At this moment, Isabel stood in front of a stone wall on the north side of the chamber, pointing to a simple map of Scotland hanging on the wall on her right with a small homemade stick. Facing the nobles and knights of the Council standing in front of him, he said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Tweed Berwick, located near the eastern coastline. ”

Then, with a small stick, she used a small stick to draw on the map from the town of Tweed Berwick to Edinburgh to the northwest, and then began to talk, "Guys, I think it will take about three to five hours to ride a horse from Tweed Berwick to the city of Edinburgh, provided that the Scots will not attack us and the road is open. ”

Henry Clifford, the Second Earl of Cumberland, who was standing beside her father, Baron Walton, crossed his hands in front of his chest, stared at the map with his chin in his right hand, and asked thoughtfully, "Your Excellency, do you mean to let Sir William Earl and his brother take the army and go directly to attack the city of Edinburgh??" ”

Isabel grinned slightly, "No, Your Excellency, I want to say that Sir William and his men crossed the border to attack the Scots... Not of any use. ”

The young squire, Ralph Earle, looked her squarely and hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, you also mentioned the two conditions that the Scots would not attack us and that the road would be open. Therefore, at the moment we can only respond strongly to the Scots in the border zone. ”

"Well, I agree with you. Just one thing, the royal family and the members of the Regency Council who are far away in Edinburgh will not know about your attack. After Isabel finished speaking, she immediately added, "Of course, the Queen and Queen Mother of the Scots have long since left Edinburgh Castle by this time. ”

Ralph Neville, the 4th Earl of Westmoreland, who was standing with several nobles, looked at her with some surprise and argued hurriedly, "Your Excellency, you did not participate in the Scottish War, how do you know that the Queen and Queen Mother of the Scots will not hide in Edinburgh Castle?" ”

Then the Earl of Westmoreland took two steps forward and said aloud to the other members, "Ladies and gentlemen, we all know that Edinburgh Castle is the strongest in the entire Kingdom of Scotland, and even the war of a few months ago failed to break it. So, I think the Queen and Queen Mother must still be hiding in one of the castle's wine cellars. ”

Baron Walton wanted to say a few words for his daughter, nodded and looked at the Earl calmly, "Your Excellency, won't the Scots run away?" I think that under the artillery of the royal fleet under the command of His Highness, any Scotsman would be afraid that their Edinburgh castle would be breached by our army. ”

The Duke of Richmond, who was standing on Isabel's side, stared at the map and turned to look at the members, "Ladies and gentlemen, Lord Walton has a point. Presumably after the shelling of the royal fleet, the Queen and her mother had already fled Edinburgh Castle. ”

The Earl of Westmoreland pondered and said, "Your Highness, if the Queen and her mother were to abandon the fortified castle, where would they be hiding?" Aren't they afraid of being found by our army? ”

"What do you think, Advisor?" The Duke of Richmond had no choice but to rely on his Privy Counsellor for the Earl's questions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Queen of Scots is only 8 months old since she was born. Just imagine, what does a baby who is still in swaddling need urgently? I think it was nothing more than food, wine, a peaceful house, the care and comfort of my mother and her servants. ”

When she saw that the nobles and knights nodded their heads in approval, she added, "Edinburgh Castle, which has been devastated by war, will never be a place where a mother is willing to let her children live. She would take her children to a peaceful royal estate, a noble estate or a church, so that they would be protected from the intrusions of war under God's protection. ”

The Earl of Cumberland nodded his head as he looked at her approvingly, "Your Excellency, perhaps men don't know these matters at all. So, your opinion is to send an army to search the Scotsman's estate or church? ”

At this time, the Earl of Westmoreland smiled lightly, looked at Isabel and said with some contempt, "Your Excellency, there are countless manors and churches in the whole of Scotland, and we will not be able to find the Queen without the news sent back by the Scots who are loyal to us." ”

Isabel's brain was racing rapidly, and she glanced at the other party, "Your Excellency, now I will propose two ways first, you can think about which method is more suitable for hunting down the queen. ”

After speaking, he raised his arm and pointed to a gap in the north of the city of Edinburgh with a small wooden stick, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the mouth of the Scottish River Forth, from which you can go anywhere in Europe by boat." ”

"Guys, I think you all know that the Queen's mother was the daughter of a French nobleman. Therefore, the Queen Mother will surely find a way to seek help from her ally, the French court. ”

At this time, the Duke of Richmond nodded and said, "Advisor, your first plan is to send a royal fleet to guard the port of Edinburgh City, and prevent French ships from entering the sea?" ”

"Your Highness, the appearance of the royal fleet in the waters near Edinburgh will only cause alarm on the ships of the Scots and the French. I think it would be possible to send some armed merchant ships from overseas trading families to this place. ”

After speaking, the small wooden stick in his hand pointed directly to the smallest part of the gap in the west of Edinburgh City. The Earl of Westmoreland looked in the direction she was pointing, staring at the name written on the left side of the tiny gap: "Stirling." However, the Earl, who also did not participate in the Scottish Wars, did not know much about Scottish affairs.

The Duke of Richmond also looked at "Stirling", and said slowly while thinking, "I remember that Lord Hertford told me that Stirling is a royal town for the Scots. To the northwest outside of town, there's also a Stirling Castle?! ”

The younger Earl of Cumberland immediately came to his senses, and with some excitement walked to the other side of the map, looked up at the map and said, "Your Highness, I guess the Queen and her mother must be hiding in Stirling Castle, waiting for the French ships to send them to Europe. ”

Isabel agreed with the Earl of Cumberland, and then gave her second option, "Your Highness, members, my second option is to send hounds to track down the traces left by the Queen and her mother. Find the burrow where the fox hides like a hound chasing a fox, and then burrow into the hole** to kill the fox. ”

The Duke of Richmond smiled and nodded, "Isabel, you mean to send some mercenaries into Stirling Castle?" ”