He was scarcely twenty-three, and had hitherto only served under Trivulzio and La Palisse; but he had already a character for bravery and intelligence in war.

Louis XII.

loved this son of his sister, Mary of Orleans, and gladly elevated him to the highest rank.
Gaston, from the very first, justified this favor.

Instead of seeking for glory in the field only, he began by shutting himself up in Milan, which the Swiss were besieging.

They made him an offer to take the road back to Switzerland, if he would give them a month's pay; the sum was discussed; Gaston considered that they asked too much for their withdrawal; the Swiss broke off the negotiation; but "to the great astonishment of everybody," says Guicciardini, "they raised the siege and returned to their own country." The pope was besieging Bologna; Gaston arrived there suddenly with a body of troops whom he had marched out at night through a tempest of wind and snow; and he was safe inside the place whilst the besiegers were still ignorant of his movement.