Although it could be seen from the window, the Viscount of Tyrrenne would not have placed the English army so close to the king, so all the king saw was a column of small red dots - they were outside the town, training in the middle of the hills, and the king took the telescope sent by the Viscount of Tyrrenne and put it in front of him to see the Englishmen - They were uniformly dressed, with red coats and yellow shoulder straps, gray brimmed hats and gray trousers, and brown boots, and their ranks were neat, their steps were firm, and there was no laughing or slackness, but they were much better than the French army.

"Are these infantrymen?" asked the king.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Viscount Tirrena said.

"Mr. Cromwell has been quite generous. The King said sarcastically, and he returned the telescope to Viscount Tyrrenne. "Cromwell's new Model Army is said to have only fourteen thousand cavalry, and he is willing to give us nearly half of them...... Of course, the price he asked for was quite high. He pondered for a moment, "Mr. Viscount, may I ask you to do something for me?"

"At your command, Your Majesty. Viscount Tirrena said.

"I hope that at tonight's banquet, you will invite someone for me. ”

"Who is this honor?"

"The supreme general of this army. ”

Viscount Tirenne hesitated slightly, for it seemed to him that the officer, though he was also a nobleman, was not yet qualified to have dinner with the king, but Louis had already said so, and swore that he would never betray the king again, and that Viscount Tirenne, who would obey any of his wills, would not refute it—only a slight doubt, and the king had noticed this, and he stretched out his hand and placed it on Viscount Tyrenne's shoulder (it was not difficult to see with satisfaction that he had made this gesture), "My respectable sir," he said. Do not think that I value a foreigner more than a Frenchman," said the king, reassuringly, "I just want to know what kind of man he is, and this may be a fallacy to convey and describe by others, so I must see him with my own eyes." ”

"I can boldly ask ......"

"Of course, Mr. Viscount," explained the King mildly, "you know that the bill of exchange I have just given you is not the full remuneration of the British. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have heard a little. ”

"I must confess that I have always been reluctant to admit that the pseudo-rule of Oliver Cromwell has caused some trouble for our bishop," the king pointed to the bills of exchange, "so these may be said to be the additional reward that Cromwell had given to his emissary, and that the English had demanded Dunkirk - the city at first, and never changed from the beginning." ”

Viscount Tyrrenne was silent for a few seconds, and the king saw a look of shame on his face, only to realize that the general had misunderstood what he meant - of course, it was a shame for Viscount Tyrrenne, a genius in the army, a political mortal, to need to use the army of another country to seize a city that originally belonged to France, but the king would not be harsh on his generals for this, as the best hunter has no horses and dogs, and does not want to chase foxes - Without soldiers and officers, Viscount Tyrrenne could not conjure up enough troops, no matter how perfect he was, and he was not God.

"I mean," said the king, affectionately pressing his hand on the back of the elder who was good enough to be his father, "Mr. Viscount, these six thousand soldiers are here to capture Dunkirk as well as Dunkirk. ”

"Your Majesty?"

"When we take Dunkirk, according to the agreement, it will belong to the British...... Of course, Cromwell chose France between Spain and us because he thought that Spain was now Britain's worst enemy - Dunkirk was a port and fortress for Spanish privateers before it became a nail for Britain to cut into Flanders, and you know, most of the prey of Spanish privateers was the British fleet - so Dunkirk was inevitable.

Therefore, in order to avoid trouble, he must have stationed troops here, so what could be more justified and logical than the soldiers of the new model army, who have achieved great results in this battle?"

The king patted Viscount Tirenne on the back soothingly: "I have heard that they have given you the command of these six thousand soldiers, so I hope that you will be able to get to know them as much as you can, and master them, especially their officers and generals," At this, the king said as if to himself: "After all, I don't know when they will become our enemies again?"

————

Since the king said so, or because he had spoken so heartily to Viscount Tirenne, it was inevitable that Viscount Tirenne would have fulfilled the task assigned by the king and invited the officer to the dinner.

But to tell the truth, this officer was not willing to accept this honor from the bottom of his heart, the English and the French had been enemies for a hundred years, and they were afraid that they would continue to do it after that, and they walked together this time against the common enemy, Spain, but no one knows what the future holds, but during the time that Viscount Tyrrenne spent time with them, he did conquer many people with his charm, and among them was him, and this time Mr. Viscount also brought a bill of exchange entrusted to him by the king— He thought that he would have to wait until the war was over, and maybe it would take a while to get it, which made him and his soldiers much more relieved, and at the very least, if they died in the war, their children and parents would be able to receive pensions and salaries.

So after hesitating for a while, he accepted the king's invitation, and immediately set out and arrived at the king's palace in advance, as a sign of respect for the king of France, and Tyrrenne introduced him to the king, and he saluted respectfully, he was probably only a little older than Louis, and had a young but serious face, but when he heard his surname, the king asked, "Is George Munch your father or uncle?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The young gentleman said, "He is my uncle." ”

"How is he now?"

"He is now the Governor of Scotland. Mr. Munch replied.

The king nodded, and they took their seats, Monsieur Munch's seat to the right hand of Viscount Tyrrenne, and of course the "swimming quail" that had been joking with Mr. Bishop had not been served, and they had a serious meal of fresh sea fish, shell stew, and bread. When Mr. Munch noticed that the King had been keeping an eye on his uniform, he had to ask His Majesty if there was anything that was in doubt.

"I just see that the color of your clothes seems to be different from that of the other officers, they are gray, and you are blue, because of your position or for some other reason? Of course, if this bothers you, you don't have to answer, I'm just a little curious. ”

"Oh," said Mr. Munch, "there is nothing that cannot be answered, Your Majesty, my trousers and hat are blue because I was once a soldier of Commander Thomas Fairfax, and though he has now resigned from his post, I still consider me to be his soldier even in remembrance, Your Majesty." ”

"You are a loyal person. The king said.

Mr. Munch humbly and proudly bowed his head and accepted the king's praise.

————

The king's admiration for this Mr. Munch undoubtedly attracted the attention of Mr. Bishop, who now had little estrangement from the king, so he asked directly at the time of vespers.

"Suffice it to say that this young officer is a treasure boy. The king said.

Mr. Bishop's expression suddenly became strange, but fortunately he had recently become accustomed to the king's strange words, "Why do you say that? because of his surname?"

George Munch did hold power in the English Parliament and the army, but he had to retire to Devon after several setbacks against the royal army (Charles I's army), and later Oliver Cromwell felt that he was still trustworthy and insisted on promoting him to the position of commander of the fleet, and won a great victory in the First Anglo-Dutch War - and now he was at his most glorious time, and even his nephews could not be bought by the French.

"No, I don't have that intention. "The surname Munch does deserve our attention, but I am concerned about Fairfax, who voted against it when deciding whether Charles I should be executed, and with a clear banner," said Louis. ”

"He's retiring in the countryside now. ”

"Since he can leave, he can go back. Louis turned: "If Thomas Fairfax can return to the center of power in England, then it will be Cromwell who is troubled. In 1640, Cromwell was only a squire councillor, Fairfax had inherited his father's title and was a baron; when the New Model Army was established, he was the commander-in-chief, and Cromwell was only a lieutenant general, and his prestige in the army was higher than Cromwell's, and so were his victories and experience; if it weren't for the fact that almost all the cavalry in the New Model Army came from Cromwell's supporters, and he fell for Cromwell's tricks in the so-called Equality Act incident, and finally, when discussing the question of the expedition to Scotland, he quarreled with the former and resigned in a rage, and now we are afraid that it may not be Oliver Cromwell who is dealing with him. ”

But this is not to say that he intended to restore royal power. ”

"He maintains the respect he deserves for the royal power, and that is enough, Mr. Bishop. ”

"Do you still want Charles II to get his throne back?"

"Yes, Mr. Bishop. ”

"But what's in it for us?"

"When France has to face an enemy, Mr. Bishop, who will you choose between Cromwell and Charles II?"

Louis closes his Bible.

"Charlie, Charlie, of course. ”