Chapter 317: Rome
The city of Rome is located on the Latin Plain of the Apennine Peninsula in the middle of the Mediterranean.
There is a Tiber River on the Latin Plain, and the city of Rome is on a hill on the left bank of the Tiber River, about 100 kilometers from the coast, and agricultural villages were formed in the early Iron Age.
Later, a branch of the Latins came to establish a stronghold here, and as the economy developed and the population increased, cities were established.
It was in the 7th century BC, a little later than the myth of Romulo. The city was founded and the Roman state was formed, which went through two periods: a republic and an empire.
From the 5th century BC ~ the 3rd century BC, Rome has unified the whole territory of Italy from a small city-state. Later, it conquered vast areas of the western and eastern Mediterranean, including present-day Spain, France, Greece, Syria, Egypt and all parts of North Africa, and built the largest slave empire in ancient times.
It was not until 476 AD that the Roman Empire came to an end. For nearly a thousand years, the city of Rome was the largest city in the Mediterranean, with a population of more than one million at its peak, making it the largest capital city in the ancient world.
The ancient city of Rome includes the seven hills of Palatino, Esquilino, Viminale, Quirinale, Sirio, and Aventino (Colis, known as the City of the Seven Hills. It is about 6,200 meters long from north to south, about 3,500 meters wide from east to west, and the city wall is undulating across the river and mountains, and the whole is irregular, like a crouching lion.
Of course, there are some buildings in the city of Rome that have collapsed and damaged, and there are also ornate medieval buildings built that are as ornate and solemn as the churches next to them.
When Caesar arrived at the foot of Rome with his army, the stubborn resistance he had hoped for did not happen, but the defenders of the city opened the gates and gave Caesar the keys to the gates.
Caesar was really puzzled by this, and after careful inquiry, he learned that Benedict IX, who had been against them, had been driven out by the Vatican clergy, and he was replaced by the new Pope Gregory VI.
"It's satisfying in terms of results, but it's always infuriating, William." Caesar entered Rome with his army, and the Holy See obediently opened the gates and offered enough gold and silver to reward his soldiers.
Although Caesar wanted to fight in the city of Rome so that people could praise him well. Morality. Altwell's great victory over Rome was ruined by the multi-armed William, but he was not easy to attack.
After all, Pope Benedict IX, who was against him, has abdicated, and he is replaced by Gregory VI on the side of Caesar and William, who is considered his own person, plus the Holy See has also offered enough benefits to promise to give up the county of Benevento, he can't say anything, otherwise it will appear that he is insatiable.
To put it simply, Caesar originally wanted to install a wave of competition in the city of Rome, conquer Rome with his own hands, oust the pope from power, and then install a new pope, and personally reap the fruits of victory.
However, this was not allowed by William, who knew very well that Caesar's ambition would not end there, and if he really did the thing of deposing the pope, perhaps with Caesar's ambitious character, he might breed an ambition that William did not allow.
Therefore, whether it is the Pope or Caesar, it must be within William's control, and he will never allow the unexpected to happen.
"Steward Osborne, why are you here?" Caesar's expression was a little surprised, his eyelids widened in disbelief.
"Hey, my old bones are a hard life, Young Master William heard that your front line was urgent, so he urged me to take the remaining eight thousand mercenaries south to Rome and come to support you." Steward Osborne shook his head and sighed.
"How can such a trivial matter bother you, you are the great steward of the Duchy of Normandy, and any nobleman sent by William can do this little thing." Caesar's face was unfortunate, he knew that Steward Osborne was William's most trusted person, and at the same time, he also had an extremely terrifying intelligence force, I am afraid that many of the changes that have happened these days are his ghost.
"You really said it, Caesar, the main purpose of my visit this time is to ask His Majesty the Pope to go to Normandy to hold the coronation ceremony for Young Master William, originally I wanted to ask to see His Majesty Benedict IX, but I didn't expect that there would be a current Pope to become Gregory VI, which is impermanent!" Steward Osborne said with a smile.
Caesar couldn't see what Osborne's steward had in mind, but he patiently listened to Osborne's steward's words, saying that the serious Caesar still respected and admired him.
"I'm sorry, Caesar, it's easy to ramble on and on when you're a first-year old, I'm sorry." Steward Osborne laughed to himself.
"Nothing at all, Steward Osborne. Your words are very philosophical, and you deserve to be an admirable elder. Caesar complimented.
"What's the matter, Caesar, don't compliment me!" Steward Osborne shook his head and said, "By the way, Caesar, I came to Rome this time to find you, and this time I can see you again, this is really a fate, I also happen to have something to discuss with you." Steward Osborne said modestly.
"Tell me, steward Osborne." An old man's entrustment to Caesar was naturally agreed, especially since the old man's status was not low.
"Yes, in a little more than a month it will be the time of New Year's Day, and my lord William would like to invite you to his enthronement and coronation. I have a question here, and I don't know whether to talk about it or not. ”
"I promised, Steward Osborne, and I would definitely go and watch. If there is anything else important, please tell us directly. Caesar stretched out his hand and said.
"That's right, did you make a number of previous agreements, and is the Duchy of Apulia willing to merge into several established Norman kingdoms?" Steward Osborne finally confided his true purpose.
When Caesar asked William for help, he promised that William would be his vassal, so that the territory of southern Italy would be included in the Norman kingdom that was about to be established.
"I'll talk to William personally about what position I should be in." Caesar sneered and declined.
"When the wings are stiff, I want to learn to fly solo, and I have received the favor of Young Master William, and after solving the dilemma, it is like this bargaining, and even defaulting on the debt, is there really no way for us to take you? Wolf ambitious guys. Osborne's butler couldn't help but think in his heart, but Osborne's butler didn't show anything on his face, and he was still so amiable: "Okay, I respect your choice, Caesar, before the end of this year, you must arrive on time at the Duke's Palace in Rouen, Normandy, to prepare for the enthronement ceremony and coronation ceremony of my young master." ”
"Steward Osborne, rest assured, I will arrive on time, and I will be accompanied by His Majesty the Pope." Caesar nodded in response.
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