Chapter 43

The Queen of Scots' decision to secretly travel to Ireland unsurprisingly caused a huge uproar within her inner circle of close advisors.

From Maitland to Boswell and David Lidjo, everyone opposed the Queen taking the risk, believing that even if there was something important, sending a clever and intelligent messenger would suffice.

The Queen of Scots remained silent on the matter, but unilaterally suppressed all objections. On the surface, she led a large entourage on a grand journey to a castle further north in Scotland for a holiday, while secretly setting foot on Irish soil under the guise of a merchant caravan.

—The Emerald Isle.

Despite its poetic name and fairytale-like scenery, Ireland has not had a peaceful life.

The caravan had just arrived at Galway, a port city in Ireland, and had barely anchored to secure their wooden ships when they were extorted by the English before they could even disembark and unload their cargo.

A few young men, wearing greasy sheepskin vests and sporting mustaches, blocked Seton, the first to disembark, and said with a grin that they would be collecting a merchant tax on their fleet, totaling six pounds.

Seton stepped back, preventing their hands from touching him, and looked them over suspiciously. He said, "This is not in accordance with British law. Even if we are to pay taxes, we should report the quantity of our goods to the officials here after entering the city, and then pay the taxes proportionally, instead of paying you at the docks."

"This isn't in accordance with British law, but it's the rule in Ireland. Six pounds, not a single one, or you won't be leaving this dock..." The leading man said, his eyes darting around, before reaching out to touch Seton's face. "...Beautiful lady, where are you from? How about this, you give me a kiss, and I'll charge you one less pound?"

Seton quickly slapped his hand away, glared at the scoundrel, and was certain that these men were definitely not legitimate tax collectors. Seeing that there were still a few British soldiers stationed and patrolling on the dock, he immediately called them over.

"Gentlemen, please come here! There's someone here impersonating a British tax collector!" Seton shouted.

The British soldier, holding a spear, walked over listlessly with a languid gait. He looked at the two groups of people and then asked, "Where are you from? The Kingdom of Great Britain or Ireland?"

“No, we are Scots, a caravan of the Wilson family, who brought some fine salt to sell to the nobles in Ireland,” Seton said truthfully, reciting his prepared background in a very formal manner.

The British soldier let out a long "Oh," and said in a drawn-out tone, "Scottish man, is it true that your farmers eat horse oats every day?"

Seton's face flushed with anger, and he snapped, "Sir, you are incredibly rude! I summoned you here to put these swindlers who dare to impersonate government officials in jail, not to criticize our Scottish customs!"

The British soldier glanced at the young men, who immediately stuffed a few coins into his hand and whispered a few words in his ear, which made the British soldier's face quickly relax.

He immediately sided with the thugs, saying nonchalantly, "There are no swindlers. I swear on my clean reputation, these are legitimate local tax collectors. Hurry up and give them the money, or you'll be the ones in jail!"

"Once we get into the city, I'm going to find the judge here and sue you for dereliction of duty!" Seton said angrily. How could they accept bribes and extort money so casually in broad daylight on the docks!

This childish remark caused everyone who had gathered at the dock—including soldiers and thugs—to burst into laughter.

Their eyes met, and a sense of pride, unique to the English, flowed between them.

The soldiers showed no fear, laughing heartily as they spread their hands and said quite generously, "...Go ahead and sue me, beautiful lady, and see if the judge will protect us Englishmen or favor you Celts who share the same blood as the Irish?"

On the outskirts of the crowd, several beggars, dressed in tattered furs, gathered around at the sound of the commotion. After hearing the arrogant words of the British soldiers, they cast resentful glances at them.

...

The caravan eventually had to pay an extra sum of money to get rid of these thugs who made a living by extorting others, and they were able to leave the docks smoothly.

This unfair treatment left Seton indignant, and he remained angry until he was seated in the carriage.

“That’s normal. Although we are now on Irish soil, the people in charge are no longer the Irish, but the English. All those who are not British are second-class citizens,” Mary said, adding that Scotland and England have a long history of enmity.

Mary offered Seton a few words of comfort and explained in detail the conflict between Ireland and England.

Starting in 1171, Henry II of England set his sights on Ireland and sought to colonize it. However, this rule was inconsistent and weakened several times due to the Black Death, the Hundred Years' War, and the Wars of the Roses. He never truly controlled Ireland.

However, with the establishment of the Tudor dynasty, England once again turned its attention to Ireland. From Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I to the current Elizabeth I, England has always maintained a high-pressure, iron-fisted rule there.

Elizabeth I adopted the method of "collect first, then grant". Just over a year ago, she sent troops to attack the Irish nobles and confiscate all their land and property.

"Then, she brought in a large number of native Englishmen who were loyal to the Queen of England, and made these Englishmen the new nobles or plantation owners, ruling over the various parts of Ireland."

“The original Irish commoners had only two choices: either stay and become serfs or be driven to remote and barren areas in the west.”

“This is colonial rule,” Mary concluded.

Seton gasped in shock, then asked, puzzled, "Even their homes have been taken away, don't the Irish fight back to the death?"

The carriage happened to be passing through the city center square at that moment.

Mary looked out, then opened the car window, letting Seton see the mummified corpses hanging in mid-air on the guillotine.

They were dressed in full, patterned clothes, and it was clear at a glance that they were not lowly peasants or slaves, but nobles of high status.

As the wind blew, their dehydrated corpses swayed precariously in mid-air.

“They resisted. Like Scotland, the Irish resistance never ceased, but their wooden swords and spears were no match for the British steel chainmail, and their flesh and blood could not withstand the British muskets and cannons,” Mary said calmly.

Like Scotland, Ireland is one of the most underdeveloped regions in Europe.

Scotland is in a slightly better position. Since the formation of the Old Union, it has at least gained access to technology and troops from the Pope and France. Ireland, on the other hand, is extremely primitive and still maintains an early medieval clan structure.

Along the way, the carriage passed houses made entirely of straw and wood, with the few brick and stone houses being churches.

“Actually… if England had treated the Irish nobles the same way it did Wales, granting them full autonomy, appeasing the people, and then teaching them advanced technology and agricultural development, then over time, the Irish would naturally consider themselves part of Britain,” Albert, who was listening in, suddenly sighed.

“But if that’s the case, then it wouldn’t be my place to covet Ireland…” Mary thought for a moment, then commented, “…It’s easier said than done. The British look down on the Irish to the core, considering them dirty, rude, and barbaric, uncivilized savages, and would never treat the Irish fairly. And the Irish, facing these invaders who burn, kill, and plunder, will only hate them.”

"If you do get Ireland, how do you plan to rule it?" Albert asked again.

Mary smiled and said, "Why ask again? You've already said what I was thinking."

She wouldn't dare call herself a brilliant ruler, but she certainly surpassed Elizabeth in her handling of Ireland.

Albert chuckled.

The brutal and bloody rule sparked fierce resistance from the Irish, which in turn led to even more brutal and bloody repression. This is how the relationship between Britain and Ireland changed over the next few centuries.

In Mary's memory, in Ireland, the Munster Revolt would break out in 1569, the Connaught Rebellion in 1572, the Catholic Revolt in 1579, and the Nine Years' War would begin in 1594.

This was merely a rebellion during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Each time an Irish uprising occurred, Elizabeth would swiftly dispatch troops to suppress the rebels in a brutal manner, burning fields and executing all Irish families who might have participated in the rebellion, and further stripping the Irish of their various rights.

Such bloody rule would become increasingly cruel. A century later, Cromwell, the Protector of England, would carry out a great purge against the Irish who had once again declared independence, killing more than 500,000 Irish people, causing Ireland to lose a third of its population, and turning the Irish into slaves of England.

During the Great Purge, approximately 100,000 Irish people were sold into slavery. The men were used as indentured laborers, while the women were taken to have sex with Black people, giving birth to mixed-race slaves who were more aesthetically pleasing.

By the Victorian era of the 19th century, Britain had completed full industrialization, while the Irish remained an agricultural society due to technological blockade, relying solely on potato cultivation for survival. As a result, the potatoes became moldy and rotten, the Irish Revolution broke out, and millions starved to death. Britain, as the colonial power, not only failed to provide assistance but also continuously transported food away from Ireland...

Mary snapped out of her reverie and saw Seton's face was ashen, her body trembling, still staring at the departing mummies. She quickly closed the car window, patted Seton's hand, and took off the fur and draped it over Seton's shoulders.

“Don’t be afraid, what are you thinking, Seton?” Mary said softly.

“Scotland and Ireland are so alike, Your Majesty…” Seton began, only to find her voice trembling, but she couldn’t care less. “…Will Scotland, which has always been unable to defeat England, become like that in the future?”

Mary paused for a moment.

“I do not have the confidence to guarantee that I can defeat Elizabeth in my contest and lead Scotland to a brighter future…” Mary gripped the cross on her chest, lowered her eyes, and solemnly said to Seton, “...But I swear to God that as long as I live, as long as I can breathe and think, I will protect my country and my people. If I die, I will do everything in my power to concentrate the hatred of England and Elizabeth on myself, so as not to burden my homeland.”