The rebellious spirit that still has in her bones makes Isabel Walton uneasy with the status quo. When questioning everything, he broke the conventions of this society and the aristocratic class in time. Anne Boleyn, Marquess of Pembroke, was ambitious and wanted to control the entire court in her own hands, but her fate was in the hands of someone else.

Isabel also has an ambitious side, but what she wants to control is not limited to the small court, what she really wants to control is her own destiny. She believed that as long as she did what others thought was impossible, she would never end up in a different place like the Marquisess.

At this moment, Isabel, dressed in men's tight-fitting combat clothing and delicate leather armor, wearing men's leggings and high riding boots, and two swords hanging from her waist, is standing on the huge stern deck of the "Mary Rose", looking out at the wide and rough sea of the English Channel in front of the warship.

The Duke of Richmond, dressed in the same garment, but covered with a delicately engraved cuirass, came to her side and whispered, "Isabel, do you think I will rebuke you for the black slave trade?" ”

Isabel held the mast in the middle of the stern and looked up at an observing sailor in the lookout at the top of the mast. While the sailor was just calmly watching the sea, she retracted her chin and turned her gaze to the Duke of Richmond. As he stared at each other, he shook his head, "Henry, the slave trade is a matter that goes against God's will and will be punished by God. ”

The Duke of Richmond looked thoughtfully at the sailors busy on the open deck and whispered, "I believe that God is just and fair. If you will be punished by God, then the Portuguese and Spaniards should be punished even more. ”

Isabel smiled, "Henry, aren't you worried about the battle to attack the French fleet that will start soon?" You know, the French gathered 400 warships in Le Havre. ”

The Duke of Richmond glanced at her and nodded, "I'm a little worried. Your suggestion for tonight's assault fight, though, is very good. If Lord Lyle had heeded your advice last time, we wouldn't have failed to catch Queen Mary. ”

"Now, do you still want to capture Queen Mary?"

"Well, after the battle of Stirling, the Queen's Mother will surely hide the Queen in a place that no one knows. Caught the Queen? It seems that we can only pray to God a few more times. ”

The question of whether or not she could catch Mary Queen of Scotland is no longer important to Isabel now. She knew that no matter how hard she tried, Henry VIII, who was about to die of illness, would never award herself the Knight of the Order of the Garter. So, she put the hope of being awarded the medal on the new king Edward VI.

Of course, she has another way. He deployed six of his Galen armed merchant ships in the Gulf of Forth north of Edinburgh, and used the privateering license issued by Henry VIII to ban merchant ships from France. After all, Queen Mary wanted to take refuge at the French court and could only reach the continent by merchant ships.

Isabel glanced at the helpless Duke of Richmond and leaned forward and whispered, "Henry, how about taking some of the money I earned for you to build a fleet?" ”

"Build a fleet? What kind of ship? The Duke of Richmond looked at her with some confusion.

"As long as you tell me that you still want to capture Queen Mary, follow my advice."

"Well, okay. You tell me what to do. ”

Then, Isabel told the other party what she thought. The Duke of Richmond nodded approvingly, "Armed merchant ships?!" Well, both to plunder the goods that the French were carrying to Scotland, and to prevent Queen Mary from escaping to the French court by boat. This is a very good suggestion. ”

"Henry, Your Majesty no longer has the money to hire Burgundian mercenaries for land battles. So, we're going to use the sea that surrounds the island of Great Britain to get our ends. ”

"But we don't know when and where Queen Mary took the boat to France?"

Isabel knew very well that what the other party was saying was a big trouble, and thought for a while, "That's why I suggest you build your own fleet." When we have a fleet of ships that owe allegiance to ourselves, there is no longer a need for the King's fleet to carry out this task. ”

It costs a lot of money to build a fleet, a lot of money to maintain the ships and pay the crew, and if the ships are sunk by the French and the crew dies, the same amount of money is spent to build new ships and hire new crews. When these questions came to the Duke of Richmond's mind, he regretted the decision he had just made.

When he looked at Isabel with a somewhat embarrassed expression, he said with little confidence, "Isabel, the CCB fleet and the money for hiring crew...... How much does it cost? ”

As soon as Isabel looked at his expression, she knew that this duke, who liked money in his bones, was struggling with money again. She admitted, however, that the navy was a costly service. Abundant funds not only play a pivotal role at the "strategic" level of naval construction, but can also determine the outcome of the "battle".

"Henry, I've asked Captain Hawkins of Plymouth to build me six armed merchant ships. Well, I suggest you start by building 6 to 10 armed merchant ships. ”

"6 to 10 ?? How big is a merchant ship? Is it a ship like the Mary Rose? "The Duke of Richmond was a little afraid to imagine how much money he would spend.

"No, Henry, an armed merchant ship is less than half the size of the Mary Rose." Isabel just wants to speak with facts.

The Duke of Richmond breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Okay, I'll think about it seriously." ”

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Time passed quickly, and the two English fleets sailed to the waters near Manche, France, at 8 p.m. on May 12. At this time, before it was completely dark, the two fleets anchored and anchored in the sea according to the previous plan. At this time, the observing sailors on the mainmast of Viscount Lyle's flagship spotted an anomaly: a lighthouse on land in the northeast corner of Manche.

It is not surprising that Francis I built lighthouses all over the long coast of France. In any case, the lighthouse at this time has the theory of a beacon tower on the sea. It can be used for military purposes, for coastal lookouts and to guard against enemies from the sea. Forts such as forts and castles are usually located near the lighthouse, which can also serve as a deterrent to the enemy.

When Viscount Lyle's standard-bearer passed the news to the sub-flagship, Isabel began to think about how to capture the reconnaissance battle of the lighthouse of the French.