And thus Charles let slip his chance, and omitted to reap the fruitful August, which Lannoy, in announcing the victory of Pavia, had declared comes to a man once and once only in his life. CHAPTER XIII THE LADIES' PEACE The eventful year 1526 was not to close without further troubles for the House of Austria. The Sultan Solyman, taking advantage of the war in Italy and the consequent absorption of the principal rulers of Europe, had pushed his conquests in the east until his vast hosts encamped before the walls of Vienna. Louis II., King of Hungary, who had married Margaret's niece Mary, seeing his kingdom thus invaded by the Turks, sent urgent appeals for help to all Christian princes. But either the neighbouring powers were too much occupied with their own affairs, or they did not realise the actual danger, for they returned cold and indifferent answers, and even the emperor delayed sending aid to his brother-in-law until too late. On the 29th of August a decisive battle was fought on the plains of Mohacs between the Hungarian army and the troops of Solyman, and ended in the utter defeat of King Louis, who before the day was over lost his crown and his life. Two months after, his body and that of his horse was found sunk in a bog, into which he had ridden during the retreat. His next heir was his sister Anne, who had married Margaret's nephew, the Archduke Ferdinand. And it was in right of his wife that a few months later Ferdinand was elected to the thrones of Bohemia and Hungary.