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After the city of Orleans was captured, the Huguenots were in full swing. In the Lobois area centered on Orleans, they captured a series of cities such as Blois, Tours, and Bourges within three weeks.

As a result, the Orleans area was completely controlled by the Huguenots, and by controlling the Loire River, the entire France was divided into two.

It can be said that Orleans is the capital of French Protestants.

On April 12, 1562, in Orleans, Prince Condé officially served as the commander-in-chief of the Huguenot Army, with Marshal Coligny and Andro as his deputy, and began to march towards Paris.

The news of Orleans being breached spread quickly, and within a day, it reached Paris.

The Catholic League, which was raising funds raised by hand, was outraged when it heard the news.

The three giants unanimously decided to counterattack, and then led 15,000 people and began to move towards Orleans.

At the same time, Prince Condé, as the commander-in-chief, led the 5,000 people recruited in the Orleans area, followed by 3,000 people, plus 3,000 cavalry, a total of more than 10,000 people marched towards Paris.

So, an interesting thing happened: the Duke of Guise led 15,000 people to attack the Orleans area, and Paris only left 3,000 people to defend.

Prince Condé led an army of 10,000 towards Paris, leaving only Marshal Coligny and more than 2,000 people to stay in Orleans.

What's even more interesting is that before the decisive battle between the two, there was an episode.

At this time, Queen Catherine, who was in Paris, still enjoyed the honor of queen mother on the surface, but she had lost her personal freedom and was no different from a prisoner.

I don't know if this situation will remind her of the terrible nightmare of being a hostage in her childhood, but her fear is undoubted.

She did not sit still, the terrifying power of the Guise family made her terrified, she began to write letters to Prince Condé, begging him for help: Seeing this situation, I believe you will not refuse to help us, you will protect mother , children, and kingdom. They will never forget your service.

At the end of the letter, she specially added a sentence: Burn after reading.

Commander-in-chief Huguenot Prince Condé received the letter as if he had found a treasure. Of course, he would not burn the letter, but made it public to prove that the Queen Mother and her son were imprisoned, and called on the people of the country to help him save them.

One side of the Catholic Triumvirate claimed that they were not responsible for the situation and that the Huguenots were traitors.

So before the two sides fought, they had a war of words over the Queen Mother's letter.

Just as the two sides were gearing up, they were both on the march, preparing for the war.

In terms of diplomacy, on the Protestant side, Andro sent an envoy to Germany to obtain the support of some Protestant princes; in the United Kingdom, Baron Periguet brought specific conditions for the Huguenots to send troops, requesting to send 6,000 people to the Huguenots. , the condition is to get Le Havre, Rouen and Dieppe, that is, the entire Normandy region (Rouen was once the capital of the Duke of Normandy).

The Catholic faction did no better than the Protestant faction.

They also actively sought foreign aid, and made many concessions to the King of Spain and the Pope. Even the Duke of Savoy (later the Kingdom of Sardinia in Italy, which unified Italy) put forward conditions no less than that of Edward. He asked France to cede Turin, Italy.

According to the Cato-Cambrai Treaty, Turin should belong to France.

On May 8, King Charles IX of France formally requested military assistance from the Catholic world, including Spain, the Catholic states of Switzerland, the Catholic princes of Germany, Savoy, the pope, and the principalities and city-states of Italy.

Queen Catherine was very annoyed when she learned that Prince Condé had made the letter public regardless of her life, and now she heard that the Protestants had reached a treaty of treason with Britain, and she was even more furious. She saw clearly that Condé and Guise Just as hateful.

As she said later: I know them deeply. Apart from pursuing their own interests and the satisfaction of their ambitions, they have no respect and love for the King of God and me. If God is gracious, I will not allow myself to be ordered by anyone. .”

Ironically speaking, Catherine, an Italian, cares more about the honor of France than those native French.

But she couldn't know that not only the Protestants, but the Catholic League betrayed the country without mercy, but she didn't know it.

In addition to Orleans and Paris, the most intense competition between the Huguenots and the Catholic League belonged to the Normandy region.

That's right, the location of the Duke of Normandy title above Edward's head has also become a war zone.

The leader of the Huguenots in Normandy was Earl Gabriel, the former captain of the Scottish Guard of the Kingdom.

That's right, the knight who stabbed Henry II to death and was forgiven.

After being pardoned by Henry II, he returned to his domain, which was in the Normandy area.

As a result, he was baptized as a Calvinist and became a Protestant.

Then, Prince Condé sent his adjutant Marini to act as his assistant.

Rouen, the capital of Normandy, was captured by Gabriel and the Huguenots.

Adjutant Marigny then took Le Havre, the largest port in Normandy, so that the Huguenots could communicate openly with England; in Caen, Bayeux, and most of Lower Normandy, the populace destroyed The statue of the cathedral took away the royal tax sent to Paris.

The city of Cotebec in Upper Normandy went to the Protestant side;

The capture of the cities of Orléans and Rouen made it impossible for the enemy to send anything from the Loire and Seine to Paris.

There was no trouble in the Brittany region. Although Catholics accounted for the majority, the Rohan family, descendants of the former Duke of Brittany, believed in Protestantism. They still controlled the entire Brittany region.

The departments of Guyenne and Poitou, as well as most of the Languedoc, supported Protestantism.

Dauphiné, mostly in support of the Catholic League.

A small number of cities in the departments of Burgundy, Champagne, and Bourbon were taken by the Huguenots.

Only Ile-de-France fully supports the king, and if you count the Lorraine area, there are two areas that fully support Catholicism.

Generally speaking, the Huguenots and the Catholic League are evenly matched, and it even seems that Catholicism is stronger.

Not long after Le Havre was captured by Protestantism, Knight Alexander led an army of 7,000 men and hundreds of ships, and gradually approached the port of Le Havre.

General, do you need help from our navy? Colonel James, as the captain of the fleet in the English Channel, naturally had to personally escort the army to Normandy, which was his due responsibility.

Looking at the port of Le Havre not far away, James bent slightly and greeted softly.

Although he is a baron, his status is still not as good as that of Alexander, a knight who was trusted and favored by two generations of kings.

So, there was a hint of compliment in his voice.

No need, Mr. Colonel, leave the siege to our army! The sea is where your navy should be in charge!

Knight Alexander looked at the looming port in front of him, narrowed his beautiful eyes slightly, moved his lips lightly, and said in a nonchalant manner, which made Colonel James a soft nail.

In this regard, Colonel James could only smile a few times, shook his head, and said nothing more.

People in the army are still so arrogant!

It is ashamed to say that the navy at this time has made a lot of achievements, while the army not only suppressed Scotland, but also sent troops to Ireland, and its status was higher than that of the navy.

I was stunned, and there was nothing to say.