It was indeed a bit inopportune for William to visit Jenny late at night, for she had already stepped down from her military duties and became the spiritual leader of the Church in England and the Norman Kingdom, she was a saint canonized by the Church herself, and she was in charge of all the women's monasteries in the kingdom, and she also had a large number of followers in England and the Norman Church.

If William's move is discovered, I am afraid that people will criticize him, but for the victory of the war, in order to invite her out of the mountain as a commander, he can't care so much.

It is impossible to say that he visited late at night without a little selfishness, and he once had a deep love for Jenny, but since he married Uraka, he has kept it in his heart, and he has always maintained a relationship with Jenny.

Perhaps Jenny had guessed William's thoughts, but when he arrived at Trinity Church, he found that the doors were closed, and Jenny did not want to see him at all.

Apparently, William was slapped off, and he understood what Jeanne meant by not wanting to meddle in mundane affairs, and with a sigh of his heart, he led the people back to the castle of Rouen.

......

Just as William was assembling his forces in Normandy, an unexpected event occurred – the former Duke of Champagne, 11-year-old Ode II, was embraced by the nobles of the counties of Chartres and Blois and the nobility of the city, and launched a rebellion against Thibaud, Duke of Champagne, in Chartres.

Odo II, the former Duke of Champagne, was the son of Etienne II and inherited the title of Duke of Champagne in 1047, but the Duchy of Champagne was usurped by his uncle Thibaud shortly thereafter.

The young Ode II fled to Normandy to seek help from William, who had a territorial dispute with the Duke of Thibaud, whose arrival gave William a good opportunity to deal with the Duke of Thibaud.

So William gladly accepted Ode II and brought the princess Adelaide, who was ten years older than Ode. Morality. Normandy betrothed him and placed him in the county of Evreux, near Chartres.

Unexpectedly, Ode II, supported by a group of nobles and city nobles, became their banner against the tyranny of Duke Thibaud, and the Duchy of Champagne set off the smoke of rebellion.

Most of the feudal nobles were close associates of Etienne II, and some had even been stripped of their titles and domains by the Duke of Thibaud, who were dissatisfied with the Duke of Thibaud's rule and gathered under the command of Ode II.

The urban aristocracy, on the other hand, was more likely to rebel against the expropriation of the Duke of Champagne, Thibaud, because the Duke of Champagne had to maintain a strong army in order to oppose William, which would undoubtedly consume a lot of money.

Since he was not allowed to collect taxes on the nobility, he had to exploit the city.

But the cities of the Duchy of Champagne were not having a good time at this time, because of the influx of goods from Normandy and the encroachment of Norman capital, many of the once prominent merchants went bankrupt, so that everyone was in danger.

In order to obtain a more relaxed business environment and more autonomy in the city, the urban nobles sided with Ode II and launched a rebellion.

It would have been impossible to say that this matter would have been possible without William's involvement, but he also did not think that it would be launched at this critical moment, everything came so suddenly and so coincidentally.

The Duke of Champagne was preoccupied with himself, which was undoubtedly a good opportunity for William, so he went to the aid of the local knights of Evreux, and his action undoubtedly annoyed King Henry I of France and Thibaud, Duke of Champagne, who also sent troops to encircle the rebellion of Chartres and Blois.

The geographical location of the Counts of Chartres was extremely important, as it was sandwiched between Evre, Enman and Paris, the capital of Henry I in the Duchy of Normandy, and as long as William controlled Chartres, he could directly threaten Paris from the flank without having to go south from Rouen and face a frontal line of castles.

"Since he wants to fight, then fight." William said.

He immediately made public his claim to the throne of France and declared war on Henry I, before heading south with his army.

William divided his army into three routes, one of which was the Duke of Richard's Fourth Army and the local forces of the Norman kingdom, numbering more than 12,000 men, who were to arrive at the battlefield of Chartres from Evreux and threaten Paris from the flank.

The route led by William himself included more than 30,000 men of the Guards, the Second and Fifth Legions, and the main force would also set out from Evreux and would go straight to Paris, the capital of France.

There was also the Third Army led by Duke Andrew and the army of his Belgian principality, with more than 15,000 men along the way, whose main mission was to eliminate Baldwin V, Duke of Flanders, who was still struggling, and then to flank Paris with William.

Standing in William's way is Mount Terrajoli, a port city on the banks of the Seine on the northwestern outskirts of Paris, France, but it was long since Henry I transformed it into a front line against Norman attacks, where he built Mount Castle and several annexed fortresses.

After two wars with the Normans, Henry I decided to fully fortify Paris, not only by building castles in the city, but also by building fortified stone castles at several strategic points, including the Château Mount.

To tell the truth, William didn't want to break down the castles in front of him one by one, God knows how many castles Henry I built in a frenzy, and how much time and how many troops would have to be wasted to break through them.

But now, William had to open the situation and take Paris as soon as possible, so that he could get the French princes on his side.

Therefore, William pinned his hopes on the Fourth Legion led by the Duke of Richard, which was also a standing legion stationed in Normandy all year round, and its combat effectiveness was weaker than the three major legions, but it was not about the same.

William believed that under the leadership of the veteran Duke Richard, he would be able to seize the Countdom of Chartres and create brilliant results.

......

With the official outbreak of the war, the princes who had been drawn together by William and Henry I also joined the war, and the French princes first supported William and Henry I respectively, and fought together.

The princes on William's side faintly took the Duke of Burgundy, Robert. Led by Capet, they were confronted by Thibault, Duke of Champagne, William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine, and Baldwin V, Duke of Flanders.

Baldwin V, Duke of Flanders, was the largest number of troops, but it was of little use, as this army cobbled together by levies was no match for the Third Legion, armed to the teeth.

Under the attack of Duke Andrew, the army of Flanders was defeated at Kerett, and then fled to Gunde.

On the other hand, the Duke of Richard had already encountered an army led by Thibaud, the Duke of Champagne.