monarch

The passage of time is not disturbed by these trivial things in the world. On the morning of July 1554, 7, the great bell on the tower of Westminster Abbey struck seven times as usual.

The rising sun rose from the eastern horizon, and the sunlight dispelled the darkness over the city, sprinkled on the pale green water of the Thames, in the Gothic arcades of the Houses of Parliament, and in the Tower of London. In the courtyard of the city where, for centuries, the victims of power have thrown their heads and given their lives to add an insignificant footnote to this absurd drama.

Compared with usual, the number of citizens who went out in the morning was much less. From the soldiers patrolling the streets and the notices of martial law posted around the city, they smelled the unusual air, so they hid at home and prayed for the storm be able to pass sooner.However, their hopes are doomed to fail. Although the sun has shone on the earth, it may take a long time for the dark clouds hanging over the capital to dissipate.

Half an hour after the chief minister returned to his mansion, a large group of soldiers emerged from the vicinity of his mansion like groundhogs, flocking to every corner of the tide like a flood, and controlling every fortress in the city and rushed into the homes of the enemies who had already been blacklisted by the Chief Minister, dragged them out of the warm blankets amidst the screams of their families, and loaded them into the carriages whose windows had been sealed with iron bars , uniformly pulled into the Tower of London.

At 08:30 in the morning, the gate of the chief minister's mansion opened slowly. The chief minister rode a tall bay red horse, wearing the breastplate he had used when he set out for the expedition. appeared.

The sun had risen very high, and the golden sunlight shrouded this group of people, casting a holy shadow on this group of people, just like the high-spirited generals in the ancient triumphal ceremony.Alexander the Great conquered Babylon, Scipio conquered Carthage, Caesar conquered Gaul and Egypt, and alongside them His Excellency conquered the empty capital of his own country, and now he is galloping towards the supreme power of his country and go.

The three floors around the parliament building were surrounded by the chief minister's soldiers. Surrounded by them, the chief minister and his party arrived at the entrance of the parliament building. They entered the building together with a group of heavily armed guards , The swords in their hands have been unsheathed.Back then, the confident Caesar entered the Senate without a guard, but died under the daggers of the conspirators. Obviously, the chief minister was not prepared to make the same mistake as Caesar.

The members of the upper and lower houses have gathered in the hall of the upper house, but the people in this hall are still sparse.Throw away those MPs who are now in Wales with King Edward, and minus the thorns who have already lived in the suites in the Tower of London, and most of the rest are either partisans of the First Minister, or some cowards The answerers and the fence-sitters who have not yet made up their minds which master to follow.The few remaining opponents who escaped the net sat together alone, looking like a black sheep in a herd of white sheep.

When the First Minister entered the hall of the House of Lords, the eyes of MPs turned to him.The conqueror came to the podium with a calm expression on his face, like a priest presiding over a parish service on Sunday.

"My lords and gentlemen." He looked around at the excited, fearful, or secretly dissatisfied audience, "I am here today, as a member of this parliament, to speak to you, to this parliament Speak."

"I think many of you are expecting me to explain what happened last night, and that's one of the reasons I'm here."

"It is with a heavy heart that I would like to report this tragic news to Parliament: our orthodox king, His Majesty Edward VI, passed away at Pembroke Castle in Wales on the afternoon of July [-]th." With a sad expression on his face, everyone noticed that his arms were already wrapped in black gauze.

Although many people in this hall had more or less guessed it, the news of the king's death was still like a sudden lightning, dazzled their eyes.They looked at the chief minister on the podium in astonishment, and exchanged glances with each other, the whole hall turned into a silent desert.

The chief minister raised his head and raised his voice slightly, "For all of us, His Majesty's sudden death is a shocking news, but for some conspirators, when all the righteous subjects are mourning, They are secretly happy, because this sudden change is a god-sent opportunity for them."

"Just now, a well-armed Spanish fleet has entered the straits, carrying thousands of well-armed Spanish soldiers. Perhaps while I am speaking to you, these Spaniards are already in a certain place on the southern coastline. logged in."

"This Spanish army came at the request of Queen Mary Tudor of Naples, the daughter of the former King Henry VIII, and their purpose was very simple, that is to help Mary Tudor to the bed of her deceased brother. Throne."

"Some of you may think that this is just a normal succession of the throne. When the storm passes, you will still be sitting in this magnificent chamber, but you have changed your master. But you are wrong, Returning with Mary Tudor were the minions of the Pope, the stakes of the Inquisition, and the Jesuits in black robes; This glorious and ancient country has become a mosaic of the Habsburg Empire. The real master you will submit to is not Mary Tudor, but the Emperor Charles V, who has coveted the vast wealth of this country with the fleet for a long time."

"There is no doubt that the sudden death of His Majesty King Edward VI is a regrettable thing." The chief minister sighed softly, as if mourning for the young king who was not on holiday, "However, it is a done deal. For those of us who are alive, it is more important to face reality."

"Now the country has been pushed to the brink of disaster, but this new storm is just a continuation of the disaster that this country has suffered in the past 30 years. In the past 30 years, this great country has been torn apart by religious and political conflicts, Internal strife is like a cancer that is eroding the flesh and blood of this country. This bloodless civil war of all against all has left us stuck in the same place, stuck in the quagmire of self-denial and change."

"King Edward, who has been laid to rest, may have hoped to end this strife, but unfortunately what he did only exacerbated the tearing of the country. He dismissed centuries-old traditions and used those to He replaced nobles of high spirits with obedient echoers, and terrorized upright gentlemen with his personal army and spies. He did see the reality of a divided country, but his solution was to shut everyone up and just Leaving his own voice, this is exactly what those ancient Roman tyrants did! Fortunately, compared with the mortal monarchs, God has greater power. In the dark, he used a somewhat tragic way Corrected everything."

"We as a people are tired of this non-stop drama. After 30 years of storms, England, like a long day's traveler, needs enough rest so that when the sun rises the next day Only when he rises can he gather his strength and move forward in a spirited manner. And peace and rest are my gifts to this country as First Secretary of State.”

"When His Majesty the late King Edward VI passed away, I stayed by his bedside and heard with my own ears his regret for the terrible situation now, and the consequences of the present are precisely caused by himself. But fortunately However, at the last moment of his life, God dispelled the haze over King Edward's head, allowing the light of reason to illuminate his mind again. Before dying, he appointed a most suitable heir for the country——Jane Miss Gray."

Many members of parliament present here who don't know much about the chief minister's intentions trembled when they heard this, a slight commotion swept across the venue, but as long as the chief minister cast a light glance, these voices disappeared immediately up.

"Miss Jane Gray is a quiet girl who has read poetry and books, and has all the virtues that women should have. She cherishes the traditions of our country and knows that the monarchs of this country are not those ancient despots, but nobles She is a moral role model for us and the people, a symbol of beauty and peace in this country. She will use the power of morality and tradition to set an example for this country, instead of forcing this country to surrender with whips, military boots and guillotines."

"My MPs! The days of division and turmoil will soon pass, and the reign of Queen Jane Gray will be peaceful and moderate. Your ancient rights will be respected as they are due, and your status and property will be protected by the Queen, A golden age is at hand! Before that, there is only one obstacle left, and that is the ambitious Mary Tudor, who conspired with the Spaniards to invade her own country!"

"I have dedicated my life to this great country and its kings, and it has been with a heavy heart that I have watched this country sink deeper and deeper into tyranny and civil strife over the past few years. After serving this country for more than 30 years, I will make the ultimate sacrifice, put myself on the altar, even if my bones are broken, to restore the glory and peace that this country deserves! And those who stand in my way, let Let them tremble! Whether it is an enemy at home or abroad, we will completely eliminate them, so that they can no longer threaten our freedom!"

The chief minister slowly raised his right hand, "Thanks to God's grace, England has been reborn today, and may all the glory go to Queen Jane Gray and to this holy kingdom!"

"Long live Queen Jane, long live Britain!" The party members of the Chief Minister among the crowd stood up one after another, shouting vigorously.However, most of the rest of the people sat blankly in their seats, falling into an embarrassing silence.

When at last all the commotion and uproar had subsided, a senior MP, Sir Thomas Russell, arose, made a slight bow to the First Minister, and motioned for himself to speak.

"Your Excellency the Duke." The long white beard on Sir Russell's chin swayed lightly like the tentacles of a jellyfish. When this MP entered the Parliament for the first time, the King sitting on the throne was Henry VII.During his decades of parliamentary career, he was upright and upright, and thus gained a reputation of high morals, "May I ask you a question, since you just said that you were present when His Majesty passed away, can you explain to the parliament, How did His Majesty die suddenly?"

The Chief Minister gave Sir Russell a cold look. Obviously, in the opinion of this old-fashioned gentleman, his reputation gave him the right to raise doubts on this occasion, and the doubts he raised would in turn benefit his A good reputation adds bricks and tiles.The corner of the chief minister's mouth was slightly bent. This hypocritical old guy made a wrong calculation this time.

"Your Majesty had a sudden attack of a sudden illness that afternoon, and he passed away soon. As for the cause..." The chief minister shrugged slightly, with a sarcastic smile on his face, "The doctor said it might be a stroke."

Everyone, including the party members of the chief minister, looked at him in surprise.Since the death of King Henry VIII and the aftermath of the Great Murder, dying from apoplexy has largely become synonymous with murder.Now he prevaricates with this reason, obviously expressing his contempt for Sir Russell.

"I thought he'd come up with some more creative reason," muttered someone from the bench, turning to his companion sitting nearby.

Sir Russell's face was redder than the comb on the rooster's head, making the audience think that even he himself was going to have a stroke, "Are you kidding me?" His mouth was like a watering can, The saliva and roar were sprayed on the bald head of the frontbench member, "Your Majesty is still so young, you want to make this parliament believe that a young man will die of a stroke? Are you insulting us?"

"Then what do you want?" The chief minister looked at Sir Russell with a solemn and exaggerated look, and the other party's face became even redder.

"I demand a full parliamentary investigation!" Sir Russell yelled loudly, a smug smile appearing around his cheeks, "the smell of conspiracy emanating from this matter, in a It can be smelled from a mile away!" He looked hopefully at the members of parliament around him, hoping that they would agree with his statement, but to his disappointment, the fear of the chief minister in these people's hearts was obviously deeper than he imagined , The hall fell into an embarrassing silence again.

The chief minister looked at the other party standing there awkwardly and at a loss with satisfaction. He deliberately stared at the other party without speaking for a while, so as to prolong his happy time for half a minute.Finally, when he was satisfied with the humiliation he had given the other party, the chief minister finally opened his mouth slowly.

"An independent investigation?" He raised his eyebrows slightly, "It's not impossible...in fact, it should be, but unfortunately, the country is already on the brink of disaster, and sending an investigation team to Wales may only be possible. We can wait until the civil strife subsides. But, speaking of independent investigations... I do have some matters worthy of independent investigations in my hands, and if Sir Russell insists, he can use these things to practice his hands first."

The chief minister snapped his fingers, and two soldiers carried a huge box into the hall, placed the box in the center of the hall, and opened the lid.Members noticed that there were dozens of documents inside, many of which had yellowed and cracked.The two soldiers rummaged inside for a while, pulled out a stack of stapled papers, and handed them to the chief minister on the podium.

The chief minister opened the document and glanced at it for a moment, with a vague smile on his face.

"If you must hold an inquiry today, please take the trouble to investigate this matter first: you hid a gypsy whore in the East End ten years ago, do you remember?"

Sir Russell froze in place as if struck by lightning. The terrible memories buried in the depths of his mind rushed out like erupting magma. He trembled all over and looked around blankly, as if expecting someone to stand up Come on, tell him all this is just an unpleasant nightmare.

"It seems that you still remember," said the Chief Minister while he was hot. "The woman died in a burglary. Fortunately for you, she died at exactly the time when she was trying to blackmail you by exposing your relationship." That time...was a pleasant surprise, sir."

"You just said an independent investigation. Since Wales is too far away, the East End is always close enough. Do you want Parliament to send an investigation team to the East End? You want me to pin the relevant evidence to the bulletin board outside the Houses of Parliament up?"

Sir Russell sank into his chair. He opened his mouth to say something, but all that could come out of his throat were some inhuman grunts.His face began to turn from white to blue, his cloudy eyes were covered with bloodshot eyes, and he slumped in the chair like a wounded beast.

"It seems that it is unnecessary." The chief minister sighed softly, "It's a pity."

He looked at the crowd again, "If any of you still want to conduct an independent investigation, I have prepared the corresponding materials for each of you, such a good thing I got from Sir Walsingham's archives I found quite a few."

"So, gentlemen." He put down the document in his hand that terrified Sir Russell, "Does anyone still have any disagreement with my explanation to the parliament today?"

There was no sound in the conference hall, and even the shock of the carriages carrying soldiers passing by on the street outside could be heard.

The Chief Minister bowed solemnly to the MPs, and then walked out of the hall with the same steady steps as when he came.