"Father Stigander, welcome." William stepped forward and smiled at the royal advisor sent by Queen Emma.

"Lord William, thank you and your help to Prince Edward." Father Stigander said respectfully.

"Father Stigander." Edward stepped forward to meet Father Stigander and nodded in greeting.

"Prince Edward, I have come to Normandy to welcome you back to England at the behest of His Majesty King Hardkenout of England and your mother, Queen Emma." Father Stigander explained to Prince Edward the purpose of his trip to Normandy.

Naturally, William and Prince Edward knew about this for a long time, so they were not surprised.

"Father Stegander, you have had a long journey, and I have prepared a dinner party in the Duke's palace of Rouen to wash your hands." William took Father Stigander's arm and said cordially.

"Then I'll be disrespectful." Father Stigander was so good that he agreed to William's invitation.

He was invited to a banquet in order to bring them closer together, and of course William did not only do this, but he also prepared a gift of 1,000 pounds of silver and many treasures as gifts for Father Stigander.

He believed that the power of money could communicate with God, that it could atone for all sins, that it would allow souls to ascend to heaven, that it could buy anyone, that it could do many things that authorities and armies could not, and that money would be needed as long as people were alive in this world.

William learned from his intelligence sources that Father Stigander was a greedy man who never refused money, and often used his power to loot money.

However, Fr. Stigander was very devout to God, especially for churches and monasteries, and he was very generous, often sponsoring the clergy to build new monasteries.

At this time, Fr. Stigander's dress seemed very modest to that of the other clergy, and it was not at all obvious that he was a very wealthy clergyman.

Whatever he did, whatever his intentions, William had some affection for Father Stigander, who was plainly dressed and unadorned with gold and silver.

Rouen's banquet was a success, and Father Stigander, who had had had enough of the dark cuisine of England, was very fond of these delicious Normandy dishes, and the close-up of him was that he saw many foods seasoned with precious spices such as black pepper and cinnamon, as well as countless snow sugar desserts, all of which are enough to show the wealth of Normandy.

Towards the end of the private feast, several servants arrived in the banquet hall carrying a heavy suitcase, lowered it and retreated.

William got up and stepped forward, stretched out his hand to lift the lid of the box, and in an instant the whole room was filled with golden light, and both Prince Edward and Father Stigander were so shaken by the gold coins in the box that they couldn't open their eyes.

"Father Stigander, this is a gift I have prepared for you, and there are a thousand gold coins in it, worth a thousand pounds of silver, and these are yours." William pointed to the gold coins in the box with his right hand, looked at Father Stigander, and said.

"Lord William, please tell me what you ask, and I will do it. If you don't say what you ask, I won't accept these gifts anyway. Fr. Stigander said righteously.

He was very self-aware, and knew that this Duke of Normandy, who was known for his greed, did not have such an easy money in his hands.

Hearing this, William shook his head and chuckled, "Father Stigander, I hope that you will do everything you can to help my cousin Edward and assist him with all your might, and this is all I want.

Prince Edward, who was sitting next to William, was speechless by William's sincere words, and muttered, "William, thank you." ”

"Lord William, you don't have to break the bank at all, as a royal advisor to Hadknout and Her Majesty the Queen, I will do my best to assist His Royal Highness Prince Edward, you don't have to worry about this at all." Father Stigander waved his hand in decline.

"Take all of this, I am the Duke of Normandy, and I have never taken back the gifts I have given. What's more, Father Stigander, you will also need some funds for activities to assist Prince Edward and do things for him. William grabbed Father Stigander's hand and said earnestly.

"I will accept your gift, Lord William, and I will keep my promise to you." Father Stigander nodded to William, then bowed to Prince Edward and said, "Your Royal Highness, Prince Edward, I will be your advisor to you. ”

"Father Stigander, as soon as I ascend to the throne of England, I will canonize you as bishop of a land." Prince Edward lifted Father Stigander up and promised.

After the three of William had their own pleasures, Father Stigander found William in private, and she knew that what William had said in front of Prince Edward was not complete, and there must be something that could not be explained in public.

Father Stigander and William spoke intimately for a long time before parting, and no one knew what they were talking about, and perhaps it would take a long time for it to be revealed.

......

At the same time, Morris. Welf and Egino. Delamarck and Theowulf also brought six hundred meters of Italian and English mercenaries to Maurice's hometown of the Duchy of Lombardy. Sauron and one of his cavalry companies.

In William's plan, they would recruit mercenaries in northern Italy and raise an army of at least 2,000 men, which would serve as William's first reinforcements to Caesar, followed by a larger second group of more than 8,000 mercenaries.

However, due to the complexity of the composition of this mercenary team, it will take more time to train, and it will take at least a month for them to set off.

"Maurice, this is your hometown, how are you going to start?" Baron Mephistopheles rode to Maurice. Welf's side asked.

"I am going to recruit mercenaries in Genoa, Lombardy, and Verona in three ways. Among them, the Republic of Genoa can recruit good crossbowmen, sailors and fleets, and the recruitment of mercenaries in this regard is the responsibility of you, Baron Mephistopheles. Morris said confidently.

"No problem, I will take people to Genoa to recruit mercenaries, so what about Lombardy and Genoa, what are you going to arrange? Our task is not light, as the first reinforcements to be sent to the Duchy of Apulia, at least 2,000 troops. Baron Mephistopheles nodded in agreement, and then asked.

"You don't have to worry about this at all, I'll go back to the court of the Dukes of Lombardy and Verona in person, visit my father, the Duke of Lombardy, and my uncle, the Duke of Verona, to seek their support, and I'll surprise you when I return." Morris said confidently.