monarch

About ten minutes later, Robert Dudley, hastily summoned from his own chamber by the duke's messenger, entered the room by the same door as the Princess Elizabeth had just entered.

He looked at the two people in the room with curious eyes: Princess Elizabeth stood stiffly in the middle of the room, her body was tense because of tension, like a fully drawn bow, making one wonder if she would Any bigger, and the bowstring would break completely.Compared with her, the Duke of Braganza seemed much more at ease. He leaned on the cushion of an armchair with his legs crossed, and the smile from the heart could only be hung on the face of a person who thought he had a chance to win. .

"I heard the sound of preparing weapons in the corridor." Robert asked as soon as he entered the door, "What happened?"

"That's the gathering of the king's guard." The Duke of Braganza said, standing up from his chair. "If I'm right, they got the order to arrest the princess."

"What did you do?" Robert looked at Princess Elizabeth in surprise.

"It's not because of what she's doing now, but because of what she's done before." The Duke of Braganza pointed to Elizabeth's already very obvious pregnant belly.

"So he already knows." Robert looked at Princess Elizabeth, who nodded reluctantly.

"I'm afraid it is true." The Duke of Braganza said, "In fact, this is no longer a secret. His Majesty will guess it sooner or later. Just look at the appearance of the crown prince, and you will know that he will not be able to produce an heir at all. .”

Robert walked unhurriedly to the couch at the far end of the room and sat down, "Then who is the king planning to hand over the throne to?"

"As far as we know, the heir designated by His Majesty in the will is Prince Don Carlos of Spain." The Duke of Braganza said solemnly, "I don't think I need to point it out, you can understand that this will It will lead to an extremely unfavorable diplomatic situation for Britain, and Portugal, together with her overseas empire, will instantly turn from an ally to an enemy of your country."

"For the benefit of all of us, this will must not take effect." The Duke of Braganza said firmly, "Her Royal Highness and I have just reached a consensus. Your Majesty is already confused. We cannot let an old man be confused before he dies." Determined to destroy the freedom of Portugal, even if it requires drastic means!"

"You plan to launch a coup." Robert had a faint smile on his face, just like the pink veil on the face of a Turkish woman, covering his inner thoughts, "You hope With the support of Britain."

"In fact, we have already passed the stage of planning. We are not planning a coup d'etat, but a coup d'etat in progress... While we were talking, my courier was sending a message to the people who had already ambushed near the palace. My subordinates have sent the signal, and they will occupy the palace in less than half an hour. Whether you and Britain support it or not, we will fight to the end."

"Then what do you ask me to do?" Robert's tone was filled with boredom, "If you can take this country without anyone's help, then I am of no use to you."

"It's easy to take the country, but it's another thing to keep it from the Spaniards," said the Duke of Braganza. "If we fail, it's as if this conversation never happened; but If we succeed, I hope that Britain will give Portugal the aid you have promised."

"Frankly speaking, I don't think you have any chance of winning against the Spaniards." Robert nodded slightly, "But Britain will fulfill the promise she once made."

"Naturally, I also hope that your country can fulfill the promises it has made." Robert paused for a moment before adding.

"It's very easy. When the Regency Council was established, the first effective order was to hand over Brazil to Britain."

"Then the first batch of supplies and weapons to support you will be shipped from London immediately." Robert assured the Duke of Braganza.

"With your words, I'm relieved." The Duke of Braganza took Robert's right hand with a kind of intimacy among the accomplices, and shook it vigorously. Master of Portugal!"

"How do you plan to deal with the Spanish ambassador?" Robert asked curiously. "He must already know the existence of the will, and his status as a diplomat prevents you from harming him casually. When he arrives here at night, what do you plan to do?" How to receive him?"

"Naturally, I don't intend to harm him." The Duke of Braganza has already made up his mind, "When the Spanish ambassador arrives here, he will find that he arrived too late, and His Majesty the King has died of illness. As for the will, if he If he is a wise man, he will not mention it to avoid embarrassment in front of everyone; if he is a fool, then we will show everyone in the court a glimpse of Spain's undisguised ambition. A good player knows when to give up. I admit defeat, I know him well..."

Princess Elizabeth let out a few clear coughs, interrupting the Duke of Braganza's bragging.

"I have a better way," she said to the Duke of Braganza, who was somewhat dissatisfied by the interruption, and she had been rather silent since Robert entered the room. "The Spanish ambassador is a useful pawn." , should not be discarded directly.”

The Duke of Braganza said bluntly: "Then what are you going to do?"

Princess Elizabeth did not directly answer the question of the Duke of Braganza, but began to ask questions on her own: "If the king died of illness, then naturally no one needs to take responsibility for it, but if his death is not accidental? , but a murder?"

"Then someone will go to the guillotine." The Duke of Braganza no longer concealed his impatience intentionally or unintentionally. "That's why we try to make His Majesty die of illness as normal as possible."

Robert turned sideways, seemingly suddenly interested in the texture of the textiles on the tapestry hanging on the wall.The topic of this conversation has entered a sensitive area. Both his identity and his reason require him to stay out of it. The other two people in the room obviously understand this very well, and their eyes also deliberately avoid Robert. The sofa that stands on the ground, as if there is no third person in the room.

"If the king was murdered, someone must be responsible." Princess Elizabeth showed a faint smile, when Medea ordered her younger brother Absyrtus to be cut into pieces to delay her father's pursuit , with roughly the same deadly smile on his face, "Since we have mastered the palace, why not let our enemies take this responsibility?"

After a short stunned silence, the Duke of Braganza asked with great interest: "You mean to make the Spanish ambassador a suspect in the murder of the King of Portugal?"

"The status of a diplomat can't save him." Elizabeth looked radiant with the pleasure of revenge, "at that time, the Spaniards will be regarded as evil relatives plotting inheritance, and no one will believe their set about the so-called A testament of bullshit. We can declare publicly that there is no will at all, and that everything is a lie concocted by Philip II to usurp the Portuguese throne. This is yet another proof of Spanish ambition! If all the peace-loving nations of Europe do not unite against this a greedy tyrant, Philip's interest in Portugal would soon extend to them as well."

"Do you think they will believe this theory?" The Duke of Braganza was still a little skeptical.

"Why don't you believe it?" Elizabeth said loudly. "It seems unreasonable for a father not to leave his crown to his son, but to an outsider! I was thinking, Your Majesty made that will, Perhaps it was at the instigation of the Spaniards. I think the lawyer who drafted His Majesty's will is also worthy of investigation, and a statement from him will make everything more credible."

"I must say, you are a born conspirator." The Duke of Braganza bent towards Princess Elizabeth, "This is indeed a good idea... As for whether others believe this explanation, that is not the case. How important. Their actions will depend on where they stand, we just need to give those who are against Spain a less ridiculous explanation and that will be enough."

"Besides, this is still a very well-founded explanation." Elizabeth added, "The Spaniards spared no effort to discredit me, and now it's my turn to pour dirty water on them... The taste of revenge is really sweet!"

The two nodded to each other, confirming the fate of King Joao III and the Spanish ambassador, as well as countless people.

"Sorry to bother you two." Robert had already walked to the window at this time, so as not to make the two people who were talking feel uncomfortable, he was pointing to the opposite hillside, "I think the horse on the other side of the valley should be Yours?"

The Duke of Braganza strode to the window, leaned half of his body out of the window, narrowed his eyes slightly, and stared at the direction Robert pointed at, "Yes, yes, those are my people! He turned around and announced excitedly, "My heroes are here, we're sure to win!"

He pulled his sword out of the scabbard, and took out a sky-blue veil from his arms, picked it up with the tip of the sword, stretched out the window, and waved it lightly towards the opposite valley a few times.

Immediately, there were streaks of reflected light from the crowd on the opposite side, and they drew out their sabers one after another. Countless sharp blades formed a metal jungle, shining coldly in the sun.

The men of the Duke of Braganza began to approach the palace, but no one raised the alarm.

"I think we'd better stay away from the windows." Robert suggested to the other two people in the room. "There is no doubt that a fierce battle will break out here. It is very regrettable that he lost his life because of an inexplicable stray bullet before."

"I don't think so," said the Duke of Bragança briskly. "I assure you that there will be no fighting. Haven't you noticed? They have an order to arrest the Dauphine, but the time has passed." For so long, no one has broken in through this door. What will happen today is nothing more than a few sporadic conflicts. Some people may shed blood, but it is only a few drops of blood, and it will never happen as you think. It's a bloody scene."

"I don't understand what you mean." Robert was full of unwillingness to believe, "Is it true that the soldiers stationed in the corridors and towers, the swords and muskets in their hands are all useless decorations in your opinion? ?”

"Of course not, but they have been ordered not to allow them to fight my men. These soldiers are used to obeying orders, and they will follow this order. There may be a few disobedient young men, but as I As I said earlier, it will only lead to some conflicts."

"Whose orders did they get?"

"It's the captain of the palace guard." Elizabeth snorted coldly. "Before you came in, His Excellency the Duke was introducing to me how he got hold of that man."

"He agreed to serve me as soon as he saw the evidence that revealed the secret that he had a lover of the same sex." The Duke of Braganza couldn't hide his complacency, "The captain of the guard's lover is not a king, he doesn't have you Such good luck."

"Hope your threat is as effective as what you say," said Robert icily.

The subordinates of the Duke of Braganza had already approached less than a hundred feet from the entrance of the palace. The palace had already been brought into the range of their muskets. It was just a shallow ditch, and this ditch was not much wider than those dug by farmers around their orchards to prevent the invasion of wild animals.

When the first coup participant came to the edge of the ditch, the drawbridge was slowly lowered, like invited guests, and the gates of the entire palace were opened to them.

"What did I say?" The Duke of Bragança laughed, "Let's go, let's take over Portugal."

"Please go first." The Duke of Braganza gestured towards Princess Elizabeth, "Before we become co-regents, the honor of walking in the front belongs to you; and after we become co-regents, I I will only follow your lead."

There was a dense sound of horseshoes and footsteps outside, mixed with a muffled gunshot from time to time, but then subsided, making those who heard the sound almost think that they had an auditory hallucination.

Princess Elizabeth lifted her skirt and walked towards the door as the Duke of Braganza had said.