Mary Su Stuart

Don Juan, the illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, was 20 years younger than Philip II.He was intelligent and quick-witted, and was very popular at the Spanish court.He grew up with Don Carlos and was educated together; he also admired Queen Elizabeth of Valois.After the two of them died one after another, he once contradicted his half-brother and complained repeatedly about the "unfair treatment" they received during their lifetime.

Mary's understanding of the name Don Juan did not originate from these trifles of the palace—historically, in 1571, the combined fleet of Spain, the Holy See, and Venice would face off in the Eastern Mediterranean, in the port of Lepanto on the island of Cyprus. Ottoman's powerful navy; the final victory of the Catholic Holy League was a rare and brilliant victory against the pagans; and the supreme leader of this coalition was Don Juan.

At only 24 years old, he became famous in World War I and was hailed as a hero of Christianity [Note [-]], and finally became the officially certified Prince of Austria [Note [-]].Later, because he was sent to the Netherlands to suppress the revolution, he had a quarrel with Philip II, and eventually fell ill in the Netherlands army and died young.

Uh, the focus should not be on Don Juan right now.Mary wondered.The point should be-

"Spain, in fact, it's okay to fight against them." Francois walked out of the nursery slowly and walked to the bedroom, holding Mary's slender waist. "Anyway, between us, we are competing for the dominance of Europe, and sooner or later there will be another conflict."

Hey, this is Francois, finally inheriting the behest of his father and grandparents, planning to compete with the Habsburgs for hegemony in Western Europe?

Thinking about it this way... "That's right. There should only be one hegemon and one center in Europe." Recalling the world structure of later generations, Mary strengthened her belief. "England and France, united, are best suited to be this sole center."

Francois gave Marie a deep look. "You told me before that external conflicts may intensify internal conflicts, and may also divert internal conflicts. Habsburg, a strong and huge opponent, is just suitable for France and England to abandon their differences, join forces to fight against the enemy, and gradually integrate into a whole .”

"Just like the Iberian Peninsula, in order to drive out the common enemy, the Arabs, and restore the civilization of Christ, Castile and Aragon finally merged into Spain."

He really had such ambitions, and he spoke out.Mary lamented that the once frail little boy had grown up; she replied with a smile:

"My dear François, you are right. I think so too. I hope that in the future, our children will melt all these crowns of France, England, Scotland, and Ireland into one crown , firmly worn on the head."

At first, she wished to live freely; later, she wanted to grasp the power that would enable her to develop steadily; later, she understood that she must have an independent and self-reliant country as the backing; She thinks about the kingdom under her, and hopes that one day, she and his descendants will not each control a kingdom and be enemies of each other.

The ambition of the time-traveling woman is obviously constantly expanding.Now, although she hasn't dared to dream of conquering the world, at least she is fantasizing about unifying Western Europe-oh, most of the German princes and Habsburg Spain cannot be conquered for the time being, let's unify Britain and France first.

Who told her that the soul in her body had been deeply influenced by the unified culture of China.

Francois was greatly encouraged. "Dear Mary, what Castile and Aragon can do, maybe we can too - build a unified kingdom."

Although Mary was not as optimistic as he was in her heart, she said happily, "I believe that heaven rewards hard work. Let's go in this direction and go all out."

However, there is an important prerequisite-they preferably have a male heir.

The French royal family, starting from the Capet dynasty more than 500 years ago, has always strictly followed the oldest Salic law.

So, is having a son just a necessity?

Although Mary is a little disdainful of this kind of thinking, the reality seems to make people bow their heads.

In other words, she can figure it out: If the big goal of unifying Britain and France is to be achieved, a male heir can obviously reduce the difficulty.

She is Mary Su, a time-traveling woman who has the favor of God, how could she not have the confidence to have a son!

Anyway, there is no such thing as contraception in this era; as long as she and Francois lead a normal married life, there will always be...

Judging from her physique, the process of conceiving and giving birth is relatively easy.

Besides, the children of the royal family are not difficult to raise.Regardless of the material conditions, a few wet nurses, a group of nannies, and traditional loyalty—with so many people helping her, her energy is very limited.

Of course, you must not treat your daughter badly.Vivian is her baby.Alas, in this world, even for nobles, it is not easy for women to survive.We must try our best to let our daughter live freely and have more choices.

Marie fantasizes, and François is also moved.He lowered his head slightly, and by the side of Mary's ear, he said in a magnetic voice that could make the listener go limp:

"We should go all out to have a male heir."

As expected of a childhood sweetheart, an old husband and wife, their thinking is really synchronized.Mary glared at him.Look, here is a spacious and comfortable bathroom; on the other side is a loft bed with a conservative curtain... Then, let's go, try to make people.

So it rolled all night.

The results of the man-making movement cannot be seen in the short term.But staying up all night and covered by impure chatting, the dark circles of the two of them can hardly be covered.Marie was still able to pull herself together; François, who was more physically exhausted and had come a long way, sat in a chair and wanted to doze off.

Hold on, it's a regular meeting of the Privy Council, yawning face to face will damage the image of the monarch, and falling asleep directly... It's even more embarrassing.

Francois held back the tears from the corners of his eyes, picked up the rose tea recommended by his wife, took a sip, and continued to listen to the lively discussion between Mary and the ministers.

Well, despite being the nominal King of England, he's used to being a quiet listener.In the first place, he was not very familiar with the situation in England; in the second place, what Mary said was always very reasonable; in the end, he was very, very willing to rely on her in all decisions.

The Duke of Norfolk said happily: "The preliminary investigation of tobacco imports has been done. The Earl of Pembroke and I are verifying. Judging from the current report, the profit is indeed not small."

Cecil reports: "The Royal College of Physicians has studied the Scottish report and the vast majority of scholars agree with Flood's notes. The vaccinia vaccination program will be announced by May and will be the first to be rolled out around London."

Mary listened and nodded with a smile.At this time, Gresham said:

"Your Majesty, a few days ago you predicted that Spain would inevitably decline within 30 years... I would like to ask for your specific analysis."

Mary looked at the earnest face of the Minister of Finance, then glanced at Francois who seemed to be equally interested, and began to talk.

"I've heard this 'sea power' theory: 'Whoever controls the sea controls trade; whoever controls world trade controls the wealth of the world, and thus he controls the world itself'." 【Note [-]】

"Looking at the huge profits brought by ocean trade over the years, no one will doubt how important the ocean is. And such a lucrative sea route must be protected by a strong military force."

"I have also heard: 'The military is an extension of politics, and the military is the continuation of economic interests; war is the product of irreconcilable conflicts of interest'." [Note [-]]

"This further shows that the navy should not be a tool for hegemony limited by fame, but an important economic and trade tool."

The Earl of Pembroke nodded very frequently, and there was a sense of pride in his eyes that "this kind of discussion is often held in my house".The rest of the ministers all listened carefully.Walsingham, the assistant brought by the Secretary of State, was taking notes.The maid Beaton stared at Li Qiao, who was also writing vigorously, as if in a daze.

"Spain has now gone astray. Gathering a fleet in the Mediterranean Sea and competing with the distant Ottoman Turkey for hegemony, what can they gain? Seizing the islands in the Eastern Mediterranean will bring Venice the most benefits; defeating the heretics will increase the most The authority of the Holy See; Spain joined the war, and the country has little real gain except the glory of Philip II's "faithful defender of Catholicism."

"It's a financial catastrophe - the Navy spends huge sums of money and uses it only for bragging rights."

Mary paused suddenly, and looked sideways at her husband.

His grandfather, the first king of France named François, tried his best to compete with the Pope, and he did not hesitate to form an alliance with Ottoman to deal with Charles V of Habsburg; Pai shouted to fight and kill, but he also seized the opportunity to use the Holy See; in comparison, his feelings for God are actually more pious and simple.

Fortunately, at this moment, Francois was calm, and he was not dissatisfied with her nationalistic talk that lacked a sense of religious honor and put secular interests first.

Mary felt relieved. "Another blunder by Spain, in their colonial policy."

"Because of the religious obsession of the monarchs of the past, they spent too much time on missionary evangelism in the colonies." She couldn't help but complained about something irrelevant. "Actually, it doesn't matter. The biggest problem is that they have discovered too many gold and silver mines in America, so they have gained too much wealth."

Among the surprised eyes, Mary explained: "Wealth comes so easily that the Spaniards lose the motivation to develop other industries—since they hold gold and silver, they can easily and quickly buy necessities and goods from their neighbors." If they are luxury goods, then why bother to improve the industry and agriculture of the country. Even if you want to invest in making profits, you will probably be more inclined to overseas mining projects.”

"Another disadvantage is the influx of gold and silver, excess currency in the market, causing inflation. The increase in prices affects local manufacturing costs and makes their products lose their competitiveness in the international arena. Therefore, its industry is predictable. , and will decline further.”

"In addition, Spain pursues a strict religious exclusion system. Among the 'heretics' who were persecuted by them and the 'heretics' who were expelled by them, there are actually many hardworking, capable, and shrewd people. This kind of intolerance in Spain is very crowded. Taking away part of the domestic vitality will only make you decline faster."

Marie concludes: "Therefore, I believe that a government that values ​​national interests over personal reputation, learns to master the laws of economics, is tolerant, free from religious opinions, and focused on the secular, will go farther than Spain. "

Gresham was the first to praise: "The economic law you mentioned is so wonderful, my lord! For a country, gold and silver certainly mean wealth, but the biggest use is not for consumption... We must try to make gold and silver flow and create more What wealth!"

"Yes, the kingdom should continue to be aggressive, develop industry and agriculture, expand overseas trade, and grab as much market share as possible from Spain, which is doomed to decline." Cecil was also a little excited. "What can be counted on is that Spain's economic recession will definitely affect its maritime military power in the long run. By then, we will be able to wash away the shame of being captured by them in Plymouth."

The Duke of Norfolk, who followed suit and invested in Hawkins and Drake, rubbed his hands together and said, "Continue to encourage privateers and speed up the attack on them..."

Walsingham is not yet qualified to intervene.But his pen moved more vigorously.He kept thinking: a government that is tolerant, not manipulated by religious opinions, and focused on the secular... is really in the best interest of the country.So, as a Protestant, should he let go of his prejudice against the Catholic monarch and devote himself wholeheartedly to the rise of England?

The courtiers applauded, and Francois felt a little dazed.It was not until recently that he fully understood that the highest state affairs group of this island country was too different from the French cabinet.

Most of them have a shallow hereditary history and do not necessarily have a deep foundation, but they are full of vitality, filled with strong national self-esteem, and are more concerned about national progress.They less consider the interests of the feudal aristocracy, and more support the monarch; in the confrontation with the parliament, there is less internal intrigue, and they can form a united central government.

His eyes swept across the English courtiers and back to Mary.Is such an enlightened and harmonious imperial meeting formed naturally, or is it the result of the monarch's tireless efforts?

The author has something to say: [Note [-]] Christianity should be a collective name for all sects that regard Jesus Christ as their savior, also known as Christianity.Some historical translations in our country once referred to Protestantism as "Christianity", but this should actually be changed.

【Note [-]】The title of Don Juan, the Prince of Austria, only means the official certification of his blood identity, that is, he is recognized as the "legal" royal descendant of Charles V, and has no fiefdom; it can also be understood as "Prince of Austria".Although he was brought up by Philip II before, he was an illegitimate child with no status in the final analysis. Because of this meritorious service, his name was rectified.

In the German-speaking area, the "Prince" Prinz is sometimes translated as "Prince", which is a general concept; the children of any princes can be called Prinz (there are as many princes as dogs in the Grimm's fairy tales), which is better than the hereditary emperor's family. , The title of "Grand Duke" for the orthodox descendants of the Habsburg family is actually lower.

Also, "Princess of Austria" Anna/Elizabeth.As princesses, their orthodox translation should be "female grand duchess".This article used "princess" to refer to it, hoping to facilitate understanding.In fact, this lowers their titles, because in the German-speaking area, princesses are similar to "princes", which is a general concept.Therefore, everyone can understand that the well-known Princess Sissi is only the daughter of a duke, and she can also be called a princess...

[Note [-]] Excerpted from "The Story of Civilization", the original work may come from the ancient Roman philosopher Cicero.But Raleigh in England would later make a similar point.Later in the text, this person will also appear.

【Note [-]】The point of view comes from the theory of Marx and Engels. Lenin elaborated and practiced it, and carried it forward.

Spain's decline was multifaceted.The analysis in this chapter mainly refers to "General History of the World" and "Story of Civilization 7"