The French are here.

Although until the last moment, some people still had fantasies that miracles might occur, maybe the French fleet in the Mediterranean would be wiped out like the Persians who invaded Greece, or their war situation in the north was unfavorable and they had to concentrate all their troops to deal with the problems there, or some people were hoping that Aragon's army would be able to reach it earlier than the French, so that they could avoid the fate of being occupied by the French again, but all these expectations were ultimately disappointed.

In early August 1499, after the expeditionary force sent by King Louis XII of France, after being dragged and prepared, it finally appeared outside the sea of ​​Naples. However, the lighthouse originally used to warn was no longer guarded, and the left-behind officials who received the news did not vow to defend Naples to the death as the queen said when she left. They put on black clothes and held black flags symbolizing the death of the king. Then, a small team of infantry, cavalry, and a small cannon team composed of several people opened the city gate and waited for the French to surrender.

The French did not seem surprised by the Naples' surrender without fighting, and they were already ready, and their commanders even boldly came to complete this ceremony of high honor in person.

"I accept the surrender of Naples by the power given to me by the king of France and the people of France, and I swear to ensure that your dignity and security are not violated by the honor of a noble knight."

Although the French commander was not kind, his strong promise made the Naples feel a little relieved. Although they knew very well that such promises might be temporarily followed and would be regarded as waste paper soon after they were available, at least now this person gave them enough face so that they could go back and tell the people that they had to make this decision in order to ensure the safety of the whole city.

After all, the king died, and two were still angry. At the same time, as the regent queen, she abandoned everyone and fled. It seemed like a good opportunity to surrender at this time, and there were enough reasons.

Moreover, the highest commander of the occupying army sent by the Dharma King should also be "experienced", so the Naples should not encounter any big trouble.

Thinking of this, the officials even felt that they had become heroes of Naples.

Shaerlun walked on the road to the palace with a little emotion. He had already taken off his helmet, but the tightly wrapped black armor still brought invisible pressure to the people around him.

As an official in the era of Charles VIII, Charleon actually never thought that he would be appreciated by the new king, at least not so soon. In his opinion, he might have been neglected for a long time, and might even be able to find an opportunity to drive out of the palace by those new kings and send back to Savoy to spend his dim life.

Therefore, when Louis XII appointed him as an envoy to visit Pisa with great appreciation, Charlun's gratitude to the king was self-evident.

Then Louis showed extraordinary demeanor. He did not obey the opinions of those around him that Charlun suffered a crushing defeat when he was stationed in Rome, so he was unable to use it. Instead, after understanding the process of the Roman siege in a very detailed manner, he happily appointed Charlun again, allowing him to serve as an advisor to the army in his army, which seemed to have no real power, but made many people jealous.

Next, Charlun became a strange combination of generals, diplomats, politicians and spy leaders. While he was giving advice on the layout of the king's upcoming Italian war, he also savvy the news through complex relations with Rome and many local nobles in Italy. At the same time, he also communicated with a Moor through various channels, such as the confidential information about how many troops Ludvico Sforza mobilized in Milan, which was transmitted to him through many channels.

The reward for all these efforts was that King Louis XII of France decided to reject the opposition and Charlene was the supreme commander of the invasion of Naples, which made Garol de Powellen, Earl of Proswan very dissatisfied, who thought that the king would hand him this honorable post.

However, the Count was obviously the king's favorite, because Louis XII then appointed him as the commander of the march into Rome, which was enough to offset his dissatisfaction and even more enviable. However, it can be seen that the king attached no less importance to Charlene than those friends who had firmly supported him when he was the Duke of Orleans.

Charlon still hoped to come to Naples, because according to the information provided by the Earl of Julipe, Ferdinand, King of Aragon, seemed to have great ambitions for Naples. Charlon did not think that Count de Powellken could handle such a thing well. This was obviously not something that could be solved by relying solely on the army, which also made him understand why the King of War sent him instead of de Powellken to Naples.

Another reason that made Charleon interested in Naples was that he had heard that the two kings of Naples died one after another. Now the one who ruled the exiled court in Naples was Alexander's sister, the current regent queen of Naples.

The name of Regent Queen made Charleon very interesting.

She is the queen, but she is just a regent, but if one day removes this seemingly cumbersome prefix, will the queen who is said to have only been a short time to become the real queen?

One Naples gathered three different forces, which made Charlon seem to return to the scene he had in Rome in a daze, and he could not help but admit that if he had to choose, he would rather deal with the young Earl of Montina.

There was not much news about the Naples court, but roughly the information that Charon received was that Ruosha's exiled court is now in Billysheli.

Sharlun was a little confused at first about the regent queen, or why Alexander chose that place as his destination. It was not until he saw the map that he vaguely felt the purpose of the other party's choice. At the same time, he gradually realized that the environment he was in now seemed not as ideal as he thought.

Bilichery is located in the inland of Naples. Although it is not very far from the city of Naples, it is not so easy to attack because of the mountainous terrain in the south.

In the southeast corner of Naples, Cosenza and Bilicherley formed a horn that seemed irregular but could rely on each other.

When Charlon looked at the map, he was thinking about the plans of the Naples, and then he got the exact news that Count Montina is now organizing the army for the Queen in the Naples court. Charlon even confirmed that all this should be prepared by the brother and sister in advance.

And obviously, the current situation is that the Naples gave up the city, but they obviously did not intend to give up resistance, so they took away everything they could, and then left a city and a whole city for the French.

Sharlun had to admit that this move was indeed very powerful. Perhaps if such a abandonment of the people in France might be hated by the people, and even if the king returns again, it would be despised. But in Italy, this is really nothing.

Perhaps the Earl of Montina really knew this too much, so he chose to give up the city without hesitation. However, this gave Charlen a wonderful idea. He wanted to know if the Earl of Montina was facing the fall, would he still give up his territory so freely?

In short, the Naples left the city to the French and retreated to Billychelle, but Charlene would not think that they were timid, but instead he saw a trace of crisis.

If what Normezi said was true, then Sharlun would not only face the fleeing Naples forces, but also be ready to clash with the Aragonese army at any time. Although there has been no news about the Aragonese sending troops so far, Sharlun would not wait until his opponent appears before he hastily prepared.

So after entering the palace, he only did his duty as an occupier and immediately returned to the barracks. He needed to formulate a plan to ensure the effective occupation of Naples in such a complex situation. Although he had made a general preparation based on the information provided by Normezi, the specific plan could not be determined after arriving in Naples.

Normezi returned to Naples with Charlene. This former rebel turned into a collaborator of the leading party and the occupying army. His current identity is somewhat similar to Count Modilo who stayed in Naples when Charles invaded. However, Normezi himself knew clearly that he could not compare with Modilo.

However, Normezi also provided the French with valuable information so that they could take over the city more quickly and conveniently, and Charlon knew deeply the importance of occupying Naples as much as possible before the Aragonese arrived.

So he simply appointed Normezi as the civil affairs officer of Naples. Normezi was in power for a while and was in no way out.

While trying to digest the huge spoils of Naples, Charleon did not only focus on this corner. He sent an army of less than 1,000 people to advance carefully to Kosencha to test the attitude of the Naples.

The French army sent about 8,000 troops to occupy Naples this time, which is actually much more than Louis XII had imagined. According to Louis's earlier judgment on the strength of Naples, he believed that a maximum of 5,000 people was enough, and even more would be a waste.

After all, northern Italy is not stable yet, and if too many people are sent, it may affect the situation in the north.

But the news brought by Normezi forced Louis to reconsider the possibility of a direct conflict with the Aragonese, which made him finally decide to send an expedition of 8,000 troops after careful consideration. As for the number of them, he was really powerless.

Charlun's current task is to complete the occupation of Naples as soon as possible, and to control southern Italy as much as possible, which made him feel a little annoyed with the situation left by the brother and sister that was not optimistic at all.

It is obvious that the Naples court chose Bilicherley as the exile place but did not find it casually. The mutual support formed there and Cosencha vaguely restricted the road to southern Italy. At the same time, the strict castles and fortresses of Cosencha also blocked the French's march to the southeast.

"It seems like I have to have a good talk with that Kombre."

Of course, Charlen knew that Louis sent him to Naples not to make him engage in military occupation. It can be said that in the current French court, there are actually not many people who can deal with Italians, and he is one of them.

Normezi came to Charlene again, and he had lived well these days, or in a sense he did gain what he had always dreamed of, and the power to rule Naples.

In today's Naples, Normezi is already a truly powerful figure. Not only has he gained the power he had dreamed of, but he even got more than he thought.

I know that Normezi knows that such power is not only illusory, but also has been despised by countless people.

This also made Normezi wonder whether the price was worth it, but when he thought of the Aragonese betrayal of him, he felt that the only way to retaliate against Ferdinand was to cooperate with the French.

"You can now decide the fate of most people in this kingdom, or even their life and death, which should make you happy."

Charon's words made Normezi a little dazed for a moment. He paused slightly with his hand holding the cup, and then slowly brought it to his mouth for a sip of wine.

"Maybe," Nolmezi said vaguely, and then he asked, "General, you should not come to me just for drinking. Is there anything I have to do?"

Charlen nodded and greeted Nolmezi: "I want you to send me a message to Count Montina, maybe he is willing to talk to me about the affairs of Naples."

Normezi slowly drank all the wine in his cup, then looked at Charleon and said, "General, what are you going to ask me to bring to that count?"

"I hope he can work with us," said Sharlun, considering that "the Aragonese are coming, why can't he form an alliance with my king? Perhaps his sister cannot accept this reality, but I think the Count himself understands their situation now, so I look forward to you to bring me good news, and I believe you know that this is also very important to you."

Normezi listened silently, knowing that Charlem meant that his mission was related to his future position before the king of New Naples.

However, Normezi didn't care much about this.

He noticed what Charleron said that he hoped Alexander would cooperate with the French, which made Normezi's heart rush into impulse.

"I will bring your words to the Count," Nolmezi nodded to Charon and expressed his willingness to accept his mission, and then he did not forget to remind him, "But General, the Aragonese may appear at any time, so I suggest that you gather the army as soon as possible."

Charon nodded slightly. He knew that Nolmezi was right, but just occupied Naples, he had to give the army a chance to indulge.

As for the threat from the Aragonese, Shahron was still very confident in the 8,000 French troops he brought.

Although it is not far from Naples to Bilicherley, this journey has become an insurmountable obstacle for the French.

This is because not only the complex mountainous terrain in southern Italy largely restricts the possible route of the French army, but what is worse is that the threat from Kosenza may approach the French army at any time.

And just as Normezi was about to rush to Bilishelli, an unexpected news cast a shadow on his trip.

The army sent by Charon to Cosencha was attacked by a rather unexpected attack shortly after entering Cosencha territory. According to the descriptions of the French soldiers who came back, in addition to the recognizable Cosencha people, there was another army that attacked them.

Charlun thought of the Montina people, but he heard that there were not many Montina troops brought by Alexander, which made Charlun confused.

Sharlun began to worry that things would change, so he urged Normezi to get on the road as soon as possible. At the same time, he once again told Normezi to let him understand his sincerity to Alexander.

"I hope the Count can understand that it is more reliable to work with us than to work with the Aragonese, after all, Ferdinand's ambitions are well known to us."

Charlen left Naples with Normezi's advice. The news of the frustration of the French army in Kosenza made Normezi become careful. He knew that the reason why Alexander did not kill him was to let him reveal to the French about Ferdinand trying to get involved in Naples. Now the French have arrived in Naples. Although Normezi still didn't know what Alexander would do next, he began to worry about his safety.

Normezi's concerns were not unfounded. As Count Julipe, he became the French agent in Naples, which was enough to make many people hate him.

He could not think of any reason Alexander would protect him, a traitor from Naples.

Normezi was worried, and what happened next made him feel even more like a disaster.

Shortly after they entered Bilishelli, the team of messengers he led was intercepted, and the Earl of Julipe, who was not humiliated to take off his weapons, was asked to remove their flags.

Nolmezi, who was eager to see Alexander, ignored the indignant protests of the French who followed him, but wisely obeyed the orders of the Naples.

What he wanted was to see Alexander as soon as possible, because only when he saw the Earl of Montina would he be safer.

The last time Normezi came to Bilishelli was a few years ago. At that time, he had no impression of this remote place, but he never expected that this place would become an exile place for the Naples court.

As for how many members of the Naples royal family are still in this palace, it is another matter.

The Naples flag flying on the castle of Bilichery looks very eye-catching from a distance, but what made Normezi more pay attention to was the other two flags hanging side by side on the wall.

On one side is the unicorn flag of Kosenza, and on the other side is the quirky Montina pennant.

When he saw the flags flying side by side on three sides, Nolmezi suddenly had a strange thought in his heart, as if the era of the Kingdom of Naples had actually ended.

Normezi was taken into the castle. When he was finally allowed to meet the count after waiting impatiently, he did not expect that with the arrival of a sudden messenger, everything became chaotic.

It was a soldier who was covered in dust and could not even see his true face. His dark red military uniform and short cloak showed his identity. When the soldier rode his horse into the castle, even rushing directly to the corridor door despite the warning of the Balkan guards before being forcibly stopped, Alexander, who happened to come out of it, saw this surprising scene.

"Sir! Montina urgently reported!" The hunting guard shouted and turned over and dismounted, but when he tried to untire a leather bag containing the necessary items from his waist, the soldier suddenly shook and fell to the ground.

"What did I see," Alexander asked the side of him with some surprise. He quickly walked to the unconscious hunting guard and squatted down, pulled away his military uniform, and said helplessly to the people around him, "My hunting guard actually fainted like a girl in front of me. It would be awful if all my soldiers were like this."
Chapter completed!