monarch

The court attendant led Robert up the grand staircase to the second floor of the castle, and into the empty waiting room.The attendant gestured to Robert to wait a moment, and then disappeared behind the door leading to King Philip II's study.

Robert walked to one side of the room, sat down in a hard armchair, and looked around the undecorated room.This room was not so much used by the king's guests as they waited to be received, but more like a place where the prisoners of the Inquisition waited for their hearings.The stone walls had no wainscoting, wallpaper or tapestries for decoration.A small window about the size of a human head was opened on the opposite wall near the ceiling, and a tiny light shone in from the window like the transom of a prison cell.The only decoration in this room is a crucifix created by Titian hanging directly above the fireplace. In the center of the picture, Jesus Christ hangs on the cross. Because the room is too dark, his expression is really ugly. Clear, making the whole atmosphere even more eerie.

After a few minutes, the attendant entered the room again.

"Your Excellency, please come with me." He opened the door leading to the king's study for Robert.

The two walked through a short corridor and walked into a study room. In the center of the study room, a man in black was writing something at his desk. Hearing footsteps from the door, he raised his hand. start.

"Your Majesty." Robert bowed to Philip II behind the desk.

"Mr. Ambassador." Philip II put the quill in his hand into the ink bottle, rested his chin on his hand, and looked at Robert for a moment, but he didn't mean to call him to sit down.

Robert didn't seem to care. He looked at the man standing by Philip II's desk and nodded towards him.

Compared with his master, the attitude of His Excellency Gonzalo Perez, Philip II's Minister of State, is much more gentle. He has a smile on his face that a tavern owner faces his guests, and looks at Robert. Greeted cordially.

On the other side of the study, the king's son, Prince Don Carlos, was hiding there to himself, scratching the only tapestry on the wall with a small dagger with an ivory handle.The boy completely ignored Robert's presence, and indulged himself in his favorite pastime--carving his name with a penknife on the lap of St. Peter in the tapestry.

"Your Excellency the Ambassador." Philip II spoke again, still in his usual emotionless and lackluster tone, "My ambassador in London sent me a report about the incident of two Spanish sailing ships. Ultimate fate."

"I don't know which two ships His Majesty is referring to?" Robert asked nonchalantly.

"It's the 'San Esteban' and the 'Madame Atoca' flying the Spanish flag." Philip tapped the table with his knuckles lightly, "This matter has already been rumored."

"Sea voyages are always full of unknown dangers." Robert continued.

"Yes, it is true." Philip II smiled for the first time today, "Sometimes it seems that God thinks that the dangers brought by nature are not enough, and he also sends artificial dangers to the unfortunate sailors. .”

"Send them the damned English pirates." Prince Carlos shouted from across the room in a voice-changing shrill voice, stabbing St. Peter's nose on the tapestry with his dagger.

"Carlos, put down your knife, or get out of the house!" Philip II slammed the table.

Prince Don Carlos turned pale, whether from fear or anger, it was hard to tell.He gave Robert a cold look, and did not put down the dagger in his hand, but walked out the door with it.

After the prince withdrew from the study and slammed the door heavily, Philip smiled at Robert, "Excuse me, Your Excellency."

"The relationship between father and son is always complicated," Robert replied.

"Yes, you are an expert in this field." Philip II said lightly.

Robert's face did not change, but if you leaned closer to him and listened carefully, you would find that his breathing had become a lot rougher.

Satisfied with this small stab, Philip II decided not to take advantage of the victory to pursue it.

"Okay, so now let's get down to business: your pirates attacked these two Spanish ships..."

"It's our privateer." Robert interrupted Philip II.

"That's the officially endorsed pirate." Philip II said impatiently, "In any case, the goods on those two ships are worth 150 million ducats, and now they must have entered the inner treasury of my dear brother-in-law Edward. Ask him to return the money to its original owner."

"His Majesty King Edward is the rightful owner of this money."

"Then I will ask you to explain to me." The temperature in Philip II's voice became lower and lower.

"It's very simple, Your Majesty." Robert spread his hands, "Two years ago, your country sent troops to support the rebellion in our country. For the losses caused by your country's army, we have already asked your father for compensation two years ago. However, your country has been ignoring it, so we have no choice but to withdraw it ourselves, and we can regard this money as the first payment of compensation, of course, after deducting late fees and pensions for casualty sailors."

Philip II laughed angrily, "You mean, robbery is now a legal business in your country?"

"This is not robbery, Your Majesty. If you have to define it, I think it should fall under the category of 'enforcement'."

"What an enforcement!" Philip II pushed the chair back violently, stood up, and screamed harshly when the chair legs rubbed against the ground, "So, your country doesn't plan to return the money? "

"I am afraid it is so, Your Majesty. Your captain has received a receipt signed by our Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he is on his way back to your country."

"Beware, Monsieur Ambassador, for perhaps one day I will send a fleet to the London docks to retrieve my things."

"In this case, you should be more cautious, Your Majesty." Robert looked at Philip II expressionlessly, "If outsiders heard it, they would think that you are about to declare war on our country."

Philip II had regained his composure. He sat back on his chair and waved his right hand towards Robert as if he were repelling a servant.

"In this case, we have nothing to talk about, please go back, I have to work now." Philip II stretched out a finger of his right hand, pointing in the direction of the gate, "but please tell me what I said today. Tell your majesty the king: I have extended the olive branch of peace to him countless times. If he insists on pushing away my hand of friendship, then when misfortune befalls him and his country Don't blame me for not reminding you."

Then he waved his hand haughtily again, beckoning Robert out.

Robert bent slightly, and walked out of the room without saying a word.

When the sound of Robert's footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor, Philip II looked at his Minister of State indifferently, "Did you hear what he said?"

"I heard it clearly, Your Majesty." The Minister of State said, "It seems that we can't count on the funds of 150 million ducats for a while."

His Excellency the Minister of State paused slightly.

"Unfortunately, this has brought about a very serious problem. The next treasure ship will not be able to set sail until early next year, and we have to repay the loan of 500 million ducats by the end of this year."

"Can you transfer a sum of money from other places?" Philip II frowned, "Or borrow a new debt to make up for the old debt?"

"The kingdom's total debt has reached 600 million ducats, and the amount of interest has reached 200 million ducats. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for us to borrow money."

"Then do you have any suggestions?"

"I think if the situation does not take some dramatic turn by the end of the year, then we can only declare default on the debt." The Secretary of State turned red with embarrassment.

"You mean to declare bankruptcy!" Philip II's tone was full of disgust, "A king violated what he promised!"

"Things may not be so bad." The Secretary of State said quickly, "We can negotiate with the bankers to obtain a debt extension. The key now is to restore our credit, Your Majesty. In finance, credit is material and spiritual Whether it is a person or a country, it is supported by credit. As long as our credit is restored, it will be like a corpse breathing again... What we need to do is to let those greedy The bankers understand that our finances are still in good shape and that the deferment of payments today is a stopgap measure and we can afford to continue to make our payments."

"But our finances are not healthy. We live on the gold and silver of America, and the borrowings of our bankers. Our expenses far exceed our accounts."

"Therefore, we must cut some unnecessary expenditures." The Secretary of State took out a notebook from his pocket, "Our largest expenditure is military expenditure, I think we may be able to delay the payment of each army for a period of time , except of course the Army of Flanders, where our war with the French is at a disadvantage."

"As for the navy, I think we can send some of the prison convicts to sea, so that we can discharge the same number of sailors for whom we will not be paid."

Philip II bit his lip, "I'm afraid that's the only way to go, I hope this doesn't cause mutiny."

"In addition to throttling, we also need to increase revenue. We must require the American colonies to send no less than 200 million ducats of gold and silver before the end of the year. This is the minimum to maintain turnover. In addition..." The Minister of State glanced cautiously The look on Philip II's face, "I think we'll have to raise taxes."

"Another tax increase?" Philip II frowned hesitantly, "There have been civil uprisings in Catalonia and the Basque Country, and news of riots in Milan and Naples. I heard that domestic prices are soaring now. Many people are very disaffected and we seem to be sitting on the crater. "

Compared with the beginning of this century, domestic prices in Spain have risen fourfold. This phenomenon will be called "price revolution" by later generations of economists.Compared with the beginning of the century, the amount of gold in Europe has increased from 2000 million ounces to 4000 million ounces, while the amount of silver has soared from 5000 million ounces to as much as 5000 million ounces.Since the fall of the Roman Empire, the entire European economy has been in a state of deflation. Philip II and his courtiers have never seen such rapid inflation, and they are completely incomprehensible.

To make the situation worse, these huge amounts of gold and silver imported from America were used by the dynasty in military and political activities to dominate Europe.And Spain's weak handicraft industry made the consumption of nobles to maintain their luxurious life continue to flow to suppliers and creditors in Britain and France.These huge amounts of gold and silver are like a poisonous cake, making Spain the richest country in Europe for a short time, but in the end, only appalling inflation, huge debts, poor people and dying industries and commerce are left behind.

"I think we can only impose new taxes on some areas that still have enough capacity." The Secretary of State said, "As for those areas that are poor and have always been rebellious, even if we increase taxes, I am afraid that it will not increase much income, but will cause turmoil. , our tax increase this time is limited to wealthy areas.”

"You mean the Netherlands?"

"It's not unreasonable for those German princes to call the Netherlands your father's little golden donkey. It contributes one-third of the country's income there."

"But the new excise and import duties were just introduced in the Netherlands last year?"

"Those Dutch people's gold mainly comes from trade." The Minister of State smiled like a cat when it sees a mouse in front of it, "And who are they trading with? Their biggest trading partner is the English. Your enemies. Shouldn't they have duly rewarded you for the kindness you have tolerated all these years? Or would they have preferred you to prohibit it?"

"It's not unreasonable." Philip II leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, and murmured.

"I propose to promulgate a stamp tax regulation in the Netherlands." The Minister of State turned the notebook in his hand to the back. And all documents issued to the outside world need to be affixed with the royal tax stamp, the tax amount ranges from two coppers to one ducat, and violators will be fined or imprisoned, and those who forge stamps will be hanged.”

"In addition, I also intend to prohibit direct trade between the Netherlands and the American colonies. All trade needs to be carried out with royal approval, and to obtain a royal charter, you need to pay 30.00% of the profits to the royal family." For the Netherlands bankers, we will ask them to forgive our debts, and if they are not willing to lose their money, they must agree that we can guarantee priority repayment of the money owed to them in the future. In addition, to the Netherlands Fifteen taxes I also plan to adjust, such as increasing the land tax from 15.00% to 20.00%, raising the tariffs on wine, wool and textiles, and imposing new tariffs on coffee and indigo, etc. I estimate that such measures can provide us with Increase the income of three to five million ducats within one to two years, and the financial strain will be greatly eased."

"Is this too drastic?" Philip II asked uneasily. "Such a draconian measure will surely trigger a huge wave of opposition in the Netherlands."

"This is only an expedient measure, Your Majesty." The Secretary of State comforted, "The key now is the direction of the war. If we can quickly win a decisive victory over the French in Flanders and northern France, then our Credit will be restored. When we have defeated the French, the English will, as long as they have reason, make peace with us, and we will be able to cut military expenditures accordingly and get our finances out of the way."

"I hope so." Philip II made a sign of the cross on his chest.

"Then I will ask someone to prepare the corresponding documents. I hope to get the first payment of taxes within two months." The Minister of State said bluntly, "Your Majesty, please write to your sister, Her Majesty the Governor of the Netherlands. A letter asking her to cooperate with this work."

Philip II's eyes dimmed indistinctly.A year ago, when his father Charles V announced that the Netherlands would be handed over to him, the new king's aunt, Queen Mary of Hungary, also announced her resignation as the governor of the Netherlands.Due to various differences with Philip, the former governor refused her brother and nephew to stay, and after a quarrel with Philip, she returned to her residence in Turnhout to live in seclusion.

The helpless Philip II could only hand over the territory of the Netherlands to his illegitimate sister, Margaret, Duchess of Parma.The 34-year-old Duchess was raised by two female governors of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria and Queen Mary of Hungary. The various trainings she experienced made her the only one in the Habsburg family. The candidate who can succeed the female governor of the Netherlands at this time, but she lacks experience as a ruler after all, maybe the situation that the female governor of the Netherlands will face is beyond her ability?

Philip II suppressed these doubts in his heart, but nodded slightly towards his Minister of State.

There was another knock on the door, and the attendant walked into the study again, announcing that Emperor Charles V's carriage was ready and he was about to get up and set off.

So the king stood up, "Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"Not for the time being, Your Majesty." The Minister of State bent down.

The king followed the squire out of the study.