Chapter 50
The mission to France, originally scheduled for the winter of 1564, was eventually postponed to the spring of the following year.
Firstly, she was still a monarch who had ruled Scotland for a short time and needed to stay in Holyrood Palace to gradually establish her rule and authority among the people through regular meetings and trips to Edinburgh, thus deeply embedding it in their hearts.
Secondly, winter is really not suitable for travel. Traveling all the way can easily lead to catching a cold or even pneumonia. There are no antibiotics now, so if you get sick, you can only rely on yourself to get through it. If you can't get through it, then you can only say it's God's will.
So, after spending a rather cold winter in Scotland and secretly studying the composition of gunpowder and the improvement of cannons in Edinburgh, Mary summoned the French ambassador, Du Croc, in the spring of the following year. She asked him to deliver a formal diplomatic letter to the Queen Mother, Catherine, proposing to visit Paris and the Duchy of Lorraine to see her uncle and husband's relatives, whom she had not seen for several years and whom she had "extremely missed."
The reply from France arrived as quickly as possible.
Queen Catherine the Queen Mother agreed to her request to visit. Her words were polite and courteous but cold, indicating that she was welcome to come if she wanted, and the French royal family would naturally do their best to be hospitable to Mary, the Queen of Scots.
In contrast, her son Charles IX's letter was much more enthusiastic, saying that after Mary arrived, he would definitely hold a knightly competition to welcome the Queen of Scots, and take her to a poets' salon and a hunting trip, so they could have a good chat about their experiences over the past few years...
When Marie Antoinette was Queen of France, she always got along well with her husband's younger brothers and sisters. So when Charles IX heard that his kind sister-in-law was coming to visit France again, he was overjoyed.
However, the Duke of Guise was the one who most welcomed Mary to France.
In her previous life, Mary's uncle, a military oligarch, died in an assassination attempt by Huguenots on February 18, 1563, which dealt a heavy blow to the power of the entire Guise family.
Mary still remembers fainting when she heard the news of her kind uncle's death. From then on, she hated Protestants even more and loved Catholics even more.
Marie, of course, would never allow such a thing to happen again in her lifetime. She wrote to him repeatedly, reminding him to be careful of the Huguenots going to extremes and launching a last-ditch counterattack when he was carrying out the military suppression of the Huguenots. In the spring of 1563, she even directly reminded the Duke of Guise that she had received a secret message that a Huguenot named Jean de Portrott de Meré was being instructed to assassinate the Duke of Guise near Cornish Castle, and asked him to be very careful!
Thanks to the reminder in the letter, Duke Guise, with some skepticism, strengthened the guards around him. Although he was injured during the assassination attempt, he managed to save his life.
After recovering, the Duke of Guise wrote a long letter to his niece to express his gratitude and sent her another batch of advanced firearms to support Mary in suppressing the rebellious Scottish nobles.
In addition, the Duke of Guise also hurled insults at French Admiral Coligny and Protestant priest Théodore de Beze in Newlywed territory. Although there was no actual evidence or testimony, Guise had already discovered that these two were the ones who had secretly assassinated him!
Now, upon hearing that Mary was coming to France again, the Duke of Guise wrote in his letter that he would personally lead a group to the port to welcome his beloved niece.
...
This time, when the Queen of Scots disembarked at a port on the French coast, it happened to be raining.
This was unusual weather at the seaside. A light drizzle fell from the gray sky, continuously landing on the deep blue sea and the rooftops of the small town in the distant harbor. Mary, sitting by the window inside the ship, could hear the crisp, subtle sound of the raindrops hitting the ground. Outside, there were the sounds of sailors running back and forth in surprise, all busy covering the food and fresh water on the deck with tarpaulins.
After reaching the shore, the wind and waves rose and fell on the sea, and the whole wooden boat swayed slightly. The sailors threw anchor to stabilize it, but it didn't help much. Even the harbor was slightly flooded by the rising tide.
When it was time to disembark, the experienced captain had to have the Queen board a small wooden boat first, and then row forward a distance before reaching the shore.
— It's not advisable to let a large ship sail too close to the shore, as that would cause the entire ship to run aground.
On the shore, Duke Guise and his guard of one hundred men awaited Mary's arrival. These uniformed soldiers, even though they were getting wet in the rain, did not seek shelter under the eaves, but continued to stand in neat formation on both sides of the road, intimidating the civilians who were spying on them in the harbor.
“It’s been a long time, dear Uncle,” Mary said.
Before the Queen of Scots could finish speaking, the Duke of Guise pulled Mary, who was kneeling, to her feet, then hugged her tightly and patted her back hard.
"What is this?" Duke Gis asked, pointing to the sky above.
The Duke of Guise refers to the umbrella that a lady-in-waiting opened for the Queen of Scots.
Umbrellas were originally supposed to be invented in Europe in the 18th century, but thanks to Mary's intervention, they were made ahead of schedule and are now used whenever it rains. They are very popular among Scottish noblewomen.
The umbrella now over Mary's head is made of polished and bleached sheepskin, so not a drop of rain can get in; it's much better than a typical rainproof cloak.
“It’s a parapluie (umbrella)…” Mary uttered a French word that the Duke of Guise had never heard before, “…In drizzling weather, an umbrella is much more practical than a cloak. You can also ask the craftsmen to try making a few for use.”
"You always have some brilliant ideas," Duke Giss praised, referring to his niece's improvement on sea salt extraction, which later made him a small fortune.
Without further ado in the rainy harbor, the Duke of Guise and Mary went to the nearby hunting lodge. After having the servants light a warm fireplace on this rainy day, the French nobleman threw off his coat, settled comfortably into his chair, and began to talk business with his nephew-in-law.
“You’ve lost a lot of weight, Mary. It seems ruling Scotland is exhausting,” said the Duke of Guise, swirling the wine in his glass before downing it in one gulp.
He had heard about the obstruction from Protestant forces, the declaration of war by Britain, and the rebellion of domestic nobles in France.
“Tired, but also reassuring. For people like us, not holding power in our own hands is like handing the butcher's knife to someone else… And you, Uncle, how are you doing?” Mary asked.
Speaking of this, a hint of annoyance appeared on Duke Giss's face.
“Not good. After your husband passed away, that old woman Catherine de' Medici has been suppressing me. To deal with the Queen Mother, I had no choice but to temporarily form an alliance with my old nemesis, the Duke of Montmorency, and that Jacques Dalebon de Saint-André. Not long after, the Huguenots revolted again. Saint-André was killed by those heretics, and the Duke of Montmorency was also disgraced as a Huguenot prisoner... Later, I fought alone and finally won. After capturing the Prince of Condé, I exchanged him for the Duke of Montmorency, which finally suppressed the arrogance of those Huguenots.” As he finished speaking, a hint of pride appeared on the Duke of Guise’s face.
The Duke of Guise had achieved numerous outstanding military exploits throughout his life, making him one of the most outstanding military leaders in all of Europe.
His victory after victory was his greatest source of pride, but Mary, listening to it now, felt no sense of honor.
Why did this religious war, instigated by Huguenots, break out?
When the Duke of Guise returned to Paris after meeting with the Duke of Württemberg, he passed through the town of Wassy and inadvertently discovered that Huguenots were secretly holding a Protestant mass in the town's granary. Enraged, he killed 23 Protestants on the spot, and caused tens of thousands of injuries!
It was only after news of the Vassi massacre spread that the Protestants staged a collective uprising and rebellion.
History has shown that, like Elizabeth I, balancing power and adopting a harmonious coexistence between the two religious sects in dealing with religious issues was the wise approach for a king.
From a personal perspective, Mary would never have wanted to raise a knife against ordinary people simply because of their different beliefs.
Thinking this, Mary began to praise Duke Giese's past achievements and glory, continuing until the Duke beamed with joy before changing the subject and saying tactfully, "After your victory this time, the Huguenots' arrogance has greatly diminished... From a ruling perspective, both swords and sweeteners are needed to subdue the peasants. Perhaps we can consider appeasing the Huguenots?"
“No, no, no… Marie, you don’t understand. Those Huguenots are like rats in a barn. If I don’t wipe them out completely, they will multiply and soon fill your field of vision, devouring the lifeblood of France. The only way to deal with these heretics who defy God’s will is to eliminate them all!” Duke Guise said without hesitation.
Mary frowned slightly, then quickly relaxed her brow and said, "But the Huguenots have already gained considerable influence and are spread throughout France. They won't be so easy to eradicate."
“Once I kill the leader, the rest will naturally scatter,” Duke Giss said confidently.
A sense of foreboding rose in Mary's heart, and she asked, "Who are you referring to?"
“Admiral Colliny…” Duke Guise pointed to a wide scar on his face, a mark left by the assassination attempt two years ago, and sneered, “…that damned bastard who deserves to go to hell, I will never forget the humiliation he inflicted on me, and I will do to him the same way he did to me!”
Mary's smile vanished.
She knew this man; the death of Admiral Colliny was the catalyst for the later St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.
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