Eagle's Glory

The hall is very empty, with exquisite reliefs and statues everywhere, and all the light sources come from the circular gap in the dome above.

Aigron slowly raised his head, and at this time the sun was pouring down from the gap, like a beam of light connecting the heaven and the world, and on the dome, the murals and sculptures seemed to be shining brightly.

This is the place where Roman architectural art reached its pinnacle. Even a layman, facing this situation, can't help but be shocked by its beauty, and then recall the glory and magnificence of Roman civilization through this beauty.

It is no wonder that since the fall of Rome, almost every country in Europe has regarded itself as the heir of Rome-for them, Rome is civilization itself and an unquestionable symbol.

Those European monarchs were also proud of Rome. Charlemagne came to Rome to be crowned; Otto I established the Holy Roman Empire; even Napoleon, known as the protector of the revolution, was also a stubborn Roman fan.

It is undeniable that Rome may have been cruel, tyrannical, and may have committed all crimes in the world during its long period of republic and empire, but it is not surprising that all empires have committed these crimes.

But after years of purification, it has left behind the most magnificent relics of civilization, which is enough to break everyone's heart. This is what makes it different.

Rome is gone, and it is impossible to reappear in the future, but its glorious history has remained in the world forever with these relics, and is worshiped and admired by the world.

"Theresa," Aegron said softly suddenly.

"Huh?" Teresa, who had been admiring the sculptures, was awakened and looked at her husband beside her curiously.

"I was once the king of Rome," Aegron said in a strange tone. "I think that when I was given this title by my father, he definitely didn't think of the king of the 'city of Rome', but expected me to be the successor of Roman civilization and spirit. It's interesting to think about it? He looked under the pyramid For 4000 years, in the end, he thought that all the glory belonged to Rome, and he gave his son to it..."

"Yes, I think it's the same." Teresa nodded slightly.

Then, she looked at the brilliance on the dome, and then whispered to the young man, "I think that apart from conquest, Rome also had a tireless pursuit of truth. When the Romans lose these, the empire will die." .”

"After they accepted Christianity?" Aigron joked.

"How can you say such blasphemous words here!" Teresa became anxious when she heard it, "Obviously wealth and corruption ruined it, Christianity is just the spirit they found after their spiritual depravity and desperate medical treatment It's just medicine... Maybe this medicine didn't save Rome's life, but at least it can't be blamed for Rome's demise..."

"Okay, don't be angry Teresa, I was just joking..." Aigron stroked his wife's face.

"You can't make such a joke casually." Teresa gave him a sideways glance. "Don't forget, we will meet the Pope soon. If you show such a playful smile inadvertently, God knows how it will end..."

"So I'm going to rely on my good wife to check and smooth things out for me..." Aegron snickered, and kissed her on the cheek.

That's right, Egron would bring Teresa with him when meeting the Pope.

First, Teresa is the princess of the Habsburg family. It is impossible for His Majesty the Pope to be scruples about this important status, so the talks will not collapse; second, Teresa is a beautiful girl, and the men in the beautiful In front of the girls, they will subconsciously put on a more friendly gesture.

Teresa is also well aware of her role as a "lubricant", so she will show respect to His Majesty the Pope and show her piety as a member of the Habsburg family while constantly emphasizing her role as a "lubricant". Stand with your husband completely, advancing and retreating together.

It's really rare for this couple to agree with each other, and they have no reservations about each other, and they advance and retreat in the same way. It's just that I don't know if the intimate relationship will produce rifts in the test of time?After facing the unpredictable obstacles of fate, will they still give for each other unreservedly like today?

I am afraid that even the gods in the pantheon cannot answer this question.

Egron and Teresa stopped whispering, and then continued to admire the Pantheon.

In 609 AD, the "Roman Emperor", who had moved his capital to Constantinople, dedicated the Pantheon to the then Pope Boniface IV, who renamed it the Church of Our Lady and the Martyrs. ", which is also the official name of the Pantheon today.

Because the Roman Church has also carried out some Christian transformations on the Pantheon. The shrines on the four walls of the hall are dedicated to Catholic saints, and there are also many altars in the hall.

After the central altar, there are the altar of the "Altar of the Cross" and the altar of the "Statue of the Virgin Mary", and below the latter is a sarcophagus tomb.

Aigron and Teresa's eyes stopped on a sculpture - this sculpture is the Virgin Mary holding the Son.

This is the tomb of Raphael, a master of the Renaissance era. The image of the Virgin was the most and favorite subject of Raphael's paintings during his lifetime.

On Raphael's sarcophagus, there is still the famous sentence engraved: When you live, nature is eclipsed; when you die, nature mourns - this is the inscription written for him by his friend, Archbishop Bembo.

To praise an artist with words of this standard is the pinnacle.

It can be seen that the Church of Rome loves this artist.

Aigron and Teresa walked around the Pantheon, admiring the classical architecture and the works of art of the Christian church, and time was constantly passing by.

Although it was silent, they seemed to be able to feel the silent mourning in it.

Rome is dead, and the gods of Rome have also perished. What remains in Rome now is the remnant of the old age, inherited and transformed by a religious church they once despised.

Like the Pantheon, history itself is constantly being destroyed and rebuilt, melted and molded, and politics and society, and even regimes themselves, are constantly changing, rising and dying suddenly.

But no matter how much time destroys, human beings are still there, and their pursuit of beauty, glory and splendor, and those exquisite arts will never be extinguished.

It is precisely because of these that human beings can be useful and civilized, and human history has value at all.

Eggron knew that he and his wife, and all his contemporaries, would also be destroyed by time, but they would also be part of history.

He is willing to use the rest of his life to fulfill the expectations placed by his father when he bestowed on him the honorable and heavy title of "King of Rome".

After all, people always need meaning in life, don't they?

Time passed slowly, and their tour came to an end. Aigron breathed the slightly humid and stuffy air in the Pantheon, and then hugged his wife.

"Teresa, we want to leave a more magnificent legacy than this, and I also want future generations to praise your name... Otherwise, what's the point of our efforts?"

"Yes, Your Highness, I think so too." Teresa nodded slightly.

"I know it's ridiculous for me to say this now, and I'm even a little fanciful, but I hope that one day, the world will be amazed at what we have done for the progress of civilization." Aigron said slightly seriously, "We are going to hold the World Expo, And then preside over it all in our two names, we give our people the opportunity to boast of their industrial and civilized achievements, and to see the finest achievements in the world, we can change the whole of Paris, Make it an Eternal City too... my dear, we can do it."

"Yes, dear... I believe so too." Teresa smiled, then kissed her husband tenderly on the cheek, rewarding his ambition.

She likes to see His Highness like this.

She also believed that His Highness would be able to do it in the future—even though these words sounded like nothing more than the whims of a young man.

"That's what we're working on," Aegron replied.

Then, the two left the magnificent temple hand in hand.

In the next few days, Eggron and Teresa continued to visit the city of Rome, feasting their eyes as tourists and enjoying rare leisure time.

And just a few days later, he finally received good news from his uncle - His Majesty the Pope is about to visit his uncle's house.　　

8, family

After learning the news that the Pope was about to visit his uncle's house, Aigron also interrupted his sightseeing trip with his new wife, and instead focused his energy on the next meeting with His Majesty the Pope.

He was not at a loss, but had two good "consultants"—his grandmother Letizia and uncle Fish Cardinal, both of whom had close contacts with high-level church officials, and Fish Cardinal was even Emperor Napoleon appointed him as the representative in Rome. When the empire was at its peak, he had the meaning of "the Supreme Pope". Offending too many people, instead trying to bridge the relationship between the emperor and the pope, otherwise he would not be able to live safely in the city of Rome now.

The two of them carefully guided Aigron, reminding him of the etiquette and attitude he should pay attention to when meeting the Pope—even though it was just a "private encounter" in name, they believed that all of this should not be sloppy.

And Teresa is very concerned about this. The Habsburg family has always claimed to be the most devout believer in Catholicism and the guardian of the Roman Church, so she has also received corresponding religious education since she was a child. She has read a lot of books and accepted the ideas of enlightenment and liberalism, but in her mind, the church is still solemn and sacred, and the pope must be respected—of course, if the church dares to infringe on its own interests, that is another matter up.

In this way, the agreed date arrived soon, and that evening, Egron, escorted by his own guards, rode a carriage to the residence of his uncle Lucien Bonaparte.

This uncle had been favored by the Pope, don't confer the title of Prince Canino, and got a small fief on the outskirts of Rome. After failing to restore the empire with his brother in 1815, Lucien Bonaparte Prince Ba brought his family to this place to live in seclusion, and never asked about world affairs.

No one was interested in asking about this down-and-out prince, so he was naturally happy.

However, tonight, his leisurely life of seclusion was broken, and Aigron brought his wife and entourage to visit—and soon, His Majesty Pope Leo XII will also visit.

Although the church has lost much weight in the European political arena as time goes by, if his nephew can really restore his great cause in the future, the history books may also be recorded tonight-and it may be Prince Lucien-Bonaparte's last chance to make his appearance in the history books.

It is precisely because of this realization in his heart that the prince has also swept away the laziness of the past these days, and is energetically preparing for tonight's meeting.

He used to be an ambitious conspirator and politician, but after so many ups and downs at this time, he has already wiped out all his heart, and only wants to spend his old age with his family, but even so he still remembers himself After all, a Bonaparte.

This is also the time for him to do his last for his nephew and his family.

Just after he was ready, Aigron brought his group to visit.

Prince Lucien immediately dropped everything at hand and brought his family members to welcome his nephew.

The Prince has a large family - he and his two wives had more than a dozen children, most of whom survived.

Having many children naturally means that the time span is very large. His two eldest daughters, Charlotte and Christina, have already been married, while the youngest two daughters, Mary and Constance, are not even ten years old.

As for his eldest son, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, born in 1803, married Zenada Bonaparte, daughter of his uncle Joseph, in 1822, lived in the United States for a while, and returned to Europe in 1826 At this time, he also lived with Prince Lucien.

In short, this is a big family, even if the married girls are removed, there are enough leftovers.

After Aigron and Teresa entered the living room, Prince Lucien Bonaparte immediately hugged him, and then introduced his children to him and Teresa one by one.

For Aigron, it was a strange experience—after all, he had never met a few relatives since he was a child, but now he saw so many cousins ​​at once, and for others, it was also a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A rare experience—after all, this is the only son of their greatest cousin, and a legend who has recently made a name for himself.

All eyes were on the boy and the girl, with curiosity and envy in their eyes.

The two brothers Napoleon and Lucien had a falling out, but for the younger generation, the grievances and grievances of the previous generation are meaningless. Instead, they admire the career accomplished by Aigron and the appearance of the couple.

After the Prince's introduction, they were led by Aigron's cousin Charles-Lucien-Bonaparte and his cousin Zenarda-Bonaparte.

The 25-year-old cousin is an ornithologist, more interested in nature than politics, but he also admires his cousin, so he is very friendly to Aigron.

"Aigron, you are really amazing." He said with admiration, "As expected of my uncle's successor, your name is often mentioned in recent news."

"Yeah, even though we've just met for the first time, we've already treated you like thunder." My cousin Zenada also chimed in, "Maybe one day, my father will make a special trip back from the United States to meet this man who made him Proud nephew!"

The father she was talking about was, of course, the Joseph Bonaparte who had been sent first by Napoleon to be King of Naples and then King of Spain.

After the disaster of 1815, he fled to the United States, lived in seclusion in New York, bought a large piece of real estate, and became a happy apartment.

Aigron didn't really believe that he would come here to see him, so he answered him politely. "I would love to be taught by my uncle."

"I hope we don't make you feel restrained here." He said with a smile, cousin Charles Lucien Bonaparte, "Please don't treat yourself as a guest, and don't have any scruples because of the age gap. Your home, Eggron."

"Of course I don't feel restrained..." Aigron replied with a smile, "I saw a happy family here and saw a few loving couples. I feel very happy."

"You are a loving couple like us." Cousin Zenada Bonaparte also laughed, "And you are much more noble than us."

Then, she looked at Teresa again, and then nodded seriously, "God, Teresa is so cute... My cousin, you are lucky, God has given you a match made in heaven!"

When the empire was in full swing, Napoleon arranged noble marriages for his unmarried brothers. However, with the destruction of the empire, almost none of these cousins ​​had the opportunity to marry a princess.

As for the future...God knows what will happen, if this cousin can really get what he wants, maybe the situation will be reversed again.

"It's embarrassing for you to say that." Theresa naturally became humble. "It is God's blessing that I have the honor to marry Your Highness."

"Your stories have already spread to us." Zenada Bonaparte still smiled, "The prince is imprisoned but has great ambitions. He escaped from the cage and made great achievements; while the princess is loyal and loyal. Facing the pressure from all parties, she persisted in her love, and finally let the emperor let go, and the lovers finally got married... God, this story is so legendary and so touching, it would not be surprising if it was put on the stage someday We are envious to hear it."

Teresa blushed a little when she heard that, but she felt a little complacent, and couldn't help but sneak a glance at her husband.

Which girl doesn't want to be the protagonist of a legendary story?

Although the version of this story has actually undergone a lot of beautification, and has even become a bit unrecognizable, she is happy to see this story become real history.

As for those sorrows, sorrows and sufferings, let them be buried in the ashes of time.

She only hoped that the days to come would be as sweet as their newly married period.

In this way, amidst the chatting and laughing of the younger generation, Aigron and Teresa were accepted into the family in a friendly manner, and the atmosphere became extremely harmonious.

Lucien's family didn't expect to get much benefit from Aigron, but they were a family after all, and they naturally hoped that Aigron could realize their wish, and they would be honored with it.

Moreover, this family has different thoughts, and some people hope to follow Aigron to achieve great things in the future, so they treat him more and more attentively.

In this way, these cousins ​​surrounded Aigron and Teresa, chatting and laughing, and in a trance, Aigron felt as if he really came to a family reunion gathering.

While Teresa was happy that Lucien's family respected her so much, she thought about recruiting one or two of these cousins ​​in the future.

Although Prince Lucien himself has no political enthusiasm, and his eldest son seems to be satisfied with the research of ornithologists, the younger sons (Louis, Antoine, Pierre) may not be without a little dedication to Family business out of mind.

She wholeheartedly wanted to consolidate her position in the family, so that those who hated her would never dare to reject her, and now was a good opportunity.

If there is a branch of the Bonaparte family (and the most prosperous branch) on his side, then he can sit back and relax-judging from their performance today, this goal is not difficult to achieve.

Of course, this is just an idea, and it is not easy to implement it, but Teresa is not in a hurry. Anyway, for her, it is the best if she can succeed, and it doesn't matter if she fails.

The previous generation only wanted to retire and live a stable life, but the younger generation is different. They also have the blood of the Bonaparte family in their bodies, and they also have the blood of young people. They may not be willing to live in obscurity like this. lifetime.

With this in mind, Teresa chatted and laughed with the young people calmly, and easily won their favor. However, when she deliberately revealed some words, suggesting that His Highness and her career needed the help of relatives, she I can clearly feel that the sight around my husband and wife is a little more intense——

Especially Pierre Bonaparte, who was born in 1815 and is only 13 years old now, is even more excited. He has been surrounded by Aigron and Teresa, bragging how brave he is, if it is not because of his father and elder brother His prestige, I am afraid that he will offer to serve his cousin on the spot.

Of course Teresa didn't know that this Pierre Bonaparte had indeed left a name in history - he had a violent personality, participated in conspiracy and duels many times, and even killed people with his own hands. After the restoration, he followed his cousin and became the prince of the Second Empire, but even so he did not stop, causing troubles frequently.

At the end of the empire, his quarrels with several republican-leaning newspapers escalated until Prince Pierre-Bonaparte challenged the newspaper owners to a duel.Then on December 1870, 12, two guests came to his home, claiming to be witnesses to the duel, but before the duel began, these people suddenly broke out in a violent quarrel over political and personal issues, and in a fit of rage Pierre drew his pistol and killed one of the men.

In order to shame the royal family, Prince Pierre Bonaparte was not arrested, but the emperor still exiled him out of the country in a rage. Died in 1881 amidst his dissolute life.

Teresa didn't know these "futures", and she couldn't see the violence and cruelty from the young people in front of her at this time, but Pierre Bonaparte still left a deep impression on her.

Maybe in the future he can be turned into a subordinate—the girl thought to herself.

This thought didn't leave many marks in her mind, and soon disappeared with the wind.

And the happy family chat soon ended—a servant came to report that His Majesty the Pope had come to Prince Canino's residence.

The atmosphere in the living room suddenly became tense, and then under the leadership of Prince Lucien, everyone walked out of the living room to meet His Majesty's generals.

"Aigron, you must remember to restrain yourself." Lucien whispered to his nephew.

Naturally, he was afraid that his nephew, who was young and aggressive, would offend the Pope. Not only would his original plan come to nothing, but even himself, who was kind enough to help, would be affected as well.

However, Prince Lucien was worried in vain. Aigron had already developed the ability to hide his emotions and anger in the life of confinement, and he also knew the truth that a man can bend and stretch. Now that the two sides have reached an agreement on the issue of principle, he Of course, he will no longer get carried away, but will treat the Pope as politely as possible.

After all, the pope and the church are things he can use in the future.

"Don't worry." Eggron replied with a smile, "I always know what I should do."