It was the second day after most of the members of the Parliament had landed, and Charles II was satisfied, even if the Duke of Albimar resigned from all his posts because he could not prevent the great trial and massacre against the Parliament, and his dismal return did not affect his good mood in the slightest, although the assistance of France was conditional— In the Peace of Dover, Charles II had to make concessions not only to France, but also to the Church of Rome, as he said to the Duke of York, and Charles II did promise that once he had gained real power, he would convert and give back to God what belonged to God what Henry VIII had taken from the Church of Rome.

And just as General Reut had guessed, the French fleet had come from Dunkirk, and five thousand French soldiers had become the swords in the hands of Charles II, who, of course, under the cover of night and chaos, kept alive the old traditions of plunder and rape, and the citizens of London spent a hellish night, but for Charles II it didn't matter— The hatred of the burghers was directed against the French, and when he had taken power, he had an innumerable amount of money, nay, he had now taken a large sum of money from the convicted officials and nobles, and took a part of it and sprinkled it among the people, so that while half of them were still weeping, the other half began to revel, which the rulers had been quite adept at since the time of ancient Rome...... Bread, wine, and blood, although Charles II could not have built a Colosseum, he could have erected a huge torture table, and the heads of those noble lords would satisfy the fools and not pursue what had happened before.

During this vacuum, Charles II had only about a thousand men of the Guards at his side, but it was enough for him, because he would soon recruit more soldiers, and when almost all of his enemies had already gone to see the merciful God, he would not need much force to wield - the Duke of York, who had come to see his brother before leaving London, was a little uneasy after losing the shackles of Parliament and helping him.

The Duke of York was not familiar with Hampton Court Palace because it was never the first choice of the English royal family - It's not because the building is small and dark, or it's too old, Hampton Court Palace was originally the residence of Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII's favored minister, but because, you know, Henry VIII was not like Louis XIII or Louis XIV, he was brutal and suspicious by nature, and Bishop Wolsey's wealth had long been unhappy with the king, and when this unhappiness reached its peak, even if he dedicated the building to the king, he still couldn't escape the catastrophe.

Henry VIII was very happy with his queens— Yes, although he was the head of the state church, he still insisted on monogamy, and in order to carry this system to the end, he executed two queens here, both for adultery, one for Anne Berlin and the other for Catherine Howard, after the death of Henry VIII, Edward VI, who inherited the throne, followed in his father's footsteps at a young age, and the Tudor dynasty was taken over by Mary, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, and this princess, the queen who came to be known, was also known by her other well-known name. Bloody Mary".

It was also from that time that rumors about Hampton Court Palace began to grow, and someone saw Cardinal Wolsey in the palace, and walked around the palace with a sigh - Even though he died in a convent, the cause of his death is always suspected, as well as Anne Berlin, the maid and queen who had fallen in love with Henry VIII, who was beheaded and hovered near Henry VIII's bedroom with her head in her hands, and the daring Catherine Howard, who was resentful, her teeth chattering, and her lovers (including her brother) in any place where the sun did not shine...... Others saw the souls of Queen Jane Seymour, who died of puerperal fever, or monks and assassins......

Now Charles II has added a new eerie atmosphere to the palace, for it is from here that the will to put the heads of a dozen ministers on the ground has come from.

The Duke of York looked up at the four pillars of Hampton Court Palace—these four pillars, about three people high, were all made of red brick, and on the white platform on the top stood four statues, knights, lions, and horses, and between the pillars were heavy black iron gates. Hampton Court Palace had more than a thousand rooms, and his brother did not hesitate to choose the suite where Henry VIII once lived, which were second to none in terms of light and size, with walls covered with oak panelling, elaborate reliefs everywhere, and several huge elk antlers—a decoration that was the preserve of the royal family, but even the Duke of York did not have such beautiful and huge antlers.

His brother, sitting under an antler stretched out almost as long as a grown man, smiled hypocritically at the sight of him, and the Duke of York saluted his brother with more reverence and solemnity than ever before, "Oh," said Charles II, "please do not be so polite, my good sir," and he said half-truthfully, "I ought to thank you well." This is true, and if it had not been for the Duke of York's agreement to remove the coastal defences of the Thames and Sol Bay, it would not have been easy for the French ships to enter London so quietly.

"It is my duty, Your Majesty. The Duke of York said, "These traitors and traitors should have come to this end." ”

"It's great that you think so," said Charles II with a smile on his face, "and as far as I know, many of them are still your friends." ”

"It's just a hypocrisy, Your Majesty," the Duke of York hurriedly discerned, "I only hope to be able to do your part." ”

"You are the pillar of my country, Mr. Duke," said Charles II, "but we need not think about it again, for now we must continue to face a common enemy......

"You mean the Netherlands. ”

"It's the Netherlands for now. Charles II said: "In recent years, sir, it should be the Netherlands." ”

"Then we are going to be friends with the French. ”

"Louis was our relative and friend," said Charles II, "and now that the French have taken possession of the three provinces of the Netherlands—yes, Utrecht has also fallen, and Zeeland and Groningen have been seized only a day, and we must act, whatever is agreed in the peace treaty, Mr. Duke, we must also plant our flag on the Dutch territory, and you will destroy the Dutch fleet and send our soldiers to the land across the Channel." ”

"That's exactly what I've been hoping for. Your Majesty. The Duke of York said eagerly.

"Then let me wish you a victorious and triumphant return. Charles II said.

Because the two brothers are not at all like Louis and Philippe, they have the true affection between brothers, and at this point, it can be over, although it is a bit blunt, but to let them continue to say some sweet lies, the Duke and the King, who are very clear about each other's hearts, will inevitably affect the appetite for the next meal, so the Duke of York retired in the name of heavy military affairs, and Charles II was relieved - the Duke of York had better stay in London for the next few months.

The queen's due date was before the next Lent, and Charles II only hoped that the Duke of York would be at sea by that time and that he would not return until his heir landed safely.

The Duke of York, who knew nothing of the fact that the Queen was pregnant, as soon as he left Hampton Court Palace, galloped all the way to the mouth of the Thames, and boarded his ship, a huge warship with a hundred guns, and its name also came from the Duke of York, called the "Prince Royal", and as soon as he boarded the ship, he urged him to set sail, and under the crescent moon that gradually covered the Thames, the Duke of York shook his head in annoyance, and he was not even sure whether he had done it right— Fortunately, the contract he had signed with the envoys of the Duke of Modena was with him, and he took it out and rubbed it for a long time, and then picked up the small statue of Marie, the daughter of the Duke of Modena— This is because I know that the Duke of York may have to fight at sea for a period of time and specially drew and sent, after a closer look, to say that the ancestor of the Duke of Modena had an indishonorable origin, but it is said that he also has a good looks, and the appearance of this Princess Mary is indeed far better than that of the Duke of York's first wife, not to mention that she is only twelve years old this year, which is the age when she is ready to let go, this marriage, even if there is no rich dowry, no one will think that the Duke of York has made a loss-making deal.

When the crescent moon rose high in the sky, the "Prince Royal" also joined the Combined Fleet, where the Combined Fleet was anchored, above the mouth of the Thames, below a port town called Southend, and on the right was the North Sea, only about one hundred and fifty-five nautical miles from Amsterdam, and the Duke of York was already sleeping in his cabin, and he did not know that just a hundred nautical miles away from him, the Dutch fleet was riding the wind and waves.

————

It was true that Leut was the supreme commander of the Dutch navy, but not all of his generals were willing to obey his orders unconditionally, and Leut's speculation was too much to believe that they also had spies in the Strait of Dover, but no one saw the French fleet, how could such a large army hide its whereabouts? But Reut was convinced that French soldiers had been involved in the riots in London that night, and that the Dutch were very concerned about the situation of Charles II, knowing that the king, although he had always wanted to regain the power that belonged to him, had never succeeded because of the restraints imposed on him by Parliament, and that the most effective of these restraints was the control of military power, and that the English king had only a small guard, which could hardly be used as a guard of honor, and that these men were not enough to overturn the world overnight, but the problem was that ships capable of carrying thousands of sergeants would not be just small and unobtrusive boats...... In the end, Leut forcibly suppressed all opposition almost with his former authority and his own glory, and their ships sailed on the sea at night to the Bay of Saor.

There are also people who can't deny Sol Bay, and even Leut himself is not very sure, but he once sent spies to investigate the water, routes, tides, and tides of the Thames estuary because of the raid on the Medway River, that is, the Thames River parade in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, which made the British lose face. Armament and other information, they are very familiar with the situation along the Thames, and if Britain and France are united, their fleet will definitely not be less than a hundred, and there are very few bays where such a huge fleet can live, and Sol Bay is the most likely of them.

"A hundred ships," said Leut's friend Van Gent at the meeting, "maybe more?

"We have about one hundred and thirty of them. Reutt said.

"All?" the other asked, "in case your speculation is wrong......"

Reut closed his eyes, and it took a few seconds to open them: "We must take risks, gentlemen. ”

It was indeed the largest fleet of the Dutch navy, one hundred and thirty, of which there were sixty-one great ships, four thousand five hundred guns, and twenty thousand officers and soldiers, and it was fine if Leut had misjudged it, but if the English or French fleets had taken advantage of the gap and reached the Netherlands mainland, they would have been burdened with heavy guilt, but in the end, they believed Leut.

When they could only see the water, everyone was so preoccupied that almost no one spoke, and when Leut went up to deck, his first mate was there, and it seemed that they could not sleep tonight - the huge sails that covered the sky were stirred by the sea breeze, and almost opened to the limit, and so did the speed of the ships, and according to Leut's plan, they had to reach the battlefield before the high tide, and if the combined fleet was in Sol Bay, there was not much time left for them.

————

About five or six o'clock in the morning the Duke of York awoke, and he was woken up, for by this time the workers had already begun to work, and barrels of beer were piled up— It can't be helped, at sea, the clean water quickly rots and stinks, only beer lasts longer, and brandy and wine, which are for the officers to taste, and cured meats, which are cut into four pounds or so in size, hard as stones, and filled in barrels like wine, and clucking hens and roosters, ducks that quack, sheep that bleating, and pigs that purring, are brought on board as fresh meat, and there is also a kind of meat called " Pocket soup, like a 17th-century spice packet, is made from vegetables, meat, and animal offal boiled into a slimy, sturdy piece, dried and sliced, and can be used as a soup stock.

In addition to the vegetables in the pocket soup, there are also real onions, carrots, cabbage, white radish, pumpkin, potatoes, which are rare vegetables that do not perish easily.

There are also things in wooden crates for the captain, first mate, etc., or the ship's doctor, such as coffee, chocolate, butter, etc...... The Duke of York looked over and sneezed, "This damn weather," he said, the torches on the docks were no longer so bright, and he probably had already made it dawn, so he walked out of the room, and sure enough, his "Royal Prince" had been plated with a beautiful layer of gold, and he stretched his back happily and looked out to sea.

A few bright dots shimmered between heaven and earth.