"Count Hubert, Count Adolph, Count Richard, Osborne, now the situation in the Kingdom of France is clear.

France, the great kingdom of Charlemagne, was divided into two sides by the willful actions of His Majesty King Henry I, and led the originally powerful and prosperous France into the abyss of endless war.

His Majesty Henry I, the Duke of Champagne, the Duke of Anjou, the Archbishop of Sens, and a group of counts headed by Gautier, Count of Amiens-Wiisan, formed an extremely powerful anti-Normandy faction, and their sphere of influence covered almost all of North France.

On the other hand, the Duchy of Normandy, the Duchy of Brittany, and the Principality of Flanders, which I own, were the other side of the opposition to the tyranny of King Henry, and although we were weak, the Normans would not succumb to the tyranny of their rule. In the conference hall of the Duke's Palace, William sat at the top and spoke first.

Barons Adolf, Hubert, and Richard have been canonized as counts like Rodrigo, and their fiefs are in Brorec, Koneff, and Leon in the Duchy of Brittany.

Although the fiefs and earldoms of Hubert and others were in the Duchy of Brittany, they still regarded the interests of the Duchy of Normandy as the object of first consideration, and did not relax their work in Normandy because their fiefs were in Brittany.

When Count Adolf heard this, he said with a look of approval: "William, you are right, our strength is still very weak. At present, more than a third of our army is contained in the Duchy of Brittany, and it is impossible for us to gather all our forces against King Henry's faction until the Count of Rodrigo has pacified the Duchy of Brittany.

I think that His Majesty Henry I, who is now forming factions with such fanfare to put pressure on our side, is not to see the weakness of Normandy at this time, and the small half of the army is pinned down on the battlefield of Brittany, and Normandy is unable to resist King Henry's army head-on. ”

"Count Adolf, you are the Lord Seals in charge of foreign affairs and internal affairs, and I am sure you must have some solution in the face of such a critical situation." William looked at Count Adolf and asked humbly.

"The only thing we can do now is to prepare our forces and unite as many allies as possible. The military aspect is not an area of which I am well acquainted, and I believe that with the Count Hubert presiding over the military affairs of Normandy, we can rest assured in this regard. Baron Adolphus looked at Baron Hubert, nodded slightly, then looked at William and said:

"As for uniting other princes and forming factional alliances, that's what I'm good at.

The only princes who remained neutral in France and did not join His Majesty's anti-Normandy alliance were the Duke of Aquitaine and the Duke of Poitou, Gichome VII.

As for the two princes, the Duke of Gascogne and the Duke of Toulouse, they have always followed the Duke of Aquitaine and will never disobey the orders of the Duke of Aquitaine. ”

"Gichem VII, Duke of Aquitaine and Poitou, I remember him as the largest prince of the South of France, whose sphere of influence even reached half of the entire territory of France.

As an ambitious prince who was crowned King of Aquitaine, restored the glory of the Kingdom of Aquitaine and the House of Poitou, and became independent from the Kingdom of France, Duke Gichaem had always been at odds with His Majesty King Henry, who had taken steps to suppress the princes, and ignored orders from Paris.

In this way, there is still hope that we will win over the Duke of Aquitaine. William's mind recalled information about Aquitaine and the Poitu family, and looked at everyone to explain.

"I'll be tasked with wooing the Duke of Aquitaine to join our faction, William." Adolf stood up and said solemnly.

"I'll leave everything to you, my uncle Adolf, and all the forces of the Duchy of Normandy can be at your disposal as long as you can achieve your goal." As he spoke, William took off a ring and handed it to Adolf, saying, "This is my ring, you can use it to mobilize troops and spy forces, this is my greatest support for you." ”

"William, I won't let you down." Baron Adolphus took the ring from William with both hands and nodded solemnly in promise.

"It's okay, Podol, who is going to Aquitaine this time, doesn't even matter if they can't pull the Aquitaine side into our camp, so just let them stay neutral.

If they join Henry I's camp because of a momentary desire for profit, even if they turn the world upside down, they can't send a single soldier to help King Henry. William waved his hand and motioned for Count Adolf to relax.

"I know what to do, William." Adolf nodded at William and replied, "The seemingly behemoth-like Duchy of Aquitaine and the Poitou family are not without weaknesses, and the lack of heirs and heirs is their biggest crisis.

As long as I contact some of the local counts who want to take Aquitaine, Poitou, or the Duchy of Gascony, the rebellion that breaks out everywhere will be enough to keep the Poitu family and the Duke of Aquitaine in a hurry.

I just hope that Duke Ji Xiaomu of Aquitaine will not make any unwise decisions in the end, otherwise the Duchy of Aquitaine will face a series of rebellions. ”

"Don't go overboard, my uncle, Count Adolf. Until he makes a final decision, we must not give up hope and must not be the first to act. William shook his head and persuaded.

With William's acquiescence, Adolf knew that he was not against any drastic action, but that he could not leave any leverage and notoriety, so he immediately nodded yes.

Receiving a positive response from the Count of Adolf, William looked at the crowd again and said, "We can't pin all our hopes on the side of the Duchy of Aquitaine, and Robert the Duke of Burgundy is also the object we must woo. ”

"But, His Highness William. Duke Robert was defeated by His Majesty King Henry in last year's war, and now he no longer has the strength to pose any threat to His Majesty King Henry, do we still need to win him into the camp? Hubert was puzzled by William's proposal, and in his opinion the Duchy of Burgundy could not do anything without its military might.

"Hubert, as the younger brother of His Majesty King Henry, the Duke of Burgundy still has a wide range of supporters among the princes and court of France, as long as he can recover a certain strength, then as one of the confidants of His Majesty King Henry, the Duke of Burgundy will be able to contain a large number of the king's army." William didn't see it that way, strength is not just about military strength, but also bloodlines, allies and supporters.