monarch

The Spanish army's victory at San Quentin temporarily eased the crisis facing Spain.On March 50, news came from the neutral country of Portugal that King Henry II of France had sued for peace.France and Spain have been fighting for the hegemony of Italy for more than [-] years. These two countries are like two giants covered in bruises. They hold their breath and watch each other fall first. Now that the dust has settled, the French are the first to fall. In the ring, although Spain is the winner, it is also groaning in pain on the hospital bed.

Duke Alva, who had won brilliant victories on the battlefield, finally had time to deal with the rebellion in the Netherlands.He divided the army into two groups, half of which remained on the outskirts of Paris to put pressure on the French king, so that Henry II could make up his mind to sign the treaty as soon as possible.The other half drove back to the Netherlands, and the soldiers pointed directly at Brussels, planning to take back the capital of the Netherlands with a thunderbolt, and deal a heavy blow to the now powerful rebels.As for the duke himself, at the request of King Philip II, he hurried back to Madrid. On the one hand, he came to boost the morale in the capital, and on the other hand, he exchanged views with Philip II on the next stage of action. .

On the last day of March, Duke Alva arrived in Madrid. It was a sunny day, the water in the streets had been drained, and the winter jasmine on the walls of the house had bloomed yellow flowers. Spring finally came.The citizens of Madrid welcomed the savior of the country with great enthusiasm, and it was not yet the season of flowering, so they cast from their upstairs windows to the Duke of Alva who passed through the street below them. Use colorful strips of colored paper to replace flower petals.Hundreds of people followed behind the prince. These enthusiastic citizens volunteered to serve as the Duke's entourage. They shouted excitedly, appearing to be very powerful.

The Spanish court was about to hold a grand party to welcome the victor of St. Quentin, and the heir to the throne, Prince Don Carlos, went out of the city to meet the "Scipio of our time" in person. Walking together, but the two of them were not talking, not even making eye contact.The Duke of Alva raised his head high, as if he didn't bother to talk to the annoying child beside him, and Prince Don Carlos also pursed his lips, with a fierce look in his eyes, as if he was not happy about the warm welcome .Obviously, the small animals kept in his dormitory for him to torture might suffer again today.The Duke of Alva has repeatedly expressed doubts about the ability of Prince Don Carlos. In his opinion, this tragic product of inbreeding should not be left in the succession sequence of the throne. These words completely offended Prince Don Carlos.

At dusk, more than a hundred people had gathered in the hall of the Royal Castle, and almost all the high-status people in Spain had gathered here.The chiefs kept announcing those prominent titles, and every time a name was announced, there was a burst of whispering among the crowd.

At 07:30 in the evening, King Philip II and Queen Mary entered the hall. The king looked in a good mood, and the haze that had lingered on this most noble face for a long time had completely disappeared.People in the court used to use the subtle changes in the expression on the king's face to guess the changes in the wind direction, just like experienced sailors predict the future weather from the changes in the shape of the clouds.Every slight twitch of the muscles on His Majesty's face was endowed with great significance, so seeing the beaming face of the King, everyone in the hall felt a lot more relaxed.

Philip II's good mood is not without reason. Diplomats from France and Spain have already made preliminary contacts. Judging from the current news, there is a high possibility of reaching an agreement.The dilemma Henry II is facing today is only a lot more than that of the Spaniards. He is willing to make a lot of substantive concessions on the Italian issue in exchange for a peace treaty.Emperor Charles V's goal of conquering Italy now seemed within reach.

A few months ago, the Spanish Empire seemed to be on the verge of collapse, but the will of fate was really elusive. After a few months, the initiative seemed to return to the hands of the King of Spain.The surrender of France means that the huge pressure on Spain has been relieved a lot. At least the powerful Flanders Legion can now deal with the rebels in the Netherlands with all their strength. According to King Philip's adviser, this counter-insurgency operation will be A "destroying" quick victory.After that, the only enemy of the Spaniards was the dark and damp archipelagic country shrouded in mist all day long. With regard to this source of all European intrigues, the King of Spain now had full freedom of action.

Queen Mary, who entered the room with King Philip, looked sick as usual.She put more face powder on her face than usual, and a few flakes fell from her face from time to time.She also had a thick layer of blush on her face, but the decadent atmosphere still couldn't be restrained from emerging from the countless wrinkles on her face.Mary Tudor was hunched over, and she seemed to have lost a lot of weight, making her look thinner and weaker. From time to time, she let out a few dull coughs, and the cancer had completely spread in her body.The two servants held her arms, and no one would doubt that as soon as they let go, she would faint on the ground in a second.

The crowd watched the queen struggling to sit on the chair next to the throne with solemn affection. There was not much respect in their eyes, but more sympathy for the dying person. Queen Mary is no different from a vicious sharp knife in the movie. She would rather face a room full of hostile eyes than receive pity from others.But at this time, these things are no longer important to Queen Mary, and the time for her sanity to stay on her body is getting shorter and shorter. What is still in this world today is just a walking dead That's all.

The clock in the hall struck eight o'clock in the evening. Without warning, there was a noise outside the door, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps, the impact of halberds and gun stocks on the ground, and the cheers of the crowd.

The door was pushed halfway open, and the steward of the court entered the hall. When everyone's eyes were on him, the steward said in a high-pitched voice: "His Excellency, the Duke of Alva, has just arrived at the palace from the north of France and wants to see His Majesty." , Your Majesty is willing to receive him?"

The noise spread from outside the house to the house, Philip II nodded, "I would be happy to receive the Duke."

The steward walked backwards through the door through which he had come, and a moment later he led the Duke of Alva into the hall.

The Duke of Alva is a tall middle-aged man. He behaves noblely and is unsmiling to the high-ranking ones. Although he is strict with the low-status soldiers under him, he also pays attention to their welfare. unanimous love.He has thick black hair and a thick black beard, which grow on his head, making the already large head look a size bigger.The lines on his face are sharp and angular, his facial features are handsome and aggressive, and his sharp eyes are inexplicably reminiscent of birds of prey like falcons. At this moment, he is using such eyes to look at the guests in the room.

When Duke Alva entered the hall, the head officer announced in a hoarse voice.

"Commander of the Legion of Flanders, Field Marshal Duke de Alva!"

In the hall, guards stood at intervals against the wall. Hearing this announcement, they all raised their weapons high and saluted this outstanding commander, just like they greeted the king and queen just now. , This is really a rare excellent content.

The court steward led Duke de Alva to King Philip II. The king stood up excitedly from his throne and strode towards Duke Alva.

"Welcome to Madrid, my best general!" cried Philip II. "You are the hero of Spain, and you saved the country as Cincinnatus saved Rome. My queen and I, With everyone in this house, everyone in Spain, we owe you, please allow me to embrace you, Duke."

The Duke of Alva knelt down on one knee and paid tribute to Philip II. Philip II stretched out his hand to help him up, hugged him with a sincere attitude, and immediately caused a round of applause and cheers among the crowd.

No one noticed that Prince Don Carlos came in behind Duke Alva. The prince's face was very ugly. He didn't go to his father, but walked to one of the halls on his own. In the corner, staring at the back of Duke Alva with cold and sticky eyes.

Philip II turned to Queen Mary and said: "Madame, please allow me to introduce you to the victor of Saint-Quentin, whose name chills the French, but makes every upright Spaniard proud, he is the hero of our time." Cid. I present to you the Duke de Alva."

The queen slightly raised her eyelids, and looked at Duke Alva with empty eyes, as if she hadn't heard King Philip's introduction at all.She was as motionless as a statue, only the eyeballs in her eye sockets turned slightly, and she didn't say a word.

The Duke of Alva didn't take it seriously. He walked up to Queen Mary, bowed down respectfully, took the queen's withered, sallow hand that looked like a raptor's claw, brought it to his lips, and kissed it lightly. The back of the hand with blue blood vessels.

"Please forgive the queen, she is in poor health, but I believe that if she is sane, then she will give you a much warmer welcome than I give you." Philip II said.

"Your Majesty." Duke Alva bowed and said, "It is already a great honor for me to meet Her Majesty the Queen, and she just allowed me to kiss her hand, which is already a great favor to me , I have nothing more to ask of Her Majesty the Queen."

There was another burst of cheers from the crowd, and a gentleman leaned over to his companion, applauded and exclaimed: "That's really beautiful!"

Philip II waved towards a corner of the room, and a moment later, one of the queen's maids came forward from that corner, holding a tray in her hand, and the things on it were covered with red velvet.

"Your Excellency the Duke." The maid curtseyed, "Her Majesty is not in good health, but when she was conscious, she ordered me to prepare a gift for you."

As she spoke, she raised the tray in front of Duke Alva.

Duke Alva nodded slightly, and stretched out his hand to uncover the velvet covering the tray.

A golden laurel wreath was placed on the tray, and the paper-like thin gold leaves made of gold reflected the candlelight, making people unable to open their eyes.There was another burst of admiration and gasping from the crowd. Compared with the olive branch crowns that were worn on the heads of a series of great commanders such as Scipio, Marius, Sulla and Caesar in the ancient Roman triumph, this gold crown A crown is far more glorious.

Duke Alva turned to Philip II and shook his head slightly.

"I thank Her Majesty the Queen for your grace, but I dare not accept such a crown. The two Your Majesties have flattered me too much. Such a crown is only worthy of being worn on the head of a king."

"On the contrary, duke, you are more worthy than anyone to carry it. You are not king, but you saved the country. All grateful Spain owes you, and this is just a token of affection Just a small gift." Philip picked up the crown and placed it on the head of Duke Alva.

A passionate cry echoed in the hall: "Long live the King! Long live the Queen! Long live the Duke of Alva!"

"Now, Your Excellency the Duke, I would like to ask you to come to my study and talk to me about your experience in the Netherlands and those exciting battles. I lack good advisors and loyal friends around me now. There is no one like you who can play both roles, so I want to hear your opinion."

"I am flattered, Your Majesty."

Excited, Philip II took Duke Alva's hand, and the two left the hall one after the other and walked towards the king's study.

Prince Don Carlos watched them go. If anyone saw him at this time, they would definitely notice the resentment in the prince's eyes.At the city gate, the heir to the throne posed as a monarch to the Duke of Alva, and the Duke of Alva was equally open about this child who did not have the qualities to be a monarch.One is the proud heir to the throne, and the other is the commander-in-chief who has just returned from a triumphant return. Both of them are unwilling to bow their heads, and finally broke up unhappily.

The prince's sick and pale face was blushing. While clenching his hands into fists, he secretly vowed in his heart that he would make Duke Alva pay for what happened today.