Just as William and Pope Hamelin were discussing how to cleanse the Church of Rome from corruption and degenerate, the former Pope Nicholas and the Grand Vice-President Hildebrand had already arrived in Salerno in a hurry.

Because of the hasty escape, there were only a few people in their group, many of them were still unclothed, they looked very down, and they had not eaten a delicious meal for several days, and the surrounding nobles were unwilling to take them in because they were afraid that William would use an excuse to crusade against them, and the local churches were also afraid of William, and quickly changed their appearance to honor the new Pope John X, and even avoided them.

However, Pope Nicholas and Hildebrand did not give up hope, believing that if they could meet Caesar, the king of the Kingdom of Sicily. Morality. After Ottville, he was sure to convince him to lead a large army to escort him back to Rome.

Pope Nicholas was very confident in this, because the crown of Caesar, King of Sicily, was put on him by his own hands, and the two sides were allies who supported each other, without his support, the legitimacy of the rule of the Kingdom of Sicily would be questioned, and Caesar's rule would not be stable.

But is that really the case? Caesar. Morality. Ottwell, like William, and all the Normans, was a very realistic pragmatist, and at this time Pope Nicholas was of no use to him, and taking care of each other would cause William's displeasure, so how could Caesar do such a disadvantageous thing?

"Your Majesty, report from the front, King Caesar of Sicily is not far away in Apulia, but he does not want to see us, and he will remain neutral in the battle between us and William." Hildebrand said in a somewhat low tone.

"Caesar! Was he afraid of William's might at this time? As long as he is willing to lead his army of Normans and Saracens to help me, I can give him whatever he wants, even if it is the throne of the Roman Empire, even if it supports him in his crusade against Byzantium, even if he wants the land of northern Italy, I can grant him! When Pope Nicholas heard this, he was furious, but he could do nothing but be angry.

"Hildebrand, my dear Grand Sect Vice-Chancellor, what do you say we should do?" Pope Nicholas sat down on the ground dejectedly and asked Hildebrand.

"Your Majesty, the situation is extremely serious, but it is not without room for reversal, and the German princes of South Germany are all supporting you, such as the Duke of Welf of Bavaria, the Duke of Vladislav of Bohemia, the Duke of Bethalt of Carinthia, and the Duke of Rudolf of Swabia.

In addition, the Venetians, Croats and Hungarians can also help you, and if we promise some benefits, we will naturally get their help.

The same is true of the Normans, who refused our demands because our offer was too low and we had to make conditions that they could not refuse, and on the other hand, because the risk of confronting William was too high, and we could wait for William to return to Rome with his army. "Hildebrand sees the current situation very clearly, and if you think about it, you can naturally know the situation of this matter.

"Hildebrand, I'm really lucky to have your help, so could you please tell me what to do now?" Pope Nicholas stood up, patted the dust off his body, and asked.

"First of all, we should first convince Caesar, the king of Sicily, and only by convincing him first and making him the leader of the opposition against William, will it be more convenient and feasible for us to connect with other forces in the future." Hildebrand saw that Pope Nicholas was cheering up, and immediately said happily.

"Well, just do it, no matter what harsh demands the other party makes, as long as it can help me retake Rome, I am willing to agree." Pope Nicholas made up his mind.

However, when they arrived at the Apulian court, they were once again confronted with Caesar's close-door.

"I've compromised him so much, why doesn't he want to come out to see me?" Pope Nicholas was already out of anger at this moment, and in the face of repeated rejections, how desperate he was at the moment.

In fact, Caesar was a little moved by Pope Nicholas's conditions at that time, after all, the crown, authority and territory were what everyone wanted, but when he wanted to face William, he was still very hesitant, after all, with his understanding of William and the Normans, he really had no chance of winning against William.

At this time, William's envoy also arrived at the Apulian court with a mission.

William, on his part, learned that the former popes Nicholas and Hildebrand had absconded to the Kingdom of Sicily, and immediately realized that the other party might ask Caesar of Sicily for help.

William was not afraid of Caesar, but it would have been nice to have avoided war diplomatically.

"What did William order you to do?" Caesar, the king of Sicily and the leader of the Normans and Saracens in Italy, was sitting majestically on the throne of the king and asked the envoy kneeling in front of him.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the King of Sicily, my lord William has commanded me to bring my best greetings and to present you with a gift that my Lord has carefully prepared for you." Then the messenger presented the gift.

"Time is precious, so let's just say the purpose." Caesar, the king of Sicily, did not drag his feet in the slightest, and waved his hand and ordered.

"Yes, my lord will divide Byzantium with you, Constantine, Thrace, and Anatolia, and the Greek states, and I will live in peace with each other according to the present borders.

In the future, we will join hands in the Holy Land and march into the Holy Land together, when our Lord is willing to give you all the glory of the Holy Land and honor you as the Lord of Jerusalem. The messenger replied without any fuss.

"William is generous, go back and tell him that Athens and the Aegean Islands are also my targets, and if he wants to take Greece, he will do what he can.

However, his proposal to retake the Holy Land together is a good one, and I can consider it. Caesar laughed and waved, "By the way, messenger, you must have another mission, right?" ”

"Your Majesty is as discerning as a torch, and my lord hopes that if you meet the former Popes Nicholas and Hildebrand, you will send him to Rome immediately." The messenger said unhurriedly.

"Go back and tell William that I won't be involved in this matter." With that, Caesar waved his hand and ordered the guards to repel him.

As Caesar had put it, his next move seemed to be strictly neutral, not receiving the former Pope and Hildebrand, nor using force to expel them, leaving them in his domain, and no one could see what he was planning.