[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

Mary of Austria had long expected that her two brothers would have an irreparable rift in the inheritance of the Habsburg territory, so after the death of their aunt, Margaret of Austria, the widowed Habsburg With the promise of the two brothers to Margaret of Austria, the princess has been trying to persuade Charles V to hand over at least one piece of the Habsburg family's territory to Ferdinand and his descendants.

It's a pity that Mary of Austria still underestimated Charles V's preference for parents and children.Even Philip II could not understand why his aunt wanted to divide the family by letting Ferdinand I, who was not the eldest son, inherit some Habsburg lands.

"This is simply ridiculous." After hearing the news, Philip II rushed to the Eustace Abbey where Charles V was at the fastest speed in his life, and then walked back and forth in front of the window of the study extremely anxiously: "We must condemn this behavior, we must severely reprimand it!!"

Philip II, who had become king, completely forgot that the other two in the room were his elders, so he still put on a king's style and talked about his own solution by the window: "Now send an envoy to Is it too late for Austria? We cannot go to war with France at this sensitive moment."

Philip II didn't feel sorry for the Spanish envoys who were detained in Belgium, but he was afraid that the complete break between Spain and France would plunge the two countries into a century-old war.

If it was just a momentary confrontation, Spain might still be able to profit from it, but the Hundred Years' War was no joke.

That was enough to squeeze out the Habsburg family's not-so-rich family fortune, and it also had to guard against the secretly growing England and the ready-to-move Ottoman Empire.

Although Suleiman the Great was old, and his successor did not show the same heroism as his father, Charles V had already suffered defeat in Algeria, and he was even more worried that Suleiman, who was still in good health, would jump straight away. After passing a few ineffective sons, he handed over the empire to more outstanding grandsons.

Even if this did not conform to the laws of the Ottoman Empire, considering Suleiman the Great's ability to control and his foresight of the entire empire, it must be true that at that moment, he would not stick to tradition, or treat a few incompetent My son has a little bit of kindness and softness.

As for the famous Locke Serana, as long as her descendants sit on the throne, whether it is a son or a grandson, what difference does it make?

When it came to the topic of his grandson, Charles V couldn't help but think of the Prince of Asturias, and he sighed helplessly: "Philip, considering the future of Spain, I don't think you should wait for that A Valois princess grew up. If a new round of marriage can be reached with Portugal, then Joao III will not care about being replaced by his half-brother as the Prince of Asturias."

You must know that in Portugal now, there is another Catholic princess who is more suitable in age and is considered as the marriage partner of Philip II.

Mary of Portugal was the only child of Manuel I and his third wife, Eleanor of Austria.Although she is not at the right age for marriage and pregnancy, compared with the ten-year-old Elizabeth de Valois, she is undoubtedly more capable of solving the Spanish succession crisis.

What's more, if Mary of Portugal will take over the position of Queen Maria Manuel, and let her child surpass Joao III's grandson as the successor of Spain, Portugal will not have much reaction.

But Philip II didn't think so.

The mental disorder of the Prince of Asturias made the pious Philip II realize that this was God's punishment for their close relatives.

Moreover, in terms of blood, Philip II is the cousin of Mary of Portugal from the paternal line, and the nephew of Mary of Portugal from the maternal line. Such close relatives may give birth to a more terrible prince than the Prince of Asturias. monster.

Seeing his son's dignified appearance, Charles V sighed helplessly, and decided not to persuade Philip II, who had already made up his mind.

This is his most important and beloved child.

It was precisely because Charles V was eccentric without hesitation that Philip II began to experience setbacks when he became an adult.

"Compared to talking about Philip's marriage, we should focus more on Austria's unauthorized actions." Mary of Austria once served as the governor of the Netherlands, so after retirement, she can still become an advisor to the King of Spain: "Ferdinand is It is impossible to form an army by yourself, so there must be someone behind him to support him in doing so."

Not only Mary of Austria, but even Charles V and Ferdinand I were very aware of Austria's family background.To put it more bluntly, Austria has less money than Spain.

Since Maximilian I made his fortune by marrying Mary of Burgundy, the Austrian treasury was as empty as Scotland for mice to run about.On the other side of Hungary, it was because the Prince of Transylvania inherited most of Lajos II's inheritance with the support of the great nobles after the death of Lajos II, so Ferdinand I Without the help of external forces, it is difficult to assemble a strong army, which is the main reason why his heirs want to engage in trouble with the German princes.

Looking at the whole of Europe, the only one who can spend such a large amount of money anytime and anywhere is the king of England who earns a lot of money from commerce and tolls.

"That bastard from England." Philip II, who quickly realized who was behind the scenes, couldn't help cursing, "He's trying to drag everyone into trouble, and let us be in a dilemma with the King of France."

"It's not necessarily that William III is behind the tricks." Charles V still habitually looks at his cousin in England with the eyes of his elders, so he is not sure whether William III has such courage.

After all, he was a shrewd man who could get along like a fish in water in Henry VIII's court.

For Charles V, William III was synonymous with caution, so he forgot that the other party is now a king without pressure, rather than the Prince of Wales who has to be on guard against his father and other forces at all times: "It is not only Fiji who attacked the Duchy of Milan Dinan, and the Duke of Florence."

Thinking of the famous Medici family, Charles V was not sure whether Cosimo I had escaped the control of Spain, or...

He decided to follow the Habsburg branch of Austria to wrest control of Spain.

"Philip, what did you do to Cosimo I?" Charles V recalled that Cosimo I seemed to have sent someone to Austria some time ago, and the two must have reached an alliance at that time.

From this point of view, maybe this matter really has nothing to do with William III, it is purely Austria and Cosimo I who took the opportunity.

After all, Cosimo I held some of the Medici's inheritance, and he resumed trade with the Netherlands and the Ottoman Empire, so it is not impossible for Ferdinand of Austria to form an army.

Of course, Charles V didn't know that Cosimo I was completely swollen to make himself fat, but if he could take this into consideration, he would naturally think that Philip II must have done something to make Cosimo I furious. Things that will make the other party reach an alliance with Ferdinand of Austria.

In this regard, Philip II just remained silent, because he did not want to suppress Cosimo I too much, and even hoped that the other party could contain the Farnese family in Italy to maintain Spain's control of Italy.

"It's no secret that Paul IV supported France. If we lose control over the Medicis, the ownership of the Duchy of Milan will be in danger." Marie of Austria analyzed: "The little Duke of Palmer in Belgium Juana, and Cosimo I attacked Milan with Ferdinand... If the Principality of Savoy intervenes again at this time, then our layout in Italy will be completely over."

If it weren't for Spain's lack of territory connecting with Italy, Charles V would not have successively allied with the Farnese family and the Medici family to exercise remote control over Italy.

"The only thing I'm lucky about now is that Italy didn't produce another Caesar Borgia, otherwise our layout in Italy would not even be necessary to save." While King Charles V was furious, he also felt that his gout had become more and more serious. seriously.

Marie of Austria, who was on the side, quickly dropped the diluted YA tablets into the drinking water, and then assisted Charles V to drink half a glass.

Relieved, Charles V wiped the corners of his mouth, then thumped his thigh vigorously, cursing, "This damn gout."

Mary of Austria quickly comforted her and said, "Brother, please let me go to Milan while there is still time, so that I can ask what Ferdinand and Cosimo I really want, and don't let our family fall apart. "

"But will Ferdinand really listen to your advice?" Charles V hesitated and said, "I have disappointed him time and time again, presumably even if I went to Milan to persuade him in person, he would never believe me again A word or two."

And if Charles V really fell out with Austria completely, then the Habsburg family will lose control of the Protestant region of Germany-after all, compared with Charles V, whether it is Ferdinand of Austria or his son Maxi Milian is not a particularly tough Catholic, and he can completely adopt a policy of appeasement towards domestic sects like William III, seeking common ground while reserving differences.

"At the moment, we can only march from Castile to Brittany, to see if we can hold back France and send reinforcements to the Principality of Savoy." Charles V quickly calculated the gains and losses, and decided to let go of those who attacked Milan Ferdinand, instead, supported his younger brother in taking the Duchy of Milan by force.

In this way, even if there are follow-up negotiations, whether it is Charles V or Ferdinand of Austria, there will be a step down, and it will be more legitimate to put the Duchy of Milan under the jurisdiction of Austria, so as to calm down the internal tensions in the family. contradiction.

As for Cosimo I of the Medici...

Charles V glanced at Philip II, who refrained from expressing his opinion, and warned: "If you don't want our family to fall apart, you'd better clean up the mess in Italy as soon as possible."

"And I have to go and have a good talk with that cousin in England myself."