After arriving at his own place, Egil took Joan of Arc to his study, and then a girl dressed as a gothic maid brought a cold drink. The military clerk presented the matters that had recently required Egil's personal instructions.

"Speaking of which, Duke Charles of Burgundy, it seems that he is not very satisfied with your Majesty's fair distribution of the spoils and funds obtained from Venice to the other countries as agreed. So said Sir Talleyrand, the clerk of the army and the court clerk of Egil.

"Don't worry about him. Burgundy needs us more than we need Burgundy. At least he won't betray me until he succeeds in his studies, or finds another master who can support him in establishing his country. Egil replied.

And, a day later, Witte Dandoro took over as Doge of Venice, and he invited His Majesty to the succession ceremony and the gala dinner. ”

"This guy has made a lot of efforts this time, and if he wants to gain a foothold in northern Italy, Venice is also an indispensable link, and this face has to buy him. Egil nodded: "Tell him that I will attend on time when the time comes." ”

"Also, the Pope has sent another letter, hoping that His Majesty will be able to go to the Holy See as soon as possible to be canonized. Hearing this, Egil furrowed his brow slightly, and turned to look at Joan of Arc.

"Indeed, I have also received a letter from the Holy See that I wish to persuade you to go to Rome. Joan of Arc nodded and said what Egil wanted to know.

"Well, in fact, almost all the people in the coalition who were influential enough, including Duke Charles, Bishop Peter, Baron Alpha, Lord Nemulis, and even His Majesty received letters from the Pope. Egil forgot about his clerk again. Sir Talleyrand nodded, and raised his monocle slightly in his left eye.

"I see. Egil nodded, and the corners of his mouth showed a slightly sarcastic dissolution: "It's just that the popularity of the Holy See doesn't seem to be very good." Joan of Arc is the only one who has told me about it. ”

After Egir said this, he felt a sharp pain in his back, and knew that it must be because he was not welcome to speak, so he was pinched hard by Joan of Arc. But Egil was completely silent on the surface, so that Sir Talleyrand, who was standing opposite, did not see any flaws at all. And Joan of Arc did not change his face, as if it was another person who pinched Egil to death.

"Well, what does Your Majesty mean ......"

"Go, of course. ”

It doesn't matter if you go or not, at least you have to appease the woman standing behind you. At this moment, beads of sweat were already on Egil's forehead. One can imagine how much effort Joan of Arc used.

After Egil finished saying this, he obviously felt that Joan of Arc had a lot less strength to pinch him behind his back.

"Well, what about the exact timing?" Talleyrand pulled out the notebook and quill pen he had with him, ready to take notes.

"Three days later, we will attend the inauguration ceremony of Witt Dandoro. Well...... Five days, five days later, today we can gradually withdraw the army from the city of Venice. It was only necessary to leave a garrison of 5,000 men. ”

"Understood. Then if there is nothing else, the subordinate retires. Talleyrand nodded, took a few steps back, and then turned to leave.

"I don't like this guy. Joan of Arc frowned: "I feel like this guy is hypocritical." ”

"yes, but this guy's abilities are pretty good. At least, it's good as a humanoid notepad. Egil shrugged, not taking what Joan of Arc said to heart at all. In fact, Joan of Arc herself was just talking about it casually. Again, I didn't think too much about it.

"Forget it, don't talk about him. Joan of Arc quickly changed the subject: "Is it true that you are going south to rescue Rome soon?"

"Of course. Egil nodded: "Because Venice has nothing left to rob." ”

“...... You're really direct. ”

"I have always been the most authentic in your presence. Definitely not hiding yourself. Egil chuckled.

Joan of Arc blushed slightly.

"And if we don't go, I'm sure Rome is really going to fall......" Egir remembered the news from Ragusa yesterday, as if the previous victory against the Eastern Roman army had completely angered the proud empire. The other side actually transported five more legions to southern Italy at once. In this way, the governor of the Two Sicilies, Narciss, had an army of ** million in his hands. The Catholic coalition is certainly no match. If he doesn't save the world, there won't be a world for him to save next.

Moreover, the Pope also seems to have his own special news channel. It seems that he also knows about the 50,000 additional troops of the Eastern Roman Empire. Before, this guy didn't press Egil much, but because he still had more than 10,000 troops in his hands, France, Genoa, and Bologna, which he recently joined, also had more than 20,000 troops. The army of thirty-five thousand or seven thousand, which was not under Narciss. But not this time. If you don't ask for help, you can't really go to heaven.

When Egil successfully rescued Rome, Innocent III would personally crown Egil as Emperor of the Normans of the North. and bestows the title of "True Knights of Christ Valhalla". And the annual employment fee of 5 million is also rising by 10% to 5.5 million.

Even for the 5.5 million gold coins, Egil felt that he should go around Rome and have a look.

Kill some Greeks by the way.

About eighty thousand.

As a result, Egil began to calculate the strength of his command. The 40,000 Norman army under his command suffered a lot of losses after a series of bloody battles, and the current situation in Venice is unstable and needs to be suppressed by the army. Then, the only army that he can bring to the southern battlefield is more than 30,000 troops.

Duke Charles had also decided to station 5,000 troops in Venice. Then there were only more than 18,000 Swiss mercenaries left in his army. This guy is such a bastard. transferred his direct troops to the city to enjoy the blessings, but sent to death to let the mercenaries go...... In this way, the number of troops that the entire Catholic coalition army could mobilize was roughly equal to the number of Eastern Roman troops in Sicily, which was also ** thousand, less than 100,000 troops. If it's an ordinary person, it's a calculation. Ah, 100,000 against 100,000, that's pretty much it. I can win. But Egil is one of those who are less courageous in China - I mean like to plan before you act. Most of the battles he has fought so far have been fought only because of his own obvious superiority.

However, now, the opponent's army of 100,000 (rounded) is all the army of one country, neatly equipped and uniformly ordered. Look at yourself again, but it is the Papal States, Norman, France, Burgundy, Aquitaine, Genoa, Bologna...... Such a coalition of seven countries. In this way, Egil is out of the score.

So Egil is still waiting—not waiting without a time limit, as I said before.

It will be a short time. It would take about ten days—just ten days or so for the 100,000 troops mobilized from the transit to reach Italy. When the time comes, his army will be twice as large as his opponent's!, and in this way, Egil will be about seventy percent sure that he will completely annihilate the army of Narcis.

This is just the first insurance that Egil has been waiting for. And the second, which was not very insured, was the army of Frederick of Bavaria.

After another period of time, Otto of Saxony is almost finished. His two major ministers, Frederick, Count of Brandenburg, and Luciverd, Count of Hesse, declared that they had each chosen the Duke of Brandenburg and the title of Duke of Hesse, and unilaterally declared an armistice with the Normans, pledged allegiance to Frederick, and joined the Holy War against the heresy of the Eastern Romans.

Frederick I was also very generous to these two dukes, recognizing their titles for his own territories, and elevating the Duchy of Brandenburg and Hesse to the rank of Elector. In exchange for the favor of the two powerful dukes.

Otto I rebelled and was embattled. Most of his army was scattered, and now there are less than 20,000 lone troops trapped in Dresden. It looks like a candle in the wind. So Frederick was idle. The number of troops that can be mobilized is hundreds of thousands. If he were to join the war, it would be much easier for Egil. That's why Egil would send money to Frederick. It was to let Frederick know. Coming to the Italian peninsula to fight a war is both affordable and a good reputation. It's much easier than you fight to die in Germany, so what else do you want to think about in a hurry, come quickly, let's get rich together.

That's what it means.

Privately, Egil also spared no effort to woo Charles IV of Bohemia and Albrecht II of Austria. After all, the Holy Roman Empire was so loose, as if it were a confederation with more than one empire, and its vassals had very high autonomous surnames. Even the country of Bohemia, for example, has many times when it comes to foreign diplomacy and calls itself the title of king.

The current king, Charles IV, is not willing to be lonely. Although he temporarily succumbed to Frederick, he continued to make small moves in private. After some negotiations, it became clear that Charles IV was very interested in Egil's proposal: to increase his prestige in the holy war, to use it as capital to unite the holy Roman princes, and to further compete for the emperor. Sounds like a good path......

(To be continued)