Hearing this, Henry was stunned, after all, he was still young, and only after hesitation did he reply to his aunt that of course he was willing to join forces with the Kingdom of Sicily to defend the Holy See of Rome. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

But Matilda sneered, "But it's impossible. Today, not only is the difference between Germany and Italy getting bigger and bigger, but people have naturally divided the Holy See and the Emperor of Germany into two camps, and your father has done so much that it is like putting a solid wall in the room that was originally one, and dividing it in two. My child, it is true that I told you to turn away from your father, but I want you and your father's soul to be redeemed at the same time, and I do not want it to be a private bargain. If the purpose of your trip is the latter, then I may promise you to give you some of the fat fiefdoms that I have left in Upper Lorraine as an inheritance. ”

The implication is that you don't even think about it if you die in Tuscany.

These words made Henry Fifth angry in his heart, but he still humbly pleaded with his aunt, "For the sake of the whole empire, you should not donate all of Tuscany to the Lateran Palace, you have a husband, and you may have family descendants in the future." ”

Henry's point is precisely to impress Matilda's husband Welf.

As a result, hearing his bitter pleading, Welf really had a sad look on his face.

But Matilda's heart was like iron, she was worthy of the most devout and hardcore Catholic believers, and immediately replied to Henry, "My kingdom is only in heaven, and it was my wish when I was young to give Tuscany to the Holy Church, and I also felt that only by uniting the land and power of Tuscany and the Holy See to form a powerful 'Kingdom of St. Peter', can the Holy See survive in the gap between the two Roman Empires in the future!" ”

It turned out that Matilda was also well aware of Gawain's ambitions in the past few years, and she keenly felt that Gawain used the Holy See to expand his power in the past, and once Gawain took charge of Constantinople in the future, he would definitely become the most difficult opponent of the Holy See. She herself was in Tuscany, and after the completion of the Seleucian Hospital, she also donated many estates, but now she vaguely felt that her path was different from that of Gawain.

In the Papal Palace, she, Odar. The days when Urban, Gawain, and Peter the hermit shook hands and laughed generously with each other have long since faded away and become eternal memories: Odar is gone, Peter the hermit is in the monastery of Arahan, Gawain has taken the throne of the Greek emperor in Constantinople, and he himself is oscillating between the ethics of women and the warriors of the faithful.

After coming back to his senses, Henry was still persuading in front of her, talking about family, offspring, inheritance of wealth and other topics.

Eventually, Matilda became angry, leaned in her chair, and said to Henry word for word: "All right." I await your visit at the castle of Canosha, in the hope that you will not repeat the mistakes of your father. Now I am here to say that I, Matilda, will henceforth enter into a complete monastic life, and will be alienated from the woman of this sex, and of course there will be no need for a man as my husband. I'll be adding paperwork and divorcing Welf shortly. ”

"Divorce, divorce......" Wolf was frightened, and even the female companion Placides next to him was also disgraced.

The little husband was paralyzed, half-knelt beside his wife, took her hand, and asked bitterly why the other party was so ruthless.

"Forgive me Welf, this is the only thing I've ever been sorry for you in my life. But I will give you a rich vineyard and five mills to compensate for the loss of your youth over the years. With that, Matilda resolutely removed the ring of marriage and placed it in the palm of Welf's hand.

"I'm not at fault in the slightest, no! I have never seduced or teased even a handmaiden. Welf was still unwilling, and wept bitterly.

"I need a strong man who can unite all the cities and villages of Tuscany, but Welf and I have found that I might as well count on you as I do it for myself! Or can you now put on your horse and fight against the empires to protect the city of Rome and the Lateran? No, you can't, you will collapse in fright when you hear the neighing of your horses and see the blood coming out of the soldiers' armor, as is best illustrated by the inaction of your previous crusade. Listen to me and disassociate yourself with me. With that, Matilda got up, gave Henry a brief farewell, and went into the back hall.

A few days later, in Henry V's camp outside Sutri, the young king, resentful of the humiliation of his trip to Canosa, rode a black Saxon horse to and fro in the stream, splashing down his saddle and armor with a little clatter.

He sometimes looked at the vassals and bishops who were whispering in groups on the grass on the shore and in the shade and grass after the snow, and he felt terrified in his heart—what were they discussing? The eyes are sneaky, and from time to time they cast a cold light on themselves.

"Your Majesty, they are secretly discussing how to rebel against you." At this time, the palace secretary who was also riding beside him, Echard, who had previously been on a mission to the city of Tarsus, seemed to see through his thoughts and spoke bluntly.

"If I tell them the true results of what I have received in the Holy See of Sutri before the coronation, I am afraid that they will kill me in a rage here." Henry was distressed.

Echard was a "German supremacist" at heart, but he disguised himself more than the others, and he took the opportunity to provoke, "This is not surprising, because everyone sees you as the Emperor of Germany, not a poor puppet who has been suppressed by the Holy See in Rome." ”

"It's a ridiculous paradox, I'm going to the Lateran Palace to be crowned and oiled, and I'm going to win the hearts of the Germans."

"Actually, it's not difficult to take a little risk, and it's not difficult to get the best of both worlds, my majesty."

"You really mean to follow the secret agreement we had with Gawain earlier?"

"Yes, I think the situation is actually very good, Tarsus has sworn not to betray us, Tuscany has officially broken with us, Welf has been abandoned by his wife, his father (the Duke of Bavaria) must hate Matilda and side with us, and there is also our plan within the Cardinal Council of the Lateran Palace - as for the deposition of the Pope, it is not the first time that the Empire has done such a thing, and since it has been divided before, then for the sake of a truly eternal and sacred cause, your Majesty you can accept the instigation of your command, or instigate his subordinates ......" Echard's proposal has been nakedly filled with the air of sword and military leather.