The Rise of the European Emperor

Soon, Kohler secretly ordered the spies of the French branch of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce to go to the port of Calais to spread the first round of rumors.

The port of Calais was chosen because it quickly became one of the most important ports in northern France after it was recovered by Louis XII. In fact, the Port of Calais was also an important port when it was in the hands of the British. After the French took back here, they only renovated and expanded the port facilities originally built by the British.

Because of its location directly facing the North Sea, it has also become the main home port for French ships departing for Edinburgh, Scotland. French ships set out from the port of Calais and entered the North Sea. Then, stay off the coast of England to avoid being caught by English pirate ships. Afterwards, the French ships will make a circle in the North Sea and arrive at the docks north of Edinburgh. That's only good for sporadic boat voyages, though. If the French dared to dispatch a large-scale fleet to the North Sea, they would definitely be intercepted by England. After all, not far from the port of Calais is Dover, England, and the British are also monitoring the movements of the French all day long.

But in any case, the current Port of Calais is the main transit point for France to communicate with Scotland. In the absence of means of telecommunication, communications between France and Scotland were carried out by letters carried by ships entering and leaving Calais.

Therefore, it is most reasonable for news about Scotland to spread from the Port of Calais. If it spread from England, it would definitely be regarded as the slander and slander of Scotland by the English.

In order to make the rumors reasonable, the French branch of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce specially sent a small boat to Edinburgh, Scotland. Then, it also brought back the ancient name of the Scottish specialty "water of life" whiskey.

In the tavern on the port of Calais, a bearded sailor, while drinking wine, loudly boasted to the surrounding drinkers what he had learned during this trip to Scotland.

The bearded man is the spy of the French branch of the Beihai Chamber of Commerce, and he is not actually a bearded man himself. However, in order to avoid being traced by the French afterwards, they used make-up, one of the "Four Great Magic in Asia" in later generations.

Of course, this makeup technique is very low-level. Because he was handed down from Marin. In his previous life, Marin and a buddy who dreamed of becoming a star went to Hengdian to be a dead body for a few days, and also watched the crew make up. Therefore, I have learned a little bit of make-up. For example, young people are made up into ancient old men.

It's just that Marin didn't know the ingredients of those cosmetics for future generations. Therefore, when wearing makeup, the effect is not good. For example, he used some special foundation powders indiscriminately. Like this time, the sailor disguised as a bearded man is actually a young man with a white face and no beard. But for the sake of secrecy, he made up to look like a gray-faced, bearded, middle-aged scruffy sailor. But because of poor makeup techniques, the foundation on his face was uneven. On closer inspection, it looks more like dirt. But fortunately, because of the stupid propaganda of the Middle Ages, most people in this era don't like to take a bath. Therefore, the makeup that looks like dirt on a closer look will not arouse suspicion...

What this "bearded" sailor boasted to the people around him was exactly what Marin confessed to discredit John Stewart and Queen Margaret...

"Everyone knows that John Stewart, Duke of Albany in Scotland, fled to France with his family just a few months after he was born. Therefore, this John Stewart actually grew up in our France!"

"He received an authentic French-style education since he was a child, and he can speak French fluently. Of course, he can also speak Latin, which is commonly used by nobles."

"Last year, because King James IV of Scotland was captured by the evil English and left no heirs. In order to prevent the English from killing James IV, His Majesty Louis sent John Stewart, who has royal blood, back to Edinburgh, Scotland. Now, He has become King John I of Scotland..."

At this time, a drinker suddenly interjected:

"I know, I heard that James IV was killed by the English, and then John Stewart succeeded to the throne!"

Before the ship of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce returned from Scotland,

The Scottish official has sent a ship to land in Calais, notifying the French official of John Stewart's succession as king, and explaining that it was the English who murdered James IV. The news has already spread in the port of Calais.

However, "Big Beard" dismissively said:

"That's not the case at all. I just came back from Edinburgh, Scotland. I happened to meet a drunk Scottish Guards soldier in a tavern. After he was drunk, I found out the truth from his mouth..."

"The truth? What truth?" Hearing that there was an inside story, the curiosity of the drinkers was aroused, and they all urged the "bearded man" to clarify the truth to them. This kind of gossip about foreign royal families is still very attractive. After all, there are too few entertainment projects in this era.

"Big Beard" first glanced left and right, and then said in a very mysterious tone:

"You should know that John I married the former Queen of Scotland, Margaret, after he ascended the throne, right?"

All the drinkers nodded one after another. After all, this matter is no secret in Calais Port.

"Hey, but you must not know that as early as last year, His Majesty John Stewart hooked up with Queen Margaret!"

"What?" Everyone was shocked. If the two hooked up before the death of James IV, wouldn't that be adultery? Then, the fire of gossip was completely ignited:

"Tell me, what's going on?"

The "bearded" sailor drank the beer in the glass unhurriedly, and then lit the empty glass...

Everyone immediately understood, and then a local tyrant said:

"Bartender, help me out! Put it on my account!"

Seeing that the wine glass was filled again, "Big Beard" continued to speak with a smile on his face:

"I heard this from the Scottish guard who was drunk. No one else knows about it. Everyone should know that James IV was captured by the damned English the year before last. Then, the queen stayed in Edinburgh alone... "

The many drinkers in the tavern immediately "hehe" instantly understood, "the boudoir resentful woman", it's naturally a bit profane...

"And last year, His Majesty Louis sent Duke John Stewart back to China. As you all know, Duke John received a French-style aristocratic education since he was a child, with elegant manners and extraordinary demeanor..."

The drinkers in the tavern nodded in agreement. In their opinion, French things are high-end. John Stewart was raised and educated in France, which is equivalent to adding a halo of charm...

"Duke John met Queen Margaret for the first time, Queen Margaret from a small place in England, and was fascinated by Duke John's extraordinary charm..."

Everyone showed such a smile...

Then, what "Big Beard" is about is an unethical love that needs to be mosaic... Well, the old cow didn't dare to write... But the drinkers in the tavern, it was hilarious to hear it... This This kind of restricted jokes is especially popular in places like taverns... Even some old-fashioned salty and wet guys, the chickens started to "salute" after hearing it...

...

"When they heard that James IV was going back to China, the couple panicked immediately. If James IV found out about their adultery, the two of them would definitely end badly. They might even be executed..."

"So, the two of them kept on doing nothing, and decided to strike first and kill James IV..."

Then a drinker questioned:

"No way, it wasn't done by the English? Besides, a few pieces of English plate armor were also found!"

After "Big Beard" took a sip of his wine, he sneered and said:

"Hehe, can they tell you the truth about this kind of thing? Besides, the place where James IV was ambushed is only half a day's walk away from Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and far away from the border of England. You probably don't know the local terrain? Listen It is said that to the south of the incident site, there are high mountains all the way, and there is only one road, so it is basically difficult for the English knights to ambush there in advance. Therefore, the greater possibility is that the Scots did it themselves!"

Everyone nodded, but the drinker just said relentlessly:

"How do you explain those pieces of England-style plate armor?"

"Big Beard" said calmly:

"You should know that James IV led an army to loot several counties in northern England before?"

Seeing everyone nodding, "Big Beard" continued:

"Actually, the pieces of English plate armor that were used as evidence were actually seized by King James IV in the warehouses of the northern counties of England. Unexpectedly, they were used as evidence this time..."

"So that's how it is..." Everyone suddenly realized. Because, "bearded" is too reasonable. Moreover, John Stewart's use of French charm to conquer the Queen of Scotland is really in line with the Frenchman's national pride.

In this way, this story full of bloody plots in the novel quickly spread in the Port of Calais...

Then, seeing that the time was almost up, the French branch of the Beihai Chamber of Commerce began to send other spies to other cities in France to spread the word. Of course, the banner they played was heard in the port of Calais, and it is said to have come from a drunken Scottish guard...