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

Chapter 1232 Hampton Court Palace
For many years, under Cromwell's rule, various factions in Britain dared not speak out against his anger and could only swallow their anger and endure the hardship in order to protect themselves.

Finally, Cromwell died. With Cromwell gone, the mountain that had been weighing on their heads finally disappeared, and these people began to stir and had other ideas.

Their opposition to Richard, the new Lord Protector, wasn't actually due to any personal issues with Richard himself, but rather a desire to avoid having a powerful Lord Protector who exerted immense influence over them. Their proposal to welcome back Charles II and hand over power to the King wasn't out of genuine loyalty to him, but rather a means to restore the previous tripartite balance of power in England and thus regain their own authority.

In other words, all of this was driven by political motives. In reality, it didn't matter to them who was king, as long as the king was legitimate and could ensure their political power, preventing the kind of oppression Cromwell had shown. Moreover, Richard's abilities and prestige were far inferior to Cromwell's, and his methods were also lacking. Removing Richard from power and bringing the king back would be extremely advantageous for them.

In this situation, how could Richard be willing to lose the power he held? He would have to struggle even if he had to, especially since he still had an army under his command.
The contradictions and rifts between the two sides grew wider and wider. Clergy, nobles and even Parliament united. Richard was pushed to the brink. Just when everyone was about to lose their temper and civil war was imminent, news suddenly came from the south that Charles II had landed in Dover. Along with this came the content of Charles II's speech in Dover. This gave the nobles ample reason and confidence. Many people immediately expressed their support for Charles II and demanded that Richard, the Lord Protector, be removed from office, so that England could return to the rule of the monarch.

Faced with this crisis, Richard was unwilling to surrender and, in his anger, directly used his military power to suppress the rebellion. However, these nobles, including the clergy, were not to be trifled with. They united and formed an army, directly confronting Richard's forces. A fierce battle ensued.

At this time, Charles II, who had spent about a week in Dover, set off north, leading his army in a grand march toward London under his royal banner.

Along the way, Charles II gained widespread support due to the content of his Dover speech, and noble armies and knights from all over the country continued to join his army. Just a few days later, while he was still far from London, Charles II's army had grown to over five thousand men, and dozens of nobles had come to pledge their allegiance to him. These included not only lower-ranking nobles such as viscounts, barons, and even knights, but also several high-ranking nobles such as earls. Even prominent noble families from London sent envoys to directly express their loyalty and support for the king, stating their willingness to support Charles II's restoration to the throne.

In this situation, Charles II's popularity was unparalleled, and more and more people sided with the king. Richard, as the protector of the kingdom, found himself in an extreme predicament. Although he used the army to suppress the "rebels," many in his army expressed dissent, especially as calls for the king's restoration grew louder. Not only did he fail to suppress his opponents, but his troops also defected en masse to the king's side. This left Richard in despair, unable to understand why things had turned out this way.

A few days before Charles II was to arrive in London, Richard, unable to hold out any longer and seeing that all was lost, had no choice but to admit defeat. Taking advantage of the fact that Charles II had not yet arrived in London and that he still had several hundred loyal men, he packed his valuables and hastily fled London. He boarded a ship at the port and left England, going directly to France across the Channel for exile.

No sooner had Richard left than the British Parliament learned of the news and immediately announced the restoration of the monarchy, while sending people south to welcome His Majesty the King's arrival.

By the time Parliament's messengers arrived at Charles II's location, he already possessed an army of over ten thousand men, a formidable force, and was only two days' journey from London.

When the messenger from London met Charles II, presented him with the document of Parliament's decision to restore the monarchy, and knelt on one knee to pay homage to Charles II as a subject would to the king, Charles II felt as if he were in a dream.

He never imagined that his restoration to the throne would be so easy, and so swift. Charles II had originally prepared for a decisive battle with Richard's army in south London, but Richard had unexpectedly fled overnight.

With Richard's escape, Parliament passed a resolution to restore the monarchy, meaning his long-cherished dream had come true. Now, all he had to do was enter London, return to the palace, and formally ascend the throne, making him the true King of England, instead of the fugitive who had only the title of king and was wandering overseas.

Hampton Court Palace was the royal palace of the Stuart dynasty. The famous Buckingham Palace of later generations was nowhere to be seen. Hampton Court Palace was the location of the royal palace.

Charles II was very familiar with this place. Although he was born in St. James's Palace, he spent his childhood and adolescence at Hampton Court Palace. Shortly before Charles I's defeat, Charles II was specifically sent from London to West England to assume the nominal position of Commander-in-Chief. However, news of Charles I's precarious situation soon arrived, and under pressure from Parliament, Charles II was forced to flee to the Netherlands at his father's behest. Shortly after arriving in the Netherlands, he received news of Charles I's execution.

After the death of Charles I, Charles II made efforts, even returning to Scotland to ascend the throne. During this time, Charles II also received support from the Oath Party in England and organized an army to invade England from Scotland, but ultimately failed, thus beginning his exile in Europe.

More than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye. The boy from back then is now an adult in his early thirties. When he entered Hampton Court Palace and looked at the familiar scene around him, Charles II couldn't help but feel a sense of being in another world.

Having just returned to London, although Cromwell and his successor Richard were no longer obstacles to his ascension to the throne, Charles II, as king, was not yet the true King of England.

After all, when Charles I was executed, Charles II was only the heir to the British throne, and although he later ascended the throne in Scotland as King of Scotland, he had not yet officially received the English crown.

The titles of the British monarchs are quite complex. The British mainland consists of three main islands: Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. Aside from the Isle of Man, which is relatively small and located between Great Britain and Ireland, the other two islands are historically divided into England, Scotland, and Ireland. Charles II's full title should be King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but he currently only holds the legitimate title of King of Scotland; the crowns of King of England and Ireland have not yet been officially placed on his head.

Upon returning to London, Charles II still needed a formal coronation ceremony to truly become the King of Great Britain. Therefore, although he had entered Hampton Court Palace, he was not yet the true king. However, this was a natural progression; all that remained was to wait for the formal coronation, after which he would be the true king.

During his stay at Hampton Court, Charles II was extremely busy, meeting with many nobles, officials, and even foreign envoys every day to discuss the upcoming coronation ceremony and the future situation of Britain.

Compared to his youth, Charles II is now a mature politician. In the eyes of the guests here, this young man who is about to become King of England is not bad in terms of personal charm, character, or even political judgment. It would be a good thing for such a king to rule England. Moreover, Charles II has kept his promise made in Dover, generously stating that he would not hold past grievances against him. Once he ascends the throne, he will certainly guarantee the interests and rights of all parties, including foreign policy. He will order the abolition of some of the restrictions on the nobility and foreign military hostility from the Cromwell era, and establish good diplomatic relations with European countries, thus bringing a new England to everyone.

Charles II's attitude won him the favor of almost everyone and further propelled his impending coronation. But no one knew that after meeting the last few guests of the day, Charles II left the reception room and went to his study in his bedroom. His previously radiant face turned serious, his brows furrowed, and he seemed deep in thought.

Seated in his chair, with his hands clasped under his chin, Charles II gazed intently at the flickering firelight of the fireplace in the distance. It was March, and although spring had arrived, Britain's climate, being an island nation at a higher latitude, was colder and more humid than that of mainland Europe. Moreover, the palace was large and spacious, making the fireplace all the more comfortable.

Lost in thought, I don't know how much time had passed when crisp footsteps echoed from the corridor outside, and a moment later someone knocked on the heavy door.

"Come in!" Charles II replied.

The door was pushed open from the outside, and Wang Zihui appeared in front of him.

"His Majesty!"

Upon seeing that it was Prince Hui, Charles II smiled and invited Prince Hui to sit down and talk.

Prince Hui first bowed to Charles II, and then sat down on the sofa not far from Charles II.

"Your Majesty, the palace security has been arranged. Please rest assured that all the guards in the palace are our people, and they can absolutely guarantee Your Majesty's safety."

"Thank you for your hard work. Have you encountered any trouble?" Charles II asked with a satisfied nod.

“There will certainly be some troubles, but Your Majesty need not worry, I have already made arrangements,” Prince Hui said.

Charles II was pleased and very satisfied with Prince Hui's arrangement. Although he had moved into Hampton Court, he had not yet been formally crowned, and while the overall situation in Britain seemed to be in his favor, the political landscape was actually still turbulent and far from as optimistic as it appeared.

Putting aside other matters, let's just talk about Charles II's security. In fact, when he landed in Dover, nobles of all ranks came to pledge their allegiance. While some of these nobles did support Charles II, most were genuine opportunists. They felt that Richard's rule was beginning to crumble and that the probability of Charles II's restoration was extremely high. At this time, they saw the opportunity to pledge allegiance to Charles II as a form of capital, hoping to reap considerable benefits if he succeeded. Therefore, these nobles who pledged allegiance to Charles II not only came in person but also brought their vassal knights and soldiers, intending to take advantage of this opportunity to gain benefits.

Not only that, but this situation became more and more common as Charles II marched into London. After he arrived in London, many nobles and officials also made the same gesture, not only pledging allegiance to and winning over Charles II, but also taking the initiative to send soldiers to express their willingness to consider Charles II's safety and use them to form the royal guard to protect the king.

This approach seemed perfectly acceptable, and Charles II outwardly accepted it readily. However, in reality, Charles II was extremely wary of it. He didn't want these people around him at all, and he was even less willing to entrust his safety to others. Therefore, he privately assigned this task to Prince Hui. For him, the only people he could truly trust at the moment were Prince Hui and the 1,000 elite Eight Banners troops he had brought from the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)