the highest bidder. The French were the
first to experience this venality, which later-on proved so fatal to
Ludovico Sforza.

Now the Swiss in the garrison at Novarra had been in communication with
their compatriots in the vanguard of the ducal army, and when they found
that they, who as a fact were unaware that Ludavico's treasure was nearly
exhausted, were better fed as well as better paid than themselves, they
offered to give up the town and go over to the Milanese, if they could be
certain of the same pay. Ludovico, as we may well suppose, closed with
this bargain. The whole of Novarra was given up to him except the
citadel, which was defended by Frenchmen: thus the enemy's army was
recruited by 3000 men. Then Ludovico made the mistake of stopping to
besiege the castle instead of marching on to Mortara with the new
reinforcement. The result of this was that Louis XII, to whom runners
had been sent by Trivulce, understanding his perilous position, hastened
the departure of the French gendarmerie who were already collected to
cross into Italy, sent off the bailiff of Dijon to levy new Swiss forces,
and ordered Cardinal Amboise, his prime minister, to cross the Alps and
take up a position at Asti, to hurry on the work of collecting the
troops. There the cardinal found a nest-egg of 3000 men. La Trimouille
added 1500 lances and 6000 French infantry; finally, the bailiff of Dijon
arrived with 10,000 Swiss; so that, counting the troops which Trivulce
had at Mortara, Louis XII found himself master on the other side of the
Alps of the first army any French king had ever led out to battle. Soon,
by good marching, and before Ludovico knew the strength or even the
existence of this army, it took up a position between Novarra and Milan,
cutting off all communication between the duke and his capital. He was
therefore compelled, in spite of his inferior numbers, to prepare for a
pitched battle.

But it so happened that just when the preparations for a decisive
engagement were being made on both sides, the Swiss Diet, learning that
the sons of Helvetia were on the paint of cutting one another's throats,
sent orders to all the Swiss serving in either army to break their
engagements and return to the fatherland. But during the two months that
had passed between the surrender of Novarra and the arrival of the French
army before the town, there had been a very great change in the face of
things, because Ludovico Sforza's