After the capture of Montobbio, Doria, under orders from Cæsar invested the Republic (February 29th, 1548) with the feuds of that place, of Varese and Roccatagliata. Cristoforo Lercaro had already occupied the last in the name of Genoa. The cession was made to appear as a gift, though the Republic already possessed the right of eminent domain over Roccatagliata and the valley of Neirone. The governor of Milan held fast to Pontremoli, in order, as Doria advised, to keep that strong post then the key of the Lombard provinces, in imperial hands. Gonzaga also occupied Loano, Carrega, Grondona, Borbagia, San Stefano d’Aveto, Calice, Veppo and other castles, a part of which Charles (June 19th 1548) gave in feud to various partisans of the empire. This was not imperial munificence, but king-craft and a device to strengthen the Spanish power in Liguria. Andrea obtained some wealthy feuds, among them Torriglia, (which was erected into a marquisate) Carrega, Garbagna, Grondona and ten other castles. San Stefano d’Aveto was ceded to Antonio Doria who was hiring four galleys to the empire. Ettore Fieschi, of the Savignone branch, received some feuds as a reward for not having shared in the conspiracy of his relatives. The castle of Castelano was ceded to the Duke of Parma. Agostino Landi retained the burgh of Valditaro. This Landi had promised to assassinate Pierluigi Farnese whom Doria had condemned to death for his secret intrigues with Gianluigi. It is worth our while to clear up the history of this part of Andrea’s vengeance. The cities of Parma and Piacenza, having been detached from the duchy of Milan and put into the hands of the Holy See, were ceded by Paul III. to his natural son Pier Luigi Farnese who had been legitimated in 1501 by Julius II. To secure his son in this new duchy, the Pope supported Charles in the German war and in his expedition to Tunis, where, aided by Doria the emperor restored the inhuman Muley-Hassan to the throne which he mounted by the assassination of his twenty-two brothers. The alliance of Farnese with the empire was cemented by the marriage of Pierluigi’s son, Ottavio, with Margaret a natural daughter of Cæsar and widow of Alessandro de Medici. Francis Sforza died and the duchy of Milan reverted to the empire giving rise to a war with France. The Pope thought to gain profit for Pier Luigi out of this contest for the duchy by securing him the investiture, and Cæsar, at the conference of Busseto, promised to grant the pontiff’s request. The emperor did not keep his pledge and the Pope began to abandon the imperial cause. He reproached Charles with the fact that certain prelates devoted to the empire had proposed in the council of Trent innovations on the rights of the Papal See, and expressed his discontent with the mild, treatment of the partisans of Luther in Germany. He went further and began to intrigue, in 1547, for a league with France against Charles.