douglas, but said lightly: "It's not that I want to betray the motherland, but the only way to save Scotland at the moment is to make peace with the Earl of Angus." .”

"It seems that my good uncle was also betrayed by the Earl of Angus, isn't it?" James V's eyes suddenly burst out with a strong desire to survive, and his whole body was lifted up like a flash of light, even his face was darkened. An abnormal blush appeared, and his tone towards Earl Allen became much more friendly, causing Sir George Douglas to put away his sword: "You are right, instead of entrusting Scotland to France or England, I'd much rather the obnoxious Earl of Angus take over."

At least in this way, Mary Stuart still has the day when she takes power in person, instead of being excluded from the center of power by the future king's husband or father-in-law like Claude in France.