Not only was Ladislaus's words spoken to his heart, Benthodoria fell into panic.

The Duke of Bourbon, who had a heavy army and a high position, was also in a panic. The French army withdrew to the city of Novara without stopping, and continued to withdraw westward that day, all the way to Turin in the Principality of Savoy.

If the Habsburg army takes advantage of the victory and launches a night attack, the French army, whose morale has been shaken and their hearts have been dissipated, is likely to be defeated again.

However, this retreat was really a mess. All the precious materials that had been hard-fought were left behind. The French-Swiss forces, which still numbered more than 30,000, just desperately fled the Principality of Milan, just to get rid of the troops who were still far smaller than them.

The enemy in person.

The Habsburg army immediately swept through Milan and eliminated all French strongholds.

The victorious side did not rest in Milan for a few more days. On April 25, acting Archduke Ferdinand led the main force of the Habsburg Army westward to pursue the French army, destroying a series of French troops that had been cut off from the rear, and obtaining a large amount of supplies.

However, the acting Grand Duke did not choose to invade the Duchy of Savoy, but went south to take advantage of the situation and force his troops to force the city of Liguria.

The reason why we chose to attack the Ligurian city was due to logistical reasons. The result of the land battle also changed the situation at sea. The envoys of the Republic of Venice once again kept on going, asking to see the acting Archduke Ferdinand through various connections day and night.

At the same time, the fleet of the Republic of Venice returned to the port of Venice, and even the Austrian port of Trieste was no longer blockaded.

The Spanish navy once again firmly controlled the sea control of the Western Mediterranean, and the Habsburg army could obtain sufficient supplies by marching along the coastline.

Ladislaus was not able to return home in glory, but he was not disappointed at all, because he got a better mission. He led part of the servant army back to Florence to collect debts.

Another reason for seeking this southward mission was Ladislaus's intention to avoid the conflict between Spain and Austria over the ownership of the Liguria region.

This time, it was not just a great victory, but an almost unscathed victory (note). Even the most optimistic people could not imagine that the Habsburg army destroyed the menacing French and Swedish forces almost unscathed.

It also made it possible for conflicts within the Habsburg family to arise, and the balance of power between Charles V and Ferdinand became closer.

Of course, the overall status of the Habsburg family must have risen because of this war.

The representative of the Habsburg family, His Excellency Archbishop Ladislaus of Liguria, also received unimaginable courtesy in the city of Florence. Cardinal Medici traveled two hundred miles from the city to the border of the Republic of Florence to greet him.

You must know that just over half a month ago, his legs hurt so much that he could not even meet the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Spain and had to stay in bed.

As for the various old cold legs, arthritis, gout and other problems that prevented him from seeing Ladislaus and old Colonna, they all seemed to disappear all of a sudden.

Not to mention the dexterity of this old man who was over fifty years old in front of Ladislaus, the two young Medicis waited on him, calling him "Uncle Ladislaus" affectionately.

In the evening, a grand "reception to celebrate the great victory of the Holy Roman Empire and wish His Majesty the Emperor a long life" was held in the Palace of the Consuls of Florence.

After several rounds of the "natural beauty" of Vienna, Ladislaus made fun of Cardinal Medici through his drunkenness.

"Your Highness Medici, how can you drink alcohol? Your health is much better? I hope that you, Cardinal Medici, have completely recovered from all your illnesses in the past few days."

Although Ladislaus suddenly received an interest-free loan of 300,000 thalers on behalf of the sorcerer royal family, half of which was given to Emperor Charles V and Acting Archduke Ferdinand, and he personally also had a big red envelope of 10,000 thalers, but it was a little disappointing.

It's necessary to look at this old cunning guy's ugly face.

"That's it, that's it. It's all good. When I heard the good news that His Majesty's army had won a great victory, I felt like I was twenty years younger all of a sudden. I just felt regretful and sad that I couldn't.

Leading the Florentine army to participate in this great victory, for the Emperor

"My lord, I have worked so hard for the sorcerer royal family. This is really a regret in my life. It hurts me." Cardinal Medici immediately lowered his head without hesitation, "Your Highness Ladislaus, you will take action this time."

I really envy you for your great efforts..."

"Stop it. Stop it. I don't dare call myself Your Highness. I'm just the Archbishop of Liguria, and the city of Liguria doesn't welcome me at the moment." You can't use the honorific title randomly.

"Look what you said, how can the Republic of Liguria dare to resist the king? I have received accurate news that in order to keep this ally, the Kingdom of France has returned Corsica to the Republic of Liguria. Marshal Doria has brought

Went with the fleet to Ajaccio,

The city of Guria is in chaos. How many days can His Highness the Acting Grand Duke hold out under his might?" Ladislaus didn't know this news. "And it's a certainty that you will be wearing a red robe this time and become a member of the College of Cardinals.

, it’s natural to be called Your Highness.”

"Haha, you're welcome."

Ladislaus was very happy to be able to recapture the Ligurian city relatively peacefully.

After all, his income in Liguria City is the foundation for his continued development. The better the city is preserved, the more tithes he can receive.

It would be of great benefit to Ladislaus if he could completely seize this famous commercial city, which was more valuable than Milan.

Unlike Milan, Liguria is barely within reach of Spain and Austria. After Prime Minister Sazastan asked the acting Grand Duke to take all Milan, it is unlikely that he will give up the Liguria region to him as well.

By then, Ladislaus, as Archbishop of Liguria, is likely to become very important in the division of power within the Habsburg family.

Machiavelli fully analyzed the situation for Ladislaus and predicted that he would avoid the conflict this time, and when the conflicts between Spain and Austria surfaced, he would become the number one figure in Liguria that was naturally accepted by both parties.

However, Machiavelli also advised Ladislaus not to go to Rome immediately to become a cardinal.

When the acting Archduke Ferdinand easily conquered Liguria and then led his army back to Rome, the real election of the pope would inevitably have to pay a greater price to appease the Habsburg family and Ladislaus.

Life is really beautiful.

Ladislaus, who was among the leading figures of the Florentine Republic and surrounded by stars, did not realize that the faces of several Sibo family leaders, including Anna and the Chevalier Cassano, who were sitting next to him, all looked extremely sad.

Acting Archduke Ferdinand did not take them to the Ligurian city, which actually showed his attitude of abandoning them. This information from Cardinal Medici made them even more disheartened.

If the city of Liguria resolutely resists, then the Xibo family will naturally be more useful.

If things continue like this, the future of the Xibo family will be difficult.

Ladislaus, who was immersed in the joy of victory, did not even notice Anna and the Cassano Knight leaving with excuses.

In the next few days, Ladislaus was very happy in Florence. The city of Liguria fell into the hands of the acting Grand Duke easily as Cardinal Medici predicted.

Unfortunately, the happy days are always short-lived. A few days later, bad news was brought by the emperor's ambassador.

Margarita, the concubine of the sorcerer royal family whom the Acting Grand Duke promised to Ladislaus, rejected the Acting Grand Duke's suggestion and refused to become the official mistress of the future Cardinal Ladislaus.

If that was all, it would be fine. Although Ladislaus was satisfied with the status of this woman who was actually his aunt, her bloodline was quite suitable for the inheritance of the sorcerer bloodline.

But if you don't want to, then you don't want to. Anyway, Cardinal Ladislaus' identity is there, and he is a powerful and handsome warlock. A concubine of an important royal family can always be obtained.

Damn it, the news spread quickly over the next few days.

Then several Florentine aristocratic family heads came to sell their daughters and express their comfort.

Although they still had flattering smiles on their faces, Ladislaus always felt that he could see gloating in their eyes.

More and more people knew about this supposedly secret arrangement, and Ladislaus was really embarrassed.

A few days later, the envoy of the female shipowner Lasiris brought back a more complete version of Margarita's rejection of Ladislaus.

The merchant fleet belonging to Ladislaus recently went to Algiers under Spanish rule to take in a batch of rum, and to Valencia to take in a batch of almonds. It actually happened between the markets of mainland Spain and the Spanish North African Territory.

There are rumors circulating that "the Italian lady's engagement was broken off by the Spanish beauty"

It is said that this young lady, who was the aunt of the emperor and acting grand duke, openly and contemptuously called Ladislaus a "poor relative of Italy" to several foreign ambassadors on a diplomatic occasion, and said that he wanted to eat swan meat.

It was not that Ladislaus had ever suspected that the female shipowner wanted to give the potential future hostess some eye drops.

But it is obvious that the female shipowner will never be the official mistress of the future cardinal. She has no position or qualifications to compete with Margarita, who has the blood of the warlock royal family.

So Ladislaus was forced to accept the fact that the story was true.

Next, the messenger hinted at news that made Ladislaus irritated: "This Lady Margareta seems to have a very close relationship with His Majesty the Emperor, very, very close."

This unethical relationship among the warlock royal family made the envoy too excited. He was considered a capable person among Lasiris' subordinates, but his performance this time was really poor. He got the angry Rady

Slaus got out after a slap in the face.

Using this unfortunate guy as a punching bag, Ladislaus did not get better, but was still in an extremely bad mood.

'Could it be that the Emperor Charles V ordered this news to be spread and he was slapping me in the face?'

'Why is he trying to embarrass me so much?'

The past story of when Anna fell in love with the Duke of Bourbon came to mind again.
Chapter completed!