My British Empire

  Chapter 464 The ambition of Philip II

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  Maleseb, the fringe of the Ile-de-France, became the place of confrontation between the Catholic and Protestant allies.

  This time, the Duke of Guise took the passive position and stayed in the city, while the Protestant army chose to besiege the city and take the initiative.

  In fact, when the Duke of Guise attacked Rouen, although the Protestant army evacuated Paris under the leadership of Prince Condé, they captured a lot of territory in Île-de-France.

   After the Duke of Guise came back, he withdrew from the Ile de France.

  The so-called Île-de-France, although surrounded by rivers, is not a real island, but an administrative region of France, and it is also the most quintessential part of France.

  In 987 AD, Capet became king, and the area he ruled is what is known today as the Ile de France.

  Before King Philip II of France, that is to say, during the period of the six monarchs of the Capet dynasty, nearly 200 years, but the king was trapped on the "Ile de France" like a prisoner, helpless to the vast ocean around him.

   "Ile de France" refers to the actual area that the early kings of the Capetian dynasty could effectively control, including the narrow strip in the middle reaches of the Seine and Loire Rivers, centered on Paris and Orleans, and its area only accounts for about 1/15 of the land of France.

   Outside the "island", there are many princes who are stronger than the royal family, such as the Duchy of Normandy, Burgundy, and Aquitaine.

   Even in the "island", there are many castle owners who do not obey the rules.

  After taking back the Ile de France, the Duke of Guise led the army and began to confront the Protestantism.

   Malesebes is a small city with more than 2,000 people. In France, which has a population of tens of millions, it is considered a small city with more than two people. In England, it has become a big city.

  The Duke of Guise led the peasants and soldiers recruited from the Ile-de-France, as well as Catholic nobles and knight soldiers at all levels, and the number reached tens of thousands again.

   Start a new civil war in France with the Protestants.

   It is reasonable to say that with a population of 18 million in France, it is trivial to organize an army of 100,000 in size, but unfortunately, there is insufficient funds.

   Therefore, for such a long time, the civil war has maintained a scale of tens of thousands of people, which cannot be compared with the hundreds of thousands of troops in China.

  In France in August, the sky was still clear and the sun was shining, but the light was too intense, making the Catholic soldiers standing on the city wall sweaty and unable to open their eyes.

  Wearing a high-grade silk underwear next to his body, the Duke of Guise, who was wearing a light coat over his body, lifted the binoculars with a relaxed expression and looked at the Protestant army outside the city.

  Different from hastily facing the English, he looked relaxed when facing the defeated Protestant army.

  Prince Condé, although he also fought side by side with him and fought fiercely against the Spaniards, he lost more than he won, but his courage is commendable.

   Not to mention Coligny, an admiral left the ship to command the army. Is this a joke?

   This is the best joke the Duke of Guise has heard in so many years.

   In addition to this, the quality of the Protestant and Catholic allies is also different.

  The Catholic Allied Army is composed of local aristocratic knights as the main body, supplemented by farmers and soldiers.

  The Protestant Army is not the case. They only get a small number of nobles to follow, and they are inferior to the Catholic Allied Army in terms of quality.

   But they have an unexpected ally!

   Looking carefully at the lazy and uneven Protestant army in the barracks outside the city, the Duke of Guise put down the binoculars in his hand and sighed.

   "Antoine, what do you think of the Huguenot army in front of you!"

   A trace of unwillingness flashed across the Duke of Guise's face, then he turned around and asked King Navarre and Duke of Vendôme Antoine Bourbon.

  The Duke of Vendôme squinted his eyes, looked at the Protestant army in front of the city, shook his head in disdain, and said:

   "Although the number of Huguenot troops has exceeded 20,000, the number of armored troops is less than 1,000, and the number of artillery pieces is only ten. Compared with ours, it is still inferior."

It's ridiculous to say that in this era, the power of matchlock guns can only deal with unarmored peasants and soldiers. For those armored attendants and knights, if they exceed 30 meters, they will be invisible, which is not as accurate as arrows. and power.

  In this way, the Catholic Allied Forces, which are supported by most of the French nobles, are naturally much more powerful.

   "Yes, the Huguenots are naturally not a threat in my eyes. I will beat them to pieces like mud on the ground in a short time!"

   Said the Duke of Guise smiled smugly and agreed, but as he spoke, he sighed again:

   "However, at this time, our threat is not them, but the Englishmen hundreds of miles away!"

  Talking about the English, Antoine couldn't help but think of the scene of being attacked that day. Countless matchlock guns faced them, the neat phalanx, and the thick sulfur-smelling smoke all impressed Antoine deeply.

   He frowned and nodded in agreement.

  The interest of the two of them just now was shattered, and their faces were extremely ugly.

   At this time, the new royal palace in Madrid was built on a high hill of the Manzales River, and in a blink of an eye it was a small canyon, where the hunting wind was blowing away the heat of summer.

  Queen Mary was chatting with a few high-ranking Spanish nobles on a lawn, and they had to discuss their parenting experience from time to time, looking very happy.

  Besides, Prince Charles is five years old, with his calves, and several other young nobles of the same age, chasing and chasing on the grass, laughing happily.

   It's just that the maid serving on the side is too busy, and she has to run while serving.

   Not far from them, the helm of the Habsburg dynasty, the defender of Catholicism, His Majesty Philip II of Spain, was discussing the situation in France with his ministers.

"Your Majesty, the current situation in France is very unfavorable to the Catholic League. The English attacked Brittany and defeated the Duke of Guise outside Rouen, thereby occupying the Normandy region in one fell swoop. The English are within reach of the French crown! "

  The palace minister bent slightly, facing the ruler of the Habsburg dynasty, and reported softly.

   "Your Excellency, how is the kingdom's finances?"

  Philip II had a calm expression on his face. He also had big ideas about the French crown, and he had ambitions since Charles V.

   But this opportunity was taken by the English, but he was not reconciled, so he asked the chancellor of the exchequer.

   "Well, Your Majesty, the taxes for the first half of the year have already arrived, but the loans of the Genoese businessman and the Netherlands businessman who borrowed last year have to be returned!"

  The Minister of Finance glanced at His Majesty the King and said helplessly.

   "There is no rush to pay back the money from the group of businessmen, as long as you conquer France, you can have as much as you want!"

  Philip II shook his hand and said domineeringly.

   "Master, immediately issue a summons order in my name, requiring the nobles to gather troops and attack France together!"

  The palace minister glanced helplessly at His Majesty the King, and agreed.

  When I think that even the English can defeat the French, and the strength of the French has dropped so much, then I can drive straight in and take down Paris.

  It is indeed a pleasure to add a French crown to my head.

  Thinking, Philip II showed a smile.

  As for the "Cato-Cambrezi Peace Treaty" signed a few years ago, Philip II never took it to heart.

   Just when His Majesty the King was so ambitious and was about to devour France in one fell swoop, a guard ran over with hurried steps.

   Looking at his anxious footsteps, Philip II had an ominous premonition.

  (end of this chapter)