Isabel Walton fulfilled her duties as a Privy Counsellor perfectly. In parliament, she simply put forward her own sincere proposals. Therefore, the decision remained in the hands of the Duke of Richmond and his retainers.

Although she truthfully explained to the crowd the facts about how Henry VIII aspired to royal power, most of the people present were skeptical of her views. Among these people, Beard Jr.'s father, Beard Sr., was one of them.

Half a year ago, Joman Beard Smith became a retainer in the Duke's palace at the persuasion of his eldest son, Beard Jr., and his family. Given his previous preference for the blacksmith's profession, Beard Sr. oversaw the building of all weapons, armor, iron tools, and farm implements in the Duke's palace after becoming Henry's retainer.

Isabel's words made old Beard feel unbelievable. After a long silence behind the gentlemen and Yoman, the burly figure of old Beard appeared in front of Henry and the advisor.

Old Beard saluted Henry and said, "Your Highness, I do not understand what Your Excellency has said. ”

Henry took a sip of a glass of wine and said, "Old Beard, you can say whatever comes to mind, it's council time." ”

"Yes, Your Highness." Old Beard turned his gaze to Isabel to Henry's left, and said slowly, "Your Excellency, you said that the king is in order to get more royal power. But what I see is that the king is ruthlessly destroying the Catholic Church, destroying our faith, and even the monasteries are being dissolved. I don't understand why the king used this means to get his royal power? ”

Isabel felt that what she had just said was in vain, and that these people did not seem to understand what their king wanted. Looking at her friend Beard's father Jr., she gave the simplest example of all and said, "Old Beard, can you tell me what has the most in the abbey?" ”

"Well, let me think, it should be the land. I know that monasteries have the right to receive donations, and that most of these donations are land. ”

"Good. So, do you think that land is also wealth? ”

"Land is, of course, wealth. Otherwise, I and most of the people here would not be gentlemen and jomans. ”

"Old Beard, do you think that these lands in the territory of the kingdom belong to the king of England, or to the Catholic monasteries?"

"Your Excellency, I think... It should belong to a monastery, right? ”

Isabel sneered: "Are you sure? Why, then, did the lands of monasteries subordinate to the Holy See appear in the kingdom? Or is this land under our feet not the Kingdom of England, but just a diocese of the Holy See in the west of Europe? ”

Old Beard was momentarily speechless, and Isabel continued: "Economically, the Holy See not only occupies a great deal of land in the kingdom, but also tithes the people of the kingdom and levies the bishopric of England for the first year. In politics, the divine right is higher than the secular right, and it has the highest judicial power of the church. In terms of culture, the Bible and a large number of books were written in Latin, which only the upper nobility and clergy could understand, and they enjoyed absolute control over culture. Old Beard, can you explain to me why the Holy See has so many privileges? ”

When she had finished, several gentlemen and Yoman who were eager to jump out of the country quietly shut their mouths again. Baron Haswell, who had a vested interest in having bought a large amount of cheap monastic land from the king, turned his gaze elsewhere. He only hoped that old Beard would not come to the aid of a parishioner at this time.

There was a long silence in the living room. After a parchy Isabel, after taking a few large sips of wine, a tall gentleman stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency, in any case, you cannot change the fact that the King has destroyed our faith. ”

Sir Augustine and Sir Alex Ferguson, standing on one side, could not bear to see Isabel, who looked a little tired, once again stand up to speak for their lord. Sir Augustine walked up to Henry, saluted solemnly, and said, "Your Highness, it is now time for dinner, is it time to end the council?" ”

Henry, who had long wanted to end this senseless and nerve-wracking meeting, immediately stood up and said, "Gentlemen, this is the end of today's council, and the time for the next council is set for ......"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Isabel staring at him. Isabel shook her head and said gently, "Your Highness, please let me finish speaking, okay?" ”

Isabel then said to the gentleman and others who had just asked the question: "Actually, the king is not destroying our faith, he is only separating our faith from Roman Catholicism. ”

"Separated? What do you mean, Your Excellency? ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, Protestantism has largely retained the teachings and rituals of the Catholic Church, with the only difference being that the king has replaced the Pope as head of the Church of England."

"Your Excellency, how do you explain the promulgation of the Ten Points?"

"With regard to the promulgation of the Ten Points, I admit that this is an overly radical approach by the King in his reforms. However, I believe that time will make the king change his mind. ”

"What if the king doesn't change his mind? Your Excellency, you should be well aware that the king has married three queens in order to obtain a male heir. ”

"Sir, I can tell you that the purpose of Mr. Althope's trip to the north is to change the king's mind."

The gentleman thought about it and said, "Your Excellency, do you mean the 'Prayer for Grace' campaign he mentioned?" ”

Isabel nodded, and said, "Yes, this movement is nothing but an outburst of Mr. Althope's exploitation of the spiritual injury and discomfort caused by the Reformation to the traditional people of the North, as well as the long-accumulated dissatisfaction with secular society. ”

"Your Excellency, if we take part in this 'Prayer for Grace' campaign, will the king cancel all reforms and punish the reformers?"

"Sir, I don't think that's likely. Perhaps, the nobles, squires and populace who participated in the campaign would have hundreds or thousands of heads cut off by the king. ”

"This ...... How is this possible? This is to maintain the Catholic faith order, and to ......" The gentleman was about to continue, when he inadvertently heard several dry coughs from the young royal duke, who was extremely dissatisfied.

Everyone present fell silent again, all looking at their lord. Henry glanced at the crowd and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's council. ”

After speaking, he looked at Baron Haswell Oliver McGuinness again and said, "Lord Haswell, are you interested in attending the dinner at the Duke's Palace today?" ”

Oliver walked up to Henry, and said in a tone of respect and admiration for the Duke, "It is my honor to be able to attend the Duke's dinner. ”

As the crowd left the parlor, Isabel walked with old Beard. At this time, from the expressions of the two, the previous feeling of tense confrontation could no longer be seen, and old Beard said with a smile: "Your Excellency, your eloquence really impresses me. I wonder how much you know about the situation of the Roman Church in the kingdom. ”