"Ladies and gentlemen, I think everyone should know what kind of situation we will face when we break with the church.

The Holy Roman Empire, a hegemonic state in Europe that can call up 40,000 or 50,000 troops at any time, and more than 100,000 troops at full mobilization, is the most formidable enemy we will ever face.

In addition to this, as far north as Scotland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, as far south as Barcelona, Aragon and Navarre, as far west as Croatia, Hungary, Dukria, Poland, and even the Kingdom of Sicily, the kingdom of the Normans, will be our enemies, and our allies, the Castileans, will not be able to participate in the war against the Pope.

It can be said that this time we will be facing enemies on all sides, and everyone must be mentally prepared. William said with a solemn face.

Although William's description of the enemy on all sides and no one to help him was terrifying and terrifying, no nobleman showed a timid look in front of William, and the Norman nobles were even more angry, vowing to fight the Pope to the death.

"Your Majesty, what you say to do, we all listen to you." Duke Richard stepped forward and spoke.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we will all listen to you, and we will never say anything." After Duke Richard, the Norman nobles stepped forward and spoke.

"Very well, I really feel the determination of your lords." William laughed heartily and nodded in satisfaction.

Then William stood up, stretched out his hand and ordered: "Now our most urgent task is to adjust the main force in place in the HRE Empire, and after the army is recruited, we will only play and destroy the Duchy of Aquitaine and the Duchy of Toulouse as quickly as possible."

After that, we will shrink our forces and fight to the death with the army of Emperor Henry III of the HRE.

Ladies and gentlemen, go down quickly and prepare to go, for we will soon cross the camp and head south to the city of Bordeaux. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The crowd shouted in response, then turned and took leave.

......

William's Norman army was able to lead the army south, and they sailed south, reaching the city of Bordeaux with an army of 50,000.

Bordeaux was founded by the Celts around 300 BC and was called "Burdigala", which means "to live in a low-lying place".

As early as 60 BC, Bordeaux was ruled by the Romans, and at that time it was already a bustling port called Budigara, which had many links with Spain and Britain.

During the Roman Empire, Bordeaux was the capital of the province of Aquitania, which stretched from the Pyrenees to the Loire.

So much so that Emperor Diocletian later divided the province of Aquitania into three on the grounds of its vastness, but this did not change the status of Bordeaux as the central town of southern Gaul.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the political situation in Europe was turbulent, and more than 300 years ago, Abdul Rahman's army sacked Bordeaux after defeating the Duke of Ode. Subsequently, Bordeaux suffered another bad luck, it was again patronized by the Vikings and ransacked.

It was not until 100 years ago that the Dukes of Aquitaine made Bordeaux its capital under direct jurisdiction and brought it under their direct jurisdiction that Bordeaux once again regained its former prosperity and peace.

For more than 100 years, the river port city of Bordeaux, located at the mouth of the Garonne River, has flourished again, and its prosperity is not inferior to that of Paris, and it is comparable to that of Normandy.

But now, Bordeaux was once again under fire, and the Normans, descendants of the Vikings, defeated the Duchy of Aquitaine's army outside Bordeaux, and then easily captured the city.

As the capital of the Duchy of Aquitaine, whether it was a city or a castle in Bordeaux, William searched every corner of the place and did not find the figure of William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine, but captured a large number of French nobles in the castle of Bordeaux.

The Normans did not stay long in Bordeaux, and the next day, after a brief correction, they moved south again.

This time, however, William divided his army into three groups and ordered them to join the Duke of Toulouse's borders after clearing the Duke of Aquitaine's domain.

With the cooperation of the local nobles Marsan, Agen, and Betna, Count of Dax, William's march was extremely fast, and they quickly defeated the last of the Duke of Aquitaine's army, bringing Aquitaine under William's rule.

It's just a pity for him that the Duke of Toulouse, Ponsgishholm, used the Garonne waterway to lead his army back to the Duchy of Toulouse when William was heading south.

The treacherous and cunning old fox fled back to his principality of Toulouse as soon as he smelled something unpleasant, shrunk like a hedgehog, and aimed his spikes at the Normans.

In peacetime, William had a way to concoct Ponschium, Duke of Toulouse, but now William broke with the Pope and faced great military pressure from the Holy Roman Empire, so William had to choose to compromise with the Duke of Toulouse.

Before that, however, the necessary military repression was essential, and negotiations between the two men were swift.

Under the pressure of William's army, a few days later, the Duke of Toulouse and William finally reached an agreement, and he swore allegiance to William on the condition that his domain and title would not change.

The Toulouse Agreement meant that the war between the Normans and the Kingdom of France had been largely settled, and William occupied the entire territory of the Kingdom of France.

Originally, William was supposed to be crowned King of France under the auspices of the Pope or the Archbishop of Reims, so that he could rule the Kingdom of France in the name of justice.

But now that William and the Pope have broken up, and Archbishop Gervais of Reims has also been imprisoned by William, there is no one to preside over the coronation for William.

This situation reminded William of Napoleon's coronation as Emperor of the French Empire, when he was also the enemy of the whole world, hostile to the Holy See, so that no one wanted to crown him emperor.

Eventually, Napoleon chose to crown himself by placing the crown on his own head and that of Queen Josephine.

The situation on William's side was very similar, and no one wanted to crown him, neither the Pope nor the Archbishop of Reims were his enemies.

But now that William has established himself as the supreme leader of the Kingdom Church, it is reasonable for him to crown himself, but he cannot be recognized by the countries of Europe.

The idea of "crowning himself King of France" was so common that William thought about it for a long time before finally giving up on the idea of crowning himself.

Historically, Leo IX had few years to live, and three years later, in April 1054, when the Holy See would be plunged into chaos again, it would be much easier for William to coronate himself as the Pope.