At 8 a.m. on September 28, Isabelle, the eldest daughter of Baron Walton I, came to Sharif Hatton Castle as usual, and as soon as she entered her office room, she was invited by the valet Eugene to the Duke of Richmond's study. As soon as she entered the study, Isabel felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere, and when she looked at the Duke's face, she seemed to have understood something.

The Duke of Richmond walked over to her and sat down before he spoke, "Isabel, you are right. This invasion of the western frontier by the Highlanders, His Majesty only intended to leave the Captain of the Guard, Sir Thomas, and his border troops to deal with. ”

Isabel glanced at him and nodded, "So, Your Majesty doesn't think that this invasion of the Highlanders will cause great losses to the North or the Kingdom?" ”

"Actually, Your Majesty... There was no money left to hire more Burgundians (Italians and the Holy Romanians) to fight in the north. ”

The Duke of Richmond's words once again confirmed the fact that Henry VIII had sent troops to France and Scotland at the same time in the last years of his reign, and that the years of war had resulted in military spending reaching a staggering £3.2 million. Although Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, confiscated church estates, and auctioned off a large part of them to obtain some income, he was forced to devalue the currency and borrow heavily from Antwerp's financial markets for military spending.

Henry VIII could not afford to hire foreign soldiers to fight in the north, so the battle had to rely on aristocratic volunteers such as Baron Walton, Sir Ernest, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Sir William Ingleby, as well as the border troops subordinate to Sir Thomas, to resist the Scots.

Seeing that the Duke of Richmond's face was full of sorrow for the lack of money, Isabel comforted him, "There is no money to hire the Burgundians, and we have a way to fight this battle." Henry, what else did Your Majesty say to you? ”

The Duke of Richmond turned his head to look at her, "Your Majesty has agreed that I will command this battle. However, I was not allowed to go to the front line of the battle. And, let me tell Sir Thomas to report to him and to the Commission after the war what had happened. ”

"Your Majesty is afraid that you will be injured or ......" Isha did not say any more, but thought of her battle plan and whispered, "Henry, now I have a solution. If it can be confirmed that James V is coming to the border to direct the battle, I intend to go deep into the territory of the Highlanders and capture James V. This will put an end to the fight. ”

"That's how you can't afford to hire Burgundians to fight? Isabel, I... I don't approve of it, you're risking your life! ”

"Henry, I have heard that Sir Thomas has only recruited a few hundred men to fight. If by then, the Highlanders have thousands or tens of thousands of people to invade the North, what better way can you defeat the Highlanders? ”

The Duke of Richmond frowned, gritted his teeth, stood up, and paced back and forth. Isabel didn't want to put too much pressure on him, and added, "Henry, my family and some people I know are ready to volunteer for battle, so that we can make up for the lack of numbers in some of the army. ”

The Duke stopped and looked at her, "Isabel, don't say any more. A military conference will be convened at once, and I will decide your approach when I hear Sir Thomas's report. ”

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At 10 a.m., the Commission again held an emergency military meeting in the castle hall. At the meeting, Sir Thomas reported to the Chairman and members of the Committee on the Scottish Army during this period, and noted that Lord Robert Maxwell, the Scottish Border Guard, had amassed a large number of troops at Dumfries and Lochmaburn.

Sir then brought out a map based on what he had learned over the years of garrisoning the border, and placed it on the table. As the members stood up and looked at the map, Sir pointed to a point northwest of the Great Wall on the Anglo-Soviet border and said aloud: "Your Highlanders, Excellencies, it takes only three hours for the cavalry of the Highlanders to reach Carlyle Castle from Dumfries. ”

The Duke of Richmond, who walked up to Sir Heights, did not speak, but looked at a circle northeast of Dumfries, "Sir, what about Lochmaburn?" I've heard that Lochmainben is just a small village, why would the Highlanders put their army there? ”

Then he pointed to the two closest places on the map to Carlyle Castle and threw out a question, "Sir, if the Highlanders are going to attack, they should also put their troops closer to us, Annon and Gretnagreen, right?" ”

Sir Thomas felt that the opportunity had come, and after calmly glancing at the nobles and knights, he said, "Your Highness, Excellencies, my spy has received reliable information that James V will come to the western frontier. And, he'll have his camp in Lochmeburn! ”

"Is James V really coming? Sir, is the news true? The Earl of Westmoreland was a little unconvinced.

"Yes, Your Excellency. As Your Highness has just said, the Highlanders could have placed their armies closer to us. Sir Thomas looked at the Count.

"So, sir, do you have any thoughts now?" After everyone sat down, the Duke of Richmond was still standing beside the chief of the border guard and watching each other.

"Your Highness, I intend to take my unit of quasi-lancers to attack Lochmeben and capture James V. If all went well, the army of the highlanders would have retreated without a fight. ”

The Captain of the Guard thought almost exactly the same as Isabel's suggestion, and the Duke of Richmond looked at the other man in astonishment and then at his private secretary, "Miss Isabel, come to me." ”

"Yes, Your Highness." Isabel promised to walk up to the duke at once, "Your Highness, do you have any orders?" ”

The Duke of Richmond glanced at the Guard, "Sir, do you know my private secretary?" ”

Sir Thomas looked at Isabelle, who was dressed in knight's casual clothes and had a handguard and sword at her waist, and nodded, "Your Highness, I know something about Miss Isabel. When His Majesty came to the north last summer, he summoned Mademoiselle alone in your castle and praised her elegance and wisdom. ”

The Duke of Richmond nodded with satisfaction, "Sir, do you know that after the first military meeting, my private secretary came up with the kind of adventurous idea you just had. ”

Sir glanced at the elegant Isabel with a look of surprise, and then smiled lightly, "Your Highness, now I believe that His Majesty appreciates Miss Isabel's wisdom. ”

Sir Thomas was full of hope that the Duke of Richmond would agree to his idea. As a result, the Duke ruthlessly extinguished his adventurous battle plan with a basin of cold water.