Chapter 90

After landing, Queen Elizabeth II went to Amsterdam to oversee the campaign, while Albert led the British army steadily toward Paris.

The war between Britain and France should have been evenly matched, but the outbreak of the St. Bartholomew's Massacre brought all of France's internal troubles to the surface. Religious wars broke out everywhere, and Huguenots in the south and west of France directly rebelled and established a new federal republic, tying down a large part of France's military forces.

Amidst internal and external troubles, widespread anxiety, and a large number of people dissatisfied with the rule of the Valois royal family, who gathered outside the Louvre to petition violently, Queen Mother Catherine was powerless to deal with the British army.

After sending out several waves of troops to block the British advance, only to be defeated one by one by the British army due to the lack of a capable commander-in-chief, the court was filled with anxiety and could not find a suitable commander-in-chief.

The Duke of Guise was a seasoned warrior who had brought many great victories to France, making him well-suited to lead troops against England at this time. However, his familial relationship with the Queen of England was a cause for concern.

The Duke of Guise had long been out of favor and neglected at the French court. Who could guarantee that he wouldn't harbor deep resentment and then defect on the battlefield, leading his army to surrender to the British?

No one can guarantee that.

In fact, the Duke of Guise did not harbor any resentment, nor did he continue to remain as loyal to France as his predecessor, Henry II, had.

If the Valois court can continue to hold on, he will remain a high-ranking nobleman in France. If the Queen of England wins the final victory, thanks to the Guise family's help to Queen Mary over the years, he can still secure a good position in the English court.

Therefore, he really didn't need to go to such lengths to prevent the British army from entering France.

With this mindset in mind, the old Duke of Guise maintained an odd silence, and together with many neutral and bystander French nobles, he persuaded them to conserve their energy and not to devote too much effort to the royal family.

As the war dragged on into the autumn, accompanied by a series of reports of defeats, Queen Mother Catherine reluctantly began to negotiate peace with the Queen of England.

In her letter, she vowed that France was willing to recognize the legitimate rule of the British Queen over the Netherlands, and that they were also willing to pay approximately £30,000 as war reparations. She also stated that the ownership of the port of Calais was negotiable, provided that Britain withdrew its troops.

Mary, who was staying in Amsterdam and had just met with the new head of the church, and had spent a lot of effort negotiating with them to finally cut off the claws that Germany had reached out to her, sneered after reading the letter.

"These are the same Frenchmen who lavishly bribed the locals and cultivated pro-French factions in Antwerp, and they were also the same Frenchmen who first started the war. Now that they find themselves outmatched, they want to make peace. They're being far too optimistic," said the Queen of England.

“The French ambassador is still waiting outside,” Emma said from the side.

"Bring him in," said the Queen of England.

...

French Ambassador to Britain, Du Croc, waited outside the door for quite some time before finally being summoned by a maid.

He bent down to wipe the brown mud off his boots, tidied his appearance, and then respectfully entered the temporary palace in Amsterdam.

In a way, he was an old acquaintance of the Queen of England.

As early as twelve years ago, when the Queen of Scots returned to rule, he had already been a frequent visitor to Holyrood Palace as a French envoy, responsible for conveying the will of the French royal family.

At that time, Scotland was a small and weak country, and often needed to rely on France to intimidate Britain and prevent it from invading at will. Therefore, he was treated with great courtesy in the Scottish court. The Queen often invited him to dinner and chat, and my noble family often gave him gifts. His treatment in Scotland was completely different from that of the British envoy Randolph.

Twelve years later, everything turned upside down.

Once overlooked, the Queen of Scots, seemingly blessed by God, rose through the ranks to become Queen of the Netherlands and the British Isles. She even defeated the Spanish Armada at sea, successfully carving out a portion of the New World's interests and bringing her power to its zenith. Meanwhile, the mighty France suddenly disintegrated due to Princess Margaret's bloody wedding, leaving it powerless to face the British army.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Mr. Klock. The weather is really nice today."

The Queen of England, seated at the table, uttered the usual British greeting.

The Queen of England spoke in a calm tone, showing no sign of anger towards the envoy due to the war between the two countries. However, Du Crook had no interest in chatting with the Queen. After removing his hat and bowing, he began to persuade the Queen to negotiate peace with France.

To ensure that France would no longer suffer from the ravages of war, Du Croc had prepared a speech beforehand, repeatedly reciting it in his mind. Now, facing the Queen, he spoke fluently and persuasively, not only making his points reasonable but also bringing up past events.

“Your Majesty, I beg you, I implore you to have one last shred of mercy for France. You spent over a decade of joy in France, every member of the Valois royal family was once part of your household… When you and His Majesty François were married at Notre Dame Cathedral, every French soldier who now falls addressed you respectfully as Your Majesty the Queen, swearing to be loyal to you for life. I beg you to remember all that was beautiful,” said Du Croc.

In the dim light, the Queen of England's expression wavered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.

“I have never forgotten my childhood spent in the Louvre, but as a monarch I am also responsible for my country and my people…” Marie replied, “…It was France that first stirred up the conflict and was eyeing Antwerp covetously, and I was just returning the favor.”

Du Crook felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment, but then realized that if there was truly no room for negotiation, the Queen of England would not have invited him in.

The successive victories in the war made the Queen of England's appetite even greater, and she was no longer satisfied with the original conditions.

He gritted his teeth and asked, "What would it take for you to withdraw your troops from France?"

“Besides the port of Calais and its associated territory, I also need France to cede the Picardy region, Upper Normandy, Lower Normandy, and Champagne-Ardenne to England,” Mary said.

Du Klock was taken aback, then his expression changed drastically.

These provinces are all located right next to the Paris region. If they were actually ceded to Britain, the French king living in Paris would probably have to live in constant fear every day.

“This is simply impossible, Your Majesty! Your request is far too unreasonable!” Du Klock said.

There is no need to overstate the nature of conflicts between nations. While the French envoy's expression changed drastically, the seated Queen of England merely smiled and remained noncommittal.

Realizing that the person before him was the Queen of England, Du Crook restrained his anger and said with difficulty, "No one in the French court would agree to Your Majesty's request."

"Please convey this message to Queen Catherine the Great and the others in the Louvre: even if they do not agree to my truce demands, I will obtain these territories in another way," said the Queen of England.

Another approach, of course, is to resort to force.

After saying this, the Queen of England ordered the envoy to leave.

...

Frustrated at failing to complete his mission, Du Croc returned to the French court and relayed the Queen of England's words to the other French rulers.

Queen Catherine the Queen Mother was trembling with rage, cursing the Queen of England as an ungrateful viper and a witch. She said that if she could do it all over again, she would strangle François with her own hands on the day she was killed... But as the war situation gradually deteriorated and the English army advanced step by step, in order to prevent the worst from happening, she began to order the people in the court to pack their bags and temporarily move to Dijon in Burgundy, to use it as a "temporary" palace.

At the same time, Queen Mother Catherine left an elite army in ambush within Paris, and, accompanied by the King, addressed the people, awakening Parisians' patriotism, reminding them of their ill feelings towards the British, and urging them to pledge allegiance to the King…

Shortly after the royal family moved away, the Duke of Somerset led the British army in a rapid advance and began to attack Paris.

This time, the British army both succeeded and failed. They successfully captured Paris because the extreme resistance of the French civilians in the city was too severe. After only three days of occupation, they were ambushed. After a night of riots, the commander was seriously wounded and thrown into the river. However, the remaining troops were not greatly harmed because they were able to regroup.

Duke Albert of Somerset—the blond youth who had never been defeated since he stepped onto the battlefield—was finally no longer favored by fate and tasted the bitter fruit of defeat, paying the price with his own life.