The Duke of Richmond walked to the other end of the corridor outside the conference hall and returned to his private secretary in thought, "Isabel, I know him, Lord Robert Maxwell V is a well-known Scottish nobleman, politician, and Lord of the Admiralty. He was a member of the Regency Council before the reign of James V. Later, he served as a member of the Royal Council of James V and several as Lord Mayor of Edinburgh. ”

Isabel was very unfamiliar with the situation in Scotland, and only expressed her opinion on the matter, "Your Highness, James V may have sent the Admiralty to the border because he is worried that His Majesty will really attack Scotland. However, His Majesty had formed an alliance with Charles V (King Carlos I of Spain, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, King of the Habsburgs) to attack France, and it was feared that not too many troops would be sent to fight on the high grounds. ”

The duke, of course, knew what she called the domestic situation in 1542. At this time, Henry VIII attacked France under an alliance agreement with the Habsburgs. At this time, almost all of Europe was at war, and Britain, France, and Germany were all facing the dilemma of fighting on two fronts. However, Scotland, which has an "old alliance" relationship with France, will certainly attack England behind the back at this time. Henry VIII was forced to withdraw his forces in France, thus relieving the pressure on the French.

The Duke nodded in silence and looked at her again, "Well, what do you think of this battle now?" ”

"The strength of the Highlanders will certainly not be less than 10,000 men, and the commander will most likely be Lord Robert Maxwell, and James V will probably watch the battle somewhere behind the Lord." Isabel thought about it and stated, "My opinion is to send a small force into the high ground first to find out if James V will really come to the border. If you do, be sure to catch James V. ”

Directly taking out or capturing the enemy's senior commander is a tactic with a half chance of success when your own forces do not have an advantage. At least in Isabel's memory, that's how the SEAL Team 6 took out ****. And, in the words of a former Navy SEAL, "There can only be two endings to such an operation – be a hero or be worthless!" ”

Success, not failure! This price of being an elite was, in the eyes of the illegitimate son of the king of England hundreds of years ago, an act bordering on madness. The Duke of Richmond stared at her with wide eyes, "Isabel, no, I don't agree with you. ”

"Why? Why not? Could His Majesty bring back the troops in France to participate in this war? ”

"I... I do not believe that His Majesty will not take the war on the northern frontier seriously. The Duke of Richmond couldn't find a suitable reason to refute the other party, but just insisted, "Isabel, now we can't be sure that James V will come to the border. ”

Isabel didn't want to say too much, because the tactical thinking of this era had not yet evolved to such an advanced level. Moreover, it is indeed very difficult to use cold weapons to carry out special operations missions. Looking calmly at the Duke of Richmond, he whispered, "Yes, Your Highness." For now, it is up to Sir Thomas's spies to find out before making a decision. ”

The Duke of Richmond also gradually returned to a calm state and shook his head, "Isabel, I will go to the city of London as soon as the meeting is over, and let His Majesty know everything that is happening here." ”

At the end of the military meeting, the Duke of Richmond gave an order to the Border Guard, "Sir, now you have to ask your spies to find out a few things, how many Highlanders will send to fight, whether James V will come to the border." When I return from an audience in the city of London, I want you to tell me everything. ”

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After sunrise on the morning of 12 September, the Duke of Richmond was anxious to leave for the city of London. He did not let Isabel follow him, but gave him full responsibility for all affairs of Sharif Hatton Castle and the domain. However, news of the coming war soon spread throughout northern society.

Everyone knows what war means, some people don't want to participate, and some people want to participate. However, more people thought that Sir Thomas Wharton, as the captain of the guard of the western frontier, should have fulfilled his duty to send troops against the Scots. Under these circumstances, Sir Thomas sent a large number of spies into Scotland to find out the news, but only a few hundred men were recruited to fight the battle.

After lunch on Sunday, Baron Walton's estate became a little deserted. According to the previous request of the eldest daughter of the baron, all unattended servants on the estate had to go to St. Michael's church in the territory in the afternoon to receive their education. At this time, a procession of a dozen horses and a light carriage came from the direction of the village of Cassepp, in the northern part of the barony, towards the estate.

When the procession stopped on the hard road covered with small gravel in front of the gate of the manor, a young maid sitting in a light carriage looked out of the window on the left, "Madame, this is Lord Walton's manor?" It looks so beautiful! ”

The lady sitting across from the maid nodded slightly, "Well, okay, let's get off." ”

Before the lady could finish speaking, a guard wearing a garment with a jazz insignia painted on it came to the door, opened it, and stood on the outside of the door. At the same time, the middle-aged manservant on duty outside the gate had already asked several manservants to inform Baron Walton and the Baroness respectively, the eldest daughter of the Baron, and the butler.

A valet hurried to the schoolyard at the back of the manor, walked outside the archery path and saluted the eldest daughter of the baron, who was practicing archery. After the salute he respectfully reported, "Miss, your lord's eldest son, Sir Ernest and his wife, are here. ”

When a heavy arrow flew off the bowstring and flew towards the target at high speed and hit the bullseye with precision, Isabel turned her head to look at the manservant, "Well, I see." ”

"Ernest, what are you doing now? Is it also for this damn war? Isabel thought as she walked to the manor wall on the left side of the arrow path, placed her longbow on the bow stand, and turned to walk towards the manor.

When he arrived in the parlor, his father was talking happily and quietly with his brother Ernest. The elder brother's wife, Caroline, sat on one side with her mother, looking after her eldest son, Wolf, who was accompanied by two young maids. Caroline sensed that someone was coming, raised her eyelids to look, and quickly stood up and greeted her with a smile, "Isabel, you're here." ”

Although it is a family meeting, aristocratic etiquette must be observed. After the crowd saluted each other, Isabel sat down across from Ernest, looked at him and said with a smile, "Sir, it's a nice day." ”