The noble vassals present were very surprised by the appearance of Prince Richard, and then they began to discuss it in a buzz.

"Quiet!" William cleared his throat and shouted, then his gaze swept to the nobles present.

In an instant, the nobles on the field immediately quieted down and looked at William respectfully.

"Prime Minister Ladolph, Lord Hubert, my Excellency, our adversary, Emperor Salian Caesar Henry III of the HRE Empire, has joined forces with His Majesty the Pope to form a coalition of mutual defense pacties against my Normans.

In just a few weeks, almost the entire Christian nation of Europa, from Scotland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in the north, to Kievan Rus', Poland, Hungary, and Croatia in the east, all the way to Sicily in the south, joined this coalition of mutual defense agreements.

Today, I am convening the Imperial Council to discuss with you how to solve the problem. William spoke first.

As soon as William's words fell, the Norman nobles present widened their eyes and opened their mouths slightly, and they were surprised that the Christian countries in Europe had formed an alliance against the Normans, and as long as William declared war on any country, the other European Christian countries would be their enemies.

After a brief moment of surprise, the Norman nobles went their separate ways, without the slightest hint of discipline.

The Normans had such a temperament, even if they were disciplined in battle, but they were reckless and reckless in peacetime, advocating freedom, and William could not change it.

"Quiet!" William's right scepter slammed against the marble floor, and he rebuked.

The scene was quiet again, and in front of William, no matter how reckless the Norman nobles were, they did not dare to make a mistake.

Beside William, Prince Richard looked at him with admiration and envy, he turned his head, rubbed his son Richard's shoulder, and smiled.

The first to speak was the most prominent of the nobles present was the Prime Minister of the Kingdom and Duke Adolf. Morality. In Normandy, he rose from among the nobles, stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, the minister has a word." ”

"Please, Prime Minister Adolf." William said with a smile as he stretched out his hand.

"As I said earlier, under the tandem of the Pope and Salian Caesar, I, the Normans, are surrounded by the whole of the Christian nations of Europe, and if we declare war on any of the countries in the mutual defense pact, then the other Christian nations will be our enemies." Prime Minister Adolf concluded.

"You're right, Prime Minister Adolf." William nodded in agreement.

"Your Majesty, if you want to break this mutual defense pact against my Normans, you must break it up, win over those countries that are not very hostile to us, and urge them to push it out.

At the same time, we should also lay dormant minions and lower people's wariness of our Normans.

I recommend it by Russell. Morality. Count of Bagloel, Walter. Baron Guifard and Bishop Osmond of Ramburis went to the Nordic countries, Eastern European countries, the HRE Empire, and the neighboring countries of Italy to win over and divide the members of the agreement.

I propose to target Norway, Denmark and Sweden in Northern Europe, Poland and Hungary in Eastern Europe, Swabian, Bavaria, Saxony and Bohemia in the Holy Roman Empire, and Lombardy, Sicily and Croatia in Italy. Prime Minister Ladolph suggested.

"Prime Minister Radoff has analyzed well, and you have any extraordinary opinions." William saw that everyone present was eager to try, so he opened his mouth to propose.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it is better to strike first, completely defeat the Holy Roman Empire hostile to us in one fell swoop, and then march into Rome with a large army, remove the Holy See of Narausz, and replace our Archbishop of Normandy, Lord Hamelin, as the Pope." Proud Baron Richard of Afrache. Morality. Alfranche was the first to step up, kneeling on one knee in front of William and advising loudly.

William saw that all the nobles present were a little moved, so he immediately turned his head and motioned Duke Hubert to speak with his eyes.

It seems that the current Norman aristocracy has greatly inflated their self-confidence after winning this great war, which is not a good sign.

"Your Majesty, I beg your pardon for the words of Baron Affranche." Duke Hubert stepped out from the front of the line closest to William's right, bowed to William, and said: "My lords, compared to those of you who have experienced the last war, you all know very well the strength and difficulty of the Holy Roman Empire, just the central force of this empire and the armies of some princes have already exhausted us to deal with, if it were not for Your Majesty's wisdom and wisdom, the victory or defeat would still be between two words."

Not to mention the fact that not only the Holy Roman Empire, but also the whole of Europe came to participate in this mutual defense agreement against the Normans, and you must not act recklessly. ”

"Mistress Hubert is right, I'm Richard. Morality. Vasy agreed. "For a rare time, the Duke of Richard did not disagree with Hubert, but expressed his opinion out of public interest.

"Lord Richard, please." William raised his hand in motion.

"Your Majesty, judging from the Fourth Legion, which is under my direct jurisdiction, the soldiers of our army are extremely tired after the war, and they have no intention of fighting again, and they all take the bounties and the gold and silver coins they have captured in exchange for their combat power to beg the beautiful ladies of England and France, and even carry a lot of daily training.

This is still the case with the standing corps of our army, and the situation of other second-line troops, such as the militia and vassal conscripts, is even worse, and the general war-weariness is heavier. Duke Richard reported truthfully.

The Duke of Richard said that William was also very clear that several standing regiments under his command needed a relatively long rest to regain their former combat effectiveness, at least for a short time, and they could no longer continue high-intensity operations.

"What does Lord Richard say, but what about one of you?" William nodded in agreement and looked at the crowd.

"Lord Richard has a point, and so are my men."

"A lot of great boys have gone back to their hometowns to get married, and now the team is not the same."

"It's to have a good rest, and don't go to war lightly."

The crowd was persuaded by the words of the Duke of Richard, and the army of people who felt the same way about what he said said, and echoed it.

"Your Majesty, I also have something to say." Steward Osborne, who was the treasurer, also took the floor to speak, and after receiving a nod of William's approval, he continued: "Your Majesty, my lords, do you know how much the last war spent?

Three hundred and ninety-six thousand pounds of silver, close to four hundred thousand pounds of silver, is equivalent to four or five years of the kingdom's financial revenue invested in the war, and this is not counting the bounties given to the soldiers, and this will only be more if this is added.

The kingdom's finances were overwhelmed and could not afford to wage a war on a massive scale. ”