"Richard, doesn't my eldest brother, William, Duke of April, have any news yet?" Caesar bids farewell to Osborne's butler and summons his confidant Richard. Morality. Hengu asked.

"It's a pity, Lord Caesar, the whereabouts of your brother Lord Duke William are still unknown, someone once saw Baron Landorff take Lord William away before evacuating, he was seriously injured at that time, his condition did not improve, and he was taken away by Baron Landolfe in a hurry, I am afraid that it is more than lucky, otherwise there would not be any news until now." Richard. Morality. Henggu shook his head with a regretful expression, and told the information he knew one by one.

"Who else knows about this?"

"Our nobles and soldiers only know the news of Lord William's disappearance, and they have all kinds of speculations, but most of them have already assumed that Lord William has unfortunately died." Richard. Morality. Hengu replied truthfully.

"Well, Richard, I will send to spread the news that my brother, Duke William, has unfortunately died of serious injuries, and that his body has also been taken by traitors from the Holy See, and his whereabouts are still unknown.

You have to convince the Normans that Duke William was assassinated by a plot by the Holy See, so that even the corpse of the capital is nowhere to be found. Caesar said these words without wavering, as if he had not wavered in the slightest about taking advantage of the death of his brother William.

"Why do you want to exacerbate the conflict with the Holy See? If we maintain friendly relations with the Holy See, we can conquer the Saracens in Sicily and North Africa, the Byzantines in South Italy, and even Constantinople. "Richard. Morality. Hengu was puzzled.

"Because I need Rome, I need to take the Pope into my own hands. I'm targeting more than one Duke of Apulia. Caesar stood up, his hands clenched, and said hysterically.

"Are you going to be an enemy of the church? I am afraid that this is not appropriate, after all, the Church has an unparalleled influence in Western Europe, and if it completely angers them, I am afraid that it will not be solved by a battle like the one now. "Richard. Morality. The more Hengu thought about it, the more wrong it became, and he decided to dissuade Caesar from giving up his seemingly crazy ambition.

"Are you scared, my Richard. Morality. Baron Hengu? A thousand years ago, the Lombards, who were barbarians, invaded the Western Roman Empire, captured the capital of Rome at the time, ruled the entire Italian region, and established the Kingdom of Lombardy.

If the contented Lombards dared to challenge the behemoth of the Western Roman Empire, why didn't we Normans have the courage to take on this challenge? Caesar said to Richard with a smile.

Despite Caesar's words, with a smile in his words, it seemed to Baron Richard to be tantamount to a demonic smile, terrifying.

"Of course not, if we can beat them once, we can beat them a second time." Baron Richard replied that he was afraid that he would be severely punished for touching Caesar's brow.

"Very well, Baron Richard, you are my confidant, and when I get the Duke of Apulia, you will be the Earl of Lecce." Caesar patted Baron Richard on the shoulder, and said with a relieved expression: "Remember my goal, which is Rome and Italy, the Holy See and the Pope, as long as you hold these two things, the Normans who follow me will gain supreme power and glory, and wealth and territory will follow." ”

"I see, Master Caesar. Now that the war between us and the Holy See is not over, and our strength is far from surpassing that of the Holy See, I am afraid that we will not be able to start another war in a short time. "Richard. Morality. Hengu asked.

"Of course, I will not act rashly, and it is imperative that I take over the territory of the House of Otville, take over as Duke of Apulia, and let His Majesty the Pope recognize us, so that my position and authority will be secure.

At the same time, in order to accumulate strength, I will show that I am dormant under the wing of my good friend William, Duke of Normandy, and receive from him material, financial, and human support, especially to provide us with enough Norman adventurers and nobles, so that we can grow and develop.

When our strength is strong enough, we can choose to declare war on the Holy See with William, Duke of Normandy, and if he does not want to, we can use stratagems to drag him into the water, and when we have achieved the momentum and obtained most of Italy, we can become independent from the Norman kingdom and establish our own Italian kingdom. It was the first time Caesar had confided in others about his ambitions and plans, and after saying that, he only felt much more relaxed, and the corners of his mouth were hooked with a confident smile.

It seems that it is somewhat feasible, even the cautious Baron Richard can't help but nod in agreement: "Indeed, this plan is very feasible, but William, Duke of Normandy, and Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, are not mediocre hands, if this plan is carried out, then you will definitely face these two people, what will you be prepared to do at that time?" ”

"Let's wait until that time to think about the problem, if you look ahead, you will not achieve anything! Richard. Caesar patted him on the shoulder and said.

Soon, under the covert operation of Caesar and Richard, the news of the death of William, Duke of Apulia, spread in the barracks. Morality. Outville and the other nobles were so enraged that they repeatedly asked Caesar to be the murderer.

At the same time, Caesar also put pressure on Gregory VI and the Holy See with the anger of the Normans, and in the peace negotiations, in addition to some conditions that the Holy See had previously promised to Caesar, he also demanded that the Pope recognize Caesar as the new Duke of Apulia, pay more money, give more land and greater power and power, simply put, the bishopric appointment and ecclesiastical autonomy in the territory, not under the control of the Holy See.

In the face of the Normans who could riot at any time, even if Gregory VI had the support of William, Duke of Normandy, he was far from being able to resolve the fire, and perhaps even if he came in person, he would not be able to deal with this matter, so he had no choice but to agree to Caesar's request.

Caesar got everything he wanted, and as the new Duke of Apulia, he wore a golden crown, a magnificent robe and cape, and a scepter and sword, but he was indeed a dignified duke.

As the new Duke of Apulia, Caesar won the support of the majority of the Normans, even the Count of Benevento, Geoffrey. Morality. The opposition of Ottwell and others could not prevent Caesar from taking over the power of the Duchy of Apulia, and his two imprisoned half-brothers were even more powerless to stop it, and they could not even protect themselves, and their life and death depended on Caesar's mood.

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