Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1130 Mao Sui
Because he was going to Liaodong, Charles II began to make preparations after returning to his residence.

He now lives in the mansion arranged for him by Zhu Shenzui. All the treatment he receives is extremely generous. In addition to his special status, Charles II has lived a very good life in the Ming Dynasty for nearly a year. He has no worries about food and clothing on weekdays, and he can also learn advanced knowledge of the Ming Dynasty in the Imperial College. In addition, he has also made several friends in the Ming Dynasty.

He had already applied for leave from the Imperial College. Actually, it didn't matter whether he applied for leave or not. After all, Charles II was not a real student of the Imperial College. He was just an auditor approved by the emperor. In addition, his identity was special, and the Imperial College knew his background. There was no strict supervision or assessment on him on weekdays, so he had always been free in the Imperial College.

With the support of the emperor, Charles II finally saw hope and became more energetic. When he went to the Imperial College to ask for leave, he found a few of his friends and expressed his intention to recruit them. Unfortunately, Charles II's recruitment was ineffective. He was a mere vassal king, and his recruitment was not really that of a king. It was not attractive to the sons of nobles with backgrounds. Not to mention him, even the King of Song, Zhu Mincheng, had difficulty recruiting suitable people because he was going abroad to be granted an official title.

Charles II was not angry after hitting a snag with several people, but was a little regretful and disappointed. He also knew that Europe was not attractive to the nobles of the Ming Dynasty, and he, the so-called king, could not give them much bargaining chips, let alone let them follow him back to Europe.

This is undoubtedly a pity, but Charles II also believed that as long as he could return to Britain and truly become king, relying on the alliance between Ming and Britain, it is not impossible to recruit talents from Ming in the future. It is nothing more than patience and time.

After calming down, Charles II returned to his residence and prepared to go to Liaodong. He also told his wife Princess Catalina about this. After hearing the news, Princess Catalina was very happy. She was not happy that Charles II finally had the possibility of becoming king, but that he would be in Liaodong for at least half a year, during which time she would be completely free.

After such a long time in Ming Dynasty, Princess Catalina was as fascinated by everything in Ming Dynasty as her husband, Charles II, and she was even more amazed by the advanced civilization and prosperity of Ming Dynasty. While Charles II was studying in the Imperial Academy and making friends, Princess Catalina was not idle either. She would go around the capital from time to time. Because of her status, she made friends with several noble ladies and women from noble families. In addition, she also attended many gatherings of Ming Dynasty noble women under the pretext of going to church.

Although Princess Catalina was of a foreign race and her appearance was completely different from that of Ming Dynasty women, her identities as a princess and queen made her famous and popular among the Ming Dynasty nobles.

Women are all the same, even those from noble families. If you have a best friend who is a princess and queen from another race, and bring her to some gatherings, she will definitely be the center of attention, which is equivalent to showing off.

Therefore, Princess Catalina was well-known in the capital and made many noble female friends. However, due to Charles II, it was not convenient for Princess Catalina to attend many events. Even though her relationship with her husband was not very good, she was not very open due to her status.

But now, Charles II is going to Liaodong for half a year, and no one will take care of Princess Catalina in the next half year, let alone Charles II's feelings. In addition to being able to happily participate in those parties, she can also meet the man she likes in private.

That's right, it was the man she loved! When she first arrived in Ming Dynasty, Princess Catarina had fallen in love with Li You, but nothing happened between her and Li You. Even now, Li You probably couldn't even remember what Princess Catarina looked like in his memory, right?
In the previous gatherings with noble ladies, Princess Catalina met several noble sons through these girlfriends, and was particularly fascinated by one of the handsome and talented young men. In other words, the princess fell in love with this young noble son and hoped to have something happen with him, but she had never had the opportunity before. Now that Charles II was going to be away for half a year, wasn't it the opportunity?
Charles II paid no attention to his wife's thoughts. It can even be said that he was very cold towards Princess Catalina. To put it bluntly, their marriage was a political marriage. Both Princess Catalina and Charles II himself got married for political purposes.

Now Charles II's mind is full of how to select his guards after going to Liaodong, how to make these elite Eight Banners loyal to him, and then how to bring them back to Europe, rely on the power of this army to return to Britain and finally ascend the throne.

So even though she saw the joy on Princess Catalina's face, she just thought that his wife was happy because he had restored the throne and she could become a real queen, and she didn't think about anything else.

Just as Charles II was preparing to pack his luggage and was planning to be escorted to Liaodong by the Embroidered Uniform Guard in a few days, a servant outside came to report that someone came to ask for a meeting. After hearing the other party's name, Charles II raised his eyebrows slightly, and hurriedly asked the servant to invite the visitor to the main room. Then he washed up a little and hurried over.

"Please don't blame me for coming here uninvited, Brother Cha." When he arrived at the main hall, he saw Wang Zihui who was already sitting and waiting for him. He heard footsteps and looked up to see that it was Charles II. Wang Zihui stood up with a smile and saluted the other party.

"Haha, it's an honor for my humble home that you can come, brother! I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Charles II didn't stay in the Imperial College for nothing. His manners and words now have some of the demeanor of a scholar. Although he still has a Western face, if you don't look at his face, he is not much different from an ordinary scholar.

"You're welcome, Brother Cha." Wang Zihui smiled and bowed again. Charles II warmly invited him to sit down, and then the two began to talk.

"Brother, what do you want to see me for?" Charles II asked politely. Wang Zihui was also happy when he said this. Although Charles II just acted like a scholar, his Western habits remained unchanged. Normally, most people would talk about this and that first, and then talk in circles before trying to ask the other party's purpose, but Charles II was good and asked directly. However, it was not the first day that the two of them knew each other. Wang Zihui already knew Charles II's character, so it was not surprising.

"I heard that Brother Cha went to the Imperial College yesterday?"

"Yes!"

"Brother Cha is going to Liaodong, so you went to the Imperial College to ask for leave?" "Haha, Brother Wang learned about it from Brother Chen and others, right?" Charles II asked with a smile.

Wang Zihui nodded and said, "I was not at the Imperial College yesterday because of something. I heard about Brother Cha's matter when I returned today. I also heard that Brother Cha originally wanted to invite Brother Chen and others to go to Liaodong together? Is this true?"

"That's true." Charles II said frankly, "I wrote a letter to His Majesty a few days ago, begging His Majesty to transfer some of the elite troops of the Eight Banners to help me return to the country. My brother, you and I have known each other for quite some time, so I think you are clear about my situation?"

Seeing Wang Zihui nod slightly, Charles II continued: "I am the son of the former King of England and the Crown Prince of the country. However, due to the great changes in the country, my father was killed by the rebel army. Although I temporarily ascended the throne, I was not the real king. I had no choice but to flee the kingdom and go into exile overseas."

"Over the years, I have been wandering around the European countries, looking for support, and waiting for the opportunity to return home to take back the throne. However, due to the actual situation in the European countries, there are not many people who are really willing to help me, and even if there are, they are unable to help me!"

At this point, Charles II sighed, and Wang Zihui nodded silently to show his understanding. Then Charles II talked about how he met Wang Fuzhi, Zheng Hongkui and others, and then followed the Ming Dynasty delegation to travel around Europe, and finally followed the delegation to the Ming Dynasty.

Charles II told Wang Zihui that he came to the Ming Dynasty not only to see with his own eyes the greatest and most powerful country in the world and to learn advanced knowledge from the Ming Dynasty, but also to find help and opportunities to restore the throne in the Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, this opportunity had never been found until some time ago when he heard that the Ming Dynasty had won a great victory in Liaodong. The Jiannu, who had been entrenched in Liaodong for 30 years, was defeated by the Ming Dynasty in one battle. The powerful Eight Banners were defeated by the Ming army. Only then did Charles II, who had a keen sense of smell, discover the opportunity.

Next is the letter from Charles II to the emperor, in which he expressed his hope to obtain permission from the Ming Dynasty to directly hire some of the defeated Eight Banners elite as his guards, so as to help him return to Europe and regain the throne.

After reading the letter, the emperor came to see him and finally agreed after talking with him. Here, Charles II did not tell the other party about the alliance between the two countries, which was a big deal. In addition, he was not the real King of England yet, so there was no need to tell this secret to Wang Zihui. Therefore, he only mentioned the emperor's permission and support for this matter.

After listening carefully to Charles II's story, Wang Zihui also understood Charles II's idea. He asked, "Brother Cha's plan is to first recover the elite Eight Banners given to you by His Majesty, and then use them for your own use. Then bring them back to Europe, and use this military force to help you regain the throne?"

"exactly!"

"Then how many men did His Majesty give you?"

Charles II held up a finger and smiled, "One thousand people, and they agreed to let me choose them personally. This is why I want to go to Liaodong."

"A thousand people? Aren't they too few?" Wang Zihui frowned and asked, "What use are a thousand people to a country? I know that the Jian Nu can beat me, but a thousand people..."

"Hahaha, my brother, you don't know that I am not taking these people to fight a real war." Charles II knew as soon as he heard it that Wang Zihui had misunderstood, and immediately explained to him the situation in Britain and Europe, especially pointing out that although Cromwell was now in power in Britain, Britain had not really abolished the king, and he was still the king in name.

Moreover, there were many nobles and people in Britain who supported him, which was why Cromwell was afraid of Charles II and never dared to let him return to the country. Because once he returned to the country, his status would definitely cause instability in Cromwell's rule.

Although Cromwell was a tyrant and controlled British politics, he was not young anymore. Moreover, he called himself Lord Protector but was not the king. As long as he had health problems or even died of illness, the opportunity would come. Even if Cromwell designated an heir, his heir would not have his prestige and means. Therefore, in this case, Charles II had the possibility to return to Britain and take power.

The 1,000 elite Eight Banners as guards were not meant to fight the entire British army, which was naturally impossible. Charles II only wanted these people as a guarantee of his own safety and necessary force. As long as they could block the open and hidden arrows, it would be enough. When the time was right, they would escort him back to Britain, and everything would be settled. Charles II had great confidence in this.

After listening to Charles II's explanation, Wang Zihui suddenly realized. He thought about it carefully and suddenly asked, "Brother Cha, how about I lend you a hand?"

(End of this chapter)