Hearing Egil say this, Albert was a little discouraged, but he still did not give up, and said to Egil, "Do you mean that Your Majesty is questioning the Holy See?"

"We have half a million troops here. "We have Normans, Franks, Germans, Italians and Slavs. There were Celts, Burgundians, Hungarians and even Tatars, Rus, Poles and Czechs. Indeed, we have all responded to the call of the Holy See and have come here. However, I did not see a single person from the Holy See here. ”

Hearing Egil say this, all the monarchs around him were a little surprised. This was a bit excessive—though the secular monarchs were behind closed doors and were not very impressed with the Holy See. But there are not many people who dare to say this in public. I really can't imagine that the Norman emperor would dare to say such a thing.

"Your Majesty, please refrain from uttering such blasphemous words. King Philip said the opposite: "The important role of the Holy See, and of the Holy See, in this crusade is self-evident. And as the messenger of Jesus Christ, as the inheritor of St. Peter. The wisdom and correctness of the Holy See cannot be disputed by mortals. ”

"Indeed, indeed. Egil chuckled, "So, why would an all-knowing and all-powerful man like the Holy See let us come here alone to wage war against the most vicious infidels?" And to stay in the safety of Rome? It's trust, right? Confidence that we can do our own thing. This should be the wisdom of the Holy See. Or, Your Majesty Philip, do you think that the Holy See is wise enough to know everything that is happening here thousands of kilometers away and to make the right judgment?

Take another 10,000 steps back, even if it is so. So how will the Holy See deliver the news? Ships and horses? In any case, it will be months before the news arrives. And the battle situation, the situation of the war is changing rapidly. If we do, we'll die without a place to bury – half a million warriors from all over Europe. And so he was buried in the desert...... Is this the ending you want to see?"

"No, please don't speculate on my mind so maliciously. Philip saw that the monarchs next to him were looking at him with dissatisfaction, and couldn't help but sigh: let Egil win again, although having the support of the Pope would give Albert a big plus. But let Egil say this, so a reminder. Then the other monarchs, who were not interested in the pope, and were dissatisfied with the repeated encroachment of the divine power on the imperial power, would transfer their dissatisfaction with the papacy to Albert's head. This can only be said to be equal to the gains and losses, or even outweigh the losses - after all, the Pope will not give them a single soldier's support. It's just to support them mentally. And the rest of the monarchs, even the Hungarians, with the fewest soldiers, had an army of five thousand at this moment. It's clear which is more important.

"Anyway. Here are the letters of the Pope's Holy See, as well as letters from the kings of Portugal, Aragon and León-Castile, all of whom support me as the leader of the crusade!" Albert felt that there was no point in going on like this. He took out a few letters written on papyrus directly from his bosom and said bluntly.

"I've made it very clear about this. The three Spanish countries that did not participate in the crusade could not be counted. The Holy See's remarks are also open to debate. Egil also said bluntly: "It is really inappropriate for you to compare the kings of Spain with us. They did not contribute a single soldier to the crusade. And to get the same rights as us? It's a joke! Will you give them a share of the victory and honor of the capture of the Holy Land, as well as the spoils of war and land?! Will you also share the gains made by the efforts of those of us who have paid sweat and blood?

Egil's questioning made the other monarchs even more distrustful of Albert - indeed, if the small Spanish states supported Albert without any conditions, then who would believe them? He is not a philanthropist and a wrongdoer. Egil asked. Linking the exchange of training with the benefits obtained, people will naturally believe it. ...,

"Absolutely not!, there are absolutely no private dealings between me and the kings of Spain!" said Albert, angrily.

"Perhaps. The corners of Egil's mouth turned up, and a smile appeared: "But the question is, you can't prove yourself, can you? Or before we vote on the commander-in-chief of this coalition, we should first vote on whether the three countries of Spain should be considered to have participated in the crusade, and whether they should have the same rights as everyone here, how about it?"

“...... All right. Perhaps there is some truth to what you said, Your Majesty. Albert looked around and saw that all the eyes were flashing, and none of them wanted to support him. In the end, he had to give up: "But, the Holy See of the Pope—"

"- Count your vote. Egil interrupted Albert with this. That impatient attitude made Albert look like a calculating clown. Next to him, King Charles couldn't help but laugh quietly, which made Albert even more angry.

"I've already lost...... Looks. It's time to think of something else in the future. "At this moment, although the voting has not yet begun. But Philip had already understood that Albert was lost. I lost in every sense, and I couldn't get face. Nothing was achieved other than to make himself look like a clown.

"Really...... If I had known, I shouldn't have had a war of words with this emperor!" Philip began to regret it: "I should have known. When it comes to this, no one is his opponent. ”

"Okay then. Ladies and gentlemen, we shall proceed to voting. The Holy See counts as one vote. So now His Majesty Albert has a one-vote lead. Please take care of me. Egil chuckled and said, "Thirteen votes in total." Whoever gets more votes wins. Everyone, please get started. ”

"The House votes for His Majesty Egil. "Wait until Egil finishes speaking. Artoria said quickly. On his other side, King Attila of Hungary also nodded: "Vote for His Majesty Egil." Then, down the round table, Frederick of Brandenburg and Lucived of Hesse also voted for Egil. In this way, plus Egil will definitely give himself a vote. He has already received five votes. Having gained the absolute upper hand - and the next one, still an ally on Egil's side, King Charles cried out as he hammered the table: "Vote for the brave and warlike Agir Your Majesty!"

In this way, it is six votes. Unless everyone next votes for Albert. Otherwise, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire would really be a big ugly man.

"Vote for His Majesty Albert. "Fortunately, the next candidate is the turn of Duke Swabia, who has a vendetta against Egil for killing his father. Although he was dissatisfied with his own emperor, the duke still chose to support Albert without hesitation. This made Albert's complexion look a little better.

"Vote for His Majesty Albert. The next one was Philip of France, who had already established an alliance with Albert. He didn't hesitate to choose Albert.

“......”

The next one was Francisco, Duke of Milan. The cunning mercenary-turned-duke, now in his forties, stood up and saluted Egil, and then Albert. After the two emperors returned the salute, they said: "I am sincerely afraid, in fact, I feel that no matter which emperor is the commander of this coalition, it is very suitable. will lead us to victory. So this choice bothered me a lot. Thankfully, I have a third option in addition to these two options. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, please allow me to abstain. ”

"Cunning bastard. Egir scolded in his heart, nodded his head, and said to Francisco, "What a good choice, Duke." It looks like you are a person with this profound wisdom. ”

"Where, Your Majesty has won the award, compared to Your Majesty, a little bit of cleverness is really not worth mentioning. ”

Hearing these two men say this, Albert snorted coldly, looking very annoyed - in this way, he would only get a maximum of six votes. On par with Egil. There was no hope of victory - for a moment, unless all the remaining people voted for him. Voting for Egil and abstaining from voting are completely reciprocal acts......

"Vote for me. The next turn was Albert himself, the emperor said without humility. Then he turned around and looked desperately at Henry, Duke of Bavaria, the Lion, next to him. And at this moment, the duke was also scolding in his heart - calling the governor of Milan Francisco a bastard - he also wanted to vote and abstain, and he was not guilty of both. It's miserable.

"Forget it - Austria is right next to me, and Norman, though strong, is still some distance from me......" After thinking about this, Henry cast an apologetic look at Egil, and then said, "Vote for His Majesty Albert." ”

In this way, King Philip, Albert himself, the two Duke Henry, and the Pope's ridiculous vote. Albert already had five votes - although it was impossible to beat Egil, but it was very possible to equalize - and at this moment, all eyes were on one man, the unlucky man who voted last, the Doge of Venice, Witte Dandoro!

Governor Witte subconsciously swallowed his saliva and was speechless for a long time. After a fierce ideological struggle, the young governor finally made a decision - "I...... Vote for His Majesty Egil. After saying this, it was as if Werther Dandoro had accomplished something remarkable. Leaning back in his chair with a look of relief. Start closing your eyes and recuperating. (To be continued.) )