Mary Su Stuart

Chapter 59 Pregnancy

Montmorency, serving François I, Henry II, and Francois II as veteran ministers of the three dynasties, he has rich experience in politics and great influence; he has great influence on France's domestic and foreign affairs, and even the monarch's bed and curtain marriage heirs. Impact.

He also made many mistakes, the biggest one being the defeat and capture in the Battle of St. Quentin.He is far from being honest and honest, he has done a lot of things that harm the public and private interests, cronyism, and fighting against dissidents.But generally speaking, his governance is relatively moderate, he advocates peace, attaches importance to social stability, and actively defends the central kingship.

He is like a big mountain, heavy and firm, stabilizing the government, but also blocking the way of many colleagues.

Although the queen, the queen mother, the Guise family, etc...many people don't like him, but he supports Francois and the royal family from the bottom of his heart.Moreover, his ability is enough to hold down most nobles in the country.

When the King of France left the country, he specially asked the Queen Mother to be regent, assisted by the Cardinal of Lorraine, Montmorency and Lobitard, who could supervise each other and check and balance each other: Cardinal of Lorraine, as a foreign relative, was better than the other two All must be strong; Lobitard, whose foundation is still shallow, is "allianced" with Montmorency, who is equally pragmatic, has more consistent ruling ideas, and does not deal with the Guise.

Now Montmorency died suddenly.A Lobitard whose ancestors spent money to buy an official came from a "robe-wearing nobleman" background, obviously cannot form effective constraints on the descendants of the noble lords, the "sword-wielding nobles" Guise family-unless the royal family is obviously partial.However, from an emotional and standpoint point of view, Francois is not suitable for doing so.

As an ecumenical Catholic, Montmorency also had close ties with Huguenot leaders.On the one hand, he can ease the antagonistic emotions, on the other hand, he also hinders their activities.But when he passed away, Colini and the others were no longer restrained, and they were afraid that they would wait for an opportunity to stir up trouble again.

After thinking about it, Françoise decided to rush back to France as soon as possible.

Mary silently accompanied him to pack his luggage, feeling extremely disturbed.

The situation in England simply confirms Murphy's theorem-the worst will always happen.Mary herself has been married for 11 years and has no children; her mortal opponent only worked hard for two years before she became pregnant.

If the authentic number one heir to the English throne is born, he will be even more redundant.After all, the child's father was young, healthy, and ambitious. It was only because of the hesitation of various forces in England that he was not allowed to act as the blind queen's regent for the time being.Now if he becomes the guardian of the crown prince, he will not be able to improve his status and authority, and he will simply lose England and the Queen's face.

In contrast, the advantages of Mary Stuart, a foreign distant relative, are hardly worth mentioning in the legal system.Unless, she can win the absolute support of the Holy See, and dare to ignore the opposition of all traditional patriots in England and a large number of radical Protestants, forcibly go to war and conquer this country by force...

Are you kidding me? For the army, even if you invite Gustav the Great to train troops a hundred years later, you may not have the combat effectiveness of the Swedes. As for the navy, Spain captured Plymouth last time and made a start, but the follow-up is not optimistic. —The problem is that with the change of the current situation, Philip II may not be fooled by her again.

There is another route full of conspiracy, which is to play up the death of Emmy Dudley nine years ago, discrediting the Duke of Clarence, casting a shadow of illegality over Elizabeth's marriage, and thus affecting the legitimacy of this fetus .

This plan has been carefully considered by Mary... but the overall difficulty is not small.

However, unexpectedly, when Mary returned to London feeling a little lost, Cecil was the first person to "greet" the Prince Regent.

The Minister of State has something more important to report than the queen's pregnancy—recently, the conflict between Spain and England has further escalated, and there is even a stance of starting a war.

It turns out that recently, a large number of mobile and flexible "sea beggars" have emerged in the waters of the Netherlands-in fact, they are revolutionary troops.They destroyed the port, took the fortress, robbed the cathedral and the monastery, seized the Spanish ships, and slapped Alva in the face.The Spanish veteran found out several important envoys, and wished to hang them all on the mast.

These were: John Knox, the fanatical teacher of the Calvinists, Louis of Nassau, brother of William the Silent, and Robert Dudley, Duke of Clarence.

Originally, the Duke of Alva had seized the property of many English merchants in the Netherlands, and announced that this was punishment for his piracy.This kind of mutual harm is actually limited.Officials of the two countries are nothing more than diplomatic channels and protests to each other.But Dudley is the husband of the Queen of England, and he is so obviously opposed to Spain that the nature seems to have changed.

Mary wanted to pick out her ears regardless of her appearance. "Are you sure, the Duke of Clarence is among them?"

Cecil gritted his teeth and said, "Duke Alva's documents are clear."

"What did he say?"

"He accused this behavior of naked provocation." Cecil said worriedly. "'I can't believe that the queen of a country would authorize such a despicable harassment'. 'Perhaps you think it's no big deal to directly attack the Spanish army'. 'Are you sure the duke represents the queen's position? To do so is tantamount to sending a message to Spain Declare war at sea'. 'If necessary, our army will block the Netherlands and even the Atlantic route, prohibit trade, and confiscate all assets as a response'. 'Or, our fleet will go to Plymouth again and meet with the Queen herself as soon as possible'."

Well, Mary managed to get her attention by the event itself.Cecil was willing to discuss with her, and Gresham, the Duke of Norfolk, etc., and the bishops had no reason to abandon her. It can be seen that the Privy Council is still generally towards her.Now, as the regent of England, she is in her position, seeking her own government, and trying her best to settle this matter properly.

"Duke Alva should just speak harshly?" Mary hesitated. "The civil war in the Netherlands is endless, Philip II should not be able to spare?"

Cecil was rather disturbed. "No, Spain's naval strength is stronger than we expected..."

He said in detail: "In 1566, the Ottoman Emperor Suleiman died and Selim II succeeded to the throne. After that, the new sultan always wanted to follow the barbaric practice of launching wars abroad and consolidating his position by winning. On land , the Holy Roman Empire would rather pay [-] ducats and sign a peace agreement with them. Osman then turned his attention to the Mediterranean Sea, where there are many Venetian territories. Now, the threatened Venetians ask for help through the Pope, Philip His Majesty expressed his full support."

"Since then, Spain has been working hard to build warships to prepare for the war with the East. Especially after the Moors rebelled in Granada and contacted Ottoman, Philip II became more active in expanding the navy." [Note [-]] 】

Mary understood: "So, now, Spain is ready to go. If England turns against it, maybe their fleet will fall on the fort and attack us first."

Cecil nodded. "That's it……"

Mary rubbed her forehead and sighed.

Ahem, at this stage, Spain can't afford to offend.

Especially England, which was labeled as the mainland a few years ago, it is really not an exaggeration to be careful.

Mary waved her hand. "England needs peace. Send a diplomatic letter as soon as possible, and I will... sign it in my name."

Scotland's strength is weak, so it may not be able to catch the eyes of Spain; the crown of the Queen of France is not simply beautiful.If Britain and France join forces, Spain will not act rashly if they are afraid. Cecil and the Privy Council behind him all have this idea.

Sure enough, the Duke of Norfolk visited and discussed this issue with Mary.

"This is a good opportunity to buy people's hearts." The Duke of Norfolk said eagerly. "You want a peaceful and stable England too, don't you?"

The corners of Mary's mouth curled up slightly. "Of course."

The Duke of Norfolk relaxed a little. "As for Queen Elizabeth's pregnancy - I think the Earl of Arundel, and perhaps others, would be happy to take Dudley down."

Mary Snap Arm Chair. "Then, please be careful."

In St. James's Palace, the "monarch and his subjects" were having a secret conversation at the same time; in Whitehall Palace, Elizabeth was listening to her husband's explanation impatiently.

Her dear Robin, with a lot of grievances in her tone: "Spain is a threat... The Privy Council also proposed to support the Netherlands. Why do you just cling to me now?"

"First of all, your funding was not prudent enough and left too many traces, which became the evidence for the Duke of Alva to accuse you." Elizabeth sighed. "Secondly, you didn't discuss it openly in front of most members of the Privy Council, and you just met the worst result. It seems that you are too selfish and make your own opinions, which brings danger to the country."

Elizabeth thought that after so many years of tempering, Robert still lost his straightforwardness.He doesn't understand how dangerous the blind queen is, and she has to avoid all kinds of plots; he feels that relying on the kingship and having his own favor can ensure that he will stand forever; Only with the support of the parliament can we move forward smoothly.

But how could she blame him.Considering his ambitious father, the Duke of Northumberland, it was not easy for him to be so forthright without being completely overwhelmed by power.All these years, he has been true to himself... He is also worthy of her love for him.

It's a pity that he acted recklessly this time, not knowing the seriousness, and causing the "war disaster" in Spain... I'm afraid, at this time, if he proposes to crown or enshrine him on the basis of his father's identity, those members of the Privy Council may find it difficult to agree.

At this time... just wait a little longer.

When she gave birth to the heir to the throne, his status as the father of the future monarch would be quite different.

As Elizabeth thought about it, doubts slowly crept back into her mind.

It's just, in the end...do you want him to become the "king side by side"?

Can two people sit firmly on the throne?

And myself, as a queen who has lost her eyesight, how can she seize the little real power left, and even restore her former status?

The anxiety in her mind was lingering, and Elizabeth suddenly felt a surge in her chest.

"vomit--"

The maids hurriedly surrounded her with rustling footsteps.Elizabeth hated in her heart: damn morning sickness; obviously the doctor said that it will get better after three months; now it's more than four months, why is it still like this? !

Robert also hurried to support her.Countless caring words poured out of his mouth, which finally made Elizabeth feel better.She then leaned into his arms and exhaled lightly.

Suddenly, something moved in the stomach.

Elizabeth's eyes widened.Could this be what doctors call fetal movement?

But very faintly, just a fleeting moment.She clutched Weilong's lower abdomen, feeling quite miraculous, but a trace of fear wrapped around her.

Robert observed his words and asked, "What's the matter?"

Elizabeth was silent for a moment, and finally told him the situation.

The expectant father was very happy: "It's great - the baby must be healthy!"

Around, there was another burst of congratulations.For some reason, Elizabeth was suddenly depressed: How long will it take for this moving 'baby' in her body to come out?

*******************************

The Queen of England raised her baby carefully and strictly guarded against imperial confinement; the Prince Regent was obviously busy making peace with Spain and had no time to visit.

Of course, the most basic etiquette is still there: the regent, accompanied by several courtiers (including Cecil), visits Whitehall Palace every half month.However, Mary didn't really have much interest in chatting with Elizabeth, who was full of vigilance.

She didn't "kindly" persuade her cousin that as a pregnant woman, she should stay away from products full of heavy metals and formaldehyde toluene.Anyway, in the future, she will be accused of viciousness and hypocrisy no matter what, and Mary is too lazy to bother about superficial harmony.

After all, the Duke of Norfolk and others have carefully prepared "evidence" and plan to attack Dudley who was "suspected of murdering his wife" in the near future.

That night, when Mary came back from the Earl of Pembroke's Mansion, sitting in the bumpy carriage, she suddenly felt her heart beating faster.

Bang, bang, chug... The carriage continued to sway, which made her feel even more uncomfortable.

"vomit……"

This time I really spit it out.

Seeing this, Miss Seton hurriedly approached the master, wiped it carefully and took good care of it.

Then, she lowered her voice and said, "Your Majesty, I have recorded your cycle, that—recently—"

"what?"

The expectation in the maid's eyes was fully revealed. "Could it be that you are also pregnant?"

The author has something to say: It's finally here~Heir

[Note 7] The confrontation between Ottoman and Spain, refer to "Story of Civilization [-]"