My British Empire

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Henry II's father, King Francois I of France, was keen on making contributions and had great ambitions, so he frequently used troops.

Because he often took the lead and personally experienced the battlefield, he was regarded as a model knight by his subordinates and became the darling of many bards.

As his son, Henry II naturally developed a hobby of knights since he was a child. In France, a country with a strong knight culture, a knight king is more likely to be respected and supported by his subjects, which is of no avail to the rule of the royal family. Harmful.

Therefore, in his youth, Henry II was keen on jousting with spears and tried to become a knight.

When he was 15 years old, he fell madly in love with a 35-year-old widow twenty years older than him—Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566).

Of course, this kind of situation is very common, young Muai! Women of the same age are all shriveled, what's so good about it.

In order to express his love, the young and impulsive Henry. He insisted on tying Diana's ribbon (not his wife's) on the spear during the joust in order to dedicate victory to his beauty.

Although the move broke the heart of his wife, Catherine de' Medici, it was, in a way, medieval chivalry.

Chivalry has always been admired by His Majesty the King.

As the finale performance, Henry II was looking forward to and excited.

As a king, especially a knight king, it has been a long time since I have experienced fighting in front of so many people. Today I can finally show my skills and let the subjects of the whole France look at me! His Majesty the King is about to show his might.

With the help of the servant, His Majesty Henry's mount has been put on armor and a horse helmet specially made for it.

Looking at the helmet in front of him, Henry stroked it gently, feeling the cold touch, which looked like an ancient dragon, which made Henry overjoyed.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my presumptuousness, but I beg you, please do not participate in this dangerous knightly battle, after all, you are the king of France!"

On the side, his queen Catherine de Medici stood aside, holding his golden helmet in her hand, and said with a worried face

Henry II glanced at his queen, with an undisguised look of disgust in his eyes, grabbed the helmet, and said disdainfully:

"It's just a martial arts competition, what's so scary, even though I'm forty years old, I'm still the most powerful knight in France!"

For the needs of the competition, Henry II ordered a large number of weapons and armor, and established his own palace weapons and armor workshop accordingly, employing many skilled craftsmen from France, Flanders, and Italy, and quite a few of the works have been preserved to this day.

He glanced at his queen slightly, with a disgusted expression on his face.

To be honest, Henry II has always hated the queen beside him.

His father, François I, suffered repeated defeats and defeats in the war against Spain, and the court was already on the verge of bankruptcy.

In order to obtain a large amount of wealth, his father married his second son, Henry II, to the Medici family, a banker with wealth and power in Italy.

Money can turn ghosts around. In order to save his court, Henry was sold by his father in this way.

You said, it’s okay if she is beautiful, but the key is that she is fat and short, and has nothing but money.

If it weren't for the fact that she gave birth to several heirs for herself, Henry II would have wanted to imitate England's Henry VIII and abolish the queen.

"Don't bother me anymore, go to the high stage and let you see my performance moment!"

Henry II waved his hand and drove his wife away.

Seeing this, Queen Medichi opened her mouth, and after seeing her husband's disgusted face, she could only leave with her maid.

The servant began to put on the armor for His Majesty the King one by one, which was very cumbersome.

On the side, Gabriel, Earl of Montgomery, the king's close bodyguard, the kingdom's most trusted Scottish guard captain.

As the captain of the Scottish Guard, the most elite guard in France, Gabriel looks majestic and powerful, with a handsome face, which fits the image of the knight in the poem very well.

At this time, he was about to put on his armor, but suddenly received a letter sent on parchment, which made his complexion change drastically, gradually turning pale.

"What's the matter with you? My lord!" The attendant at the side saw that his master's expression was not right, and asked with concern.

"It's nothing, continue to help me put on the armor!" Gabriel shook his head with a forced smile, and asked the attendant to continue working.

In this regard, the attendant can only continue to serve him in the troublesome full body armor, and his mount is no exception.

Suddenly a servant came over and asked flatteringly, "Master Earl, I wonder if you are ready? His Majesty the King is urging you!"

"It will be ready soon, please wait a moment, Your Majesty!" Gabriel responded with a smile as soon as the servant came over.

Picking up his helmet, Gabriel got on the horse with the support of his attendants.

Under the blessing of the double strength of the body armor and the back, the horse slowly walked towards the center of the competition.

And there, His Majesty the King had been waiting for a long time.

I saw colorful feathers on His Majesty's mount and his own helmet. Looking at the armor, this is His Majesty's favorite golden lion armor. Under the direct sunlight at noon, it is golden.

The carvings on the armor are extremely complicated and delicate, and the vine-like decorations have an Arabic style, especially on the shoulder armor, each depicting a lion's head, and the sideburns almost extend to the chest, majestic and majestic.

The pattern on the breastplate shows a Roman warrior accepting weapons presented as tribute by two women.

"My Lord Earl, I hope you will show your true level and don't let me down!"

He knew the king very well. Henry II was eager to win, and he would never allow himself to openly "let the water" in a contest under the eyes of everyone.

"Yes, Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness!" Gabriel said angrily.

Afterwards, Gabriel took the wooden spear and wooden shield from the attendants.

Because it is different from actual combat, the contests here all use spears with wooden handles, which are umbrella-shaped and brightly colored.

Usually, two knights hold a shield in their left hand and a spear in their right hand. After a long sprint, they flat-end the spear and give the opponent a hard blow (experienced knights usually attack the opponent's neck armor, helmet gaps and shield handles, etc.) Weakness, if you touch it, you will win).

Because spears with wooden handles are easy to break under a huge impact, they are often one-off, and the victory or defeat is often in a flash.

Next to the two, the clown performed without fear, and the audience watched the contest between His Majesty the King and the captain of the Scottish Guard with great anticipation, which was really exciting.