"Congratulations, Your Excellency Cardinal Hildebrand, His Majesty the Holy See Leo IX has appointed you as Patriarch of Aquitaine, responsible for the Church in South-France and directly to me." In the Palais de la Cité in Paris, William smiled and warmly congratulated Cardinal Hildebrand, the newly baked patriarch, with a wry smile on his face.

The position of patriarch in the Roman Catholic Church is the highest bishop in the Roman Catholic Church, which means that Patriarch Hildebrand will be responsible for the affairs of the churches in Aquitaine, Gascogne, Toulouse, Auvergne, and Bourbon.

Historically, the patriarch was often a reasonable candidate to act as an administrator, one of the top echelons of a kingdom, and his status was in no way inferior to William's ministers, and even rivaled that of Prime Minister Adolf.

Patriarchate was the title given to the bishops of early Christianity in major cities such as Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, and their prestige and authority were higher than those of ordinary bishops.

When the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church split, the Patriarchate of Rome became the pope of the Catholic Church, and the Patriarch of Constantinople became the nominal head of the Orthodox Church.

Of course, there is now more than one patriarch on the European continent, and in some regions there is even more than one patriarch, especially in historically formed religious centers, such as Patriarch Alexandria.

Despite the kind little smile on William's face, he actually couldn't tell the bitterness in his heart, if Leo IX appeared in front of William, maybe he would hold his neck and curse him.

William just wanted to obtain the allegiance of Hildebrand, the future Pope Gregory VII, but he did not expect to invite a high-ranking patriarch, you must know that the highest rank in William's domain is the Archbishop of Normandy, the Archbishop of Reims, the Archbishop of York, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, and he Hildebrand alone has become the highest religious status in the kingdom among many archbishops and bishops.

However, the church in the whole kingdom was in William's hands, and according to the Act of Supremacy, the church in the kingdom was to have King William as the suzerain and head, even Hildebrand.

"Your Majesty, when should I go to the diocese of Aquitaine?"

Patriarch Hildebrand also complained to Leo IX in his heart, knowing that he, as the Pope's right-hand man and the leader of the Cluny Seminary, was the most likely person to become the Pope, and at this time he was asked to come to William as Patriarch, which was to make him give up his good career in Rome, how could he be willing.

"Your Excellency, there is no need to rush to Aquitaine to perform his duties, the bishops of Aquitaine, Toulouse, Poitou, Gascogne, Bourbon and Auvergne have not yet been arranged, you need to wait in Paris for a while, and then you can take up your duties in peace when the affairs of the Church have been taken care of on my side.

At that time, I will give you the Cathedral of Agen and the Episcopal State of Agen as your Patriarchate, and the Abbey of Cluny in Aquitaine, which is somewhat dilapidated and needs to be repaired before it can be handed over to you. William waved his hand and shook his head.

"In this filthy and wicked country, the holy power of appointing bishops is in the hands of the king." Hildebrand gritted his teeth secretly, but he didn't say it.

As the leader of the Cluny monastic movement, Hildebrand was most disgusted by the fact that the Church had become the plaything of kings and feudal directors, and that the sacred right of episcopal appointment should be vested in the Church, or more precisely, to the Clunians.

He also heard that King William had deprived him of the ecclesiastical assets of England, France, and Norman, and that most of the bishops of the original dioceses had been replaced by Norman bishops under William's orders.

What William said before meant that before Hildebrand went to the Bishopric of Agen, the church assets and land should be transferred to his name in advance, and the bishops and clergy of the Church of the Kingdom of France should be appointed in advance.

"Your Majesty, I have served as Chancellor of the Church in the Holy See, and I have some experience and experience in the management of the Church's assets and the appointment of personnel, and I would like to ask you to appoint me to handle this matter."

Since the ecclesiastical assets and the ordination of priesthood were already in William's hands, Hildebrand had to try his best to break through from within, at least to prevent the ecclesiastical assets from being embezzled by William, and to prevent the sacred priesthood from being occupied by William's cronies and Normans, and at least to let the monks of the Cluny Seminary, who were clean and self-disciplined and of high moral character, serve as these important bishops and priesthoods.

What Hildebrand wanted to do, William knew very well, didn't he just want to use this to interfere in the right of priesthood and let the Clunians infiltrate France?

"If you want to dig into my corner, don't even think about it!" William thought.

Although he cursed incessantly, he still smiled and persuaded him: "Dear Lord Hildebrand, you are new to this place, and there are many situations in the kingdom that you are not familiar with, so I do not recommend you to do so.

What's more, as a negotiating envoy of the Holy See, you are responsible for communicating with the two sides to reach a peace agreement, and the two sides have only reached a preliminary consensus, and if you want the two sides to truly reach a settlement, you still need a lot of efforts on your side. ”

William's high-sounding words were suppressed, and Patriarch Hildebrand had to bow his head.

Unable to curry favor with William, Hildebrand decided to be patient for the time being, using Aquitaine as a new base for the Cluny monastic movement, transforming the filthy and depraved kingdom with all his might, and reclaiming the divine ordination power and God-given ecclesiastical assets from William.

William and Hildebrand had their own thoughts, and they parted happily when they met for the first time.

After Hildebrand left, William summoned Farebran and ordered: "Faller, you have to send more men to keep an eye on Hildebrand's every move, and you must record who he has come into contact with, what he has said, and what he has done."

If the other party has any bad intentions, you should report it to me immediately, and if he rebels, I will grant you the power to act only. ”

"You can rest assured, Your Majesty, he can't escape my ears." Faller chuckled.

"Go down, this task is the highest level, if there is a slight mistake, I will take you for the crime!" William said solemnly.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Faller put away his laughter and solemnly knelt down and bowed.

For the Cluny faction, William is confident that he can easily parry, but the ambitious and capable Hildebrand cannot be guarded against, for such a capable person, William must use both and guard.