monarch

When Robert entered the small living room of Philip II, His Majesty the King of Spain had already changed his clothes and was leaning on an armchair, letting an attendant massage his sore shoulders for him.There is a vegetarian meal on the small table in front of Philip II. Today is a fasting day, so it is not surprising that he does not eat meat, but the plate in front of the king does not even include fish and eggs, which are not taboo ingredients. There is no trace of meat on the whole plate, which seems a bit too much.

The Minister of State of Spain, Gonzalo Perez, sat opposite Philip II, looking at the inedible things on his plate with embarrassed eyes.After a day of asceticism, he was desperate for a bit of piping hot broth to accompany some fine Jerez wine and a few biscuits.But at the king's place, the hospitality he can get is limited to vegetarian food and clear water.Dining with the king may seem like a great honor to outsiders, but to those who know the inside story, it is an unbearable torture.

The Minister of State did not dare to refuse the king's invitation, and he had fallen out of favor very much these days by his inconsistencies in the Netherlands and his clumsiness in matters of domestic relief.A powerful minister who has lost the king's favor is like a plant dug out of the soil, and it is only a matter of time before it withers.It was becoming rarer that the King consulted him, and even rarer that His Majesty ultimately heeded his advice.For a minister who has fallen out of favor, being able to dine with the king is a rare chance to turn around. His Majesty's impression of him has changed.

King Philip pointed to the armchair opposite the Secretary of State, and motioned for Robert to sit down.

"We are having dinner, Your Excellency the Ambassador." King Philip's voice sounded hoarse, obviously because of the cold wind blowing just now, "If you want, please join us."

Robert glanced at what was on King Philip's plate and shook his head politely but resolutely.

"It's my honor, Your Majesty, but my chef in the embassy must have prepared meals for me, so it would be a pity to refuse his kindness." In the embassy's kitchen, roasted bacon smoked with various spices is being prepared. Suckling pig and chicken pie with a golden crust, anyone in their right mind knows what to choose.

"I almost forgot that Protestants don't keep fasts," said Philip II dryly, "so you don't want to share this simple food with me. You may have forgotten that our Savior Jesus Christ once Before he began to spread his teachings, he fasted and prayed for forty days and nights in the wilderness, and the food he could get at that time was much simpler than these things on my plate."

"Your Majesty didn't invite me here just to have dinner with me, did you?" Robert sat down on the armchair and said coldly.

"I heard you and your Protestant friends had a nice chat on the way back from church?" Philip II poked at the mash on his plate with a wooden fork, forming a pyramid-like triangle. Xiaoqiu, "What did they promise to your country?"

"It's just small talk, nothing worthy of His Majesty's attention."

"What are you talking about?" Philip II raised his head and stared at Robert with his sunken eyes. "Is it about Spain, about Germany, or... about the Netherlands?"

"We talked about it." Robert shrugged his shoulders and tapped the armrest of the chair with his knuckles. "But it's just like what I said to His Majesty, it's just small talk."

Philip II's lips were bitten bloodshot, and his muscles were tense, as if he was hesitating for something.

After about half a minute, he seemed to have finally made up his mind.

"I have carefully considered the suggestion that the king of your country made to me some time ago." Philip II had a reluctant expression on his face, like a person walking towards the gallows.He spoke very slowly, one word after another came out of his mouth, "I am willing to sell Trinidad and Tobago to your country for a symbolic price, and your country wants Promise not to aid the traitors in the Netherlands, and we relinquish ownership of the 40 florins, which belong to your country."

The sale of these two marginal territories for a nominal price was a proposal put forward by the Secretary of State, the purpose of which was, of course, to leave a fig leaf for King Philip, lest he be tainted with the notoriety of ceding the territory.

After saying these words, Philip took a deep breath as if he had finally shaken off a burden that tormented him.For the proud King of Spain, it was an unbearable torture for him to make such a concession.

He looked at Robert, but judging from the face of the other party, the British ambassador seemed not satisfied with such a concession.

"Trinidad and Tobago?" Robert frowned, a little displeased, "I have made it clear to His Majesty before that our country is interested in Jamaica or Hispaniola, if Your Majesty If you really don’t want to give up, then Puerto Rico can also accept it.”

"The islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola are too large," interposed the Secretary of State. "As for Puerto Rico, the fort of San Juan on this island is the largest of our country's fortresses in the Caribbean. The key to the archipelago, it is absolutely impossible for us to give it to anyone else."

"But the two islands you proposed are really too small. They are just two grains of sand in the Atlantic Ocean. They have neither gold and silver mines nor large plantations. These are two deserted islands. In your eyes, our country Is your friendship that cheap?" Robert retorted to the Secretary of State, and he was speaking to King Philip.

"The value of friendship maintained by interests is not much." Philip II returned to the conversation, his voice slightly raised a few degrees, "I don't need your country's friendship, all I need is Britain to maintain Neutrality in good faith, in other words, is to keep my brother-in-law out of my affairs. I don't need him to do anything, I just need him to do nothing, and he can use the price that is almost free To get these two islands, together with the 40 florin gold coins that he unreasonably confiscated, I would say that such a bid is really very reasonable!"

"If you want to estimate a price for the goodwill and neutrality of our country, then you need to consider the damage that our country can bring to you when we have malicious intentions towards your country." Robert did not flinch, "The Dutch and our country are nothing but It’s nothing more than trading partners. The weapons and supplies we export to them are all sold at fair prices. Sometimes the price is much higher than the fair price because of the tight schedule of the order, and there is no assistance at all. If we really If we want to help the Dutch, then we can arm a Dutch army at a very low price, and we can also send advisers to guide them, and we can even directly block the strait. In order to avoid such a situation, Jamaica or Hispaniola is a good deal. That's the price, Sire."

"I will never give in to threats." King Philip gave Robert a hard look.

"Please don't get me wrong, I'm not threatening you, I'm just presenting you with a fact."

"So, I'm afraid we won't be able to reach an agreement?" Philip II stretched out a finger and pointed at Robert threateningly, with a fierce look in his eyes.

"I will write your proposal to His Majesty the King of our country, but I am afraid His Majesty Edward VI will make the same decision."

"Okay, okay, then you can go and write." Philip II sneered and waved his hands impatiently, "but please tell my dear brother-in-law, this is the biggest concession I can make, if he If you are really determined to be my enemy, then we will meet on the battlefield, I have already extended an olive branch, as for whether to take it or throw it into the ground, it is up to Edward to decide."

Robert stood up, bowed, turned around and walked out of the room.

After the door was closed and the sound of footsteps disappeared in the corridor, Philip II picked up the wooden fork again and stuck it hard into the puddle of bean mud.

"If Your Majesty is willing to listen to what I have to say..." Secretary of State Gonzalez carefully observed the subtle changes in Philip's facial expression, "Since you have decided to make a concession, it is okay to make a slightly larger concession."

Philip II turned his neck around and stared straight at the Minister of State with a creepy expression on his face.

Lord Gonzalez began to tremble uncontrollably. At this point, he could only finish his words and resign himself to fate. "I think His Majesty will definitely agree that the combined value of the entire West Indies is not comparable to a province in the Netherlands. If Jamaica or Hispaniola can be exchanged for the stability of the Netherlands, So this is very beneficial to us..."

Philip II overturned the table in front of him, the dinner plate fell to pieces on the ground, and the vegetarian food on the plate was scattered everywhere on the ground.

Lord Gonzalez was taken aback, and then covered his mouth with his hand, because he accidentally bit his tongue just now.

"Now that things are going on, you still ask me to make concessions?" Philip II stood up abruptly, boasted a few steps ahead, came to the Minister of State, and looked down at him, "We are surrounded by a group of insatiable Beasts, they won't settle for any concessions, because they want more every time! Our country is now a shipwrecked man, Britain, France, and the Turks, and they just go around The sharks we were swimming, the sharks smelled blood, and they were going to come up and bite off a piece of meat from us! I finally understood that giving in to them is like cutting meat from ourselves to feed them, but we The more the flesh is cut, the more blood will be lost, and the stronger the bloody smell, the more excited these sharks will be."

"Today the English threaten us with the Netherlands for the islands of the West Indies, and if they succeed tomorrow the French threaten us with Italy for Alsace and Franche-Comté; the day after tomorrow Turkey People will use Austria to threaten us and give them the hegemony of the island of Malta and the Mediterranean! No, no, giving the British those two deserted islands is my bottom line, and I will never take a step back!"

"Considering the current situation..."

"The current situation?" Philip II grinned grinningly, poking the Minister of State's chest with his finger, forcing him to shrink back in the chair, "It was your suggestion that got us into such a predicament, I think you always Don’t you forget it? You suggested that I raise taxes in the Netherlands, and look at what kind of chaos is happening now! You should help me govern the country, not come up with some bad ideas that will last forever!”

Such accusations are somewhat unfair. After all, in the face of Spain's nightmare financial situation, even if someone else would raise the attention of tax increases, Mr. Gonzalez just happened to be unlucky, sitting in this seat at this time. But he would never have dared to say this to King Philip.

Philip II seemed to have calmed down after having a fit. He panted heavily and paced the room without saying a word, like a racehorse circling in a stable.

Lord Gonzales searched his brains, trying to think of a few words to comfort the king, but before he finished his words and sentences, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps in the corridor outside the door.

Pulled back from contemplation, Philip II looked at the door with displeasure, and an unbearable irritability weighed on his heart, like dark clouds hanging low before a summer thunderstorm.Anger gathered in the king's heart, and whoever was about to enter the door deserved his misfortune.

The door was pushed open from the outside and bounced against the wall with a loud bang, but there was no knocking before the door opened.

The steward of the court rushed into the room panting, his collar was a little loose, large beads of sweat fell from his forehead, and there was a silly smile on his oily face, which seemed to the king of Spain Extremely dazzling.

"It's you, sir." Philip II snorted coldly, "It should be your fault for upholding the palace rules, but I saw that you started to take the lead in violating the palace rules. Not to mention that you are disheveled," he stretched out his hand Pointing to the door, "Don't you even knock on the door before entering your king's room?"

"Please... please forgive me, Your Majesty." The steward seemed out of breath from running, and almost passed out on the floor from overexcitement, "I forgot etiquette because I have great news to tell His Majesty reports!"

"Good news?" The expression on Philip II's face that was already brewing with anger froze, and there was a trace of bewilderment in his voice, "You said there is good news? I'm afraid I haven't heard of it for more than a year. What good news."

"Yes, Your Majesty, great news!" The steward clapped his hands suddenly, and respectfully took out a piece of letter paper from his arms, "The Duke of Alva is only twelve leagues away from Paris in the north of France (approx. 60 kilometers) St. Quentin achieved an epic victory! The French died close to 2 people, and the same number became our prisoners. Our army only lost 2000 people. The French are retreating to Paris... ...French, Sire! You are master of Italy, master of Europe!"

Philip II snatched the letter paper, on which was the familiar handwriting of the Duke of Alva.

"To Your Majesty: Our army besieged the city of Saint-Quentin. Marshal Montmorency, the commander of the French army, tried to break the siege of the city, but was attacked by our superior force. Twenty thousand French troops were killed and another 2 were captured, including Marshal Montmorency, commander of the French army, the remnants of the French army are retreating to Paris."

Below is the signature and seal of the Duke of Alva.

Philip II pinched the letter paper tightly with one hand, leaving a few cracks where he pinched it, while covering his forehead with the other hand, trembling with excitement.

"Sure enough, sure enough, God is just!" he cried like a drunken man. "Praise God, God bless Spain!"

King Philip knelt on the ground, and his knee hit the ground heavily, making a heavy sound, like a hammer hitting a chopping block.

The two servants in the room hurriedly followed the king's example and knelt down on the ground together, their hands kept making the sign of the cross on their chests.

The bell at seven o'clock came from outside the window, and the crisp bell echoed in the ears of everyone in the room.

"Give the mayor an order to ring the bells of all the churches in the city!" Philip II ordered to the court master, and when he was about to rush out of the room, he changed his mind again, "Slow down, slow down, Sir, not only Madrid, but other cities, all the cities of Spain will ring their bells!"

"Now do you see, sir?" He turned again to Monsieur Gonzales. "Do you have the slightest doubt that I am a messenger of God? Are you going to persuade me to give in to heresy?"

"I no longer have the slightest doubt, Your Majesty, or rather, I have never had any doubts."

Countless bells began to ring, first from the nearby churches, and then like spreading ripples, the churches in the distance also sounded celebratory bells.The cheers drifted into Philip II's room with the cold wind, making the chill in the air seem a lot weaker.

Philip II laughed out loud, as if he hadn't laughed so excitedly for a long time.

"It's time for others to make concessions in exchange for our friendship!" he shouted at the map on the wall, his twinkling eyes fixed on the map painted in red on the upper left. of the British Isles.