ps: Happy New Year, ask for tickets, ask for subscriptions

After the city of Orleans was breached, the Huguenots were overwhelmed, and in the Lubwa region centered on Orleans, they captured a series of cities such as Blois, Tours, and Bourges in three weeks.

As a result, the Orleans region was completely controlled by the Huguenots, and by controlling the Loire, the whole of France was divided in two.

It can be said that Orleans is the capital of the Protestants in France.

On April 12, 1562, in Orleans, Prince Condé officially assumed command of the Huguenot army, with Marshal Colini and Andro as deputies, and began his march towards Paris.

The news of the breach of Orleans spread quickly, but within a day, it reached Paris.

The Catholic League, which was in the process of raising funds from its own people, was furious when it heard the news.

The three giants unanimously decided to counterattack, and immediately led 15,000 men to begin their advance in the direction of Orleans.

At the same time, the Prince of Condé, as commander-in-chief, marched to Paris with more than 10,000 men who had been recruited in the Orleans area, followed by 3,000 men, plus 3,000 cavalry.

So, an interesting thing happened: the Duke of Guise led fifteen thousand men to attack the Orleans region, and Paris was left with only three thousand men to defend.

The Prince of Condé marched towards Paris with an army of 10,000, leaving only Marshal Colligny and more than 2,000 men to stay in Orleans.

What's even more interesting is that there is a small episode before the decisive battle between the two.

At this time, Queen Catherine, who was in Paris, still enjoyed the honor of the Queen Mother on the surface, but in fact she had lost her personal freedom, and she was no different from a prisoner.

I don't know if this situation will remind her of the terrible nightmare of childhood hostage, but her fear is unmistakable.

She did not sit still, and the terrifying power of the Guise family frightened her, and she began to write a letter to the Prince of Condé in a fiefdom, begging him to save her: "Seeing this situation, I believe that you will not refuse to help us, and you will protect mother, child and kingdom." They will never forget your service. ”

At the end of the letter, she specially added: "It will be burned after reading." ”

If the Prince of Condé, the commander-in-chief of Huguenot, received the letter, he would not burn it, but would take it out and make it public, so as to prove that the Queen Mother's mother and son were imprisoned, and called on the people to help him save him.

The Triumvirate, for its part, claimed that they were not responsible for the situation and that the Huguenots were traitors.

So before the two sides fought, there was a war of words over the Queen Mother's letter.

Just when both sides were gearing up, and at the same time they were on the march, preparing for war.

Diplomatically, on the Protestant side, Andlos sent an envoy to Germany to obtain the support of some Protestant princes; In the United Kingdom, Baron Périgueux brought Huguenot's specific terms of sending 6,000 troops to Huguenot on the condition that he receive Le Havre, Rouen, and Duep, that is, the whole of Normandy (Rouen was the capital of the Duke of Normandy).

The Catholic faction is no more noble than the Protestant faction.

They also actively sought foreign aid, making many concessions to the King of Spain and the Pope, and even the Duke of Savoy (who later unified Italy with the Kingdom of Sardinia) on no less terms than Edward, who demanded that France cede Turin in Italy.

According to the Treaty of Cato-Cambrai, Turin was to be part of France.

On 8 May, King Charles IX of France formally requested military assistance from the Catholic world, including Spain, the Catholic cantons of Switzerland, the Catholic princes of Germany, Savoy, the Pope, and the city-states of Italy, large and small.

The Queen Mother Catherine, who was furious when she learned that the Prince of Condé had made the letter public regardless of her life or death, was even more furious when she heard that the Protestants had reached this traitorous treaty with England, and she saw that Condé was as hateful as Guise.

As she later said: "I know them very well, and have no love for God, the King, or for me, except for the pursuit of their own interests and the satisfaction of their ambitions, and I will not allow any one to be directed if God is gracious." ”

Ironically, Catherine, an Italian, cared more about French honor than those who were born and bred in France.

But she didn't know that it wasn't just Protestants, the Catholic League was selling out the country without mercy, but she didn't know it.

In addition to Orleans and Paris, the Huguenots and the Catholic League were the most fiercely contested in the Normandy region.

That's right, the seat of the title of Duke of Normandy above Edward's head also became a war zone.

The leader of the Huguenots in Normandy was Earl Gabriel, the former captain of the Scottish Guard of the Kingdom.

That's right, the same knight who stabbed Henry II to death and was then pardoned.

After being forgiven by Henry II, he returned to his domain, which was in Normandy.

As a result, he was baptized by Calvinism and became a Protestant.

The Prince of Condé then sent his aide-de-camp, Marigny, as his assistant.

Thanks to the heroic efforts of Count Gabriel and the Huguenots, the Normandian capital of Rouen was taken.

The adjutant, Marigny, then took Le Havre, the largest port in Normandy, where the Huguenots could openly communicate with the British; In Caen, Bayeux and much of Lower Normandy, the populace destroyed the icons of the churches of the abbey and seized the royal tax to Paris.

The city of Cordbeck in Upper Normandy went over to the Protestant side;

The occupation of the cities of Orleans and Rouen made it impossible for the enemy to transport everything to Paris from the Loire and Seine.

Although Catholics were the majority, the Rohan family, descendants of the former Duke of Brittany, were Protestant, and they still controlled the whole of Brittany.

The provinces of Guiena and Poitou, as well as most of Languedoc, supported Protestantism.

Doffine, mostly in favor of the Catholic League.

A small number of cities in Burgundy, Champagne and Bourbon were seized by the Huguenots.

Only Île-de-France, fully in favor of the king, and if you count the Lorraine region, there are two regions that are fully in favor of Catholicism.

On the whole, the Huguenots and the Catholic alliance were evenly matched, and even seemed to be more powerful in Catholicism.

Not long after Le Havre was captured by the Protestants, the Knight Alexander, with an army of 7,000 men and hundreds of ships, gradually approached the port of Le Havre.

"General, do you need our navy for help?" As the captain of the fleet in the English Channel, Colonel James naturally had to personally escort the army to Normandy, which was his duty.

Looking at the port of Le Havre not far away, James bent down slightly and greeted softly.

Although he was a baron, his status was inferior to that of Alexander, a knight who was trusted by two generations of kings.

So, there was a hint of compliment in his voice.

"No need, Mr. Colonel, the siege of the city should be left to our army! The sea is where your navy should be in charge! ”

Knight Alexander looked at the looming harbor ahead, his beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, his lips moved lightly, and he said lightly, letting Colonel James touch a soft nail.

In this regard, Colonel James could only smile bitterly a few times, shook his head, and said no more.

"The people of the army are still so arrogant!"

It is a shame to say that the navy at this time was an inch, and the army not only suppressed Scotland, but also sent troops to Ireland, and its status was one level higher than that of the navy.

was scolded and there was nothing to say.