monarch

Mr. Cromwell's carriage drove out of his luxurious London mansion. The carriage did not have any gorgeous decorations. It was only inlaid with the coat of arms of the Earl of Essex, which formed a sharp contrast with his ornately decorated mansion. .

Mr. Cromwell yawned. Today was a routine meeting of the Privy Council, so he had to get up early and prepare to face the wolves, tigers and leopards who were going to stay in the same room with him for half a day.In the past, he didn't realize it, but in the past six months, he felt more and more powerless. Maybe it's time for him to leave?He laughed at himself, no, he will never be able to retire, he already has too many enemies, and they will not let him retreat unscathed.He has nothing, no noble family, and no friends. The only thing he relies on is the protection of the king. However, the attitude of the king recently has made him unpredictable.His Majesty treated him alternately with indifference and amiability, much to Mr. Cromwell's perplexity.

The speed of the carriage slowed down, Mr. Cromwell frowned, did something happen?He looked out of the window and saw a group of beggars, all women and children, their eyes were empty, their clothes were torn, and most of them still had tattered crosses hanging on their chests.

Mr. Cromwell knocked on the front window in dissatisfaction, and the window opened, revealing the head of his servant: "My lord, what are your orders?"

"James, who are these people?"

"Ah, sir, refugees from the North, whose husbands and fathers were executed, and they begged all the way to London, and the streets are full of them now."

Sure enough!Mr. Cromwell groaned slightly, and slammed the front window shut.The drastic religious reform policy he carried out set off a large-scale rebellion in the devoutly Catholic North. Now that it was finally put down, these people came under his nose again to be disgusting people.Are these people on the street?Well, no doubt someone will make a fuss about it today, maybe Norfolk, or Hertford?Who knows, but it doesn't matter, they are the families of traitors, the king knows, doesn't he, he is just killing the traitors.Mr. Cromwell looked out again, and saw that round the corner the carriage had just turned, several persons were lying stiff, apparently dead.He turned his gaze back in disgust, people can die in June, could it be the plague?It seems that the mayor of London should be called to drive these people out of the city quickly.This matter must be completed as soon as possible, Mr. Cromwell made a note in his heart, the king's summer parade is about to begin, and His Majesty must not let these insulting things see.

A "snap" interrupted Mr. Cromwell's contemplation. He looked up and saw that some unknown foul-smelling liquid was flowing from his window glass.Mr. Cromwell looked out in dismay through another clean window, and saw a group of women pointing at his carriage not far away, yelling and hurling rotting fruit and eggs.

"Devil! You killed my father and husband."

"You traitor, traitor!"

"You're going to hell!"

Like a spark falling into a haystack, a large group of people surrounded Mr. Cromwell's carriage in an instant, insulted him, threw stones at the carriage, and the coachman and servants were beaten to the point of bleeding.The soldiers guarding Mr. Cromwell quickly drew their swords and formed a circle, protecting the minister's carriage in the middle.The crowd stopped attacking and confronted the soldiers, but the yelling still did not stop.

"You bloody draper, go back to your draper!"

"Charlater! You deceived the king!"

"You are the devil's servant!"

"Down with Cromwell!" Someone shouted, which immediately sparked a wave of echoes. "Down with Cromwell!" the crowd shouted in unison.

After what seemed like half a century, the city defense army finally arrived, and the crowd dispersed.The mayor of London galloped panting on a horse. His fat body had not been on a horse for almost 20 years, and now his fat was shaking all over his body.With an agility that seems to have returned to his youth, he jumped off the horse without help, and then ran to Mr. Cromwell's carriage in three steps at a time. Opened the car door.

"I'm so sorry, sir, but these people are lawless!" said the mayor with a look of righteous indignation. "I came here as soon as I heard the news. Don't worry, I will order these guys to be driven out of the city at once. After he finished speaking, he looked at Mr. Cromwell with a flattering expression, hoping that the minister would be satisfied.

However, to his surprise, Your Excellency the Minister neither expressed satisfaction with his knowledge, nor was he furious because he came too late. He just nodded indifferently, stretched out his hand, and closed the car door from the inside.After a while, there were two knocking sounds inside. The coachman heard the sound and flicked his whip. The carriage continued to drive forward, leaving the mayor standing alone in the soot raised by the carriage, staring blankly at the minister. Your Excellency's carriage disappeared around the corner.

In the car, Mr. Cromwell was staring straight ahead, not in the least angry, on the contrary, for the first time in a long time.Has it reached this point?He was really amazed that so many people hated him so much, no doubt he was sitting on the crater.For the first time in years Mr Cromwell felt that things were out of his control.Maybe it's time to face reality, thought Thomas Cromwell.

What chance does he have?Mr. Cromwell, being the son of an innkeeper and a cloth dealer himself, was accustomed to think of things as a merchant.The queen, she is obviously already a bad asset and must be divested as soon as possible; he had asked the king's servant to speak well for the queen before, and now he must draw a line immediately, otherwise he will probably be dragged into bankruptcy and liquidation.Protestant League?There is no profit or loss yet, but he wants to concentrate resources on key areas, so sorry, they may have to rely on themselves to deal with the emperor, and the marriage he planned between Duke Rupert and Lady Mary can also be postponed.His competitor?It's a pity that they seem to have huddled together, but the Duke of Norfolk seems to want his little brainless niece to be queen?I don't know if he has come to an understanding with the Duke of Suffolk and the Earl of Hertford, but I hope he hasn't.He can support the Howard family to produce a queen, as long as the Duke of Norfolk forms an alliance with him. They were allies when Anne Boleyn wanted to take over the throne, and together they overthrew the mighty Bishop Wolsey. Now he can still come the second time.It's just the name of a queen, how long the girl can stay in this position is still a matter of opinion... Mr. Cromwell checked the profit and loss of assets in his hands, and found that it seems that the end of the mountain has not yet been reached.He regained some confidence that it was still very early.

The meeting place of the Privy Council is at the Palace of Westminster, which was the bedchamber of the Plantagenet kings, and when the court moved away, the Parliament and the Privy Council occupied it.Mr. Cromwell's carriage slowly drove into the gate in front of the palace. There seemed to be a lot more guards at the gate today than usual. However, Mr. Cromwell was so preoccupied that he didn't pay attention to these insignificant matters.The carriage stopped slowly, and Mr. Cromwell did not wait for the servant, but opened the door by himself and jumped out of the carriage.He noticed that the people around him showed expressions of astonishment or schadenfreude at the tragic condition of his carriage. How did they flatter me back then, these people who are playing around with the wind!Mr. Cromwell looked around the crowd disdainfully, without saying a word, he just strode into the gate of the Palace of Westminster.

The corridors of the Palace of Westminster are narrower than those of the Palace of Whitehall, and they are crowded with people of all kinds. Every time Mr. Cromwell has to clear the way for the guards to pass through the crowd rushing towards him, they scramble to He flattered, or waved their petitions at him.However, today he was surprised to find that the hallway, which was usually like a hive, was empty. Could it be that someone cleared the place in advance?He walked suspiciously towards the Privy Council Hall, meeting no one on the way.

The front of the Privy Council hall seemed to be the same as usual, but the guards at the door looked unfamiliar, and Mr. Cromwell suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.Could it be that someone wants to harm him?He wanted to turn around and go out, but he had already come here, he looked around, there was no one around, only the soldiers at the door of the hall stared at him indifferently.There was no way out, no matter what was inside, he had to go in today.Cromwell took a deep breath and pushed open the door of the hall.

The large meeting hall of the Privy Council was full, and all the members of the Privy Council were already seated. There were even some people who were not members of the Privy Council crowded in the room, but there were no seats for them, so they could only stand.When Cromwell walked into the room, all eyes were on him, some gloated, some were shocked, and some looked at him with hatred, as if a dagger had been stabbed at him, he couldn't help but pause.He looked at the chief seat, and suddenly found that the Duke of Suffolk with a stern face was sitting in the chief seat where he usually sat.

Cromwell looked at the Duke of Suffolk in astonishment. He collected himself and asked coldly, "Your Excellency, what are you doing in my seat?"

The Duke of Suffolk didn't answer him, he just stood up expressionlessly, staring at his old opponent coldly.He took out an envelope from his jacket pocket, tore off the sealant on the envelope, took out a piece of paper, and unfolded it gently. "Thomas Cromwell." His voice was emotionless. "You are charged with treason and I arrest you in the name of the king." He said and handed the paper to Mr. Cromwell, which was A king's decree, on which Henry.R's cursive signature is clearly visible.The Duke of Norfolk, who was standing on one side, waved, and several soldiers came in and grabbed Mr. Cromwell's arm. "Send him to the Tower of London." The Duke of Norfolk looked at Mr. Cromwell maliciously, like a poisonous snake spitting a letter.

Mr. Cromwell blushed. He struggled violently and yelled at the Duke of Suffolk: "You have no right to treat me like this. I am the Speaker of the Privy Council! I want to see the king!" However, the Duke of Suffolk Just looking at him lightly, like looking at a disgusting bug.

Mr. Cromwell's heart was filled with anger for a moment, and he yelled at the Duke of Suffolk: "Charles Brandon, where do you think you are nobler than me? You grab a woman's skirt and go Climbing stuff." The whole room fell silent immediately, and although the Duke of Suffolk still maintained that icy expression, the throbbing blood vessels in his temples showed that he was on the verge of fury at this moment. 25 years ago, in order to climb up, Sir Charles Brandon married the king's sister, the widowed French queen Marie Tudor, against the king's opposition. He was expelled from the court for a few years and was only forgiven by the king a few years later. , but the rift between the monarch and his subjects could never be healed.He looked at Mr. Cromwell who was still struggling. The minister who had just collapsed was obviously planning to break the pot.He thought he had nothing to lose, didn't he?He will regret it, Charles Brandon, now Duke of Suffolk, said to himself.He smiled slightly: "I am indeed nobler than you, Mr. Cromwell. My father was the standard bearer of the former king on the Bosworth battlefield 50 years ago. He died under the sword of Richard III in order to cover the former king. What was your father doing at that time? Entertaining guests in your hotel? Asking them if they need to change their bedding?" There was a burst of laughter in the room, and Mr. Cromwell's face changed from red to purple.

The Earl of Hertford stepped forward, with a self-satisfied smile that almost seemed smug.He looked mockingly at the former speaker, reached out, and tore off the Order of the Garter hanging from his neck. "A traitor doesn't deserve this," he said, and there was a echo from the room.Mr. Cromwell was already furious. He tried to jump at the Earl of Hertford, but was held down by the guards who were holding him. "This is the reward for my 20 years of faithful service!" he roared. "Edward Seymour, who do you think you are? What is the difference between you and those idiots of the Pauline family, who are all fools who sell their daughters to get in position! Do you think your end will be any better than theirs?" Mr Cromwell laughed wildly, and his laughter sounded creepy. "And you, all of you, a bunch of idiots, you little people who just follow the wind!" Some people in the room bowed their heads a little ashamedly, and more people were enraged by these words, and glared at Mr. Cromwell .

The Duke of Suffolk watched the farce with cold eyes, and when he finally got tired of seeing Mr. Cromwell's hysterical ugliness, he waved his hand and said to the soldiers: "Well, let's keep a little decency in this hall, here It's the Privy Council Hall, take this man away, gentlemen." He didn't even look at Mr Cromwell.The soldiers dragged Mr. Cromwell, still yelling, out of the room.

The Duke of Suffolk glanced at everyone in the room, and when they all quieted down, he finally said, "Okay, gentlemen, let's start the meeting." It was as if nothing had happened.