Mary Su Stuart

England is such a good model to imitate.

The concept of a sovereign state and the importance of a secular state did not gradually become popular until nearly 100 years later when it was proposed by French Prime Minister Richelieu.However, the Kingdom of England, starting from Henry VIII, has taken a big step towards a sovereign state by breaking with the Holy See.

Despite Mary's view, the ideal of civilization is the separation of church and state.However, in this era, a relatively politically centralized and autonomous national regime, even if it still advocates the "divine right of kings", can be regarded as a great progress in human history.

Henry VIII's "Supreme Act" is a good textbook.It declares that the monarch is the head of the church and has the power to appoint various clergy and determine the teachings of the church.Correspondingly, there are also a series of decrees that strengthen the king's power and the nature of supremacy.

For example, the "First Year's Church Endowment Law", which stipulates that the contribution part of the priest's income will no longer be handed over to the pope, but to the monarch; such as the "Prohibition of Appeal Law", which declares that domestic lawsuits involving inheritance and marriage cannot be sued. To Rome; such as the "Treason Law", it is determined that anyone who does not recognize the dignity, title, property of the monarch, or denounces him as a heretic, a separatist, etc., is a crime of treason...

All sorts of things, ending with the "Against the Pope's Power Law".

The last bill completely eliminated all the powers of the Holy See in England, including the power to interpret the Bible, which was enough to make the Pope very angry.

Of course, even though it is as bold as the time-traveling female Mary, the last "Against the Pope's Power Law" is still not imitated.However, it is not difficult to adopt the substantive content of the remaining few and implement them in Scotland, which has a "large land and few people".

As she expected, after notifying the lords, the reform measures she announced were pushed forward without much resistance.

That's all for the lords who are secretly enthusiastic about Protestantism.Those old believers, on the one hand, were resentful that the queen learned from Henry VIII and brought church assets and organizational operating systems into national ownership; Full of respect" - they hesitated, neither directly resisting nor complaining to the Holy See.Therefore, Edinburgh and its surrounding areas are full of "smooth reform" scenery.

Humph, mainly because it satisfied the interests of the upper class nobles (and did not cause harm to the common people).Look, after the decree was promulgated, even Lord Douglas, who had always been the most hostile to the Stuart family, did not "oppose for the sake of opposition".

That's right, Mary's goal from beginning to end is power and money.

Power must be firmly held in the hands of the monarch.Mary deprived Rome and the local church of many secular powers and took them as her own.The other lords also received a few mouthfuls of soup symbolically.But nominally, the final ruling power belongs to the monarch.

The confiscation of monasteries was the most important step in the economic chain.Mary gave all the chattels except a few books to the lords without hesitation-those shining gold and silverware greatly appease the hearts of the nobles.In terms of real estate, Mary allowed the lords to divide up part of the territory; the rest, plus the territory directly under the royal family, she declared to be nationalized—well, the structure of the monastery is still very strong, and it is very good for public use; church land It can be regarded as the best batch, and it happens to be used for pilot farming and animal husbandry.

At the same time, Mary did not directly force the priests and nuns to disown—they were still able to live in the monastery houses, and they were still allowed to cultivate gardens and land.However, the ownership of these properties has already belonged to Her Majesty the Queen; moreover, from now on, the monastery residents must obey more the secular requirements of the monarch, rather than the spiritual remote control of the Holy See.

It is not to say that all the Scottish clergy have become employees of the monarch.In fact, the church still exists, but "the organization has been streamlined"; and its supreme head has been changed to Queen Mary Stuart.

Although Mary confiscated the relatively closed monastery and swallowed up a lot of land, she carefully protected, tolerated, and maintained the organizational structure of the church that had always taken on important public functions, and tried to dictate as little as possible.

And those priests and nuns who lost their "roots", after finding that the existing churches could not accommodate them all, either simply returned to the secular world, or stayed where they were to work for the monarch and insisted on "retreating from the world".

As a privileged class, the clergy are still nominally tax-free for the time being.However, Mary used a similar "First Year's Church Donation Act", which required them to hand over one-tenth of their income to "the treasury of the Governor-General and Queen, the leader of the Church of Scotland", which was also considered a disguised form of taxation and increased their own income.

Yes, Mary has no intention of abolishing the old and traditional tithe. The Bible says that one-tenth of the agricultural and pastoral products belong to God.Although the peasants in pioneering Germany have been clamoring for the abolition of this tax during the wave of religious reform in these years, the Lutherans have never followed suit.Rising stars Calvin and Henry VIII never let go of this income.Henry VIII, who had a similar position, did what Mary wanted best - just put the money in the pocket of the monarch.

People's livelihood and civil rights are certainly things that a future soul is very yearning for.But Mary knows that reform cannot be achieved overnight, and it is best to follow the trend.History has its own law of development.Like Wang Mang, those who disregard the limitations of the times, break away from their roots, and want to create an advanced society often fail miserably.

Just like herself, she still dare not take off her Catholic hat.During this period of so-called change, externally, Mary still insisted that she was a devout Catholic.She declares that she will always observe all the old forms of ceremonies with respect to the Pope; but, in the interest of the country, she must regulate some of the secular policies of Scotland to ensure the secular happiness of the people.

In view of Mary's superficial etiquette preferential treatment, and the lessons learned from England (Mary always silently appreciates that it is really great to have Henry VIII as an early bird), the die-hard old believers who stayed in Scotland did not act aggressively for the time being.On the one hand, although the queen is not particularly proficient in the doctrine, the original text of the Bible she found is indeed difficult for them to refute; They are also willing to cooperate in doing things, and it is difficult for the unarmed to resist.

For the most simple civilians, it is nothing more than the combination of the leaders of the exploiters and oppressors; the church has not been withdrawn, and daily life does not seem to be much affected.Well, in their eyes, Her Majesty the Queen is fair and beautiful, full of majesty, and worthy of respect and love; she also distributed some agricultural supplies to them, and said that she would lead everyone to farm and herd to become rich, so they should be supported from the bottom of their hearts.

What, the lord and the priest are arguing?This, neither side can afford to offend, let's bury our heads and do our own work.

Under Mary's coercion and temptation, the initial stage of the Scottish "Religious Reformation" can be said to be quite stable.

She also discovered that a "small country" really has the benefits of a "small country"-small population, fewer upper classes, and it is relatively easy to control.

Of course, there are always people who don't like her.

The pope's representative in Scotland, his hawk dog, looked at Mary more and more with displeasure.However, in this borderland, the power of the Holy See is limited; the peace talks among Spain, France, and England have just begun, and it is impossible to go to war over a little "small dispute", and even a "lesson" is not appropriate.

After all, the passage of news is slow; and the Pope is very busy, and it is not easy to even draft a stern diplomatic statement.

——Mary is sincerely thanking the wars in the past few years, which consumed many reserves of Spain, France, England and other countries, greatly reducing their ability to use force abroad.Next, Scotland is expected to develop in the cracks and become her first reform experimental field.

However, Mary still needs to take into account the emotions of the Valois royal family, especially Henry II.So, she wrote a long letter "sincerely", explaining to her father-in-law what she was doing in Scotland these days.

She writes that domestic Protestantism is growing ferociously (in fact, it’s okay), the religious leanings of Elizabeth in the neighboring country have inspired a group of restless lords (this is true), and public opinion is turbulent (far from being so bad); Due to the situation, she was too impulsive, and before discussing it with her husband, she advocated (daringly) and imitated some reform measures in England to show a compromise.She stated that she has always had admiration for the Holy See, this offense was purely helpless, and she begged for forgiveness.

In the letter, she showed weakness in every possible way, imploring Henry II's support and help; she emphasized that she was a subordinate of the Valois royal family, cared about the interests of the royal family, and would definitely advance and retreat with France.

It is not difficult for the beautiful words on these papers to stabilize the French king who is far away in Paris.After all, the French commander-in-chief Montgomery, accompanied by several "trustworthy" Scottish lords, stationed troops on the border because of the political changes in England; It can be seen that they faithfully implemented the French strategy.And another authentic French noblewoman, Marie de Guise, supported her weak and sick body, and also pleaded for her daughter in the letter.

This mother can be described as a pity for Mary.After returning to Scotland, she discovered that the Queen Mother's body was significantly weaker than before.After five births, Queen Mary, who has entered menopause, is now deeply troubled by gynecological diseases; however, doctors have no magic tricks, and Mary is also helpless—these cannot be solved by medical knowledge and ordinary nursing methods. She could only watch her biological mother gradually wither away.

What made Mary feel even more touched was that the sick queen mother was very happy to let go of power, and handed over the power of her cronies to her daughter early; Maitland was among them.In the eyes of the enterprising Mary, the chief secretary, who was recognized by the former mistress, was really shrewd and capable, and he was a good candidate for being hired to manage finances in the future—not to mention, he seemed to be interested in Miss Fleming by her side. Easy to win over.

When Mary began to reform, the devout Catholic queen mother, although a little bit shocked, easily listened to her daughter's comfort and prayed for the child. She would rather bear the dissatisfaction of Christ herself, and only hope that everything goes well for the queen and she is safe and healthy.

All these actions seem to be making up for the family relationship that has been lost for more than ten years... which caused Mary to hug her mother and daughter and shed many tears.

The mother's regret seemed to be disappearing... Mary felt more relieved after receiving Henry II's reply.

The father-in-law is very understanding.He expressed his understanding, his belief in protecting her, and his intention to defend her with the Pope.He also hinted slightly that he also believes that secular kingship is higher than religious power is the trend of the times.Therefore, Mary opened up her heart even more, and once again clarified the next plan with the King of France-the situation in neighboring countries is still stable, and it is difficult to interfere rashly; it is best to recognize Elizabeth first, and not to force the throne of England for the time being.

In this reply, Mary wrote a long novel eloquently, analyzing the current situation and expressing her views.The part involving diplomacy is basically consistent with the documents she gave to neighboring countries.That's right, she has already passed a letter with Elizabeth - the Scottish monarch congratulated the new queen on her succession and recognized her as legitimate; claimed that she longed for peace and disliked blood; finally, she expressed the hope that she could be added as the legal heir of England , preferably before Elizabeth's cousins, the Gray sisters.

In addition, Mary is also delusional to kill two birds with one stone.In the correspondence with her father-in-law, she directly mentioned that Calvin student, John Knox.

"I think this person is extremely dangerous. Almost all the extreme Protestant forces in Scotland are instructed by him. Scotland's current religious policy only stops the hearts of the lords from turning to Protestantism, and has not given amnesty to Protestants. Therefore, those radicals The reason for the turmoil is still there. If it is not controlled, I am afraid that this person will cause an uproar in the territory in the future."

This is actually her applying for "official assistance" to the Duke of Langeville.Previously, her good uncle, the Cardinal of Lorraine, "privately" supported the "unannounced visit" of the nephew and niece in terms of "doctrine" in the name of a religious investigation, but in fact they mixed with Protestants as spies-he probably knew that the niece gave the nephew After drinking some ecstasy soup, he also cared about the result, so he simply acquiesced to the Duke of Longueville's secret action of abandoning the nobility's reserve.Now, Mary simply helped her brother through Henry II.

Well, recently, she learned that the "faithful servant" of the Duke of Longueville has actively contacted Knox... But how to control or use the Calvinist thorn in the end, Mary has not yet decided. final resolution.

Mary Stuart, the political animal, finally stopped the quill in her hand.She was really exhausted.

The young Queen rubbed her wrists, and after receiving the stamp from Miss Beeton, a hint of melancholy appeared suddenly.

Alas, she still had to think about how to return an affectionate letter to François?That young man received letters constantly, and his sentences were quite eager.

Mary looked up at Miss Beeton.This plump maid with blond hair and black eyes has always had a handwriting similar to hers, and she also likes lyric poetry... Perhaps, she can find a gunner?

Surrounded by the mistress' strange eyes, Mary Beaton suddenly felt a little hairy.

Fortunately, after thinking for a while, Mary finally rejected this dangerous idea.

Her nominal husband, the majestic "King of Scotland", still can't just leave it to others to deal with.

Mary had no choice but to pick up the pen bitterly.

Exchange your political views with him?

Silently recalling the boy's face, Mary felt that this topic seemed a bit exhausting.

In fact... in the end, it is still appropriate to talk about love.

So, she gritted her teeth, and "shasha" wrote down a long line of words that could make the recipient blush—I'm tired of writing innocent ones, since they are "married" couples, let's change it.