After taking care of everyone's interests and calming the emotions of all parties, the power struggle that had been raging in Rome since a few years ago finally came to an end, and the restless nobles and the citizens who seemed to be forever complaining learned to shut up at the behest of their masters, but who knows if they were brewing a new rebellion, at least as more and more German troops marched into Rome, and the whole city became a huge barracks, full of fluttering eagles and tsunamis singing praises.

Bishop Gerbel has given me carte blanche to be the chief manager of the coronation ceremony, and he hopes that the Count of Nijmegen, or the Duke of Prospectivity, who has always been known for his endless ideas, will be able to bring himself a different and unforgettable coronation, and he will be a pope who has never been seen before.

"I will spread the glory of Christ to the wider lands, including those lands where the pagans are rampant."

Bishop Rebel clenched his fists and waved his fists in the excitement of talking to me, his eyes full of fanatical light: "Think of a Christian ...... Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem"

He looked forward to the kingdom of heaven in his heart, but I was in a cold sweat, this guy had the crazy idea of launching a crusade more than a hundred years in advance, religion is really a terrible spiritual plague, and he must stay away.

The whole of Rome had been in action a few days before, and the cleaners had been cleaning the streets of the city day and night, and the freshness of the paving stone was decorated with flowers and olive branches, and every paving stone slab had been carefully scrubbed with clean water, like a crystal emerald in the sunlight.

There are two kinds of people in the city who are the busiest now, one is the gardener who constantly carries the flowers, who complains and urges everywhere that there are too few flowers, and is bald like a leper with a leprosy bald head, and the other is the servant with a cloth in his hand, busy running around the different noble mansions, each of whom wants to make a splash at the coronation ceremony, and a well-made costume is an indispensable equipment, and these poor tailors have not slept for several days in order to cut clothes that will satisfy the adults, and their eyes are red and swollen like rabbits.

Leonardo was summoned from my territory to prepare for the mediation ceremony, and the coins in the Vatican's vaults flowed out like water, turning them into the sumptuous decorations of the Great Hall, or the dazzling array of precious ingredients in the kitchen.

"Anyway, it's not our own money, give me a lot to spend!"

Privately, I instructed Leonardo, even if the Holy See had a special person to monitor the spending of the gold coins.

As the bells of churches large and small in the city of Rome ring, the coronation of His Holiness the Pope officially begins.

Amid the sound of all the clergy kneeling and reciting the Bible, Bishop Rebel, dressed in a crown robe, led by a cardinal holding a golden cross, rode on the shoulders carried by six priests, slowly walked out of the waiting hall opposite St. Peter's Church, through the crowd of people, under the gaze of the statues of saints on both sides, accepted the cheers of all the faithful, and walked step by step towards the supreme throne of the Pope.

Along the avenue of olive branches and petals fluttering in the sky, shoulders slowly passed through the enthusiastic crowd, and the nobles and bishops, dressed in festive costumes, fell to their knees on both sides of the road that Bishop Rebel had walked, all covered in jewels and reflecting the brilliant splendour.

At this moment, Bishop Rebel, who must have been complacent, exclaimed in his heart that all the prosperity and power of the world were finally surrendered to the glory of Christ!

Entering the newly decorated St. Peter's Church, the solemn atmosphere is awe-inspiring, and the only thing left in sight is the Mass, which seems to never reach, the crucifix hanging on the altar, he looks down on all the living beings with a compassionate attitude, the German dukes led by Duke Henry and the cardinals wearing beaded crowns, bowing to the new pope, and the young friars of the monastery singing the hymn of blessing God in their heavenly voices, making all the splendid furnishings around them seem to be full of flowers, After all, human beings are small before God.

The shoulders were slowly lowered, Bishop Rebel's face was a little stiff, facing the ideal he had fought for all his life was about to be realized, and no one could be calm and calm, Bishop Gailius as a senator, standing behind the crowned bishop with a gloomy face holding the Bible, at this moment he may be gritting his teeth and cursing his unjust fate, but the matter has come to this, and he can only be forced to accept the reality.

Bishop Gerbel walked up to the podium and stood beside the crowned bishop, looking at the crucifix for a long time before kneeling on the futon in front of him with the support of the two clergymen, while the choir singing stopped abruptly, everyone bowed their heads and swallowed their breath, and the whole church fell silent for a moment.

"This devout believer, will wear the papal crown adorned with a triple crown, and remember that you are the walking of Christ on earth, the heir of St. Peter, the king of Christen, the earthly people who lead God, and our Savior, and you will have power and splendor forever in all life, Amen!"

The coronation of the bishop prayed in a deep voice, and then, under the praise and gaze of all the people, the papal triple crown was solemnly placed on the head of Bishop Rebel, holding the cross and lightly touching it on his forehead, marking the end of the whole sacred ceremony, and the new Pope Sylvester II officially ascended the throne.

His Majesty the Pope stood up with the help of two clergymen, a crown robe inlaid with precious stones and gold, and a cross of sceptres, which made the Pope in the prime of life a little unbearable, and his eyes swept majestically over everyone present, and finally fell on Duke Henry, who had been preparing for a long time.

The Duke put on the emperor's purple robe at this moment, and behind him stood an attendant with a sword in his hand, the long corners of the robe dragged the ground, making his whole person look tall and mighty, and several priests took away the futon on the ceremonial platform and arranged the emperor's throne decorated with red velvet.

Duke Henry stepped forward slowly, knelt under the crucifix and prayed reverently, immersed himself in the solemn ceremony.

After praying, he walked to the throne and stood before everyone, and the newly crowned pope, holding a crown in the shape of a golden olive branch, held it high above his head and proclaimed:

"God crowns Henry, the great Roman Emperor who brought peace and the irrefutable king of the Franks, and wishes him a long life and eternal victory!"

As he spoke, he put the crown on Henry's head upright, and all the nobles present cheered in unison: "Long life without borders, eternal victory!" Longevity without borders, victory forever! ”

Emperor Henry II took over the holy spear and the golden cross, a symbol of imperial power, and sat proudly on the throne that his family had coveted for generations, and finally smiled from the bottom of his heart.

Standing in the crowd staring at the two new supreme beings who were cheering hand in hand, I suddenly felt a sad and depressed mood, a strange feeling that everyone was drunk and I was awake rose from the bottom of my heart, and gradually enveloped my whole body, and I wrapped the tailor's newly made robes vigorously, but I could still feel the biting chill.

"Maybe that's what it's like to be cold in the heights......"

I grinned bitterly, squeezing out an ugly smile at the unknown fate.

The completion of the coronation ceremony in Rome means that the German Empire has experienced a new round of power reshuffle, and everyone has their own piece of cake according to the size of their strength, whether you are convinced or not, at this moment in Rome, you can only get so many things.

In the funeral of Emperor Otto III in the following days, Emperor Henry was basically familiar with the power in his hands, and he hoped to show the world the importance of inheriting the imperial legacy by presenting a luxurious and grand funeral, and at the same time, he also wanted to use this opportunity to further strengthen the relationship with the Vatican, especially the newly enthroned Pope Sylvester II, because from the experience of his predecessors, only by uniting the power of the Holy See, the emperor can truly exercise the power in his hands, so that the decree can be as good as an arm.

His Majesty the Pope attaches great importance to the funeral of Otto III, because whether in public or private, the emperor can be regarded as a rare friend in his life, more than once to promote himself to the throne, at the last moment of the expedition, but also very trusting to deliver Charlemagne's holy spear to himself, which shows the emperor's bearing and friendship, so when Emperor Henry proposed to prepare to bury the coffin of the emperor in the tomb of St. Peter, Pope Ni agreed without hesitation, setting a precedent that even Charlemagne and Otto the Great did not have.

A Frankish emperor was able to lie next to the coffins of the popes......

The former pope was once again lying side by side with his brother, and although at the moment both of them could only show their faces in relief on the stone coffin, but in any case, they were finally able to remove the heavy burden from their young shoulders and enjoy a long sleep with ease.

Emperor Henry made it clear in the subsequent imperial council that the whole country was immersed in the grief of the death of the first emperor, and it was not suitable for a new round of conquest, and that when many trivial tasks of Rome were completed, the nobles would be able to disarm and return to their hometowns.

For the first time, Hanover and Nijmegen participated in the deliberations as dukes, and they sat at the head of the Duke of Carinthia, in front of several familiar and unfamiliar superiors, and somehow the scene of everyone's hypocritical greetings made people feel a little funny.

Emperor Henry hinted more than once in the meeting that he was controlled by others, and today's arrangement was also involuntarily, leading the participants to point the finger at the new joiners, the Duke of Hanover, who was wandering in the world, and me, who pretended to be stupid.

The eyes of every Grand Duke who looked at us contained indescribable jealousy, contempt, and contempt, and even a bit of annoyance and anger when humans were accidentally bitten by their sharp front jaws when they crushed ants to death.

At least in the eyes of these nobles, the Duchy of Nijmegen came with a bit of a sideshow, more or less with the meaning of taking advantage of the fire, only the Duke of Swabia, who had just inherited the title of his old father who had died in battle, smiled at me kindly, but I could tell from the stiff corners of his mouth that he had to do it for his son in Nijmegen as a last resort, much more than from the bottom of his heart.

(End of chapter)