chapter 27 - the bustling stable

 Edward thought about taking in Grenville as he slowly led Arthur to the stable.

 Yes, Edward was prepared to want such a Secretary of State, a position comparable to that of Chancellor.

 The English name for the secretary of state is secretaryofstate, also known as political secretary. This position was initially just a personal assistant (secretary) to the king, but during the Tudor period, the position was recognized for its involvement in the implementation of the king's main governmental affairs, and in particular for its direct involvement in court politics.

 As a result, he became a powerful and highly sought-after official. Before the emergence of the Cabinet, the Secretary of State actually acted as a substitute for the Cabinet, and had the same power as the "Ministry under the Gate" in the Tang Dynasty and the "General Secretary" and "Minister of Ceremonies" in the Ming Dynasty. Today's "Cabinet Secretaries" in the UK, who actually run the ministries (known as "Undersecretaries" in Japan), and the "Secretaries of State" in the US are, in fact, a continuation of this concept of office.

 In this position flourished a Thomas Cromwell. This was a statesman who reformed alongside Zhang Juzheng of China's Ming dynasty in that century, and it is no exaggeration to say that he was England's Shang Yang, the man who forged England's sovereignty. And like Shang Yang had a sad ending.

 Medieval England was strictly a geographical concept, not a country in the modern sense. The external sovereignty of the State was incomplete because of the interference of the Holy See; the internal sovereignty of the State could not function properly because of the independent economic, military and judicial powers of the feudal aristocracy; the King had only "suzerainty" over the feudal aristocracy, but not "sovereignty". The King's authority could not be exercised in the nobility's territories, and some border areas and Wales remained independent of State authority. There is no strict separation between State and royal household affairs.

 The Reformation presented an opportunity for the emergence of the English nation-state. In the century, Cromwell recognized this keenly after he came to power. With the power of the state and the support of Parliament, Cromwell took the Reformation as a breakthrough, skillfully integrated the king's personal motives into the overall interests of the nation-state, and enacted a series of bills to break the pope's control over the secular state and establish the country's external sovereignty. Under Cromwell's presidency, Parliament passed the "Act of Appeal". The bill explicitly declared that "this England is a sovereign state", that "the king has the supreme power to judge all persons, both monks and laymen, in all their actions", and that "the monks and laymen under the king form a political society, each with their own rights and duties. Under the King, monks and seculars formed a political community, each enjoying judicial and administrative power in the religious and secular spheres, free from any interference from forces outside the Empire".

 The publication of the "Act of Appeal" not only legally blocked the channel for the Holy See to interfere in the affairs of England through judicial litigation, but also de facto brought about a break with Rome, severed the link between England and the Holy See's external ties, and established the independent sovereignty of the country within its territory.

 And Grenville was not only rich with a reformist mind, but a bold, undaunted, brave heart.

 Just as he walked near the stable, Edward felt a wave of heat hovering in the air, which seemed especially soothing in this chilly season in England.

 Seemingly smelling something, Arthur's emotions instantly flared up, pivoting his hooves, angling his horse's head, and pulling Edward inside the stable, not caring in the slightest if Edward's dry, thin body could go through its tugging.

 Then the knights in the stable saw a snow-white colt pulling a small king at a gallop to Grenville.

 And Edward was baffled, always slipping the horse, today he finally experienced what it was like to be slipped by a horse, the acidity, couldn't believe it!

 By the time Edward responded, dozens of guards and Grenville had all gathered around, all staring at him with curious eyes.

 "Watch what? Haven't you ever seen a horse skating?" Edward said irritably, "Do what you have to do!"

 Seeing that Edward was annoyed, the crowd wisely walked away, after all, Edward was their employer, it was not good to piss him off.

 Grenville, being a guest, was too embarrassed to laugh at his host, and so he too continued on his way to perform. But before leaving, his big black horse grinned at Arthur, which was definitely not Edward's eyes, but really smiled, and all of a sudden Edward felt that the reins in his hand suddenly increased its force again.

 Edward knew that Arthur had made another wave, and regardless, he slapped the colt hard on the ass.

 Regardless of Arthur's teary-eyed expression, Edward took it upon himself to lead him to watch the knights' competition show.

 With Arthur in hand, he stood leisurely on the outskirts, watching Grenville and a strong squire in a contest!

 First, the two men were put in lockjaw armor by their attendants, and then they were helped onto their horses by their attendants, each first tuning up.

 The strong knight was named Sean, the son of a knight, extremely strong-looking, over six feet tall, which would have made him six-foot-nine in metric, and dressed in a long blue and black tunic, with a white tunic over the outside of the Grenville.

 Chainmail, also known as chainmail, (but there is another - please make a serious distinction between chainmail and chainmail. It's a different concept. -- In layman's terms, chainmail is much less dense than chainmail!) It is a type of armor that appeared during the Iron Cold War era and was a major innovation since the introduction of leather armor.

 With thin iron rings interlocked, forming a long coat with a hood over close-fitting clothing. All the weight is borne by the shoulders, it can effectively protect against swords, guns, spears and other sharp weapons, the biggest disadvantage is soft, sharp swords stabbed violently, it will be difficult to resist, if it is a meteor hammer, wolf tooth stick and these heavy weapons smashed down vigorously, the locks armor will be ineffective.

 Don't look down on lock armor just because it's common. A knight's full suit of lock-plate armor cost as much as a type farm in the Middle Ages, and armorers were generally respected in medieval serfdom as upper-class commoners who were able to sit on an equal footing with priests.

 Lock armor is generally made of many iron locking pieces tethered together a kind of armor, is an upper body armor, the upper can protect the shoulders and arms, down to the knees. The iron cable piece is about as big as a coin, and the lock armor, which is made of many iron locking pieces tightly chained together, has a strong protection against cold weapons.

 Although there are holes, but there is a "knife and gun, arrows can not penetrate" effect. In terms of its protective power, in ancient times, only inferior to the Song Dynasty footman armor.

 Because of the high price and strong defense, so the lock armor has also become the necessary equipment for knights, popular with the knights in Western Europe. And medieval Western Europe, just like China's Spring and Autumn period to measure the national strength by chariots, they measured the strength of the nobility by the number of knights.