The support sent to Austria will be mainly composed of mercenaries, the King prefering to keep his armies in case of new civil war or English attack. The King still sends some of his most trained general to support Austria, who will engage in the Conquest of Bohemia with the rest of the Austrian armies and mercenary troops. The goal of this invasion is mainly to keep Mattias Corvin out of the Holy Roman Empire, since George Podebrady has been excomunnicated. Frédéric III also starts tightening the relationships between Poland and Austria, in case of Hungarian intervention.
The King René of Naples-Lorraine, feeling his last days coming after a major injury during a hunting party, calls his ally Louis XI, as well as his vassals and his children Yolande and Jean, the first in the succession, and the most competent ones. He will ask his wife to keep traces of everything said during this council, and to lead it. The Treaty of the Crown of Lorraine details the territories included in the Kingdom as well as the succession laws and the indivisible nature of the Kingdom of Lorraine. The Kingdom includes : the whole Duchies of Bar and Lorraine, several bits of the Royal Domain necessary to link all of the Duchies, and the Principality of Cannes, to give the Kingdom an access to the sea.
These territories will be transmitted to the oldest child of the Royal Couple, with no agnatic preference, and women are authorized to full coats of arms if they own lands in the Kingdom. In exchange of the full sovereignity over the Duchy of Bar and the new territories added to it, the County of Provence, the Duchy of Anjou and the Castle of Châtelleraut will be separated from the Kingdom. A never ending alliance is concluded between Lorraine and France, to give Lorraine an access to the sea. Jean inherits from the French possessions of the King René, to avoid a succession crisis with the County of Vaudémont, and Yolande will be crowned Queen of Lorraine at the death of her father, she also receives the claims on the thrones of Naples and Jerusalem. Yolande and her son are the first members of the De Lorraine dynasty, even though her son is often called René de Lorraine-Vaudémont.
To link between them all the territories of Lorraine, the King René also buys at an expensive price Kingship over the Abbay of Gorze and the Church of Saint Avold, ruled by a Cardinal close to Louis XI : Jean Jouffroy. The new Kingdom of Lorraine has a poorly defined soveriengity : very close and dependant of the Kingdom of France, this state is still a Princedom of the Holy Roman Empire. However, the Emperor Frédéric III, cautious about the Peace at the West, accepts the Treaty
a posteriori at the condition that the Kingdom never expends further inside of the Empire.
In April 1467, the Kingdom learns about not only one but two great landlords of France : René de Lorraine and Philippe III died. The King learns about the death of René first, and rushes to Bar-le-Duc with Jean d'Anjou, to be part of the assistance around Yolande as she gets crowned Yolande Ist of Lorraine, Queen of Naples, Lorraine and Jérusalem. Jean d'Anjou is also crowned in the same chapel, as Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence. He receives from his sister one of the two Rings of the Two Houses, symbols of the ever lasting alliance between the De Lorraine and the D'Anjou, evern after the separation of the two dynasties.
The death of Philippe III is really bad news for Louis XI : instead of this reasonnable prince able to keep a
statu quo situation to avoid a war, his son is far more impulsive and bold, and after the revision of the Trial of Burgundy, Louis XI couldn't keep Mary of Burgundy as a hostage. The only good news concerning Burgundy is that Charlotte de Svoie is pregnant, and is the child is a boy, the French crown will have a heir, and this heir will be engaged with Mary of Burgundy. Until this day, the King Louis must be prepared in case of war against Burgundy, and none of Louis XI's allies can help him : Frédéric III is completing his preparations for the war against the King of Bohemia, ad calling to arms the brand new Queen of Lorraine would only give an occasion for Charles to link his territories.
The "Universal Spider" starts weaving his web all around Burgundy : he needs to support the independance of the Bishopric of Liege, to separate Luxemburg from the Netherlands, defend Lorraine against the burgundese ambitions, support Sigismong von Hapsburg against Charles the Bold, the list of the ways to attack the powerful Burgundy was long. The Duke of Hapsburg had been forced to give the County of Ferette to repay his debts, and Louis XI wanted to use this bitterness. A meeting was organized with Sigismond to convince him to side with France. The King couldn't go all weapons out and invade Burgundy, it would be horribly long and expensive, the King of England could backstab France, and the General Estates would never tolerate it.
Only good news : the newborn of the royal family is a boy, Charles. The engagement with Mary of Burgundy, already 13 at this moment, were assured through the Trial of Burgundy, and they would at least give an occasion for Louis XI to meet Charles the Bold and try something, either diplomacy or intrigue. The King offers a meeting in Genova, to reach an agreement concerning the engagement. The Republic prosperated under French tutelage, and was now completely past the Black Week, that caused may destructions. The interview between Charles and Louis, including papal legates and emissaries from Frédéric III, leaded to a very limited agreement. The two heirs will marry when Charles will be 14, everything is negociated harshly : the place of the wedding, the date, ... neither the King or the Duke are ready to give anything. The greatest treaty, in fact, was between the Papal delegation signed with Louis XI the agreements of Bogliasco, confirming most of the Pragmatique Sanction de Bourges.
Two of the five projects that Louis XI decided at the beginning of his reign were reached : Charles, his brother, was under control, and the Pope confirmed the Pragmatique Sanction. Since he was in the city, Louis XI decided to visit the city and meet all the important people : he notices with great satisfaction that Genoese poeple are now used to French influence, and that the Palaiologos family is now influent in the city, especially through their prestige in the Genoese colonies. The Kingd signs with the Doge Giovannie Doria the agreements of 1467, that offer to Genova a more extended autonomy, in exchange of a contribution to the Royal finances through tributes at Genoese tolls. Louis XI also convinces the Doge to add it's city to the Royal Post, at the condition that money transferred to France sevres in priority to establish the link between Genova and the rest of the Postal network.
During the travel back to Amboise, Louis Xi decides to make a small detour at Grenoble, where he didn't went until his coronation, except a few days during his Grand Tour. If the Dauphiné didn't change a lot, Grenoble and Fontaine did a lot : the Saint-David Bridge has been enlarged through new techniques in architecture and engineering. In fact, a Royal and Imperial College had been inaugurated in Fontaine, with the support of Louis XI, mostly focused on engineering and construction. This College is also where the experiments on the Greek Fire take place, which interests Louis XI greatly. This College, strong of it's links with her Genoese twin, develops a secret project that not even Louis XI heard about : the College is planning a journey to proove the spheric shape of Earth. A new artistic school also developped, inspired by Greek and Roman Antiquity : the Eastern School.
Crossing the County of Forez and the Duchy of Bourbon to return to Amboise, King Louis XI stops at Montpensier to ensure the support of the Duke of Bourbon against Charles the Bold. The King promises him Semur if war breaks out against the Duke of Burgundy, and Bresse if it is also to undergo the assaults of the Duke of Savoy. He also buys the loyalty of the Count of Sancerre, then finally returns to Amboise, to prepare his new project: the extension of the Royal Post to Navarre and Lorraine. The King also invests part of his personal fortune in the purchase of mills and land in both states. This reinforcement of the influence of France on its two allies is explained by the Burgundian threat as well as by the project of Isabella the Catholic, potential heiress to the throne of Castile and Leon, to marry with the heir to the throne of Aragon. Such an alliance must imperatively be allied to France, or must not be at all: the King knows how fragile peace is for France, located at the crossroads of Europe.
The Archduke of Austria enters Moravia with his armies and the mercenaries paid by the King of France, not even having to besiege Olomouc and Brno, Catholics. The Gentiléen general, Irénos Bitsakis, who leads the sieges, and as good strategist as a good negotiator, which makes it easy to obtain the surrender of besieged cities, without too much loss. After having seized Moravia and Budweis in a few weeks, Frederick III obtained the surrender of George Podebrady, who was exiled from his lands and whose Archduke usurped the Crown. The Hussites, fearing for their survival, end up negotiating with Frederick III to obtain an Imperial Charter, the Compactata, authorizing the Hussites to practice their faith in the city of Prague, if they pay a low tax
Here is the Map of Lorraine after the Treaty. The small pink parts included in the Kingdom are the Abbays of Gorze and Saint Avold. Yeah, there are several states completely surrounded by Lorraine, but that are part of the HRE.
Oh and, do you guys think I should post smaller posts ? I have to translate the whole thing every times, so I am not sure I will be able to keep up to this rythm when class starts again ...