In order to dispel the concerns of her father, Baron Walton, and her own worries, Isabel had to take out a sneak attack battle plan that was still in the making and had not yet been fully formulated. First, he borrowed a quill pen and a piece of letter paper from his father, and then drew a sketch of the island of Great Britain on the letterhead that he vaguely remembered.

Then, on the south side of the island, a Plymouth town was roughly outlined, and a circle was drawn in the north-east corner of England to represent the market town of Tweed Berwick, which was part of Northumberland (the word market town originated in the Middle Ages, it was a town that was distinguished from a village or city, and the main purpose of the market town was to provide goods and services to the surrounding area). Finally, to the northwest of the market town are the Scottish city of Edinburgh, the Gulf of Forth, the town of Stirling on the west bank of the River Forth and the river – a medieval town and an ancient borough town that originally surrounded Stirling Castle.

When she had finished drawing the sketch, she placed it in front of Baron Walton and pointed to it with the quill in her hand, "Father, as a first step I will write to Captain Hawkins in Plymouth, and ask the captain to send a good crew to sail my 'Nemesis' along the coastline to the North Sea, and finally to Tweed Berwick. ”

Isabel explained, drawing on the letterhead a roughly route from Plymouth to the Scottish city of Edinburgh. Baron Walton looked at the sketch very carefully, nodding as he looked at it, "Child, will your merchant ship be in any danger when it passes through the English Channel?" ”

"No, father. My ship was a very ordinary small Spanish escort ship, and there were many of these armed merchant ships for business in the seas outside the Antwerp market in Europe. In addition, the naval fleet of the French would not easily attack civilian merchant ships. ”

"Well, what's next?"

"While the Nemesis was sailing towards Tweed Berwick, I was able to take the sergeants, weapons, horses, food, and drink overland to Northumberland and finally to Tweed Berwick. There we joined my merchant ship and took a boat from the sea to land near Stirling Castle of the Scots. ”

Baron Walton didn't speak, and after Isabel finished speaking, he stretched out a finger and pointed to the city of Edinburgh on the sketch, and looked at his daughter who was very close to him with some hesitation, "Son, the fleet of the Scots should be guarding here, what will you do if you meet them?" Fight, or evacuate? ”

Isabel circled the name of the city of Edinburgh with a quill pen, and recounted more rigorously, "Father, I think you must have heard of the battle of your Highness at sea in the Scottish Wars. So, I don't think that the fleet of the Scots, having lost the flagship of James V, will no longer pose a great threat to us. ”

"Kid, that's your assumption, isn't it?" Baron Walton leaned back in his chair, squinted at the sketch on the table, and said, "Son, you only have one merchant ship, and I don't think your ship is a match for the Scottish fleet. ”

Isabel patiently raised her head to look at the baron and smiled shallowly, "Father, the various weapons on the flagship of James V are only half of the king's flagship 'Mary Rose', and I do not believe that the remaining fleet ships of the Scots can defeat my armed merchant ships." ”

"Son, you haven't spoken of your armed merchant ships since you came back from the South. Well, do you have a lot of weapons on board? Baron Walton couldn't help but be curious about Isabel's ships.

"Well, there are 18 guns of various kinds on board. In addition, the crew's weapons were Spanish arquebuses, sabers, longbows, tomahawks, and bells. ”

"18 guns? My God, does a merchant ship used for trade need to hold so many cannons? ”

The amount of weapons loaded on Isabel's "Nemesis", the size and displacement of the entire merchant ship after more than 30 years, was only a super-small galleon, and it was not enough to shake some of the 1,200-ton behemoths used in the Spaniards' treasure fleet. However, in the time and circumstances of 1544, her armed merchant ships were more than capable of damaging James V's flagship.

"Father, now you can stop worrying about me, can you?" Isabel said lightly. Either way, she wasn't going to tell Baron Walton a few stories about her role as a pirate in the Caribbean. After all, that kind of pirate experience is unlikely to be associated with an elegant, intelligent, and courteous aristocratic lady.

Baron Walton, seeing that she did not go into further detail, turned his attention to the medieval town of Stirling, looked at the name of the town on the sketch, and asked gently, "If the Queen and Queen Mother of the Sugers had not been hiding in Stirling Castle, would you have led your men along the road on land to search for them?" ”

Isabel pondered for a moment, then pointed to the large land to the north of the Bay of Forth and said, "We will continue to search the coast along the coast for every important town of the Scots and the royal borough of the Scots. There is also St Andrews, the religious mecca of the Scottish people. ”

At this time, the valet who was waiting outside the door came in and reported, "Your Highness, Your Highness has invited you and your wife to a luncheon. ”

Baron Walton nodded in agreement, and after letting the valet leave, he asked Isabel an important question, "Son, do you need to explain your method to the other committee members?" ”

Isabel looked directly at her father across the desk and said, "Father, I don't think I need to. Just as the Eastern Border Guard and his brothers used the method of surprise attack, I only used my own methods against the stubborn Scots. ”

"Well, you don't have to tell your mother about this, I'll explain these days you've been away with a suitable excuse."

"Father, don't worry, the Scots are brave on land, and they are no match for me at sea."

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Shortly after two o'clock in the afternoon, Isabel found the Duke of Richmond on the roof of the main building of the castle, and repeated to the Duke what she had told her father about the battle plan behind enemy lines. The Duke of Richmond leaned against the battlements of the top floor and examined her, "Isabel, whether you can capture Mary I or not, you are eligible to be awarded a Garter Medal and become a knightess. ”

Standing at the battlements of the wall, Isabel looked out at the hunting grounds of the ancient forest to the south of the castle, grinned and said, "I only hope I don't regret it, I mean the capture of Mary I." ”

The Duke of Richmond stared sideways into her countenance, "Regrets? No, everyone will praise you. ”