Chapter 319: Surrender
"Master Blanche, tell me, what should we do now?"
Different from the dimly lit main tent, the other tent in the barracks was brightly lit, with flashing lights. From the outside, there were vague figures, as if they were plotting something!
The dark figure inside seemed to open its mouth, speaking something.
But ordinary people can\'t get close. A dozen tall and burly soldiers opened their eyes and patrolled meticulously. It can be said that even Russell, the commander of the army, couldn\'t get close.
Because they are knights belonging to the church, their devout faith and daily exercise (brainwashing) make the loyalty of this group of church knights directly full, and the bishop of the church is the only one who commands them.
So, many of the bishops inside were sitting on their own, with relaxed expressions, talking freely, without worrying that anyone would hear them, or not caring!
After all, the entire camp is filled with church soldiers, so no one dares to come here.
"After the defeat in the morning, there were more than 10,000 people when we went out, but only more than 2,000 people have returned so far. The rest were either captured or fled. We are already in trouble!"
A skinny bishop sat on a chair, his skinny body was completely different from the others, he kept sighing, looking worried, but his eyes turned to the white-bearded old man sitting quietly beside him.
"Yes! Master Blanche, we have failed today, and it is up to you to decide what to do next!"
Bishop Hobbs on the side couldn\'t bear the urgency in his heart, and said in a deep voice.
Bishop Blanche used to be the bishop who went to Rome to meet the church. In the whole of Scotland, except for Archbishop David Beaton, he has the most prestige.
But because of his old age, he has not been able to stand out and let Russell toss, or in other words, he is optimistic about Russell\'s behavior and holds a default attitude.
Today, after this big failure, everyone had to ask him to come out and call the shots.
"Ahem! Everyone, I didn\'t want to stand out!"
Blanche\'s hair is all white, her lips are a little chapped, and she looks old, but when she speaks, she is very imposing and confident.
As he spoke, he squinted his eyes and looked around. These bishops were staring at him one by one, moving with his gaze.
"However, today has come to the moment of life and death of the church. As a servant of our Lord and a member of the church, I cannot sit idly by!"
Blanche stretched out his withered right hand and said in a deep voice, with a sharp light in his eyes.
"So, my decision is to surrender to the Englishman!"
"What?" "My lord, think twice!" The bishops on the side seemed to have seen a ghost, with astonished expressions, they couldn\'t help but uttered their voices.
As soon as Blanche finished speaking, voices of persuasion and questioning immediately sounded in the entire tent.
Blanche\'s dry and thin face immediately became serious, and even looked a little angry.
"Everyone, I didn\'t want to come out at first, and I was planning to retire at home, but you invited me here, and when I said it, you quickly questioned it, then I will leave now!"
Blanche said angrily, leaned on the chair, and made a gesture to leave.
"My lord, this is all our fault, please stop and have something to say!"
Hobbs put on a shy face, supported Blanche\'s body, and persuaded him.
And the other bishops also seemed to know their mistakes, and they confessed and apologized again and again.
At this moment, Blanche\'s complexion changed from cloudy to sunny, revealing a smile.
I saw him sit down slowly under the support of Hobbs, raised his head, and said earnestly:
"I know everyone\'s thoughts. Surrender is indeed unacceptable, but do we have any choice?"
Blanche\'s rhetorical question made the tent suddenly quiet, the silence was shockingly cold and heartbreakingly cold.
If we could go back, everyone would have gone back a long time ago, but the appearance of this group of stragglers, after returning, they were just defeated one by one by the nobles, why not stay?
There must be a way out.
Didn\'t someone come up with an idea?
The silence of the crowd made Blanche\'s voice more powerful.
"The surrender I am talking about is not surrendering to the nobles, but surrendering to the English!"
"Is there any difference between the English and the Scottish nobles? I would rather surrender to that group of nobles!"
At this time, one of the bishops held his face and said angrily.
"Hehe! Surrendering to those nobles, I\'m afraid we will be swallowed up. The integrity of the nobles is comparable to the devil in hell!"
Blanche sneered and said lightly.
“But the king of England is different. Although the Anglican sect is somewhat difficult to accept, it is better than the group of Martin Luther and Calvin.
At least, we bishops, it still recognizes it! "
Compared with other Protestants, Anglicanism still maintains the bishop system, which is not a democratic election, and confiscated many privileges, which is unacceptable to these adults who have enjoyed rights for a long time!
"Moreover, I am sure that the king of England can promise us that we will not confiscate all the property of the church, but leave at least one tenth of it to support the church!"
Blanche looked around, and continued: "If it\'s those nobles, I\'m afraid we will be swallowed without even the skin!"
"Surrender and the English, at least you can save some vitality!"
"But, Lord Blanche, why did you surrender? Can\'t you negotiate a peace?"
At this time, everyone realized that Blanche had been talking about surrender, and his eyes were not focused on his face.
Surrender and peace negotiation are completely two choices, one is no autonomy, the other is limited autonomy, the difference is huge.
"Negotiation? Ladies and gentlemen, with our current strength, surrendering early is much more sincere than negotiation, and even has an advantage over negotiation!"
"Besides, it\'s up to those nobles to agree to our surrender. After all, we\'ve been captured, and everything is theirs!"
Blanche continued to talk, gradually dissipating the confidence in everyone\'s hearts. Seeing the decadence on their faces, Blanche inadvertently showed a smile in his eyes.
"I finally finished it, it took a lot of saliva!"
He especially remembered that a month ago, a Scottish businessman came to ask for an interview, and when he was getting upset, the businessman revealed his true identity.
His Majesty Edward of England admires him very much, especially his current position, which is seriously inconsistent with his identity.
Therefore, the young king promised him through the mouth of the merchant that if he persuaded the Scottish priests to surrender to him, a bishop of Edinburgh would be inevitable!
You know, apart from the Archbishop, the Bishop of Edinburgh is the most powerful position in the Church of Scotland.
(end of this chapter)