[Count of Monte Cristo] Love and hatred

r081

Four years have passed.

Edmund became the leader of the largest smuggling ship alliance in the Mediterranean Sea. He successfully united all the smuggling ship owners in Livorno and along the coast, exchanging needs, sharing resources, and maximizing benefits.And he himself, as planned, had amassed a sum of money sufficient to build a ship with two rows of eighteen-pound cannon.

During this period of time, he has also been inquiring about the movements of France.In mainland France, the biggest change was the death of King Louis XVIII.The newly enthroned King Charles X, the former Earl of Artois, took the diametrically opposed position of his brother.He superstitiously believed in the "divine right of kings", overthrew all efforts of his brother Louis XVIII to implement a limited monarchy, and has been committed to restoring the old order.For the lower class people living in dire straits, France today seems to be a miserable world.

But the darker the times, the higher his three enemies climb.He couldn't be more clear about Fernand's situation. The man who betrayed his master is now a lieutenant general in the French army.

Danglars, the escort of the Queen of Egypt, got a letter of recommendation from Mr. Morel and worked for a Spanish merchant banker, and made a fortune during the war between France and Spain.He started a speculative business with that money, and married the daughter of the president of his bank, and got her property.After his wife's death he remarried soon after, and this marriage was as good a bargain as the last.Because this time he married Colonel Nargona's widow, Count Salvio's daughter Ermini.Earl Salvio is the king's former minister and is very popular in the court. With his relationship, Danglars got a baronship.Now Danglars' business is getting bigger and bigger, and even opened the bank abroad.

Villefort, on the other hand, was far more cunning than he looked, no matter whether it was Louis XVIII, Napoleon or Charles X, he could get along like a fish in water.Especially during his tenure in Nimes, he connived at the massacre against the Napoleonic party members, which was in the hands of Charles X, who hated Napoleon extremely, so the new king reused Villefort after he came to the throne.As expected, Villefort lived up to his expectations and became a loyal running dog.Charles X implemented a series of anti-people policies, such as restoring the previous privileged levels, issuing compensation to fugitive nobles, and strictly controlling publications, etc., all of which were supported by Villefort.At the same time, Villefort also received the secret support of an overseas force, which also allowed him to climb higher and higher in the turbulent situation.

In contrast, Edmund's old friend, the loyal and honest Mr. Morel, is not doing well.Morel worked hard for twenty-one years and gained a respectable place in the Marseille business world.But now, the old shipowner had lost five ships in two years, and suffered the bankruptcy of three big trading houses, and his only hope now was the Queen of Egypt to India.If this ship sank like the others, Morel would be completely bankrupt.

Edmund knew what that meant.

With Mr. Morel's character, if he really came to a dead end, he would die to defend his last reputation.

And that was what Edmund never wanted to see.Morel was his old friend, and he knew very well what Morel had done to rescue him after he was persecuted and imprisoned in the Château d'If, so that after the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, Morel was almost regarded as a The Napoleonic elements came to persecute.He also knew that Morell had been doing his best to take care of his family during his absence.

He silently prayed for Morrel, and for the Queen of Egypt, on which he had served as first mate...

There was a hasty knock on the door outside.

Edmund hurried over to open the door, and a gust of sea breeze blew in with a salty smell, and then his first mate Jacob rushed in.

"Captain..." Jacob was almost out of breath.

"What's the matter?" Edmund asked worriedly.

"You asked me to inquire about the ship, the Queen of Egypt, which sank on the way back..." Jacob said out of breath.

"How...it's impossible..." Edmund murmured, no one knew the Queen of Egypt better than him, he didn't know how many storms he had driven her through, the Queen of Egypt couldn't be so Sink easily.

"The news came from India, so there should be no mistake," Jacob explained.

Edmund fell silent.The sinking of the Queen of Egypt means that Mr. Morel's last hope is also shattered.

Seeing the captain not speaking for a long time, Jacob guessed, "Is it possible that the pirates did it?"

Edmund cast an incredulous look at his mate.

Jacob went on to say, "Actually, not only those merchant ships, but even the smuggling ships of our generation in Leghorn have sunk several times in the past two years. As far as I know, there is a small merchant ship that was supposed to sail to Portoferraio Yes, but it disappeared. Later, a fishing boat salvaged some wreckage. The fisherman thought it was strange, so he dived to the bottom of the sea. He saw that the boat was lying quietly on the seabed, the hull was covered with sea squirts and corals, and When he swam to the inside of the hull, he found a lot of skeletons. All the skeletons had a 24-pound iron ball tied around their necks. That scene scared the fisherman so badly that he told his friends about it. Friend. And that daring friend dived to the bottom of the sea again, and this time he found a big hole gouged in the bottom of the boat."

"That's what pirates do," Edmund added.

"Yes," said Jacob, "those pirates tied up the whole crew and moved the valuables away. After doing all this, they opened a big hole in the bottom of the boat. In less than 10 minutes, the sailboat started Shake from side to side. After the ups and downs, the air below the deck will explode due to pressure, the drain will spew water like a whale's spout, and the ship will sink completely. That's why Why didn't anyone go to sue the government, why the sailboat couldn't reach the port!"

"But pirates have almost disappeared these years," Edmund frowned.

"I think they're back again," Jacob folded his hands.

"You mean..."

"Yes," Jacob nodded, his tone not without worry, "The Flying Dutchman, the Black Pearl, and the Nemesis...all those ghosts who went away, they are back!"