Mary Su Stuart

From the end of 1559, Marie de Guise had lost weight significantly.It is true that she is not short of nutrition and has never been on a diet, but her waistline has obviously become smaller inch by inch.

It didn't take long for her to suffer from drowsiness. The daily waking hours became shorter and shorter, and she felt drowsy and sluggish to move.

Physicians can't do anything about it.Queen Mary, who had a premonition that her end was approaching, turned to the priest from time to time, begging God to forgive her soul.Supported by faith, she often prays for her daughter, her family, and her country in her limited waking hours to obtain the final peace.

Finally, on a hot and windy afternoon, the Queen Mother of Scotland, who was riddled with illness and lost her mind, quietly swallowed her last breath in a secluded room in Edinburgh.

Queen Mary, who had hurried to witness her passing, was in a trance for a long time.

Although the mother's body seemed to be peaceful and serene, she left this world forever after all.

Even if this is a world that can be "traversed" to break through the laws of science, life, old age, sickness and death are still irreversible.

And the one who passed away this time was actually the biological mother of this body, the first person Mary saw when she came to this world.

The Queen of Scots couldn't help recalling a short poem that touched her in her previous life: When parents are alive, there is still a way to go in life;

Where will she, a soul from a different time and space, go back in the end?

Mary Fleming, who also experienced the pain of losing her mother—at the beginning of the same year, Mrs. Fleming died quietly in a French monastery—closely accompanied the somewhat bewildered queen, speaking softly and comfortingly .Maitland, seeing the delicate, gentle and considerate maidservant, was filled with deep admiration, and came to report work even more diligently.

Fortunately, the chief secretary came in and out frequently... Surrounded by various government affairs and mundane affairs, Mary gradually felt a little more secure in her life.

At this time, her brother also came to Scotland from France to attend the funeral, and accompanied the advance troops of the Duke of Guise.

The Duke of Langeville, who was forced to separate from his mother since he was a child, did not insist that his son never shed tears, and wept directly in the coffin.

Given that he currently has the "task" entrusted by his sister, he may still need to deal with some Scots secretly; the Queen Mother's own son and entourage are very low-key, and they hardly appear in public.However, his reputation spread quietly—the young duke won the favor of many natives who had never met with his "true temperament".

When the Queen Mother's younger brother arrived, comparing the two, the Scots felt that the low-key Duke of Longueville was more amiable and respectable.

The impetuous Duke of Guise fully explained what is meant by "too much to go too far".After wiping his face a few times, he began to publicize the oppression of Scotland by neighboring countries, criticized how the English had hurt their sisters over the years, and even speculated that Elizabeth, one of the Protestant leaders, had murdered the Catholic Marie de Guise.

This obviously seems to be a matter of provoking conflict instead of mourning.

Of course, Elizabeth's behavior in the past year since she became the throne is indeed abhorrent in the eyes of old church people.The Queen of England passed the discussion in Parliament in 1559, reaffirmed the "Supreme Law" and promulgated the "Unification of Faith Act", which established the status of the Anglican Church, that is, Protestant Anglicanism.Rome has been very dissatisfied with Anglicanism's transformation of Catholic rituals, requiring people to be loyal to the monarch instead of the Pope;

But this time, when the extreme Catholics wanted to set up camp in Scotland to fight the English Protestants again, the Scots, especially the common people, were not very happy.

Their Queen Mary, after returning home, has been calling for peace and trying her best to maintain a stable living environment for everyone; she also distributed production materials, which really gave everyone a good harvest this year.Everyone has just seen a little hope of living and working in peace and contentment, but they are about to be involved in the chaos of war, and they really resist in their hearts.

Even the twenty or so noble gentlemen were somewhat resistant.This time, no matter whether they win or lose, France and England may not be able to provide so many benefits that Mary gave when they confiscated the monastery; moreover, once the war breaks out, the subjects in the territory will inevitably be affected. , I'm afraid I'm going to be in arrears again...

The Scottish side responded somewhat negatively, while their allies were much more active.Due to the death of the Queen Mother, the Protestants in the territory were encouraged by the forces of neighboring countries (in fact, they were not), and the need to protect Queen Mary and Scotland was the reason, the French army was assembled on the Soviet-British border.

Elizabeth of England and her Privy Council, not to be outdone, ordered the army to go north to defend against the enemy.

The two armies confronted each other as they stationed troops to guard the border.Mary first asked her elder brother to send her mother's coffin back to France with the boat, and take him out of the right and wrong circle; then she rushed to the front line and tried her best to mediate in person.

Taking advantage of the prophet, she groped for the bottom line of both sides, and finally achieved the result she wanted.

In August 1560, France, Scotland, and England signed the Treaty of Edinburgh.

The "Treaty of Edinburgh", which was written on July 7 in history, was an "alliance under the city" signed against the background of the defeat of the French army.Now, the war has not officially started, and the political situation in Scotland is also stable.Therefore, although the French and British troops were also evacuated from Scotland, under the pressure of Henry II's help, Mary won more benefits for herself.

In terms of her personal interests, it is simply a complete victory.

First of all, for the safety of England's borders, Scotland cannot have French troops stationed within 20 years.As for the Scottish monarch Francois who has not set foot on the "land", if he comes, he is not allowed to bring French soldiers, but can only be guarded by Scottish natives.

— Oh, Swiss mercenaries are not prohibited.After all, even the most orthodox popes depend on their loyalty.

This means that Queen Mary's authority, in mainland Scotland, will be significantly higher than that of her husband.

The English army is also not allowed to set foot on the land of neighboring countries.In this way, peace in Scotland is extremely guaranteed.

As a condition for reconciliation, despite the hesitation of the Privy Council of England, Elizabeth gritted her teeth and had to make a concession: the Queen of England clearly recognized that Mary Stuart, in theory, also had the right to inherit the English throne.As for how many places the Queen of Scots can be ranked, it remains to be discussed slowly in the future.

Since Elizabeth came to the throne, she has been very taboo to talk about her future successor.The Tudor dynasty is far from having many children and grandchildren. According to Henry VIII's behest, Elizabeth's successors should be his sister's granddaughter, the Gray sisters.But Elizabeth made it clear that she did not like these two blood relatives.Some people in the Privy Council, who are worried about women being in power, prefer the Earl of Huntington (the blood of this monarch can be traced back to Edward III very far away), and even Lord Darnley, who has the same grandmother (grandmother) as Mary.

Although these "successors" seem to have mediocre qualifications, Mary Stuart, who is "intelligent and has the appearance of a wise monarch", is a "foreigner" after all.Elizabeth and her servants were unwilling to think about it unless it was absolutely necessary.

But now, the powerful France behind Mary has put tremendous pressure on them.The shadow of the local land being burned by the flames of war made the English court think twice, and reluctantly recognized Mary as a "descendant of Tudor".

Mary knew very well that emperors have been suspicious since ancient times when it comes to heirs; Kangxi, for example, finally secretly established a crown prince.Elizabeth in history did not decide on a name until almost the end of her life, when she witnessed the death of her close relatives.What the Queen of England issued now is only a little better than a blank check-she can completely appoint someone other than Mary in the future.The reason why the members of the Privy Council did not insist on it was because of His Majesty's idea of ​​getting married and having children.

Mary almost snickered: Elizabeth's desire for power is top-notch, and she is absolutely unwilling to marry and share power; on this question of successors, she will spend a long time with her courtiers.And as long as she enters the official list of heirs, she will have more legal basis for future operations, and she will be one step closer to the throne of England.

On the day the treaty was signed, Mary held the documents and was overjoyed.

Upon seeing this, Melville, a Scottish diplomat, reminded the Queen in a low voice, don't just be self-satisfied, and remember to accept the hand kiss from the other party's envoy—even though William Cecil, who attended the peace talks on behalf of Elizabeth, had accompanied Somerset The Duke of Tate fought in Scotland, and he was still an out-and-out Protestant.

Mary certainly didn't miss an opportunity to show her grace.She greeted Cecil kindly and gently, and she couldn't help but greedily thought that it would be great if she could take Elizabeth's best assistant and chief minister of state under her command—he was one of the founders of the "golden age" of the Tudor dynasty Woolen cloth.

However, it was not easy to win over this gloomy Lord Cecil.Mary heard that he was a firm believer, disliked the complicated etiquette of the Catholic Church, worried about women ruling, and hoped to find a husband for his master to help.Most troublesome, he is a staunch patriot, most wary of foreign intervention in England...

Sending everyone away, recalling Cecil's defensive eyes these days, Mary is a little upset.But she quickly regained her composure.

Poaching people's corners is not an easy task.

And throughout the negotiation and contact process, she has tried her best to demonstrate her philosophy of governing the country - secular supremacy, separation of church and state, and tolerance without going to extremes.If Cecil really believes in "putting country first", at least, you should agree with her on this point.

As for the double unfavorable status of "foreign queen", she could never change it.

So, whether or not he can be won... Let's just let it go.

Of course, Mary was still happy to drive a wedge between the monarch and his subjects, since they were already a little unhappy anyway.For example, she found out that Elizabeth, who claimed to be unmarried, was traveling with her favorite Robert Dudley in the rear while sending Cecil to peace talks, and granted him various privileges, which virtually weakened Cecil's power. For example, she heard that Elizabeth was very disappointed with Cecil because the Treaty of Edinburgh failed to retake Calais for England.

In fact, Mary is not familiar with divorce schemes, so she only sent people to exaggerate one or two in private.On the surface, she kept restraint and praised Cecil and the hostess from time to time for trusting each other. Dudley was very caring to Elizabeth...with sincere words and awe-inspiring righteousness.

Although it is the most superficial method, it is hoped that it will have some effect and arouse the internal conflicts in the English court a little bit; more or less, it will weaken the strength of another queen.

After all, no matter how harmoniously she and Elizabeth "get along" and even become "one of" her heirs, in fact, they are still rivals on guard against each other.

The delicate state between the two of them will not change easily.

After all, before any of them disappeared, Mary and Elizabeth were monarchs with their own standpoints, neighboring independent "hostile" countries.

Mary, who is nearly ten years younger, looks young, but she may not be able to survive Elizabeth in the future, and "let it go" to inherit the throne of England-in history, the queen who loves heavy metal cosmetics such as lead powder is especially able to endure; In an era of few doctors and few medicines, the [-]th birthday is only a few months away.

Moreover, the Queen of England in this time and space may not really insist on not marrying for life.Once she gave birth, Mary might not have a real chance of succeeding.

"Dear sister" silently directed at herself... In theory, Mary really didn't blame her.How can you allow others to sleep soundly in the place where you lie on the couch!Elizabeth may not necessarily want to overthrow the Scottish regime, but the two countries are crowded on the same island, and there are differences in religious beliefs, which will inevitably lead to various disputes.Moreover, it is impossible for Elizabeth to sit back and watch Scotland grow.Just before the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh, Mary found out that the secret envoy of the Queen of England had indeed met with Stuart's rival, Douglas, and Lord Hamilton.

Think about her capable generals, Cecil, Walsingham, etc... It would be too dangerous to be neighbors with that "insidious" queen all the time.

But it is not easy to overthrow the regime next door.

The Queen Stuart in history obviously lost her head because of this, so what should she do?

Another late night.Mary, who couldn't sleep, got up, stared at the flickering candlelight, analyzed the current situation, and listed the sharp weapons against Elizabeth in her mind.

Ahem, it really is a "modern soul" at the level of a night owl. The more midnight, the more thoughts spring up.Right now, she has ignited the flame of excitement of the careerist again, and she is even more energetic.

She made a plan before... Now, just make a list based on the current situation and her own "memory", and rank them one, two, three, four, five.

——Although you have to use codes, it’s enough not to let other people understand.

The first, Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, had declared his marriage to Anne Boleyn annulled.Elizabeth, whose illegitimate daughter is also a Protestant, could easily be questioned by the Pope of Rome as to the legitimacy of her succession.However, the countries have now recognized her legal status, and the monarchs quickly backtracked, which would damage their authority; not to mention, Elizabeth also recognized Mary's right of inheritance.

So this one should be crossed out.

The second article, if Elizabeth suppresses Catholicism too much, and an old Christian uprising breaks out in England, it may be feasible to support her own supremacy.Queen Mary in history also once became a signboard for the riots of Old Christians in England...

However, England under Cecil's management is generally relatively stable.Unless the real assassination of Elizabeth is successful, these fights will not shake the foundation of the Tudor royal family.

Third, women's reputations are weaker than men's, and they are more likely to be opposed because of injustice.The real Mary Stuart was suspected of assassinating her second husband, Darnley, and was rebelled and even deposed by the Lords of Scotland.Elizabeth's favorite Robert Dudley is also married.Although Dudley's wife is currently alive, she will probably die due to an "accident" in the near future-there are always many people who use this to throw dirty water on the Queen.And she is partial to Dudley, which is also prone to factional fighting.If you want to use it, you may be able to overcome Elizabeth's rule.

Fourth, due to factors such as trade and religious beliefs, the relationship between England and Spain will become more and more tense.The Armada of Philip II has "visited" England many times in history.If the instigation is correct, in addition to France, Mary may also use the power of Spain, as the heir or regent, to seize Elizabeth's real power in advance one day in the future?

After thinking about it, Mary thought about the first plan, and the last three plans are all feasible.It would be best if she could plan in secret and catch the next door by surprise.

It's just that time cannot be delayed, and she needs to make arrangements as soon as possible.Elizabeth has the assistance of Cecil, and has always been better at using parliament to govern. The longer she is in office, the more stable her rule will be, and the less likely she will lose the support of the people and the interest groups behind her.

While dealing with England, Mary must ensure her own stability, well-trained troops, and abundant logistics... Only in this way can this small country with few people become a solid backing for her plot against Britain.

The so-called blacksmithing requires one's own strength.

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Since the signing of the "Treaty of Edinburgh", the French army has gradually withdrawn from Scotland in accordance with the regulations.

Earl Montgomery did not leave.He bid farewell to most of his compatriots, and then stayed in the Stuart court as an ambassador, accompanied by several other fellows who admired the Queen and loved to engage in literature and art.

As for Boswell, he became the commander-in-chief of the kingdom as a matter of course—as if he had placed a thick whip in front of those lords who had just eaten carrots.

Mary also wanted to completely cut off the private soldiers of the powerful and eliminate any risk of backyard fires.But she knew very well that the effect of simply promulgating a decree might not be ideal—who would easily give up their weapons.

Think about the history of China. In the Western Han Dynasty, thanks to Emperor Jing’s victory in the battle of cutting down the vassals, Emperor Wu had the opportunity to implement the Tweet Order [Note [-]] to ensure the strong and weak branches.Therefore, for the time being, Mary can only cultivate the elite, and use the growing direct army to deter and suppress those lords who are often restless.

Because there has not been actual combat, the "advanced system" discussed by Mary and Boswell has not yet achieved significant results.However, since the precise investment in the local metallurgical industry and several military orders, the morale of the guards has risen a bit.

Mary occasionally hopes that if the twenty or so lords have the consciousness of "arms race", she can take the opportunity to drag down some of them. , is definitely the most sufficient.

For the most part, though, Mary didn't want a civil war.Indigenous wars, even if they can deal with dissidents and are not unprofitable, are often time-consuming, expensive and disruptive to production; if possible, avoid them.

In short, the Queen of Scots, who is moving towards the authoritarian (;;) system of centralization, has taken great pains in how to weaken the strength of the remaining feudal lords.

Fortunately, she was born in a "good time": since Columbus discovered the New World, the colonists mined countless gold and silver from the Americas, and the currency gradually penetrated the economy of Western Europe, thus gradually shaking the foundation of the traditional system.

——Therefore, Mary, who returned home with a full 50 cash at the beginning, did not re-mint coins for the time being; instead, relying on her "confidence" in the current French currency, she allowed the livres to flow into the market, waiting for an opportunity to promote the growth of the Scottish economy Monetization.

Mary knew that as the commodity economy became more developed, serfs found more channels to freedom, and they would no longer be bound by the land, so they tried to escape and go away.This will force the lord to reduce tax burdens, relax jurisdiction, and prevent the continued loss of labor.Moreover, when monetary land rent began to replace serf labor, the "administrative power" of the lord seemed to be a money transaction; the lord gradually became a "simple" landlord, which further disintegrated the original feudal order.

And the principle that the economic base determines the superstructure, the production of a rich country and a technologically powerful country, Mary has memorized it a lot in her previous life.After all, there is hope for increased income and military expenditures—in order to awe the lords, for national defense, and for future planning; the money to support the army cannot be saved, and it is likely to increase a lot.

Military spending is one aspect.On the other hand, with the development of production, the common people live a comfortable life, have hope of living, and have more private property, so naturally they are not so easy to be incited.That way, regardless of the rebellion of the lords or religious conflicts in the territory, the possibility of causing great chaos will be reduced.

Do you want to develop the economy... It would be a waste if the woman who traveled through time and space landed in a different time and space, if she didn't take advantage of her prophetic advantage and engage in advanced production and construction.Mary is considering whether to introduce potatoes first, or to focus on the luxury industry—the manufacture of mercury mirrors?

In this era, the super food potato has traveled across the ocean and came to Europe from the Americas.It's just that the potatoes are still in the pots of the Spaniards, just for viewing.According to real history, it took until the seventeenth century for French agronomists to use it for large-scale farming and solve the problem of famine.If it is carefully collected and cultivated, this kind of crop should be very suitable for promotion in the Scottish Highlands.Mary has high hopes for this.

As for the manufacture of mercury mirrors, Mary learned that a number of factories had been set up in France and were preparing to start mass production.However, Scotland is now starting to follow up, and she still needs to carefully calculate the input-output ratio.

It's a pity that the start-up funds are insufficient, and it seems a bit difficult to grasp both hands.

Mary rubbed her eyes under the candlelight, thinking, she should discuss it with local Tong Maitland before making a decision.

It was night, and the other three Marys took turns to rest. Miss Livingston, who was the least talkative, observed her words and brought honey water for the queen.Mary took a sip and felt some regrets: American coffee and cocoa, East Asian tea, how long will it take her to introduce and plant them?

Alas, this queen is worthy, even if she is not busy, it is enough to work hard.When will we be able to enter the stage of enjoying and lying down...

However, it's like playing a business strategy game; every small progress on "Zhengtu" will bring her a special sense of accomplishment.

Therefore, even though there is some hard work, Mary still enjoys it.

In particular, at present, the start is good, and all the processes are basically under their own control.

——Marie, who is familiar with historical scripts, occasionally has the fanciful self-confidence of "with the strategy in hand, I have the world".

At this time, the visit of an unexpected guest interrupted Mary's reverie.

It was a secret envoy sent by France who came here overnight.His dictation is no different from the content in the brief secret letter:

"The crown prince was assassinated, please return quickly."