Eagle's Glory

Aigron's plan is proceeding smoothly, but at the same time he feels a kind of pressure that is overwhelming—God!If they hate me, it only takes a few people to call, and they can swarm me and arrest me.

There are already hundreds of villagers here, and there will be more in the future, but he only has a few people and a few guns in his hand--it is meaningless to face so many young and middle-aged people with such a little armed force.

It was not the first time Aigron faced a large crowd, but at that time either those people were his subordinates, or he had enough subordinates around him to protect him, this was the first time he faced such a disparate ratio There are so many people with different looks and unpredictable thoughts.

His body sensed the danger instinctively, making his mouth dry.

However, there was no fear in his heart.

If you want to accomplish a great cause, you must have courage, so what is such a small scene?

He adjusted his breathing, and then, with a kind of proud calm, quietly watched the crowd around him, ignoring their whispers.

What? What is the difference between the two?

Slowly, the sound of the bell gradually weakened, and the number of villagers gathered reached several hundred people.

Aegron felt that it was time, so he finally spoke up.

"Citizens of France! I, the King of Rome, have come to visit you!"

His brief sentence immediately caused commotion in the crowd. Some people were crying out in shock, some were full of disbelief, and some were at a loss.

Aigron knew that this was a critical moment, and he had to show his due attitude to control the pulse of the crowd's emotions.

He walked forward slowly, towards the crowd, not at all afraid of falling into the crowd.

Perhaps feeling the mental pressure, the crowd retreated involuntarily, and some even turned pale and wanted to escape.

"I'm here to visit you." Aigron stood still, then looked at the people excitedly, "Please don't be afraid of me, don't reject me, because I am one of you...I am a Frenchman, I I set foot on the land of France just to meet you. Don’t you forget the emperor so much that you don’t want to have a few words with his son?”

His voice was as loud as ever, but it became softer on purpose,

Under his questioning, the crowd gradually stopped, and some daring people started to look at him. Although a few people still chose to escape, after all, he had controlled the scene.

"I didn't come here to bring any disputes, and I never want to kill. I just want to see you, to see France..." Aigron said emotionally, "I want to know, all these years, there is no wave Naparte family, is your life better? Without the Bonaparte family, are the gentlemen in Paris more willing to listen to your voice and feel your suffering? Without us, you feel more freedom and prosperity Yet?"

None of his three questions were answered, but he could tell from the eyes of the crowd that the answer was all—no.

Aigron knew that for these villagers, it was meaningless to shout about empires and bloodlines. If you want to mobilize their emotions, you must first start with their lives.

And it just so happened that the Bourbon royal family's rule for more than ten years can provide him with enough shells-although the peasants got rid of the endless military service in the empire era, their life was not very good, and they were even politically excluded. Repelled to a position of insignificance.

"No, I saw the answer in your eyes—after the emperor left, those gentlemen who came back did not give you a good life." Aigron said in a slightly exaggerated tone, "They forgot their wealth, their Where does the power come from, they think they are born to climb over your head to do their best, they wanton enjoy themselves but forget you, let you suffer and burden - you have not forgotten the billion bill , isn’t it? After they came back, didn’t the taxes and debts on your heads increase again? They didn’t bring a gleam of glory to France, but they had the cheek to ask you to beg for food and enjoy the money you saved so hard. Is it fair? Are you born to be bullied by them? No... absolutely not! Didn't you give the loudest answer 30 years ago?"

In September 1824, Louis XVIII died, and his younger brother, Count Artois, succeeded to the throne and became King Charles X. He and his assistants were obsessed with extreme orthodox policies, and they were determined to make up for the The old ruling class has been traumatized by the upsurge of the Great Revolution over the past few decades.

In order to achieve this goal, after he ascended the throne, together with his Prime Minister Count Villers, he passed a number of laws, the most famous of which is the "One Billion Francs" Act, the main content of which is to provide for the confiscation and sale of property during the French Revolution. The nobles offered compensation, totaling billions of francs.

In France, which has just experienced decades of turmoil, the government certainly cannot have that much cash. The billion francs have become long-term public debts, held by the exiled nobles for a long time, and the government will allocate funds from the national treasury to repay them.

In other words, the royal government stipulated in the name of the law that the nationals owed a billion francs to the nobles in exile, and they must bear a huge amount of principal and interest.

In terms of the currency value of the franc at that time, one billion francs was equivalent to about 300 tons of gold.

The introduction of this bill immediately aroused public dissatisfaction.

Those aristocrats who followed the Bourbon royal family in exile abroad and finally returned home took it for granted—after all, they almost lost their lives in the wave of revolution back then, and even if they escaped abroad by chance, their wealth and property were also taken by the revolutionary government. It was confiscated and auctioned off. The loss of legal property was heavy and should be compensated.

However, most of the people at the bottom do not agree with this reason at all—after all, isn’t the property of the so-called lords and lords obtained by continuously oppressing the lords and tenants?

For thousands of years, the peasants have borne the heavy taxes of the lords and lords, and they have to serve the lords from time to time. After so many years of heavy oppression, it is still too light to be liquidated by the Great Revolution. In the case of a huge state apparatus, additionally bear a huge debt of one billion francs?

Both sides had their "reasons" and were almost irreconcilable, and for the lower working class, resentment naturally concentrated on King Charles X and his government.

For Aigron, King Charles X's implementation of such a perverse and thoroughly reactionary policy was tantamount to sending himself a propaganda shell.

He can not only accuse the Bourbon royal family of disregarding public opinion, but also take the opportunity to extend it and question their "political morality".

After all, King Charles X could do such a disgraceful act just to please a handful of people. Is he still qualified to rule this country?

Furthermore, perhaps this was not an isolated reactionary measure, but the beginning of a larger project to bring France back to pre-1789?

Aigron doesn't care what King Charles X thinks, but in short, he is desperately exaggerating that "the king just wants to bring the country back to before 1789."

Only in this way can the deepest fears of the farmers be aroused.

The peasants had little sympathy for the freedom and equality preached during the Great Revolution. Those beautiful words seemed to them to be the stuff of urbanites, but they regarded the land they got from the lords and lords during the Great Revolution as their lifeblood. A son—a piece of land, land that can be passed on to the family, is everything to the farmer.

The property changes that occurred during the Great Revolution, especially land changes, are taboos that must never be touched again, just like the Ark of the Covenant that must never be opened again.

And Aigron deliberately used this taboo to flaunt it, just like matadors waving red cloth to provoke the most sensitive nerves of the villagers.

"The billion francs will be a noose for you and your descendants, burdening you with a burden that has no legal justification at all, and suffocating you in peace! You are burdened with taxes, you are the cornerstone of the kingdom's treasury, and you have no Any right has to bear the heaviest burden, it was the same in the past and it is still the same! The salt you eat and the wine you buy are equivalent to filling the bills for the squandering of these shameless people!"

Aegron said to the crowd, "And that's not enough, their desires will never end, because their ability to spend money and squandering is passed down from generation to generation, and nothing can fill their short bills! You think you paid this Is it enough once? No, once you give in, you will always give in. Once you give up, you will give up forever. You have seen how much rights you have been deprived of, and in your silence, the remaining rights will only be deprived of more , until one day, a lord's steward will come to the country on horseback and tell you that this land has belonged to them since ancient times, and belongs to these lords who are always domineering. Tell me, have you accepted this fate? ? Are you really willing to be their tame sheep, offering your wool without complaint?"

Then he repeated it aloud. "Are you willing?!"

"No!"　　

51, farewell

"No!"

Egron's question finally got a burst of resounding answers.

He touched the issues that the peasants were most concerned about, so he finally got their spiritual resonance.

As long as you grasp that sympathetic bond, the next thing will be much easier.

"Yeah, you can't agree. You are the creators of France's wealth and the source of France's strength. You support the palace, government, court and army. Everything in the country needs your tribute to be able to operate. Why? You are going to be placed in a pitiful situation where no one cares about you? Why do those gentlemen who suck your blood cream have the face to rob you while laughing at you? To this day, such ridicule and plundering are still going on, and Is it fair? Is it justified?

Yes, you have endured oppression in silence and numbness for too long. This is not more than ten years, but more than ten centuries!For thousands of years, your ancestors have endured all this, trembling at the tip of their knives. This long-storing anger once gushed out and cleaned up the silt of thousands of years. Although this anger brought Too many extra catastrophes have come, but isn't this reckoning unjustified?Is there anything more just than this?However, now the false king of Paris wants to tell you that he wants to destroy the justice that you have achieved, to overthrow everything that you have spent so much blood and life, and to drag time back to those dark pasts, so that You taste again the pain and fear of your ancestors...should you accept it?Tell me, are you powerless lambs who can only be slaughtered, or are you heroes who have proven how powerful you are?I believe that you are heroes, and it is because of you, hard-working and brave, that my father was able to achieve such a magnificent feat, and the name Bonaparte has real power. Tell me, you are ! ? "

Under Aigron's loud questioning, the people who had already resonated spiritually answered him loudly.

"Yes!"

"Yes...you are the source of strength, you have the original justice, without you this country will cease to exist immediately, you have the right to be respected and protected, and this is the meaning of the existence of the empire!" Aigron He held his head high, and then shouted without hesitation, "Yes, I have an obligation to each of you, I want you to get what you deserve, and you will empower me... I am Emperor of the French! Your emperor!"

To be honest, with Aigron's current strength, it is unrealistic to shout such a slogan, and it is even a bit ridiculous, but there is a saying that is good, as long as you are not embarrassed, then the embarrassing one is someone else.

He shouted out his title with incomparable passion, as if he believed in it deeply, and many people who have been guided by their emotions now also shouted out.

"Long live the Emperor!"

They all cheered for the young man, as if a monarch had indeed visited the town in a trance.

Seeing the emotions of the crowd being ignited, Aigron was also very satisfied in his heart. He squinted his eyes slightly, enjoying the cheers from the French people (although there are only a small number of them at present).

Of course, he wasn't carried away, he knew who he was and what he was doing.

At this moment, the suppressing army must be on its way, and it may rush here at any time, trying to capture this lawless pretender to the throne.

Don't look at the villagers here cheering like him at the moment, but when the army comes, they don't need to shoot, they will definitely scatter.

So he had to be fully prepared himself.

He calculated the time in his mind, while listening to the movement from outside at any time.

At this moment, there were several continuous gunshots in the distance, and then quickly fell silent.

According to Aigron's prior arrangements, the Marquis de Treville led people to hide outside the town to observe the situation, and their continuous shooting meant that the army rushing from the fortress had already appeared in their field of vision.

as predicted.

Aigron was a little nervous, but he knew that he still had a little time, and he had to finish the rest—and he couldn't seem panicked.

The emperor cannot be afraid.

The gunshots from a distance also calmed down the frenzy aroused by Aigron. The villagers who were cheering loudly just now began to look at each other, and some of them were already thinking of running away—— Naturally, few people intend to defend the young emperor desperately.

"Citizens, as you can see, people loyal to the false king are coming, and I have to leave here as soon as possible." Aigron changed his impassioned tone just now, and continued with a slightly sad expression, "But you Don’t be afraid, I came to see you without authorization and dragged you into the whirlpool, I will take all the responsibilities—this is my own battle, and I must bear the consequences alone!”

Having said that, he changed the topic, and then said impassionedly

"Please remember my appearance, remember the words I said... I will come back! When you are oppressed and insulted, when you are placed in poverty and despair, when you are tortured by reality, you will be able to see it, I will guard you! ——For me, this is not an annoying obligation, nor is it a responsibility to fulfill it, this is the reason I was born! I... I am to inherit and continue the emperor's career Born, I am not only serving the interests of the Bonaparte family - but you, the people of France!"

After speaking, Eggron waved them goodbye.

Almost everyone waved goodbye to him, and some emotional villagers even had tears in their eyes—because they all knew that the next time they saw this young man, they would not know when it would be.

Then, they dispersed one after another, and the open space that was still full of people just now quickly returned to its previous emptiness and silence.

Aigron looked around, and there were a few people left besides the people he had brought over—the veteran Angles who had just received his gift did not leave, and the priest who was forced by him to ring the bell to summon the villagers Did not leave either.

"Your Majesty... If you need someone to stand in for you and delay time, I can take the responsibility." The veteran raised his trembling hand and saluted him.

His expression was solemn, and it was obvious that he had made up his mind.

"No, enough blood has been shed for our family, and there is no need to shed your blood now." Aigron shook his head, "Now the pursuers are still far away from me, enough for me to leave safely."

Then, he patted the other party on the shoulder and signaled the other party to leave quickly, "Sir, you go back, I hope you live well enough to celebrate the day when His Majesty Emperor Napoleon II ascended the throne! On that day I can give you Leave room in Paris—”

"I will definitely come!" the veteran replied loudly.

Then he saluted Aegron and turned away.

Aigron looked at the priest again, and the priest's expression at this time was mixed.

"Your Highness, it would be great if you were born in the royal family of Bourbon!" Then, he sighed, "Maybe you can save our poor orthodox dynasty."

Although he is in the countryside, the news is not blocked. Judging from what he has seen and heard, the current Bourbon Restoration Dynasty is indeed crumbling and in danger. It is a pity that King Charles X and the relatives around him But they closed their eyes and listened, and kept taking various reactionary measures, which angered more and more citizens.

The priest is a die-hard royalist. Seeing this situation, he was naturally very anxious, but what can he do?He's just a little country priest, a man of few words who can't change anything.

How much he hopes that someone in the royal family can stand up to turn the tide, maintain this great dynasty, and continue the orthodoxy of the Capet family for nearly 1000 years, but reality has played a huge joke on him-such people did appear, but But it appeared on the opposite side of the dynasty!

He had been watching this young man's speech with cold eyes just now. Although he didn't completely agree with every word he said, he could feel the passion and infection from the young man's powerful tone of voice and various gestures. Power, and almost endless action power.

It can also be seen from his rhetoric that he observed the situation calmly, hit the nail on the head, and constantly provoked the antagonism between the royal family and the people at the bottom.

In a small town, these commotions are nothing, but it is conceivable that his actions and his rhetoric will be widely reported by Paris newspapers, causing commotion in the capital—at that time , the influence is completely different.

Moreover, he shouted in front of so many people, it was impossible to keep the news secret or block it.

This is not a temporary idea, but a well-planned political action.

The more clearly he saw it, the more bitter the priest felt.

Could it be that the orthodox royal family that has lasted for thousands of years is still doomed after all?Could it be that it has paid so much, endured so much suffering, survived the bloody storm for 30 years and finally escaped the revolution and the emperor's storm, but is it still going to be buried by a young man?

O God, why did you condemn our royal family like this?In his heart he lamented for the royal family - although he never received any favors from the royal family.

While he was still lamenting in his heart, Aigron waved him goodbye.

"I'm sorry, Father, I have caused you trouble today and gave you a fright, but your fright ends here, and then you are safe, and you can truthfully report everything you saw today ——As long as you don't deliberately discredit me, then I will never embarrass you again."

"Your Highness..." the priest suddenly opened his mouth, and then looked at the young man with almost pleading eyes, "Can you... just stop here? The king may be willing to reconcile with you, and you can have a lot of compensation..."

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!" Eggron didn't answer, but just laughed, and then he made a gesture, and the priest had to stop talking.

And this laughter was his answer.

There are no compromises and no concessions are possible.

Either win all of them, or be completely defeated. As an emperor, there can be no middle ground.

"Goodbye." Aigron nodded proudly to the other party, and then left with Andre Davout and others. Only the priest stood alone at the door of the church, watching his back as he went away, thinking that the future was inevitable lamented those "disasters".

Of course, Aigron didn't leave immediately, he wanted to seize the last bit of time to complete one of his promises.

At this time, the old mayor should have stayed quietly in the cafe, waiting for the situation to finally subside, and Egron had just learned from him the address of his home and the location of his two sons' relics. Storage location.

He took Andre all the way back to the town, but at this time there were no pedestrians on the roads in the town, and everyone was hiding in their houses anxiously, waiting for the arrival of the army, lest they Unlucky enough to suffer from a catastrophe-this also facilitates Aigron's actions.

They quickly walked through the alley, and then came to an inconspicuous but relatively spacious house. The house in this house was not big, but it had a small garden and a wide stable - obviously, this was also the place where the old mayor The only entertainment left after old age.

Then, they rushed directly into the house, and then came to the bedroom according to the old mayor's instructions, and then opened the middle drawer from the bedside table——

Sure enough, as the old mayor described, there was a box in the drawer, and there were many medals in the box.

Aigron didn't have time to distinguish the specific shape of each medal, but he could tell that these medals had been carefully maintained over the years, and both the ribbon and the medal body were brand new and shiny.

Although the old mayor didn't like the emperor, he still cared very much about what was left of his sons in this world.

It was also because of this that he was worried that no one would take care of these relics after his death.

Aigron sighed inwardly, then nodded to pay tribute to the two heroes who died for the emperor.

Then he put the box into a bag, and tied the bag to André Davout. André Davout also had a very solemn expression, lest there be any mistakes.

Then, they went to the stable again.

Soon, several horses galloped out of the stables, crossed the road of the town, and rushed into the countryside. When passing through a forest that had been planned in advance, the Marquis de Treville and several others were lurking here. The people around came out quietly.

"Your Majesty, where did you get the booty?" The Marquis de Treville looked at Aigron on the horse in astonishment, and then asked.