After lunch, Isabel and the Duke of Richmond are outside a forest-like curtain wall south of Sherif Hatton Castle. As the two walked slowly, Isabel whispered, "Henry, His Majesty personally went to France to direct the battle this time, what was the result?" ”

The Duke of Richmond stroked his beautiful beard, shook his head when he glanced at her, and said with a very solemn expression, "There is good news and bad news for Your Majesty's campaign. At first, an army of the Duke of Norfolk was unable to lay siege to Montreuil. The Duke of Suffolk had no choice but to order the siege of Boulogne. Later, His Majesty personally commanded the siege of Boulogne, which fell on 18 September. ”

Isabel pondered what Henry VIII could gain in this protracted Italian war, and hurriedly asked, "What happened later?" ”

The Duke of Richmond gazed at the ancient grove directly ahead, and said with some sorrow, "Your Majesty has rejected Charles V's request for a march on Paris. However, what His Majesty did not expect was that Charles V signed the Treaty of Crébi with the French on the day of the fall of Boulogne, leaving His Majesty's army alone to fight against the French......"

"Damn, what the hell is this fighting?" Isabel cursed a few words in her stomach, but only sighed slightly, "So, His Majesty has nothing to gain in this war?" ”

"Well, so to speak. Bad Italian War, this may be His Majesty's last battle. The Duke of Richmond spoke, and his eyes looked a little rosy.

"The last battle?" Isabel asked a little contrivedly.

"Well, that's a fact that can't be changed." The Duke of Richmond turned to look at her and suddenly whispered, "Isabel, the defeat of the Italian war is only one aspect. In fact, His Majesty is most worried about my brother's wife. ”

"Henry, I understand what His Majesty wants. It's just that Queen Mary's troubles are not so easy to deal with. Isabel was just stating the facts, not trying to exaggerate at all.

The Duke of Richmond had no brotherly affection for his half-brother, Prince Edward, who only regarded him as a prince who had nothing to do with him. Thinking about Isabel's words, she said with a serious expression, "At present, Your Majesty has no better way. ”

Isabel thought back to what she had been thinking about, and suddenly said, "If Queen Mary is really hiding in Stirling Castle, how many troops will Your Majesty send to capture the castle and recapture Prince Edward's wife?" ”

"How many troops? Isabel, presumably Your Majesty now only has the money to hire less than 3,000 mercenaries. ”

"My God! Henry, an army of less than 3,000 men can take Stirling Castle for such a thing, I... I've never seen it. ”

Heavily in debt, the kingdom was bankrupt, and Henry VIII himself did not have much money to spend on hiring foreign mercenaries. The Duke of Richmond, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII, was also in a state of financial distress. At this time, the Duke of Richmond suddenly thought of the 100,000 pounds that Isabel had earned for herself, and quickly turned to face her and said seriously: "Isabel, I beg you... Go overseas again, for the sake of Your Majesty and for the kingdom to plunder some of the Spanish and Portuguese overseas territories. ”

The money earned after a lot of hardships and a lot of manpower, material resources and time was used by Henry VIII to pay foreign mercenaries without hesitation. The foreign mercenaries were only paid to prepare for an attack on Scotland, and it was unknown whether the attack on Scotland would capture Queen Mary.

Isabel couldn't think of the right words to describe such a crazy thing. Moreover, she could not guarantee that she would still be able to grab a large number of black slaves on her second voyage. The Duke of Richmond, who looked motionless at the look of anticipation in his eyes, said calmly, "Henry, I fully agree with going to sea for the second time to plunder the territories of the Spaniards and the Portuguese. But you have to allow me to part with you now and never see you again. ”

"Parting? No, Isabel, where are you going? The Duke of Richmond suddenly understood her words.

"Henry, I will go to God's paradise, where I will wait for you." Isabel spoke very seriously.

The Duke of Richmond stared at her in disbelief, "No, I don't believe you're going to leave me like this. ”

Isabel sighed heavily and turned her gaze to the ancient grove on one side, "Henry, if you don't want me to leave you, will you follow my advice?" ”

"Okay, you say."

"It's impossible to attack Scotland just by relying on mercenaries of less than 3,000 men. I think you could, in the name of the Chairman of the Committee, recruit some Northerners who volunteered to fight in the Scottish Wars or who were loyal to us. ”

The Duke of Richmond nodded silently, "Then the issue of honorarium, can it be replaced with loot?" ”

"Henry, let's go." Isabel smiled softly and spoke again as she continued her slow walk with the Duke of Richmond, "Henry, you're right. Of course, this is also a helpless way for His Majesty the King to have no money. ”

The Duke of Richmond looked at the empty meadow with a sad expression, and shook his head helplessly, "Is there no way to deal with the troubles of Scotland?" ”

Isabel thought that Henry VIII would be very pleased if the Duke of Richmond had settled some military problems for Henry VIII at this time. When he thought of this, he only whispered, "Henry, I think you can take care of the issue of the honorarium for the hiring of the Burgundians for Your Majesty." ”

The Duke of Richmond immediately understood what she meant, and hurriedly replied, "Isabel, you mean to let me take out some of the money to hire the Burgundians army?" ”

"Yes, only by doing so will you be able to gain more territory and wealth. Henry, would you like to? ”

"Mercenaries? People who volunteered to fight? The Duke of Richmond muttered to himself, and finally nodded heavily, "Isabel, you are quite right, maybe these two armies together will defeat the Scots." ”

"Alright, the issue of honorarium is taken care of. Now you can go and talk to the Scottish knight in detail. Isabel let out a sigh of relief, feeling that she was more tired than Henry VIII's Chancellor of the Exchequer.

A few days later, Sir Andrew, who was imprisoned in the underground cell of Sharif Hatton Castle, was taken out of the cell by several saber guards. Jazz, who walked on the dim road to hell, had an inexplicable sense of apprehension, and he did not know what fate he would face.