It had been a long time since William had entered the tent, but he and the Duke of Champagne still looked at each other, and neither of them was the first to speak.

"He's so calm, he doesn't have the consciousness of being a prisoner at all, isn't he afraid that I will kill him?" William thought to himself, and couldn't help but show a hint of impatience when he came to pick it up.

Of course, William could not have actually killed him, and in medieval continental Europe, especially in Catholic countries, nobles could not be put to death.

Even if he is captured against you, or if he fails to rebel and is captured, William cannot kill him, at most he will be imprisoned in a dungeon to fend for himself, otherwise all the nobles who believe in Catholicism will be hostile to William.

William had only two options for dealing with the Duke of Champagne, either to put him in a dungeon and imprison him, or to put him under house arrest in a well-kept residence that would not give him a chance to escape.

The second way to deal with him is to release him, and there are two ways to deal with it, one is to ask for a ransom, according to the status of the other party and the degree of empowerment, and the other is to cast it unconditionally, so that he can gain the favor of himself and many nobles, but just such a little illusory benefit is not what William wants.

As the center of France, the Duchy of Champagne closest to Paris is not comparable to other remote duchies, relying on the agricultural advantages of a large plain and the transportation and commercial advantages of the Seine River and Paris, the Duchy of Champagne is second in abundance after Paris and Orleans, followed by the Duchy of Normandy owned by William.

In addition, the Duke of Champagne owns all the territory of the entire Duchy, and there are no vassals above the rank of earl, which means that he can collect most of the taxes, estates and wealth of the Duchy of Champagne into his own pocket, which is also incomparable to other dukes and princes, even William, who has a tight control over the territory, cannot be compared with the Duke of Champagne, and this is not the Count of Champagne who launched a rebellion right under his nose?

However, even if the Duke of Champagne could afford a huge ransom of 100,000 pounds of silver, William would not let the Duke of Champagne go so easily.

In his own calculations, in addition to money, William valued more to be able to get the Duke of Champagne to prosper friendship and alliances, after all, William now has more than 600,000 pounds of silver in his hands and a money-making machine like the Normandy consortium.

After this war, William and Henry I will certainly be able to maintain peace for a considerable period of time, it may be five or six years, or it may be seven or eight years, but it is certain that Henry I will not be reconciled to defeat, and he will make a comeback.

At this time, the advantage of having several allies is reflected, if the Duke of Champagne is William's ally, plus the Duke of Burgundy Robert who hates Henry I, then even if Henry I wants to send troops against William, he will not be able to draw many troops, because he must divide his troops to guard against William's allies.

In addition, the role of allies is not simply a military role, in terms of diplomacy, William, who is the enemy of the world in France, has since been able to help him and form factions with his allies to deal with any crisis that may arise.

On the economic front, through the exchange and openness with its allies, both the Principality of Normandy and the consortium can reap great benefits, especially the Normandy consortium will benefit immensely from the huge market of its allies.

After staring at the Duke of Champagne for a long time, William, who was still young and vigorous, couldn't hold back at first, and said to the Duke of Champagne: "Your Excellency the Duke of Etienne, aren't you worried about your situation?" Why are you still sitting here? ”

"Your Excellency, Duke William, since you have come here to visit me, it means that I still have some use, and you are in such a hurry to come to me, it is better to discuss some very important matters with me.

With such an important value, should I still worry about my own safety? A smile appeared on the corner of the Duke of Champagne's mouth, and he said calmly and confidently.

"Miscalculated, I shouldn't have been in such a hurry to find the Duke of Champagne. Damn it! Having exposed my intentions, he has seized the handle, so that I will be at a passive disadvantage. Although William instantly understood what he was wrong, the expression on his face did not change at all, and he still faced the Duke of Champagne with a condescending posture and a calm attitude.

"I think you still don't understand your situation, you don't have your own attitude, it's very bad." William shook his head with a look of regret and sighed.

"Oh? I would like to hear about it. The Duke of Champagne was curious, and he was very curious about what the magical young duke could do to bring himself to his knees.

"Don't regret it, Lord Etienne." William was very unhappy with the Duke of Champagne's calm face, and in his opinion, losers should have the appearance of failure, rather than putting on a calm stinky face to show themselves.

"Heh... The Duke of Champagne chuckled, smiled and looked at William without saying a word, as if to say that let William continue, he was not afraid at all.

The Duke of Champagne did not know the great lethality of the word 'hehe', although there was only a hint of sarcasm in his tone, but the word 'hehe' made William think that the Duke of Champagne was provoking him.

William, who was completely enraged, gritted his teeth and said: "Since you don't want to cooperate with me, then you can't go back, just die of old age and illness in the dungeon, as for your title and title of Duke of Champagne, I will choose one of your family members as the object of my support, I think your brother Thibaud is a good candidate."

As long as I have my support, anyone from the Champagne family can become the new Duke of Champagne, and they will definitely be happy to cooperate with me......"

Before William's words were halfway through, the Duke of Champagne could not maintain his previous calm posture, and shouted with fear and anger: "You can't do this, Lord William, I am the orthodox Duke of Champagne, and if others ascend to the position of Duke of Champagne, there will be many people who will live up to it, and then the entire Duke of Champagne will be in chaos."

The chaotic Duchy of Champagne is not in your interest to come up with the power to help you, and I don't think you can see it with your wisdom. ”

"Oh? So you're willing to agree to work with me? William looked at the Duke of Champagne playfully and said jokingly.

"Yes, I am willing to cooperate with you, as long as I don't lose my duke title and power, I am willing to cooperate with you in any matter." The Duke of Champagne hung his head, looking unspirited, as if he had aged several years at once.