Mary Su Stuart

Vivienne and Matilda, who returned to Holyrood Palace, excitedly led the maids and servants to wander around the castle—Miss Maitland, Little Linston and Little Seton and others are considered to be returning from their hometown. It's been a long time since I visited, but it's been a long time since Morris visited for the first time.All in all, the little ones had a great time.

Although there are many castles under the name of the queen and the king, this "remote palace" is obviously the one with the loosest rules and the least restrictions.Livingston turned a blind eye to everything, and Seton and Beaton were relatively laissez-faire—Matilda almost climbed into her mother's big bed.

"It's better to get married, to have such a wide and beautiful bed." The 12-year-old girl said with emotion.

Amidst Mary's smirk and the reprimand of the head female teacher, Matilda stood up straight in desperation.Vivian educated her earnestly: "If you want it, you don't have to wait until you get married; when you become an adult, you can use your own money to build one yourself."

Matilda pouted.This elder sister always puts on airs because she is 14 years old and is still the crown prince... She rolled her eyes and sighed: "Oh, I heard that father has not come back here for a long time... He hasn't had a chance to talk to us for a long time... Let's travel to Britain together..."

Hearing this remark, Vivienne couldn't help but frown, and looked even more serious-these days "United Weekly Edinburgh Edition" officially announced the Queen's approval of her, and she was indeed called "Scotland's Queen Mother"; her sense of responsibility therefore Raise again.Now she waved her hand to her sister, cleared her throat, and began to carefully explain the principles of family/state affairs:

"First of all, my father, like us, is the master of Britain. Even if he doesn't have time to be there, it must be affirmed that he has always cared for this land and has never failed his responsibilities as a monarch."

"Secondly, didn't you expect it? If my father travels, the Duke of Orleans must be regent in Paris. Charles is indeed a good uncle, and he is also stable and prudent in political affairs-Judge Lobitard praised him. However, he is far away from the French throne. Too close, too close."

Mary was a little relieved to see the eldest daughter's food-protecting attitude that an heiress should have. "Father stayed in Paris all these years, the low-key Duke of Orleans and the gentle Princess Anna of Austria can still win people's hearts; if father is not there, Queen Catherine may go out or simply indulge, many nobles probably really regard him as the Lord of France Alright."

"In that case, will they still think that I, or we, are more qualified to sit on the French throne?"

Matilda's complexion changed slightly, and Vivienne sighed:

"The royal families of England and Scotland half adopted the Salic Law, and we are the legal descendants of our mothers. We don't have to worry about who will raise objections to the princess's succession to the crown. However, France used the most rigid, harsh and antiquated old rules to allow all our previous princesses, Even their descendants have lost their right of inheritance. Why! They are all the biological flesh and blood of the king and queen, but just because of one gender, high and low are determined?"

"So, I would like to thank my parents for fighting for our rights. We must be stronger, sober, and cheer up..."

"It's really good." Mary smiled, and beckoned her daughters to her side, hugging each other. "Vivienne already has the self-consciousness of an heiress. As for Matilda, I believe your affability, your vivaciousness are also good additions to our family image. Did you know that more than one person has praised Austria in my presence Anna is demure and elegant, as if I am the complete opposite, an old hag with claws and claws... Oh, I am always plotting and doing bad things, and I am very lenient..."

She patted the back of her little daughter's hand. "I really hope to let them see more, the princesses of our Valois-Stuart family can also be smart and lovely, not all of them are as cruel and cruel as your mother."

"How can there be?" In the whole room, except for Mary herself, all the women couldn't help but refute her in unison. "You are clearly the noblest, most beautiful and most powerful queen—"

"It's just too aggressive, too unorthodox, and too self-righteous." Mary laughed at herself. "Anyway, I have become a monarch, and usually they can only bear it. As for my dear two princesses who are still walking on the road, you must control and don't give people—especially the French dignitaries—too much sense of threat, You have to give them a reason to support you."

Those who have been here pass on their experience: "If you want to bring benefits to them, you must convince them that you women are also capable of governing a country, or 'relying on them' to protect the 'great France', be humble and peaceful, and try to make them feel better. satisfy."

"In this way, they will be willing to accept you, will not be dissatisfied, will not poach corners, and will loyally serve the queen and the country."

What follows is more substantial content. "From an investment point of view, the sword-wielding nobles have a closed circle and a big appetite...the nobles in robes are the most suitable allies of the monarch; the common people, especially the middle class, are the cornerstone of the government's rule. Treat them well, and there will be rewards."

"There is another important force that must be treated with caution, and that is the priests of the first rank."

"While princes, for themselves and their country, are wary of the church, lest they should overthrow kingship with divine authority; The priesthood is still powerful; and the Pope in Rome is still the supreme leader in many people's minds—not just the master of the spiritual world."

Having said that, counting against the Holy See is actually something that France, a filial son of the Catholic Church, has done a lot in history. "So, we certainly pursue secular countries; but when necessary, we can use their power to eliminate some opposing voices."

Mary looked at Vivienne, the 14-year-old Crown Prince of Britain and Ireland, who was half a head taller than her younger sister with affection.Even if she is said to be an "adult" in this era, in the eyes of modern people like me, her daughter is just a junior high school student.As a mother, you must work hard to protect your baby and pave the way for her!

So, from the moment they came to Edinburgh, 23-year-old Francis Bacon was assigned to Vivienne by her—"In the future, you will also be responsible for supervising the princess's political studies."

Although Maitland said: Bacon racked his brains for the Queen's plan for the "British-Soviet merger" in the past two years, and was often too busy to touch the ground; but Mary felt that he was in good spirits this time, so she felt at ease to squeeze the property. It's down——those who are capable will work harder, young people, don't be afraid of hardship, His Majesty is very optimistic about you, young man.

It may not be that the Crown Prince will be prepared for the "Zhan Shifu" and "Think Tank" from now on; and with Bacon's age and qualifications, he can't afford the important task of Mary promoting him as "Prince and Junior Teacher".Mary just hopes that from now on, when she can keep an eye on it, she will slowly prepare some available talents for Vivienne, gradually test, adapt, and screen them as soon as possible, so that she will have a loyal and reliable work team in the future.

It is really not easy to control the children of the king, and you have to devote yourself to career planning at a young age.How did I get here at that moment?

Oh, it was also carefully selected by Queen Mary Queen Mother.Mary looked at Seton and Beaton, who were busy in and out, and thought about it: their natal brothers did not have daughters of the right age... As for Douglas, Hamilton or Lennox... No, she was still worried.

Well, Boswell seems to have had a daughter, but too young to be placed with Matilda someday.

Having said that, I wonder if Boswell has worked hard to train the sailors in England?Uh, because he executed Coligny "unauthorizedly", many nobles in France were quite resentful towards him. She simply didn't let him stop for a long time, and went to Plymouth first.

Although Mary does not have a strong idea of ​​competing with Spain at sea in the near future; but for the sake of homeland security and possible future wars, it is not a bad thing to transform naval ships and military systems earlier and plan ahead.Provide enough firearms to arm, improve the performance of ships, and let the Scottish "rogue" generals and England's "Royal Pirates" captains gather to learn from each other's strengths... It is not a bad thing for her to build a more combat-effective fleet.Last time they had a small actual battle near the port of La Rochelle, exposing problems and training their skills.

Well, at the request of Francois, now this new fleet has also received money and people from France.Slowly, this is the proper "Joint General Fleet Across the Taiwan Strait".

As for the ocean-going privateering activities, heh, it is mainly left to Raleigh now.Since this person can shine in history, let him play for the time being.Anyway, at present, it is a little bit to rob Spain...until the number of cargo ships of Britain and France can surpass that of Spain (possibly the Netherlands in the future).

Don't blame the queen for being black-hearted... There are always a lot of gold and silver on Spanish ships. If she wants to build a new fleet, what she needs most is money.

Money, money, this afternoon Bacon and the two princesses were in class, and the first thing they said was "money". "Unlike England and Scotland, French priests do not pay taxes, which is a great loss to the country. After all, they have not been reformed, and the old church still owns a lot of high-quality land..."

Vivienne of Valois objected. "You don't understand well. Although the priests don't pay taxes, the state still has a way to withdraw funds from them. Since the time of François I, the royal family has controlled the income of domestic church organizations in disguise and kept wealth in the country. Don't let it go to Rome."

Matilda also agreed with her sister. "Sir is not good enough in French affairs."

Well, Mary, who was watching, wanted to laugh a little.How will Bacon respond to the two brats blatantly tearing things apart?

"Theoretically, the Valois royal family controls the church's income, but the reason is not so open and aboveboard, and the income is not very clear and transparent. It is not as stable as the 'tax system' stipulated by the country's clear laws." Bacon said leisurely. "Moreover, the third-level civilians in France may not all be aware of these situations. They only see that Catholic priests have too many inappropriate privileges, which will induce dissatisfaction among some people and even join the opposition."

Vivienne suddenly realized. "According to what you said, like Venice, it is the right way to clearly treat the body and property of church members in the secular world."

Bacon nodded vigorously. "Exactly. In fact, Scotland and England also have similar disadvantages. But after all, many old church monasteries have been closed, land has been transferred, the number of priests is limited, their power is low, and their property has shrunk greatly... And it is generally known that the priests' tithes and church organizations The income of the country is ultimately managed by the state. Therefore, this contradiction is not too acute. Compared with it, the problem of France needs more attention.”

Seeing this, Mary gave him a positive look.Alright, like this, the young man has rounded up what he said earlier that was not very rigorous.what's next?

Vivienne asked: "If we want to increase the country's financial resources, what about taxing the nobles? The privileges enjoyed by the second class are no less than those of the first class."

Bacon was startled suddenly. "This, absolutely impossible!"

He then told the daring princess a long history of why the nobles were nobles, and the necessity for them to be exempt from taxes, and their privileges—the same one-sided stories that Mary had read in modern society. The touted material is about the same.Uh, if Mary is a nobleman from the core, it probably resonates very much—and looking at Matilda, she couldn't help but praise: "You make a lot of sense."

However, Vivienne is not an ordinary nobleman, she is the future queen.She is learning from her mother, thinking about the problem from the standpoint of a monarch: "But for the central government, for the royal power, those nobles really have to be restrained."

She added an attributive. "Especially in France, there are too many powerful nobles."

Vivienne glanced at Mary, encouraged by her eyes, and continued: "The feudal system in France is far from being eradicated. Some nobles have established their own courts in their territories, flouting the laws of the country; , and even created turmoil in the name of religion, which split the country and greatly affected the economic operation. When the new property owners in the cities clamored for self-government, the middle-class civilians in the Lord's territory, such as farmers and craftsmen, still wished for the central government to control Everything, to resist the tyranny of the local nobles." [Note [-]]

Matilda was also touched. "Yes, I heard that here, in Scotland, although my mother doesn't come back many times, she always has the support of the majority of the people—it is because the people believe in the justice and strictness of the Edinburgh government compared to those local lords..."

At this moment, Mary, who had been listening to the class for a long time, finally spoke.

"Okay, Vivienne, the taxation and abolition of privileges you mentioned are very big propositions, whether they are aimed at priests or nobles. We can only solve them little by little. In terms of order, directly levy Taxes are harder than abolishing privileges. So forget about it for now."

If you take too many steps, it is easy to pull something.Emperor Sui Yang, the famous "tyrannical emperor" in Chinese history, was too radical when he mobilized his family and dug canals.

Mary thought, it seems that she should teach her daughter well, make decisions before acting, and never act arbitrarily just because you are a king... What's more, use your knowledge hundreds of years later to help.

"Increase the head tax and land tax, don't start it easily. Compared with it, the 'consumption tax' is more promising. The necessities of life are less taxed or even not taxed, while jewelry, famous wine, spices, high-end clothes and other luxury goods are heavily taxed on sellers. Some nobles have the habit of comparing themselves anyway, and waste a lot, so let them suffer in silence."

Bacon was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes widened. "Ah... What Your Majesty said is true! Compared with direct taxes, this kind of indirect tax is less likely to cause disgust and is relatively fair. It is indeed a good way to supplement the country's finances!"

Mary chuckled. "The collection of consumption tax is obviously beneficial to the current society. In this hierarchical society, the consumption tax goes around in circles and partially eliminates the tax-free privileges of the upper class, which is equivalent to making up for the unfairness of the current tax system. It is beneficial to increase the country’s income. However, it is not a small problem to specifically which products to tax, after all, taxation will cause the cost of manufacturing to increase, which will hinder its development.”

"So, regarding the definition of 'luxury goods'... Tobacco and alcohol are fine. Even if the industry develops a bit slower, you can still use 'beneficial to national health' to comfort yourself. And the glass and ceramic industrial products seem to be In fact, it is a good thing for luxury goods to expand into the private sector, after all, they are clean and safe; moreover, they will be a great boost to scientific research.”

Although the juniors are still a little unclear about "a great boost to scientific research", it does not prevent them from paying attention to His Majesty with adoring eyes—it is too powerful, like a prophet.

"Of course, no matter what kind of reform, you have to actually try it before you can understand the effect and gain something." Mary said with emotion. "Therefore, I hope that my government and my successors, no matter how big or small the policy is, will take it seriously, think carefully, and consider the best and worst consequences. Let the country and the people avoid some obvious detours as much as possible."

When Mary talked with her daughter and her subordinates about "money and nobility" and various national events, two nobles in the European continent died one after another, which can also be called a national event. , and William the Silent of Orange-Nassau, who had been established as the hereditary ruler of the Netherlands.

The author has something to say: Bacon: To be a social animal for the queen, I am heartbroken and will not hesitate.

Mary: I just like the way the opposition hate me and can't kill me~

Teaching my daughter is a long way to go...

[Note 7] Refer to "The Story of Civilization [-]"