"Your Majesty, the Earl of Chester wishes to see you."
"Let him in."
On December 6, 1583 AD, two months after the cannons of the European fleet set sail from Tianjin Port, Elizabeth Tudor stood in front of the glass window of the Queen's Drawing Room in Whitehall Palace, looking at the snow-covered outside. Covered grass.
Because she had never married, the last queen of the Tudor dynasty looked a little sad. The eyes drooped downward immediately after the upward arc ended, making her originally bright eyes seem to be contained in a triangular frame.
The nasolabial folds under the side of the nose are also very deep. After all, the Queen is already fifty years old. In order to maintain England's position of having both sides and preserve the achievements of the Protestant Reformation, she has resisted the huge pressure from the government and the public and has not married. Now, except for Felipe II, the European royal family has no objection to the marriage of the "Virgin Queen". There is no hope anymore.
When the Earl of Chester entered the reception room under the guidance of the palace attendants, he saw the Queen's back: she was standing in front of the glass window, her back straight. The waist made of whale bone is hidden behind the red and yellow silk, and two no longer attractive curves are drawn on the large golden skirt with complicated patterns. The light of the winter sunset shines through the glass window, shrouding the queen's figure in a red halo.
Robert Dudley looked at the back and remained silent for a long time. In his memory, this scene seemed familiar: On a winter day 25 years ago, at Hampton Court Palace, the Queen turned her back to him in front of the window and confided to him: "Robert, I think I Not knowing how to marry, it would be better for the illegitimate king to marry England rather than let England become her dowry.”
At that time, the woman who had just been crowned king still had a glory that could not be looked at, and an appearance that made Robert Dudley shudder. But at that time, he was so complacent that he did not hear the queen's hidden message. He just bowed and replied: "I will always be your shield and sword, and I will definitely marry you."
Nowadays, every time Robert recalls this conversation, he feels regretful for his stupidity and rashness. In the third year after the Queen ascended the throne, blindly believing that he had complete control over Elizabeth, he pushed his first wife, Amy, down the stairs and broke her neck.
What happened later proved the queen's foresight: the nobles gathered together and strongly opposed Robert Dudley's marriage to the queen. Although this murder ended in an "accidental" case, the Queen's ministers headed by William Cecil made Robert disgraced and made the Queen make a promise never to marry Dudley.
"She is the Queen after all," Dudley thought. Although her room is next door to the queen's palace, the queen will not completely hand over power to her lover. Although he nicknamed her "my eyes", hidden behind the doting eyes, there was a light called "suspiciousness" that shone out from time to time, making Dudley always abide by his duty as a courtier.
Although the two of them were sleeping in the same bed last night, he still knelt down on one knee to meet the queen as an earl. The co-owner of England and Ireland and titular king of France turned and placed his hand in Dudley's so that he could kiss the back of his hand.
She had a lot of powder on her face, and Dudley thought in disgust. Perhaps because the fireplace was so hot, he felt some heat in the Queen's palms.
It was this hand that was stroking his still-tight skin last night, but now it didn't make any unnecessary movements, and the sweaty palm revealed only coldness.
"Dudley, why does Cecil want to see me?"
"Your Majesty, a reply from the Emperor of Siris has arrived."
The Queen let out a long breath. "It seems that Mr. John Newbery has completed his mission."
"No, John Newbery only delivered the letter, while he himself was still detained in Goa. The letter was found among the china 'ordered' by Lord Cecil and luckily it did not sink Amid the stormy waters of the Cape of Good Hope. At the same time we should be grateful that the Portuguese did not examine the cargo carefully."
The Queen did not rush to read the letter from the East. Instead, she asked an irrelevant question: "Does Lord Cecil have any merchant ships heading to the East?"
Dudley hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should take this opportunity to give Cecil some eye drops. But he immediately gave up the idea: "No. This is the goods sent to Cecil by the Seris merchants in Malacca on their own initiative, using a Portuguese merchant ship. They said that Cecil asked someone in the Roman mission to buy this batch porcelain."
"Cecile didn't know about it."
"Yes, Your Majesty. He paid the Portuguese businessman a large sum of money for it."
"Dudley, it seems from this that war with Spain is hard to avoid for the sake of greater wealth."
"Yes. Senator Drake's fleet also returned to Plymouth. They harvested a lot in the New World, about three hundred pounds of gold and fourteen thousand pounds of silver - that Spanish bastard must be so angry, haha."
The queen's face suddenly became lively, and a smile appeared on her lips. She happily stood up from her chair and walked briskly around the reception room.
"That's a lot of money, Dudley. I could get seventy percent, about two hundred pounds of gold and ten thousand pounds of silver. Maybe I should build another palace. Whitehall is too dark. It makes me feel Depressed.”
Dudley smiled, and his golden mustache curled up as the queen's mood improved. "No, Your Majesty. I think you should invest this money in John Hawkins' shipyard and let him continue to build new warships."
"Maybe Drake can give some of his half to his cousin, and I can keep some."
"Haha, Your Majesty. Mr. Drake may do this, but John Hawkins will never use Derek's money to build a fleet for you. He will only give Derek some new ships and add some that make him happy. Guy."
When Dudley said this, he used the word cock, which was a pun about "rising up", which made the queen who was in a good mood laugh out loud.
Before Dudley could continue to show off his humor, the Queen immediately stopped her smile and said, "Robert, take out the letter from Emperor Siris."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Robert Dudley walked to the door of the reception room, opened the door and said a few words to the attendant standing outside. Immediately, a palace attendant had unpacked and inspected the items, carried them on a silver tray, brought them into the reception room, and placed the tray on the table in front of the queen.
There were several items on the tray: two kraft paper envelopes with their seals torn open, and two exquisite wooden boxes of oriental lacquerware, one large and one small. The large one was one foot square, and the small one was as big as two palms.
"Ha. A gift from the emperor! It seems he is a very well-educated gentleman! Let me see what's inside."
The Queen first admired the box lid with an orchid pattern made of wrong silver, then grabbed the silver buckle and opened the lid. There are several pieces of paper inside the box. After removing the paper, there are four small porcelain jars as thin as cicada wings. The gaps in the jars are filled with golden silk to prevent them from colliding with each other.
"What's in this jar?" the Queen asked, taking out a thumb-sized black cube from the jar.
"I've heard of this kind of thing. The merchants who went to the East called it 'tea'. 'Tea', Your Majesty. A drink from Seris - it needs to be brewed with boiling water."
"I think I'll give it a try. Are you sure this isn't the bitter Aztec bean? Maybe we can cook it and eat it," the Queen said, laughing again.
"No, those pieces of paper are instructions on how to make this drink - His Majesty the Emperor is very careful."
"Okay, put them aside first. Let's take a look at this." After saying that, the queen opened it and took out a small box.
"Oh my god, is this a flat mirror?" After opening the lid, Queen Tudor's eyes were directly greeted by a sparkling silver glass mirror - it was inlaid on the inside of the box lid, revealing the queen's pale face. It was clearly displayed in front of her.
Because of the excitement, the Queen's lips trembled a little, "God, this is so clear! There are no bubbles, completely flat and smooth! How did the Seris people do it? This is a thousand times better than the mirror in Venice!"
Dudley's nostrils blew out a puff of hot air, as if the Queen was making a fuss. But he could also understand the queen's somewhat exaggerated statement: he also felt that this mirror was hundreds of times better than the one sold in Venice. The words "hundred" and "thousand" have the same number of syllables, but the Queen is a woman after all, so it is understandable to use a larger order of magnitude.
"This is lipstick, a silk powder pat, a brush and an eyebrow pencil, and nail clippers - these are all little gifts from Emperor Seris for you to use for your makeup."
"Oh! God! He's such a sweet guy! He's a young man, right? Oh, God, he's so sweet. Robert, I think I like him very, very much because he knows what I need most. .”
"No, Your Majesty, you don't need it. Your beauty does not need to be decorated." After saying this, Dudley felt a little unnaturally nauseous, "But these things are very convenient and practical. You'd better take a look at what he gave you. What was written in the letter?"
...
“Her Royal Highness Queen Tudor, Protector of England, Ireland and France:
I have received your letter. Because of the obstruction of the Spanish Empire, Mr. John Newbery was detained in Goa and did not come to the capital to wait. I am also aware of this. A few days ago, I have issued an order to the Governor of Burma, asking him to negotiate with the Goa authorities and immediately release Mr. Newbery to Beijing. However, I do not have high expectations for success.
Although you are far away across the ocean, I deeply commend you for your sincerity and sincerity in sending a special envoy to come to the court with a letter and a letter.
In the letter, you implore you to negotiate with Salis and request my permission for trade, which I fully agree to. After receiving my letter, you can send a formal mission to meet me and discuss the details.
Next winter, I will also send a mission to visit the Holy See and conduct a goodwill visit to Europe. The Queen is requested to do her best to provide necessary facilities for the security of the mission and the movement of its members in Europa.
I heard the news from Goa that Portugal has been annexed by Spain. All its overseas territories have been owned by Felipe II. The sea routes between east and west have been completely controlled by Spain.
This is completely intolerable to me. Manchuria, Luzon, Aceh, Johor and other countries are all vassals of Seris and were successively invaded by Portugal and Spain. As emperor, I must protect these vassal states and completely expel Spain from the South and West.
At the same time, Spain's annexation of Portugal and the Netherlands and its threats to European countries such as the Holy Roman Empire and France are illegal and immoral and will surely be unanimously opposed by European countries.
The Spanish king's possession of undivided land would bring unbearable consequences to his country and himself.
Enclosed are the two gifts I have given you. Please accept them. I appreciate them.
Yubi, February 11th, the 11th year of Wanli. "
There are two copies of the letter. One is written in Chinese and stamped with the emperor's personal seal. The other was translated into Latin without a seal, just for the convenience of the Queen. After all, even if there were people in Europe who knew Chinese characters at this time, they could only be in the Holy See, and the Queen had been excommunicated by the Catholic Church more than ten years ago.
The letter traveled quickly, lasting only nine months. Thanks to the fact that the Portuguese merchant ship was already fully loaded with cargo in Malacca, there was no time wasted on other routes except for necessary shelter and supply anchoring.
While Queen Tudor was reading the letter, Dudley clearly felt her mood fluctuating violently. When she put down the letter, he looked at the Queen questioningly.
"Your Excellency, Earl of Dudley, immediately notify Lord Cecil to take action and tell those who have come into contact with this letter to shut their mouths. If the Emperor of Serris launches an operation to expel Spain in the east, transfer the main force of the Armada away Europe, then our chance is here. Please make this letter England's top secret!"
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