Eagle Byzantium

Soon Godfrey's letter was delivered to Bohemond:

"Godfrey de Bouillon, the flag-bearer of Caesar of the Holy Roman Empire, the prince of Bas-Lorraine, the border count of Bouillon, the descendant of Helias and Cliff, with an extremely respectful tone, Greetings to His Excellency Bohemond de Tver, Prince of Apulia.

I am willing to mediate the misunderstanding between the Holy See and His Majesty Caesar, and also to resolve the dispute between you and the city of Bari. As far as I know, the Holy See is now preparing to leave for Le Mans, and the great Eastern Crusade is coming soon. If you are willing If you join forces with me, then you and I can go to the East together under the banner of glorious princes to create the greatest cause, and be friends forever and support each other; if not, then we can meet each other at war. . Because Godfrey of Bouillon must complete the mission granted by His Majesty Caesar and die.

I will pray for you in front of the statue of Christ, and I believe you will make the wisest decision. "

As a result, Bohemond spat at the letter and said, "Are you the only one who can ask for reinforcements?" Then he called a messenger and gave him a handwriting, asking the other party to go to Rome to request as soon as possible. Reinforcements, please His Highness Urban mobilize the entire Lombardy The first alliance: Tuscany, Milan, Lodi, Anzio, Pisa, etc., organize a new force. "Now the Greek emperor and the traitor Henry have united. As long as they can defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, then the Holy See will march eastward." You will be safe, trust Bohemond.”

When the messengers were galloping away on fast horses holding the prince's letter, Bohemond ordered the postponement of the general attack on the city of Bari in order to adjust his deployment and deal with the additional appearance of Godfrey's army.

As the spiritual leader of the Normans, Bohemond's command and dispatch are still good. At least he is enough to command an army of ten thousand people. Without any flaws, a considerable amount of military force was deployed to monitor Godfrey's reinforcements, and then continued to ensure the siege of the city of Bari.

However, in the city of Bari, the decadent atmosphere of the past few days was wiped out by the flames ignited by the arrival of reinforcements. Everyone, including the citizens who were originally planning to leave by boat, boarded the city and used bows, arrows and catapults to drive away the invaders. Mann's cavalry. And worked hard to repair the city wall.

Now all the focus has returned to the Pope in Rome, and his attitude is enough to influence the situation in Italy. When Bohemond's cavalry rushed day and night and rushed into the city of Rome, they came directly to the palace where the Holy See was located. At that time, the whole city of Rome was boiling, and the monks and slaves were busy again, preparing to move the entire team of cardinals to Le Mans under the crown of the Pope. This meeting was of epoch-making significance. Everyone Neither will be taken lightly.

Urban sat on his seat, and next to him was Matilda, the most affectionate person. After receiving the urgent letter from the Duke of Apulia, the Holy See discussed the following matters: his opinion. "In my opinion, Bohemond's views are reasonable. After Gawain captured the city of Bari, he expelled the Catholic Church and re-adopted the rites of the Greek Church. They attacked us as Unleavened Sect. They say that we are a disgraceful sect mixed with shameful Jewish genes and also attack the Catholic Church. The monks' celibacy commandment, they believed that the Holy Spirit could extend to the Son, actually said that deacons and monks could marry and have children. If Gawain was in the city of Bari, the entire southern Italy would be plunged into turmoil by doctrinal disputes. . Everyone will also encounter nails in their future expeditions.”

Matilda, who was already fifty years old, nodded firmly and expressed her support for the Pope's decision. She had been fighting with her cousin Henry IV for nearly twenty years, but it was not for profit, but really for faith. A woman held the battle flag to protect the Pope, and showed more energy and uncompromising perseverance than any noble male warrior. She was driven out and chased by the powerful army of the German Empire many times, but she never gave in. She granted autonomy to cities and villages under her subordinates, exclusive rights to merchants for special goods, and free fishing and hunting rights to small nobles and peasants, winning numerous small victories. The allegiance of cities and villages, these people consciously formed a civilian army , fought a bloody battle with the German Caesar, and when the Po River plain could not resist the arrogant and violent knights of Henry IV, Matilda retreated to the mountains of northeastern Italy. Villages loyal to her were set up on passes and cliffs one by one. Rolling stones, spear-shooting machines and boiling oil formed a continuous and dangerous defense. The royal network made it difficult for Henry to move forward with her coveting of the Holy See. She was also a wise woman, constantly instigating Henry's heirs and vassals to rebel and rebel, and continuously inflicted heavy losses on her cousin's reputation. When Placidice Matilda was still there when her husband Henry IV was accused of sexual inversion The Pope’s record adds, “When the sinner Henry imprisoned and tortured his wife Placides in the city of Verona, she saw with her own eyes a black mass that looked like a devil, which was summoned by the sinner Henry through witchcraft. , lying on her belly, tempting her to give up her faith in the Lord and make her fall."

But her own personal life was also persecuted, and her cousin Henry IV was also launching priests loyal to him to attack Matilda. The most typical one is her marriage to Welf. This marriage was initiated by Matilda. She wrote a handwritten letter to Welf, who was still very young at the time:

"It has nothing to do with women's frivolity and recklessness. I just write this letter to you with my own kingdom on my shoulders, allowing you to rule the entire Lombardy region as my husband. I will give you countless cities, gorgeous palaces, and mountains. The gold and silver unite the glory of your name and mine, and forge the strongest alliance between man and woman.”

So Welf came to Tuscany. Duchess Matilda held a wedding for her young husband for a full 120 days. The level of luxury was arrogant to the princes. However, on the wedding night, Welf refused to share the same wedding card with his wife. Marriage bed and love, the reason is that he thinks his wife has witchcraft, which obviously comes from Henry Fang's criticism, but maybe it is simply because he thinks his wife is old.

The next day, Matilda sat naked on a sawing machine in front of her husband. The blood flowing from her body proved her innocence, and she scolded Welf as a coward, a seaweed, and a bastard, and declared that she From now on, he will only raise Welf as an unscrupulous male dog, deprive him of his inheritance rights to his own territory, and make a will to donate all his possessions to the Pope after his death.

Therefore, Urban had the utmost respect for the Duchess. After getting her approval, "Are you willing to provide one hundred knights and twelve hundred armored militia infantry to go to the city of Bari for reinforcements?" Bohemond?”(To be continued~^~)