They would because Habsburgs are greater threat and Francois can take Milan for himself.
A Queen Twice Over: Mary Tudor the Elder Marries Francis I of France
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They would because Habsburgs are greater threat and Francois can take Milan for himself.
Didn't they just?
I don't think he's that bad, yet. At least Jean has the excuse of overwhelming grief... Joffrey didn't.
Oh yeah, Bella is definitely the victim in all of this!
At some point, probably. But I'm not writing another war. François can content himself with a bigger French Canada and leave reclaiming Milan to little Anne, if he wants it.
Tho if she has sons with Jean they might have end up as her brother's heirs, but repairing Polish whole mentality about state and how it should be ran would be Herculean task.
This is true, at least the first part. Not sure what you mean by the second!
Polish "peculiarities" like overmighty House of Envoys, adherence to principle of unanimity and election etc. made very pathological social model and althought they're like in infant state, limiting them would be very difficult task.
"Talked into" it? Is that what we're calling my gentle persuasion?
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Not, this particular scene, no. I'll take responsibility for stoning Isabella out of the saddle. But the storyline as a whole wasn't in my original drafts for this story, so yes, I was talked into including the rebellion. 😛
Honestly, i might have expected Jean to develop into a more interesting character and this story arc to be more... Fascinating, and not so an elogation of the later Francis-Marie arc, but at least it will be short. Francis losing Milan is just going to make him less popular, though, probably even less popular than he was before since Milan is so important for the french economy and military, but that's probably the reason the Habsburgs will try to take it in the first place.
Hey at least they get a long surviving New France who's position will give much more money than Milan could ever dream of, even if they don't that yet.
Yes, I did feel like Isabelle's death fell somewhat flat. No build up about the resentment of the population.
I get that, but I thought killing her at a moment of triumph worked quite nicely, and anyway, I'm actually more interested in the consequences of her death than *how* she died, if that makes sense?
Fair, but to be honest, I let the characters write themselves. And Jean is writing himself as a Mama's boy of fourteen-year-old who is now rudderless because he's just lost his guiding light. It's not an unrealistic angle to take, I feel, so we're running with it...
Milan isn't really important because of control over Lombardy, but because it assures military superiority in Northern Italy, a front France historically has always needed to protect, and because it essentially makes any foreign power big enough that controls it masters over northern Italy. France is even better positioned than Austria for Italian control, yet the Habsburg managed to cash-cow Italy for centuries. That's why Lombardy is important, plus, Milan's great economic position and the fact it's probably Europe's biggest armory at this point.
I definitely won't deny that, just saying that in the long run, Milan can't really compare to a colony as large as New France, especially one that shuts out the English out of North America but if France where to New France AND Milan it would be ideal of course
Hey, I suggested a stray javelin, so you could have gone with that!
Section CXXXV: June 1536
Orleans, June 1536
Phillippe, Duke de Nemours, stalks the wall walk of the Bishop’s Palace, cursing roundly in his head.
Damn Madame de Valentinois and her siren’s hold over Lord Milan! If she’d actually let him be the soldier she claimed to want him to be, then he wouldn’t be so bereft. He would have thrown himself into his plans for their campaign, not be moping around the Bishop’s Palace with a face like a kicked puppy, reluctant to eat or even to talk to anyone other than Lady Isabella’s brother Henri of Navarre. He’d know the dangers of leaving his men leaderless, especially when a good portion of them are foreigners, and as such, even more vulnerable to the ravaging reprisals that no one dares talk about, but that they all know must be coming. They must be. Not even King François, weak and easily steered by the women in his life as he is, will be able to ignore his brother’s flagrant breach of his peace, not when it happened in the very heart of his royal domains.
Footsteps bring Phillippe out of his dark thoughts. The Cardinal of Lorraine stands behind him, his face as dour as Phillippe’s mind.
He crosses to stand by Phillippe and leans against the balustrade, arms folded.
“Well. This is a pretty pickle we’ve got ourselves into, isn’t it?”
“Indeed,” Phillippe growls, “My God. When I threw my weight behind Lord Milan, I didn’t expect him to turn out to be as much of a mother’s boy as his brother! I thought he knew better.”
“His Highness is still very young,” the Cardinal hums, “Perhaps we should have expected him to balk when something went wrong, especially something this serious.”
“But we can’t just sit here, waiting for King François to come to us! Waiting is the death of any campaign, every soldier knows that! We’re already struggling for support. If we don’t do something soon, then we’ll start haemorrhaging men, and that really will be the nail in the coffin for us! And what would Lady Isabella say to that? She wouldn’t want it, surely? Can’t you make His Highness see that?”
“His Majesty of Navarre is trying,” the Cardinal sighs dryly, and Phillippe’s hands curl into fists, barely restraining a snarl at how useless the green whelp he is supposed to honour as his Prince is being.
However, when he glances across at the Cardinal of Lorraine, he is astonished by how calm the younger man seems.
“You look surprisingly serene, My Lord, considering we’ll all be for the axe if we can’t regain the upper hand,” he remarks and the Archbishop shrugs.
“I doubt my head will be on the block, even if we do lose. François won’t want to anger His Holiness by executing a Prince of the Church. But who says we will lose? Lord Milan might not be willing to lead, just at this moment, and who can blame him, after the loss he has suffered. But are we not his generals? Are we not, in our own right, two of the most powerful men in France? We don’t have to wait for the boy to recover. We can make our own moves, can we not?”
Something in the younger man’s silky tone brings Phillippe up short. He cuts the Cardinal a piercing glance.
“You have something in mind, don’t you?”
“The last sign of favour the late King Francis ever bestowed upon me was to appoint me Bishop of Nantes. Nantes, in Brittany.”
The words hang in the air, full of portent. For a moment, Lord Nemours simply stares at the Cardinal, wondering how he thinks a Breton church post is going to help them…and then it crashes over him. His jaw drops open.
“But that’s where the Dauphin is! Do you mean, you could…”
“What right does anyone have to stop me from visiting my rightful See? And since I am in Brittany, it would surely be only right for me to visit my young liege lord, would it not?”
“Jean…” In his excitement, Lord Nemours forgets to honour the Archbishop with full courtesy, only whispers wonderingly, “If you could seize control of the Dauphin and Mademoiselle Marie… If you held the future of France in your hands…”
“François would have to come to terms with us, would he not? Now, I can’t be seen to go with too big a retinue, not if anyone is going to believe I come in peace, so I shall take 200 of my men from Narbonne, and put my Breton retainers on alert for when I land in Brittany. Give me two hundred of your men, and I shall sail for Brittany tomorrow.”
Phillippe doesn’t have to think twice. The Cardinal’s plan to try to seize control of the Dauphin, to hold the future of France in his hands, is a bold one, but they need something bold. Their cause is flagging badly, and their supposed figurehead doesn’t even seem to care. They need to change tack, and quickly.
He clasps the younger man’s arm, nodding fiercely. “Done. Go and speak to Jacques, my captain of the guard. Tell him I sent you and he’ll see you get everything you need.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
The Cardinal doesn’t miss a beat. He nods to Phillippe and then swings on his heel, scarlet robes fluttering in the breeze as he leaves the wall walk. Phillippe watches him go, relief warring with exultation in his breast.
At last! They have a plan. Despite Lord Milan’s refusal to take on the responsibility that is rightfully his, they have a plan.
Maybe, just maybe, all is not lost after all.
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Wow.
I really want this to blow up in their faces...even more than to see if Bella is her mother's daughter (as in: will walk on corpses for her inheritance).
Do you really think it isn't going to?
Never mind Renee's. François won't stay in Chinon for long, not when his children are threatened.
If Jean’s behavior is making them hemorrhage men, what do Nemours and Lorraine think holding toddlers hostage is going to do to their popularity?