Hildebrand was a man of great mobility, and after agreeing a plan with Nicholas II, he began to reorganize his army, and after the Synod of Sutri had deposed the rival pope, he would lead a large army to Tusculum.

When Hildebrand was preparing to march on Tusculum, a Norman from the Kingdom of Sicily asked to meet the new pope, which made him feel very surprised, but he didn't expect that yesterday it was agreed to win over the Normans, and today an envoy from Sicily came to ask for a meeting, it was really a sleepy pillow, just in time.

Overjoyed, he immediately informed the new Pope Nicholas II of this time, and arranged to receive the Norman envoy from Sicily this morning.

On the papal palace in Castel Sant'Angelo, Pope Nicholas II sits on the throne in a white papal robe, a papal shawl, a triple crown on his head, and a scepter.

Beside Nicholas II was Hildebullard, dressed in the cardinal's red robe, and below him, a group of cardinals lined up on both sides of the nave, so to speak, in order to receive the Norman envoys from Sicily, he took great pains to give each other great courtesy.

Under the guidance of a priest, the Sicilian Tancred. Morality. Ottwell stepped atop the main hall.

"Tanfred, Sicily. Morality. Altwell, meet His Majesty. Without a hint of hesitation, Tancred knelt down before the Pope's Holy See and said respectfully.

The authority of the pope in Europe at that time could be said to be solipsistic, and the church and the royal power could completely form an opposition, and sometimes the divine power could even prevail, so it is not an exaggeration to look at the pope not only as a religious leader, but also as the emperor of a huge empire.

"Get up, my child." Pope Nicholas II stretched out his hand and said in a kind and gentle voice: "I wonder why you are here this time?" ”

"Your Majesty, my uncle, King Caesar of Sicily. Morality. Altwell has asked me to greet you and bring me the most sincere kindness, and hope that we will both put aside our old hatred and get back together. Tanfred slowly got up, took out a letter from his waist and respectfully presented it to the priest beside him, and said respectfully: "This is a letter from my uncle Caesar, please read it." ”

Nicholas II took Caesar's handwritten letter from the priest and quickly skimmed through it.

After reading it, Nicholas II handed the letter to Hildebrand, exchanged a few words with him, turned to Tancred below, and said: "Tancred, the kindness of Caesar, King of Sicily, I have received it.

I grant Caesar's request to recognize the throne of his King of Sicily, to recognize all his rights to Apulia, Calabria, Sicily and Capua, but in the same way I ask him to swear allegiance to the Holy See, promising all assistance for the protection of the rights of the Church and for the practical suppression of the *** in Sicily. ”

What Nicholas II was referring to was the agreement reached between Caesar and the Normans of Apulia and the previous popes, who traded his allegiance to the Holy See in exchange for the papal recognition of his legitimate ownership of the kingdoms of Sicily, Apuria, Calabria, Capua, Sicily, etc., as has been the case all these years.

Whenever a new pope was elected, Caesar would personally go to Rome and swear allegiance to the new pope, but because of the stupidity of Stephen IX, which had worsened the relationship between the Holy See and Sicily, Caesar only appointed his nephew, Count Tancred of Taranto, to explore the way with his own letters.

"Your Majesty, I will convey your request in earnest, and my uncle Caesar will gladly go to Rome and swear allegiance to you!" Tancred bowed down again and bowed in response.

Nicholas II and Hildebrand looked at each other and smiled triumphantly, with the help of the Normans, it must have been more secure than quelling the rebellion of the Roman aristocracy and arresting the opposing Pope Benedict X.

Immediately after Tancred's retreat, Nicholas II convened a synod in Sutri, where he proclaimed Benedict X deposed and excommunicated in the presence of Matilda, Archduchess of Lorraine-Tuscany, and Gilbert, chancellor of the Roman Empire.

Immediately after achieving the title of Righteousness, Nicholas II and Hildebrand went to war against Benedict X and his supporters and asked the Normans of Sicily to provide him with assistance.

Nicholas II and Hildebrand moved quickly, and it took them only two days to surround Tusculum Castle and enclose it.

However, the opposing Pope Benedict X had already received the news that he had fled to Gerard of Galleria long before Nicholas II besieged Tusculum Castle, and had gained the support of the local nobility.

The situation was a bit grim at this time, and the castle of Tusculum was too thick to conquer in a short time with his army of six or seven thousand men, and it would become even more difficult to deal with once Benedict X, who had fled south, gained a foothold.

"Your Majesty, please let me stay and lead the German mercenaries to continue the siege of Tusculum, and you can immediately lead the Papal Guard and the Knights of the Church to the south to attack the army of the rival Pope Benedict X." Hildebrand looked at the somewhat anxious Nicholas II and suggested.

"My Grand Sect Vice-Chancellor, are you sure to surround Tuskulum Castle, there are more than 5,000 defenders inside?" Nicholas II said with some concern.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that the Tusculum family is afraid of the power of the Holy See and does not dare to act rashly, and our church knights are constantly coming, our strength will only become stronger, and the Tuscullum family will completely collapse after gradually losing hope." Hildebrandy smiled confidently.

"Then I'll leave it all to you." Nicholas II nodded and said.

After the two men separated, Nicholas II led 3,000 papal guards and 200 church knights, with hundreds of attendants and a total of 4,000 troops, marched southward, aiming directly at Campania, the seat of the rival pope.

Campania, located in the southern part of the Italian peninsula, in the southern foothills of the Apennines and bordering the Tyrrennian Sea, is a mountainous and hilly terrain where Nicholas II's army was met by supporters of the rival Pope Benedict X, where fierce battles were fought.

Benedict X's supporters were numerous, and many of Rome's wealthy nobles raised an army far more than the 4,000 elite led by Nicholas II.

During the Battle of Campania, although Nicholas II had an elite papal guard and warlike knights, and later Normans joined his ranks, his army was too small to be defeated, and even if he tried his best, he could only maintain an invincible situation.

Nicholas II suffered a defeat at the Battle of Campania, but was a surprise victory for Hildebrand, in the rear.