After the fall of Rome, Caesar ordered the sacking of the city of Rome, which caused more damage than the Visigoths who destroyed the Western Roman Empire.

By the time Caesar marched away, the city of Rome was in ruins, not even the Vatican was much better, and the Pope could not even find a single chariot to call it.

No one knew exactly how much money Caesar had looted from Rome, but the extent of the damage to the city and the number of vehicles he brought back to Apulia certainly showed that it was very rewarding.

The former Pope Gregory VI, who had lost his usefulness, was given to Clement II by Caesar in exchange for forgiveness, and in exchange for the support of the Holy See for his allegiance, the conflict between the Normans and the Holy See was easily resolved, at least temporarily.

Caesar returned with a full load, and he began to set his sights on the remnants of the Byzantine Empire, such as Taranto, Brindisi and Reggio, where a large number of territories were occupied by the Byzantines.

......

Readingburgh, Oxfordshire, Kingdom of England.

William once again gathered an army of 60,000 and divided it into two lines to attack the Northern Princes and the Vikings, and this time he was confident enough to defeat his opponent.

The root of William's self-confidence is naturally the 'three wins' and 'three defeats' that he summed up.

Well-armed and well-armed, this is a victory.

The metallurgical and military technology of the Norman kingdom was already a generation ahead of Europe, capable of producing plate armor and swords made of the same mild steel, while the metallurgical standards of England and the Vikings of the same period were even lower than the average of continental Europe.

In terms of the quality of weapons and armor alone, William's side has surpassed the other side more than one step ahead.

In addition, in terms of armor rate and the number of weapons, the Normans were also far superior to their opponents, not only the average knight had a full body plate armor with good defense, even the ordinary squire knights and light cavalry also had a half-body cuirass or chain mail protection, the infantry generally had a half-body chest armor and iron helmet, and the light infantry also had a leather armor to protect.

And among the English and Vikings opposite, only nobles and warriors had such equipment.

With sufficient training and military discipline, this is a double victory.

Unlike the feudal levies of the English and Vikings, the standing army gathered under William at this time accounted for about 60,000 troops.

This is a very terrifying Billy, a soldier of the ordinary reserve army may not be able to compare with the number of knights in terms of single combat ability, and the Vikings are also half a pound and eight taels, but relying on the tight and strict formation and iron-like chance, relying on the cooperation of the army, the same number of standing armies is enough to eliminate the same number of Vikings and English knights.

William estimated that the combined number of English knights and Vikings on the opposite side would not exceed 15,000, but the standing army under his command exceeded 25,000 men, and there were even more powerful Norman knights, so this battle was a sure victory.

The time and place are favorable, and there is a lot of help, which is a three-win victory.

Three countries were able to join the war, including France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Spain.

The Kingdom of France rebelled because the domestic princes formed a faction in favor of the Duke of Burgundy, Robert, and at this time Henry I and the domestic princes were fighting each other, how could there be a war between the Norman kingdom and the princes of the north of England and the Vikings.

Not only did the Holy Roman Empire not have an excuse to intervene, but Emperor Henry III was more attracted by the turmoil in Italy and the rebellion of the princes at home, and he did not have the heart to intervene.

As for the Three Kingdoms of Spain, it was William's ally, and Ferdinand I, the king of Leon, Castile and Garcia of Spain, was William's future father-in-law, and he had already promised to send troops to help William, compared to Spain's reinforcements were already on the way.

Compared to William's three victories with the Normans, the three defeats on the side of the Northern Princes and Vikings were also obvious.

Scattered troops, outdated equipment, poor training, and low morale were a failure.

It's called an alliance, but it's actually a mutual use, and the northern princes and Vikings only see each other with an indissolvable hatred, and they don't really trust each other.

Even within the Northern Princes, Leofrick. Hewess and Sword. The Northumbria also have their own calculations.

They couldn't really join forces, which gave William a chance to break through.

In addition, the alliance between the princes of the northern part of England and the Vikings was also fraught with hidden dangers.

Let's start with the northern princes, the Duke of Mercia, Leofric. Hewess and Duke of Northumbria, Sword. Northumbria and Northumbria don't actually deal with each other, and although they seem to get along very well to outsiders, they do have each other's feelings.

That's why most of Mercia's armies were concentrated in Warwickshire, Leicestershire, and Derbyshire, while the Duchy of Northumbria's armies were all concentrated in Yorkshire.

When William went north to attack the counties of Mercia, the Duke of Northumbria had no intention of helping the Duke of Mercia.

If it had been Sword. If the Duke of Northumbria had sent his proud Northumbrian cavalry to the aid of Duke Leofric, William would not have won easily.

Not to mention the contradictions between Mercia and Northumbria, but only the Duke of Mercia and his successors.

At this time the Duke of Mercia, Leo Frick. Hewesai was already 77 years old, and in the Middle Ages, such a high collar was already the longest-lived noble, and if they were other nobles, they would have been called by the Lord a long time ago.

In other words, Duke Leofrick could die at any moment, let alone whether he would survive this defeat.

The Duke of Mercia was succeeded by Afgar, the son of Duke Leofric. Leo Frickson. Hewesai, who is only twenty-seven or eighteen this year, is a young and mediocre heir with no prestige.

Afga. Hewess had neither a superior record, nor any attractive talent or charisma, and not many people in the Duchy of Mercia wanted to follow him.

After the death of Duke Leofric, Afgar and Hewess were no match for William at all, and he had only one way to lose.

And within the Duchy of Northumbria, there are also hidden irreconcilable contradictions. Northumbria and his son-in-law, Earl Ossov of Northumbria. The contradictions between Bamburgh were acute.

After all, Duke Sword had seized the Duchy of Northumbria from the Bamburgh family by assassinating Uncle Ossov.

As long as William provokes it, he is not afraid that the Bamburgh family will not oppose Duke Sword.

As for the Vikings within, the 'Heartless' Harald and Norway with the Danish king Magnus. Inglin also had many contradictions before.

If history goes according to history, Magnus is likely to die, and the two kingdoms of Norway and Denmark will face the dilemma of having no heirs, and will Harald, the 'ruthless' who longs for those kingdoms in these two places, ignore them? Would he have given up the two kingdoms and chosen to fight William to the death in England?

This is obviously impossible.