It would have been a very common thing to send a bishop to the Papal States, to the city of Rhone.
Abigail looked at her majesty and good friend for a while, and felt that when the words came out of her mouth, it was more like handing over a knife than sending a bishop.
But what does it matter
Abigail didn't like those rigid priests who quoted scriptures every day and asked women to obey and demand women's incompetence. If that Archbishop Rodery could really start a fire in the city of Rhone, she would be happy to add a few more pieces of wood to it. After thinking for a moment about the work of the unreasonable Archbishop Rodri in the rumors, Abigail quickly became dizzy with those difficult and complicated teachings.
She no longer makes things difficult for herself, and decisively pulls her feet out of the quagmire of dialectics and logic, and turns to the field that makes her relaxed and happy.
"Well, it seems that you must go to sea." She said helplessly, "Then let's discuss which position is more suitable." She scratched her hair, which was quickly messed up by her Yes, it looks like a big cat walking around, extra anxious, "By the way... about the private fleet."
The smile disappeared for an instant from the Queen's face, as if a grim cloud passed over her delicate face.
"Speak."
She folded her fingers.
Abigail put her hand in her pocket and took out a text message that had been ravaged repeatedly, and she was rarely hesitant, and that hesitation was also mixed with a little bit of trouble about some things.
"If the private warships are arranged on the left flank, they will face the fleet of the free commercial city."
The queen sighed deeply, once again feeling that the time she had was too short.
Even if she spends all the wealth squeezed from the St. Lorraine monastery on naval construction, encourages more workers to participate in port construction with generous benefits and treatment, and gives unprecedented policy support to shipyards, it almost empties her pockets. Every penny can't bring the navy, which has been in decline for too long, back to its peak overnight.
In view of this, the queen set her goal from the very beginning as the elite force of the Roland navy in the shortest possible time. The number is relatively small, but the combat power is considerable. possible.
But war depends on both elites and numbers.
Very different from the decline of the Imperial Navy is Roland's private armed fleet, or in other words, it is the decline of the Imperial Navy that has led to the vigorous development of private warships - those who have lost the deterrence of the Imperial Navy and want to obtain huge profits from maritime trade Roland merchants and nobles can only do their best to strengthen the force of the merchant ship itself.
After the end of the era of the two kings, among the naval warships in Roland Rose Strait, even 20 ships belonged to the private property of Earl Bolly—they were later donated to the country by this venerable old man without compensation.
The plight of the Navy is evident.
However, the custom of private warships participating in battles has a long history.
Almost every country's navy has more or less part of its fleets that belong to private property, the most typical of which is the fleet of the Alliance of Free Commercial Cities—almost all of them are privately owned by cities. However, free commercial cities have their own special political background. Although their fleets are private property, their loyalty on the battlefield has always been enviable. Private fleets in other navies...
Wanting to expect these fleets to be unafraid of sacrifice and loyal is undoubtedly a dream.
Not to mention the obedience of the private fleet to the command, whether the combat effectiveness is high or low is also a big problem.
Among these private warships, the one with the largest number and the strongest force came from a family that the Rolands were very familiar with:
Heinrich family.
…………………………
The Heinrich family is a very special existence to the high society of the Roland Empire.
People use various nicknames to describe this complex family, "two-headed snake", "guardian viper of the archipelago"... Among them, there is a nickname that is not so appropriate but very accurate to a certain extent, called "landless nobleman".
Compared with other ancient surnames, the territory occupied by the Heinrich family is very small. There are neither fertile plains nor rich forests, and they are scattered on the tortuous coastline of the empire. From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, people paid far less attention to the barren beaches and reefs than later. Only this cautious and calculating family always firmly set their sights on these areas, regardless of the ridicule and ridicule of the world, Take various legal or despicable means to tightly hold one piece after another of narrow and desolate coastal territories in the palm of your hand.
After hundreds of years, these ports have gradually flourished under the management of the Heinrich family for generations.
Without the Heinrich family, the prosperous maritime trade industry of the Roland Empire would have to be delayed for a long time before it could truly take shape.
In the fifteenth century, when shipbuilding technology and navigation technology made rapid leaps, the nobles guarding the fields could only stare dumbfounded at the "landless nobles" who had been ridiculed many times in the past, quickly occupying an important position on the political stage of the empire. The sea has become another piece of golden pasture, and people are scrambling to flock to this new world.
By this time, however, the Heinrichs had become vipers entrenched in the archipelago.
They are like the poisonous snakes guarding the treasure described in adventure stories, dealing with foreign competitors with cold vertical pupils and deadly venom. People were shocked to find that at this time, the shadow of the Heinrich family had appeared behind the import and export trade industries such as wine, wool, ore, wood planks, and spices.
They became the greatest monopoly of the empire's maritime trade.
To a certain extent, after participating in the coup, Heinrich can continue to serve as the Minister of State of the Empire, the same as the Prime Minister, which can also prove the strong strength of this family.
However, on the other hand, the Heinrich family is also famous for its almost evil rumors.
They have never been stingy about crowding out political opponents by the most shameless means. There is no warmth in the family, but they maintain a kind of unity that outsiders cannot understand. It's like a group of snakes tightly entwined, so that when its enemies want to target one of them, they have to weigh the consequences of meeting the whole group of snakes.
It is difficult for outsiders to peek into the inside of this family, and they can only marvel at its incredible.
The Heinrich family had its own special way of functioning, a very ancient system: they kept the democratic decision-making system within the clan from the ninth century, and made it parallel to the patriarchal system.
In normal times, the affairs of the family depend on the head of the family, but on important matters related to the future destiny of the entire family, democratic resolutions are implemented and voted on through secret meetings. Once the result of the vote is reached, all tribesmen must implement it without compromise. In this way, everyone in the clan is consistent, so that the snake group can be condensed into a whole with only one will, just like in myths and legends, it is strange and terrifying to gather thousands of small poisonous snakes, and finally it is so huge that it can swallow the sun and the moon The two-headed ancient snake.
Once the meeting's vote is made, in front of its resolution, the head of the family is just a leader who executes the will of the snakes.
Candles are lit in the secret parlor.
The light from the tree-shaped candlesticks is not bright enough, and the room is shrouded in a solemn atmosphere, or young or old people sit down one by one in classical robes, and the embroidery of double-headed snakes walks on their necklines, sleeves and hem . Everyone's face flickered in the flickering light and shadow of the candle.
What is stacked on everyone's table is thick information.
About the new market Elmia, about the navy and the pirates recruited by the queen, and about the East Berek merchant incident.
These sources, which may seem unrelated at first glance, actually point to something closely related to the Heinrich family:
monopoly.
No one spoke, and all the people participating in the meeting were thinking about themselves, and the uncertain light seemed to be their mood. Others only see the strength of the Heinrich family, and only they know what kind of situation the Heinrich family is facing today.
Although the Heinrich family is ancient, at the beginning, it was just an inconspicuous one among many nobles. It was engaged in business for the royal family to make a living, and people responded with contempt. The original ancestors chose the land on the coastline as the foothold of the family, which is a helpless move.
Without a vast land, it is impossible to have many retinue knights like other feudal nobles. Ports and monopoly are the lifeblood of the family.
Without it, the Double-Headed Snake family would quickly fall into the dust.
Now, their carefully constructed poisonous snake lair is facing a formidable challenge.
"let's start."
Heinrich moved the candle and said without hesitation.
Behind him is a column with a double-headed snake in relief, and the family motto is carved on the column:
interests first.
The firelight and the pillars cast heavy shadows on Heinrich's cheeks, and no one could see his expression clearly.
……………………………
The imperial meeting is over.
The officials exited Orsis's study one by one, each with worried expressions on their faces.
Compared with Queen Roland, Emperor Lute's personal conquest of Orsis will be more dissuaded, not less. But just as Abigail couldn't dissuade Adele, as long as Orsis's courtiers don't want people to refer to Emperor Root as "a coward more cowardly than women", they can only keep silent in the end.
The Duke of Leicester couldn't help complaining: "Who gave those things to John VI? I don't believe that guy has such long arms."
"Who else but my dear brother?" Orsis said casually, opening the letter. "He's always been good at these things, hasn't he?"
The Duke of Leicester shrugged with a wry smile.
"It's really distressing," Orsis said with emotion, "I still remember Arthur being as quiet as a girl when he was a child."
The Duke of Leicester's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly.
—No normal girl dissects a pretty bird with a smile like he does.
He swallowed the words.
The queen mother didn't like her youngest son, thinking he was weird since he was a child. If it wasn't for the rumors that the Root family had an affair with the devil, she might have a dozen priests pouring holy water around Prince Arthur every day. She strictly ordered the palace staff to separate the prince from the younger brother, carefully preventing the abnormal second son from affecting the eldest son who was destined to become the master of the empire.
As a child, Orsis and Prince Arthur were like strangers living in the same court.
"Lester, you spent more time with Arthur than me when you were a child. When do you think Arthur suddenly grew crooked?"
The Duke of Leicester shrugged: "That's all six years old, Your Majesty."
Orsis shook his head regretfully, but he just asked casually, and soon continued to deal with the preparations for the personal conquest.
The Duke of Leicester waited for a while, seeing that there was nothing else to do, he got up and dismissed.
Orsis glanced up at his leaving back.
The sunlight fell on his slender and straight body through the rose window, and those pale silver-gray eyes showed the metallic texture of a cold weapon. He unhurriedly signed his name on a document, and then put down his pen to precisely extract one of the letters from a stack of letters.
The sealed mouth of the envelope is stamped with the coat of arms of crossed swords and roses.
That is the personal mark of Queen Roland.