The Duke of Guise ran forward with the remnants of his army, and at once came to Elbeeuf, a small border city dozens of kilometers from Rouen.

"Huhuhu-" Panting, Duke Guise's legs clamped slightly, and the war horse under his crotch slowly stopped, gasping for white gas in his nostrils.

"Knock knock—" The Duke paused, so that many of the cavalrymen who followed him finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped to rest for a while.

"Are the English chasing after you?" Duke Guise rubbed his waist, gasped, and asked the cavalry commander beside him.

"No, the English didn't chase after them anymore!" The cavalry commander glanced at the surrounding cavalry, and after receiving an affirmative answer, replied.

"That's good, Erdorf is ahead. Let's get in and take a break! ”

Glancing at the small town ahead, Duke Guise breathed a sigh of relief and commanded.

The cavalry then followed the Duke of Guise into Eldorf, repaired for a long time, and then continued to run towards Paris, until the city of Vernon, near the Ile-de-France region, was relieved, more than two hundred miles from Rouen.

In the end, Duke Guise counted that the total number of cavalry that followed him was only more than 1,100 men, and the infantry was just over 1,000.

In other words, of the more than 10,000 people he brought over, only 2,000 remained, and the losses were heavy!

What made the Duke even more heartbroken was that the thousands of elite veterans he brought with him had already lost more than half, and the price was too cruel!

"Damn the city of Rouen, damn the English!" Duke Guise cursed in his heart.

This was the greatest loss he had ever suffered since he led his troops into battle, and even in the face of the Spaniards, he had never suffered such a heavy blow, which was a huge blow to his prestige.

At the same time, the information that England had captured Normandy and Brittany at the same time began to prevail throughout France, and the entire French aristocracy, clergy, and royal family were in a panic.

The aristocrats were reluctant to have a strong monarch to regain control of France, and it was the same barbaric English who had slaughtered them.

The clergy, whether Catholic or Huguenot, knew what England was doing, and even more so Henry VIII's practice, even in terms of protecting the faith and protecting property, they did not want the English to be crowned the crown of France.

Of course, what I am most afraid of is the French royal family in a small country town at this time.

King Charles IX of France, although still young, did not know the meaning behind the defeat of the Duke of Guise and the loss of Brittany, but he understood that the crown on his head was in danger at this time.

And as a regent, Queen Catherine, with her political sense, naturally understands what this means.

So, at this moment, she understood that the civil war could not continue, and France at this time was facing a situation similar to that of the Hundred Years' War.

Therefore, she could not wait to send peace talks to the Catholic League and the Huguenots, asking them to join forces to drive the English out of France, putting French interests first.

City of Orleans.

As the stronghold of the Huguenots, after the departure of the Duke of Guise with part of his army, the Prince of Condé and Admiral Collini, who were besieging Paris, immediately withdrew their troops and solved the siege of Orleans.

Earlier, they were overjoyed to learn that the English and the Duke of Guise had begun to hurt each other.

In the eyes of the Huguenots, fellow Protestant England were noticeably much more endearing than Catholics.

They don't mind losing Normandy, of course, if they take control of France.

And when they get power, it will not be easy to drive out the English!

Yes, it's a breeze.

Even if Edward did not admit it in his heart, he had to say that the French had forgotten the royal family in England who had the right to the crown.

More importantly, the defeat of the Hundred Years' War between England and France not only deprived England of its most important name, but also created antagonism.

In other words, war was the best national catalyst, and the Hundred Years' War allowed the Valois dynasty of France to reunite the royal power and give birth to the so-called French nation.

Later, the notion that the English and the French were two peoples was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and until Prussia unified Germany, the two were feuding.

The Huguenots did not care about the loss of Brittany, it was only a poor country, and it was not long since it was annexed to France, and more importantly, it was the territory of the Catholic League.

But Normandy is different, it is close to Flanders, it has a good economy and, more importantly, it is the base of the Huguenots, which cannot be lost.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any opinion that the English occupy all of Normandy except Rouen, that the Duke of Guise has returned defeated, and that the Queen Regent has invited us to make peace with the Catholic League?"

Prince Condé, as the leader of the Huguenots and the commander-in-chief of the army, looked at the Huguenots who were gathered together and took the lead in asking questions.

"I think it is possible to abandon Normandy for the time being, take advantage of the heavy losses of the Duke of Guise, and defeat the Catholic League in one fell swoop, so that I can concentrate my forces and drive out the English!"

As soon as the words fell, one of them stood up and spoke, bluntly planning to fall into the stone, advocating that the inside should be followed by the outside.

"No, the British occupy Brittany and Normandy, then the Spaniards will certainly not sit idly by, France will be treated as a piece of fat, and our Italian region and the southwest will be in danger!"

"Today's plan is to drive out the English!"

This proposition is to put the outside before the inside, and focus on the national interest.

Then, there were constant rebuttals and discussions around these two points of view, and the arguments continued.

And in the city of Vernon, Archbishop Charles of Reims. Morality. Guise, however, hurried back and forth to see his brother.

"My dear brother, why are you here?" The Duke of Guise was puzzled by his brother's arrival.

Could it be that he saw that he had lost the battle and came to comfort himself? But this is not in line with his character!

"François, the news of your defeat has now spread throughout France!"

Archbishop Charles glanced at his brother and said softly.

Seeing a hint of anger rising on Duke Guise's face, he said:

"Queen Catherine has asked us to make peace with the Huguenots and drive out the English together!"

"This time, I'm here to ask for your opinion!"

"You agreed? Charlie! Duke Guise asked rhetorically with a straight face.

"I agree, France does not need the English, although its king has married our niece!"

Queen Mary is their sister, and Edward is married to their niece, Queen Mary, so theoretically, Edward still has the right to inherit the Duke of Guise.