For Pope Benedict IX's careful thinking, William naturally guessed clearly, and it was obvious that he was not optimistic that William's thousand troops would be able to break through the city of Rome, even with the help of the Norman mercenary group.

Compared to the young and mature William, Benedict IX wanted the help of His Majesty Conrad II of the House of Salion, the current Holy Roman Emperor.

In 1036, the Holy Roman Empire was the only empire in all of Europe other than the Byzantine Empire, and it was clearly the most powerful on the continent.

Generations of Salian monarchs ruled the Holy Roman Empire, and after centralizing their rule through various means, the Salian family has already controlled most of the Holy Roman Empire, unless the Sallian family is unfortunate enough to die and the monarch from this great family is likely to achieve a great cause like Charlemagne.

Benedict IX wanted the help of Emperor Conrad II, and in addition to the strength of the Holy Roman Empire, the Catholic pope elections were also in the hands of both the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France.

These two countries not only had the right of veto in the election of the pope, but also led several armies to conquer the city of Rome in the following hundreds of years, and installed new popes one after another.

One might say that in the Middle Ages, the Pope and the Holy See were like the emperors of continental Europe, with supreme power, but this was not the case.

Ecclesiastical power and feudal power have always been mutually exclusive in the struggle for thousands of years in the Middle Ages, and neither side has the absolute strength to overwhelm the other.

His Majesty's excommunication and breaking laws do not work for anyone, and can only frighten the monarchs of weak countries.

If it weren't for the fear that after being excommunicated, the vassals and nobles under their command would join forces to rebel, and at the same time give the enemy country an excuse and reason to carry out, they would not have been afraid of the Pope and the Holy See.

"Your Majesty, please don't worry too much, with the help of the Norman mercenaries, and the fact that Bishop Sipilen is not firmly established, we still have a great deal of confidence in attacking the city of Rome.

If I am unable to recover the city of Rome, I will not be reluctant, and I will quickly evacuate Rome and go north with you to ask His Majesty Conrad II for help.

No matter what, I'm here to help! William promised with a sincere look in his eyes.

"Please, Your Excellency William." Benedict IX nodded in response.

William did not want Benedict IX to go north to seek the aid of Conrad II of the Holy Roman Empire, so that William's role would be insignificant and he would only be a supporting role for the emperor.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Benedict IX was a strange commodity, and only by holding His Majesty the Pope in his hands and helping him return to the Holy See would William be able to reap the greatest benefits.

Although the main purpose of this trip to Naples was to welcome back the coffin of his father, Duke Robert, and to form an alliance with the Norman mercenaries of Apulia and the Ottville family, this chance encounter with the Pope could only be described as a surprise, William was not satisfied, and was always ambitious to miss any opportunities and benefits.

The stakes in supporting the Pope were so great that having the support of Benedict IX would justify any expansion by William and turn the enemy away.

......

Bidding farewell to Benedict IX, William immediately ordered Andrew. The knights of Dalton, Phalle, and other generals led their troops to continue their march towards the city of Rome.

At this time, William's army was only 100 kilometers away from Rome, and it only took two days to reach the city of Rome at William's unhurried pace.

In order to hurry up and prepare for battle, William had to urge his generals and soldiers at all levels to speed up their advance, and strive to reach the city of Rome by tomorrow evening, so that William would have enough time to prepare for battle.

For William, the night raid is William's best project, and several victories have been the result of night raids.

As an army with plenty of cod liver oil to eat, no one in the army suffered from night blindness, so William had an advantage when attacking the enemy at night.

"Faller, Andrew!" William sat on his horse and summoned to the two of them, Faller and Andrew.

"His Highness William!" "Master William!"

Hearing William's call, the two immediately came to William's face.

"We are expected to arrive in Rome tomorrow evening, when I will launch a night attack, you two must be prepared!" William's gaze swept over the two of them and commanded, "Especially Fale, you will be the vanguard of the night raids. ”

"Young Master, is it like the night attack we used to take down Syracuse City?" Faller asked, rubbing his hands excitedly, slightly excited.

"That's right, Faller. Whether you can open the city gate during the night attack this time depends on the infantry you lead to climb the city wall with their hooks and claws and occupy the gate tower! William nodded in response.

"Young master, don't worry, even if I give up my life, I will open the city gate for you!" Faller shouted.

"It doesn't have to be like this, I am most concerned about your safety, no way, no matter what the result, you all have to return safely with the soldiers!" William shook his head slightly and comforted.

Faller and Andrew listened to William's words of concern, their eyes were a little moist, and they were speechless with emotion.

"Andrew, your next task is to lead the cavalry with Faller to hunt down the knights of the Church who are wandering nearby, and in any case do not let the defenders of Rome receive our news." William nodded and commanded.

"Yes, His Highness William"

"Go, Faller, Andrew!" William nodded and beckoned the two to leave.

William knew in his heart that when he arrived at Rome tomorrow evening, it was unlikely that the Norman mercenaries that Emma had hired would arrive in Rome before then.

In order to reduce the unnecessary casualties caused by the storming of Rome, William decided to attack the city of Rome at night before the Bishop of Sipilen reacted.

It's gratifying to succeed, but if I fail, I still have two trump cards left unplayed, one of which is His Majesty Pope Benedict IX of Rome.

Although His Majesty Benedict IX, who was only twenty-four years old, was despised by other reformist clergy and bishops for his amorous nature and absurd behavior, William would never have believed that the Pope, who had reigned for more than ten years, said that he had no cronies willing to open the city of Rome for him.

And the second card is this Norman mercenary group, it can be said that this mercenary group has thousands of backbones, can mobilize more than 3,000 soldiers, and the strength of the mercenary group with tens of thousands of family members is definitely one of the best, especially after they occupy the county of Apulia.

William, the leader of this Norman mercenary group, is leading 200 elite mercenaries in the city of Rome, and if he can use it properly, even if William's night attack is unsuccessful, he can break Rome with the cooperation of the inside and outside.