f pay would force the French to retreat,
and Piero de' Medici sent a troop of Florentine soldiers to join the
Duke of Calabria in Romagna. But their triumph was of short duration. On
the 6th of October the king had recovered sufficiently to leave Asti,
and while most of his army marched direct to Piacenza, he himself
travelled by Casale and through the dominions of his ally, the young
Marquis of Montferrat, to Vigevano. Here Lodovico and Beatrice once more
gave their royal guest a splendid reception, and held a banquet and
boar-hunt in his honour during the next two days. The beauty of the
palace, and the wealth and magnificence displayed on all sides, filled
the French with wonder; but although Charles took Lodovico's advice on
all points, and was apparently on the most cordial terms with his host,
he asked for the keys of the castle at night, and desired his guards to
keep strict watch at the gates. "The fashion of their friendship was
such," says Commines, "that it could not last long. But for the present
the king could not do without Lodovico."

On the 13th, Charles slept at the Sforzesca and visited Lodovico's
famous farm of La Pecorara, or Les Granges, as the French chroniclers
termed this vast farm, where agricultural industries were cultivated on
such a splendid scale. They saw the spacious buildings, the stables with
their noble columns and separate accommodation for mares and stallions,
and the superb breed of horses which were reared under Messer Galeazzo's
care; the pastures with their 14,000 buffaloes, oxen, and cows, and as
many sheep and goats; and the large dairies, where butter and cheese
were made on the most approved system, and marvelled afresh at the
industry of the Milanese farmers and the wealth and fertility of this
wonderful land. The next day the king went on to Pavia, where triumphal
arches had been prepared for his reception, and the clergy and
professors of the university hailed his presence in long harangues and
complimentary speeches. At first lodgings had been prepared for him in
the city, but, according to Commines, some of the king's followers had
inspired him with fears of foul play, and he preferred to take up his
abode in the Castello itself. Lodovico himself showed him the library
and other treasures of his ancestral palace, and took him out hunting in
the park. On the 15th, he visited the Duomo and Arca di S. Agostino, and
on the 16th, rode out to the Certosa, where the monks entert