Wanli Xinming

Chapter 274 Confidential
"Your Majesty, the Earl of Chester asks to see you."

"Let him in."

On December 1583, [-], two months after the launch of the fleet to Europe at Tianjin Port, Elizabeth Tudor was in front of the glass window of the Queen's drawing room at Whitehall Palace, looking out at the snow-covered outside. grass.

Because she has never been married, the last Queen of the Tudor Dynasty looked a little sad.The eyes drooped downward immediately after the upward arc ended, making her piercing eyes seem to be enclosed in a triangular frame.

The nasolabial folds under the side of the nose are also very deep, after all, the queen is 50 years old.In order to maintain England's status as both right and left, and to preserve the achievements of the Protestant Reformation, she has not married under the tremendous pressure from the ruling and opposition parties. Now, except for Philip II, the European royal family is very serious about the marriage of the "Virgin Queen". Things have no expectations.

When the Earl of Chester entered the reception room under the guidance of the court attendants, he saw the Queen's back: she was standing in front of the glass window with her back straight.The waistband made of whalebone is hidden behind the red and yellow silk, and two curves that are no longer attractive are drawn on the hem of the intricately patterned golden skirt.The light of the winter sunset shone through the glass windows, shrouding the Queen in a red halo.

Robert Dudley looked at the back without speaking for a long time.In his memory, this scene seemed familiar: on a winter day 25 years ago, at Hampton Court Palace, the Queen also turned her back to herself in front of the window and revealed to him: "Rob, I think I don't Will marry, and the illegitimate queen is better off marrying England than making England her dowry."

At that time, the woman who had just been crowned king still had a glorious appearance that made Robert Dudley shudder.But at that time, he was so smug that he didn't hear the Queen's overtones. He just bowed and replied, "I will always be your shield and sword, and I will definitely marry you."

Today, every time Robert recalls this conversation, he regrets his stupidity and indiscretion at the time.In the third year after the Queen's accession, he blindly believed that he had Elizabeth in full control, so he pushed his first wife Amy down the stairs and broke her neck.

Later events proved the Queen's foresight: the nobles rallied and were extremely resolute against Robert Dudley's marriage to the Queen.Although this murder ended in an "accident", the Queen's close ministers, headed by William Cecil, made Robert disgraced and made the Queen promise that she would never marry Dudley.

"She's the queen after all," thought Dudley.Although her room is next door to the Queen's bedroom, the Queen does not fully hand over power to her lover.Although he called her "my eyes", hidden behind the pampering eyes, there was a light called "suspicious" that flashed from time to time, making Dudley always abide by the duty of a courtier.

Although the two shared the same bed last night, he still knelt down on one knee at this time and visited the Queen with the courtesy of an earl.The co-owner of England and Ireland, the titular king of France, turned and put his hand in Dudley's so that he could kiss the back of his own.

There was a lot of powder on her face, and Dudley was cranky with disgust.Perhaps because the fireplace was burning hot, he felt the Queen's palms a little wet.

It was this hand that was stroking his still-tight skin last night, but now it doesn't have any extra movement, and the sweaty palm reveals only the coldness.

"Dudley, what is Cecil asking me to do?"

"Your Majesty, the emperor of Sirius has replied."

The queen exhaled a long breath. "It appears that Mr. John Newberley has accomplished his mission."

"No, John Newberley just delivered the letter, and he himself remains detained in Goa. The letter was found in china 'ordered' by Lord Cecil, and luckily it did not sink in In the rough seas of the Cape of Good Hope. At the same time, we should be thankful that the Portuguese did not check the shipment carefully."

The queen did not rush to read the letter from the east, but asked an irrelevant question: "Does Lord Cecil have a merchant ship going to the east?"

Dudley hesitated, wondering if he would take this opportunity to put some eye drops on Cecil.But he immediately dismissed the idea: "No. This is an offer sent to Cecil by a Seris merchant in Malacca on a Portuguese merchant ship. They say Cecil asked someone in the Roman embassy to buy the shipment. porcelain."

"Cecile didn't know about it."

"Yes, Your Majesty. He paid the Portuguese merchant a fortune for it."

"Dudley, from this point of view, our war with Spain is hard to avoid for the sake of more wealth."

"Yes. Senator Drake's fleet also returned to Plymouth. They had a good harvest in the New World, about three hundred pounds of gold and fourteen thousand pounds of silver--that Spanish chopper must be jumping, haha."

The queen's face suddenly became lively, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.She happily got up from her chair and walked briskly around the reception room.

"That's a lot of money, Dudley. I can take seventy percent, maybe two hundred pounds of gold and ten thousand pounds of silver. Maybe, I should build another palace, Whitehall is too dark, it makes me feel Depressed."

Dudley smiled, and the golden mustache rose as the Queen's mood improved. "No, Your Majesty. I think you should put this money into John Hawkins' shipyard and let him continue building new warships."

"Maybe Drake's half can be given to his cousin, and I can stay a little."

"Haha, Your Majesty. Mr. Drake may do this, but John Hawkins will never use Derek's money to build a fleet for you, he will only give Derek some new ships with something to make him happy. guy."

When Dudley said this, he used the word cock, a pun about "rising", which made the queen in a good mood laugh out loud.

Before Dudley could continue to show off his humor, the Queen immediately restrained her smile and said, "Robert, take out the letter from Emperor Sirius."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Robert Dudley walked to the door of the reception room, opened the door, and explained a few words to the attendant standing outside.Immediately, a court attendant carried the unpacked and inspected items on a silver tray, sent them into the reception room, and placed the tray on the table in front of the queen.

There were several items on the tray: two kraft paper envelopes that had been torn from their seals, and two exquisite wooden boxes of oriental lacquerware, one large and one small, the large one measuring a foot square and the small one the size of two palms.

"Ha. A gift from the emperor! He seems to be a very cultivated gentleman! Let me see what's inside."

The queen first admired the lid of the orchid pattern made of the wrong silver, then grabbed the silver button and opened the lid.There were a few sheets of paper in the box. After removing the papers, they found four small porcelain jars as thin as cicada wings. The gaps between the jars were filled with golden silk to prevent them from colliding with each other.

"What's in this jar?" the Queen asked, taking a thumb-sized black cube from the jar.

"I've heard of this kind of thing, and the merchants who go to the East call it 'Tie'. 'TEA', Your Majesty. A drink from Sirius - it needs to be brewed with boiling water."

"I think I'll give it a try. Are you sure it's not Aztec bitter beans? Maybe we can eat it when we cook it," the queen said, laughing again.

"No, those pieces of paper are instructions on how to make this drink - His Majesty the Emperor is very attentive."

"Okay, put them aside for now. Let's take a look at this." With that, the Queen opened it and took a small box.

"My God, is this a flat mirror?" After lifting the lid, the Queen Tudor was greeted directly by a glass mirror with sparkling silver - it was inlaid on the inside of the box lid, making the queen's pale face slender. Completely displayed in front of her.

The Queen's lips trembled with excitement, "God, this is so clear! There are no bubbles, it's completely smooth! How did the Seris do it? It's a thousand times better than a mirror in Venice!"

Dudley's nostrils spewed heat, as if the queen was making a fuss.But he can also understand the Queen's somewhat exaggerated statement: he also thinks the mirror is a hundred times better than the one sold by the Venetians. The words "hundred" and "thousand" have the same number of syllables, but the queen is a woman after all, so it is excusable to use a larger order of magnitude.

"Here are lipsticks, silk pads, brushes and brow pencils, and nail clippers - these are small gifts from Emperor Sirius for your makeup."

"Ah! God! He's such a lovely lad! He's a young man right? Oh, God, he's so sweet. Robert, I think I like him very, very much because he knows what I need most. ."

"No, Your Majesty, you don't need it, your beauty needs no decoration." After saying this, Dudley felt a little unnaturally nauseated, "but these things are very convenient and practical. You should look at what he gave you. What's in the letter?"

"Her Royal Highness Queen Tudor, Protector of England, Ireland, and France:
I have received your letter.Because of the obstruction of the Spanish Empire, Mr. John Newberley was detained in Goa and did not come to the capital to wait for him. I also know that.A few days ago, I have issued an order to the Governor of Burma, asking him to negotiate with the Goa authorities and release Mr. Newberley to Beijing immediately, but I do not have high expectations for success.

Although you are far away in the ocean, the special envoy came to court with the letter, and Mu Hua's sincerity and obedience, I deeply appreciate it.

In the letter you entreat you to do business with Sirius, and ask me for permission to trade, which I fully allow.After receiving my letter, you can send an official mission to meet me and discuss the details.

This winter, I will also send a mission to visit the Holy See and conduct a goodwill visit in Europa.The Queen is requested to provide the necessary facilities for the safety of the mission and the passage of its members in Europa, as far as she can.

I heard news from Goa that Portugal has been annexed by Spain.Its overseas territories have been fully owned by Felipe II.The sea route between East and West has been completely mastered by Spain.

This is totally intolerable to me.Malaga, Luzon, Aceh, Johor and other countries were all vassals of Seris, and were successively occupied by Portugal and Spain.As Emperor, I must protect these vassals and completely expel Spain from the South and West.

At the same time, Spain's annexation of Portugal and the Netherlands, as well as its threats to the Holy Roman Empire and the Europa countries such as France, are illegal and immoral, and will definitely be opposed by the Europa countries.

The possession of undivided lands by the King of Spain will have unbearable consequences for his country and himself.

I enclose two gifts from me to you. Wang Qi only received them, and I am fond of them.

Yubi, February 11th, [-]th year of Wanli. "

There are two copies of the letter, one in Chinese and stamped with the emperor's private seal.The other was translated into Latin without the seal, just for the Queen to read.After all, even if there are people who know Chinese characters in Europa at this time, they can only be in the Holy See, and the Queen has been expelled from Catholicism more than ten years ago.

The letter went so fast, it only lasted nine months.Thanks to the Portuguese merchant ship being fully loaded at Manlaga, no time was wasted on other routes other than the necessary shelter and resupply berths.

During Queen Tudor's reading of the letter, Dudley clearly felt her mood fluctuate violently.When she put down the letter, he looked at the queen with questioning eyes.

"His Excellency Earl Dudley, immediately notify Lord Cecil to take action and make those who have come into contact with this letter keep their mouths shut. If the Emperor of Sirius initiates an operation to expel Spain in the east, transfer the main force of the Armada away. Europe, here's our chance. Please keep this letter top secret in England!"

(End of this chapter)