Chapter 23

Mary had heard of indulgences.

With just these simple pieces of paper, the Pope has amassed at least tens or even hundreds of thousands of gold ducats over the years, enough to renovate Rome's largest church.

Sometimes, even though she was a Catholic, Mary still felt that the reason Protestantism was able to flourish so much and become on par with Catholicism, which had a history of more than a thousand years, in just one century was entirely because Roman Catholicism was too corrupt and decadent.

There's a joke that goes something like this?

A pagan who did not believe in God went to the Roman Catholic Church and witnessed all kinds of evils that even hell could not contain. Upon returning, he immediately became a devout fanatic, because the Church, which had become so corrupt and depraved, had not been destroyed. This must be because there was a true God backing him up.

Mary wrote a letter to the Pope, conveying her gratitude for the Father's care and concern. She then turned around and put the small box into the storeroom, ensuring that the indulgences inside would never see the light of day again.

Let's wait for the money from selling salt to ease the financial pressure.

She felt really guilty for swindling money from the Scottish people.

...

A retainer from the Duke of Guise, in the Queen's bedroom, brought the Duke's greetings and a report on the investigation that Mary had requested from Albert Durst.

He was indeed a member of the Duke of Ferrara's family, and also held a minor title, living off the vassal family of the Dester family.

But unlike ordinary distant relatives, he was responsible for helping the Duke of Ferrara handle some shady, inconvenient things to do openly.

For example, the most common political assassination.

This made those who knew Albert Dester's true identity look down on him, but he was highly trusted by the Duke of Ferrara, which gave him a high status in the duchy, and everyone had to flatter and fawn over him.

But last year, this man angered the Duke of Ferrara for some unknown reason, which led the Duke to throw him into prison and have him hanged.

Albert Dest escaped, and the Duke of Ferrara sent mercenaries to hunt him down. To this day, his bounty, worth 30,000 florins, still hangs on the black market in Italy.

That's all the information he got from his investigation; they couldn't find out anything more private.

The Duke of Guise was surprised that his niece had rescued such a man at sea and brought him back to Scotland. In his letter, he reminded Mary that the Italian would be very useful if arranged properly, but also warned her to be careful that he might betray his new mistress just as he had betrayed the Duke of Ferrara.

Furthermore, if he were to anger Mary one day, he could be hanged and his head exchanged for money in Italy.

After reading it, Mary couldn't help but frown, but after a while, she relaxed her brow again.

“It doesn’t really matter. As long as he diligently performs his duties from now on, or does not serve Elizabeth I when he leaves Scotland to seek other opportunities, I will treat him as an ordinary subject,” Mary said to herself.

...

That year, as the Scottish harvest season was approaching, Mr. Glenn Wilson, who had traveled south to sell salt throughout England, sent his first earnings of pounds, which amounted to about two thousand pounds.

The pound sterling was very valuable in the 16th century. Even Mary's former Queen's allowance was only 1,200 pounds, and 2,000 pounds was equivalent to the annual income of an average earl in England.

Along with the money came descriptions of how commoners, merchants, and stewards of noble families scrambled to buy his white salt, even fighting over it in front of the shops.

"On July 19th, in order to open up the market as quickly as possible and sell large sacks of white salt, I finally arrived in Lincolnshire in the south of England. This is also a salt-producing area. If British merchants want to buy large quantities of salt, apart from those who go to France, the rest will come to these counties. Those merchants block the managers of the salt mills, vying to buy salt from them, and for this, they rush to stuff money into the managers' hands. In addition, some merchants with connections will visit the stewards of noble families at night, such as the Duke of Lancaster's family, which owns the largest salt mill in the area."

"After I came here and rested for a few days, I inquired about the salt prices this year and in previous years. Then I bought a shop on a good street, gave it the nice name 'Snowflake Salt,' and hired people to open it."

"Madam, just as you guessed and predicted, this snow-white, non-bitter salt quickly attracted the attention of the entire street and caused a sensation throughout Lincolnshire. Young women, pastors in church, and beggars on the street all crowded in front of my shop, then reached out and tasted the snow salt with their fingers. When they heard the cheap price I quoted, they couldn't believe it. Some even thought I was a swindler and planned to drag me to see the sheriff, forcing me to stand in the shop and repeatedly explain to people that I was an honest and reliable merchant."

"And so, the reputation of Snowflake Salt spread far and wide. After I announced that the supply was limited, people rushed home to get their money and come to buy salt from me, afraid that they would miss out if they were a step too late. The next day, it wasn't just the residents of the street coming to buy salt, but merchants who wanted to buy large quantities. These merchants always had the best noses and the best information; they knew exactly where the good stuff was. They and their male servants practically blocked half the street, causing passersby to complain endlessly, but no merchant was willing to make way..."

"Madam, as I write this letter to you to report on my work, I can say without boasting that Snowflake Salt and I have already gained considerable fame in Lincolnshire and even several nearby counties. The managers of those salt workshops are full of resentment and even brought a large group of people to cause trouble for me at night. As you instructed, I sent generous gifts to the local nobles and the county magistrate to build connections and skillfully resolved this crisis."

"Now, I have sold out of my goods. I can only pray that you can send more ships along the sea route to deliver more salt as soon as possible, so that I won't be visited by those anxious merchants every day."

"Furthermore, after you brought my son and daughter into the palace to raise them, I missed them terribly. I know that you are kind and compassionate and will surely take good care of them, but as a father, I am always worried about them. I beg you to allow me to give them two letters."

—Greetings from Glen Wilson, your humble and loyal businessman.

The old man was cautious and aware of the animosity between Scotland and England, so in his letter to Mary, he did not address her as "Your Majesty" but as "Madam."

As for old Glenn's two children, they had been living in Holyrood Palace under the guise of helping him take care of them since the day Mary sent him to England. They were treated as if they were raising noble children, with good food and drink and tutors, so as to prevent the old man from having any inappropriate thoughts.

After reading it, Mary wrote down her permission for him and his children to correspond with each other, and then gave some instructions on not to disclose the technology and to avoid attracting the attention of the British nobility.

...

Estimated the potential profits from selling salt, Mary recruited another batch of soldiers, expanding the size of her guard.

With money, soldiers, and nobles and municipal officials willing to obey orders... although money and soldiers were scarce, and those who were loyal to her were fickle, Mary was finally able to make some reforms in Edinburgh and several nearby cities.

In order not to provoke Count Maurice, Mary did not touch the transfer of officials or the finances, but decided to start with the city's sanitation and education.

First and foremost is hygiene.

The Middle Ages were notoriously filthy; commoners didn't bathe, relieved themselves anywhere, and the streets were covered in excrement. When it rained, it was like... These descriptions may be exaggerated, but they are certainly not fabricated.

People of this era did not yet know that the biggest problem caused by filth was not its indecent appearance, but the spread of diseases and plagues, with the Black Death a century ago being the best example.

The first habit that the Queen of Scots encouraged the residents of Edinburgh to adopt was to drink hot water, wash their hands frequently, and keep cats to kill mice.

Because of the absurd belief that witches kept cats, the custom of abusing cats has been prevalent in Europe for hundreds of years. When Elizabeth I ascended the throne, people threw boxes and boxes of cats into the fire to burn them as a form of celebration.

The outbreak of the Black Death was also related to the fact that people had almost killed cats to extinction, leaving no cats to catch rats, which led to rats running rampant in the streets and alleys.

The newly appointed Protestant leader, Craig, now completely subservient to the Queen. Therefore, under Mary's instructions, he and his clergy quickly proclaimed the theory of keeping clean and tidy in order to get closer to heaven in the name of Protestant doctrine. The city officials also sent people to loudly proclaim in the streets and alleys that the residents of Edinburgh should no longer be afraid of wasting firewood. The Queen had opened up the right to cut down forests and went to search for coal mines in Calais. Soon, charcoal workers brought cheaper charcoal fuel.

Cheaper?

The common people ignored the pretentious demands of the nobles and priests, and instead cheered for the Queen's wisdom because of the cheaper charcoal fuel.

"well……"

Mary could only sigh upon learning of this.

It's impossible to change the habits passed down from our ancestors in just a few days of propaganda; we can only take it slowly.

In comparison, it was much easier to clean the streets, enforce the use of masks and white coats at village doctors' homes, help women wash their hands and dry their scissors before childbirth, and stop bloodletting. After all, this was the era of monarchical rule, and the queen had the right to make any laws she wanted in her country.

However, to avoid any disobedience, Mary summoned all the well-known doctors from across Scotland to Holyrood Palace and invited scholars and professors from the University of St Andrews to explain the reasons to them.

Of course, those scholars and professors had been instructed by Mary in advance to only speak in accordance with the Queen's wishes, explaining from various ancient theories how wise the Queen's request was.

After the lecture, all the doctors appeared to be convinced.

An elderly doctor stood up, looking troubled, and spoke on behalf of the group: “Your Majesty, although we are willing to carry out your orders, we have always been in dire financial straits and cannot meet your requirements of wearing clean white clothes, changing masks frequently, not to mention boiling the instruments and gauze we use every seven days.”

Mary, seated at the head of the long table, calmly replied, “Helping one’s subjects is a monarch’s acknowledgment, and in that respect, I am willing to offer some assistance.”

Mary clapped her hands, and the side door of the hall opened, with a lady-in-waiting leading in a line of male servants carrying heavy loads.

On the servant's tray were masks, white coats, forceps that should never have been invented in this era, gauze wrapped in cloth and marked with the date of boiling water scalding, a small amount of alcohol... everything imaginable.

On either side of the long table, the doctors stirred for a moment, their faces beaming with joy.

"Gentlemen present are all highly skilled physicians. I hope you will register your information in the palace archives and then come to the palace each year to collect your share of supplies according to your information."

“I am willing to give you these items free of charge, but you should understand that if you do not comply with my wishes, you will be violating Scottish law!”

After doing all this, Mary approached the city official and asked him to divide Edinburgh into zones and hire people to clean the streets in those zones every day.

In addition, thinking about the damp and cold weather in Scotland, Mary began to consider how to build a small sewer system in Edinburgh.