It was fortunate for King Ferdinand that Henry VII. had been excluded from the League of Cambray, as it left his son (Henry VIII.) free to act as he thought convenient. The Spanish king resolved to make use of his son-in-law's liberty, and wrote a letter to his daughter Katharine on the 13th of September in which he spoke in general terms of the affairs of Venice, and referred her to an accompanying letter in cipher, in which his views on the subject were fully detailed. In replying on the 1st of November, King Henry thanked his father-in-law for having communicated to him his views on Venetian affairs, praised his wisdom and moderation in rejecting his confederates' iniquitous proposal to entirely destroy Venice, and enlarged on the necessity of preserving the republic, which formed a wall against the Turks. Before the month was out Henry was a zealous advocate of the Venetian republic, and interfered in its behalf in Rome, in France, and with the emperor, furnishing King Ferdinand at the same time with an excellent pretext for advising his allies to reconsider the question whether Venice should be destroyed or not. The voice of England was, after a long interruption, heard once more in the councils of Europe on a measure of general policy. The King of France seems to have regarded the unexpected audacity of his young neighbour with a feeling of surprise mingled with contempt. King Louis' answer was very uncivil, and Frenchmen boasted openly that they would soon make war upon England in order to punish her for her arrogance. As for these threats King Ferdinand truly observed that France was not in a position to attack England. In 1509 the Venetians, taking advantage of Maximilian's vacillation, recaptured Padua. The surrounding population and peasantry immediately rose in favour of the republic, which recovered the town and fortress of Legnago. Padua's capitulation did not prevent Louis XII. from recrossing the Alps after he had concluded a new treaty with Pope Julius II. at Biagrassa, in which they mutually promised to help each other. Maximilian now decided to crush the republic by a decisive blow in laying siege to the capital. But although Louis seemed to agree with this plan, the Pope disapproved, and Ferdinand formally opposed it.