In London, England, Henry VII was very busy. He was troubled by the Ming Dynasty and the Spanish war reparations. When he signed the contract, all the major nobles and ministers in England recognized it.
But now when it comes time to actually pay reparations, the nobles have begun to cheat and refuse to hand over their own money to pay war reparations for the country.
In addition, the Scots in the north launched several offensives in succession, intending to seize the northern part of England. Ireland seemed not to be quiet either, and wanted to expel England's power on the island of Ireland.
All these things made him very irritable. What was even more irritating was that if England wanted to be strong, it must have a strong army. This war made him clearly realize that relying on mercenaries alone might not be reliable.
But this was opposed by the great nobles. The feudal nobles believed that they should be allowed to resume their private armed forces and let them defend the country.
The failure of a war caused the entire country to become precarious, and naturally he, the king, did not have a good life.
"Your Majesty, news has just arrived that something major happened here in Cornwall. The Ming people issued a law strictly prohibiting the church from collecting taxes, and forcibly confiscated the church's land, manors, shops, etc. As a result, fierce conflicts occurred. The Ming people here
He directly executed Samuel, Bishop of Cornwall, and massacred thousands of believers on the spot."
At this time, a minister hurriedly came to Henry VII's side and reported to him what happened in Cornwall.
“Are the people of Ming Dynasty crazy?”
When Henry VII heard this, he couldn't help but stand up.
He is very aware of the powerful power possessed by the church. This power far exceeds the power possessed by him as a king. The power of believers is extremely terrifying. What is even more terrifying is the Holy See. It only takes a word from the Holy See to organize a huge organization.
Believers formed an army to sweep away all heretics and heretics.
Then Henry VII couldn't help but walk around and think carefully about the beneficial and harmful aspects of this matter.
Take the opportunity to take back Cornwall?
No, no, I don’t have any troops in hand, and I can’t defeat the Ming people at all. Maybe the Ming people’s fleet will come to London again.
Unite other countries to put pressure on the Ming people, launch another war, and tear up the peace treaty?
This is a good idea, but it depends on whether it can unite with other countries, let alone Spain.
Planning a rebellion in Cornwall to overthrow the rule of the Ming Dynasty?
Well, this can be done secretly. This place is far away from the Ming Dynasty. Even if they are powerful, they are probably beyond their reach. Take it back as soon as possible while the time is short, otherwise the Ming Dynasty will gain a foothold in Cornwall and they will want to do it in the future.
It will be difficult to take it back.
Maybe I can also learn from the people of the Ming Dynasty and confiscate the church's property.
If the property of the church can be confiscated and the privileges of the church can be cancelled, then the wealth in my hands can increase dramatically, I will have the funds to build a powerful army, and I can also concentrate the royal power.
When the training of my army is completed, both Cornwall and the Spanish-occupied Hampshire can be recovered quickly, and the treaties signed by then can also be used to wipe the butt.
Thinking of this, Henry VII suddenly smiled.
There have been great changes between Europe today and Europe in the Middle Ages. One of the biggest changes is that the control of the Holy See over European countries has been reduced a lot. The kings of various countries have gradually taken over all the power of the country, and they have always been in control.
Committed to reforming religion and abolishing the privileges of the church to strengthen the royal power.
Among them, France was the vanguard. King Philip IV of France became rich overnight by confiscating the huge wealth of the Knights Templar.
Now, Henry VII was worried about his poor finances, and suddenly he seemed to see a solution to his financial problems.
He is very aware of the huge wealth that the church possesses. At this time, the church is not just a few churches. They have an extremely large amount of land, manor, and even their own business.
The main financial source of the Knights Templar is lending, which can be regarded as an early bank. It has its own business organization and structure, and uses the privileges enjoyed by the church to develop extremely prosperously.
If you can confiscate the church's property, it will be enough to make you rich overnight.
Thinking of this, Henry VII pondered for a while and immediately said: "I am ordering that we must learn from the people of the Ming Dynasty, confiscate the church's property, cancel the church's taxing power, and all taxes originally paid to the church must be paid to the state."
…
In the luxurious palace of Toledo, Spain, Isabella I and Fernando II were counting the wealth brought back from Engla with great interest.
After a year of hard fighting last year, we were originally prepared to take the initiative to negotiate peace with the three countries. Unexpectedly, with the arrival of the Ming Dynasty fleet, they defeated Portugal one after another, agreed to the British and French combined fleet, and went directly to London.
The Spanish fleet carried out a massacre here in London, almost turning London upside down, and robbed a large amount of wealth back to Spain.
The two of them naturally became the biggest beneficiaries, and the royal family's wealth increased dramatically.
"Do the English pirates have that much money to compensate our two countries?"
Isabella I was gesturing with a string of beautiful jewelry, and the floor-to-ceiling mirror from the Ming Dynasty reflected everything clearly.
Yes, it is a good piece of jewelry, but it lacks some jade embellishments from the East and looks a bit monotonous.
"There definitely isn't that much money to compensate us, and I estimate that the English pirates will be able to bear the consequences for just a few years. In a few years, they will definitely default on their debts, and even think of ways to take back their Hampshire."
.”
Fernando held a handful of gold coins in his hand and replied with a smile.
"Then we are trying to draw water from a bamboo basket but in vain?"
"Then we'll see if they can beat us."
"The only problem now is that the people of Ming Dynasty don't seem to want to continue signing the alliance with us. We will lose our exclusive trade rights with Ming Dynasty."
"This is a really bad thing and we should do something about it."
"Something should be done. We must let the people of Ming Dynasty know that without us Spaniards, they will not be able to live in peace and stability."
The two kept discussing, and now there were very few things that bothered them. The only worry was that the French in the north seemed not to be easy to deal with. It was impossible to get the French to sign a treaty for compensation and land cession, unless
It was the Ming people who were able to attack France.
"Your Majesty, news has just arrived that something big happened here in Cornwall. Tian Erniu killed the Archbishop of Cornwall and thousands of believers, confiscated church property, canceled the church's taxing privileges, and did not allow the church to issue indulgences.
etc."
An attendant hurriedly came to the palace and reported to the two what happened in Cornwall.
"Tian, is he crazy?"
When Isabella I heard this, she said in shock.
"No, he's not crazy."
"I have long heard that there are very few people in the Ming Dynasty who believe in religion. Buddhism and Taoism there do not have any privileges at all. When Cornwall comes under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, it will naturally follow the Ming Dynasty's rule.
Do things according to the rules.”
"Haha, this is a good opportunity, an opportunity to let the people of Ming know the importance of allies."
Fernando pondered for a while but then burst into laughter.
The people of Ming Dynasty are unwilling to continue to sign an alliance with them and want to cancel their exclusive trade rights. Yes, they have also put some pressure on the people of Ming Dynasty, letting them know that if Spain is missing as an ally in Europe, many things will be difficult for them.
It can't be done.
…
Vatican City, seat of the Pope.
Pope Julius II, who is sixty-one years old, got up early to go to work as usual. He has only been in the papal position for one year. He is an extremely ambitious and accomplished pope.
He is committed to restoring the influence of the Holy See and its control over European countries in the Middle Ages. Of course, it is no longer the Middle Ages. The Holy See has long been in decline. Although its influence is still there, its control over various countries is getting more and more.
Small.
Even Italy cannot be controlled. The fragmentation of Italy has made the power of the Holy See very weak. His first step is to unify Italy under the banner of the Pope and consolidate the power of the Holy See.
"Damn Louis XII~"
"And Fernando and Isabella of Spain, they all deserve to die!"
While Julius II was dealing with the matter, he couldn't help but curse.
During this period, France and Spain were his main enemies. Yes, they were enemies. France and Spain occupied a lot of land in Italy. The Spanish occupied Naples and the French occupied Ravenna, which influenced him to unify Italy.
In addition, the French king was the first king to oppose the privileges of the church. It was the French king who confiscated the huge wealth of the Knights Templar. As for the Spanish king, he was not a good person and had no intention of obeying the orders and arrangements of the Holy See.
"Your Majesty the Pope, news has just arrived that in Cornwall, England, the Ming people killed the Archbishop of Cornwall, massacred thousands of believers, and forcibly confiscated church property and removed church privileges."
At this time, a cardinal archbishop hurriedly came to Julius II and reported to him very seriously what happened in Cornwall.
"Damn Mingguo people~"
"These heretics and heretics should all be burned to death."
When Julius II heard this, he couldn't help but stand up immediately. He was very angry. After the anger, he quickly calmed down and pondered carefully.
"This incident means that we must teach the people of Ming Dynasty a lesson and let them learn to respect us. Otherwise, if other countries follow suit in the future, the power of our church will be weakened as never before."