Louis XII sat down at his desk and carefully read the old letter he had just written, then took up his pen and changed a few things that he thought were inappropriate, and when he was satisfied, he beckoned to the attendant standing next to him to hand him the letter.

"Tell the queen that I am sincere to her," Louis XII said after a moment's thought, "and tell her that I would like to be able to speak frankly with her, and that it would be good for her or me and for all of us." ”

The attendant listened attentively, and he knew that this letter was very important to the king, especially since he had just heard about what had happened outside Florence, and the French army was now somewhat in a state of uncertainty.

Louis de Bourbon sent men with unexpectedly bad news for Louis XII, as the army attacking Florence suffered an unexpected defeat.

When the news came, the King himself thought it was a bad joke, but looking at the messenger's panicked and speechless face, Louis soon realized that things might be worse than what the Duke of Bourbon had reported.

In the Duke's report, Florence had become a formidable fortress and its army was staggeringly fierce and tenacious, but these were not the most important things, Louis knew that the Duke of Bourbon was probably exaggerating in order to shirk responsibility, and even the unexpected defeat was not the cause of Louis's uneasiness, and the French king noticed the unexpected appearance of a Roman army of Thesia.

As for the 6th Bologna Regiment joining the battle, Louis didn't really care much.

Although he did not know the strength of the Roman Tescian army, he believed that Louis de Bourbon would only be frustrated by carelessness.

His Holiness really had much more to think about than the appearance of an enemy reinforcement.

He thought of the hitherto ambiguous attitude of Venice and the Austrians, the Venetian army had crossed the city of Ferrara but suddenly seemed to be faltering, and the Austrians did not attack immediately after besieging Milan.

These two pieces of information pleased Louis XII, who realized that this was probably a small prelude to the rupture of relations with the anti-French alliance, and it was because of this that Louis XII did not think that the door to "peace" was closed, despite a fierce battle with the Neapolitan army.

However, the presence of the 6th Regiment in Bologna gave him the impression that the situation might have changed, and that this unit would voluntarily abandon the surveillance of the enemy that might come from Rome and go into battle, which meant that the threat from the Roman direction no longer existed.

In addition, Louis XII did not believe that the Duchess of Rome Thesia would be foolish enough to see through the purposes of other countries, and put all his capital into it.

But now the Roman-Thesians did so, which made Louis XII feel threatened.

Perhaps he had made a mistake from the beginning, Louis XII thought to himself, and although he would not admit it in public, this did not prevent him from reflecting on himself.

It seemed correct at first to make Rome-Thessia the first goal of the conquest of Italy, a new, modest and seemingly powerful state, as if it had been a gift for him, and Louis XII was even ready to declare it his domain as soon as he conquered Romagna and Tuscany.

The reason for this claim is simple, since Alexander claimed the land after Romania and Tuscany had lost their original heirs, so the French king, as the new conqueror, was not violating the rights of the legitimate heirs.

It is clear that Louis XII was going to show Charles VIII's tricks in Milan again in Rome, but now it seems that things are not going so well.

And the sudden appearance of the Papal army in Siena was what really surprised Louis XII.

This unexpected change was accompanied by another news that caught him even more off guard - the exile of Alexander VI.

The presence of the Papal Army in Siena under the pretext of protecting Siena, a direct territory of the Holy See, may sound like a reasonable reason, but when he learned that it was Roveret the Elder who was now in charge of the Vatican, Louis XII knew that he might be in a predicament he had never thought of before.

"I am here to propose peace to you with the utmost sincerity, and it is the duty and duty of the great monarch not to cause harm to the country and the people because of differences of opinion or in the form of will, so I am here to suggest to you that perhaps a frank meeting will save us from a war that may be regretted by all."

Looking at the letter from the French King, Josa showed a sweet smile, she didn't know that her smile made the French envoy standing opposite because of the daze that caused the dissatisfaction of the Neapolitan officers next to her, in fact, the queen's smile also made those officers unable to take their eyes off, but then Jossa retracted her charming smile and looked at the Frenchman opposite with blazing eyes.

"Does your king want to negotiate with me?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the King considers it the duty of a powerful monarch to show his mercy at such times, and he does not wish to have the Neapolitans slaughtered by his momentary anger, after all, your army has been pursued by us for three whole days, and when I came in, I noticed that the horses outside your tent were tired, and I believe that if you continue, your army may be completely crushed."

The Frenchman replied proudly, his arrogance once again arousing the anger of the surrounding Neapolitans, and even some of the lowly servants rebuked the arrogant Frenchman.

Rather than being offended by the attitude of the French, she took Louis's letter and stomped slowly, as if considering how to reply.

There was silence all around, and all eyes were on the Queen, waiting for her to make a decision.

The Frenchman's expression changed slightly, and he could see that the officers had a heartfelt respect for the Queen, which he did not expect.

This may be normal if it's at court, but it's a bit strange on the battlefield.

The French had thought that the queen would discuss with his generals first, but now it seems that the queen herself will make a decision directly, which is really strange to the French.

Although it is not uncommon for monarchs to also serve as commanders of armies in this era, some of them are typical of nominal names, and these so-called monarchs often only go to the battlefield to show off their martial prowess, and a queen's role on the battlefield is sometimes even worse than that of an ordinary soldier.

"Go and tell your king that I agree with his suggestion," said to the Frenchman, "and I also do not wish to see a war which might draw both of us into greater trouble, so a negotiation is necessary." ”

The Frenchman, who had completed his mission but was puzzled, hurriedly took his leave, knowing that the king was anxious to await his reply, which was related to the mission of another messenger sent by the king.

While Jossa was considering Louis XII's proposal for negotiations, in Siena, the new commander of the Papal Army, Skop, saw another letter sent by the King of France.

In the letter, Louis offered a frankly and surprisingly frank offer that Skop found difficult to refuse.

"20,000 florins?" Skop was so surprised by Louie's generosity that when he saw this number, he couldn't help blurting out, "Do you just want us to stand still?" ”

"Yes, my lord," said the messenger with a smile, "it is not at all contrary to your execution of the Vatican orders, but only to keep your army in Siena for a few days, and I think your men will be happy to do so, and then you will be paid 20,000 florins." ”

"Well, I have to admit that your king's generosity is hard for me to refuse," Skop touched his chin as if to consider whether he should accept the suggestion, and then he took two steps forward and whispered to the messenger, "So you're going to attack the Neapolitans?" ”

The envoy secretly frowned and looked at the commander with some displeasure, he didn't understand why this person would ask such a presumptuous question, so he could only say vaguely: "I'm sorry I can't answer you, it's up to the king to decide." ”

Skop nodded unmindfully, and then said as if he had made up his mind: "I can accept this condition, but I hope that your king can guarantee that the French army will not pose a threat to the city of Siena, you must know that Siena is a direct territory of the Holy See, and it is my duty to protect the city from any threat." ”

The envoy hesitated and nodded, knowing that Skop's offer was actually expected by the king, and although this might have some impact on the actions of the French army, Louis XII obviously wanted to pacify the unexpected Papal army as soon as possible.

On the evening of July 14, the rosy sunset dyed the lush wildflowers that dotted the open field into a magnificent golden red.

A makeshift tent stood between the two armies, and Louis XII appeared majestically on the side of the open field, with three men with him, except for a clerk and a servant, and the only escort was a thin court attendant, like Louis de Bourbon, a nobleman named Jean Arbret of distinguished origin, although no one knew that he would become the future king of Navarre.

Louis XII's eyes widened slightly when he saw him from afar, she had heard of this queen for a long time, but he was surprised that she was so young and so beautiful.

Josa's retinue consisted of her lady-in-waiting, Omo, and a bodyguard, and when they sat down under the tent, both monarchs and men looked at each other.

"Queen, I must admit that you are the most incredible person I have ever met on this expedition, and although I think that the Duke of Rome Thessia has taken me by surprise, what you have done has completely changed my previous opinion of any woman or even a monarch."

Louis XII did not hide his surprise, and seeing that Visa only smiled reservedly when he heard this, the King carefully examined the face in front of him with a slightly presumptuous gaze that would fascinate most men: "I think that if we had met not here, but in any of the courts, I might even forget my admiration for you as a husband, but for now I only hope that we can have a good outcome." ”

Tsusha nodded in agreement, she knew that Louie certainly wouldn't have any infatuation with her because of her looks, and she didn't think it was something to be proud of, she was good, as long as someone could know about it.

"The French withdrew from Roman Thesia."

Josa spoke suddenly, which made the clerk next to Louis scramble for a while because he had not had time to open the notebook, while Jean Albrey and the servant who were standing aside looked surprised.

"This is my condition," said Jossa completely ignoring the Frenchman's incredulous gaze, she just looked at Louis XII, and when she saw that the French king was also a little surprised, her expression calmed down, and she continued, "Rome Thesia is the duchy of my brother Alexandre Giulian de Cambrai, and as his blood relatives and allies, I am obliged to safeguard the safety and interests of his duchy. ”

"Queen, I can understand your actions in fulfilling your obligations as an alliance, but don't you think your suggestion is a bit ridiculous?" Louis XII was not angry by the attitude of Josa, he said calmly and softly, "Or you don't realize who your real enemy is, but what do you think the Venetians are doing when we are going to fight a fierce battle here, and the emperor, whose army is besieging Milan, and maybe he will soon take it, and you may lose it here." ”

Louis paused, as if he wanted to let him think about his words first, so he waved his hand for the servant to put the prepared wine on the table: "We may have a night that may be longer, but I believe it is worth it, because I know that such a wise queen can make the right choice." ”

Listening to Louis's compliments, the corners of her thin mouth couldn't help but tilt up slightly, she knew that Louis should have known the battle under Florence as well as she did, and now the French king proposed peace talks at this moment, not so much worried about the current situation on the battlefield, but worried about the more powerful enemy that was about to appear.

Only, did Louis XII really know who his enemies were?

"Exit Rome Thesia," surprisingly did not give the French king a respite, and she did not even touch the glass that was already in front of her, but repeated in an unquestioning tone the words that the French found incredulous: "As the sister of the Duke of Rome Thesia, and his most reliable ally, I can sign with you in the place of my brother a treaty that he can fully recognize." ”

"What kind of contract?" Louis XII's expression finally showed a hint of unhappiness, and he looked at the young queen opposite him with a gloomy face.

"With Parma as the boundary, you can exercise your right to war north of Lomba, and I can guarantee that the Duchy of Rome-Thessia will not intervene in the next war," Zhisa nodded like the French clerk on the side, motioning for him to record these words, "If you are able to agree to this condition, I can convince my brother to renounce his support for Genoa, you should know that his wife is Barentia of Genoa, and his father-in-law is Cardinal Rovere, so you should know what this means." ”

Louis XII listened with a gloomy face, he had thought that he could negotiate a temporary ease of relations with the queen in front of him, after all, although the appearance of the Papal army was a faint threat to the French army, the Neapolitans were still at a disadvantage with their forces.

But he didn't expect that Jisha would put forward such a condition.

Giving up Lombardy seems to be a generous decision, but Louis XII knew that this condition of Josa was purely a favor and not a cost, whether it was strength or influence, Rome Thesia was far from being able to decide the fate of this region, so it was worth giving up the claim to this region, which was not so much generous as knowing how to advance and retreat.

And, as Jossa had guessed, even now Louis XII did not consider the Roman Thesia and the Neapolitan army to be his real opponents, and even though the defeat of the Duke of Bourbon at Florence caught him off guard, he still believed that only Venice and Austria were his real threats.

Therefore, he hoped for a temporary truce with Rome Thesia, and as for the young queen opposite, the French king believed that she should spare no effort to support her brother because of family affection.

Then, as long as an armistice is reached with Rome Thesia, Nabulus will naturally withdraw from the anti-French alliance.

Then he could concentrate his forces on a pitched battle with Maximir.

But now the queen's conditions made Louis XII unacceptable and extremely annoyed, and even with the papal army coveting it, Louis still felt that maybe he should use a hard blow to clear the mind of the beautiful queen in front of him.

"Dear Queen, can I interpret this as a rejection of my proposal?" Seeing that Josa nodded without hesitation, Louis XII stood up helplessly, this result was obviously not what he wanted, but in fact, Josa's actions had obviously blocked the door to peace talks, "I regret that there would have been no bloodshed, I feel sorry for the cost of the lives that the soldiers on both sides are about to pay, and I can assure you that you will eventually find that you will leave a dishonorable mark in history by mistakenly siding on the side of the enemies of the King of France, who has a legitimate claim." ”

Hearing Louis XII's words, Cinza suddenly laughed, she raised her hand slightly, twisted her blonde hair with her fingers, and said to Louis XII with a soft demeanor rarely seen in a woman since she appeared: "My brother once said to me that truth only exists within the range of a cannon, so what you are doing now is not to condemn me, but to pray to God that you will be able to win this war, because it is only the last loser who will leave a bad mark in history." ”

Louis XII pondered for a moment and then nodded slightly, knowing that the negotiations had come to an end, and that the only thing left was to speak with blood and fire.

After politely saluting each other, they parted, and even in the end the two sides remained dignified, but when the two monarchs left the tent, their attendants drew their swords at the same time and severed the pillars that supported the tent.

The tent collapsed, and the troops on both sides of the open field instantly caused an uproar.

The fall of the tent heralded the rupture of the tent.

War is inevitable!

"I bought the neutrality of the papal army with 20,000 florins," Louis XII cried out to his generals that night, returning to the barracks, "I hope this money is worth it, because I am going to disarm the arrogant queen here, and I am going to force her and the Duchy of Rome-Thessia to withdraw from that alliance at once, and let Bourbon clean up his mess, because I will have a decisive battle with Maximir next, and believe me that this is the last war that will decide the fate of this land." ”

While the King was speaking to his generals, he was addressing her officers: "We will defeat the French, for they have no idea who their real enemy is, but I can assure you that after tomorrow they will know what kind of nightmare they are facing." ”

At this time, Louis XII did not know that the Roman army of Thesia, led by Gompati, was already approaching Siena after defeating Louis de Bourbon.