Chapter 37 – Before the War
When the Grand Master, now Lieutenant General Montmorency, received news that negotiations with the Emperor had stalled, he sent a message to King Francis asking to be received at Fontainebleau for a meeting to discuss the deployment. In Montmorency's opinion, the conditions to go to war were not good for several reasons: first, Pope Clement had died, and with him, the promised support of the Papacy for the French invasion of Milan. Second, it was not prudent to attack the Emperor while he was also waging war against Tunisian pirates and corsairs that menaced the European Christianity. Doing so would earn France the reprobation of all the European Christian kingdoms.
Montmorency hoped to be able to delay the military operation a few months or until the conditions for war were optimal and he could guarantee a successful outcome. He planned to travel to Fontainebleau with a small troop to discuss the operation as soon as the King send his consent, leaving the rest of the troops at camp under Col. Brissac. Additionally, he would like to bring the Dauphin with him to Fontainebleau. In his opinion, the prince had worked hard and deserved to see his wife before going to war. Laurent, being the prince's personal guard, would be coming with him as well.
A few days later, King Francis sent his consent and Montmorency, Henri and Laurent, accompanied by a small group of soldiers, left for Fontainebleau. Henri asked his father to keep his arrival secret; he wanted to surprise Danielle.
It was early evening when they entered the town of Fontainebleau. Once the palace came into view, Henri asked Montmorency to ride ahead so that they would not be seen arriving together. Montmorency approached the main gate and entered through the central courtyard where the King's chamberlain and an elite group of the King's guard lined up to receive him and his troupe of soldiers.
Meanwhile, Henri and Laurent circled the palace, entering through the southern gate directly into the stables. From there, covered by their hooded cloaks, they snuck into the palace through the guard's quarters to avoid being seen. They proceeded to the east wing into the guest apartments, where per the King's instructions, a guest room had been prepared for Henri. Laurent then sent for Henri's valet and attendants, who were most surprised to be summoned to this part of the castle.
Laurent explained the plan to the baffled attendants: "The prince wants to freshen up before he goes to his apartments and Madame la Dauphine is not to know that the Dauphin has arrived. The prince desires to surprise her."
The attendants shook off their bewilderment and hurried to prepare a bath and a fresh change of clothes for the prince.
"Laurent, please alert Princess Danielle's ladies that I'm here. I would like to be informed when the princess is back in our apartment."
"But Henri, I can not go talk to Her Highness' ladies. If the princess sees me she would know you are here. She knows I would never leave your side, for I guard you with my life," Laurent reasoned, bowing low and giving the prince a wicked smile. "I think that in your excitement you have not thought things through completely." He stood up, again smiling ear to ear.
Henri rolled his eyes at Laurent. "Well, then let us send for my sister. Princess Marguerite could alert Danielle's ladies without raising suspicion."
Satisfied, Laurent left the room. It was about eight in the evening and they were informed that Her Highness was having supper in the Queen's apartments. Since the hunting accident a month ago, the princess had not visited the public banquet hall where hundreds of courtiers dined each night in animated social gatherings. Instead, she spent the evenings with family and friends in her own or in any of the royal family apartments. The family took turns to dine in private with the Dauphine. Her two cousins Giancarlo and lady Suzanne, took it upon themselves to arrange a rotating lists of companions, and on this particular evening Princess Danielle was having a private dinner with the Queen and Princess Marguerite. Henri decided to wait until after dinner to see his wife. It was agreed that Marguerite would send word to Henri when Danielle was back in their apartments where he will surprise her. He was very satisfied with himself.
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After his formal welcoming, Montmorency rested a little to recover from the trip, and then requested an immediate meeting with King Francis in His Majesty's private studio. The King was irritated; could this meeting be postponed until tomorrow morning? The King was eager to join the nightly gathering at the banquet hall. He was not one to miss any social occasion where he could enjoy himself. But King Francis was also impatient to recover Milan, so he agreed to meet with Montmorency to discuss the invasion.
"As I was saying, Your Majesty, I think the military operation should be delayed until we have better conditions for the invasion. I do not want to see a repeat of the fiasco we suffered in Pavia," Montmorency was firm in his request.
"Don't even mention Pavia, Monty. This time we are better prepared and the Emperor's army is tired. We cannot wait any longer to march into Milan."
"You said in your letter that the negotiations with the Emperor stalled. What exactly happened?" Montmorency was not surprised, but he was curious to know the specific reasons that had made King Francis dispatch an army to the Savoy frontier.
"My dear friend, as expected, the Emperor was not negotiating in good faith." King Francis impatiently walked to the window and saw the courtiers gathering on the banquet hall terrace for the evening's festivities. He sighed.
"I asked the Emperor for the Duchy of Milan, as Pope Clement promised us the Duchy at Henri's wedding. In exchange, I offered to renounce our claim to Naples and some of the other cities ceded to the Dauphine by her uncle the Duke of Mantua. If was part of her dowry."
"And what was the response to your offer?"
The King walked away from the window and went to sit in a comfortable chair. He continued talking in a somber tone. "The Emperor Carlos refused my offer. He responded that Milan was intended for his son, the Infante Felipe, or for his niece the archduchess Anna of Austria. But he promised to send a counter proposal that could be of interest to France. I have been waiting for that counter proposal for several weeks now."
"I don't trust him, Your Majesty. He will not send one," Montmorency said.
"I know. I doubted the Emperor's intention, but nevertheless I thought it prudent to wait a few weeks. The reality is that I've been waiting in vain for a counter proposal that will never arrive, so I have decided to advance on Milan. After mapping out the best route, we requested passage through Savoy, the fastest way for our troops to reach the Duchy. But the Duke of Savoy, whose wife is related to the Emperor, refused passage through his territories. Who does he think he is? He is French and therefore he is my subject. He is a nobody."
"So are we to convince the Duke of Savoy to allow us to cross Savoy into Milan?" Montmorency asked.
"The time for convincing and negotiations had passed, Monty. That imbecile is giving me the opportunity to revive my mother's claim to Savoy. So I authorized Admiral Chabot to invade and take the duchy, which now will be added to the Crown. Admiral Chabot then informed me that, to his surprise, the French troops under his command did not meet with any resistance neither in Savoy nor in nearby Piedmont. Almost all border towns opened their gates to our army. As I told you in my letter, we now have troops positioned across the frontier ready to cross into Milan."
"And when are we planning to march into Milan?"
"As soon as possible," the King responded. "I suggest that we finalize our strategy at once. We need to review our supplies and human resources, study the maps and be ready to leave in a day or two, a week at the most. I believe that we would face little resistance to get into Milan."
"Very well. But we are not attacking the Emperor's forces yet, correct?"
"The Emperor's presence in the region is still minimal since the majority of his forces are occupied fighting the Tunisian corsairs. We will not be fighting an army; at least not yet. In addition, Sforza, the Duke of Milan, had asked us for support to thwart the Emperor's ambitions there. So we will enter Milan with Sforza's blessing."
"Yes, Sire, but we need to be prudent. Remember we would be invading Milan without papal support."
"Well, that's why I have sought a new strategic alliance with the Sultan Suleiman. The Ottoman Empire's army is as powerful as the imperial army of King Carlos. The Sultan will support us in our invasion of Milan, and France will support the Ottoman fleet's descent on the Neapolitan coast."
"Is His Majesty talking about actual troop support? This may be seen as a conflict of interest, an invitation to the infidels to infiltrate our Christian state. Our soldiers might resent fighting alongside the infidel Ottoman army."
"No, Monty, no. For now, it would be just supplies, offering safe passage through the territories and the guarantee of guarding our flank when needed."
"One more thing, Sire. What is your wish regarding the Dauphin?"
"What about him? He came with you, did he not? I believe he is trying to surprise his wife and if I know him well, he will not be leaving his bedchamber for the next week or so, or until we are ready to leave. He needs to take this opportunity to sire an heir." The King laughed. "We won't see his face of the Dauphine's any time soon."
Montmorency smiled. "What I meant is what about the Dauphin as a soldier. Is he to go with me?"
"No. When you are ready to march into Milan, I'll move the Court to Lyon, to be closer in case you need further support. Then I'll move onto Valence when the time is right. Henri will come with me."
"The Dauphin is ready for battle, Sire."
"He might be, but I am not. As I told you, it is good that you've trained him and that he is prepared, but I am still not ready to release him. He is my only son. I promise you that I'll send him to you in due course."
"Understood. I will get the troops ready to go. Let us discuss the route? First, we must review the maps and…"
"No, not now, Monty. Tomorrow morning will be a good time for planning those details. Now it's time for dining and entertainment. You've been at camp for a long time. Aren't you eager for some good wine and fair company?" The King smiled winking at his friend.
"Yes, Your Majesty, but I am a soldier first and foremost, and the Lieutenant General."
"Ah, but you are also a man, my friend, and France's Constable. Your power is not to be exercised only in the field, but here, among the beauty of Our Court. Let's be young again, my friend!" The King said as he patted the Constable's back.
"I must visit my home tonight, Sire. My wife would like to see me."
"Oh, you'll have time later. Let's go now. I am famished and fun awaits us!
Then he waived his hands to the guards to follow him and he left for the banquet hall, followed by a less than enthusiastic Montmorency.
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The round dinner table in the intimate dining room of the Queen's apartments was lavishly set with a Swiss hand-made lace tablecloth of exquisite texture, and the Queen's fine porcelain plates with gold inlay. Shining gold goblets and cutlery had been carefully placed above and aside each plate and elegant flower arrangements offered both beauty and pleasant fragrance. Two footmen served a delicious dish of trout and roasted vegetables, poured the wine and discreetly moved about the room.
Sitting across from Queen Marie and next to Princess Marguerite, Danielle stared with apathy at the food in front of her while absently playing with her wedding ring. She numbly turned it round and round; it was an intuitive act that somehow comforted her. It was a subconscious connection with Henri.
"You have not even touched your plate, Danielle. You need to eat something." The Queen didn't want to reprimand her daughter in-law, but she could not allow her to get lost in despair. The Queen understood Danielle was sad, but she was still the Dauphine. Since Henri's departure Danielle had not been her usual joyful, assertive self, and the hunting accident had weakened her resolve to be the regal and powerful princess that was expected to stand by Henri's side. Danielle had compromised her position in Court and the Queen meant to gently remind her of her royal obligations.
"I am sorry, Mother, I don't want to worry you. I am not hungry."
"My dear, I can't help but worry about you. You have lost your appetite and are getting thinner and weaker. You need to regain your strength. You have duchies to manage and loyal subjects that follow your lead. Remember you are the Dauphine of France and you represent Henri before this Court, especially while he is not here. I have to remind you that as a noblewoman and a member of this Royal House you have specific obligations."
Danielle smiled slightly. She remembered the night spent at the Gypsy camp with Henri, when she herself had reminded him about his obligations.
"Yes, Mother, you are right," Danielle said demurely. She hated to disappoint the Queen, who although always correcting her and reminding her of protocol, has bestowed the love of a mother upon her.
Sitting next to Danielle, Marguerite kept eating in silence. She smiled quietly and avoided direct eye contact with her mother or Danielle. She was suppressing her desire to tell them that Henri was in the palace. Both Danielle and the Queen were oblivious to his arrival. She was barely able to keep it to herself, but she would not ruin her brother's surprise.
A knock on the door of the outer room interrupted the quiet conversation, and Madame Renée, one of the Queen's ladies, answered it. She returned to the room with a message for the Queen sent by a King's page.
"Your Majesty, the King has sent a page to inquire if you would like to join him in the royal banquet hall. His Majesty is also letting you know that the Grand Master has arrived and is dining in the banquet hall with the rest of the Court."
"Thank you Renée. Please send word to the King that we are dining privately tonight with Madame la Dauphine and Princess Marguerite. But that it would be my pleasure to greet the Grand Master tomorrow morning for a private breakfast here in the apartments."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Mme. Renée curtsied slightly and went to the outer room to relay the message.
At the mention of the Grand Master, Danielle raised her eyes to the Queen and sat up straight in her chair.
"Is Montmorency back from camp? He must have brought news from Henri. Oh, Mother, I must go to the banquet hall to see him tonight."
Marguerite was suddenly concerned. She had promised Henri that Danielle would be back in their apartments in less than an hour. She could not allow Danielle to stay here waiting for the banquet to finish to speak to the Grand Master.
"Danielle, dear. You know that those banquets gathering go on until very late and I am sure the Grand Master is being kept entertained by the courtiers. I think it is better to talk to him in the morning after he has had some rest," the Queen stated.
"Yes, Danielle," Marguerite said keenly. "I think it is better that we talk to him in private in the morning. He can tell us all about Henri without all the curious courtiers around us."
Danielle sighed. "Yes, but I wonder how I will wait all night to find out about Henri. He has surely sent me a letter with the Grand Master." Danielle was impatient.
"Well, if he has, I am sure that Montmorency would get the letter into your hands immediately," the Queen assured her.
"Maybe the letter is already in your chambers." Marguerite smiled as she spoke, eager to get Danielle back to her apartments. "I'll be glad to accompany you, if you would like to leave now."
"Thank you Marguerite. Yes, I am a little tired and would like to retire early." Danielle stood up, straightened her gown and put on her dinner gloves. "Thank you for a lovely evening, Mother." Danielle walked around the table to curtsy to the Queen.
The Queen stood up and embraced Danielle. Then she waved her hand to call Madame Renée and one of her attendants to escort the princesses to Their Highnesses' apartments. Then she looked tenderly at Danielle.
"Take care, ma fille. Please rest well."
"Good night, Mother."
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Mme. Renée and her attendant escorted Danielle and Princess Marguerite to the second floor of the family wing, and the guards opened the doors as they approached the elegant hall of Their Highnesses' royal apartments, right across those of the King and Queen. When they reached the doors, the Queen's lady curtsied and wished the Princesses good night. Then turned away and departed with her attendant.
Danielle's ladies were sitting in the drawing room and stood up when the Princesses entered. Danielle immediately asked from the doorway: "Suzanne, Anne, do I have a message from Grand Master Montmorency?"
The ladies looked at each other. "No, Your Highness," lady Anne replied. "We have heard that the Grand Master arrived this evening but he has yet to send a message."
Suzanne and Anne looked at Princess Marguerite, who nodded discreetly to let them know that it was time to alert Henri.
"I will find the Grand Master if you wish, dear cousin," lady Suzanne offered.
"Oh, would you Suzanne? You are an angel." Danielle hugged her cousin wholeheartedly. "He must have a letter from Henri. I can hardly wait."
"Oh, he definitely must have something for you. I'll hurry back with it." Suzanne tried to contain her excitement, lest Danielle suspect something. She knew where to find the prince.
As Suzanne rushed out of the apartments, Princess Marguerite and lady Anne convinced Danielle to relax. They called Thérèse to pour them some wine and went to sit on a comfortable couch, but after only a few minutes Danielle asked Thérèse to help her undress and prepare for bed. She was tired and anxious; she was looking forward to go to bed early, hopefully with a letter from Henri as company.
Thérèse followed Danielle to the bedchamber and started loosening the laces of her dress. Lady Ann had offered to help Danielle change, but as usual, Danielle refused. Lady Anne wanted to become better acquainted with Danielle but when it came to the ritual of dressing and undressing she only allowed Thérèse the honor, in the absence of Lady Jacqueline. So Lady Anne and Princess Marguerite stayed in the sitting room, sipping wine.
Meanwhile, Suzanne had reached the east wing and as she was expected, the guards let her into the room reserved for the prince. Henri was excited to see her.
"Your Highness, the princess is now in her bedchamber," Suzanne curtsied as she spoke.
"Very well, Suzanne. Thank you. Please go ahead and I'll follow you shortly. Ah, and please, alert Princess Marguerite that I am on my way. She may want to leave before I arrive."
"Yes, Your Highness." Suzanne smiled and hurried back to the royal apartments.
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As Henri reached the corridor leading to his apartments, he saw Princess Marguerite exiting and he got her attention with large gesticulations so not to make noise. Marguerite had told the guards to leave the doors ajar and avoid making any noise. Then she came to meet Henri in the corridor and embraced him.
"Dear brother! How are you? You've been greatly missed!" Marguerite whispered while hugging Henri. "Look at you! You already look like a soldier. I hope you'll tell me all about camp. Will you have dinner with us tomorrow?"
"Perhaps, Margot, but no promises. How is my princess?"
"She is well, missing you. She is already in the bedchamber. Thérèse is with her."
"Good. I must see her now. Good night, dear sister." Henri kissed Marguerite on both cheeks and entered his apartments quietly. Ladies Suzanne and Anne were standing in the sitting room.
"You may leave now, ladies. Thank you for your assistance." After thanking the ladies Henri went directly to his dressing room. He changed into his night shirt, put on a robe and tiptoed into the bedchamber.
Danielle was sitting on a chaise with her back to the door as Thérèse, standing next to her, slowly brushed her long hair to the side exposing Danielle's neck. Henri stood at the doorway, leaning on the doorframe, watching Danielle's graceful figure. He was still taken in by her delicate beauty. Thérèse raised her eyes and saw the prince, but he promptly signaled for her not to say a word, and approached silently. He kneeled on the floor behind Danielle and embracing her, kissed her neck. Startled, Danielle jumped out of the chaise and turned around.
"Henri!" She could not say another word as he quickly stood up and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a long kiss.
Thérèse curtsied slightly and discreetly left the room closing the door behind her.
Henri held Danielle tightly, and as he released her he gently caressed her face. She smiled and hugged him in return running her hands through his hair and laughing like a child. He could not help but smile while he ravaged her with joyful kisses. He held her head in his hands and kissed her neck, her shoulders, caressing her body, then kissed her eyes, her cheeks, and her mouth where he lingered and she responded in like.
He looked deeply into her eyes. "I have missed you so much, Danielle. I could barely stay another day without seeing you."
"Oh, Henri, I was so worried about you. I felt so lonely here without you." Danielle was crying softly. She held onto Henri, her arms around his neck, returning every kiss and every caress.
"Tell me about camp. How long are you staying?" She giggled and relaxed a bit more. "I mean, how long will you be here with me?"
Henri returned her smile and was about to say something when she interrupted him. "You should have told me you were coming so that I could prepare the welcoming you deserve, my love."
"Danielle, you are all I need. This, here with you, is the welcoming I was dreaming about. All I wanted was to hold you and to see the surprise in your face." He smiled. "But let me take a greater look at my lovely wife," he said holding her hands and walking around her. "Are you well? I agonized when I heard about your accident and I was not able to be here."
"I am well. You are here now and I am even better than well. There were only minor injuries. I sprained my ankle and my knee hurt for a few days, but I am better now. I just can't do a lot of walking yet."
"Well, my lady, you are not going to do any walking now," Henri said, scooping her up in his arms. Still kissing, he carried her slowly to their bed where he laid her down.
He dropped his robe and lay down next to Danielle. They were finally together again, kissing and holding each other. He carefully undressed her and lay with her under the covers, and they were soon lost in their passion.
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The following morning King Francis woke up early and as promised, called the Grand Master for a quick breakfast with the Queen in the royal apartments. The Queen was a little upset about not having been informed of Henri's arrival, but then she understood that Henri had requested the secrecy in order to surprise Danielle. Still, she intended to have a word with her son about it.
"He should have sent me a note, but since he didn't, I hope he comes to visit me soon," the Queen said to Montmorency. "It's the least he could do."
"Your Majesty, the prince didn't want to be seen around the palace before surprising the princess. I am sure he will visit you this morning," Montmorency assured her.
Breakfast ended and the King and the Grand Master went to the war room to study the maps for the invasion of Milan. They would be leaving for the front in a week. In the meantime, Montmorency and his captains were detailing the route and designing the strategy to take control of the city and gather all necessary supplies for a short, successful battle, with further supplies arranged and waiting in Lyon to be delivered to the front in case they encounter resistance from the few, scattered troops of the Emperor. If things ran according to plan, they would conquer Milan within a fortnight.
"I feel we are wasting precious time, Monty. We should have already moved into Milan. Instead, we are waiting another week and by the time we go into Italy the Emperor may have regained strength. We have to attack while he is engaged elsewhere."
"Just one more week, Sire. That will allow us to execute a flawless plan."
"Let's hope you are right," the King said, as they kept fine-tuning the invasion.
The week went by seemingly peaceful. By now, the whole Court knew that the prince was in the palace, although he had not been seen in public. Henri and Danielle were relishing their precious time together secluded in their chambers, making love and dreaming about their future.
As usual, speculation ran rampant about the prince and princess—why are they not joining the nightly gatherings? Where are they? Are they sick? Maybe the prince was injured at camp and doesn't want anyone to know...— the courtiers inferred, wishing to know everything about the couple. Everyone in Court obsessed about them. But Danielle and Henri insisted on staying away from the curious eyes of the courtiers and everyone else, although they made an effort to spend time with the Queen, having tea together every afternoon in Her Majesty's apartments.
Meanwhile, military discussions continued. Montmorency called several of his army captains from camp to join the war discussions with the King, and as plans progressed, the Lieutenant General sent updates to the troops waiting in the Savoy frontier under the command of Admiral Chabot. Finally, every captain was on board with the strategy.
But by the end of the week, just as the King and Montmorency prepared their departure for the campaign to conquer Milan, King Francis received a disturbing message from Milan: his friend and supporter, the Duke of Milan Francesco II Sforza, had just died.
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Distraught with the news, King Francis and Montmorency hurried to sent an envoy to Milan to convey France's condolences and with the mission to assess the political environment of the Italian duchy. They needed advise to design a new strategy. They could never have predicted such an inopportune circumstance. The death of the Duke of Milan had created a power vacuum in the duchy, which promptly submerged into chaos. And what was worse, the Emperor Carlos V had sought and obtained the support of the new Pope to get into Milan.
In the privacy of King Francis' studio, Montmorency paced the room, his facial features tightened by the stress.
"Things are going from bad to worse, Francis," Montmorency called the King by his name, as he could only do in private when they both sought each other's company to solve problems. His whole body tensed at the thought of watching how his carefully planned strategy had become worthless overnight. "The troops of the Emperor are taking the opportunity to occupy the city ahead of ours troops. This is totally unacceptable. As negotiated in Marseille, Pope Clement agreed to support our taking the duchy of Milan as part of the papal alliance with France. It was agreed that in exchange, your nephew the Duke of Angoulême would marry the Medici girl. Duke Sforza was on our side. We need to march into Milan at once."
"Don't kid yourself, Monty. The Emperor won't honor that agreement for the same reason the new Pope did not honor our agreement with Pope Clement. They see France as a threat and they want this kingdom to become part of King Carlos' Habsburg Empire. I told you, we should have marched into Milan weeks ago, while the King Emperor was waging war against Tunisian pirates and had fewer means to enter into Milan. Now it is too late."
"I have to admit that you were right," Montmorency said regrettably. "If our troops had marched straight into Milan some weeks ago instead of waiting at the Savoy frontier, we would have conquered the city, for the Emperor did not have a serious army in the region at that time. We waited and believed in negotiations and by no confronting Emperor Carlos V directly we gave him time to reinforce his troops in the Milanese duchy, and engage the support of the new Pope."
"The size of the Emperor's army is superior to ours and we could not possibly engage in direct combat. Marching into Milan is nearly impossible at this time," the King regretted. "It would be a disaster."
Two days later, when King Francis confirmed that an immediate invasion of the duchy was nearly impossible, he was forced to act on the defensive. The Emperor, encouraged by what he perceived as a certain victory, invaded France, simultaneously crossing into southern Provence with an army of 50,000 men and invading Picardy in the north with a large army from the Netherlands.
The King summoned Montmorency and all the available generals and captains into an emergency meeting. He asked Henri to attend the meeting as well so that he be aware of the gravity of the situation. France was being invaded and the situation was critical. King Francis was still convinced he could defeat Carlos V in French territory, as the Emperor's forces were mostly composed of hired foreign soldiers, and although superior in number, they were inferior in motivation. King Francis deemed his French troops superior in strength to defend their homeland.
The King was anxiously discussing the new circumstances with Montmorency and the generals. "We need to change our strategy," he said addressing Montmorency. "We need to protect our territory. And we cannot lose this war."
"A victory is possible," Montmorency assured the King, smiling cunningly. He was already thinking about new strategic ideas. "We won't lose this war, Your Majesty. No French territory will fall into the hands of the Emperor. That is a promise."
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