Chapter 21
Maitland pronounced Knox's punishment.
He will be beheaded and his reputation ruined for "worshiping the devil," losing even the chance to serve as a pastor for the dying. He will then be forever nailed to the pillar of shame, endlessly cursed by every Christian.
Beside the judge, the clerk swiftly recorded the entire case with a quill pen. If nothing unexpected happens, this case will be archived in Scottish history and passed down to future generations.
Queen of Scots did not remain in Edinburgh to witness John Knox's death. As soon as the trial ended, Her Majesty returned to Holyrood Palace by carriage.
Maitland personally escorted the Queen to the carriage and helped her onto it.
"Your Majesty, are you satisfied with the case I handled?" Maitland asked, bowing her head and revealing a smug smile.
Mary nodded approvingly at Maitland and said in a steady tone, "Very good, Lord Maitland, your loyalty will be rewarded."
Maitland's smile widened as she respectfully saw the Queen's convoy off.
Once inside the carriage, Mary leaned against the wall, her brow furrowed, her face pale beneath her dark hair.
John Knox's dying curse kept echoing in her mind, making her recall the horrific scene of her death in her previous life over and over again.
At that time, she was falsely accused, tried by a group of British nobles, and then beheaded while surrounded by Protestants.
Seton opened the smelling salts bottle, held it under the Queen's nose, and took a few deep breaths. Only then did Mary regain her composure due to the overly pungent smell.
“I made a mistake,” Mary suddenly said.
"What?"
Seton did not understand the Queen's meaning.
I made a mistake.
I used despicable means, tacitly allowing my ministers to fabricate witness testimonies to frame others, all in order to bring down my enemies.
I repent, but I will not change, for I know in my heart that I will continue to make this mistake countless times until the moment I die or am defeated by someone else, when I will drag these bloody sins into hell.
Mary did not answer, but instead made the sign of the cross on her chest again.
...
With John Knox's death, the Protestant movement in Scotland was temporarily leaderless, but Mary knew that this situation would not last long.
Sixteenth-century Europe was destined to be the era of the Reformation. England had the Anglican Church, France had the Huguenots, and Geneva, Germany, was the birthplace of Protestantism... It was a phenomenon that spread everywhere. No matter how hard the Roman Catholic Church tried to stop it, this momentous trend of the times was destined to sweep across the entire Christian world, and it was absolutely impossible to return to the Catholic Church's unique position in the past.
Scotland was no exception; Mary did not attempt to eliminate all Protestant forces, as that was simply impossible.
She only wanted to control this Protestant force, so choosing an obedient Protestant leader was of paramount importance.
Maitland, well-versed in local affairs, discerned her mistress's thoughts and quickly sent over three Protestant pastoral candidates, including Craig, all of whom had secretly pledged absolute allegiance to the Queen of Scotland.
Of the three, Mary initially had no intention of choosing Craig, but hesitated between the other two priests, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. However, a remark by Albert changed Mary's mind.
Albert frowned, somewhat disgusted, and said, “It’s best not to choose this Craig. He’s blasphemous… Once, I went to Edinburgh to buy some clothes, and when I passed through an alley at night, I saw him and another man… um… Your Majesty, you know, I don’t like it, but I have no interest in having someone hanged for something like this, so I quietly left.”
"Is he gay?" Mary asked bluntly.
“Yes,” Albert said.
Mary made the decision decisively.
“In that case, it’s him… He’s John Knox’s student, so it’s only natural that he takes his teacher’s place,” Mary said.
With such a fatal weakness in her hands, she would never have to worry about Craig posing a threat to her.
Albert opened his mouth, but for a moment his face showed that he was speechless.
...
Having quelled the Protestant forces, ensuring that others would not cause trouble over religious issues for the time being, and having gained the secret allegiance of a small number of nobles, including Maitland, Mary was finally able to devote her time and energy to improving the Scottish economy without worrying about anyone plundering her achievements.
For example, salt production.
Scotland's geographical location is actually quite bad.
Whether it was the most basic mineral resources, arable land, or the opening of sea routes, it was vastly different from its neighbor England, which led to a long-standing disparity in national strength between the two countries.
Such a natural disparity cannot be changed by policy reforms or human intervention.
We can't change anything until the Industrial Revolution.
Therefore, we have no choice but to find a new path.
Salt is something that everyone needs, but it's also very easy to make. You just need to set up a big pot on the beach and boil it until the seawater evaporates, leaving a layer of white salt crystals at the bottom. However, the salt made this way is not only of poor quality, but also yellow and bitter, and people with some means are unwilling to eat it.
Moreover, salt produced in this way is extremely wasteful of firewood and charcoal, and the yield is very low.
Therefore, in recent years, people by the sea have almost abandoned this method and instead use the method of sun-drying to make salt.
Scotland, as a country near the sea, naturally has salt-making workshops, but they are small in scale and have not become a significant industry over the years.
Mary had her property agent sell off part of her sheep and use the money to buy the largest salt factories, then went to the seaside under the guise of a vacation.
Before leaving, Mary gave awards and made arrangements for the people around her.
First, there was Maitland. Mary awarded him a medal and arranged his engagement to Fleming, demonstrating her high regard and trust in him to the whole of Scotland. Smart people could also see from this action that the Queen was dissatisfied with her regent brother.
Boswell was promoted again and became a Privy Councillor, officially becoming one of the court's nobles. As for Albert, he was promoted to captain of the Scottish Guard.
After instructing Boswell and Maitland to report to her immediately if anything happened, Mary rode off to the saltworks under the protection of Albert and other soldiers.
During their journey, gazing upon the almost pristine lakes and mountains of Scotland, Mary asked, "In your eyes, what distinguishes Scotland from Italy, or even the rest of Europe?"
"Italy is bustling with people and always exudes worldly liveliness and joy, while Scotland's scenery is so beautiful that it's easier to think of inner peace and tranquility," Albert complimented.
Mary glanced at him expressionlessly.
“Don’t worry about angering me, I’d rather hear the truth, Albert,” Mary said calmly.
The blond youth awkwardly touched his nose.
“Well, Your Majesty… My biggest impression after coming to live in Scotland is how backward it is.”
"The Duchy of Ferrara isn't exactly prosperous, but merchants come and go every day. As for other Italian cities, such as Venice, Genoa, or Florence, those cities have populations of hundreds of thousands, and merchant ships come and go on the Mediterranean every day, crowding the ports. Merchants bring all sorts of popular goods from the Ottoman Empire, the New World, France, and Spain, and they sell them all very quickly. I once even bought a gemstone ornament at a bargain price. The Medici family of Florence is very capable, and their banking business is incredibly successful... However, I probably won't get back the several thousand florins I deposited in their bank."
"As for Scotland, life and customs there are more like Europe a hundred or two hundred years ago, backward and dilapidated, and there are even nobles practicing the right of first night, which is simply unbelievable. Edinburgh, the capital of the country, has only tens of thousands of people living there, and the English currency is more popular than the local currency. When I go to the street to buy things, I sometimes have to barter, and almost no one, including merchants, knows what a bank is."
Mary was furious, but she knew he was telling the whole truth.
When she first returned to Scotland in her previous life, she found that there wasn't even a single tapestry in the castle. In winter, when the wind blew, the cold was almost penetrating even the cracks in the stones, and the male servants had to keep adding fire to the fireplace.
Compared to her life as Queen of France, it was like falling from heaven to hell.
Seeing that the Queen remained silent for a long time, the blond youth cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, you promised not to be angry?"
"Rest assured, Mr. Albert, I am not angry. I am merely considering how to improve the lives of my people," Mary said gently, then sharply cracked her whip, urging the horse to gallop even faster.
Watching the Queen's retreating figure in her riding attire, Albert murmured, "She's still angry, isn't she?"
...
In the salt-making workshops by the sea, the workers, unaware of what was happening, were already respectfully awaiting the Queen's arrival.
Mary wasted no time. After briefly explaining the current salt production methods to the workers, she began to improve the production process and drew up a brand-new large-scale distillation apparatus based on the laboratory equipment model from her previous life.
For Mary, whose other half was once a chemistry master's student, this was a fairly simple task. If she had traveled to a more advanced industrial revolution era instead of a primitive agrarian civilization, she, with her understanding of various principles, would be half-sure to be able to make nitroglycerin, pesticides and fertilizers, hydrogen peroxide, sulfonamides, and even poison gas...
Laymen might find this unbelievable because they simply don't understand how useful it is to know the various chemical formulas invented or discovered by our predecessors.
Scotland's weather is cold and damp year-round, and the amount of sunshine suitable for salt production is usually only 3 to 4 hours, which greatly limits salt production.
Mary instructed the workers to continue using the old method of drying salt when the weather was good, but to boil salt in the room using the primitive method when the weather was bad.
More than half of the forests in the British Isles are in Scotland and nominally belong to her, the Queen. As long as she gives permission, workers can cut down trees for firewood at will. As for things like polluting the environment and wasting vegetation, that's something to consider at least a century from now.
After obtaining the coarse salt, Mary had a large amount of quicklime transported to make lime milk, which was then mixed with the coarse brine to filter out impurities. After being left for a period of time, it was filtered a second time, and finally distilled once more. This yielded salt similar to that of later generations, with no bitter taste and as white as snow.
After a month of such busy work, the finished product was finally obtained.
In the salt-making workshop, the workers gathered together, disregarding the danger of being burned by the distillation equipment. They gently pinched a small amount of salt into their dark palms, then lowered their heads and licked it lightly. After tasting the salty flavor without any bitterness, they almost doubted that they had fallen into a beautiful dream.
God, they have spent almost their entire lives drying salt on the seashore, but they have never seen such good salt!
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