"Then! My Mr. Major, do you think the strengthening of the navy, for a short time, will compare with Spain?"
Edward's questioning was like a sword plunging right into James' heart, rendering him speechless and opening his mouth not knowing what to ask for!
"So what do you think the navy can do for England at the moment?"
Edward didn't give James a chance, throwing out a series of questions in a short period of time.
"Can the navy suppress the stragglers as well as the army! Can Scotland fight the northern barbarians?"
"It's, it's ..." James had absolutely no idea what to some and had just opened his mouth when Edward interrupted him.
"Are you thinking that the navy can help merchant ships fight pirates?" Edward had an I-know-it-all look on his face, as if he had read his mind.
And James had a surprised look on his face, indeed not expecting that Edward guessed what he was thinking.
In fact, isn't the Navy escorting the Navy except for toughing it out with enemy navies!
Moreover, at present, with this loser of England's navy, fighting with Spain is not just giving away food!
Now it's just a matter of escorting ships and fighting pirates.
"My dear Mr. Major, I suppose the Rioshelys are the only ones focusing on maritime trade at the moment!"
Hearing Edward do this to his face, James felt a little ashamed.
After all, the current nobles are still running the manor with one eye on the other, and have a contemptuous attitude towards businessmen, especially the nobles who do business, which is a despised existence in the noble circle.
As it happens, Rioscelli is one such family, a family that has personally done business and has been mocked en masse by the nobility.
"That! Your Majesty! I ..." James stammered, trying to explain something.
"Don't misunderstand! Major James, I'm not mocking the noble House of Rioscelli!"
"I guess my fiery wine has spread all over Europa!" Edward said appropriately, easing the awkward atmosphere.
"What! My liege! You the Flaming Wine is yours?"
"That's right! I think your brother already knows! And you're too low in rank to be qualified to know!" Edward's words were a bit exasperating, but they were the truth.
"Your Majesty! Is this true?" James was still a bit incredulous that the most honorable Tudor family in all of England would still be running a business.
"That's right! I will not look down on you!" Edward affirmed.
"But the ministers of the Board of Regents will not be in business and will not see the contribution of the Navy!"
"Your Majesty! What do you need my servant to do?" James, having heard so much from Edward and knowing that His Majesty wouldn't call him to these things, finally realized that Edward needed him for something. So he asked heartily.
"Ugh! Finally getting the hang of it!" Edward mentally wiped a sweat that wore him out.
"My dear James, do you think the ministers of the Council of Regents understand England's navy?"
"Your Majesty! I don't think the ministers in London, who have to deal with the whole of England every day and are in the middle of a busy day, should know much about the navy!" James used words and phrases with discretion, and looked at Edward from time to time! The heart was very bumpy, not understanding what Edward meant by bringing up the ministers in London.
"Then! If there is a decree from London, this still needs to be scrutinized by the admirals of the Navy!"
"But I suppose the navies of England are still the navies of the Tudor crown!"
"Right! Right! I am firmly loyal to the Tudor crown!" James, faced with the oppression in Edward's language, immediately professed his loyalty and used an emphatic tone.
"Besides, I think almost the entire Navy is loyal to the Crown!"
Edward noticed the word 'almost' in James' words, which made it clear that there were still London interlopers in the navy.
It was also true that even if there was no more concern for the navy, London's ministers still needed to have eyes and ears to observe it; after all, it was a force of no, and could not be allowed to fall out of London's sight!
"Then! I'm sure you'll have all the navy back in the arms of the crown, Mr. Major! Is that right?" Edward purposely accentuated the pronunciation of the word 'all', fearing that Mr. Major wouldn't be able to comprehend it.
"Yes! My liege, the navy will be all loyal to the crown!"
Edward was so pleased with Major James' statement that he decided to give him hope. The tried and true trick was used again.
"Major James! God love England to have a man of your caliber in the Navy!"
"With a talent like yours, I think the House of Lords is still missing a seat for you!"
"Your Majesty! Your humble servant, James Leo Shearsley, in the sight of God, I and my children and grandchildren pledge eternal allegiance to you and your heirs!" James' words were thick with surprise.
And so, on this sunny day, Edward had another vassal who owed him his allegiance - a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy.
As you can see, the name thing is still pretty important.
............ The dividing line of a million evils... .........
When James returned home, he felt that the matter should be discussed with his brother. So he wrote a detailed letter describing Edward's willingness to draw him in, but made no mention of his own allegiance, and his family's servant rode off in a huff to the port of Southampton, where the Rioseley family was stationed.
Under fast horses, by nightfall, the servant finally arrived at the Earl's House in Southampton.
"Dang! Dang! Knock!" The servant who delivered the letter knocked on the door of the main house.
"Who is it?" A question came from inside the door.
"It's me! Hughes! The second young master has written a letter to Lord Earl, it's an urgent letter, open the door quickly and let me in!" Hughes was busy explaining, his mood was urgent, after all, the young master's tone was urgent.
"Creak--" The door of the earl's house opened, and Hughes, taking the letter, went straight to the steward's room.
The butler was admonishing several maids of honor, and seeing Hughes come to him, he could not help but ask, "Hughes, what did Young Master James send you back for?"
"Steward Mane, this is the young master's letter to Lord Earl!" Hughes was afraid that the butler would not pay attention to it and hurriedly added, "Young master this matter is very important, please hand it over to Lord Earl in person!"
"Yeah? Then bring it to me!" Hearing him do so, the butler was in no hurry to admonish the maid and hurriedly ran to the study with the letter.
"Be careful, you few, the Count's house has no shortage of your maids!"
"Aye! Lord Butler!" A few maids answered daintily, with a few tears on their faces, looking very pitiful.
The butler arrived at the study out of breath, after all, he was in his forties and had a bit of stamina to keep up.
"Lord Earl! I am Marne!" The butler knocked on the study door, disturbing the Earl of Southampton who was reading.
"Come in! What's the matter? Dear Marne!" The Earl was very amiable, and he had a lot of trust in Steward Marn, who had grown up with him.
"Lord Earl! Young Master James has written you a letter, it's urgent!" Mane's tone was still respectful, and he had always positioned himself accurately regarding his identity.