monarch

The attendant led the Prince of Orange up to the second floor, passing through one after another large living rooms connected by marble corridors. These living rooms were furnished in the utmost luxury, with silk on the marble walls, Huge floor-to-ceiling windows face the garden, and expensive draperies, embroidery and tapestries adorn every corner, and the artworks used for decoration are purchased at high prices from antique dealers in Italy and Greece.

The two entered, one behind the other, into one of the small drawing rooms adjoining the king's study.In the center of the living room, there are two long sofas facing each other. From the texture on the armrests of the sofas, it can be seen that the wood used to make the sofas is quite old. coordination.

The attendant pointed to the sofa and signaled the prince to sit down, "Please stay here for a while."

Prince Orange nodded, sat down on the sofa, and let his body sink into the cushions of the sofa, as if he was in his own mansion.

After about 10 minutes, two doors were opened from the outside, and King Edward VI walked into the small living room.

The Prince of Orange was watching a painting of Raphael's "St. George Slaying the Dragon" hanging on the wall. When he heard the sound from the door, he immediately turned around and scanned the people who entered the room with curious eyes. that young man.

The King of Britain and Ireland just turned 20 this year, but he looks two or three years younger than his real age.The Prince of Orange had seen a replica of the portrait of King Edward VI created by Michelangelo, and he recognized His Majesty's elegant and noble face at a glance.The reputation of King Edward's handsomeness had already spread throughout Europe, and now after seeing him, Prince of Orange had to admit that not only were those rumors not exaggerated, but rather an understatement.

Like the prince, King Edward was also looking with interest at this man who had recently become famous all over Europe.His gaze first fell on the piercing eyes of the Prince. In all fairness, the Prince of Orange is considered handsome. He is well-proportioned, with sharp-edged faces and a beautiful mustache. It's not objective enough.The most distinctive feature of the prince's face is the pair of bright eyes, with a small pupil in the middle of the pair of brown eyeballs. The bright gaze from the pair of eyes can impress anyone who meets for the first time. left a lingering impression on people.

The Prince of Orange stood up and bowed to the king. He said he was bowing, but his back was straight, his chest was puffed forward, and his waist was slightly bent, as if condescending to greet the king. Same ceremony.

King Edward didn't seem to notice the meaning of this, the expression on his face didn't fluctuate, the stylized smile didn't even change the arc of the corner of his mouth.

The king nodded slightly to the Prince of Orange, and sat on the sofa opposite the Prince.

"It is an honor to meet you, His Royal Highness."

"It's an honor to meet you too, Your Majesty." The Prince of Orange replied in fluent English.

"You speak English very well." The king lightly flicked the cushion of the sofa with his index finger. "Of course, if you wish, we can also talk in Spanish or Dutch."

"I would like to speak English with you." The Prince of Orange bent slightly again and replied.

"Excellent." The king nodded in satisfaction. "Frankly speaking, I was really surprised when I heard the news of your visit. Originally, I expected that you should be with your friends at this time. I hear they are holding a meeting in Utrecht to elect you as their leader."

"I am grateful to the nobles of the Netherlands for their trust in me, but I think that I should go where I can make the most of my impact."

"When did you leave?"

"Two days ago, I took a fast boat across the sea and just landed last night."

"It's in a hurry, isn't it?" The king's gaze was firmly stuck to the prince's face like iron nails attracted by a magnet, "It seems that you set off as soon as you got the news that the two ships had run aground. "

Now that the king has spoken thoroughly, the Prince of Orange went straight to the point, "Indeed, Your Majesty, as soon as I got the news, I left my friends and allies and sailed to Britain, hoping to get to Britain as soon as possible. meet you."

"It seems you have come to persuade me to keep the Spanish gold coins," said the king.

"Exactly," said the Prince of Orange.

"Since this is the case, I will say it bluntly, if I keep that money, what good will it do me?"

"Benefits?" Prince Orange leaned back on the chair, "Your Majesty has an extra 60 florins in his cash drawer. Isn't that an obvious benefit?"

"For a banker, this may be enough, but not for a king." Edward refused to budge. "A banker only needs to consider his own money, but the king has to consider much more than this."

"What are you thinking about?" asked the Prince.

"For example, are these gold coins a poisonous bait?" The king shrugged his shoulders, "60 florins can make a penniless man a famous rich man, but it is a lot of money for a country That's all... I'm not sure if it's a wise choice to provoke a big country for a sum of money."

"If I remember correctly, His Majesty's privateers have attacked Spanish treasure ships more than once." Prince Orange said, "At that time, you didn't seem to take His Majesty's opinion to heart."

"This money is different. This is the last sip of water left in the water bag of a desert traveler. If this water is gone, the traveler will probably die."

"If the traveler is dead, he will naturally have no chance to avenge the enemy who took his last sip of water." The Prince of Orange said coldly.

"But the traveler has a companion with him, who carries a lot of water and has no weapons," said the king. "The unpaid Spanish legions are stationed in the southern Netherlands. When it comes to military pay, who says they won't collect it on the spot? Perhaps this is the result you want, let the Spanish army plunder the southern Netherlands, and push the ten provinces that are still hesitant to your side?"

"Since the friends in the south are undecided, let the Spaniards help them." Prince Orange replied indifferently.

"Even at the cost of burning half the country?"

"Wouldn't Your Majesty do that? If you had the choice between giving up your country and sacrificing half it to rule the other, wouldn't you not hesitate to burn half Britain? Rule half A country is better than nothing, because once you seize power, you will never be able to give it up voluntarily. You and I, Your Majesty, we are the same people." The Prince of Orange grinned at the king Laughing, "Power is our companion, we can never part with it, because the pain of saying goodbye to power will destroy our souls!"

"Since you are willing to pay the price of half the country, then you don't mind giving me something more." The king took off his hat and threw it on the tea table between the two sofas, "You know very well, Withholding this money means that our country and Spain have entered a state of hostility. Although war will not break out immediately, from this moment on, the war between us and Spain is inevitable, which makes me in fact Ned Lan's ally. I don't mind forming an alliance with your country, but my friendship is not cheap to the level of 60 florins, not to mention that it is someone else's money."

Prince Orange's face showed a bit of embarrassment for a moment, but he quickly calmed down, "The 60 florins that our country can give His Majesty are naturally not only the [-] florins. If Your Majesty still remembers, our representative I once told you that after the independence of the Netherlands, our country needs a wise, just and great king to be our king..."

"Okay, okay." The king waved his hand impatiently, "If you mean to give me the crown of your country after the war, then I thank you for your kindness, but I think we all know that you After going through such a big circle, it’s not just to change yourself a master, right? You promised me and King Henry II of France this crown, but in fact, you prepared this crown for yourself. Because Henry II and I will not allow each other to wear this crown, then only one head is left to wear the Dutch crown, your head!"

The king's words were like a heavy punch, and the unprepared Prince of Orange was dizzy all of a sudden. His face turned pale all of a sudden, and his eyes were fixed on Edward VI.

"I didn't expect His Majesty to speak so bluntly." He said dully, speaking very slowly, obviously thinking about how to fight back.

"You're a smart man, so I'll go straight to you." The king didn't give his opponent a chance to breathe, "I don't expect you to give up that crown, after all, it's probably your lifelong wish, what I want is reality If you ever become king of the Netherlands, then in order to compensate the king of France for losing the crown of the Netherlands, you must give him corresponding compensation, such as a city on the frontier. I think a wise man like you, Which cities must have been planned to be ceded to the French, such as Artois, and Cambrai?"

The king watched with satisfaction that the blood on the Prince of Orange's face became thinner and thinner, "It seems that I guessed it right, well, if you need my friendship, then you must at least ask and give it to you Another friend for the same price."

"Your Majesty speaks like a banker." The Prince of Orange said with a touch of sarcasm. "Ruthless realism is a rare quality in a king."

"But kings who have this quality are great kings." The king raised his head proudly, "So I will take you to praise me, and I will give you the same praise, just as you said, We're one of a kind."

"Then what does Your Majesty want? What price will you place on your friendship?"

"It's very simple. I ask your country to exempt all British goods from customs duties. All cities and rivers in the entire Netherlands must be open to British merchants and merchant ships. Our banks can operate in the Netherlands without restriction. If If your government wants to issue bonds, the British banks must account for half of the underwriters."

"After the war, we will buy the port of Rotterdam at the mouth of the Rhine for £50, and the land around the city to the sea. You can see that our territorial claims are much greater than what you intend to give to the French. But far from that.”

"But the actual benefits you get are more. If you control the mouth of the Rhine River, then the entire western German state will be choked by you, and your influence will continue to extend to Baden and Württemberg. That is already the heartland of Germany," said the Prince of Orange.

"I can give your country more than the king of France. He has already fought with the Spaniards. Even if he forms an alliance with you, he can't help your country too much, and my fleet is the only sea hegemony that can challenge Spain. Without command of the sea, the Spaniards can only maintain the garrison of Flanders by the long supply line from Italy across Germany, which will not last long. You know this very well, so you came to me, otherwise this You should be in Paris by then."

Under this series of blows, the Prince of Orange finally found that he could not turn the situation around, so he could only fold his cards: "If I agree to His Majesty's conditions, when can our country expect Britain to declare war on Spain?"

"I'm afraid it depends on what the king of Spain wants. When will he be impatient and send me a declaration of war?" The king replied, "I will not take the initiative to be the party that provokes the war. Don't make any misunderstandings."

"Then if the King of Spain endures all the time and does not declare war on His Majesty?" cried the Prince of Orange, "Then His Majesty will be easily relieved of this obligation."

"If Philip had had that patience, he would have signed a peace treaty with you, and your country would have had the freedom you and your friends wanted at no cost. Wouldn't that be a happy ending?"

"At least you are willing to sign a formal covenant with me?" Prince Orange insisted.

"I have no objection to this, but before our country and Spain officially go to war, this covenant must be kept secret. If your country discloses the content of the treaty, then the treaty will be automatically invalidated. I will request that this be indicated in the text."

"As you wish, Your Majesty." The Prince of Orange stood up, and this time he bowed much wider than before. "Then when can the signing ceremony be held? You know, the Dutch side Waiting for me to go back, we still have a lot of work to do."

"Yes, yes, you and your friends have a lot of work to do," said the king. "You have a war to fight, I understand, and I'll ring for the Secretary and Bishop Gardiner now." Draft the text, you can sign it with the bishop if you have read it without any problems."

"Bishop Gardner?" Prince Orange waved his hands in surprise, "I thought it was you who signed the treaty."

"Bishop Gardiner is my prime minister, and he will sign the treaty on my behalf." The king said solemnly.

"A Prime Minister who has fallen out of favor." Prince Orange commented unceremoniously, "I don't want to speculate on His Majesty's thoughts, but the whole of Europe knows that Bishop Gardner is your white glove, and his role is to serve You act as a shield and take things that you want to do that hurt your reputation. If you want to tear up this document signed by Bishop Gardiner, you only need to say that this is a treaty signed by the bishop without authorization. And then use this as a reason to dismiss him... Maybe that's what you intend?"

The king sneered, "Isn't that the function of gloves? To isolate the dirt from our hands, if it gets dirty, throw it away, at least my fingers are clean."

"So I must insist on my request, please sign this treaty." Prince Orange said resolutely.

"Unfortunately, what you said is impossible." The king replied bluntly.

"Then I demand an explanation," said the Prince of Orange stiffly.

"Ah, if I remember correctly, this is the second time you have used the word 'request' today. It seems that you said similar words to my head officer once when you were downstairs." The king also stood Standing up, he looked at the Prince of Orange tit for tat, "Your English is very good, so you must know the meaning of this word very well, then I'll just say it straight, you are not qualified to 'demand' (demand) me what to do, The same goes for your country, you and your country can only 'implore', Your Highness."

Prince Orange stretched out his hands, "I protest, Your Majesty!" His face flushed again, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, your country did win against the Spaniards outside The Hague, but that battle ended largely because the commander of the Spanish army was an idiot, and any creature with a brain bigger than a walnut knows that The Hague can't be defended." The only option is to retreat. The army of the Netherlands is nothing but a mob. You and your friends did win, but it was just a battle. Spain lost close to 2000 people, but they lost almost 15 people in the Netherlands. There are [-] troops in the garrison. The inter-provincial conference you are holding is only represented by seven provinces. The remaining ten provinces are either still under Spanish control or are still vacillating. I just said that you have half of the provinces. The country, in fact, you control less than half of the Netherlands. You keep talking about "our country", but in my opinion, the independence of the Netherlands is still far away, and objectively speaking, there is no hope of success. Not much. To be honest, Your Highness, you are now more like a group of rebels than a sovereign country. A country can make demands on me, but a group of rebels can only come to beg for my grace."

The Prince of Orange was trembling with rage, and his teeth were clenched on his lip.

Seeing that the other party was furious because of his words, King Edward seemed very satisfied, "Well, now that we have made everything clear, I will leave the decision to you. Would you like to stay here with Bishop Gardner? If you are willing to sign, I will send the bishop and secretary to draw up the treaty, and in two hours you can leave with a copy of it; if you do not want to sign, I will send a servant to take you out , you will be back in your carriage in fifteen minutes, and you will stay a few days longer in London, or go back to the Netherlands at once, it is up to you. Tell me now, if you would like Sign it? Please answer!"

Prince of Orange felt that the lav collar on his chest was about to strangle him, so he tore off the collar and gasped for a few times.

He looked at the king with fiery eyes, and after half a minute, when the impatient expression on King Edward's face was very obvious, the prince finally nodded reluctantly.

"Excellent." The king walked around the sofa, walked to the fireplace, picked up a silver bell on it, and shook it lightly. "As I said, you are indeed a wise man."

The prince did not speak, and sat back to the place where he was sitting before, and the "silent one" once again became silent.