It's a quiet sunny afternoon in Italy, the heat of the sun blowing through the breeze into the arched porch, a few pennants painted with ornaments drifting lazily from the stone pillars, and only the hum of bees rhythmically creaking into the windows.

The fortress was far away from the town of Salerno, and at this time there were about a dozen black-robed shaved monks and silver-clad knights in the courtyard, and a Moorish man in a white burqa hurried through them, his cat-like eyes and large hooked nose attracting many different meanings, but no one made too loud noises to hear even whispered chatter.

The Moore entered a cool room, and no one seemed to notice his entry, all eyes focused on the side face on the velvet pillow, the only life on which was the cloudy eye. The Moorish stepped forward, grabbed the man on the bed by the wrist, and seemed to listen intently for a long time, the lamp pendant on the dome flickered, and he counted his pulse slowly, unaffected by the bees that pounced on the window.

"How's it going, Abdullah Rahman?" A voice sounded, "Don't hesitate, this is not almost over." ”

"Gregory Sheikh, everyone but Allah has one death." The Moors replied in mixed Latin.

For a moment, the crowd around the bed seemed to tremble together, sobs rang out, the bishops kissed their crosses, and some monks knelt down in front of the bed, whispering: Lamb of God, Whoever takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us! （Agnus-Dei， qui-tollis-peccata-mundi， miserere-nobis！ ）

"My children, what is this? Are you crying? The old man on the bed said in a faint but still majestic voice, "Come closer, my brothers, sons and daughters of Christ, and let me see your faces." ”

"Listen, my earthly time is running out, before I deliver my soul into God's hands...... As the successor of St. Peter, the agent of Christ, and the suzerainty of all Caesars since Charlemagne, I must accomplish what I have done here...... Where is Otto? Bishop Ostia, is our brother Odo absent? ”

"Holy Father, Bishop Odo is still in Capua, running to fulfill your mission." Desiderius, the abbot of Mount Cassinot, replied hastily, "We have sent messengers to urge him to come." ”

"It's too late." Gregory VII's face showed a trace of sadness, and then he began to cough violently, and the Moors calmed him a little with potions, but from the way the former kept shaking his head, it can be seen that all the elixirs in the world can help Gregory to a limited extent.

"What are your instructions, O Most Holy?"

"Listen, bishops, clergy, I, Gregory, am still the agent of Christ, standing before the judgment seat of God, and I have a duty to bind the earth." He gasped for breath before he continued, "Take out the vellum and write at once the Edict of Death against the two Antichrist, the first Gilbert of Ravenna, the second Henry the German, and I can forgive anyone but these two—but they must bear the eternal fire, and we will sign the curse in the blood of our lord, like Pope Zacharis." ”

The tip of the pen rustled on the thick pages, and after a while, Grigory asked impatiently: "Is it finished?" ”

"Holy Father, it is done."

"Give me a cup and a pen, and I want to sign."

The chanting was still lingering, and Gregory kept muttering: "Dilexi-iustitiam-et-odivi-iniquitatem-propterea-morior-in-exilio......" (I loved justice and hated injustice, so I died in exile.) ）

He signed his name with all his might, almost scratching the paper, before he threw his pen into the golden cup of ink and fainted.

In the evening of the same day, the bell of Salerno rang, and the city immediately learned of the Pope's death. This was undoubtedly the heaviest blow to the Holy See, according to the news from the north not long ago, the Emperor Henry left Italy last month to deal with the rebels of Welf IV, and Henry's allies were besieging Madame Matilda in the Po Valley.

By this time, the English mission had already set out from Dover to travel south to Italy via Flanders, knowing nothing that the Pope had returned to God.

Behind them, the seeds of unrest were planted in English soil, and the investigation of the Cleanists revealed more and more traces of heresy, and Edgar had begun to regret not accepting Rome's advice and introducing the Gregorian reforms in England. Not only was he unable to move forward with his plans to build roads and canals, but he would have to postpone many of his regular political affairs, or he might soon face a large-scale riot.

"Did it work?" Edgar's voice almost trembled at the news of the arrival from Oxford.

"Yes, Your Majesty, it's terrible."

"Tell your dean and ask him to send us a batch of samples at once." The king had been planning for half a month, and ten years ago, he had conducted some experiments, which were mainly for the purpose of serving the war, but the results of the experiments were always unsatisfactory, and he did not expect that now this thing would be used for another purpose.

After the farming was over, news spread rapidly from Buckingham to Northampton and other areas, and the county court's decision to execute Father Billig and Burton Mayor Alden after Mass the following week caused a great shock in Essex, because Father Billig had been the most famous saint in the region, and the peasants were often full of superstitions about such figures, many thought that his touch could cure their ailments, not to mention that the teachings he told the peasants were very easy to penetrate. In the teachings of Father Billig, the lords and priests of the world are unrighteous people who will take the last silver coin from the hands of the people with an abominable whip and ridiculous superstition, without the slightest memory that the Lord Jesus was with the poor.

"Your Excellency, you must know that we do not need to make him a martyr, and that the long torment is pointless." Edgar interrupted the arguments of Bishop St. Albans, "As for your theological arguments, I am sure that no peasant can understand that, when they see the spear behind you, they will only think that it is a new injustice. ”

"Your Majesty, should the execution be carried out in secret? I'm worried about ......," reminded Count Rodrigo.

"Worried something will happen?" Edgar shook his head, "Don't worry, I'll be there myself." ”

"Your Majesty, this ...... It's just too dangerous, and we implore you to think again. Led by the Bishop of Oxford, the nobles present began to beg Edgar to think twice.

"I am the King of England!" Edgar suddenly roared, "I don't believe my people will wave weapons at me, this is our final decision." ”

Then, in a voice that was inaudible to the crowd, he whispered to his chief of guard, Edwin, "Arrange the cavalry, and if there is a riot, give them a bloody lesson." ”