1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 184: The Peace of La Spezia

As the army marched along the winding mountain road of the Apennine Mountains, Charles VII of Valois stroked the mane of his war horse and quietly gazed at the towering green peaks.

Around him gathered the important officials of the kingdom, with Marshal Courant and the Duke of Bourbon on his left and right, protecting their king in the middle.

The armies held various flags. They came from the vassals and allies of the Kingdom of France, including Provence, Savoy, Brittany...

The most dazzling group of cavalrymen were wearing heavy armor and wearing horse and man armor. Their eyes revealed from under the visors were full of loyalty to Charles VII. Behind them were attendants who were also riding horses.

The Imperial Company, the Flower of Knights.

This standing heavy cavalry corps had a maximum of 8,000 people. After the layoffs and streamlining after the Hundred Years' War between England and France, it still retained a size of more than 5,000 people. It was well-equipped and highly loyal, and was the most trusted sword of Charles VII.

In the recent Genoese War, a company of 500 imperial knights directly defeated several thousand Genoese troops in a field battle, completely ending the Genoese Parliament's delusion of defeating the enemy in a field battle and forcing them to retreat back into the city walls.

The captain of the guard saw that Charles VII looked unhappy, so he rode forward and asked in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, the mountain road is difficult to travel. Why don't we take a carriage?"

Charles VII shook his head and pinched the horse's belly.

"No, today is different from the past. We are about to meet the most cunning and cruel fox in the world. I cannot show my weakness."

The captain of the guards nodded and followed him.

"How much longer?"

Charles VII looked at the Duke of Bourbon beside him.

"Close."

"Then speed up. I can still hold on."

The Duke of Bourbon and Marshal Courant passed down the king's order, and messengers ran among the various military formations, and the army immediately sped up.

After climbing over a hill and arriving at a lowland, the Port of La Spezia in the Gulf of Spezia comes into view.

"Your Majesty, I will go explore the way first."

Marshal Courant rode forward with several squads of light cavalry to the outskirts of La Spezia, where he searched the woods and hills for possible ambushes.

The French army continued to pour out from the mountain pass and lined up in the open ground, with bright swords and armor and flags covering the sky.

boom--

In the distant bay, groups of warships began to roar, and double-headed eagle flags were densely packed, covering the sea.

After the cannon fire, the main gate of La Spezia opened wide, and two heavy infantry regiments marched out slowly from the gate with resounding steps and shouting earth-shaking slogans. They formed a battle formation under the city wall and faced the French army from a distance.

Then, a team of Berber light cavalry rushed out of the city and stood on the side of the two heavy infantry phalanxes.

boom--

There was another round of artillery fire, and Isaac, co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, wearing silver armor, rode out of the city of La Spezia on horseback, with the knights behind him holding up the family flag.

French Marshal Courant rode forward and stopped opposite Isaac, with a deep trench separating the two sides.

"I am Philippe de Courant, Marshal of France to His Majesty Charles, and I invite Isaac III to come forward and speak!"

Isaac raised his head and looked at the French marshal who had made his mark in the Hundred Years' War between England and France.

"You are not qualified, call your master!"

Isaac said in Latin.

"In terms of noble status, Frederick III is the only one in Europe who can compare with me. Charles VII barely qualifies. Who are you?"

Marshal Courant was indeed furious and raised his whip.

"The false king of Greece dares to claim to be the emperor!"

"If Your Majesty had not been unwilling to bear the loss of human lives, I would have captured you today!"

Isaac snorted coldly, ignored his arrogant words, and looked away.

"Okay, Philip, go back."

In the French army, Charles VII rode out on horseback, came to Marshal Courant, and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Your Majesty, this man is bold and reckless, and he doesn't follow formalities. If you rush forward suddenly, your safety will be difficult to guarantee."

Marshal Kurant reminded quietly.

"It doesn't matter. He is an emperor after all. He won't do such an unwise thing."

Charles VII smiled and walked to the center of the open space surrounded by his guards.

"Please invite Emperor Isaac to come forward and have a talk!"

Charles VII's voice was not loud, but it was full of the calmness and composure of a person who had experienced many storms.

"Long live my king!"

There were bursts of cheers from the French army.

Isaac rode forward and slowly stood in front of Charles VII.

"Long live my emperor!"

The army under the city of La Spezia also burst into cheers, even faintly drowning out the French.

Isaac and Charles VII looked at each other across a trench, neither in a hurry to talk.

Charles VII was a somewhat hunchbacked old man, with a thin face full of the vicissitudes of time. His facial features were fairly regular, but his gray hair and eyebrows were very sparse, so he was not handsome at all.

His eyes were not big, his eyelids drooped, covering half of his eye sockets, and there were deep wrinkles around the corners of his eyes. Occasionally, a gleam of light would appear in his tired eyes.

The open space was very quiet. Birds in the sky occasionally screamed. Waves surged on the sea in the distance. Isaac could even hear the heavy breathing of Charles VII.

After a while, Charles VII spoke slowly.

"Your grandfather Manuel II and your uncle Ioannis VIII traveled around Western Europe, and their portraits are in the royal palace in Paris."

"You're not like them."

Isaac curled his lips and said nothing.

Nonsense, Isaac is more than half Latin, of course he doesn't look like that.

"I have also seen portraits of Philip IV and Philip VI. They were both very handsome."

There was another moment of silence from both sides.

"This is the first time you and I have met. Before this, we had no grudge against each other."

"When your ancestors came to the French court to ask for help from my ancestors, we also gave them the respect that matched their status."

Charles VII once again broke the deadlock.

"But you spread plague to my territory three years ago, causing tens of thousands of deaths. You also sent pirates to attack my southern territory a year ago, causing countless people to become homeless."

"Until now, you are still blocking the city of La Spezia, preventing me from going south."

"I have never understood why you are so hostile to me?"

Isaac smiled.

"I learned from astrology that you will invade Italy in 1460, and my two allies will bear the brunt of the attack."

"If I don't curb you, my business interests in Italy will be difficult to protect."

Charles VII looked confused, then a little angry.

"Just for a prophecy that came from nowhere, you didn't hesitate to destroy countless lives."

"You are not worthy of being the emperor."

There was a gleam of sarcasm in Isaac's eyes.

“My principles are very consistent.”

"Treat your friends with sincerity and your enemies with ruthlessness."

"And you,"

"Joan of Arc defeated the English for you and brought the crown to you, but you abandoned it when she needed it most."

"Jacques Cole managed your finances, brought the devastated France back on track, and miraculously filled your pockets that were empty after years of war. But you drove him out of the territory and watched him die miserably in a foreign land with indifference."

"You are also unworthy of being king."

Upon hearing these two names, Charles VII turned pale for an instant, but soon recovered.

"Jeanne did not die because of me. I always remember her contributions and made many compromises with Galileo III to vindicate her in Notre Dame."

"I had no choice but to deal with Jacques, and I also gave his family a very generous compensation." "Whether I am worthy of being king is not up to you. The people and nobles of France naturally know it."

"Oh, maybe I don't know. Your own son should know best, otherwise he wouldn't have plotted rebellion five times and three times to overthrow your rule."

Charles VII's face became even uglier, and anger was about to burst out of his eyes.

As early as two years ago, he had made preparations to march into Italy, but it was another rebellion by Crown Prince Louis that disrupted his plans, forcing him to lead his troops to quell the rebellion despite his illness, and the plan was put on hold.

Until now, Prince Louis has been a taboo in the court of Charles VII, and others have tacitly kept silent about him, as if he did not exist.

"As fellow servants of God, I have a suggestion for you."

Charles VII said stiffly.

"Quit La Spezia and never get involved in Italy again. I will ensure your safe departure and we will never again hold grudges against each other."

"how do you feel?"

"Well, as a fellow servant of God, I have a suggestion for you."

Isaac took hold of the horse.

"I will appoint you as the Governor of Gaul, and the territory of France will be inherited by the Valois family. The grudges between us will be forgiven."

"What do you think?"

Charles VII remained silent, staring into Isaac's eyes.

"It seems we can't continue the negotiations."

"I have 30,000 soldiers and 3,000 knights of the Imperial Order behind me, and there are even more in Genoa."

"If you insist on doing this, then you must be prepared to die here!"

Isaac turned his head and looked at the army formation behind Charles VII.

"We came through the mountains, with an unorganized army, insufficient supplies, no artillery, and no large siege weapons."

"The Imperial Knights brought quite a few with them, probably mostly for the purpose of deterrence, right?"

Isaac's mouth curled up slightly.

"My army was originally trained to defend the city walls. The First Guards and the Fifth Guards are all heavily armored. They once withstood the siege of Mehmed II's 200,000-man army while trapped in an isolated city."

"La Spezia is surrounded by the sea on both sides. My fleet can transport military supplies and Berber vassal soldiers at any time."

"If you want to attack, then you might as well give it a try."

"But I must remind you, dear king."

Isaac raised his head and gazed toward the northeast sky.

"If you stay too long in La Spezia, the Duke of Milan will get restless."

"Do you think your ally, the Duke of Savoy, can stop Sforza's army?"

"Also in the country, as far as I know, your good son Louis has hidden in the court of Burgundy. If you can't take it down here for a long time, he will not miss this great opportunity."

"Besides, if you were really planning to attack, you wouldn't have gone to the trouble of writing to me and asking me to talk."

"I think this kind of boring satire should end now. It's really a waste of time."

Isaac's eyes rested on Charles VII's sparse gray hair.

"I don't mind, but you don't have much time."

"If you don't solve the Italian issue perfectly, will you be comfortable handing over such a kingdom to your rebellious son?"

"Withdraw your troops, or you will die here."

Charles VII took a deep breath and his complexion returned to normal.

"Sforza must be paying attention to our meeting today. Perhaps his envoy will come to us soon."

"Ten days later, we will hold a three-party negotiation to decide the division of power in northern Italy."

Charles VII briefly stated his plan and turned away without caring whether Isaac agreed or not.

The long trumpet sounded again, and the French army retreated in an orderly manner and set up camp at the foot of the mountain.

Isaac also rode back to the city and went to his study, where he met Foreign Minister Sfrancis who had just returned from Aragon.

"Sfrangis, you go to Parma immediately and find John IV."

"Sforza's envoys are negotiating with him there, and they are determined to swallow up Pavia and Piacenza together, and they will not give up no matter what."

Isaac also had a headache when he talked about Sforza.

In recent years, under Isaac's continuous attacks, the power of the Republic of Venice has been greatly reduced, the old enemy in the east of the Duchy of Milan has ceased to fight, and Sforza, who occupies the fertile plains in the middle reaches of the Po River, has been uncontrollable for a while.

Not long ago, at Isaac's invitation, Sforza sent an envoy to the Carthaginian court, arguing that his war with John IV was a private matter of northern Italy and that Isaac had no right to interfere.

After the initial negotiations broke down, Sforza immediately marched into the city of Parma, determined to kill John IV.

But he really didn't expect that Isaac's attitude was very firm. He directly captured the port of La Spezia, opened up the passage from the Mediterranean to Parma, and sent reinforcements to Parma.

It was not until then that Sforza finally withdrew his troops and agreed to restart the negotiations.

"Tell John IV that helping him save the city of Parma is already my limit. Sometimes you have to make choices if you want to survive."

Isaac quickly wrote a short message and stamped the envelope with his seal.

"Charles VII is dying, Sforza is getting old, and Savoy is a dog who relies on his master's power. It's better not to mention him."

"Let him not be depressed because of a temporary defeat. We still have a lot of time."

"Yes."

Sfranchis received the message, took a few followers, and rushed towards the city of Parma in the east.

……

In October 1460, southern Italy was still at war. As it was a war between two families for the right of succession, the situation was very unclear. Some nobles were fickle, jumping back and forth between the Angevins and the Trastamaras, trying to fish in troubled waters.

However, after entering autumn, Northern Italy, which had been fighting fiercely, showed a strange peace. The three major forces each occupied one side, and each had their own concerns, and no one dared to act rashly.

On October 1460, 10, at the initiative of Isaac, Duke Sforza of Milan sent his eldest son Galeazzo to lead a delegation to the city of La Spezia, and the three forces officially started talks.

The Conference of La Spezia was mainly led by the Kingdom of France, the Duchy of Milan and the Eastern Roman Empire, with the participation of subordinate powers such as Savoy, Genoa and Parma. Lucca, Venice, Florence and the Vatican all sent envoys to attend.

Compared with the Lodi Peace Conference a few years ago, the progress of the La Spezia Peace Conference was extremely rapid. The participating forces had no intention of wrangling and just wanted to temporarily calm down the storm as soon as possible.

On November 1460, 11, after a month of quarreling, under the leadership of Pope Pius II, the parties reached a final compromise and signed the Treaty of La Spezia.

The treaty stipulates that the current power structure in northern Italy will remain unchanged for a period of ten years, and the signatories of the treaty are not allowed to send troops without authorization during this period.

King Charles VII of France obtained the suzerainty of the Republic of Genoa and actual control over the port of Albenga, and Corsica remained an integral part of the Republic of Genoa.

Sforza, Duke of Milan, gained control of the cities of Pavia, Piacenza and the surrounding territories, but this was still not recognized by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, and John IV of the House of Paleologos retained his claim.

The Duke of Savoy obtained part of the land north of Genoa and the city of Monferrato, and proclaimed himself Marquis of Monferrato based on his maternal relationship, but John IV refused to recognize it and retained his claim.

The Eastern Roman co-emperor Isaac obtained the suzerainty of the Free City of La Spezia and all overseas territories of the Republic of Genoa, and the protection of the Free City of La Spezia was tacitly approved by Pope Pius II.

On November 11, the King of France and the Duke of Milan, who had signed the peace treaty, withdrew their troops to stabilize the situation. Isaac also led his army back to Carthage and the fleet returned to the naval port.

At this point, the situation in northern Italy was initially stabilized, and the displaced people returned to their hometowns to start a new round of sowing and harvesting.

Shortly after the peace treaty was reached, French Prince Louis returned to northern France from Dijon and, together with several of his allies, launched another rebellion.

At the dock of Carthage's U-shaped port, Isaac received the news that the peace treaty had finally been completed and handed the letter to his jubilant eldest son Justinian.

"Great! Northern Italy is finally at peace. Now you have no reason to object to my going to Iberia, right?"

He smiled happily and pressed the letter back into Isaac's hands.

"This isn't peace, kid, it's just a 20-year truce."

"What difference does it make? I'm leaving!"

Justinian could not wait to board the ship, stand with his mother, and wave to Isaac.

Isaac watched the ship disappear on the distant sea, clutching the envelope, and left silently.

The current peace in northern Italy is extremely fragile. The Republic of Genoa will not accept long-term oppression from outsiders, and the Duke of Milan will not be restrained by a piece of paper to restrain his expansion. John IV is preparing for war and is always ready to take back his homeland.

There is also Venice, which is recovering, Florence, which is hiding in the dark, and Savoy, which is becoming increasingly prosperous. They may all tear the paper-like peace apart completely one day in the future.

How long will this date be? Ten years? Twenty years?
Isaac smiled and threw the letter into the sea.

Anyway, that's enough.

(End of this chapter)