The raid on the French fleet a few months ago had a great impact in Britain and France. King Francis I of France's original plan to launch a sea-crossing attack on England in early July was devastated. As a result, the course of the war between England and France reached a stalemate three months ahead of schedule, and Francis I was even more devastated.

Since Francis I no longer had enough funds and troops to reopen the war between France and England, the stalemate between France and England lasted from June 1545 to January 1546. As soon as the time entered the new year, Henry VIII ordered Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertfordshire I, to go to Calais in France. It is clear that he is ready to launch a final offensive against France. However, Henry VIII, who also lacked funds and troops, did not realize his idea.

At this moment, Henry VIII's time was running out, and he focused all his attention on Boulogne, the French town under the control of the British army. On May 6, 1546, peace talks resumed between England and France. On 7 June, representatives of Britain and France signed the Adria Treaty.

According to the terms of the treaty, England would control Boulogne until 1554. The French side would then pay 2 million Ecus (one of the French coins. The coin was called Ecules because the design of the coin included a shield with a coat of arms) in exchange for the redemption of Boulogne from the English. At the same time, both the British and French were reluctant to build fortifications in the area, and as soon as the English ambassador to France heard of the French bid, he immediately wrote to Henry VIII, saying to His Majesty: "This town will always be in the hands of the English."

During the treaty negotiations, two Protestant mediators of Francis I feared that the war waged by Henry VIII in Scotland would become a stumbling block to the peace treaty. In this case, Article 16 of the peace treaty made Scotland a party to the new peace, and the representatives of the English side also assured in the name of Henry VIII that they would no longer attack the Scots for no reason. This gave the Scots a little respite from the "rude courtship" war (the Anglo-Soviet war for Mary I, Queen of Scots). However, the war between Britain and the Soviet Union resumed 18 months later.

With the signing of the peace treaty between Britain and France, the fourth phase of the protracted Italian war finally came to an official end. However, the war was very costly, and it was the most expensive military conflict during the reigns of Francis I and Henry VIII. On the English side, Henry VIII's need for war funds led to an unprecedented tax burden and a devaluation of the currency. On the French side, Francis I advocated and encouraged industrial and commercial activities while reforming the country's fiscal taxation.

In 1523, all the revenues and taxes of the French crown were concentrated in the royal treasury, and in 1542 the tax commission was established. The French government was able to raise a large professional army loyal to the king because of its generous honorarium, and it was able to pay the honorarium of tens of thousands of officials. The Kingdom of France also formed the largest and most effective administrative apparatus among European countries, clamping down and weakening the privileges of the local nobility.

On January 28, 1547, King Henry VIII of England died. King Francis I of France followed and died on March 31. By July of the same year, England had once again started the Anglo-Soviet War. In 1548, due to friction between the English and the Scots, the English and French resumed hostilities around the town of Boulogne, near Paris. In 1550, the English decided to return Boulogne to France four years earlier, so that at least the English army would not be caught in a two-front battle.

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Fast forward to September 1545, when the European theater was at a stalemate. Isabel Walton, the Baroness of Ripley, tended the estate and trained the squire, but she still had access to the Duke of Richmond's Sheriff Hatton Castle and the Northern Council established in the castle.

Since the suppression of the rebel armies in the North nine years earlier, the Northern Council, under the command of Henry VIII, has had a significant effect on the supervision of the North and the upper classes, at least on the surface. As a result, the Northern Committee has focused more attention on another, more important matter. That is, how to deal with a French army that landed on the coast of Scotland.

In terms of time, it has been more than three months since this French army crossed the sea into Scotland proper. However, for more than three months, the French army showed no signs of attacking the English border. Whether they were waiting for the arrival of more troops or did not receive an order to attack the border line of England, no one knows the answers to these questions.

This day coincides with the Catholic religious festival of the Feast of the Holy Cross. The Feast of the Glorious Cross commemorates the legendary Roman Emperor Constantine I (r. 306-337) who traveled to Jerusalem to "find" the cross on which Jesus was crucified after seeing the "apparition" of the cross and converting to Christianity with his mother Helena.

Originally conceived as an instrument of torture, the apostolic era has become a symbol of Jesus' self-sacrifice, substitutionary sacrifice, as well as Christ himself and the entire Christian faith. Therefore, the image of the cross is often used in liturgical texts to express this idea. The Church of Rome held a procession on the day, starting from the Basilica of Our Lady and arriving at the Cathedral of the Lateran, where the cross was worshipped and then Mass was celebrated.

Because it is a Catholic religious holiday (not a Protestant holiday), it is only natural that it will be celebrated in northern societies where the Catholic atmosphere is still strong. After the parade on the day of the festival, Isabel invited her father, Baron Walton and the Duke of Richmond, to her castle.

The three of them left the castle's main building and walked slowly towards Lake Ripley, to the west of the main building. While strolling along the lake, the Duke of Richmond, who held the hilt of his sword, admired the tranquil waters of the lake with great interest and smiled lightly, "Lord Ripley, I didn't expect that your castle estate is still such a beautiful lake. ”

Isabel, who was walking beside her father, nodded, "Your Highness, thank you for your kind words. This lake was originally here, and I just trimmed it. ”

When Baron Walton felt the cold wind blowing from the lake, he couldn't help but wrap his loose coat with a fur collar on his body. Then, when he looked at the Duke of Richmond, he smiled lightly and said, "Your Highness, this lake can not only provide Lady Ripley with fresh fish to eat, but also bring another pleasure to Lord. ”