As for William's next plan, many other people naturally had no way of knowing, and the two discussed for a long time until the night moon and stars were scarce.

Soon, it didn't take long for a bizarre case to occur in the city of Florence in the Duchy of Tuscany, Italy - the five-year-old Duke Federigo of Tuscany and Spoleto was wrecked because of the unfortunate axle break while riding in the car, so that the car crashed.

A bizarre car accident easily takes the life of Duke Federigo, and his mother, Beatrix, is unable to find any clues about the killer, no matter how much she investigates.

At this time, Matilda, who was only eight or nine years old, announced that she had taken over the title of Duke of Tuscany and Spoleto, and wore the duke's crown in the Duomo of Florence, surrounded by a group of Norman mercenaries.

At the same time, Stephen the Norman, with a large army of soldiers, came to the residence of her mother, Beatrix, with the orders of the Duchess of Matilda, and announced: "Duchess of Lower Lorraine, the Duchess does not wish you to be separated from her husband for a long time, and I hereby order us to send you to Nassau to be reunited with your husband!" ”

Duchess Matilda's mother, Beatrix, in order to ensure that her power did not fall, married the new Duke of Lower Lorraine, Gottfried III of the House of Vigeris, shortly after the death of her husband Bofacioni, Duke of Tuscany.

At the beginning, she officially relied on the power of the Duke of Lower Lorraine to ensure her power.

It's just a pity that after the war, many territories, including Upper Lorraine and Lower Lorraine and Luxembourg, were ceded to William, and the new Duke of Lower Lorraine was naturally expelled by William, and his territories were all taken under William's direct jurisdiction.

The Duke of Lower Lorraine, stripped of his domain and title, had to stay at Nassau's court in an attempt to persuade the emperor to restore his domain.

Matilda's mother naturally did not want to suffer from the exile with the Duke of Lower Lorraine, so she abandoned the Duke of Lower Lorraine and stayed in her ex-husband's Duchy of Tuscany as the queen mother.

Listening to the shouts of the Norman Stephen outside the gate of the manor, Beatrix was so frightened that she hurriedly ordered the servants to close the gate of the manor and not leave.

However, by the time Beatrix took action, Stephen the Norman had already burst into the manor with a large group of Norman mercenaries and captured Beatrix who was trying to escape.

Because of the orders of the Duchess Matilda, the Norman Stephen naturally did not do anything to her, but sent cavalry to politely expel her.

The Duchy of Tuscany in Florence was a dizzying array of events, starting with the tragic death of the young Duke of Federigo, then Matilda's ascension to the throne as Duke of Tuscany, and finally the Duchess's forceful expulsion of her mother.

In the past few days, Lombardy, Ancona, Ravenna and other Italian states have sent envoys to congratulate the new Grand Duke of Tuscany, Matilda.

The envoys of the Italian states who came to Florence were surprised to find that for some reason there were suddenly many Norman voices around the Duchess Matilda, and what was even more surprising was that the Duchess Matilda had a very elite Norman mercenary army under her command, and the number was as many as 3,000.

This made them think that Duchess Matilda might have the support of the Norman King William, so that she could have an elite mercenary army of up to 3,000 men.

Since the rise of the Normans in France and Sicily, the Norman mercenaries have almost disappeared, and they prefer to be loyal to their king William, or venture to Sicily, Italy.

Under such circumstances, the sudden appearance of an elite Norman mercenary force in the city of Florence could not but remind them of it.

Who called this Archduchess of Tuscany and Spoleto the daughter-in-law of William the Conqueror?

The emissaries brought back to the states the speculation that William the Conqueror was intervening in the succession of the Duke of Tuscany, and the monarchs, consuls, and archbishops of the Italian states reacted differently, but none opposed William's entry. Because at this time they were plotting for independence, and they needed the support of other countries, and William was the object of their great efforts.

William and the Italian states can be said to have the intention of Lang and concubines, and after sending envoys to communicate with each other, they quickly colluded, and William provided the Italian states with weapons, equipment, materials and military assistance, mainly to provide powerful Norman mercenaries, in exchange, the Italian states were willing to guarantee

William had an interest in Tuscany, recognized the new Duchess Matilda and opened the Po Plain to Norman merchants to enter.

The sincerity of the two parties can not be described as insufficient, and after the exchange of conditions, as William's agent, Russell. Morality. The Count of Bayolle concluded an alliance against Henry IV with Ezzo II of Lombardy, the representative of the Italian states.

William simply sent Rose. Morality. The Count of Bayol, a group of spies, and 3,000 soldiers, gained control of the Duchy of Tuscany and Spoleto, as well as a large number of allies in the Italian states.

The plan had now been carried out, and things were going as William had predicted, and the time had come for the Italian states to immediately declare their independence from the Holy Roman Empire.

At the same time, the newly succeeded Pope Vetu II also expressed concern about the matter, and secretly expressed support for the cause of the independence of the Italian states.

The former Pope Leo IX, the Cluny pope who had been pinching William for several years, finally died of illness due to defeat and anxiety, and the new successor Pope Victor II, although also the Cluny pope supported by Henry III, was more moderate than the radical Leo IX.

Victor II believed that it was the Emperor Henry III and his HRE Empire who supported him in the way of the expansion of the power of the Holy See, and he was willing to put aside his prejudices with William and join him in dealing with Henry III.

William was naturally willing to accept Victor II's kindness, but he was unwilling to speak easily and express his stance easily.

The parting of ways between the Roman Church and the HRE Emperor Henry III was gratifying, but it did not have much impact on William, whether it was the HRE Empire or the Holy See, they were all enemies of William, and no matter which side won, the winning part would be hostile to William.

What William wanted most was for the Holy See and Henry III to be evenly matched, so that he would have room to maneuver.

Unable to find a reply from William's side, Victor II turned to the cause of the independence of the Italian states, and for the Roman Church, a great war of independence would be a great blow to Henry III and the HRE Empire, which would be very beneficial to their expansion of the Church in the Empire.