[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

"How is the banquet prepared by Alexander for Jeromin going?" William III, after finishing his day's work, leaned against the warm fire and asked Richard Cromwell to bring a cup of hot water with cinnamon and cloves. wine.

William III shook his glass of wine and laughed at himself: "In the past, I would not light the fire at this time. Even Juana couldn't stand my habit, and joked that my bedroom is an ice cellar."

Richard Cromwell put a blanket over William III's legs to prevent the king from catching cold at night, and then comforted: "People always grow old, even Alexander the Great, who is invincible." When I can no longer mount a horse."

Because the king's previous fainting frightened many people, including Queen Juana, William III had to change his living habits under the constant request of the court doctor and Queen Juana, and at the same time reduce the workload as much as possible .

"Your health is better than a hundred bills beneficial to England." After all, Richard Cromwell was an old confidant of William III for more than 20 years, so he was more casual in private: "My father once Said such a sentence - "Sometimes you do not defeat the enemy in terms of personal ability, but outlast the enemy's life." "

"This is quite a controversial sentence." William III retorted: "Longevity is also a curse. If I am like Suleiman the Magnificent, I witnessed the death of my best son in a palace coup The up-and-coming little bastard has completely ruined the country that the old father has worked so hard to build, so let me die quickly and happily."

The current Ottoman Empire has turned from prosperity to decline.

Roxelana, who was deeply favored by Emperor Suleiman, probably didn't expect that she would be able to play off so much that her children would also start killing each other in the succession war promoted by one hand.

Because Mustafa, the most competitive emperor's eldest son, had been executed by Suleiman the Great.Even his only son was considered a threat to the throne by his grandfather, so he was executed the day after his father was killed.

The death of Mustafa also caused Locke Lana's most humane youngest son, Prince Jihangir, to die in grief because he could not forgive what his parents had done.

This made Suleiman the Great, who had lost two sons one after another, face an extremely difficult succession problem-he could only choose one of Prince Selim and Prince Bayezid born to Locke Serana be the heir.

And these two people... are nothing more than the difference between being unable to support and being even more unable to support.

The former is a drunkard, the latter is brutal.

He really didn't inherit his father's measure and mother's cunning at all.

The only thing that made Suleiman the Great happy was that among his children with Roxelana, there was a clever daughter, Mihri.

Just as Louis XI claimed that his eldest daughter Anne was "the least stupid woman in France", Suleiman the Great also admired Miheli's intelligence and even betrothed it to his Grand Vizier, In order to ensure that Miheli's ingenuity will be useful.

It's a pity that no matter how much Miheli is loved by her father, she is just a girl who cannot inherit the throne.

After all, it was in the Ottoman Empire, which was more conservative and had a Fratricide system.

Compared with it, even France, which strictly abides by the "Salik Code", can be called extremely loose.

Thinking of the family conflicts of Suleiman the Great, William III was glad that his family at least seemed to be harmonious, but worried about the future of the Duke of Richmond and Guillaume.

Although with the unremitting efforts of him and Queen Juana, even if the Duke of Richmond and Guillaume cannot be called brotherly love, there is absolutely no blood feud.

However, the current calm does not mean that the two brothers will continue to live in harmony after the old father's death.

Take the sons of Edward Longlegs, for example.

Even though Edward II was so cowardly before his old father was alive that long-legged Edward doubted whether the son was his own, but after the old father closed his eyes, this guy not only cheated his stepmother who had been begging for him all the time, but even alienated him The two half-brothers who worked hard finally led to Edmund of Woodstock, the father-in-law and cousin of the black prince Edward, being directly executed by Isabella of France (the wonderful thing is that Edmund of Woodstock Demon was also a cousin of Isabella of France).

It can be said that if Edward II listened to his younger brother's opinion a little bit, he would not have cheated himself and more than half of the nobles in England

William III was very worried that the Duke of Richmond would not be able to reach an external consensus with Guillaume under the natural threat of Guillaume.

No matter what kind of pig-headed Habsburg is now, William III still admires that Charles V can listen to the opinions of his family, and at a critical moment, he made a retreat to Ferdinand of Austria and Mary of Austria.

If it weren't for Charles V who forced Philip II to retreat to Ferdinand of Austria at a critical juncture, and then used a face-saving method to hand over the Duchy of Milan to his younger brother who was thinking about it.

It is estimated that with Philip II's narrow-mindedness and tolerance, he will definitely fall out with Ferdinand of Austria.

After all, William III remembered that his cousin still refused to give him the title of duke that his half-brother had made a lot of military exploits, and even wanted to arrest Jelomin's mother to threaten him.

If it were any king who understood people's hearts, he would not make such a stupid decision.

You must know that the position of a duke is very particular.

Depending on the treatment and the difference in inheritance rights, the duke's water can even fill a lake.

The leaders of the principalities like the Duke of Lorraine and the Duke of Florence, in fact, to a certain extent, have real power that is almost the same as that of the king, which is the main reason why Henry VIII is willing to form a son and daughter with them.

The vassals and royal branches of great powers like the Duke of Guise and the Duke of Bourbon belong to the second echelon of the dukes. They not only have their own family territories, they can even be like Charles of York (the father of Edward IV) , If you find the right opportunity, you can replace the family.

As for the Duke of Suffolk conferred by Henry VIII, and John Dudley in history (the title is the Duke of Northumberland), they are the ones with the most moisture and pushing for the top position.

Not to mention the rulers of the principality, even some earls with a long history, such as the Foix family in France, would not take them seriously.

And the duke position that Jelomin wanted in history was the one with the most moisture.

Even if he is the illegitimate son of the Roman emperor, as long as Philip II uses his brains on his territory and hereditary succession, it will not change the fact that his title has a lot of water.

So William III really felt that Philip II didn't need to hang Jelomin.

To put it even more exaggeratedly, even if the title was passed on to Jelomin's grandson, it would not change the fact that their family's title was very watery.

While William III was thinking wildly, Sir Cecil suddenly visited and said, "Your Majesty, can I delay your precious rest time?"

Sir Cecil, who hadn't changed his formal attire yet, glanced at Richard Cromwell, signaling that he needed a space where he could have a private conversation with the king.

The moment the palace steward received his gaze, he withdrew from William III's living room, and then personally guarded the door for Sir Cecil and William III.

"What's the matter with you coming at this time?" King William III knew that Sir Cecil was not a ignorant person, and besides Jeromin's visit, only the soon-to-be-married Princess Margot was left. Sir Seale himself came to confer with His Majesty the King.

"Henry II of France has just sent a letter saying that he is unable to provide Princess Margaret's dowry." Sir Cecil does not like a Catholic princess, but he will not be extreme enough to destroy the agreement between the two countries.

William III put down his wine glass and asked earnestly, "It's just that France can't provide the dowry of Princess Margaret, or can it not provide the dowry of Princess Elizabeth and Margaret?"

You must know the difference here, but it is related to the face of England.

It is also a marriage, so why does England not have something that Spain has?

Did William III ask for the dowry money of his daughter-in-law?

What he wanted was the attitude of France.

Sir Cecil licked his lips, but did not directly answer the king's question: "The reason given by France is that the Duke of York's status cannot be compared with that of the King of Spain, so..."

"So he wants to waive his youngest daughter's dowry, right?" William III laughed angrily, "As long as Henry II is not afraid of me letting the whole of Europe know that he can't afford his youngest daughter's dowry, then go ahead and do it."

After all, it wasn't Guillaume and the ignorant Marguerite who were ashamed, and William III didn't have to have any psychological pressure.

As for the face of France...

Could this be William III's fault?

Moreover, not all French vassals were vassals of Henry II, so it was none of their business that the king couldn't afford his daughter's dowry.

Sir Cecil had expected the king's reaction long ago, so when he talked with the sweaty French ambassador, his tone was more serious than that of William III now.

And this was the last thing Henry II wanted to see.

As for the divorce from England... Henry II didn't want to experience the English tolls again, and he couldn't afford a war money.

Hence the urgent letter sent to England.

"France wants to hold a proxy wedding ceremony for the two princesses in the Louvre, which can be regarded as their farewell ceremony to their parents and the motherland." Sir Cecil carefully observed the king's face and said carefully: "Philip II The world has already confirmed the wedding team in Spain, and now it is on the England side, and has not handed out a wedding arrangement."

"Henry II has slapped his face like this, what else do you want me to arrange?" William III said in a lack of interest: "Directly negotiate with France to divorce, and then let the Imperial Council discuss punishment measures for France."

"Yes." After receiving the order, Sir Cecil went to do it immediately.

As a result, a few days later, William III received a letter from Henry II, as well as a request from Catherine de' Medici.