Chapter 888: Back to the North

On the face of it, King Francis I of France sent an expeditionary force to the Scottish coast as a sign of solidarity with his old allies. However, a fact can be drawn from the special alliance between France and the Soviet Union, which lasted for 265 years, that has hardly changed. It is a fact that after King Philip IV of France signed the Treaty of Paris with the Scottish representatives on October 23, 1295, and reached an alliance with the representatives of Scotland, France always showed a sense of disregard for Scotland.

And the relationship between France and England can be explained by a quote from the later French Minister of Finance: "England and France are like an old husband and wife, who always try to kill each other, but never think of divorce." "The original Scotland, like a maid (a Scottish nobleman) who had been abused by her master, took the initiative to ask for help from the mistress of the family (France).

The mistress of the English and French families, when she saw the poor maid, did not take this poor and shabby maid seriously in her eyes. The maid, fed up with the bullying of her master (King John I of Scotland almost admitted himself as a vassal of the King of England), could only continue to seek allies with tears in her eyes.

Three years later, the mistress of the Anglo-French family finally stopped wanting to endure the temper of the male host (England) and bravely took up the knife to bravely resist the violent acts of the male protagonist (the war between King Philip IV of France and King Edward I of England). When the family civil war between husband and wife was in full swing, the maid again found the mistress and begged her to help her.

The hostess thought about it, it was better to find a helper to fight against the disgusting but unwilling to give up the man. The hostess reluctantly agreed to the maid's request, but imposed a very harsh condition on the maid (the Treaty of Paris agreed that Edward Barrio, the eldest son of John I, would marry the niece of Philip IV). Philip IV said that while helping Scotland, he wanted Scotland to declare war on England).

The male head of the Anglo-French family has been spying on the neighbor's land, intending to take it for himself. And the behavior of the maid in the neighbor's house on the side of his wife gave the man a good excuse to take possession of the neighbor's land (England sent troops to attack Scotland, triggering Scotland's first war of independence). King John I was forced to abdicate from Scotland, and the kingdom was on the verge of extinction).

However, the hostess made peace with the other party after suffering domestic violence from the man. The maid and hostess of the neighbor's house did not care about her situation in the slightest (Philip IV was only a bystander during the entire Scottish War of Independence, and wrote several letters to Robert the Bruce, the leader of the Scottish resistance, asking him to abandon his resistance in Scotland and join the Crusades).

By 1413, King Henry V of England was strongly supporting military campaigns in France. The mentally ill King Charles VI of France was no match for him, and the French army was repeatedly defeated in major battles. In 1420, Charles VI could only sign a treaty to declare the King of England the heir to the throne of France. France, like Scotland when the League was first established more than a hundred years ago, was on the verge of extinction. At this most critical moment, the French finally thought of appealing to the Scots for help.

In 1514, after the end of the Hundred Years' War, King Louis XII of France reconciled with Henry VIII. and refused to send the Duke of Albany, who had Scottish blood, to Scotland to assist the Scots in resolving the chaos that had followed the accession of the young James V. The Scots were outraged by this tantamount treachery.

It can be seen from this that the French did not take this very poor kingdom seriously from the very beginning. Like a selfish bad friend, he thinks of his allies in times of trouble, the Scots, and when the Scots are devastated by the English, the French always look at this ally with a cold eye. As for the valor and fearlessness of the Scots in their fight against the English invasion, the French sent only 2,000 troops to their aid.

Regrettably, the Scottish royal family was determined to unite with the French against the English. Imagine if the Scottish crown had changed its approach to foreign policy and turned to Spain and Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire for assistance. Perhaps, the Scots will become allies of the English. King Henry VIII of England, while intimidated by Charles V's prowess, would probably extinguish his ambition to dominate the island of Great Britain.

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On the third Monday of June, the Lady of Ripley and the Duke of Richmond led a procession of attendants on the way back to the north. Along the way, the two talked a lot about business and private matters like a pair of close friends. The Duke of Richmond, who was on his horse, glanced at the lady beside him and hesitated.

"Uh, Isabel, I have something to say." The duke leaned his upper body towards the other party and whispered.

"Yes, Your Highness." The baroness habitually agreed.

The Duke glanced at the flag-bearers' attendants at the front of the procession, and when he looked at her, he said, "What am I going to do if Mary is pregnant this time?" ”

Isabel was slightly stunned, then nodded with a natural smile, "God is above, Your Highness, you are about to become a father." ”

The Duke frowned and said with a sullen face, "Isabel, you don't understand what I'm talking about? I mean, after Mary got pregnant, did I need to change my life? ”

Isabel felt a hint of unhappiness in the duke's words, and she was a little embarrassed about how to answer the other party. In addition, what she doesn't understand is that the royal duke doesn't seem to like letting his legal wife conceive his own child. Speculating on the other party's meaning, he replied cautiously, "Your Highness, you can still live in York's castle like a prince. And your wife, the Duchess, will also be well taken care of. ”

"Well, that's good. Mary loved her rural life in the south, and I loved living in the north. In this way, she and I don't have to live together like ordinary husbands and wives. ”

"Your Highness, I believe that in many families of nobles, knights, and gentlemen, husbands always live with their wives. Even poor farming families would live like this. Isabel gradually understood the other party's thoughts, but she was still cautious.

The Duke of Richmond shook his head slightly, "Isabel, you're right. Perhaps, this is why I don't love Mary at all. ”