As Sir Augustine said, the quelled rebellion did not make the hatred between Henry VIII and the northern nobility and populace disappear. Many people in the north did not believe that their king would generously fulfill his promise, and Henry VIII feared a rebellion in the north. In this way, Christmas and New Year in 1536 were spent in suspicion.

A week after Isabel Walton talks to the Duke about top-secret matters that are closely linked to the fate of the northern aristocracy, this year's Christmas is quietly approaching. The Duke of Richmond, the custodian of the royal estate, prepares sumptuous food such as cows, pigs, sheep, roast goose, various poultry, bread and cheese for the Christmas dinner that day. In addition to the large amount of ale, the Duke prepared 60 gallons of red and white wine for the dinner guests that night (60 imperial gallons are about 273 liters, which is equivalent to about 364 bottles of red wine).

When the midnight Mass is over, everyone goes home to reunite for the biggest feast of the year with traditional northern dishes. On the second day, 26 December, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Rich, distributed venison pies made from the entrails of European red deer that had been prepared to the bookkeepers who farmed for themselves and to the various servants in Nottingham Castle who served them. Of course, venison pies are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Those who weren't given a venison pie also got two lumps of white bread, enough ale to drink all day, a steak smeared with horseradish (also known as wasabi, native to southern Europe, with a spicier smell stronger than yellow mustard called green mustard) and some smoked pork. Individual tenant farmers or servants with a family of more than five were added some white bread and smoked pork.

After the food was distributed, the Duke of Richmond distributed Christmas gifts in the form of money to the bookkeepers and servants. The prerequisite for receiving the lord's Christmas gift was, of course, that the peasants who held the register were required to pay a year's rent in kind or money, as well as a tax apportioned to each household.

The Duke's generosity and benevolence can also be applied to the squires of the county, Sir Augusto, Sir Alexon Ferguson, and Baron Haswell, who have land and estates. Since Sir Augustine had assumed the post of magistrate, the family received several times more gifts in kind or money on Christmas and New Year this year than in previous years. It goes without saying that these gifts came from local officials and squires in the county.

Although the youngest child of the Jazz family, Euphemia, has not married until this year, she has accumulated a certain amount of personal property. These possessions consisted essentially of a number of purebred Bob stallions and purebred Arabian stallions that Isabel had given her, and which she could use to breed mares with excellent genes for a breeding fee. In addition, she received a sum of money from her brother Ernest to buy a thoroughbred Arabian stallion before Christmas.

The Duke of Richmond, who had returned to the territory, was reminded of the idea of supervising the retainers, retainers, servants, and guards mentioned by the Privy Counsellor, and the Advisor, who was well versed in the techniques and methods of later generations, soon devised a "Reaper" plan before Christmas. The name of the program comes from the MQ-9 "Reaper" unmanned combat aircraft, which can perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in the United States Air Force.

The plan is to order the members of the "Black Friars" who are hidden in the Duke's guard and the security army to make full use of every opportunity to spy on the people around them and other people, etc., and collect various information about the rebellion and violation of the "Treason Law". When it came to spying on the duke's retainers, other squires and magistrates in the county, her method was to buy off their retinues or servants. In order to promote the motivation of intelligence officers, Isabel Walton also developed a series of additional reward rules.

The time comes to Epiphany on January 6 (Epiphany is one of the three oldest important Christian festivals after Easter and Christmas, to commemorate and celebrate the first appearance of Jesus Christ to Gentiles after his birth as a human being. The next morning, Isabel sent the messages to the Duke of Richmond in the form of documents.

Epiphany brings to an end the two-week celebration of Christmas and New Year. However, the Duke of Richmond and the people of the castle have not yet recovered from the jubilation of the festival. After reading the documents about the news, Henry Fitzroy smiled and said to the advisor sitting on the side: "Isabel, the Epiphany has just passed, don't you want to enjoy the rare festival of the year with me?" ”

"Henry, in the run-up to Ash Day in February, the harsh weather leaves the people with nothing to do. So, I thought I might as well take advantage of these days to do something that I should do. Isabel sat in a long-backed chair.

"Well, I accept your idea. Well, do you think the news about Lord Haswell mentioned above in these documents is true? ”

"I have investigated the news myself, and Lord Haswell has been complaining about his expulsion from the Peace Council. He believed that it was only a momentary negligence and neglect that would lead to many major chaos in the county. ”

"Well, he also sent people to participate in this rebellion? Or did he himself join the rebels? ”

"My men have found out from his registrar and told me that not only did he not oppose the pilgrimage, but he supported many registrars, hired laborers and servants to join the rebels."

The Duke of Richmond stood up and paced leisurely in the drawing-room, "Well, I should have guessed that he would do this. Do you know how many people in the county have joined the rebel movement? ”

Isabel thought about it and said, "I estimate that there were about 800 to 1,000 people who participated, most of them were registered farmers and leased farmers, as well as a large number of displaced people and hired laborers in the county. ”

"There will be so many people? Well, I can leave these tenant farmers at bay. However, the nobles, squires, and exiles who instructed these people must not be spared. ”

In fact, Isabel thinks that the one who should be eliminated the most is Baron Haswell. After all, the chaos in the county was planned by herself and hired by the Scots. The relentless removal of the Baron from his position as magistrate was also to prop up her father to power and cultivate her own influence in the royal domain.

Therefore, in order to prevent Baron Haswell from realizing that she was behind the rebellion, she must use the momentum of Henry VIII's suppression of the rebellion to eliminate this serious problem. When she heard the Duke's words, she immediately said, "I'll do it, Henry." Now, there is still more than a month left before the deadline set by His Majesty the King, so there is absolutely no room to let our guard down. ”

The Duke of Richmond nodded, and said with a confident smile on his face, "Yes, it's January 1537, and I'm going to turn 18 this year." ”

In Isabel's view, the 18-year-old Duke of Richmond is still a child, a big boy who has not even reached the legal drinking age in the United States.