[77] Italian State papers, M. 821.
CHAPTER XXIX
Treaty of Blois—Alliance between France, Venice, and the Borgias—Lodovico appeals to Maximilian—His gift to Leonardo and letter to the Certosini—The French and the Venetians invade the Milanese—Desertion of Gonzaga and treachery of Milanese captains—Loss of Alessandria—Panic and flight of Duke Lodovico—Surrender of Pavia and Milan to the French—Treachery of Bernardino da Corte and surrender of the Castello—Triumphal entry of Louis XII.
1499
From the moment of Louis XII.'s accession, he announced his intention of making good his claim to the duchy of Milan. He refused to give Lodovico the title of duke, addressing him as Messer Lodovico, while he styled himself King of France and Duke of Milan, and told the Bishop of Arles that he would rather reign over the Milanese for one year than be King of France during his whole lifetime. At the same time he spoke freely of his plans for the conquest of Italy, and told his courtiers that he meant one of his sons to be King of Naples, and the other Duke of Milan.
These sayings were duly reported to Lodovico by his own friends at the French court, and chief among them M. de Trano, a Provençal gentleman who was in constant correspondence with Milan, as well as by the Duke of Ferrara's envoy. Ercole himself is described by French agents as "très attaché à son gendre" and Marino Sanuto speaks of him as "exceedingly partial to his son-in-law and devoted to him in his secret heart," but he was far too wise and prudent a ruler to oppose Louis XII. openly.
The Pope, long the Moro's firm ally, had turned against him since the dissolution of his daughter Lucrezia's marriage to Giovanni Sforza in 1497, and the presence of Cardinal della Rovere, who returned to Rome towards the end of 1498, increased his hatred of the Sforzas. He was still more drawn to France by the offers of Louis XII. to forward the ambitious designs of his son Cæsar Borgia, who had renounced his cardinal's hat and was seeking the hand of the King of Navarre's daughter. The discovery of these intrigues led to a sharp passage-at-arms between the Pope and Ascanio Sforza in a consistory held on the 3rd of December. The cardinal openly accused his Holiness of bringing ruin upon Italy, upon which Alexander retorted that he was only following the Duke of Milan's example. In vain Lodovico endeavoured to avert the gathering storm by entering into negotiations with the French king, and even approached Trivulzio with that purpose, but all attempts at a peaceable arrangement were frustrated by Galeazzo di Sanseverino and Antonio Landriano's hatred of their old rival and the fixed determination of Louis XII. to reign in the Moro's stead.
Meanwhile the Venetian envoys were secretly plotting the Duke of Milan's ruin, and on the 15th of April the Treaty of Blois was signed and the partition of the Milanese between France and Venice finally determined. The Signory agreed to invade the duke's territory with an army of 6000 men, and were to receive the district of Cremona in return for their assistance. This was followed by Cæsar Borgia's marriage to Charlotte d'Albret, which took place at Blois on the 10th of May. The Pope's son was created Duke of Valentinois by the French king, and Alexander VI. joined France and Venice and publicly declared that the house of Sforza must be swept off the face of the earth. At the same time, Francesco Gonzaga made secret advances to Louis XII., who accepted his offers of service and advised the Venetians to make peace with him.