Editing Louis XIII (section)

==Rule by council, 1622–1624==
[[File:Louis-XIII by-Franz-II-Pourbus.jpg|thumb|Louis XIII, by [[Frans Pourbus the younger]] (1620)]]

Following the death of Luynes, Louis determined that he would rule by council. His mother returned from exile and, in 1622, entered this council, where Condé recommended violent suppression of the Huguenots. The 1622 campaign, however, followed the pattern of the previous year: royal forces won some early victories, but were unable to complete a siege, this time at the fortress of [[Montpellier]].

The rebellion was ended by the [[Treaty of Montpellier]], signed by Louis XIII and the Duke of Rohan in October 1622. The treaty confirmed the tenets of the Edict of Nantes: several Huguenot fortresses were to be razed, but the Huguenots retained control of Montauban and [[La Rochelle]].

Louis ultimately dismissed Noël Brûlart de Sillery and Pierre Brûlart in 1624 because of his displeasure with how they handled the diplomatic situation over the [[Valtellina]] with [[Kingdom of Spain|Spain]]. Valtellina was an area with Catholic inhabitants under the [[suzerainty]] of the Protestant [[Three Leagues]]. It served as an important route to Italy for France and it provided an easy connection between the Spanish and the Holy Roman empires, especially in helping each other with armies if necessary. Spain was constantly interfering in the Valtellina, which angered Louis, as he wanted to hold possession of this strategically important passageway.{{efn|In these years the French kingdom was literally surrounded by the Habsburg realms, for the Habsburgs were Kings of Spain as well as Holy Roman Emperors. In addition, the Spanish and Holy Roman empires included the territories of today's Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, and northern Italy.}} He therefore found a better servitor in his [[Superintendent of Finances]] [[Charles de La Vieuville]], who held similar views of Spain as the king, and who advised Louis to side with [[Netherlands|the Dutch]] via the [[Treaty of Compiègne (1624)|Treaty of Compiègne]].<ref>{{harvnb|Moote|1989|p=135}}</ref>
However, La Vieuville was dismissed by the middle of 1624, partly due to his bad behaviour (during his tenure as superintendent he was arrogant and incompetent) and because of a well-organized pamphlet campaign by [[Cardinal Richelieu]] against his council rival.<ref>{{harvnb|Moote|1989|p=114}}</ref> Louis needed a new chief advisor; Cardinal Richelieu would be that counsellor.