monarch

One day at the end of March, King Philip II of Spain went to Jost Abbey, about two days away from Madrid, to visit his father, the former king and emperor Charles V, who lived in seclusion there. He was accompanied only by his son Don Ca Prince of Los Angeles (now also known as King Don Carlos I of Portugal) and Duke of Alba.

The bright sunshine sprinkled a layer of bright gold dust on the rolling hills of central Spain, and also dyed the king's team with a solemn and mysterious color.Although it is easy to drive, His Majesty still maintains the necessary ostentation. One hundred guards wearing bright military uniforms to protect His Majesty walk on the streets of the small town of Extrimadura where the monastery is located, plus the same number of servants and guards. , It is undoubtedly a rare sight for the simple residents of the town.

At the gate of the monastery, the dean warmly received King Philip II in black. Although the dean is a servant of God, God is too far away, and the king stands in front of him, wanting to be promoted in the church , it is not enough just to have the blessing of God, but also needs the constant care of power.He has won the favor of the previous monarch, and now he intends to continue it to the current monarch.

The hermitage of Emperor Charles V, today's "Brother Carlos", is a small two-story building located in the garden at the corner of the monastery. Philip II noticed that all the steps of the small building were transformed into slopes for convenience. Access to the former emperor with limited mobility.When the emperor suffered from gout, he could only sit in a wheelchair and be pushed and walked by servants.

The emperor's pack sedan chair is parked at the entrance of the small building. When the weather is fine and His Majesty is in the mood, he will take the pack sedan chair around the surrounding towns. At that time, the town is like a carnival. Lively, in that era, a monarch was generally worshiped as a demigod. The halo on them would not fade away until hundreds of years later. Only then would the people realize that the man wearing the crown He is just an ordinary person like them.

Led by the former emperor's old servants, the king, prince and duke walked into the former emperor's living room. The room was furnished with simple furniture, and the curtains were drawn to block out most of the sunlight, with only a few slipping through the net The fish left long shadows on the ground.The walls of the room are covered with Titian's paintings. The characters in the paintings hide in the shadows, watching with gloomy eyes the visitor who breaks the silence of the room.In the shrine in the corner of the room is a statue of the Madonna holding a child. The face of the Madonna is illuminated by two long burning candles in front of the shrine, but that face is not the usual loving expression of the Madonna. Guilty severity.

Emperor Charles V was taking a nap on a recliner in the middle of his room. In the past six months, His Majesty's spirit has not been as good as before.Although the fireplace in the room was burning red, his body was still covered with a thick wolf fur mattress.

Hearing someone walk into the room, he slowly opened his eyes, squinted slightly, and looked towards the door.

After clarifying the identity of the visitor, the emperor sat up and slightly straightened his body on the chair.

"Father." Philip II said softly. He noticed that his father's hair had completely turned white. Compared with the last time we met, he looked older. The one who was lying on the recliner now was the one who used to be full of energy The shadow left by the emperor.

Charles V looked his son up and down, and suddenly smiled softly, "You look really haggard."

Before Philip II came to meet his father, he asked the barber to trim his hair and beard, and asked the make-up artist to apply some powder and rouge on his face. It is already the practice of Philip II when he attends major events.However, the dark blue under the eyes and the new wrinkles on the face could not be concealed by any skilled makeup artist.

"I am also very glad to meet you." Philip II smiled wryly, "I hope you are in good health."

"Is it healthy?" Charles V sighed, "At my age, health is the only thing that matters."

He turned to the Duke of Alva again, "Thank you, my friend, I know you are busy with the invasion of England... I am very touched that you can take time out of your busy schedule to visit a retired old man."

The Duke of Alva walked up to his benefactor without saying a word, knelt down on one knee, cupped his right hand and kissed it lightly, then placed that hand on the former emperor's leg, as if it was What a holy thing.

The lines on Philip II's face tightened slightly, and then loosened again. Everything happened in the shadows, and no one noticed the slight movements on the king's face.

Charles V looked at his grandson Don Carlos again, this time only sternness and coercion remained in his eyes.

Facing this kind of gaze, the usually eccentric prince was immediately overwhelmed. He took a step back uncomfortably, lowered his head, and let his grandfather's gaze fall on top of his head.

Charles V quickly lost interest in the child. He waved his hand to signal Don Carlos to step back. The little prince seemed to have been waiting for this signal. He bowed to his grandfather and walked away without looking back. Walked out of the room.

The emperor looked at Duke Alva again, "Go out too, my friend, I want to talk to my son...but don't go too far, I want to talk to you later."

"Your Majesty's will is my irresistible order." Duke Alva said.

When only he and Philip were left in the room, the former emperor lay back on the couch.

"Have you ever heard an anecdote about our good Pope?" said the Emperor slowly, "he was already very ill, but when the College of Cardinals elected him Pope, he recovered from his illness. become radiant, the pope's triple tiara has been the most effective elixir for him... but it seems that the Spanish diadem has the opposite effect on you."

Philip II silently sat down opposite his father.

"When you came in, I saw a man who was overwhelmed. The responsibility contained in the crown was so great that it bent his waist." The emperor sighed, "You should have been its master, but you were It has become a slave, and it will destroy you, as it has destroyed me."

"In that case, I can only say that it is the responsibility of the monarch." Philip II replied.

"How was your wife's funeral?" asked the emperor again.

"According to her wishes, she was buried in the Royal Chapel of Granada, next to her maternal grandparents, the great Spanish kings."

"God bless her soul." The emperor looked at the statue of the Virgin Mary in the corner of the room, "may the next life be kinder to her than this world."

Philip II nodded silently.

"Have you sent someone to Paris to sign the marriage contract?" asked the emperor again, "in such a hurry?"

"It's just a marriage contract. I will marry Princess Elizabeth of France next year."

As soon as Philip II finished speaking, he suddenly began to cough violently, as if he was about to cough his lungs out of his trachea. The pain in his chest and abdomen made him bend down involuntarily. When he raised his head again By then, the hair on his forehead was already wet with sweat.

"I heard that you work fifteen hours a day." The expression on the emperor's face did not change, but the concern and worry in his eyes could not be faked. "Is this too much?"

"I have too much work to do." Philip II straightened his collar.

"Sometimes the direction of fate cannot be changed by ordinary people's efforts." The emperor said, "I have sat on the throne for 40 years before I understand this truth."

"Are you asking me to stand by and watch Spain decline and the holy Catholicism decline?" Philip II shook his head, "I would rather be crushed to pieces by the wheel of fate."

"It's like it was written in the "Song of Roland." The emperor shook his head, "I always thought you were a knight in monk's robes, and everyone thought that someone like you would be the material for a holy monarch, but like that Kings can only appear in poetry and legend. A good king is more like a cunning fox, as described by the Italian Machiavelli. You want to be a saint, but for a king , This is destined to be a luxury, we live in an imperfect world, if we want to achieve something, we must stain our souls with dirt."

Philip II did not answer, he pursed his lips tightly, and the tired look in his eyes looked like a 60-year-old man.

Charles V shook his head again, "How is the invasion of England going?"

"The Duke of Alva insists on invading this year," said Philip II, "even with poor preparation."

"If you're determined to invade, it's better a year sooner than later," said the emperor.

"I've made up my mind." Philip II's voice was very soft, but the fierce light in his eyes reminded Emperor Charles V of a beast with red eyes.

The emperor suppressed the worry in his heart and forced a smile.

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do." The old emperor considered his tone, and said in the most cautious tone that would least displease his son, "I just hope you calm down... think about it again The necessity of field invasion."

"You are trying to persuade me to give up." Philip II said word by word, "This is absolutely impossible."

"You have been staring at that island for too long." Charles V hesitated for a moment, but decided to confided in his son, "so much so that you have forgotten the other enemies...we are surrounded by wolves, if you put Put all your energy into one wolf, and you're leaving your back for other wolves."

"I already know what happened in Prague." The emperor frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose, "My poor brother Ferdinand... If you don't help him, then his seat in the emperor's seat is Can't sit for long."

"If he doesn't have the corresponding strength, then he is not worthy to be the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire." Philip II raised his head proudly.

"Are you still blaming me for not handing over the emperor's seat to you?" The emperor looked at his son's face, a sense of strangeness that terrified him gradually dissipated in his heart like fog in a winter morning, "You Although you have a German surname, but you grew up in Spain, you are a foreign monarch to the German princes, and they are unwilling to accept foreigners as emperors, and I must consider their opinions."

"The emperor's seat is nothing more than a false name." Philip II said coldly, "You gave it to my uncle, so give it to him... But he should at least take care of the crown himself, instead of being like a beggar Like his poor relatives, he asks for my help every day! I can't help him, and I don't want to."

"Vienna is the eastern gateway to the Christian world." Emperor Charles V narrowed his eyes wearily, "If Ferdinand falls, there will be no more obstacles between the Turks and the hinterland of Germany...Don't forget Su Sultan Lyman, he is a more dangerous enemy than the king of Britain, he can gather hundreds of thousands of troops on the plains of Hungary, and besiege Malta with hundreds of warships at the same time, but you seem to have no consideration for the Turks!"

"When the invasion is over, I will immediately transfer the fleet and army back to the east." Philip seemed confident, but the emperor noticed that his body was tense. Obviously Philip II was not as confident as he showed.

Philip could not help being startled by the sudden hawk-like gleam in the emperor's eyes.

"But what if you lose?" Charles V said word by word.

Philip II shook violently on the chair, "I believe..."

"There is never a certain outcome in war, and every page of the history books tells you that wars are won by God and not by mortals." Charles V said disappointedly, "A gust of wind, a rain, an army of knights, A few farmers may change the outcome of a battle, and the outcome of a battle may determine the fate of a country. This is the most grand game in the world. Nations and countries, crowns and wealth are just gambling tables It's just a bargaining chip on the table, the winner will be famous in history, and the loser will be infamous for thousands of years! Do you dare to sit at this gambling table without even understanding this? You don't even know what to do after you lose, so you are going to throw our All in?"

Philip II's face paled for a while, he hadn't been taught like a schoolboy for a long time, but Charles V ignored his embarrassment at all, and continued:

"All Europe is watching the outcome of this war, and if your army does not plant the Spanish flag on the tower of Westminster Abbey in London before winter comes, all Europe will turn against us! The French will Break up the peace treaty, the Turks will besiege Vienna and Malta, the German Protestant princes will depose Ferdinand, choose a Protestant who is hostile to us as emperor, they may even elect King Edward of Britain himself! Flanders The legions will be besieged in the Netherlands, all the city-states in Italy will go over to the French, and even the pope will side with the French... What will you do then?"

"You seem to be sure that I will lose." Philip II said very dissatisfied.

"Although I don't go out, I can always hear something." The emperor said, "Go and see your fleet, how reliable is the warship that is assembled together and completed in a hurry? You recruited it temporarily Those sailors are full of convicts, scum and hooligans, and you have to pin your hopes on these people."

"I pin my hopes on the Legion of Flanders." Philip II said firmly, even if these ships were sunk on the bottom of the English Channel, as long as [-] soldiers from the Legion of Flanders set foot on the British Isle , then we win. "

"Perhaps one more peace effort?" pleaded Charles V. "Why can't we compromise with Britain? If they want some colonies, give them them. The friendship of a first-rate power is worth several Caribbean riches." small island; and the Dutch, they want self-government, then we can talk to them, you ask Orange to come to Spain, he is like my son, I can talk to him..."

"Orange!" Philip II stood up furiously, and the chair fell to the ground, "this cursed name, the biggest traitor since Judas, a double-faced beast... Please don't mention his name to me, I I'm going to spit out my breakfast!"

"I don't give the Britons a penny." Philip paced irritably around the room. "They rob our ships and support our enemies, and we pay them a ransom to stop them! No, that's impossible. , I will never compromise on this crime!"

"There is also the issue of religion, God bless, I will never compromise with Protestants! Until the glory of Catholicism shines on the world, I will never stop!" Philip II crossed himself and looked at the ceiling, as if expecting Watching the ceiling crack, revealing God's approving smile.

"The French could even join hands with the pagan Turks to deal with us." Charles V reminded, "You don't have to say it so deadly."

Philip II lowered his head and stood there without saying a word.

Seeing his son's attitude, Emperor Charles V had nothing more to say.

"Then go and rest." The emperor's voice sounded more tired, "Call Duke Alva in, I want to talk to him."

Philip II's face changed slightly, and he walked towards the door. When he was about to open the door, he suddenly stopped and turned to the king.

"The Duke of Alva, and the Prince of Orange...you regard them as your sons." Philip II's voice was dry, like dried fruit, "Perhaps compared to me, you I wish they were your sons."

After that, he pushed open the door and walked out.