monarch

On August 1557, 8, after half a month of sailing, two British warships finally arrived at their destination, the port of Cadiz. The watchman at the entrance of the harbor sent a signal to the port authority in the city.

The two pilots took small boats and boarded two warships near the breakwater of the port. However, they did not guide the two ships to dock on the shore pier, but guided them to anchor in the center of the harbor.

As soon as the anchors were in the water, and the sails and hawsers were furled on the masts, two small boats were put down from each of the two large ships, each with four sailors at the oars.The Spanish ambassador and his entourage, together with their luggage, were put on the small boats. According to the arrangement of the port authority, these four small boats will carry the Spanish passengers to the pier, where they will pick up the waiting British diplomats and wait for the arrival of the British diplomats. After the small boat returns to the big ship, the two British warships will set sail and will not make any stays in the port of Cadiz, not even leaving time for fresh water and supplies.

The four small boats slid across the sea like flying fish, and the four oars slapped the water, leaving balls of white foam behind the boats.When the boat approached the shore, several sailors on duty who had been waiting there grabbed the iron chains thrown by the sailors on board and pulled the boat to the shore.

The boat stayed on the shore for no more than 5 minutes. The old passengers disembarked, and the new passengers were loaded onto the boat together with their luggage. Among the boxes was a particularly eye-catching wicker basket. Exudes the fragrance of pomegranate.

No sooner had Robert and his entourage settled down in the skiff than the four oarsmen uttered a cry, and the boat gave a slight jerk, and pulled away from the quay.The passengers boarded the big ship in the middle of the harbor. An hour later, the two big ships pulled anchor and left the port. Among the few gleams of light that remained there.

The two ships headed northwest all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The first night of sailing from Cadiz was considered to be calm, but at noon the next day, the lookout on the ship noticed the dark clouds rising from the skyline, and soon , The strong westerly wind blowing from the direction of the Azores has already blown to the side of the ship, and the two large ships immediately began to list to one side, and the suddenly violent waves rushed onto the high decks of the two galleons.

After struggling for twelve hours in the storm, the bottom of the Leto had begun to flood, and more than half of the mast of the Theseus had been destroyed. The broken cables and shattered sails were like jellyfish tentacles in the dark night. Dancing wildly to the rhythm of the wind.The westerly wind blew the two ships towards the coast of Portugal, and the hazy images of the cliffs on the coast appeared in the eyes of the crew like clouds of black fog, sometimes approaching and sometimes far away from the ship.Under those cliffs and cliffs are undoubtedly countless jagged reefs, and a light collision will leave a long hole in the bottom of the boat.It took a lot of effort for the crew to keep the two ships away from the dangerous shoal.

When the daylight broke, the terrible storm finally died down, but the two ships had two feet and three feet of water in the bilges, and they were like two people suffering from edema. Moving staggeringly on the surface of the sea.

Now the two ships have left Cape Sines behind and entered Setubal Bay, which is only a day’s voyage away from Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Given that these two ships are no longer suitable for oceangoing sailing, the two captains discussed for a while. After a while, he decisively decided to go to the nearest city with a large dock and shipyard for repairs, and to replenish the supplies and fresh water on board.So in the afternoon of August 31st, two British warships covered in bruises and flying the flag of St. George sailed into the mouth of the Tejo River and docked at the dock in Lisbon.

The friendship between Britain and Portugal can be traced back to 1373, when King Edward III of England and King Ferdinand I of Portugal signed a treaty of alliance to fight against Spain's predecessor, the Kingdom of Castile.The alliance between the two countries was further confirmed and consolidated through marriage and the "Treaty of Windsor" signed in 1386, which has existed for nearly two centuries now.

Regrettably, today, the alliance between Portugal and Britain has become more and more in name only. Just like a planet cannot resist the gravity of a star, the foreign policy of the Kingdom of Portugal has also changed with the growing strength of neighboring Spain. increasingly lost their independence.The population of Portugal is only 100 million. Without the support of a great empire like Spain, a country of this size cannot rule the millions of creatures in its huge Gulf territory, even though most of these local subjects are in the Lisbon court. It seems that they all belong to the standard of "uncivilized".In order to gain the support of Spain, Portugal's foreign policy also had to start more or less in line with its neighbors, so naturally, the relationship between Britain and Portugal gradually cooled down.Now that Britain and Spain are on the verge of war, Portugal's position has become quite awkward. So far, they still have not chosen a side between Spain and Britain. Maybe they will never make a choice, but will always be neutral go down.

Robert did not intend to disembark, he stayed in his cabin, observing the capital of Portugal through the window.The leaden gray clouds in the sky pressed over the city like a pot lid, and the whole city was as sultry as a steamer. In such weather, every breath was torture.There were no people on the street near the pier, and the occasional figures who passed by hurriedly passed by, as if they were unwilling to stay on the street for a long time. If the captain hadn't repeatedly assured Robert, he would have thought Outbreak of infectious disease.

Robert took the afternoon tea in the cabin, and when he was about to take a nap, a crew member knocked on his door, announcing that the British ambassador in Portugal was coming to visit the pier.So even though he was somewhat reluctant, he could only nod silently, signaling to the other party to bring this somewhat ignorant colleague into the cabin.

Viscount Canning, the ambassador to Portugal, walked into the room. He bowed to Robert much wider than the usual bow. The smile on his face squeezed the rest of the facial features into the fat face. The corners of the big face are like throwing a big stone into the water.By any standard, such a gesture seems overly obsequious.

Viscount Canning's behavior had his reasons.Although they are both envoys stationed abroad, Viscount Canning and Robert are not the same kind of people at all.The former was born in an ordinary aristocratic family, and spent 20 years in the palace and in the salons of the ministers' mansions. In the end, he got his current position by grabbing the skirt of a certain influential minister's wife. Will also retire in this role.The latter was a rising star whose posting in Spain was a temporary setback, like the brief retrograde motion of the planets in the sky every few months, and when he returned to Britain everything would be back to normal again, The position of power minister has always been reserved for him.

Viscount Canning's face was covered with oil and sweat, partly due to the sweltering heat, and partly due to nervousness and embarrassment.When the news came that Mr. Robert's ship was coming to Lisbon for repairs, he immediately realized that this was a rare opportunity. If he left a good impression on the king, he would be transferred back to London to take up the post. A new job, a promotion to a higher level before retirement, is not completely hopeless.But when he was waiting for the groom to put on the carriage, a text message smelling like a lady's powder was sent to his mansion, which completely broke all Viscount Canning's ideas about this meeting.So when he arrived at the pier, he was a little dejected, and the stiff smile on his face seemed to be forced out, as if he was squeezing a shriveled orange, trying to squeeze a little orange juice out of it.

"I am honored to meet your Excellency," said Viscount Canning. "I and all the attachés at the embassy in Lisbon are willing to do our best to make your excellency's stay in this city as comfortable as possible."

"Thank you very much." Robert nodded politely.

"If you don't mind, the embassy has arranged a comfortable room for you. If you are willing to stay, then we will be very honored." Viscount Canning smiled while exhaling, and Robert felt as if he was in Watch a bulldog sticking its tongue out in excitement.

"Thank you, my lord." Robert smiled apologetically at the other party, "But our schedule is very tight, Your Majesty wants me to return to Britain as soon as possible, I hope to continue our journey as soon as the two ships are repaired, So I have no choice but to decline your kind invitation."

To Robert's surprise, Viscount Canning did not appear disappointed as he expected. On the contrary, he showed a hesitant expression. The facial features on his face were not big in size, and they were even more crowded at this moment. Group, looks very funny.

Robert tried his best to restrain his urge to laugh out loud, he remained silent, quietly waiting for Viscount Canning to explain.

After about half a minute, Viscount Canning finally said hesitatingly, "I'm afraid it's not that simple."

Robert raised his eyebrows slightly.

"When I was about to leave just now, Her Royal Highness, our Princess Elizabeth, sent me a letter." Viscount Canning took out the letter from his pocket, and the letter paper was already crumpled by his wet hands. Wrinkled, "She wants to invite you to meet at the palace and... have dinner with her."

He said, stuffing the text message into Robert's hand, as if the piece of paper could bite.

There was still a faint smile on Robert's face, but if you looked closely, you could notice that his upper eyelids were trembling slightly, and his breathing was much heavier.

He unfolded the letter paper with his slender fingers, held it in front of his eyes, and with the light from the window into the room, read several lines of words on it at a glance.

When Robert finished reading, he crumpled up the letter paper expressionlessly and threw it at his feet.

"Dinner with her?" Robert turned his head slightly. The look he looked at Viscount Canning made the other party tremble involuntarily. The chill in his eyes was like a cold current from Norway, which made the Viscount's blood freeze in his veins. Stopped, "I don't have the guts, who knows what she will add to the dinner dishes or wine glasses."

Viscount Canning wiped the sweat that was accumulating on his lips with his fingers, "It's not likely, Your Excellency." He laughed dryly, "But I think she really wants to keep you here temporarily...I miss you It will soon be heard that the maintenance of these two warships will take longer than expected... You know Her Royal Highness, she will not let it go until her goal is achieved."

"This is really strange." Robert stared blankly at the somewhat dirty window, "If I remember correctly, the last time we parted, the scene wasn't pretty. I'm not her My friend, why is she so insistent on seeing me?"

"I think it's because of your status as His Majesty's favored servant. From some people's perspective..." Viscount Canning looked carefully at Robert's expression, "In their eyes, you can represent Britain."

"I still don't understand." Robert didn't seem to mind the hint in Viscount Canning's words at all.

"Do you understand the situation in Portugal?" Viscount Canning asked.

"Know a thing or two." Robert said, "They have not been stable over the years."

"It's not just unstable." Viscount Canning smiled wryly. "This country is now a powder magazine on fire. Everyone knows it's going to explode. It's just a matter of time."

"Since the end of last year, King João III's physical condition has been deteriorating. He has been bedridden since February. The doctors have tried various treatments but they have not worked. I will tell you privately that I think the King of Portugal is exhausted. The lights are out, after all, he is 55 years old this year, and his physical condition has begun to decline a few years ago."

"As for his son, that fool's health has always been worse than his father's. Now everyone is guessing, which one will be called by God first and die first."

"Once the De Avis dynasty dies out, the nearest heir is King Philip of Spain. His mother is the princess of Portugal. Now he is the closest heir by blood, but the big nobles in the country do not accept Spain so easily. It is no secret that the kings, especially the ambitious Duke of Bragança, wanted to follow the example of Pepin the dwarf and take the crown into his own hands."

"The situation was already chaotic enough, but in June, the situation changed dramatically. At the crown prince's birthday dinner, the crown princess, who was present in place of the bedridden fool husband, suddenly announced that she had been pregnant for two months. pregnant."

"But I remember you just told me that her husband is already bedridden." Robert frowned, "He should have been sterile."

"To be exact, he has never had the possibility of leaving any descendants. You will be convinced of this once you meet him." Viscount Canning sneered, "You can imagine the uproar caused by this news , the party is not over yet, rumors about the real father of the child in the princess's womb have begun to spread... Her captain of the bodyguard is a handsome Italian, and they are very close, a little too close."

"That's not a good move," Robert commented.

"It was all out of desperation." Viscount Canning explained, "If she can't bear an heir, she will have nothing when her father-in-law and husband die. If the king dies first, then she will still be able to live in the queen. If she sits on the throne for a few days, if her husband dies before her father-in-law, then she will be just a crown prince and widowed concubine, and Her Royal Highness will never accept this."

"So you see, she couldn't wait to invite you to persuade you to let His Majesty the King give her support so that the child in her womb can sit on the throne of Portugal. In fact, as long as you appear in the palace, then she will It can create public opinion and make everyone feel that she has the support of her home country."

"Then what if I don't go?" Robert asked, "Is she going to kidnap me by force and go to the palace?"

"It's unlikely, but she can delay the progress of your ship's repairs, so in the eyes of others, it's like you are delaying time, planning with her how to seize the power of Portugal, at least she will let others do this thought."

"This damn storm, if it wasn't for it, we would be almost at the Bay of Biscay now, really unlucky." Robert snorted coldly, "Did His Majesty the King give you instructions regarding the difficult situation now? ?”

"Your Majesty asked me to give proper support to the Crown Princess on the premise of not affecting our country's interests. The premise is that she will give our country the due reward after she seizes power." Viscount Canning showed a embarrassed expression, "But the current situation is changing rapidly. If I rashly promise something, it is very likely that His Majesty will be dragged into this quagmire; and Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess is a person who will not give up until she achieves her goal. She will never be satisfied if she does not get something from me... So I can only delay it for the time being."

"It seems that I have no other choice." Robert sighed, "Is your carriage here? Great, then please take me to the palace."

"Are you sure you want to go?" Viscount Canning asked.

"Is there any other way?" replied Robert. "If she insists on seeing me, I'll go to her. As for what other people think, that's their own business. If they make Wrong judgment, that is entirely because they think too much."

Viscount Canning didn't seem to have any better suggestions, he stood up resignedly, walked in front, and led the way for Robert.