Out of his debauchery against Benedict IX and the filth and corruption of the Church, the future Leo IX hated William, who helped restore Benedict IX to the throne, and established a hostile relationship after a few words of speech.

In order to withstand the revenge of Bruno (the future Leo IX), William had to look for someone in the Holy See who could be supported.

However, the results of several days of searching were still disappointing, most of the cardinals and candidates for the Pope were from the Holy Roman Empire, some of them were brothers of the Holy Roman Empire, or cousins of the Emperor, and the most disadvantaged were German bishops who had served for the Emperor, which showed the depth of the Holy Roman Empire's control over the Church.

At present, the only choice for William is the bishop from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Italy, as the most powerful faction in Italy, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany has always been separated from the Holy Roman Emperor.

In William's view, if a bishop with the support of the Duke of Tuscany ascended to the papacy, he would be able to stand up to the future Leo IX, just as Alexander II would ascend to the throne.

With this goal in mind, William really found a good candidate, Gerald. Morality. Burgundy (995 AD-??? A Florentine bishop who attended the reinstatement of Benedict IX, who was both a native of the Duchy of Burgundy in the Kingdom of France and the Florentine bishop of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, seemed to William to be the most suitable person.

Historically, he was also the predecessor of the future Pope Alexander II, Pope Nicholas I, and although he reigned for only a few years, he had great trust in the Normans of southern Italy, and after seeing the strong fighting power of the Normans against the Moors of Naples and Sicily, he used his title and title to make the Normans swear allegiance to him. Whenever he fell out with the cardinals, he always relied on the Normans of the Duchy of Apulia to turn the tide.

Having chosen a target, William sent Caesar to test Bishop Gerald, and he also sent people to the Duchy of Tuscany to find the future Bishop of Alexandre II Lucca as a candidate.

After two days of trial and error, William and Gerald reached a tentative agreement to meet at a manor outside Rome.

"Lord William, I've been looking forward to you for a long time!" I haven't seen anyone, I've heard it, Gerald. Morality. The Bishop of Burgundy stepped forward and said with a loud laugh, and although Bishop Gerard was forty-one years old, his steps were still vigorous and his laughter was still hearty.

"I don't dare to greet you in person, Bishop Gerald, it's a great honor for me!" William smiled and nodded.

The two of them talked affectionately and walked into the manor villa with a smile and a smile.

"Lord William, I heard that you crushed the rebellion of the Crunian Cardinal Cripian and helped His Majesty Benedict IX to restore the throne, and received a grand commendation from His Majesty Pope Benedict IX. Bishop Gerard congratulated with a smile.

"Alas, don't mention it, this time I defeated the Cruni Cardinal Criplian, but I greatly offended Bruno, Bishop of Nassau of the Holy Roman Empire, who was also a faction, and I have formed a bond with him." William sighed, shook his head slightly, and said.

"Bishop Bruno of the Cluny sect, that's a great character." Bishop Gerald frowned, worried.

"To tell you the truth, I have come here to help you succeed to the Pope's throne, and I will not allow Bishop Bruno to take over under any circumstances. I think our interests are aligned on this point. William confessed.

"I wonder how you're going to help me become pope?" Bishop Gerard did not know William, but he knew that William was a duke in northwestern France, and he heard that there was still a rebellion in his territory that had not been quelled, and he did not believe in William's boast of Bishop Gerard of Haikou.

Obviously, William also saw Bishop Gerald's doubts, and he raised his head and said confidently: "With the wealth in my hands worth more than 200,000 pounds of silver, I dare to guarantee that you will become the Pope!" ”

"Oh?" Gerald sat up straight and listened slightly, looking interested.

"First of all, I will set up a charitable foundation, and Bishop Gerard will be the president of this foundation, and our work will revolve around this charitable foundation in the future.

In order to increase your prestige among the citizens of Rome, you can carry out charitable activities on behalf of the charitable foundation, such as free lunch bread, free outpatient treatment, support for the elderly and widows, etc.

In addition, we can donate and channel PY funds to the cardinals who support you in the name of a charitable foundation, and ask them to serve as trustees of the foundation, so that you and your supporters will form a close circle around the charitable foundation, which will be very beneficial for you to run for the Pope.

In order to support you and the charitable foundation's activities, I will provide financial assistance of 10,000 pounds of silver per year, which will be gradually increased every year in the future. Of course, you can also contact the nobles who support you, such as the Grand Duke of Tuscany, to provide you with funds. In the face of Bishop Gerald's questioning, he replied calmly in a calm tone.

"Charity foundations, that's a really good idea, so that all our bribe money will be charity, fair, not morally blemished, and no one can blame.

It's just that your 10,000 pounds of silver a year is a little less, and I can't become a pope in a few years with these alone!" Bishop Gerald stood up excitedly, his eyebrows fluttering in admiration.

"Ten thousand pounds of silver a year is enough for you to be elected as a cardinal, and I will invest additional funds at that time, as long as you gradually improve your status and prestige in the Holy See, you don't have to worry about the funds! What's more, now that His Majesty Benedict IX has just been reinstated, standing up and running for Pope at this moment will be severely dealt a blow by His Majesty Benedict IX.

So what we have to do now is wait until His Majesty Benedict IX commits the unpardonable sin, and then you can be elected pope according to the will! William smiled and reassured.

"I'm sorry, I lost my temper, Lord Duchy William. Your support for me will be rewarded with satisfaction, Bishop Bruno will be our common enemy, and I promise not to allow him and the Cluny monks to enter the Holy See, and I pledge to give you the utmost support and help, both before and after my accession to the throne. Bishop Gerard promised.

"Everything is up to you, and I hope that you will ascend to the throne of the Holy See as soon as possible and become the ruler of the Catholic Church." William congratulated with a smile.

William and Bishop Gerald enjoyed themselves until late at night, and because the place they had chosen for their secret meeting was so remote that no one but Caesar knew about it.