monarch

On February 1558, 2, King Henry II finally signed a pass to Robert and his party, including King João Manuel of Portugal, according to sources in the Louvre, Caterina de The Medici queen was instrumental in getting the king to sign it, and she is said to have had a violent quarrel with the king's mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who was always on good terms, over the matter.

In any case, the pass bearing the king's seal was sent to the Marshal Montmorency's residence where the British mission was temporarily staying.On the second day after receiving the pass, Robert and his party bid farewell to Paris, and drove on the Picardy Avenue leading to Calais in a carriage.The journey from Paris to Calais, which should have been completed in three days, was postponed to a week by a thin layer of ice and freshly fallen snow. It was already afternoon on February 2 when the tower of Lai Fortress was finally in sight.

The English have ruled the city for 1357 years since it was captured by King Edward III in 200.Today, it has become the last piece of territory of the British Kingdom on the European continent. As for the Anjou Empire that straddled the two sides of the strait, it has become dust of history 100 years ago.

To this day, the King of Britain still retains the title of "King of France", but that is just a political statement.But at the peak of the Hundred Years' War, England almost wanted the French throne, and the poor French King Charles VII could only hide in Bourges in the south to survive.Times have changed, and now the great British France has been lost, leaving only this pitiful remnant as a monument to that great era.

The carriage drove into the gates of Calais, one of Britain's greatest ports of entry, a city that stood no less than its sisters across the Channel.Countless trucks lined up in front of the city gate, and the port was crowded with cargo ships flying different flags. In view of the imminent war between Britain and Spain, importers and exporters were hoarding supplies and raw materials at the last minute.

Although the Spanish invasion has now been delayed by the Portuguese war, the Portuguese war is now drawing to a close, and the Duke of Braganza and the King of Spain have tended to reach an agreement, so Spain's next goal is naturally the Kingdom of Britain.The time for the Spanish invasion will be roughly in the summer of 1559, which is only a little over a year from now. At that time, the prosperous trade between Britain and the European continent will also be temporarily interrupted by the Spanish fleet entering the strait.Whether it is grain, raw materials and wine produced in the European continent, or cloth and handicrafts produced in the British Isles, the supply will be temporarily cut off.In order to deal with this inevitable crisis, businessmen have begun to hurry up and prepare.

The customs building was crowded with merchants and ship owners who declared customs, and on the steps in front of the building, the commander of the fortress, the mayor and the port director had been waiting there since noon. They welcomed Robert's arrival graciously and told The battleship he used to carry him across the strait was ready, and he could sail just waiting for him to board.

When the infant Prince Sebastian was lifted from the carriage, the local officials with bright eyes looked as if they were staring at the sacristy of the prayer ceremony. A few tears came out of his little eyes.They instinctively approached the prince who was sleeping soundly in the nurse's arms with eyes closed, as if they were expecting a two-month-old baby to remember these flattering faces.Since the king announced his nephew as the Prince of Brazil half a month ago, Prince Sebastian has become the sure heir to the throne in the eyes of most people.Many nobles and courtiers have already started to think of accompanying the prince as a teacher, teacher and courtier.

Robert looked in the direction of their fingers, and he saw several hand-rowed boats parked on the pier next to the customs building, covered with exquisite gold and silver decorations, like the flower boats competing for splendor in the Venice Carnival, Obviously, the officials in Port of Calais have gone too far.

Robert was sent in the first rowboat with the precious child, while the rest of his entourage went with the King of Portugal in the second.The titular king was carried all the way onto the boat, and his sluggish, drooling face embarrassed everyone who saluted him.

As soon as the passengers sat down in their seats, there was a shock below them, and the oarsmen exerted their strength together, and the boat left the dock.

The two rowboats leisurely rowed across the icy cold sea, approaching the two warships moored in the center of the harbor. The "Odyssey" and "Theseus" were just built half a month ago, and now they are doing the final sea trials and commissioning work in the strait, just in time to bring Robert and his party back to the British Isle.

"The poop of the Odyssey is equipped with comfortable conference halls and bedrooms. This warship will be the flagship of a certain squadron commander in the future. These are only comfortable on land, but luxurious at sea. The facilities are prepared for the commander and his staff who will occupy the ship in the future.

Robert had watched the child being settled in his stateroom, fast asleep in the crib, before he entered the room prepared for him.This suite originally prepared for the commander has a comfortable bedroom, a living room, and even a small meeting room for the commander to use when holding combat meetings.

He sat down on the armchair closest to the door in the reception room, took off his hat, and threw it away, and the hat landed firmly on the opposite sofa.

"Good aim." A familiar voice came from behind Robert.

Robert seemed to be frozen, and all the muscles in his body could not be used. The voice had flashed back in his memory countless times. In those memories, the voice sounded so far away, as if from somewhere It seemed to come from a deep cave.But now, the voice was right behind him, as if...in his ear.

With all his strength, Robert twisted his neck in one direction, and he clearly heard the "click" sound from his joints, as if someone stepped on the glass slag with a boot.

Edward sat on a chair by the door, looked at Robert with a smile, "You look tanned." He examined Robert's olive skin, "The sunshine in Spain is really good."

Robert frantically bounced from his chair, his legs collided and he nearly tripped over.

"Your Majesty..." He opened his eyes wide and looked at Edward in front of him. The 21-year-old His Majesty the King has grown into a handsome young man with curly black hair, blue eyes and pale skin. He looks exactly like Anne... A masculine counterpart to Queen Pauline, with a dash of Welsh blood mixed in on the paternal side to give his features a touch of heroism.

The king stood up, and he seemed to have grown a lot taller than Robert remembered, looking to be well over six feet.The three years as the Supreme Being made him even more aura that is unique to a king.

Robert held back his excitement and bowed deeply to the king, "Why are you here?"

"I remember that was the first sentence you said when we met last time." The king walked up to Robert, his breath gently brushing Robert's cheek.

"And you said the king can go wherever he wants." Robert took a step forward and kissed the king's lips. When the lips touched, he realized that he hadn't bowed his head—the king had grown As tall as him.

It wasn't until both of them were out of breath that the kiss finally came to an end.

"I told them that I went hunting in Windsor." Edward pursed his lips lightly, "But I actually went to Dover, where these two ships were undergoing sea trials, and they left the port as soon as I boarded the ship. "

"You lied." Robert stretched out his hand and hugged the king in his arms. His voice became much lower, and there was a malicious light in his eyes.

"That's not a lie, is it?" Edward gently stroked the stubble on Robert's chin with his fingertips, "At least I brought back the prey."

"That's not good." Robert gently untied the tie of the king's collar with restless hands. "You don't hunt often, do you? There are many new hunters who think they are hunting, but in fact they have already been regarded as prey."

"Besides, in my opinion, this is completely lying." Edward heard the sound of silk being torn from the clothes behind him, "Those who lie will be punished."

"The clothes you tore off just now are worth twenty gold coins." Edward glared at him. "Seriously, is it that difficult to learn to undress properly?"

He was answered by the same tearing sound again, and the clothes worth twenty gold coins were now torn from the king's body, and thrown into the corner of the cabin like a piece of rag.

"I will compensate according to the price." Robert hugged the king, even though he was the same height, he carried the king effortlessly.

Edward took a bite of Robert's tiger's mouth, "There is no fireplace in this cabin, are you going to freeze me to death here?"

As he spoke, he burrowed into Robert's arms again, "It's still February!"

"I promise to let His Majesty warm up soon." Robert patted the butt of the restless guy in his arms, in exchange for another rolled his eyes, "You are here to be punished, so stubborn A degraded attitude will only increase the punishment...don't make another pitiful expression, I'm a fair judge."

He carried Edward towards the door on the left.

"You went wrong!" Edward yelled, "The bedroom is on the right, and the commander's conference room is on the left."

"The most effective way to make criminals repent is to punish them in public." Robert looked at the king's flushed face with satisfaction, "This is my final sentence."

"What a fool I am to come here," said the king muffled.

"It seems that you haven't learned the lesson from last time." Robert rubbed the king's curly hair, making it look like a disheveled bird's nest, "You are not a fool, you are a smart person, smart people don't act stupid thing."

"You know what you are facing when you come here, but you still come." Robert said softly into the king's ear, the air flowed over Edward's earlobe, and Robert felt the young man in his arms trembling slightly, "Then There is only one explanation, you came here on your own initiative..."

Edward pushed his head against Robert's chest, "If you dare to say another word, I will throw you into the Tower of London."

"You dare to threaten the judge, you will be punished." Robert said while throwing the king's boots on the ground.

The meeting room on the ship was not that big, the surrounding walls were covered with nautical charts, and even a huge nautical chart was spread out on the walnut table in the center of the room.Several portholes were open, and two seagulls stood on the window frame with one foot, curiously looking at the two people who entered the meeting room.

"What did I say?" Robert placed the king on the "Complete Map of the British Isles and Dependent Islands Sea Areas." "This is a public punishment. You see, the audience has already arrived."

"Drive those two stupid seagulls out." Edward stared at the two seagulls with threatening eyes, but they didn't seem to see the threat of plucking their feathers from the eyes at all, and instead became more excited.

"Does Your Majesty know he was wrong now?" Robert bent down to look into the king's eyes. Edward felt like a rabbit that had fallen into the paw of a lion. By then, he must have been covered in bruises.

He crawled towards the north on the map, but just after moving a few squares, he was dragged back by Robert, who even took off his stockings.

"At least close the windows?" Edward heard himself pleading. "What if the sailors on deck hear?"

"They are busy with setting sail, no one will notice what we are doing...as long as you don't make too much noise when you are punished later."

At this moment, there was a noise outside the window, and the anchor chain was pulled up from the water.

"Look at what I said, we are about to set sail." With a triumphant smile on Robert's face, he took off his coat, rolled it up, and threw it on the chair decorated with golden anchors. It is the seat of the squadron commander.

Edward gave up all resistance, and watched Robert take off his shirt resignedly, revealing his strong olive-skinned upper body. He looked like a Greek statue.

"What's wrong with you there?" Edward pointed to Robert's waist, where there was a scar a few inches long, like a leech sucked on the skin.

"A Spaniard," said Robert nonchalantly, rolling up his shirt and throwing it on the same chair as his coat. "These lovely Spaniards! They come like moths to a flame." To provoke me, those who came here on orders, their masters can't even remember their names. As for those guys who rushed to the head with blood, they can only be said to be stupid. I pity them, but I also There is no way but to fight them... But usually this kind of stunned youth is much more dangerous than the former one. After all, they were ordered to please their masters, so they still spare their lives. These stunned youths They all wished to die with me, this scar was left by such a lunatic."

"Is he still alive?" asked the king.

Robert glanced at Edward in surprise, the chill in the king's question made him almost shiver, "I left him with a longer scar - on the neck, his head almost fell off... ...that is the price paid for the honor of Spain."

The king gave a "hmm", sounding as if he was still not satisfied, "he is very lucky."

Robert began to feel a little sympathetic to the stunned young man who died by his sword, "This is not an honor, it's just stupid bravery... I heard that you have banned dueling in Britain."

"Yes." The king yawned lazily. "Since I sent to the scaffold two idiots who dared to duel in the garden of Hampton Court Palace, no one dares to duel, at least not Another open duel... I wouldn't mind helping them if they were so eager to throw their lives away."

"Do you know how charming you looked just now?" Robert bent down and kissed the king's neck lightly, feeling the slow and firm pulse of the artery under his lips, "I can't wait to punish you. "

"They will hear." The queen shrank slightly, and the crimson color on his face was redder than the sunset glow at dusk.

Robert picked up the shirt he had thrown on the chair and tore it open.

"Then it looks like we'll have to go the old way." He took a clean cloth, stuffed it into the King's mouth, and tied it in a knot at the back of Edward's head.

Edward looked desperately at the two seagulls on the window sill. They didn't seem to be planning to fly away at all. Instead, they widened their small mung bean-like eyes, as if they were extremely curious about what happened in the room.

The sun is slowly sinking to the western horizon, dusk is coming, the still cold southerly wind is blowing on the calm sea, faint stars begin to light up one by one in the eastern sky, just like the lights of the city behind you .

When an aching Edward passed out at the conference table, he was running through his mind a list of the commanders he knew in the Navy.He swore that he must hand over the ship to the guy he least liked.