The Duke of Richmond rarely saw Isabel so rude, and she didn't look at all cute and pleasant. Thinking about it, it was probably the content of the official document that made the Isabel, whom he loved, so unaristocratic. After standing behind the desk and quietly glancing at each other a few times, he picked up the official document issued by Henry VIII again.

Isabel poured a large amount of wine down her throat as she looked out of the study window at the countryside far away from the castle. When she felt that she had poured herself a lot of wine, she glanced sideways at the Duke of Richmond. Habitually wiped the wine near his lips with the back of his left hand, and held the wine jar in the air with his right hand, "Henry, do you know what kind of official document this is?" ”

The Duke of Richmond glanced up at her, then buried his head again, "You still have a little wine in the corner of your right mouth." ”

Isabel hurriedly put down the wine jar, rubbed the corner of her mouth with her thumb, and came to the Duke of Richmond and smiled, "I'm sorry, Henry, aren't you used to me like this?" ”

The Duke of Richmond took the document in his hand, and while leaving behind the desk, he looked at the contents of the document carefully, "I don't like you like this." I think you should know your title, your status, and what your status is. ”

"Well, I'll remember."

"Now, you can tell me."

Isabel's eyes shifted to the window again with the figure of the Duke of Richmond, and slowly walked to the other party with her hands behind her back, "Your Majesty's official document simply legitimizes the illegal act of plundering at sea. ”

After the Duke of Richmond read through the contents of the document again, he nodded thoughtfully, "Plundering, a common lawlessness in northern society, can indeed possess a large amount of property in a very short period of time. I think this kind of wrongdoing is well suited to the fleets of France, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. ”

Isabel smiled lightly, "Henry, Your Majesty also has his troubles. Prior to the Tudors, the monarchs of England were always subject to various obstructions from the local aristocracy. Now, His Majesty is again subject to the restrictions of both houses of Parliament, and without the consent of Parliament, His Majesty cannot levy taxes. ”

"You are quite right, Your Majesty has spent a lot of money in the war with France over the years. Last year, when Princess Mary of Scotland was born, His Majesty spent a lot of money to buy the Scottish nobles to send Princess Mary to the city of London. ”

"Henry, this is Your Majesty's decision, and I think we still have to follow it carefully."

"So, by promulgating this official document of lawful plunder, Your Majesty only wants to strike at the French ships?" The Duke of Richmond still understood his father's intentions.

Isabel looked at the typical Anglo face of the other party and nodded, "Yes, at the moment we can only plunder French ships. Spain and the Netherlands were still under the rule of Charles V of the Habsburgs, and we could not easily plunder the ships of our allies, even though the Spaniards always brought back large quantities of gold and silver from the Americas. ”

"Allies? I have always wondered why His Majesty went to war with France on behalf of Charles V. The Duke of Richmond had a look of disgust on his face, and he pushed open the stained-glass window to breathe in the fresh air.

Isabel did not answer the question, thinking that the Duke of Richmond should have understood that England was at this time an important ally in the struggle between France and the Habsburgs of Spain. Picking up the "privateer's permit" that the Duke had placed next to the wine jar, he looked at the contents and whispered, "Henry, I want to say that there must have been many unexpected benefits to this blow to French shipping. ”

The Duke of Richmond glanced back at her and grinned slightly, "I know, we can use French ships and cargo to add some property." ”

"Henry, we can not only use the excuse to ban the ships of France, but also the ships of other kingdoms."

"Oh...? I remember you just said that Spain and the Netherlands were kingdoms under Charles V, and we could not plunder the ships of our allies. ”

Isabel turned her gaze to the clear blue sky outside the window and sneered, "I think it's okay to just make sure they don't recognize us as English." ”

"Well, there's a bit of a risk to be taken. Isabel, what are you going to do now? ”

"Raise money from you and your retainers, use this document to build a few ships first, and then venture into looting and overseas trade."

"It's just that I've heard that some of the families in the South who specialize in overseas trade adventures usually have their own armed civilian ships. You know, it costs at least thousands of pounds to build a ship. "Now, the Duke of Richmond becomes a little stingy when it comes to money.

In fact, Isabel was ready for both at this time. On the one hand, he took advantage of the incomparable allure of privateer licenses to recruit pirate families from the south to participate in his plans. On the other hand, we should first build a few armed clippers with high speed and good flexibility, and make full use of their mobility and artillery fire to compete with Spain for maritime supremacy.

The Duke of Richmond was full of the belief that Isabel wanted to build a warship of more than 500 tons like the Royal Fleet, so he was worried that the money he lent her would not be recovered, and he was afraid that even the interest would not be enough to pay him. Isabel's first impression was that the Duke of Richmond was too unaware of overseas trade adventures.

Slightly lowered his head and deliberately thought for a while, then raised his head again to look at the other party, and his tone became extremely serious, "Henry, am I a noble woman worthy of your trust?" ”

"Yes, I'm sure." The Duke of Richmond was a little afraid to look at her shining eyes, and hurriedly cast a look away with a hint of timidity, "Well, I want to know what you plan to make... What kind of ships. ”

Isabel nodded, picked up the jug and poured some wine into the two glasses. After handing one of the cups to the Duke of Richmond, his expression seemed to be very relaxed and expressed his thoughts, "Henry, you probably think I will build a few warships like the royal fleet, right?" ”

"Yes, because the Clark is the best kind of boat." The Duke of Richmond's statement is not wrong either.

The Clark sailboat was indeed a much-loved vessel during the era of great voyages from the 14th to the 17th centuries. It has enough space for a large crew and cargo on the way back.

Isabel knew what type of ship the other party was referring to. However, she was not going to create a large three- or four-masted schooner with huge design problems. Judging by the current scale of maritime raid and trading activities, the Clark galleon would soon be replaced by the famous galleon.