The king, seeing the enemy’s army daily reinforced, and that no honourable terms were to be expected, was persuaded to retire to Vercelli[442], and there to concert measures how to relieve the Duke of Orleans, who (as I have said before) had taken no care to erect any magazines for the subsistence of his army upon his first entrance into Novara; and certainly it had been much better for the duke to have followed the advice which I gave him upon the king’s return to Asti, to put all useless persons out of the town, and repair himself to the king: for his presence would have advanced his affairs, or at least the troops he had left behind would not have been reduced to such extremity of hunger, for he would have capitulated sooner, had he found there was no hope of relief. But the Archbishop of Rouen[443], who was with him at the taking of Novara, and was then with the king, to solicit in his behalf, sent him word not to stir, and assured him of relief; grounding his confidence upon the promises of the Cardinal of St. Malo, who was all powerful with the king. The archbishop spoke as his affections prompted him; but I was assured of the contrary, for nobody had any inclination to return to the battle, unless the king went in person, and his Majesty had no inclination to do so, as the dispute was only about that town, which the Duke of Orleans desired to keep, and the Duke of Milan to recover; because as it is within ten leagues of Milan, he thought it necessary that they should be both under one jurisdiction, there being nine or ten great cities near one another, within a small compass, and all depending upon the said duchy. However, Ludovic Sforza offered fair terms, that if we would deliver up Novara, and not disturb him in Genoa, in other things he would serve the king to the utmost of his power.