Eagle's Glory

"Of course, the so-called respect for the parliament also has risks. In order not to be hijacked by the parliament, I think the scope of electoral rights should be expanded, and the imperial power should be appealed to the whole people, so that His Majesty can become the emperor of the French people's referendum—just like his father." Under Edmund's watchful eyes, the Marquis of Noirtier continued, "The Bonaparte family has no history and long blood, so use a referendum to consolidate it. It is not only morally superior, it also shapes the legality of the royal family. It also allows His Majesty to assume the image of a 'guardian of the people'. Whenever the clamor of the parliament begins to cross the line, he denounces these scumbags in the name of the people, and then confuses the wind with new issues and referendums. After all, The people's emperor needs the people to defend. People are willing to spend more money for those they spend money on, but are stingy with those who give them money. The more His Majesty the Emperor takes from them, the more it proves the royal family The bond between him and the people is unbreakable."

The Marquis de Treville laughed secretly when he heard the word "emperor of the people", and almost laughed out loud.

He had personally stayed with both Bonaparte and his son, and he had of course witnessed their domineering and self-important arrogance, for whom the so-called "people" had always been just a pretext.

However, since it is useful, you might as well use it. What's the problem?At least he didn't see any problem.

"If you refer power to a referendum, you can get temporary support, but it also involves great risks." After pondering for a while, the Marquis de Treville raised his doubts, "After all, you have given others the right to support , that would allow others to acquiesce that they have the right to object, and strictly speaking, this situation is very dangerous, I think His Majesty needs neither support nor objection, only natural obedience."

"So you are purely military thinking..." Marquis Noirtier shrugged, "It is very dangerous for you to bring the military's habits to the national level. Today is not the Middle Ages, we are a country that was ruled by the Great Revolution A country that has been reshaped! All the idols of authority have been smashed, and our people are not even convinced by God. Think about how many priests they killed!? For this situation, we must admit the reality and patiently build A reality-based model of power."

Then, he smiled slyly, "Besides, you are still a soldier after all. You don't understand that a referendum does not mean that there are two choices of support and opposition, but also only two choices of support and more support! As long as the timing and means Appropriate, the people will be at peace with it—and besides, whoever counts the votes owns the results of the votes, and it has always been that way."

What the Marquis Noirtier said later was evasive, but the other two people who were doing it understood it.

They couldn't help but looked at each other and smiled, secretly sighing that the Marquis is indeed a veteran who has been in the political world for many years.

"Hey, you are so good at playing tricks..." The Marquis de Treville sighed secretly, "In my opinion, nothing is as easy as seizing the army. As long as you have 50 bayonets in hand, you can say anything." The golden rule, why bother to think so much. The quarrel of the House of 500 people was dispelled by the former emperor with a bayonet in the coup d'état, so there is an empire."

"Of course, for the empire, the army is everything. Your Majesty must control the army and never allow others to get involved. But... this must not be said publicly. Don't forget that the army ultimately comes from the people. If we cannot convince the people , then there would be no army loyal to the empire—Louis XVI also had hundreds of thousands of troops, so he went to the guillotine?” Marquis Noirtier refuted the opponent’s statement, “Yes, the emperor must be the biggest warlord , but he must not let this be seen, he will adorn himself with parliaments and laws, referendums and circuses of all kinds, so that people will forget that his power comes only from the most naked violence - once seen through Now, other warlords who think they are qualified will also be ready to move, and the country will never have peace! Don’t forget, after the first emperor seized the country with a bayonet, the first thing he did was to practice the law, and that was the real wise move That's when I began to admire him wholeheartedly and to serve him wholeheartedly."

After saying this, the Marquis of Noirtier looked at Edmond Dantès earnestly again, "Count, I said something inappropriate in front of you, but this is all my life experience, I implore you I will pass it on to His Majesty... I believe it will definitely be useful to him."　　

Fanwai (16) Bright Sun and Bright Moon

"How can you say that about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" Alice was anxious, and quickly stopped her sister, "He is already very smart, you can't be too strict with him, it will easily put him under too much pressure. Please don't worry , he will become a very good heir."

Like many things, Agnes also entrusted Mrs. Alice to be responsible for the education of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The teachers of the Crown Prince were arranged by the wife. One generation can inherit this hard-won country—and her own daughter, Xia Lu, is also placed high hopes by the wife, hoping that she can become another minister of the Bonaparte family in the future.

After correcting Her Majesty's slip of the tongue, Mrs. Alice advised the Queen again, "Also, don't forget, you are a queen, and the weight of every word is different from that of ordinary people like us. Even if you don't mean it, you may People with ulterior motives will take advantage of it and cause disasters, so please don’t say such things again.”

"I'm just complaining to you in private, I know how to behave in front of outsiders." Agnes laughed sheepishly, "Besides, as a mother, don't I even have the right to criticize my son? "

"There is no 'private' in the court. Once something is said, it may spread like wildfire. You can't be careless." Alice replied sternly.

Then, in order to ease the atmosphere, she also made a joke with her sister, "Also, I know that daughters like Xia Lu are rare, but if you want, you can have more children. If you have seven or eight Well, maybe there is a child like Xia Lu...?"

"Sister! What do you think of me!" This joke made Agnes blush instantly.

Alice, on the other hand, leaned forward and back with a smile, pouring out the pressure accumulated during this period.

In this court, or in the entire empire, only she dared to speak to Her Majesty the Queen.

After the two sisters laughed for a while, Agnes suddenly seemed to be worried again, and looked at the canal in the distance blankly.

"What are you worried about? Your Majesty the Queen?" Alice asked in a low voice.

Agnes knew that she couldn't hide her personality, let alone in front of her sensitive sister.

Besides, she originally wanted to vomit her bitterness to her sister and get some comfort and guidance from her.

So she didn't deny it either, just sighed softly.

"Crystel is coming."

Alice knew who she was referring to—she had a part in the secret negotiations between the French court and the Austrian court, and she was also one of the managers.

Moreover, as Agnes's older sister, she knew the true identity of Christel, and also knew that after she was taken back to France, she would be recognized as the daughter of His Majesty the Emperor.

Alice knew that this was a blow to her sister, and she herself felt uncomfortable, so she gently held her sister's hand to show her support for her.

"I know, it's not good for you to admit this kind of thing, but... this is His Majesty's will, and we can only carry it out. If you don't like it, just don't have any contact with this child in the future, no People will send Crystal to find you unhappy."

Then, Alice sighed again, "Crystal is a very poor child, no matter what mistakes her parents made, she is always innocent. Now she has been isolated for several years, What kind of cruel fate is this dark time? Personally, I hope she can get some compensation... Anyway, she can't threaten the status of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, let alone cause any substantial damage to you , so what if His Majesty treats her better?"

Then the lady lowered her voice again, "If you are worried, I will let Xia Lu get close to her and be her friend. If she is obedient, then it doesn't matter if we treat her preferentially; if she doesn't know what to do, how can I have any opinions on you? , and we will give her corresponding punishment."

"No..." Hearing this, Agnes couldn't sit still, and quickly shook her head to stop her sister. "I'm not worried about what harm she will do to me and my children. How can I be afraid of this? Even if I am afraid, I will go and make a decision by myself. There is no need to play this kind of trick... Sister, as you said This child is indeed pitiful, so why should I hate her if I want to hate her? I just don't know how to get along with her in harmony, presumably she would secretly hate me for taking my father away."

Alice also felt quite a headache about this, so she could only give her sister comforting and encouraging eyes. "Just do your own thing well with your heart, and let fate decide other things."

"That's the only way to go." Agnes nodded, "I just want to have a clear conscience, so why should I care if others understand or not?"

Under the comfort of her sister, the sadness on her face disappeared.

She also held her sister's hand, and no matter what happened, she couldn't wear away the deep feelings between the sisters.

Then, Agnes suddenly laughed again, "The weather is so good, why don't I take Xia Lu to practice swords? It's time for her to learn."

"No...don't..." Alice suddenly felt that something was wrong, and hurriedly wanted to hold her sister.

But where does she go to her sister's rival?Agnes easily pulled away her sister's hand, and then walked quickly to Xia Lu. "Xia Lu, come with me! Auntie will take you to sword practice!"

Xia Lu felt bad and wanted to escape, but how could her skill be compared with Agnes?Immediately caught by Agnes.

"Mom, save me!" Panicked, she asked her mother for help.

"Agnes! Stop!" Alice was also shocked. In the panic, she forgot the dignity and etiquette between the two, and called her sister's name directly, trying to make her stop.

However, Queen Agnes didn't take her sister's order to heart at all, and she laughed happily.

"No! I won't stop, because I'm the queen! You've already said that I can do whatever I want here, so you can't order me..." Agnes purposely put on a straight face, and then forcibly lifted Xia Lu up , "Whatever I want her to learn, she has to learn, even if it is my sister, you have to obey~"

Alice was so angry that she almost lost her breath, but there was nothing she could do, because Agnes' words were reasonable, and once she made a decision, she could only obey it no matter how unwilling she was.

My poor daughter...for a moment, she stopped in her tracks, and then she couldn't help feeling sad, and looked at her with great reluctance.

"Mom..." Xia Lu was still calling for help, but she herself knew that the situation was over and everything was irreversible, so she just shouted in vain, and could only watch Aunt Agnes dragging her to the garden.　　

107, black mud

While Edmund Dantès followed the lord's order and began to carry out special activities in Paris, Egron was staying in Ioannina to manage his own territory.

As time went by, Teresa's belly became more and more bulging, and her movements became more inconvenient, and she always lived in seclusion.And Aigron has always deliberately set aside time in his busy schedule to be by her side, coaxing her to be happy and relieve her boredom.

Although he has already had a child, he has never witnessed any moment from the gestation of Christel to the birth, and until now he does not know what Christel looks like, so he has not "become a father" "The real feeling.

But this time is different. He witnessed Teresa's process from pregnancy reaction to delivery. In a few months, he will witness the birth of his own child. This is the first time he has experienced the joy of becoming a father. experience.

Moreover, Teresa is his wife, which means that the child she gave birth to must be placed high by his supporters, and the meaning is quite different.

Whether it is Teresa herself or other relatives of the Bonaparte family, they are eagerly looking forward to the birth of a boy this time. Although Aigron doesn't care about this, but from a political point of view, he admits that he has a son. It would be more beneficial to him.

——Of course, this can only be decided by fate, if it is really a daughter, he will be very happy.

Even if he is not a son this time, he will still have a lot of time with Teresa, and sooner or later he will be born.

Teresa's due date is approaching. The civil and military officials in the Principality of Ioannina are all looking forward to the birth of this child. The relevant celebrations are already being prepared in an orderly manner. to the world.

In addition to preparing for the celebration of the newborn, the newly born Principality of Ioannina naturally still has a lot of things to do, which can be described as a myriad of things.Fortunately, the Prime Minister of the Principality, Father Faria, and other officials were working diligently, so everything finally stumbled onto the right track.

Of course, the most important reason is Aigron's reputation. All orders issued in his name are unimpeded in the Principality, and no one dares to question it.And because of Aigron's special arrangements, this new country has a clear hierarchy. The core layer is all senior members of the Knights appointed by him, and there are no particularly complicated interest groups, and internal friction has been controlled to a minimum.

However, all of this comes at a price. The top officials have put in a lot of effort, especially Father Faria, who is the prime minister—he is old and in poor health. After more than half a year of mental fatigue, he endured a super-intensive load, and his body became worse and worse.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the priest is wasting his few lifespans. Of course, Father Faria knows better than others. However, even knowing this, the priest still devotes himself to his work with high intensity regardless of his fatigue.

Finally, the consequences of this high-intensity consumption appeared, and he began to pant frequently or twitch uncontrollably, and sometimes even fell into a brief faint.

And all this was seen by Chanel.

When Father Faria came to Monte Cristo Island, Chanel was ordered to take care of the old man and formed a deep friendship with each other. Although she is no longer in charge of this work, she still visits him from time to time. Father Faria, worried about his health.

Father Faria urged Chanel in every possible way not to tell His Majesty his current situation, but after he fainted again, Chanel finally couldn't bear it anymore, and reported the priest's current situation to Aigron, begging His Majesty to let him go anyway. Take a break.

After listening to Chanel's statement, Aigron was also quite shocked and heartbroken, and hurried to visit the priest.

As the Prime Minister of the Principality, Father Faria naturally also has a rather grand mansion in the city. He usually works in this mansion, and occasionally asks his attendants to push the wheelchair to let him go out for a walk along the street, breathing A breath of the outside air—but lately, with his failing health, such leisurely entertainment has become extremely rare.

After Aigron came to the official residence, the guards of course did not dare to stop him. He walked directly into it, and then came to the prime minister's office.

At this time, Father Faria was half lying on the rocking chair, squinting his eyes slightly, listening to the secretary read the official document. He had already fallen asleep when he got up, but the opinions and orders he dictated from time to time proved that he did not fall into a deep sleep, and his thinking was still the same as before. sharp and sober.

Just as he was dealing with official business, he heard the sound of the door opening. It was difficult for him to turn his head to see who was coming, but he felt very displeased because he hated it when he was dealing with official business. disturb.

"Who is it? Wait outside first, I don't have time to meet you now!" He whispered.

However, he soon realized that he had made a mistake, because the secretary next to him stopped reading aloud, but looked in the direction of the door and saluted tremblingly, "Your Majesty..."

Father Faria was startled, and then he struggled to get up, the secretary quickly bent down to support him, and only then did the priest see clearly that His Majesty was standing at the door, and behind him was Chanel, two people They all looked at him worriedly.

The priest looks much older now than when he first came to Monte Cristo Island more than a year ago. Although the servants tidied up his body very cleanly, the wrinkles on his face and completely gray hair make him look full of decay. Old-fashioned, and the smell of medicine in the room proves how weak the body of the owner is.

Aigron looked at his "veteran" and felt a little uncomfortable.

After returning to the Principality, although he also met Father Faria a few times, he focused his energy on accompanying his wife, and did not realize that the priest's physical condition had weakened to such an extent.

But in the current environment, smelling the smell of medicine in the room and looking at such an old priest, he felt the ruthlessness of the years.

The priest is not an old courtier of the Bonaparte family, and he was even imprisoned because of the spies of the empire. However, since he joined him, he can be said to help him with full enthusiasm. Aigron can be sure that for himself For his career, he has put in as much painstaking effort as anyone else.

At his urging, Aigron appointed him as the prime minister of the principality, and he had really worked hard in this position. Aigron believed that no one under his command would do a better job than him.

But if it continued like this, it was obvious that the priest would run out of gas and leave the world in a short time-this was something Eggron never wanted to see.

In the original world line, Edmond Dantès was imprisoned in 1815, and the priest died after 14 years in prison. He took the opportunity to escape from prison, which means that the priest died in 1829.

The current timeline is the middle of 1828. If the priest continues to be consumed like this, Aigron estimates that he may not even live until 1829 before he dies.

In other words, after he put himself under his command, he shortened his lifespan even more than staying in a black prison!If this became a reality, it would be embarrassing for him.

While Aigron was pondering, Father Faria looked at His Majesty who had appeared suddenly in astonishment, and the others did not dare to speak, so the room fell into an awkward silence.

After a while, Aigron walked carefully in front of the priest, then knelt down and looked at the priest. "Your Excellency Prime Minister, I heard that you have been in poor health recently, so I came to visit you."

"It is a great honor for me to be taken care of by Your Majesty." Father Faria came back to his senses, and then replied in an old and feeble voice, "But please rest assured, I can still hold on, and I can normally perform the tasks you have entrusted to me. mission."

"Come on, let's stop talking like this." Aigron directly interrupted the other party, "Father, you know that I am a smart person, I will judge what I see according to my own eyes, your current body I can see what the state is like at a glance, so don't be brave."

Father Faria didn't dare to argue anymore, he just raised his head and glanced at Chanel, Chanel could only curtsy to him with a wry smile, asking the old priest to forgive him for "leaking secrets".

"Don't blame Chanel, everything she does is for your own good. She hopes that you can live a few more years and stay by our side." Aigron also saw what the priest was thinking, so he spoke again, "Father, I have granted you a period of vacation. During this period of time, you don't have to do such heavy government work. You just need to rest in peace. As for the time, it will be determined by your physical recovery."

Father Faria became anxious as soon as he heard it, his breathing became short and intermittent, and he begged him in a hissing voice, "Your Majesty... are you going to dismiss me? I implore you not to do this..."

"No, I didn't say that you will be dismissed. You are still the prime minister and will always be." Aigron shook his head. "I just said that you need to rest so that you can better perform the prime minister's duties in the future."

Aigron didn't expect that the priest didn't appreciate it, and instead became more resistant, "You are even worse than dismissing me... You are announcing to everyone that I am not qualified for my job, and I am only disqualified because of my past friendship." I was pitied by you, so you gave me this honor, so that I can take my official position as my shroud, and honestly go to God to give an account."

"You shouldn't think like that..." Aigron frowned.

At this point, few people dare to refute him face to face or resist his decision, but seeing the priest's old and weak appearance, Aigron couldn't bear to reprimand him anymore, so he softened his tone, "You Everyone can see your work achievements and your loyalty to me. No one will believe me to deny your work, let alone pity you... I just want you to recover as soon as possible, for me Serve longer than run out of oil in a few months! If you want to hear a good word, let me just say, Father, I hate you, I hope you will still be with us in the future, at least I want to live until the time of my coronation! But the current state is really difficult for people to have confidence."

Although Aigron has long been used to not being right, his words at this time were somewhat sincere, and this true feeling moved the priest almost to tears.

"Do you know how precious and unforgivable it is to me to be needed, especially by someone as big as you?" There were some blurred tears in his old cloudy eyes, and then he said to As Aigron confided, "Your Majesty, I received a strict education in my early years and became a priest. This was not my own wish but the arrangement of my parents. No one asked me what I want, what I want to be, what I like... I was just assigned to do this and that, and I did it without complaint, but I didn't get a few compliments. I'm just an inconspicuous person in this world, and I don't even deserve to be recorded by anyone!

Later, I was honored to be the secretary of the Spada family, and I was finally valued. The prince treated me like a nephew, and he gave me real warmth. He worked with me patiently and taught me how to be an excellent secretary.With him, I finally experienced the feeling of being respected... But even so, our identities are too far apart, and I am not qualified to do anything for him, and then he passed away, just like that say goodbye to me.Then, it wasn't long before I was in the cell, and everyone thought I was an old madman, an old madman who claimed to have a huge treasure!No one respects me, no one believes me, and no one is even willing to spend even a small price to verify whether what I said is right. Obviously I put Jinshan in front of them, but no one is willing to cherish my value , They laughed at me and scolded me, treating me as a joke... I could only be bored in the black mud of the prison, gritted my teeth and endured all this, I was abandoned by the whole world... I was desperate, I thought I would die like this, Melted into these black mud, leaving no trace in this world. "

Then, he raised his head to look at Aigron, and then his tone became more uplifted, "But fate favored me in the end, just this one time, but this time is enough...Your Majesty, I got your Recognition and trust, I was entrusted by you, it is a small thing to you, but you know what it means to me? I am recognized by one of the most powerful people in the world! I A lifetime of knowledge, a lifetime of ups and downs, all have meaning, and I can finally leave traces for the rest of my life... I am a person, not a puddle of black mud. Your Majesty, do you want me to turn back into black mud? "

The priest just looked at Aigron like this, his eyes weeping and complaining. For a while, Aigron didn't know what to say.

Yeah, what should I say?　　

108. Politics

After hearing the priest's voice, Egron didn't know how to reply for a while, and he even vaguely agreed with the other party's thoughts deep in his heart.

He has a more blazing ambition than ordinary people, and also has a strong desire to be recognized and admired by others. It is difficult for him to accept that he has left the world in obscurity, so he can understand what Father Faria said.

Some people would rather die than live in the indifference and contempt of others. For them, only by displaying their talents and being remembered by everyone can they truly live a lifetime.

Because of the ups and downs in his early years, Father Faria had such a strong desire in his heart, and he finally got this opportunity, so he was naturally unwilling to give up.

Thinking about it in my own shoes, if I were a priest, I'm afraid I would not be willing to accept a disguised honorary retirement. Anyway, there are only a few years of life left, so why not make it more vigorous?

Because he is also the same kind of person, so he can't bear to criticize the other party.

Seeing him silent, Chanel standing behind him became even more anxious. She couldn't understand the thoughts of these two people. She just wanted the priest to live a few more years and let him enjoy a few more days of good life.

So she took the initiative to persuade Father Faria boldly, "Father, Your Majesty has good intentions for you, why do you insist on your own opinion like this? Don't you think that the longer you live, the more you will contribute to Your Majesty? We still have too much You are needed in many places, and His Majesty and I are unwilling to watch you leave the world like this... just like this."

"Chanel, I am very grateful for your care for me, but you are worrying too much, I can still go on." Father Faria still insisted on his own opinion.

"Look at the way you are now! Where does it look like you can last?!" Chanel was in a hurry, and interrupted the other party loudly. She took the medicine bottle from the table next to her, and then showed it to the two Personally, "I have taken care of you by your side for so long, can you still lie to me? The amount of medicine you take now is several times that of more than a year ago, and it is almost becoming a medicine jar, and even if you don't look at these, Just looking at the way you speak can feel that your life is dying, why do you lie to us again?"

Being robbed so much by Chanel, Father Faria was speechless, but he still did not change his mind. "People are inherently mortal, and everyone will eventually return to the embrace of the Lord. It's just a matter of time. Moreover, even if I don't perform my official duties, I wouldn't live long. My health has already been destroyed in prison life...Since I am doomed If you are about to die, please let me die honorably in a respected position. If you have mercy on me, please grant my wish... I don't ask for wealth and titles, and I only have one wish..."

Chanel wanted to persuade her again, but at this time Aigron reached out and stopped her.

"Chanel, stop talking...we must respect the wishes of the priest, he has the qualifications."

After stopping Chanel, Egron looked at the priest again, and said to him seriously, "Father Faria, although we haven't known each other for a long time, over the past year or so, I've had a good relationship with you. A lot of lessons, to a certain extent, you are both my subject and half of my teacher, you are qualified to make a request to me - so I fulfill your wish, you don't need any vacation, but will continue Do your job. But..."

He changed the subject, "I can't let you perform your duties with such high intensity, because you are obviously overwhelmed, even if you don't consider your body, I have to doubt whether you can do your job well, so I have to do it myself Share responsibility."

"Are you responsible?" The priest was a little surprised and didn't understand what he meant.