monarch
Chapter 187 followed
Robert politely and firmly rejected Elizabeth's dinner invitation, and left under the disappointed and mournful eyes of the princess.It is clear that Princess Elizabeth has a lot of work to do if she is to reassure Robert about her.
Robert went down the stairs by himself, looking for the carriage that Viscount Canning had promised to pick him up when he left, but when he walked out of the exit and came to the yard, there was nothing there, and he couldn't find it at all. What shadow of a carriage.
When he was about to go back down the stairs to call for someone, a man in the clothes of a court guard emerged from the shadow of the colonnade and told the surprised Robert that the car that Viscount Canning sent to fetch him had been damaged when entering the gate. The axle, had to be towed for repairs.The master of stables at the palace was deeply troubled by this inconvenience, and therefore provided carriages and horses for his distinguished guest, and invited Robert to honor him with a ride.
As soon as he finished speaking, a black carriage pulled by two horses circled around from the other side of the palace and stopped in front of them.
Robert frowned slightly. All this seemed a bit too coincidental, but he didn't think anyone would dare to do unfriendly things to him here.
He put his hand on the hilt of his sword and climbed into the carriage.
The door of the car was closed immediately behind him, and when Robert noticed another person sitting in the car, the wheels had already turned bonyly and sped towards the outside of the palace.
"Who are you?" Robert pulled out half of the sword in his hand, and the cold light of the blade flickered in the carriage, "Why are you sitting in my carriage?"
The man unhurriedly turned on the lantern used to illuminate the carriage, "That's not accurate, sir, in fact, this is my carriage."
He took off his hat from his head and held it in his hand, "I think I should introduce myself, this is Theodosius de Braganza, the fifth Duke of Braganza, please Forgive my presumptuousness, but I wanted to talk to you since I heard the news that you came to Lisbon, but I was preempted by the Crown Princess and His Majesty the King. In order not to be preempted by others, I had no choice but to refuse Come here."
Robert looked at the other party by the light of the lantern. He was a middle-aged man with a handsome appearance. His tough facial features and thick black beard made him look like a hearty green forest hero, but this must be just a superficial phenomenon. How could any scheming person use his own carriage as a trap?
"I don't think there's anything wrong with Viscount Canning's carriage, right?" Robert tentatively asked.
"Ah, that carriage is indeed broken." The Duke of Braganza showed that hearty smile again, his white teeth gleaming under the light, "I let someone break it."
Robert opened his mouth wide in astonishment because of the other party's frankness, "What do you mean?"
"I said, I just want to talk to you." The Duke of Braganza spread his arms, "Don't worry, I will have the carriage repaired by Viscount Canning."
"I can roughly guess what you want to talk to me." Robert leaned back on the cushion, "This is what everyone wants to talk to me about. You and Elizabeth want the same thing, but unfortunately the crown It can only be worn on the head of one of you."
"I'm afraid you have misunderstood me." The Duke of Braganza shook his head with a smile. "I am not seeking the throne. My ancestors are the illegitimate sons of the King of Portugal. I have no right to inherit the throne."
"William the Conqueror was also an illegitimate son," Robert said, "but he established the Norman dynasty across the English Channel. You are a Catholic, and you only need a papal decree to turn your illegitimate son into a legal heir , Rome has always been very accommodating when granting concessions to powerful people."
"That must also be the case when the current dynasty is extinct."
"That's why you have people write those vulgar poems." Robert was not convinced by the Duke at all, "If Elizabeth's son is considered to be an illegitimate child, then after the death of the king and the dauphin, only the De Havis dynasty will be left. The younger brother of King João, Cardinal Henry, who is subject to the precepts of the church, is now 45 years old and has no heirs, and I am afraid there will be no heirs in the future, and the de Avis dynasty has come to an end."
"Then the crown will not fall on my head." said the Duke of Braganza. "In that unfortunate situation, the first heir to the throne will become the grandson of the current king, Don Carlos of Spain. Prince, the country becomes a Spanish vassal."
"And you don't want that to happen?" Robert asked suspiciously.
"This is what I want to tell you." The Duke of Braganza leaned forward, "The princess and I should not be enemies, but friends. The Spaniards are our common enemy. The population of this country is only 100 million, the local army mobilizes only 3 to [-], and the Spaniards can beat us with a little finger. After the death of King Joao III, there is no doubt that King Philip will use those stories about the princess’s belly The child's rumors made trouble, and troops were sent to ensure the succession of Prince Don Carlos. At that time, if I wanted to, I could temporarily kneel to the Spaniards to keep my position, but if she wanted to save her life, she could only go into exile."
"Why don't you go and talk to the princess in person?" Robert said absently.
"How should I say it?" The Duke of Braganza showed just the right embarrassment, paused for a few seconds, and he continued, "There is some misunderstanding between me and Her Royal Highness, and she is a woman, even if she behaves like A man is also controlled by emotions, and she seems to regard me as some kind of sworn enemy."
"However, in politics, there are neither enemies nor friends. Whether everyone is an enemy or a friend depends on the need." Robert finished the second half of the sentence for the Duke.
"Exactly, sir," said the Duke of Braganza approvingly.
"Then what is the misunderstanding between you and the princess?"
"Let's put it this way." The Duke of Braganza pondered for a moment, then said slowly, "After Her Royal Highness came to Portugal, she seemed to want to copy what her younger brother King Edward had done in Britain. As you can imagine, the noble What do we think of her."
"She wants to weaken the privileges of the nobles while strengthening the authority of the royal family; she wants to collect taxes without restriction and establish a standing army; she uses her favorites and bureaucrats to fill every wealthy or powerful Position. All in all, she wants to emasculate the aristocratic class, which is the foundation of the Kingdom of Portugal." The Duke of Braganza puffed out his chest proudly.
"The nobles of Britain thought so too." Robert looked into the eyes of the Duke of Braganza. "But now, without them, Britain is still as solid as a rock, stronger than at any time in her history."
"Portugal is not Britain, and Princess Elizabeth is not King Edward VI." The Duke of Braganza shook his head disdainfully, "She lacks resources, money, force, and the support of the common people that King Edward enjoys. Trying to establish centralization on such a basis is to build a castle on the swamp, and the soft foundation cannot support the weight of the superstructure. More importantly, she is not a king, nor a queen, not even a queen! She's just a princess, if her husband dies, if she can't have a baby, then she's nothing."
"I tried to reason with her, but she didn't want to listen." The Duke of Braganza said helplessly, "She became more and more paranoid, and even thought that I was the mastermind of a conspiracy against her, trying to overthrow her. The core of the group, she would never listen to any of my suggestions."
"You did try to do her a disservice," said Robert, "otherwise why would you ask someone to write those poems?"
"This is for self-protection." The Duke of Braganza snorted coldly, "Do you think I will not fight back after being attacked by others? Someone hit me on the left cheek, and I have to stick the right cheek again past?"
"It says so in the Bible." Robert shrugged.
"You don't believe that book at all," said the duke. "No one in the world, except an idiot like King Philip, is just pretending."
"So how do you want to work with her?" Robert then asked.
"I don't want a crown," said the Duke of Bragança. "The crown of Portugal and the Algarve may one day fall on my family's head, but not my generation. All I want is a future regent." It's just a seat."
"Regent?" Robert repeated playfully.
"The king won't live long, and when he dies, the one who inherits the throne is either an idiot who can't even count from one to ten, or a child who is still in his infancy, or even in his mother's womb, whether it is In either case, the Kingdom of Portugal needs to appoint a regent."
"Do you think Elizabeth will agree?" Robert said, "Isn't that what she wants? The child in her womb is just a tool for her to seek the regent seat."
"I don't want to be regent alone," the Duke of Braganza laughed, "I don't have that kind of strength, prestige, nor that ability... No, I just want to be regent with her, I just want her to Sharing some of the power in my hands with me is enough to satisfy me."
"It's not too much," Robert commented.
"Isn't it too much? Is that how you describe it?" The Duke of Braganza patted Robert's arm. "If I had to describe it, I would say that this condition is very sincere."
"And what do you want me to do?" Robert asked again.
"I'm trying my best to persuade the princess to accept my opinion, and I need your help."
"How do you think she will listen to me?"
"Maybe she won't listen to you, but if her younger brother expresses his opinion, then she has to think about it." The Duke of Braganza moved closer, and the air of his breath hit Robert's face directly, "You Let His Majesty the King of Britain consider my proposal, which is the only way to stabilize Portugal and avoid civil war or Spanish annexation."
"No matter what benefits Princess Elizabeth promises you, I will never obstruct it." The Duke of Braganza pointed his right index finger upwards, "Brazil will belong to King Edward, even in the worst case, we It will also maintain its reputation."
"Worst case?" Robert asked. "What does that mean?"
"The Spaniards will definitely not let it go. As for whether they will invade... I'm not sure about that." The Duke of Braganza's expression also became serious, "They already have enough battlefields to deal with , Now that Britain and Britain are on the verge of war, it is hard to imagine that they will rush into a new war. However, things are not absolute. Maybe Philip thinks that Portugal is the lowest hanging fruit hanging on the branch, and he plans to pick it first Quench your thirst."
"In that case, we can only resist as much as possible. My friends and I will retreat to the north, deal with Philip and send people to negotiate. He doesn't have to kill us all. We will serve him in exchange for Autonomy, he will say yes."
"But until then, we will do our duty to the King of Britain. The Governor of Brazil is our man, and he will not obey the orders of Madrid. On the contrary, he will serve King Edward and give the whole colony, with all the population on it , armies, weapons, ships and industries, were handed over to the representatives sent by King Edward. Spain may get Portugal, but Brazil is British anyway." The Duke of Braganza observed Robert's reaction, "Such conditions are in Do you seem sincere enough?"
"I must admit that this condition is very convincing." Robert said frankly, "I have only one last question to ask."
"Please tell me, Your Excellency, the purpose of my coming to talk to you today is to try my best to eliminate all your worries."
"What kind of support do you want from the Kingdom of Britain?" Robert asked very seriously, "I have just stated my position to the princess: if you expect us to send a large army and navy to land in Portugal, Then I can only regret to tell you that it is impossible. We are about to face the full force of Spain, and we cannot waste our already very limited resources around."
"We will not make such an excessive request." The Duke of Braganza said, "All we want is money and material assistance. Britain is the richest country in Europe, and although we have discovered the sea route to India, But now we are as poor as beggars. If we retreat to the north one day, we cannot survive independently without the aid of Britain."
"I don't think His Majesty will be stingy with some money and supplies." Robert nodded.
"What I want is another promise." said the Duke of Braganza, "If your country defeats the Spaniards, then my country, if it existed at that time, would join your country; The remnants of your subordinates will also rise up. I hope that when the peace treaty is finally signed, your country will take our country's interests into consideration."
"You're thinking too far." Robert hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "But I will mention your request in a letter to His Majesty."
"That's what I want from you now," said the Duke of Bragança, looking out the window. "Ah, look, we've arrived at the pier. Time flies."
Robert looked out the window, and the two ships were quietly leaning against the shore, and there seemed to be no signs of repairs.
"In Portugal, the efficiency of some things is hopelessly low." The Duke of Braganza patted Robert's shoulder familiarly, as if they had known each other for many years, "I think as long as you I wrote a letter to your majesty, and the pace of many things will be much faster."
Robert sighed helplessly, and pushed open the car door, "I'll write a letter tonight."
"Excellent." The Duke of Braganza nodded to Robert who had already jumped from the car to the ground, closed the door from the inside, and knocked on the front wall of the carriage with his cane. The groom swung his whip, and the two The horse took another step, and soon the carriage disappeared into the pitch black night.
Robert went down the stairs by himself, looking for the carriage that Viscount Canning had promised to pick him up when he left, but when he walked out of the exit and came to the yard, there was nothing there, and he couldn't find it at all. What shadow of a carriage.
When he was about to go back down the stairs to call for someone, a man in the clothes of a court guard emerged from the shadow of the colonnade and told the surprised Robert that the car that Viscount Canning sent to fetch him had been damaged when entering the gate. The axle, had to be towed for repairs.The master of stables at the palace was deeply troubled by this inconvenience, and therefore provided carriages and horses for his distinguished guest, and invited Robert to honor him with a ride.
As soon as he finished speaking, a black carriage pulled by two horses circled around from the other side of the palace and stopped in front of them.
Robert frowned slightly. All this seemed a bit too coincidental, but he didn't think anyone would dare to do unfriendly things to him here.
He put his hand on the hilt of his sword and climbed into the carriage.
The door of the car was closed immediately behind him, and when Robert noticed another person sitting in the car, the wheels had already turned bonyly and sped towards the outside of the palace.
"Who are you?" Robert pulled out half of the sword in his hand, and the cold light of the blade flickered in the carriage, "Why are you sitting in my carriage?"
The man unhurriedly turned on the lantern used to illuminate the carriage, "That's not accurate, sir, in fact, this is my carriage."
He took off his hat from his head and held it in his hand, "I think I should introduce myself, this is Theodosius de Braganza, the fifth Duke of Braganza, please Forgive my presumptuousness, but I wanted to talk to you since I heard the news that you came to Lisbon, but I was preempted by the Crown Princess and His Majesty the King. In order not to be preempted by others, I had no choice but to refuse Come here."
Robert looked at the other party by the light of the lantern. He was a middle-aged man with a handsome appearance. His tough facial features and thick black beard made him look like a hearty green forest hero, but this must be just a superficial phenomenon. How could any scheming person use his own carriage as a trap?
"I don't think there's anything wrong with Viscount Canning's carriage, right?" Robert tentatively asked.
"Ah, that carriage is indeed broken." The Duke of Braganza showed that hearty smile again, his white teeth gleaming under the light, "I let someone break it."
Robert opened his mouth wide in astonishment because of the other party's frankness, "What do you mean?"
"I said, I just want to talk to you." The Duke of Braganza spread his arms, "Don't worry, I will have the carriage repaired by Viscount Canning."
"I can roughly guess what you want to talk to me." Robert leaned back on the cushion, "This is what everyone wants to talk to me about. You and Elizabeth want the same thing, but unfortunately the crown It can only be worn on the head of one of you."
"I'm afraid you have misunderstood me." The Duke of Braganza shook his head with a smile. "I am not seeking the throne. My ancestors are the illegitimate sons of the King of Portugal. I have no right to inherit the throne."
"William the Conqueror was also an illegitimate son," Robert said, "but he established the Norman dynasty across the English Channel. You are a Catholic, and you only need a papal decree to turn your illegitimate son into a legal heir , Rome has always been very accommodating when granting concessions to powerful people."
"That must also be the case when the current dynasty is extinct."
"That's why you have people write those vulgar poems." Robert was not convinced by the Duke at all, "If Elizabeth's son is considered to be an illegitimate child, then after the death of the king and the dauphin, only the De Havis dynasty will be left. The younger brother of King João, Cardinal Henry, who is subject to the precepts of the church, is now 45 years old and has no heirs, and I am afraid there will be no heirs in the future, and the de Avis dynasty has come to an end."
"Then the crown will not fall on my head." said the Duke of Braganza. "In that unfortunate situation, the first heir to the throne will become the grandson of the current king, Don Carlos of Spain. Prince, the country becomes a Spanish vassal."
"And you don't want that to happen?" Robert asked suspiciously.
"This is what I want to tell you." The Duke of Braganza leaned forward, "The princess and I should not be enemies, but friends. The Spaniards are our common enemy. The population of this country is only 100 million, the local army mobilizes only 3 to [-], and the Spaniards can beat us with a little finger. After the death of King Joao III, there is no doubt that King Philip will use those stories about the princess’s belly The child's rumors made trouble, and troops were sent to ensure the succession of Prince Don Carlos. At that time, if I wanted to, I could temporarily kneel to the Spaniards to keep my position, but if she wanted to save her life, she could only go into exile."
"Why don't you go and talk to the princess in person?" Robert said absently.
"How should I say it?" The Duke of Braganza showed just the right embarrassment, paused for a few seconds, and he continued, "There is some misunderstanding between me and Her Royal Highness, and she is a woman, even if she behaves like A man is also controlled by emotions, and she seems to regard me as some kind of sworn enemy."
"However, in politics, there are neither enemies nor friends. Whether everyone is an enemy or a friend depends on the need." Robert finished the second half of the sentence for the Duke.
"Exactly, sir," said the Duke of Braganza approvingly.
"Then what is the misunderstanding between you and the princess?"
"Let's put it this way." The Duke of Braganza pondered for a moment, then said slowly, "After Her Royal Highness came to Portugal, she seemed to want to copy what her younger brother King Edward had done in Britain. As you can imagine, the noble What do we think of her."
"She wants to weaken the privileges of the nobles while strengthening the authority of the royal family; she wants to collect taxes without restriction and establish a standing army; she uses her favorites and bureaucrats to fill every wealthy or powerful Position. All in all, she wants to emasculate the aristocratic class, which is the foundation of the Kingdom of Portugal." The Duke of Braganza puffed out his chest proudly.
"The nobles of Britain thought so too." Robert looked into the eyes of the Duke of Braganza. "But now, without them, Britain is still as solid as a rock, stronger than at any time in her history."
"Portugal is not Britain, and Princess Elizabeth is not King Edward VI." The Duke of Braganza shook his head disdainfully, "She lacks resources, money, force, and the support of the common people that King Edward enjoys. Trying to establish centralization on such a basis is to build a castle on the swamp, and the soft foundation cannot support the weight of the superstructure. More importantly, she is not a king, nor a queen, not even a queen! She's just a princess, if her husband dies, if she can't have a baby, then she's nothing."
"I tried to reason with her, but she didn't want to listen." The Duke of Braganza said helplessly, "She became more and more paranoid, and even thought that I was the mastermind of a conspiracy against her, trying to overthrow her. The core of the group, she would never listen to any of my suggestions."
"You did try to do her a disservice," said Robert, "otherwise why would you ask someone to write those poems?"
"This is for self-protection." The Duke of Braganza snorted coldly, "Do you think I will not fight back after being attacked by others? Someone hit me on the left cheek, and I have to stick the right cheek again past?"
"It says so in the Bible." Robert shrugged.
"You don't believe that book at all," said the duke. "No one in the world, except an idiot like King Philip, is just pretending."
"So how do you want to work with her?" Robert then asked.
"I don't want a crown," said the Duke of Bragança. "The crown of Portugal and the Algarve may one day fall on my family's head, but not my generation. All I want is a future regent." It's just a seat."
"Regent?" Robert repeated playfully.
"The king won't live long, and when he dies, the one who inherits the throne is either an idiot who can't even count from one to ten, or a child who is still in his infancy, or even in his mother's womb, whether it is In either case, the Kingdom of Portugal needs to appoint a regent."
"Do you think Elizabeth will agree?" Robert said, "Isn't that what she wants? The child in her womb is just a tool for her to seek the regent seat."
"I don't want to be regent alone," the Duke of Braganza laughed, "I don't have that kind of strength, prestige, nor that ability... No, I just want to be regent with her, I just want her to Sharing some of the power in my hands with me is enough to satisfy me."
"It's not too much," Robert commented.
"Isn't it too much? Is that how you describe it?" The Duke of Braganza patted Robert's arm. "If I had to describe it, I would say that this condition is very sincere."
"And what do you want me to do?" Robert asked again.
"I'm trying my best to persuade the princess to accept my opinion, and I need your help."
"How do you think she will listen to me?"
"Maybe she won't listen to you, but if her younger brother expresses his opinion, then she has to think about it." The Duke of Braganza moved closer, and the air of his breath hit Robert's face directly, "You Let His Majesty the King of Britain consider my proposal, which is the only way to stabilize Portugal and avoid civil war or Spanish annexation."
"No matter what benefits Princess Elizabeth promises you, I will never obstruct it." The Duke of Braganza pointed his right index finger upwards, "Brazil will belong to King Edward, even in the worst case, we It will also maintain its reputation."
"Worst case?" Robert asked. "What does that mean?"
"The Spaniards will definitely not let it go. As for whether they will invade... I'm not sure about that." The Duke of Braganza's expression also became serious, "They already have enough battlefields to deal with , Now that Britain and Britain are on the verge of war, it is hard to imagine that they will rush into a new war. However, things are not absolute. Maybe Philip thinks that Portugal is the lowest hanging fruit hanging on the branch, and he plans to pick it first Quench your thirst."
"In that case, we can only resist as much as possible. My friends and I will retreat to the north, deal with Philip and send people to negotiate. He doesn't have to kill us all. We will serve him in exchange for Autonomy, he will say yes."
"But until then, we will do our duty to the King of Britain. The Governor of Brazil is our man, and he will not obey the orders of Madrid. On the contrary, he will serve King Edward and give the whole colony, with all the population on it , armies, weapons, ships and industries, were handed over to the representatives sent by King Edward. Spain may get Portugal, but Brazil is British anyway." The Duke of Braganza observed Robert's reaction, "Such conditions are in Do you seem sincere enough?"
"I must admit that this condition is very convincing." Robert said frankly, "I have only one last question to ask."
"Please tell me, Your Excellency, the purpose of my coming to talk to you today is to try my best to eliminate all your worries."
"What kind of support do you want from the Kingdom of Britain?" Robert asked very seriously, "I have just stated my position to the princess: if you expect us to send a large army and navy to land in Portugal, Then I can only regret to tell you that it is impossible. We are about to face the full force of Spain, and we cannot waste our already very limited resources around."
"We will not make such an excessive request." The Duke of Braganza said, "All we want is money and material assistance. Britain is the richest country in Europe, and although we have discovered the sea route to India, But now we are as poor as beggars. If we retreat to the north one day, we cannot survive independently without the aid of Britain."
"I don't think His Majesty will be stingy with some money and supplies." Robert nodded.
"What I want is another promise." said the Duke of Braganza, "If your country defeats the Spaniards, then my country, if it existed at that time, would join your country; The remnants of your subordinates will also rise up. I hope that when the peace treaty is finally signed, your country will take our country's interests into consideration."
"You're thinking too far." Robert hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "But I will mention your request in a letter to His Majesty."
"That's what I want from you now," said the Duke of Bragança, looking out the window. "Ah, look, we've arrived at the pier. Time flies."
Robert looked out the window, and the two ships were quietly leaning against the shore, and there seemed to be no signs of repairs.
"In Portugal, the efficiency of some things is hopelessly low." The Duke of Braganza patted Robert's shoulder familiarly, as if they had known each other for many years, "I think as long as you I wrote a letter to your majesty, and the pace of many things will be much faster."
Robert sighed helplessly, and pushed open the car door, "I'll write a letter tonight."
"Excellent." The Duke of Braganza nodded to Robert who had already jumped from the car to the ground, closed the door from the inside, and knocked on the front wall of the carriage with his cane. The groom swung his whip, and the two The horse took another step, and soon the carriage disappeared into the pitch black night.
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