My British Empire

Not long after Londoners learned that the Duke of Guise had been assassinated, the shocking news 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 taken aback 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 gaze was cold and merciless.

The messenger in front of him 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.

But 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 guard who sent the letter was already mentally prepared to face 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 had been staring at the serf's son in front of him, his brain was thinking very fast.

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

The archbishop's icy voice sounded in the empty room, and the serf's son who was kneeling on the ground was startled, and 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 with the war, and he handles the entire family affairs, and the terrifying image is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

"Small poisonous needles? There are still forces in Europe using 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 him were not only the Huguenots, but also the Duke of Vendôme, the Duke of Montmorency, the Catholic Triumvirate in Paris, and General Saint-Andre.

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 King Charles IX and Queen Catherine sat high on the throne, staring at the front with expressionless eyes, 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 had just received.

The passing of Guise has indeed shaken 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 to France!"

The Duke of Montmorency was the former head of the royal family and the most trusted minister of Henry II. After the departure of the Duke of Guise, he was 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 Vendôme 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 statement as the First Minister of course made other nobles a little upset, but given his prestige for so many years, he dared not blatantly oppose it.

"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! "

In the end, Montmorency had already begun to imagine that he would quell the heresy, take control of the entire French power, and become the first family under the royal family.

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

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

In his middle age, he has long, wavy black 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, so it is our best choice to conduct peace talks at this time!"

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

clap clap -

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

Most of the clan and nobles present had 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.

Over 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, wars and confrontations continue to consume 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 England's War of the Roses?

How could they continue with such cheap royal affairs?

"My lord duke's words are extremely absurd! We have always been devout to our Lord's faith.

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, everyone. At some time in the future, we will die under the prayer of the priest and meet the benevolent and omnipotent God. He will ask 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 whispered in their mouths.

Even Charles IX and Queen Catherine, who sat 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 any longer..."

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

In Paris and Orleans, the issue 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.