The Rise of the European Emperor

When retreating, Kahn and his party deliberately drilled into the west mountain instead of east. Moreover, the direction is somewhat northwest. If anyone was alive, they would surely be able to see their movements. Northwest... Isn't that the Scottish hinterland?

That's right, this is what Marin wanted. Because he needs to throw the blame on the traitors in Scotland. Because the army was defeated and captured before, most of the dukes and earls in Scotland were captured together. This time Edward released people, not including those dukes and earls who could be exchanged for money, but only released James IV, in name to let him return to the country to raise ransom. In Scotland, there are only a few dukes and earls left. Especially, John Stewart, Duke of Albany.

In fact, the most powerful dukes and earls in the Kingdom of Scotland were all accompanied by James IV in the Battle of Newcastle. Among the great nobles who stayed in the country, there were only a few civil servants who were in charge of guarding Edinburgh. And this Duke of Albany, John Stewart, actually just returned to Scotland not long ago.

John Stewart is the second Duke of Albany. His father, Alexander Stewart, is the second surviving son of James IV's grandfather, James II, and the first Duke of Albany.

However, Alexander Stuart, the first Duke of Albany of the Stuart dynasty, was imprisoned by his elder brother James III in 1479 because of conflicts with his elder brother James IV. After being released, Alexander Stewart tried to rebel because of resentment, and was defeated by his brother James III in 1484. Then, the family went into exile in France. However, he died in 1485.

Alexander Stewart's eldest son, Alexander, has long been a priest, and has now returned to Scotland to become a regional bishop. The second son, Andrew, died early, and the third son, John Stewart, was originally in exile in France.

However, after James IV, most of the Scottish nobles and the Scottish army were captured, because James IV had no heirs, and his brothers died early and left no heirs, the French wanted to prevent England from killing James IV and conspiring The throne of Scotland, so John Stuart, who was only 22 years old, was sent back to Edinburgh. The plan of the French is - once James IV is killed, Scotland will support John Stewart, the heir to the Duke of Albany, to inherit the Scottish throne.

After all, according to blood, John Stewart is the direct cousin of James IV and has the highest right to inherit the throne.

Of course, it is said to be the Duke of Albany, but in fact, because the Duke of Albany's family went into exile in France, after the first Duke of Albany died, the young John Stewart has not yet been canonized as the Duke of Albany. After all, King James IV was captured by the English, and no one gave him a canon.

But at this critical juncture, the officials left behind in Scotland can't control so much. Because, if James IV is really killed or cannot come back, according to blood, John Stewart is indeed the most qualified heir to the Scottish throne.

In the original history, John Stewart was actually welcomed back to the country by the Scots in the second year after the death of James IV in 1513, that is, in 1514, and served as the regent of the young James V. At the same time, he will only inherit the title of Duke of Albany at that time.

But now because of the capture of James IV, the French were afraid of accidents and sent John Stewart back to Scotland early. And the Scottish ministers who stayed behind were also happy to see the king have a spare tire, lest James IV die and no one would succeed him.

From the bottom of his heart, John Stewart, the heir to the Duke of Albany, actually wished that James IV would die in England. In this way, he can become the king of Scotland.

And Marin also knew this, so while shooting Kahn to beat James IV to death, he deliberately said that he wanted to return to the young Duke.

Moreover, when they withdrew, the 50 Scottish knights lying on the ground,

A small number of people did not actually die, but were seriously injured and couldn't get up for a while. After all, they were wearing plate armor. Even if injured, it is generally not fatal. And the reason why Kahn didn't kill these people was to send a message to the Scottish ministers left behind, especially the phrase "return to the young duke"...

There are several dukes in Scotland, but the young duke seems to be only John Stewart. Because, he has not been officially canonized yet, so he can only be regarded as a reserve duke. Therefore, it is appropriate to use the word "small" to describe it. In addition, John Stewart did have a motive to assassinate James IV. For, as soon as James IV dies, he is almost certain to be King of Scotland. According to the simple logic of "whoever benefits is the most suspected", it seems that John Stewart is very suspicious.

Of course, not only John Stewart was suspected, but Edward was also suspected. After all, before James IV returned home, the two sides signed an agreement on mutual succession to the throne. Therefore, Edward's suspicion of assassinating James IV is even greater than that of John Stewart.

And this is one of the important reasons why Marin chose to do it near Edinburgh. In addition to being unexpected here, it also has the meaning of eluting Edward's suspicion-look, it is close to your capital, how can the English have the ability to carry out assassinations there? Obviously your people!

...

The ruthless words that Kahn uttered before he left were actually intended to mislead those Scottish knights who did not die. After the harsh words, Kahn led his men to bury the French plate armor on his body, then climbed over mountains and ridges, and walked back to England by path.

However, in order to mislead the other party, Kahn deliberately sent his men to create false evidence on the road in the opposite direction. For example, take off some French plate armor...

These pieces of French plate armor are different from the plate armor worn by most of Kahn and others. They are not imitation products of Marin Forge, but one of the plate armor used by French knights captured when Marin led the army to ambush Charles VIII. . Experts can pick it up and look at it, and they will know that it is an authentic plate armor produced in France, and it will never be wrong.

In this way, once these pieces of French plate armor as evidence are found by the Scottish authorities, it will be difficult to clarify the matter. At least, many people would think that this is the black hands sent by John Stewart. After all, John Stewart was sent back by France to be the king's spare tire. If James IV dies, he has a good chance of becoming the new king. Of course, it is not ruled out that the English blamed it. After all, the English also captured many French ships loaded with military supplies in the previous sea battle, and it is not surprising to get a few pieces of pure French-made plate armor.

Whether it is Edward or Marin, they obviously hope that the planting will succeed. As long as Edward is cleared of the suspicion of murdering James IV, Edward can logically inherit the Scottish throne according to the agreement signed by James IV before returning home. Then, the island of Great Britain will be able to complete the unification...