Prime Minister Alice was surprised to see Queen Margaret coming. But he still greeted him and saluted:
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty, may I ask, what's wrong with you?"
There is no saying that women are not allowed to interfere in politics in Europe. After all, Europe implements the custom of marriage between strong and powerful, so the woman is generally very well-known and has enough influence on the political situation. Therefore, in Europe, it is unlikely that the queen will not interfere in politics. However, the queen usually interferes in politics through the king and rarely communicates directly with the prime minister. After all, the prime minister is loyal to the king, not the queen.
Queen Margaret bowed and returned the bow and said:
"Hello, Prime Minister, I'm here to ask, how is the progress of His Majesty's assassination?"
Speaking of this, Prime Minister Alex's face suddenly became a little unpleasant:
"Oh, there is no progress. According to inference, both England and John Stewart have great motives for the crime. But the problem is that the clues we have obtained currently show that neither of the two biggest suspects have any evidence of taking action. England is too far from the place of the crime, and John Stewart and the nobles he contacted have not accepted the injuries... So, now we cannot determine who was the one who assassinated His Majesty the King..."
“That is, you cannot confirm that John Stewart is guilty?”
Prime Minister Alex nodded and said:
"Yes, we can't find evidence of John Stewart's assassination of His Majesty. However, the words "report to the little duke" when the assassins left made it difficult for him to clear his suspicion!"
After hearing this, Queen Margaret thought for a moment and said:
"Is it possible that the English deliberately framed John Stewart? You know, if it were the people sent by John Stewart, there was no reason to let the dozen injured knights live. They kept those knights alive, was it just to convey this sentence? Or, this sentence was simply misleading us?"
Prime Minister Alex said after thinking about it carefully:
"My Queen, what you said makes sense, but the question is, if the Englishmen framed it, why can't our people search for traces of their southward? Moreover, from the Gobridge Valley, there is only a big road. The rest are mountains and ridges that ordinary people can hardly cross. Therefore, it is unlikely that the English are the murderers..."
What Alice said makes sense, but he didn't know that Kahn and the 50 wolf commandos he brought were all from the mountains in southern Germany. Kahn grew up in the Black Forest since he was a child, but there were mountains around the Black Forest. Kahn had been crossing mountains and ridges since he was a child, and the other wolf commandos were also. After taking off the plate armor and burying it, they went into battle lightly and crossed mountains and ridges all the way back to England, which was not difficult.
Queen Margaret frowned, thought for a while, and finally made up her mind...
"Prime Minister, what do you think is the most important thing in Scotland now?"
Alex was stunned and replied:
"Of course, it was found that the murderer who assassinated His Majesty the King was found and he avenged His Majesty!"
Queen Margaret shook her head and said:
"No, I think the most important thing about the Kingdom of Scotland is to ensure that the country will not be destroyed!"
"Please guarantee not to perish the country? What you mean..."
Queen Margaret explained:
"If there was no threat from foreign enemies, the most important thing in Scotland at the moment was indeed to find out the real murderer of the assassination of His Majesty the King. However, the English had long coveted the land of Scotland, so..."
"Are you worried that the English would take the opportunity to invade Scotland?" Alice frowned when he thought of this.
"Yes, whether the assassination of Your Majesty was done by the English. But as long as Edward heard that the King of Scotland was dead, he had not left his descendants... Prime Minister, do you say, will he miss this great opportunity?"
"No! I understand, Queen, now I will start issuing orders to carry out national recruitment!" Prime Minister Alex stood up.
While the main Scottish army was still detained by England, if they wanted to withstand the attack of the English, they could only mobilize all the remaining strong men in Scotland to resist the invasion of the English army.
Of course, farmers and herders who have never received military training may not be opponents of the British army on the front battlefield. However, Scotland only wants to fight a defense battle this time, and can rely on city walls and fortresses. Therefore, even civilians have the opportunity to defend cities and passes.
But Queen Margaret stopped him:
"Wait, Prime Minister!"
"What's wrong, Queen?"
"Did you forget what time it is now? It's spring plowing now!"
Scotland has a high latitude, and spring plowing has just begun in April. If the whole nation mobilizes and stops spring plowing...there will be no food in autumn...
After thinking about it, Alice said:
"I was negligent. Let's do this. I will send people to the northern highlands first to gather the strong men among the herdsmen, and first gather a group of troops. As for those farmers, they will be recruited after the spring plowing is over. Those herdsmen from the highlands will be sent to the southern mountainous areas to guard the passes and important roads. The farmers who were later recruited are mainly responsible for guarding Edinburgh!"
"The Prime Minister is indeed well dealt with! But did the Prime Minister forget something?" Queen Margaret reminded.
"What did you forget?" Alice was a little puzzled.
Queen Margaret sighed and had to say:
"Prime Minister, if Scotland wants not to be coveted by England, it must have its own king! Only with the king and Edward does not give Edward any chance will the English stop coveting Scotland!"
Margaret was right, but unfortunately, she didn't know that before leaving London, James IV had signed a treaty with Edward that "if one side had a heir, one could inherit the throne" with Edward. In other words, Edward had won Scotland, regardless of whether the Scots elected a new king. Of course, this matter is not clear in Scotland. Before the unlucky James IV could return home to tell everyone this "good news", he was beaten to death by Kahn...
Prime Minister Alice didn't have time to know this clause. After thinking about Queen Margaret's words, he also agreed:
"Indeed, Queen, you are right. As long as there is no monarch in Scotland for a day, King Edward of England will definitely covet Scotland. But, Queen, who should we make the king?"
"By bloodline, it should be John Stewart?"
"Theory is so, but the problem now is that he is still a major suspect in murdering His Majesty James. If he is made king, I am worried that many people will not accept it. Moreover, he has just returned from France and has no foundation in Scotland. If he rashly pushes him to the throne, he may not be able to sit firmly..." Prime Minister Alice said worriedly.
Indeed, although John Stewart is of noble origin, he has just returned from France and has no foundation in Scotland. Even if he becomes king, no one will support him.
If it were in peacetime, John Stewart might be able to use time to integrate the entire Kingdom of Scotland and finally complete control of the Kingdom of Scotland.
However, England is eyeing her now, and she will not give John Stewart time at all. If it is not united within Scotland when England invades, it will definitely be a dead end...
But at this moment, Queen Margaret suddenly said:
"Sir, if... I mean, what if, what if, if I marry John Stewart? Now the Edinburgh Guards support me. If I marry John Stewart, he will immediately have enough support..." The Edinburgh Guards are the most elite of the remaining troops in Scotland. Moreover, in Edinburgh, it controls the capital of Scotland...
Chapter completed!