monarch

Edward woke up from his sleep, he turned slightly to the side, and put his arms around the person lying beside him, but it was in vain.

The king rubbed his eyes, and a few gleams of light came in from the gap in the drawn curtains. Robert must have returned to his room before dawn.Although many people know that there is a private secret passage between King Edward and Robert Dudley's room, but every time he comes to Edward's room to spend the night, Robert always insists on returning to his room before dawn in the morning. The picture of the minister lying on a bed must still be very visually impactful to the servant who brings tea in the morning.

The king yawned, and stretched out his hand to the bell-rope, and a moment later a servant came in with a tray on which lay a cup of tea and some cookies.Since tea, a drink from the East, has been favored by His Majesty, its value in society has also risen.The top-quality Wuyi tea produced in the Ming Dynasty, like the king's cup, can even be sold for a hundred pounds per pound.

"What time is it?" the king asked the servant who was drawing the curtain while drinking tea.

"Eight o'clock in the morning, Your Majesty."

"Where is Lord Robert?" He gently put the teacup back on the tray, broke a cookie with his fingers, and put it in his mouth.

"My lord the Marquis went to see Sir Hawkins off with other members of the War Council in the morning, and then there was a meeting of the War Council. He said he would come to have lunch with you at noon."

The king rubbed his temples, and he remembered that today was the day when Sir Hawkins' expedition fleet set off.

Three weeks ago, Sir John Hawkins achieved a decisive victory in the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France. When the sun rose the next day, the entire Spanish Armada had turned into the air and fell on the port like snowflakes Fly ash from the roof.Most of the battleships that were not burned to ashes in the fire were also stranded on the beach, lying on the coast like a whale that had been disembowelled, and I am afraid that they will never have the opportunity to sail on the sea again.

In the chaos, perhaps a few lucky Spanish warships escaped from the British blockade, but the total number of these lucky ones did not exceed ten.The escaped warships cut their anchor cables, and their sails and ropes were almost lost.Now that the wind direction has changed, these warships are drifting towards the North Sea. If they want to return to Spain, they must bypass the British Isle from the north and cross the rough Norwegian waters. It will be a journey of life and death.

The day before being sent to Paris, the Marquis of Santa Cruz, acting commander of the Spanish fleet, shot himself in the hotel room where Boulogne was temporarily staying.Since the fleet no longer exists, the commander of the fleet naturally cannot live alone.As for the Spanish sailors who are now detained by France, they will not be repatriated to Spain after lengthy diplomatic negotiations, but at least their lives are no longer in danger.

In the entire Atlantic, there are no warships flying the Spanish flag anymore. From Newfoundland to Brazil, the British Kingdom has become the master of this vast sea, and this giant who has just grown up can't wait to try his hand.

According to King Edward's order, an expedition fleet of Sir John Hawkins is about to set sail, carrying more than 1 soldiers to the Caribbean Sea, and their goal is to capture several Spanish fortresses in the area: Havana on the island of Cuba , San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Santo Domingo, Hispaniola.During the previous diplomatic negotiations between Britain and Spain, King Edward's request for several islands in the West Indies was rejected by Philip II. Now, Britain wants to swallow the entire West Indies.

The snake head of the Spanish Empire has been cut off, and the remaining part is naturally unable to maintain its rule. Sir John Hawkins' goal is to take over as much of the Spanish American colonies as possible.In addition to the West Indies, the situation in Florida, Mexico and New Spain is already turbulent, and the poor local garrisons can no longer maintain order. I believe the local governor will be willing to cooperate with the British Expeditionary Force.

The king asked his servants to change his clothes, and in the small dining room next door, Cecil waited with breakfast for the king's arrival, and there was the king's schedule in his folder.

The king's schedule is very full. From [-]:[-] am to [-]:[-] pm, he will receive a total of ten ambassadors from various countries.Now that the general situation of the Anglo-Spanish War has been settled, various countries in Europe have expressed their favor to the British Kingdom one after another. Ambassadors from various countries are frequently active in Hampton Palace, trying to win the friendship of the British King for their master.

"You and the foreign minister can talk to them casually." The king read the schedule and put it aside, "give me some time in the afternoon."

"If Your Majesty insists," Cecil said, "but you must meet the ambassadors of France and the Netherlands."

"In the morning, then," said the King. "What do they want from me?"

"The Netherlanders naturally want you to help them recover half of the country in the south. The Flanders Legion is now trapped in the southern Netherland. It has no way to invade Britain and is unwilling to withdraw to Spain. It is really a dilemma."

"Their appetites are quite good." The king picked up a piece of grapefruit with a fork, "It's a pity that their teeth are not very good, and they can't bite this hard bone."

"Then I'm afraid they will suffer from indigestion even if they eat the Southern Netherlands," Cecil said.

"The northern and southern Netherlands have different religions and different languages, so why bother making them into one country?" The king yawned, "If the people of the Netherlands are willing to do such a thing, then let them do what they want." , but I can't help them or anything."

Cecil nodded knowingly. The seventeen provinces of the Netherlands combined have the potential to become one of the best big countries, but if only the seven provinces in the north are left, it seems a bit lacking in stamina. "Then Your Majesty, please deal with him casually."

"Naturally," said the king, "and the French?"

"They must also have taken a fancy to the Spanish territories. The Prince of Orange once promised France to cede fifteen cities in the Southern Netherland, and those small Spanish territories on the French border, such as Alsace and France Lanche-Comté, King Henry II has been coveting for a long time. Not to mention Italy, the French were just driven out by the Spaniards not long ago, and now that Spain is weak, the French just took this opportunity to return to the Apennine Peninsula and put Milan and Naples are in their pocket. Of course they want to make an alliance with you against Spain in order to have a good position in this feast of dividing up the Spanish heritage."

"There is only one kind of flower left in the garden, which is a bit monotonous, just like no one country should be dominant on the European continent." The king put the fork back on the plate, "There is no deep hatred between us and Spain, since France is now on the continent. If we dominate the world, then Spain is our natural ally."

"I hope King Philip understands this too." Cecil sighed.

"How is his illness?" The king suddenly remembered the message from Sir Walsingham.

"It doesn't seem too good. The Duke of Alva has been passed back to Madrid. I'm afraid the Spanish court will have a big reshuffle." Cecil said, "Perhaps his heir will understand the truth better than him?"

"I don't think so." The king stood up. "Who knows which is worse, a madman or an idiot?"

The meeting with the ambassadors of France and the Netherlands lasted until noon, and when the king returned to the dining room for lunch at [-] p.m., he happened to meet Robert who was returning.

"Your Majesty looks very happy." He kissed the top of the king's head lightly, walked around the table, and sat across from His Majesty.The servants in the room raised their gazes to the ceiling, as if they suddenly became interested in the murals above.

"You should really see the expression on the face of the French ambassador before he left." The king took a sip of his wine, "as if I was a betrayer who never gave up on him."

"After all, he's old, isn't he?" Robert sat down on the chair and motioned for the servant to pour him a glass of wine. "Your Majesty is full of young people."

"That's right, so those who are currently occupying seats should be careful in serving them, otherwise they might be replaced one day." The king rolled his eyes.

"It seems that the person occupying the seat can only win with experience." Robert shrugged.

The king glared at the other party again, "Is everything going well with you?"

"The preparations for sending 4 people to the mainland have been basically completed." Speaking of business, Robert also became serious, "The Spanish Legion in the Southern Netherland has begun to concentrate around Brussels. It is expected that our occupation of Antwerp Port will not received too much resistance."

"Don't forget, we are only going to collect our own rewards." The king reminded, "After occupying Antwerp, if the Spaniards do not take the initiative to provoke, we will not attack them. I am not willing to take chestnuts for the Dutch .”

Robert nodded, and the king said again: "After lunch, let's go out for a walk together. Go to the other side of the forest garden. The villa that Mr. Palladio designed for us has already started construction."

The king's Italian architect designed a classical style villa for him in the forest garden of Hampton Court Palace. Before that, the war project was temporarily put on hold. Now that the danger of invasion has just been lifted, His Majesty can't wait to restart the project.

"Under these marble vaults at Hampton Court Palace, I feel like a monkey in a circus," the king said to Robert. "It's like a theater without curtains. Backstage was visible, so the actors had to be performing from morning till night... at least in our little sanctuary, I didn't wake up to be under the watchful eyes of countless people."

"Have you decided on a name for this new palace?"

"How about 'Palace of Sanssouci'?" The king plagiarized the name given to his palace by the later King Frederick of Prussia without any psychological pressure, "Leave all the troubles and unhappiness here, and there are only joy and relaxation .”

"Only the two of us can live there, and entertain some friends if we want, but only we can spend the night there," continued the king. What to say, which lady to dance with first at the ball, everything has etiquette; but in our palace, who we want to entertain is entirely up to us. Can squeeze in!"

"Someone will be upset," said Robert.

"Then ask them to make themselves more interesting." The king took another sip of the Bordeaux wine in the glass, "Hurry up and eat, I have already asked the carriage to wait downstairs in half an hour."

Half an hour later, the two of them boarded the open carriage waiting downstairs. It had just rained the night before, and now the air inhaled into the lungs seemed silky, without any summer heat, so it was suitable to go out go for a ride.

The horseshoes clattered on the gravel road, and the birds on the branches uttered a crisp cry from time to time.The two cuddled together, letting the cool forest breeze gently brush their bodies.

"Until now, I have never really appreciated the benefits of being a king," said the king softly, watching a pair of swans swimming neck to neck as the carriage drove along the edge of a mile-long marble pool.

"Because your will is the law?" asked Robert.

"It's because of you." The king blushed a little, "If I wasn't the king of this country, I wouldn't be able to keep you by my side."

Robert laughed, he held the king in his arms, and the hot breath he exhaled dyed the king's earlobe red again.

The carriage turned to the right at the end of the marble pool and traveled half a mile.

On a small hill in the middle of the dense forest, the workers have opened up a clearing. It is lunch break now, so there is no one on the construction site.Some marble lay quietly in the middle of the clearing, which was used to build the plinth of the new palace.

"They marked the edge of the pond with lime." When the carriage stopped, the king pointed to the white line drawn with lime on the ground below the hill, "The pool is not a regular shape, everything here is a curve, the flower beds , hedges and pools, everything has no rules, just like in nature."

"I plan to let them plant water lilies in the middle of the pool, and then raise some carps of various colors. A semi-open three-bed restaurant will be built in front of the pool. In summer, we sit by the water and have dinner, watching the sunset slowly sinking , and have them fill the restaurant with ice cubes to beat the heat...would be fun."

"On the top of the hill are the bedroom and the living room. The living room is on the first floor, and our room is on the second floor. But this time, there is no dividing wall between our rooms." The king took Robert's arm and got out of the car , Walking up the hill, "There is also a recreation room, a study room, and a weapon room on the first floor. You will be Sebastian's teacher in the future, and you can take him to practice swords there."

"I don't think he needs to spend the night here?" Robert asked warily, "If he finishes his sword practice and doesn't want to leave uncle at night, why does he have to stay here?"

"Then we'll throw him out." The king lightly punched Robert's waist. "Are you a lion? You care so much about other animals invading your territory?"

"What I care about is not the house, but the owner of the house." The two walked to the top of the mountain, and the coachman was sleeping in his seat at this moment, and he couldn't see the movement on the mountain from this angle.

Robert's lips were lightly pressed against the back of the king's head, and Edward felt that the other's lips were as hot as burning coals.

The king felt his heart beating faster. He turned around and saw the sun shining from behind Robert, wrapping him in a golden halo. A smile that is more dazzling from the sun.

"When are these workers coming back?" he heard Robert ask.

The king sneered, "About half an hour...but no matter what ideas you are thinking, my answer is no."

"Why not?" There was a hint of danger in Robert's voice, "These marbles will be built into our palace in the future, don't you want to leave some traces and encapsulate them in the foundation and walls?"

The king blushed. "This is crazy," he protested.

"But it will be interesting." Robert winked slightly at Edward.

"The marble is too hard," protested the king in vain.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will never let you be caught."

"It's not your fault." The king snorted coldly, and he could already imagine the shape of the bruise that would be left on his waist in his mind.

Robert opened his arms, took the king into his arms, and reached out to undo His Majesty's belt.

"I'm sure now that we're going to have a lot of fun here," he said softly, kissing Edward's ear as the belt fell to the floor.