Although the co-optation of the Duchy of Aquitaine and the Duchy of Burgundy to the Normandy side was important to William's victory, he did not bet all his hopes on the two great princes.

After all, William and them were not in-laws, nor did they have any alliances or other ties, and their choice was not up to William.

In addition to co-opting the princes of France to join the camp, William decided to look for allies from outside the Kingdom of France, the kings of Castile, León, Galicia, and the Spanish emperor Ferdinand I of Iberia, and His Majesty Pope Benedict IX, who was close to William, were the two greatest helpers that William could win.

Winning the support of His Majesty Pope Benedict IX, dismissing Henry I, and punishing him for breaking the law, was not something that could be achieved simply by the friendship between William and Benedict IX.

In recent years, Benedict IX has invested a lot of money in order to expand the Papal Guard, which belongs directly to him, and has purchased thousands of high-quality plate armor weapons from William with a lot of money.

However, the crisis for His Majesty Benedict IX is not limited to this, as the newly crowned Holy Roman Emperor, His Majesty Henry III, has begun to support Bishop Bruno and the Cluny monks, and has continued to encroach on Benedict IX's power in the Holy See.

It was even rumored that His Majesty Henry III of the House of Salian intended to march into Rome to pacify the Italian nobility who did not submit to his rule and to install Bishop Bruno, who was close to him, to the throne.

Faced with the colossal Holy Roman Empire and the aggressive threat of His Majesty Emperor Henry III, Benedict IX had to recruit troops and win over the nobility of the Italian region with money and profit to resist the threat of Emperor Henry.

As a result, Benedict IX's thirst for money became even stronger, because to fight against the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, he would need a huge amount of gold, which could not be stopped by a hundred thousand pounds of silver.

"Your Highness William, how many gold coins do you need to give His Majesty the Pope? We have only about 700,000 pounds of silver left in our hands, and we must have enough money left in order to face a possible great war in the future. After hearing that William wanted to win the attention of Pope Benedict IX, Osborne, as the treasurer, shook his head and said.

"His Majesty Benedict IX and I are mutually dependent allies, and he cannot afford to lose my support, especially now that Emperor Henry of the HRE is becoming more and more aggressive, he values the support of the Duchy of Normandy even more.

Of course, we can't be stingy, since we can't give too many gold coins, then take out 5,000 sets of foreign trade version of full-body plate armor and 10,000 Norman swords from the arsenal and give them to our Pope, and as for the gold coins, we will also send him 30,000 pounds of silver.

I suppose that with these gifts, worth 200,000 pounds of silver, His Holiness the Pope will grant my request to excommunicate His Majesty Henry. William said confidently.

The five thousand sets of plate armor and ten thousand Norman swords that seemed to be worth the most in this batch were only about one-tenth to one-fifteenth of their selling price, and the value of this batch of gifts was not very large, adding 30,000 pounds of silver.

Five thousand sets of plate armor were thrown out, William was not distressed at all, not to mention this foreign trade version of the full-body plate armor, its workmanship and defense were one level lower than the genuine goods, not to mention that William's warehouse also stored more than 10,000 sets of various types of plate armor and several times the number of swords, weapons, longbows, and arrows, he was not worried about the lack of weapons and armor.

"Archbishop Hamelin, the task of going to the Vatican to meet the Pope is entrusted to you, and my other ally, Bishop Gerald, will also help you." William looked at Steward Osborne and asked.

Bishop Hamelin, who had been on the sidelines and said nothing, stood up at this time, bowed to William and responded: "I promise not to disappoint you, Your Highness William. ”

"Hmm." William nodded in response, looked at the crowd and continued: "In addition to the support given by His Holiness the Pope, I would like to ask my father-in-law, Ferdinand I, King of Castil, León, Galicia, and Emperor of the Spaniards of Iberia.

As emperor of all Christian nations in the Iberian Peninsula, he had a large army, and the Knights of Castile, honed in battles with the Moors, were one of their most formidable forces.

With the help of Ferdinand I, I will be invincible in Normandy.

The stakes are so high that I must personally go to Burgos in the Kingdom of Castile. ”

In contrast to William's steady expansion, Ferdinand I's expansion in the past two years can be described as a rapid advance, only a year after he was crowned King of Castille and León, he attacked everywhere, seized all the territories of Galicia and Portugal and was crowned King of Galicia, and he also seized the Emirate of Salamanca in the south of León and established the county of Salamanca as a direct jurisdiction.

Then, another year later, Ferdinand I marched eastward, defeating the army of the Great Emirate Zaragoza, forcing it to submit to the Kingdom of Castille and pay a large tribute.

At the same time, Ferdinand I defeated the combined forces of Sancho of Navarre and Ramiro of Aragon, annexing much of the territory of Navarre and forcing both countries to submit.

By the early summer of 1039, Ferdinand I had taken initial control over all the Christian states of the Iberian Peninsula and dealt a great blow to the surrounding Moors.

With great prestige, King Ferdinand was crowned Emperor of the Spaniards of Iberia, and openly used the title in letters and edicts.

At this time, he can be described as a spring breeze, and at the age of thirty he has achieved such a great feat, and there is hardly anyone on the European continent who can compare with him.

"Young Master William, you can't take risks personally, the Duchy of Normandy is still inseparable from you, and the operation of the entire Duchy of Normandy cannot be without you as the center." Steward Osborne shook his head and persuaded him.

"Yes, Your Highness William, it is now the eve of war, and all important matters need your decision, and there is no room for you to go to the kingdom of Castill." Count Hubert also followed the words of Osborne's butler.

"William, they're right, it's not worth it to leave Normandy for the sake of this. As for the task of contacting our ally, His Majesty Ferdinand I, I will leave it to me. Count Adolf finally spoke.

William pondered for a moment, knowing that the Duchy of Normandy really could not do without him, so he also agreed to everyone's request and gave up the idea of going to the Kingdom of Castile.