monarch

Archbishop David Beaton stood on the empty altar. In front of him, countless dignitaries rushed towards the gate of the church like a tide.They don't know what's going on, but they are only driven by the instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages-since the king has escaped, then there must be something wrong.The church was in a mess, the decorative paintings were torn to pieces, the ground was full of fallen jewelry, more than one gentleman's saber, and of course the cloak that had been trampled on countless times.

The archbishop sighed deeply, and he looked up at the vaults at the top of the church.Just a little bit, he thought, what went wrong?He recalled everything he had experienced in the past few days in his mind - a conspiracy in the middle of the night; the gunpowder hidden in the cellar; the monk who voluntarily sacrificed himself... But this is not important anymore, he smiled self-deprecatingly, What's the point of it now?He is about to die, many people are about to die, and soon, the life of the Kingdom of Scotland will come to an end... He turned around, stopped watching the scandal that was going on at the church gate, and knelt before the altar, Start praying.

……

The fuse connected to more than twenty barrels burned out almost instantly, and the flammable black powder in the barrels ignited in an instant.These gifts left by the French are the products of craftsmen in Nuremberg, Germany.In the next instant, the gas produced by the massive combustion tore the wooden barrel to pieces.Next, the expanding gas swept the entire cellar, and the praying Brother Sturgeon only felt a burst of scorching heat, and then fell into eternal darkness.

Like an earthquake, the entire cathedral trembled.The four massive twelfth-century columns supporting the church withstood the first shock, but the dome of the church cracked open.Pieces of the dome were peeled off like withered petals, and these heavy petals smashed everything on the ground to pieces.The lantern-like tower of the church collapsed, and the great bell fell from above with a muffled sound that could be heard for miles.Last to crumble was the spire adorning the crown, which disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The bang of the explosion reached the French fleet miles away within 20 seconds, while the looming flames in the thick fog arrived almost instantly.Immediately, the soldiers and sailors on board cheered.

The French commander, the Baron de Epernell, turned to his aide-de-camp. "We go ashore." He reached for his sword. "For the king!" he shouted.

The flagship Bourges Commercial hoisted the golden iris flag, which is a signal of agreement.The military musicians on the ship also began to beat the drums, in case some ships could not see the order in the thick fog.

The five ships moved forward together, all sails full, and the tail wind from the North Sea brought the ships to a speed of four knots an hour.The soldiers are all ready to go, ready to abandon the ship and go ashore at any time.

As the fleet approached land, an uncomfortable creaking sound began to be heard from the bottom of the ship, which was the sound of friction between the bottom of the ship and the reef.

Suddenly, someone below shouted, "Water has entered!"

The baron raised his head, and it was already a short distance away from the shore, "Go ahead, we will be there soon!"

Suddenly, the whole ship trembled violently, and those who did not stand still fell to the deck.There was a loud friction sound from the bottom of the boat, and it was obvious that the boat had hit bottom.

The life of the Bourges Merchant is coming to an end, but her sails are still full by the wind, and the bottom of the ship is almost torn to pieces. However, under the action of wind and inertia, the ship is still moving forward.Like a plow, the whole ship rushed up the shoal densely covered with gravel and gravel.

The rope was thrown from the boat.The baron grabbed the rope, "Long live the king!" he shouted, raising his sword, and climbed down the rope.His boots fell on the soil of the British Isles.

……

The king's carriage rushed into the gate of Edinburgh Castle, and the horses pulling the carriage were panting, and the sweat on their bodies made them foggy in the winter.

The Earl of Hertford pushed open the door without waiting for the coachman to come forward.He jumped out of the carriage as if he was 20 years younger.Then he first stretched out his hand and hugged the prince out of the carriage, then he took the king's arm and helped the king climb out of the carriage slowly.When the king's feet fell to the ground, he groaned in pain - the wound on His Majesty's leg opened again.

The queen and the king's daughters, who had already arrived, ran forward. "Oh, Your Majesty, my God!" The queen quickly stepped forward to hold the other arm of the king, but was pushed away by the king.The queen looked at the king in surprise, only to see that the small eyes on his fat face had turned red, and the fat on his face was twitching with anger.In the earl of Hertford's memory, the king did not even show such a terrifying look when his last wife, Catherine Howard, was exposed for adultery.In an instant, however, the Earl of Hertford shuddered as he saw the terrible red eyes turned towards himself.

"What's going on here?" The king's trembling voice clearly showed that he was trying to suppress his anger. "Who wants to rebel? I'm going to cut off his head and hang it on the gate of the castle!"

The Earl of Hertford swallowed, "Earl Lennox has been arrested." He lowered his head deeply, not daring to look directly at the king's face.

"Bring him here." The king looked like he was going to have a stroke at any moment.Edward stepped forward and held his arm, "Father, let's go in and sit down."

The king looked at him, but did not push his son away.He nodded, helped his son and walked into the room.The queen bit her lip unwillingly, and followed behind.

When Lord Lennox was brought into the throne room, he had already softened into a puddle of mud, and several guards dragged him into the hall like a dead dog.When the guard's hand was released from him, the count looked up, and his gaze met the king's red eyes.

Lord Lennox shuddered with horror.

"Darnley, tell me what's the matter, unless you want all your relatives to disappear from this world."

You are his kinsman as his uncle, the Earl of Hertford slanders, but he's only crazy to say what he thinks before the king.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... please be merciful..." Earl Lennox was shaking like chaff, his face was covered with tears and snot, even his beard was covered with his own snot.

"Hurry up!" The king's face turned pale.

"Your Excellency, if you want Your Majesty to be merciful, tell me everything you know immediately." Robert stepped forward, his hand tightly grasping the hilt of the sword.He resisted the urge to chop the disgusting creature in front of him into pieces, "Whatever your plans were, it has clearly failed, and your only option is to confess."

Earl Lennox raised his head tremblingly, "Your Majesty, I want to confess to you... There is a conspiracy, I was shamelessly deceived, and unfortunately got involved with these criminals, please forgive me!"

"Who wants to rebel?" the king said through gritted teeth.

"It's the Duke of Norfolk and his son. They have conspired with a group of English and Scottish nobles who are dissatisfied with you." Earl Lennox repeated all the guests who attended the mysterious meeting that night in his memory, " They intend to assassinate His Majesty, and then..." He glanced at the king's face, "Launch a coup."

"What did you say?" The king's eyes widened.

"It's absolutely true, Your Majesty." Earl Lennox said hastily, "They also received assistance from the French. The Earl of Surrey said that French soldiers would assist them in the coup. Now the French may have landed near Edinburgh. In addition, they have already planned with King François. Once successful, the French army will land in the south and make Mary Stuart the queen of England and Scotland!"

A "ho ho" sounded from the king's throat, and he looked flushed as if he could not breathe. "Norfolk...the French...so bold!" he roared angrily, but instead of saying Out of anger rather than shock.For the past few years, he has been a lazy cat, teasing the Duke of Norfolk, a mouse that has been unable to escape his claws.But when he was about to clean up the mouse, the mouse suddenly gave him a paw.The king stared at Earl Lennox in disbelief, he turned his head and looked at his son, who bowed his head obediently; his queen, she knelt and sobbed beside her; Princess Elizabeth clutched her sister in fear skirt, while his eldest daughter, Ms. Mary, still stood there expressionless, looking at him with indifference in her eyes.The king turned to the other side, and the Earl of Hertford, Bishop Gardner and other favorites knelt there seemingly submissively, but who knew what plans they were planning in their hearts.The king coughed angrily, and he felt the taste of blood in his throat.

"How dare he!" Suddenly the king stood up as if he had burst out of some power, and the queen who was kneeling beside him backed away in horror.The king walked forward as if sleepwalking, his hands stretched forward, as if he saw the Duke of Norfolk himself, and wanted to grab him and tear him to pieces with his own hands.However, after a while, His Majesty lost his balance, and his legs seemed to lose their strength.The king fell to the ground, passed out, and a thread of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

……

The corridors in Holyrood Palace are full of blood. The Earl of Surrey's mercenaries are ransacking the palace. They fill their pockets with everything they can fit in their pockets and smash what they can't fit. of crushing.

The Earl of Surrey walked through the corridor, ignoring everything that happened around him. His saber was hanging by his side, but the scabbard had already been discarded by him, and the sword was still stained with blood.

Almost at the same time as the explosion in the cathedral, the Earl of Surrey's men launched an attack on the palace.Under the cooperation of the inside and the outside, this defenseless palace fell into the hands of the rebels after only 10 minutes.However, what happened afterwards was far beyond the Earl of Surrey's expectations, but his expression still looked unpredictable, which greatly disappointed those comrades who hoped to see the progress of the situation from him.

The Earl of Surrey opened a door, and his father, the Duke of Norfolk, was lying on a bed in the middle of the room—contrary to many people's expectations, the Duke was indeed ill.A wax mask had been put on his face, and the strange flush on his face indicated that he was running a fever.Seeing his son, the Duke hastily stretched out a withered and veined hand.He opened his mouth to say something, but only coughed violently.

The Earl of Surrey took a flagon from a side table and poured a glass.He stepped forward and handed the cup to his father, "Drink it, Father, it's good for you."

The Duke of Norfolk drank half a glass of wine with his son's hand, and the coughing finally stopped.The feverish Duke gasped heavily, "How is it?" he asked eagerly.

"The church has been destroyed," said the Earl of Surrey lightly.

"I can hear you from here!" The Duke coughed again, "Where is the king, is the king still alive?" He looked at his son expectantly.

"Unfortunately, the king is still alive." The Earl of Surrey drank the remaining half of the glass. "Our spies reported that the Earl of Hertford sent him and the prince to the carriage before the explosion, and they should have arrived at the castle by now."

The Duke of Norfolk looked as if he had been hit with a hammer.His mouth was open and his eyes were wide open, looking a little funny.After a while, he began to tremble uncontrollably. "It's over, it's over." He looked up at the ceiling in horror, pulling his little hair with both hands.

The Earl of Surrey frowned, "Please don't say such things to others, the matter is far from..."

"You don't understand!" The Duke almost jumped out of bed, but finally collapsed on the bed weakly, "We are not the first to start a rebellion...my father-in-law, the Duke of Buckingham, did, and so did the farmers in the north." Did it...I can smell the stink of failure..." He grinned miserably, "And you, my son, you are full of that stink now."

The Earl of Surrey looked a little angry. He was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" He tried his best to hide his anger.

An orderly entered the room and bowed. "The French have landed, sir, and their messengers have arrived."

"Very good." The count smiled and turned to his father, "Look, this play is still a long way from the curtain call."

However, the Duke of Norfolk lay there motionless like a corpse, just staring blankly at the ceiling, turning a deaf ear to his son's words.

The Earl of Surrey shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the door, ignoring his father.