My British Empire

  Chapter 476 Peace in the second half of the year

   Not long after the Londoners learned that the Duke of Guise had been assassinated, the news that shocked the whole of France reached Paris, the most populous city in continental Europe.

   "What? Francois is dead?" Archbishop Charles de Guise of Reims, the Duke's Palace in Paris, was shocked when he heard the news dictated by the messenger, and even the calm expression he had maintained for a long time disappeared.

   "Tell me quickly, what is the specific situation? If you omit a little, you know the consequences!"

  The red-clothed Archbishop Charlie stared closely at the kneeling man, his eyes cold and ruthless.

  The messenger in front of me is the son of the Guise family and the personal guard of the Duke of Guise. His most important mission is to protect the Duke.

  At this moment, Archbishop Charlie heard that his brother had been assassinated to death for no reason. Although he was extremely angry, he still asked calmly.

   In this regard, the bodyguard who sent the letter had already made mental preparations for the smartest person in the family, so he calmed down and said in detail.

  After the narration, there was a moment of silence in the room. The courier who was kneeling on the floor felt this different atmosphere. He felt flustered in his heart, his back was like a thorn, and his eyes were erratic.

  Although Archbishop Charlie has been staring at the serf's son in front of him, his brain is thinking very fast.

   "What is the Duke's wound like? What is the deadly hidden weapon?"

  The archbishop's cold voice sounded in the empty room, and the son of a serf who was kneeling on the ground was startled, and then hurriedly replied:

"I don't know the specific circumstances behind it. But at that time, the Duke's neck was injured, and what was shot was a thin arrow like a finger, like a long needle, and it was coated with poison, so that the Duke could not be rescued in time. Gone!"

  Seeing his flustered performance, the archbishop didn't care. He also knew that his image in the entire Guise family was even more terrifying than the Duke of Guise.

   After all, His Excellency the Duke is busy fighting, and he handles the entire family affairs. The image of terror is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

   "Small poisonous needle? The whole of Europe still uses this hidden weapon! Huguenots? England? Or the Duke of Vendôme, the Duke of Montmorency, and General Saint-André are all suspected!"

  The Duke of Guise was assassinated, and the suspects behind it were not only the Huguenots, but also the Duke of Vendome by his side, as well as the Duke of Montmorency, the Catholic Triumvirate far away in Paris, and General Saint-André.

   Even, the English across the sea!

  There were so many clues that the always wise Bishop Charlie became a little annoyed.

   "It seems that we can only start with the needle-like hidden weapon!"

   Frowning, Archbishop Charlie thought helplessly.

  At the same time, in the royal palace in Paris, the young Charles IX and Queen Catherine sat high on the throne, staring at the front without expression, without saying a word.

  At the conference table, the Duke of Montmorency, Marshal Saint-Andre, and other royal family members and nobles sat at the conference table, thinking about the news they just received.

  The passing of Guise really shocked Paris.

  However, under the high pressure of the Duke of Guise, many nobles had a hint of joy and unspeakable sadness.

   Sadly, the departure of the Duke of Guise is no less than the loss of a pillar of the entire Catholic aristocratic alliance, and its power has plummeted.

   To my delight, Paris, under high pressure, finally began to relax a bit.

   "Everyone, although His Excellency the Duke has left, it is a great loss for France!"

  The Duke of Montmorency, as the former head of the royal family, Henry II's most trusted minister, after the departure of the Duke of Guise, he is the best natural leader.

  Others don't know, but the Duke of Montmorency himself thinks so.

   "Now, the Duke of Vendôme in front reports that the city of Orleans is back in the hands of the Huguenots. He has refurbished his troops and is stationed in Saint-Jean-Le-Blanc, confronting the Huguenot heretics!"

  After the Duke of Guise was assassinated, the Duke of Vendome led an army of more than 8,000 people to withdraw from the city of Orleans, and stationed in the nearby city of Saint-Jean-Le-Blanc around Orleans to repair and comfort the morale of the army.

   Of course, it is also possible that they are in control of the army.

  The Duke of Montmorency's speech as the First Minister of course made other nobles a little upset, but given his prestige for so many years, he dared not blatantly object.

  “The past, after all, has passed, just like the shooting stars in the sky

  For the current plan, we still need to reorganize the army, eliminate the Huguenots, and let the glory of our Lord shine on the whole of France again! "

  Speaking of the end, Montmorency has already begun to imagine that he will put down the heresy, take control of the entire French power, and become the first family under the royal family.

   "No, the war has caused the division of the whole of France, with casualties everywhere. Moreover, the English have already occupied Normandy and Brittany. The war can no longer continue!"

  Besides, the Duke of Longueville immediately stood up and objected loudly, his eyes were as bright as two lightning bolts.

  From the middle age, he has wavy black long hair, and has always been one of the great nobles of the royal family's close clan.

  He raised his chin proudly, the pride in his eyes made it impossible to look directly at.

  The Duke of Longueville first bowed to the king and the queen mother, glanced at the nobles with proud eyes, and expressed his opposition without fear.

   "After the siege of Orleans, the Huguenots have already suffered huge losses. Using this to conduct peace talks is our best choice at this time!"

   "I am willing to persuade Prince Condé and General Coligny to make France a whole again!"

  Papapa—

   As soon as the voice fell, there was a burst of applause.

   Most of the clan and nobles sitting here have an expression of approval on their faces.

   In fact, the reason why the nobles agreed with the peace talks was that they wanted to end the war at a relatively low cost, thereby limiting the Huguenots to a certain range.

  In the past year, the civil war between the Huguenots and the Catholic League not only brought the kingdom's finances to the brink of bankruptcy, but also caused heavy losses to nobles like them.

  The continuation of the religious civil war caused rebels and deserters to rampage in the country, causing heavy losses to their manors, and the leaders continued to flee.

   More importantly, the war confrontation constantly consumes the private soldiers of the nobles, causing the power of the nobles to decrease.

  The aristocrats who have read some books can easily conjecture by analogy: Isn’t this a replica of the War of the Roses in England?

  How could they continue with such cheap royal affairs?

   "The Duke's words are extremely absurd! We have always been devout to our Lord's belief.

  That is why we restore the glory of God and drive those heretics out of France and into hell! "

  The Duke of Montmorency was naturally very annoyed at the Duke of Longueville who opposed him, and immediately objected after he finished speaking.

   "Think about it, we will die under the prayer of the priest at some time in the future, and meet the kind and omnipotent God. He asked us why the bosses still have heresies, and what can we explain!"

  As soon as God was mentioned, the nobles sitting there immediately became serious, and some even drew the cross on their chests and murmured.

   Even Charles IX and Queen Catherine, who were seated high on the throne, prayed devoutly.

  Seeing that the attitudes of many nobles began to waver again, the Duke of Longueville immediately became nervous and objected.

   "The war cannot go on..."

   "For the glory of our Lord, the war must go on..."

  In Paris and Orleans, the topic of war and peace talks was discussed in both the Catholic League and the Huguenots.

   And in the second half of 1563, France began a strange period of peace.

  (end of this chapter)