Louis XI finally paid some price for his treachery, but it wasn't enough to make him realize his mistakes. Even while under house arrest in a makeshift cell, Louis XI was still plotting how to deal with Charles.
In his opinion, Charles wasn't particularly smart, and his emphasis on honor—or rather, face—was beyond ordinary. Fortunately, Charles wasn't a complete madman either.
That is to say, as long as Charles used his not-so-developed brain to think carefully, Louis believed there was a high probability of him returning safely.
Of course, to increase his chances of survival, Louis XI decided to humble himself before Charles.
Anyway, he could always find an excuse later to tear up any newly signed treaty, and by then, Charles would be powerless against him.
In fact, after discarding his so-called sense of honor and chivalry, Louis XI found his confrontations with enemies became incredibly easy. He was like the only person in the world who could lie, and his enemies had no choice but to believe—or rather, they were always eager to believe—these lies, until they eventually discovered they had been deceived, and then raged in impotent fury.
It must be said that Louis XI set a precedent. Historically, after him, several French kings emerged who treated treaties as mere scraps of paper. They used such methods to reduce many losses for France.
The logic behind this was simple: France had a strong foundation, and one or two defeats wouldn't significantly impact it.
And France's enemies were well aware of this, so they always tried to stop at a certain point when they gained an advantage, to avoid getting into a prolonged war of attrition and incurring unnecessary losses and risks.
However, what a defeated French king lacked most was time. Given enough time, France could quickly regain its strength, and signing a treaty that could be torn up at any time was the best way to buy time.
Yet, whenever the French king broke his oath, his enemies, due to various concerns, would be helpless against him.
In an era where chivalry had not yet faded, monarchs often found it hard to imagine a sovereign completely abandoning honor for the sake of the country or personal interests.
Therefore, apart from Laszlo, who understood Louis XI's true nature, even Charles, who had been tricked by Louis XI before, still held some hope for him.
Thus, on the day after Louis XI's arrest, Charles held a second meeting with him in the cell where Louis was confined.
During this meeting, Louis XI not only accepted all the conditions Charles proposed but also promised to send troops to assist Charles in quelling the rebellion in Liège.
Louis's sincere demeanor almost fooled everyone, except for Duke of Armagnac, who had been secretly observing everything and was burning with anxiety.
He had anticipated that Charles might not have the courage to harm Louis XI, so he secretly prepared a backup plan, intending to assassinate Louis XI.
However, before the assassination plan could be implemented, Charles hastily took Louis XI away.
He escorted Louis back to the Burgundian army, using Louis as a shield to lead the large Burgundian army to retreat to a safe zone near the Somme River.
The French, wary of their King being in enemy hands, dared not act rashly. They could only send small units to follow the Burgundian army and observe the changing situation.
After imprisoning Louis XI for a full week, Charles initially intended to release him. However, at this point, Duke of Armagnac, unable to bear it any longer, dissuaded Charles from his foolish action.
"Charles, you've already been tricked once by that damned Louis. Do you really want to be deceived by him again?"
Jean V advised with a serious expression.
"This time, he shouldn't break his oath again, should he? Otherwise, his soul will surely descend into hell."
Charles also felt somewhat uncertain, but he actually still intended to give Louis another chance.
"He should have been in hell long ago! I swear Louis will never honestly abide by the treaty. Once you let him go back, all previous efforts will be in vain!"
Jean V said through gritted teeth, his tone filled with a sense of disappointment, fortunately Charles did not notice this.
Seeing Charles repeatedly being played by Louis XI, Jean V was quite helpless.
Philip the Good was such a shrewd and smooth politician, how could his son be so foolish and brutal?
However, thinking that his own grandfather and father had once held great power in the French royal court, and he had lost all his family's honor and territories, it seemed he was not even as good as Charles.
Thinking this, Jean V's hatred for Louis XI grew even stronger. Only by witnessing Louis XI's death could he wash away all the humiliations he had suffered in the past.
"But if I don't let him go back, I'm afraid all of France will fall into turmoil, and kidnapping a monarch during peace talks is not an honorable thing..."
"Think about his actions, Charles. You shouldn't be ashamed of arresting a treacherous scoundrel.
Even if you don't kill him directly, you should take him back to Burgundy. After the rebellion in Liège is quelled, then you can release him. That way, even if he tries any more tricks, you'll be able to handle them easily."
"Are you saying I should imprison an opponent who has already surrendered to me for several months? I won't do that, Your Grace. I am confident that Burgundy's strength has made Louis fearful, and therefore he will certainly not dare to break his promise again.
More than that, I'm curious about the position from which you are offering me these suggestions now.
Is it as an enemy expelled by Louis, or as the Emperor's loyal dog?"
Charles's gaze became subtle. Although he righteously denied Louis XI's divisive words, he had to admit that some other thoughts had indeed arisen in his mind.
The one who most wished to see Louis XI die in the Burgundian army was probably the Emperor. He would love to see France in chaos, with Burgundy deeply embroiled in it.
That way, Burgundy would have no remaining strength to continue threatening the Empire, and the Emperor's enemies' power would be greatly weakened. Duke of Armagnac's eyes grew cold. He hadn't expected Charles's arrogance to reach this point, nor had he expected Charles to suspect his allies first at such a moment.
Although the Emperor and his motives were indeed suspicious, Charles's behavior still disappointed Duke of Armagnac.
"I merely offered what I believed to be the most reasonable advice from the standpoint of a member of the League of Public Weal. If Your Grace Charles believes I have ill intentions, I have nothing more to say."
With that, Duke of Armagnac stood up and walked away, flicking his sleeves. Since Charles was unreliable, he could only try his last, and most dangerous, resort.
Shortly after the Burgundian army returned to the Burgundy-France border, Louis XI and his entourage were released by Charles and escorted out of the country.
On his way back to Paris, Louis XI was ambushed. A group of unknown assassins attempted to kill him, but the Order Knights responsible for meeting and protecting the King eliminated all the assassins after a brief battle.
During the battle, a crossbow bolt knocked off Louis XI's hat, but it did not harm him.
Louis XI, who had narrowly escaped death, received grim news upon his return to Paris: Marshal Jean de Dunois, who had commanded his army, had passed away not long ago.
Amidst endless regret, Louis XI selected a new army commander, and Duke of Bourbon received this honor.
However, because Charles had already announced the contents of the "Second Treaty of Conflans," people assumed that the Second League of Public Weal War, which had lasted nearly half a year, had ended. Louis XI's actions seemed to confirm this.
He first returned Normandy to his younger brother, Duke Charles of Berry, but the treaty between him and Duke of Berry was not abolished.
As for Duke of Brittany, although France's blockade of Brittany had ended, the territories Louis XI had promised were not given to Duke of Brittany.
Regarding the rebellion in Liège, Louis sent two Order Knights companies to Burgundy to assist in quelling it. However, when Charles sent people to Reims and Champagne to take over the territories, local officials claimed their loyalty to the French royal family and refused to accept the Duke of Burgundy's rule.
Such situations infuriated Charles, but he had to lead his army to Liège first to quell the rebellion of the commoners, so he had no immediate plans to settle accounts with Louis.
And this hastily begun and summarily ended war was soon reported to Laszlo, who was awaiting news in Vienna.
Vienna, Hofburg Palace.
Laszlo had just issued a mobilization order. Next, Austria and numerous feudal lords who had agreed to participate in the Crusades would successively gather their armies and march to distant Constantinople, to seize that city desired by the world.
As 1468 approached, Laszlo's second marriage drew nearer. News from Portugal indicated that the fleet, led by Prince Fernando, had departed from Ceuta. It was said that this time, the dowry alone filled five ships.
After all, Alfonso V had only one son and one daughter. Now that his beloved daughter was getting married, how could he be stingy with a bit of money?
The Portuguese escort fleet, consisting of over twenty warships, was formidable. Even the restless Catalan pirates and North African pirates dared not target this fleet.
Following this series of good news, Laszlo heard some slightly disappointing bad news from Duke of Armagnac, who had rushed back to Austria.
Louis XI, that cunning "Spider King," had returned to Paris safe and sound.
"Charles could be so calm and restrained? I can't even remember how many times he repeated to me that he wanted to personally chop off Louis XI's dog's head.
I never expected that when it came down to it, this brute would actually control himself and not be swayed by emotions."
Laszlo exclaimed with some surprise.
He was actually quite satisfied with Duke of Armagnac's plan. If Louis XI could be eliminated through Charles's hand, that would undoubtedly be the best outcome.
However, Charles, who had always been regarded as a fool by Louis XI and Laszlo, surprisingly didn't act foolishly this time, causing the plan to eliminate Louis XI to fail.
Duke of Armagnac's subsequent attempts also failed as expected, and Laszlo was not surprised by this.
It was no longer possible to replicate incidents like decades ago, when 15 Burgundian assassins could hack Duke of Orléans to death on a Parisian street.
Since Charles decided to spare Louis's life, he naturally wouldn't allow Louis to be assassinated immediately after his release. Therefore, Louis was well protected throughout. Even so, the assassins sent by Duke of Armagnac nearly succeeded.
"Your Majesty, please forgive my incompetence. This was our best opportunity to eliminate Louis XI, but I squandered such a good chance."
Duke of Armagnac said somewhat dejectedly.
"It's alright, the responsibility for this failure is not yours. Since Charles made such a choice himself, I am now quite looking forward to seeing his regret later.
As the saying goes, 'people teach people, but they don't learn; events teach people, and they learn in one go.'
I thought Charles would become smarter and more cautious after being tricked once. It seems he has changed somewhat, but not much."
Laszlo felt regret but not anger about not eliminating Louis XI, because he had never held too much hope from the beginning.
Allowing Louis XI to continue living would constantly intensify the internal contradictions within France, which would create an endless stream of opportunities for Laszlo.
As for any potential impact from the surviving Louis XI, Laszlo felt none, because all pressure from the French side would be borne by Duke of Burgundy Charles himself.
Since he himself was soft-hearted and chose to trust Louis XI again, Laszlo had nothing more to say.
Understand, respect, bless.
"Your Majesty, Louis XI will certainly break his word again. Perhaps this war is not entirely over yet."
"Let them fight," Laszlo waved his hand. "Right, you mentioned a question about Anthony of Burgundy in your previous letter. Could you explain what it's about?"
"Your Majesty, Anthony and Duke Charles grew up together and are half-brothers. They trust each other and are inseparable. Have you never doubted Sir Anthony's loyalty?"
"Now that you mention it, Anthony's behavior in recent days does seem a bit unusual. He seems to be quite enjoying his time at the Burgundian court."
"In my opinion, he is no longer suitable to bear the important responsibility of Ambassador to Burgundy. You should choose a more loyal ambassador to go to Burgundy."
Hearing this, Laszlo pondered for a moment, then made a decision.
"Alright, Jean, from now on you will serve as Austria's Ambassador to Burgundy. I will recall Anthony shortly.
Of course, the intelligence work you are responsible for must also continue. The ambassador's status should provide you with more convenience."
"It is my honor, Your Esteemed Majesty."