Eagle's Glory

In the next two days, he put down all other things and concentrated all his energy on the upcoming major events. The entire diplomatic department has been fully operational to prepare for the next European coordination.

However, at this time of extreme tension, there are always some people who will come to distract the prime minister.

This afternoon, Prime Minister Metternich had to take some time out of his busy schedule to deal with another difficult visitor.

To be able to be treated like this by him, the identity of this visitor is naturally no small matter - in fact, the other party is the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor, the prestigious Grand Duke Karl.

Because the other party's status is so respected, even though he knew the other party's intention in his heart, Metternich had to put on the most respectful attitude to receive this famous commander.

Under the guidance of the secretary, Archduke Karl strutted into the office of Prime Minister Metternich.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Your Excellency the Prime Minister." As soon as he saw Metternich, he greeted him coldly.

It is indeed a bit of a headache to confront Prime Minister Metternich, who is deeply trusted by the emperor's brother, but he has long been used to seeing big scenes, so he is fearless.

In order to show his attitude in the following talks, he deliberately put on his most serious look, looking directly at Prime Minister Metternich's face, with an aggressive look.

"Your Highness, it is my honor for you to take the time to see me." Metternich replied politely, "Is there anything you need me to do?"

While talking, he invited Grand Duke Karl to sit on the sofa, and then asked the secretary to bring him coffee.

Although Metternich's attitude was very polite, Grand Duke Karl's expression did not loosen at all.

"I don't dare to bother you to do anything, but I need you to clarify for me a question. It can be regarded as helping my incompetent father."

"What are you talking about?" Metternich blinked his eyes suspiciously, "Just ask, I know everything."

The coffee was steaming hot, and the expressions of the two people were reflected on the black liquid surface, but it did not help to dilute the tense atmosphere in the room.

"My daughter Teresa, was recommended by you to Your Majesty before as a candidate for marriage with the Duke of Reichstedt. Although I had some grievances at first, I finally agreed with the court's opinion." Grand Duke Karl didn't want to waste time either. , So he went straight to the point, "My wife and Teresa had been full of expectations for this marriage, but the reality has far exceeded our expectations... Teresa once became the laughing stock of everyone. It was an unbearable blow.”

"This is indeed a tragedy. I personally express my sorrow for what happened to Princess Teresa..." Metternich sighed sadly, "Duke Reichstedt's willful behavior is really unbearable! God I will never forgive him for such evil deeds!"

"God's punishment will be discussed later, what I want to discuss with you is what to do next." Archduke Karl asked coldly, "To tell you the truth, in terms of the severe situation Teresa is facing now, I think There must be an answer to the whole incident, and it should be as soon as possible, Teresa's time cannot be delayed."

Metternich knew in his heart that Princess Teresa had already secretly gone abroad to run to that little guy. At this time, it was ridiculous for her father to come to ask him for an "answer".

But out of the dignity of the royal family, even if this is a ridiculous drama, he has to cooperate with it.

"I am as sorry about this matter as you are, and I am also deeply sorry for the trouble I have caused Your Highness Teresa." He replied solemnly.

"Actually, I'm too embarrassed to pass on to others my family affairs. No matter how hard it is, I can bear it myself." Archduke Karl sighed, then picked up the slightly cooled coffee cup, and took a sip Coffee, and then continued, "But to tell you the truth, my daughter is really worrying. She has always had illusions about this marriage, and she is looking forward to the duke's fulfillment of the promise to marry her. She! I blamed her many times, but she couldn't listen to a word, she was just crazy... So I think, if you make an explanation on behalf of the court and the imperial government, it may be more convincing than me Some."

"So, do you want me to give an answer?" Seeing that Grand Duke Karl said this, Metternich could only clarify his words, "Let's see if this marriage can continue, or should it be canceled immediately? "

"Yes, that's what I need." Archduke Karl nodded heavily, and then stared at the Prime Minister, "Please tell me, is the Duke of Reichstedt still eligible to marry Theresa by the court? And , Is their marriage still beneficial to our country? Please give me an answer, no matter which answer it is, I can solve this headache as soon as possible. "

Hmph, you've finally reached this point.

Metternich was actually prepared in his heart, he knew he would face such a day, so he still didn't change his expression, instead, he gracefully picked up the cup and took a sip of coffee.

Then he pretended to be ignorant and asked the other party, "Is Princess Teresa really so infatuated with Her Highness?"

"Hey... That's it." Grand Duke Karl spread his hands half-truthfully, "What can I do to give birth to such a silly daughter?"

"It's really a headache. As a father, I can understand your pain now." Metternich comforted the Grand Duke without sincerity, "And, I admit, let you and Princess Teresa fall into this embarrassing situation." It is indeed my responsibility to deal with the situation... I am more obliged than anyone else to remedy this situation so that this farce can end as soon as possible."

Archduke Karl narrowed his eyes slightly, and he noticed that Metternich's attitude seemed a bit unusual - logically speaking, he would never admit responsibility so readily.

In other words, the imperial government has already made a decision, so the Prime Minister no longer needs to be vague.

It seems that I can get an answer today...

So, he looked at Metternich calmly, waiting for him to reveal the answer.

Metternich was not in a hurry, and continued after taking another sip of coffee.

"To tell you the truth, as far as His Majesty's will is concerned, he also very regrets that he let His Highness Teresa fall into the whirlpool, so he originally planned to take back his order and annul this engagement, so that His Highness can be relieved... But , I just saw what you mean, but His Highness Teresa insisted on fulfilling the marriage contract, so in my opinion, it is best to follow her wishes? In this way, Her Highness Teresa's reputation can be preserved, and we don't have to continue to worry about it It's annoying."

Grand Duke Karl was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Metternich to be so easy to talk.

And his clear statement also means that His Majesty the Emperor has also nodded—otherwise Metternich would not dare to speak so clearly.

"You...you don't object?" He asked tremblingly.

"Young people always have young people's ideas, so what can we do as elders?" Metternich replied with a wry smile, "If Her Highness Teresa insists that there is only one person in the world who can bring her happiness, then we also I have no choice but to obey her idea—after all, I am ashamed of her."

Of course, Metternich's rhetoric, Grand Duke Karl, would not be taken seriously, but he has already determined that the biggest obstacle in front of himself and Teresa has been overcome by itself - His Majesty the Emperor and the imperial government are willing to acquiesce in the continuation of this marriage, which also means that they There is no plan to deprive him of the title of Duke of Reichstedt, otherwise the marriage would not be permitted.

The lucky bastard!Although he felt relieved for a while, he quickly cursed viciously inwardly.

"Your Highness, since you have brought your words to this point, I am a little worried." Just as the Grand Duke was still thinking, Metternich suddenly spoke again.

"What worries?" asked Archduke Karl.

"You just kept emphasizing to me that Princess Teresa is very much infatuated with the duke, so I have to have some pretty horrible imaginings - what if, I mean what if, someday in the future Princess Teresa gets carried away by love , forgot the teachings of you and your wife, and also forgot the dignity due to an Austrian princess, secretly went to meet the Duke of Reichstedt, and even... even did something even more disgraceful. It will be too late to make amends, and the royal family's reputation may also be greatly impacted."

Metternich continued unhurriedly in a gentle tone, "Instead of waiting for such a dangerous situation to happen, why don't we first think of a way to get things back on track, so that no matter the reputation of the royal family or the interests of the empire It’s a good thing for everyone, right?”

Although both of them already knew Teresa was there, they pretended that she was not there on the surface, so when Metternich teased her so eccentrically, Archduke Karl's face suddenly turned red and white, and he said in embarrassment. He didn't say anything, but he couldn't get angry, so he picked up the coffee cup and took another sip, secretly cursing the bastard who made him feel ashamed.

But scolding is scolding, Grand Duke Karl knew in his heart that Metternich's words were not unreasonable--Teresa is with that young man now, God knows if the two of them will get carried away and try the forbidden fruit one day, in case If you get pregnant or even have children before getting married, I am afraid that everyone will lose face in the end.

"Don't worry, I will resolutely control her so that such unseemly things will not happen." Grand Duke Karl replied through gritted teeth.

"Of course I believe what you said, but you have also said that Her Highness Teresa has a very stubborn temper. If she insists on going her own way, how will it end?" Metternich continued to ask with a smirk.

"Then what do you think should be done?" Archduke Karl asked impatiently.

"This matter is indeed very troublesome, but we must find a solution. Based on the opinions of all parties, and I feel very guilty towards His Highness Teresa, so—" Seeing that the Grand Duke's emotions have reached a critical point , Metternich stopped provoking him, and simply stated his current decision, "You simply allow Princess Teresa to act according to her own will, and let them get married as soon as possible... I believe, with Teresa With Her Highness's mind and self-control, she should know what she shouldn't do, but who knows what will happen after a long time?"

Grand Duke Karl blinked again, he could hardly believe his ears.

Originally, he came here with the awareness of a big fight, but he didn't expect that in less than half an hour, he had already got everything he wanted—even more than that.

Apart from joy, he couldn't help feeling a little suspicious in his heart—is all this true?How could Metternich be so talkative all of a sudden?

"Your Excellency, please tell me, what happened to make you finally make up your mind?" After a moment of silence, Grand Duke Karl looked at Metternich seriously, "I don't believe that your statement is out of respect Teresa's guilt, or out of love for Duke Lechstedt, you must have your own plans—so just tell me, what do you need from me or Teresa?"

"It's not so much that I decided something, it's better to say that I admitted the reality. The Duke of Lechstedt has already run away, and Princess Teresa is also loyal. This is all reality. No matter how angry I am, it's useless." Metternich shook his head slightly, and then replied helplessly, "What I am best at is acknowledging and adapting to the fait accompli, and then finding ways to guide it in the direction we need—"

"Which direction?" Archduke Karl asked back.

"For specific matters, we will contact Her Majesty Teresa at that time." Metternich was noncommittal, but said again, "I only hope that she can show her due patriotism and accompany Lechstein Together with the Duke, we are moving towards a path that is beneficial to both of us, and now Austria needs her to work hard for it, as long as she does this, we can forget the past no matter whether it is her or him.”

Grand Duke Karl bowed his head in silence.

He knows his daughter too well. Teresa has always been a stubborn person. When she is not caught in a dilemma, she is of course willing to reconcile the conflicts between the two parties. After all, Austria is the country where she was born and raised; but if the two parties have In the case of conflict in the fundamental sense, she will only choose the side she has already chosen.

Fortunately, there is indeed no fundamental conflict between Austria and that young man, but there is room for cooperation.

At least for now.

As for the future, let's talk about it later.

"She will, she loves Austria," Archduke Karl replied a moment later.

Now that this point has been mentioned, the meeting between the two has come to an end. They both got what they wanted. At least for now, this is the best choice.

"After you go back, please say hello to Her Majesty Teresa for me." Metternich stood up and said goodbye to the Grand Duke, "Although I may not be able to attend her wedding, I wish her happiness... I hope her choice is right. of."　　

169, father?

Egron at this time, of course, was unaware of the series of events that took place in Vienna, and his entire body and mind had been put on the affairs he was currently concentrating on.

After a series of battles around Naphpaktos, he was pleased to find that he had gained a firm foothold in this chaotic place, and even had the initiative.

Moreover, he can clearly see that the whole trend is developing in his favor, and now he can freely decide the next move.

So, the real question comes - where to go next?

In the letter to Teresa, he has already initially stated the plan in his mind-that is to march westward, take down the Fortress of Messolonghi, and then control a large area of ​​western Greece as his own territory, and then consider Further action.

However, it is difficult to formulate a practical strategy, and it is even more difficult to implement this strategy.

Aigron knew where the difficulties were.

First of all, Messolonghi is a key garrison of the Turkish army. Although he defeated the enemy army that came to attack him from there, they retained the main force and withdrew. With thousands of people, it is definitely not a soft persimmon that can be easily solved.

Secondly, Messolonghi itself is also a fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack-in fact, in the previous battles, the independence army fighters relied on this fortress to resist the Turkish army tenaciously for more than two years; After falling into the hands of the Turks, it will definitely not be easy for Aigron's army to capture it.

Finally, and most importantly, Aegron knew that his powers were also weakened.

Although in the just-concluded battle, he led his army to win more with less, defeated the enemy several times, and won a beautiful victory, but in this series of battles, he also had to suffer huge losses.

After careful counting, the total number of casualties and missing people in his army reached several hundred, almost more than one-seventh of his total force of [-].

Compared with the enemy army and the fortress, this last question is the one that bothers Aegron the most.He knew that he had to restore his army as soon as possible, otherwise a few more such victories and his army would fall apart.

The only good news is that the members of the Knights who served as officers for him did not suffer much. On the contrary, after the bloody fight, they had experience in front of the battle, and their command ability and combat experience were improved instead. After that, the entire chain of command has become quite smooth.

That is, it is turning into a real army.

As for the casualties of ordinary soldiers, whether it is the Greeks who took refuge in him or the people recruited from other places, in his opinion, they are just cannon fodder, which is an acceptable loss, and it can even be said that it is necessary to temper his own sword fuel.

And now he needs more fuel.

Because of this, after the war ended, he did not proceed to the next step immediately, but let the whole army rest, and he urgently needed to replenish his army.

He asked Teresa, who stayed behind, to continue to recruit local Greeks for him, and accepted volunteers from all over Europe, and then sent them to him to enrich his team.

Because Aegron did not attack for a while, and his enemies were unable to continue attacking him, the Nafpaktos harbor fell into a temporary calm again.

The whole army is gearing up, receiving supplementary personnel and stepping up training, but he is actually idle.

After he was busy with the affairs in his hands on weekdays, he led the guards to patrol around the picturesque harbor, and at the same time enjoyed the cheers and salutes from the soldiers.

And today, Egron held a small welcome ceremony to welcome the new volunteers—General Treville, who was far away in France, and sent him a group of Bonaparte supporters.

Because they are politically reliable and French, this group of people naturally received preferential treatment from Aigron, and he warmly welcomed them; Prestige and victory, so when I saw this young man, I was full of reverence, so the atmosphere at the ceremony was very warm, and there were endless cheers.

The peak of the atmosphere was when Aigron temporarily bestowed some people as members of the Knights of Fontainebleau.

Last time on the island of Monte Cristo, he made all the followers on the island as members of the Knights, but this time he did not do so, only some of the volunteers with rich military experience and deep seniority in the empire .

Last time it was a last resort, he had no one in his hands, so he could only try his best to win over everyone; but now, he is already an unshakable leader, and membership of the Knights has become a precious honor, he has Qualifications have begun.

Now he wants to make it clear to his subordinates that no treatment is easy to come by.

He wants to set up a threshold among his followers, give those inside the threshold a sense of superiority, and give those outside the threshold the motivation to forge ahead.

During the ceremony, Aigron also received a personal message - Mrs. Alice, the daughter-in-law of General Treville, gave birth to a daughter, and the mother and daughter were safe.

The Marquis de Treville also wrote, entrusting one of the volunteers

Hearing the news, Aigron was also happy for Alice.

He still remembered that Alice had asked him to name the unborn child on the shore of Lake Constance, and he had said that the boy’s name was Shire and the girl’s name was Xialu—that is to say, the daughter was Xialu-de-Trey Miss Weir.

So, after the ceremony, Aigron specially invited Edgar and Agnes to have dinner at his place of residence in order to celebrate the good news together.

Of course, even though it was dinner, it was a wartime state at this time, and there was no room to make it too rich. In addition to roast chicken, vegetables, shortbread and olive oil, there were only some poor-tasting wines.

Because she lived next to him, Agnes attended quickly, and Edgar rushed over immediately after hearing the invitation.

It was getting late at this time, and the dining table was covered with a white tablecloth and candlesticks were placed on it, and the dim light and shadow added a bit of family dinner atmosphere.

"Good evening, Your Majesty." Edgar saluted Aigron first, and then sat down to express his excitement. "Thank you so much for giving me this honor."

"Don't be restrained, today is just a dinner among our friends." Aigron replied, and then laughed again, "Actually, Edgar, Agnes, I have some good news for you."

The two immediately looked at Aigron.

"Just now I received a group of volunteers from France, and they brought me news from your family." Aigron didn't keep it secret, and told Edgar directly, "Mrs. Alice gave birth to a healthy daughter." Baby, mother and child are safe now."

Edgar and Agnes glanced at each other, and then both of them showed reassuring smiles.

"Great!" Then, Agnes cheered a little.

She came here for her elder sister, and now she is very relieved to hear that her elder sister, mother and daughter are safe.

"Thank God and Alice for making me a father." Edgar also sighed, and then looked at Aigron, "Your Majesty, Xialu will also be your most loyal follower in the future."

Compared with the Marquis de Treville, who is looking forward to having a grandson to "retrain his number" again, he doesn't care about the gender of his children, even if it is a daughter, he will devote the same love to him-of course his favorite is himself.

"Well, congratulations, Edgar, from now on, you will be a father." Aigron said with a smile, "Besides, Xia Lu will definitely be a very beautiful and lovely girl in the future. To have such a daughter, It's your luck."

Aigron's words are not polite, but from his heart.

After all, Alice is very beautiful in itself, and Edgar's personality is not to mention, his appearance is also really good. With such parents as a background, Xia Lu must be very beautiful when she grows up.

"I will make her the loveliest and most elegant woman in all of France." Edgar raised his head without any humility, "The Treville family will be proud of her."

"But I also hope that you can make her proud of you in the future." Eggron replied.

This sentence made Edgar blush slightly.

Will Xia Lu really be proud of a father like herself in the future?