Eagle’s Glory

Seeing Edmund Dantès' heartbroken look, Aigron couldn't help feeling a little sympathetic.

So, he also slowed down his tone, "Edmund, I'm not telling you this to expose your old scars, but to let you see the reality clearly—your fiancée no longer belongs to you, but a married woman." He is a wife, she has her family and her future. And you? As I just said, you have become a great big man now, and you will become an even bigger big man in the future. The whole of Paris will be for you And shivering, you don't need to think about that former fishing village girl anymore..."

"Your Majesty!" Edmund Dantès suddenly increased his voice, interrupting Egron's words.

It's very rude of him to do this, and it's extremely rare-it's obvious that his sanity is starting to loosen at this moment.

"I beg you... I beg you not to say that again, will you?" he begged Eggron in a trembling voice, "I know that everything you say is true and you are as insightful as ever , from a rational point of view, I should abandon the past and face the future you have given me. But...but... I really can't forget it! She and I have already engraved each other's appearance in our souls, Whether I was on a merchant ship in the Mediterranean Sea or in a dark dungeon, I never for a single moment forgot the happy time we had and the regret that we almost entered the palace of marriage. No! It should be said that it is precisely because of this A piece of happiness and regret, I was able to support myself mentally, so that I didn't die. I can't forget, I really can't forget... And I believe she hasn't forgotten, I don't blame her for marrying Fernand, because She is already desperate... In that case, what can I blame her for?"

As he spoke, this tough guy who had killed countless people had tears rolling down his cheeks. "If she had known at that time that I was not dead and had hope of getting out of prison, she would never have married Fernand."

Seeing this situation, Aigron didn't move anymore, he knew that no matter what he said, he couldn't change the other party's mind. In a sense, his idea is actually correct. In the original book, Mercedes did go out of her way to seek help for Edmund Dantès, and finally married Fernand in desperation, that is, The present Earl of Morcerf—a lonely and helpless woman in that difficult time, no one could blame her for making such a helpless compromise at that time.

That's right, he is such a man who values ​​love and righteousness. If Mercedes could be easily forgotten now, he would not be him.

"Then what are you going to do?" After a moment of silence, Aigron asked again in a low voice, "Do you still want revenge?"

"I think about it every day!" Edmond Dantès wiped away his tears, and then replied in a chilling tone, "I want revenge, and I want to take the lives of my enemies with my own hands."

"Then that means you're going to kill her husband,

Killed her child's father. Aigron said still calmly, "Even so, do you have to do it?" "

"Even so, do it!" Edmond Dantès replied loudly. "He almost ruined my life and let my old father die of starvation. I don't deserve to be a human being unless I kill him with my own hands."

"Very well, indeed." Aigron nodded in agreement, and then changed the topic, "So, if one day you kill her husband Fernand, what do you plan to do with her and her child?"

Edmund Dantès was a little stunned, apparently he hadn't thought much about this question.

After a moment of silence, he replied.

"I want to regain our happiness with her. If... if she is willing to forgive me, I will marry her. As for her child... I will take care of it properly, although he belongs to Fernand A child, but also a child of Mercedes. I complain, but I can't drag the next generation."

Sure enough... Eggron thought.

Even the son of an enemy can be forgiven because he has half the blood of his lover.

"It's really admirable love." Although he didn't particularly agree, he finally nodded. "Well, Edmund, if you are willing to do this, then I can only support you."

Everyone has their own values, and he has no interest in imposing his own values ​​on others. If Edmond Dantès thinks that doing so is the way to his happiness, he can only acquiesce.

"But I have something to say first, assuming all this comes true, you kill your enemy and marry her, then I only recognize you and your wife's flesh and blood as your heirs, even if the son of Count Morcerf is adopted by you , and you are not eligible to inherit anything I gave you." He made his final comments, and made a joke by the way. "You and her are not young anymore, and I'm afraid you'll be even older when your wish comes true, so I suggest that you hurry up when the time comes, lest all the things I bestow are wasted... I can't bear to watch Until the death of my favorite, the title of Count of Monte Cristo shall continue in my empire."

"Okay, Your Majesty." Edmund Dantès was slightly embarrassed, but he agreed to the agreement immediately.

"It's really too early for us to talk about this now. Count Morcerf is doing well in Paris, and we can only kill him when we return to France." Aigron raised his head and looked at the stars in the sky. , "But I believe that that day is not far away... We are on the road to victory. Sooner or later, everything in France will change according to our wishes."

Then, he reached out and patted Edmond Dantès on the shoulder lightly.

This is understanding, encouragement, expectation, and the pride of fighting side by side. Thousands of words are integrated in this light pat.

Then Aigron waved his hand and made another gesture, signaling the other party to leave.

Edmond Dantès bowed to his benefactor, then turned and left, then rowed to the shore of the lake in a boat, and returned to his residence.

==================================

Next, the focus of everyone's work shifted to the preparations for the canonization ceremony and the founding ceremony of the Grand Duchess of the Principality of Ioannina.

Under Aiglon's order, his main officers led their subordinates to wipe out the remnants of the Turks and the bandits everywhere. Pasha's heir paid tribute, and a steady stream of supplies poured into the city of Ioannina for a while, enriching the strength here.

After the principality was established, the city of Ioannina was naturally the capital of the principality and also his home here, so he had to manage it well.

According to the plan in advance, he cleaned up a group of priests and landowners around the city of Ioannina on charges of "Turkish remnants" and "bandit leaders", looted their land and property, and then distributed them to his subordinates who left People in the army, relying on this group of people, he will establish a solid core of rule.

As for the rest of the upper class, he publicly stated that he would never embarrass them, and allowed them to perform their duties and manage their property normally, so as not to arouse their resistance.

However, at this time, he also deliberately played the trick of divide and conquer. When selecting local officials, he deliberately selected Orthodox Christians first in order to instigate contradictions and confrontations between the two sects—of course, under his shock, the two sects The sects did not dare to engage in armed conflict, so they could only bury their grievances in their hearts, which actually cut off their ability to unite against the principality.

Under Aigron's planning, the system of the future principality of Ioannina can be regarded as concentric circles with several layers-with himself and Haiide as the core, and then follow him to occupy the Knights of Ioannina Members are the highest ruling class, and only they hold the most important military and political positions, while Father Faria becomes the prime minister, and uses his brainpower to assist Egron in controlling this highest class.

The second layer is the soldiers who stayed in the army after the disarmament. They are Bonaparte supporters who volunteered to come to Greece to seek refuge in Eglon. The backbone of power.

The third layer is the Greeks who belonged to Aigron and then went north together. They were allocated the land around the city of Ioannina by Aigron and became self-cultivated farmers with arable land. Obligation, they are the most loyal defenders of the principality - because if the principality is destroyed, everything they have obtained with great difficulty will also be wiped out.

The fourth layer is the Orthodox priests and landlords in the principality. They are at a disadvantage in terms of population, but they are deliberately supported by Aigron, let them serve as officials, and win them over as supporters. They are also very happy to see the principality being converted to the Orthodox Church. Dai ruled, and very much hoped that the Knights of Fontainebleau would continue to protect their interests.

The fifth layer is MSL priests and landlords. They originally had a dominant position in the local upper class, but they were suppressed by Aigron, so they must be dissatisfied.

However, Aigron also deterred them by killing chickens and monkeys. Although there were sporadic riots in some places, they did not dare to resist on the whole.

Moreover, the Ioannina region has been in constant wars for years. Greeks, Albanians and Turks are fighting endlessly here. Even the upper class feels precarious. After Aigron settled in, it provided a relatively stable At least their property and life safety have been guaranteed, and they are satisfied for the time being, and welcome the establishment of the principality.

The sixth layer, that is, the bottom layer, is the vast number of farmers and handicraftsmen in the Principality. They provide the main productive forces, bear taxes, and are politically powerless. The expectations of the "government" have been reduced to an extremely low level. As long as there is a safe life to live and food to fill the stomach, most of them welcome the establishment of the principality, as long as it can provide security.

"Security" and "prosperity" are the big cakes that Aigron can draw for everyone. Even those who are excluded by him from the ruling system, as long as they can get rid of the chaos of war, they can reluctantly accept this new order.

Of course, there is no doubt that this kind of isolation system cannot last for a few generations, but he didn't expect to last forever, as long as there are no accidents in the foreseeable future.

He has no interest in ruling a small principality all the time. This is just a stopover for him. The only stage in his eyes is Paris-the place that is destined to belong to him.

Under the deliberations of Aigron, Father Faria and other confidantes, decrees were promulgated from the city of Ioannina and spread to the entire region. With their efforts, a new order seems to have slowly spread in this area. Established in a war-torn area, it has the atmosphere of a country indistinctly.

Aigron knew that as a new country, the Principality of Ioannina needed to establish an intuitive "impression" in people's minds as soon as possible.

When marching all the way north before, he and Haiide often appeared in front of the crowd, just to build the impression of "we have a ruler" in people's subconscious, and then he also had people design the national flag and national emblem of the principality, and even They also made the seal of the Grand Duchess Ioannina (of course, kept by the Prime Minister of the Principality). Although it could not be perfect in a hurry, it was enough to set up a shelf.

In order to strengthen people's "impression" of the Principality, Aigron even ordered the establishment of a temporary Supreme Court, allowing this court to accept lawsuits from land and property disputes.

Generally speaking, the people who would cause such disputes are upper-class people. Aigron wants to adjudicate their lawsuits to make people get used to and remember the existence of the "Principal Authority" and obey this authority.

He also deliberately arranged for Haidee to attend this kind of litigation court every day. Although she was ordered not to speak or make any judgments, her sitting there was enough to reflect the rule of the Grand Duchess.

Whether it's politics, military affairs, or judiciary, work can be described as a myriad of things, even more than Aigron imagined, but for him this is not boring, he even regards it as a kind of preparation in advance. Exercise—after all, the country he dreamed of was a hundred times bigger than Ioannina.

During this period of busy work, winter also came to the Balkan Peninsula.

Although the local climate is warm, winter is winter after all. Aigron put on a winter coat and asked people to distribute warm clothes and food inside and outside the city of Ioannina—after all, if someone just came here, someone would die from cold and hunger. Die, the face is too ugly.

As for the surrounding poor and remote areas, he can't care about them for the time being, as long as they are out of sight and clean.

While the winter wind was blowing, preparations were made for the canonization ceremony of the Grand Duchess of Ioannina and the founding ceremony of the Principality.

He was going to use this to put an end to his phased victory.