After dinner, the count removed to the ground-floor, but resolved not to decamp, and had it furnished as best he could. The next morning the princes called a council of war, which was always held in the Count of Charolois’ quarters, after which they always dined together. The Dukes of Berry and Bretagne sat next the wall upon a bench, and the Count of Charolois and the Duke of Calabria over against them, the count giving all of them the preference as to matter of place; as indeed was but right, as he was in his own quarters. Here they resolved to make use of all the artillery in the army, of which both the Count of Charolois and the Dukes of Bretagne and Calabria had a very fine and numerous train, in order to dislodge the king’s troops and dismount his cannon. Accordingly, we made great holes in the walls, which were along the river, behind the Hotel de Conflans, and mounted all our best guns, except the bombards and other large pieces which could not conveniently be drawn, and so were left in a place where they might do more service; so that on the princes’ side we had many more than there were on the king’s. The trench which the king’s forces had thrown up was of great length, and carried a great way towards the city of Paris; yet still they were working at it, throwing up the earth on the side next us, to shelter themselves from our cannon, for they wrought still in the ditch, and none of them durst venture so much as to put out their heads, for the place where they lay was in a large meadow, as bare as a man’s hand. I never heard such terrible cannonading for the short time it lasted, for our design was to dislodge them by dint of cannon; and they daily received from Paris fresh supplies, both of cannon and ammunition, neither were they sparing of their powder or pains, but fired upon us briskly day and night. Several of our soldiers dug pits before their tents to cover themselves, others had them provided to their hands, their quarters being in a great stone-quarry, so that all got some shelter or other; and in this posture we passed three or four days; but the fright was much greater on both sides than the loss, for no officer of any note was killed. When the princes found they could not dislodge the enemy, their failure seemed to them not only dangerous and disgraceful to themselves, but also likely to give fresh courage to the Parisians, who were already grown so confident, that upon a single day’s truce the people flocked out in such numbers to see us, that one would have thought there had been none left in the town. It was therefore concluded in council, that a large bridge of boats should be made, the ends to be coupled together, and the body of them to be covered with planks, with great anchors behind, to fasten them into the ground; upon which several flat-bottomed boats were brought down the Seine in order that we might pass that river, and attack the king’s forces.