The knights, valets, and soldiers of the Church, who had not been subjected to night battles and suffered from night blindness, were unable to withstand the constant oppression of the Williams, so they had to abandon most of the infantry and flee from the palace with the knights and their men.

"Andrew, Faller, you two cavalry each lead two cavalry to pursue the remnants of the enemy, make sure not to let these church knights escape!" William seized the fighter plane and decisively ordered Andrew and Faller.

Both of them responded "yes" with a bang, and each turned to leave.

Looking at the two groups of more than 300 cavalry galloping away, William smiled and nodded, turned around and beckoned Caesar and other generals to order: "Caesar, you quickly lead two hundred Norman mercenaries and eight hundred soldiers to Vatican City, be sure to surround all the entrances and exits of the Vatican, and do not let anyone escape."

"Yes, His Highness William, I will complete the mission!" Caesar answered with a loud voice, and turned away.

After the command of all military affairs, William personally led 500 soldiers to clear the resistance in Rome and collect the spoils.

Regardless of the inconsequential post-war food, it may seem insignificant, but it is indispensable, and if the remaining resistance cannot be suppressed, the soldiers lurking in the city of Rome will draw a large number of William's forces, so that William will not be able to concentrate on attacking Vatican City.

In addition, although most of William's soldiers were paid professional soldiers, soldiers, including militiamen, needed booty as a reward, otherwise low morale was inevitable.

After a night of hard fighting, William had cleared most of the Roman city, not only did it sweep away

The scattered routs were even more crude and plundered a lot of booty, and the gold and silver collected alone were worth as much as 200,000 pounds of silver, which was more than three times the revenue of the English government at that time, which made William have to sigh at the wealth and prosperity of the city of Rome.

It was morning, and in addition to the 200 soldiers who were responsible for guarding the spoils of war and crushing the city of Rome, 1,800 soldiers on William's side, including 200 Norman mercenaries, had gathered in front of the last bastion on the side of Cardinal Siberian, Castel Sant'Angelo, across the river from this magnificent castle.

Castel Sant'Angelo is located on the banks of the Tiber River, just a few hundred meters from the Vatican. It was the pope's refuge when he was threatened with war. It is said to be connected to the Vatican by a secret passage through which the Pope can access the fortress in case of danger.

Castel Sant'Angelo was originally built as a mausoleum on the banks of the Tiber River, designed and directed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD as a resting place for himself and his successors. Later, Castel Sant'Angelo became a fortress against Visigoths and Ostrogothic invasions due to its solid architectural features, then as a prison and finally as a papal palace. Today, Castel Sant'Angelo is a national museum with a large collection of carvings, frescoes and furniture from the papal residence, as well as valuable ancient weapons.

It is worth mentioning that the movies "Roman Holiday" and "Angels and Demons" were filmed in Angel Castle, which also further expanded its influence around the world.

Castel Sant'Angelo has several bridges leading to the old town, the most famous of which is the Ponte Santa Angelo in front of Castel Sant'Angelo, known as "the most beautiful bridge over the Tiber".

The Ponte Sant'Angelo is known as the most beautiful bridge in Rome, with 12 statues of angels, each holding an instrument of Jesus' torture. These 12 statues are all from the Maestro Bernini.

William and his entourage rode horses on the other side of the Tiber River to observe this huge military fortress, and from time to time pointed at the city defense of Castel Sant'Angelo, and said with emotion: "The main building of Castel Sant'Angelo can be climbed high and look into the distance, overlooking the city of Rome and St. Peter's Church. Its exterior shape is also good, with a brick cylindrical structure on the outside with arrow holes on the upper floor, a square tower on the inside, and a five-pointed star wall on the outermost level.

It was garrisoned by at least 1,300 soldiers, including 200 Church Knights, who could withstand at least five times the enemy's attack with these fortifications, and was truly an important military fortress responsible for defending against the Lombards and Goths since Roman times! ”

"Your Highness William, please don't worry, as long as Emma and three thousand Normans arrive tomorrow morning, we will be able to break through this fortress, I don't believe that these Italians, who are as weak as oatmeal paste, can use this castle to hold off the attack of the great Norman warriors, and even the Romans hundreds of years ago cannot rely on Castel Sant'Angelo to defend against the Lombards." Caesar immediately stepped forward and assured himself with a confident look on his chest.

"No!" William shook his head and said, "I can't let the blood of our Normans be wasted under this Castel Sant'Angelo. I have to think of something else! ”

"His Royal Highness William, if you want to take Castel Sant'Angelo in a short period of time, a strong attack is an indispensable means, otherwise if the war drags on, it is likely that something will happen that we don't want to see. For example, His Majesty Conrad II ......" Caesar still exhorted.

Hearing Caesar's words about His Majesty Conrad II, the Holy Roman Emperor, William had a headache and wanted to hold his forehead.

If the war dragged on, His Majesty Conrad II would have led his troops to Rome and take away His Majesty the Pope and the control of the war, so that the credit for the establishment of the Pope would not be his own, and the promise of His Majesty Benedict IX might be completely lost.

This was absolutely unacceptable to William, who had invested a great price, and he had to receive an adequate reward from His Majesty the Pope, and William in charge would not be able to convince the public.

Thinking over and over the siege of the city, William tried to draw inspiration from countless familiar examples of battles in his mind.

"It is not feasible to use siege equipment to attack Castel Sant'Angelo, not to mention that it takes a long time to build siege equipment such as siege towers, and more importantly, this bridge of Sant'Angelo simply cannot accommodate the passage of huge siege towers.

Flooded Castel Sant'Angelo? That's even more nonsense, not to mention whether I can build a barrage dam to hold back enough water, even if it succeeds, the devastating power of the flood will cause great damage to the Vatican and the city of Rome, which will not only disgust the Pope and the Roman aristocracy, but also give his enemies a legal authority and an excuse" William thought bitterly, rubbing his short blonde hair.

"The methods of these cold weapons are not feasible, it seems that I have to expose the gunpowder in my hand, a big killing weapon, I just hope that the secret of gunpowder will not be revealed!" William let out a long sigh and whispered to himself.