Eagle’s Glory

"I will also never forget what you and your family have done for me."

Aiglon's affectionate words made Marquis Treville feel very relieved.

Although on the surface, the Marquis of Treville has always said that he is loyal to the Bonaparte family just to repay the kindness of the king without asking for anything in return, but people are still human after all, and he also has his own children and grandchildren. Even if he has no desires and desires now, he still has It was impossible to give up his children and grandchildren - if it wasn't for family planning, why would he still participate in such a fatal undertaking at this age?

Therefore, Aigron specifically mentioned that he would repay his family in the future, which just spoke to his heart.

He obeyed the young man's order with joy and sat on the sofa, but he still sat upright and straightened his back without any slack, so that His Majesty could feel his caution and respect.

"You must have worked hard on this journey." Now that the two of them were close at hand, Aigron looked at the general carefully, and he could see the fatigue after a long journey in his gray temples and beard.

"It can't be said to be too hard. The journey I've taken in the past was much longer than this -" Marquis Treville replied nonchalantly.

"That's right. Back then, you followed the late emperor on a return trip from Paris to Moscow...compared to that journey, the fatigue you felt this time was nothing to mention." Aigron smiled, "At that time, in You have run more than 5,000 kilometers in less than a year, which is indeed tiring."

Hearing Aigron's laughter, Marquis Treville could only grimace and did not dare to laugh with him - as the heir of the empire, Aiglon can make fun of the empire's most spectacular defeat. That is magnanimity; As a subject, he cannot ridicule, and as a witness at that time, he cannot describe this past event in a ridiculing tone.

"That is indeed an unbearable memory for us." After Aigron finished laughing, the Marquis sighed gloomily, "I am a lucky person, I am a general, even if I flee, I still have troops. They had the best treatment in the country, but it was different for the poor people who followed us... They were forced to endure hunger and cold, silently following us with their legs to the west, and some people kept falling to death in the cold wind. , and those who survived were already like walking corpses, just moving forward silently with the last hope of being human... This was no longer an army. In the end, everyone just wanted to prevent themselves from becoming another one in the wasteland. Fighting for an unclaimed skeleton - luckily I came back alive, but too many people have been buried forever on that barren land, including many of my friends and subordinates. I don't want to I remember those nightmares made of cold wind, ice and snow, but I will never be able to forget those disasters and the faces that disappeared one by one in front of me."

Eggron listened quietly to the general's emotion, and in the end he couldn't help but sigh, "This is indeed a heartbreaking failure, and we are still paying the price for it to this day. But as long as we are alive, There is hope of standing up again from failure.”

"You are our hope, Your Majesty." General Treville replied immediately, "I am not telling you this to pour cold water on you, but to make you feel the weight of every decision you make - you are putting your whole body into it." To maintain our entire party, your decision will be related to our life and death. Of course, we are not afraid of life and death for you. As long as these deaths are useful to you, you can exchange our lives for your victory."

"I know, of course I know -" Aigron nodded, and then laughed again, "General, I know you are a serious person, but there is no need for you to speak in such a depressing tone the first time we meet. ——Not only do I not want to waste your and other people’s lives, on the contrary, I hope to preserve you more than anyone else, because if I really come to France in the future, I need you to manage the army for me and protect me. s country."

“This is our calling.

"General Treville nodded.

After a pause, he changed the subject, "But Your Majesty, there are still quite few people in your hands, and most of them are very immature. It is difficult for them to get the respect they deserve in the army anyway - therefore, from now on From now on for a long period of time, you need to get the cooperation of the existing officer class in the army. Only they can make the army favor your side, at least not against you becoming the emperor."

Aiglon understood this very well, so he nodded, "This is exactly why I rely on you and seek advice from you."

Eggron discovered that perhaps because he had been in the army for many years, General Treville spoke straightforwardly. Although he was respectful to him, he also had something to say, and even dared to refute his words in person - although on the surface, he first agreed with his words and then Tactful advice.

If you are a narrow-minded and incompetent person, you will definitely feel resentful when meeting such a subordinate, but Aigron will not. He appreciates people with character - but only if they have talent.

"That's true. I do plan to seek support from the army - but General, you can see now that the current army is in the hands of the Bourbon family. They have also been trying to win over the marshals and generals. Many people They are all recognized as nobles and have extremely high courtesy in the court. What do you think I should do in this situation?" Aigron asked humbly.

Aigron's attitude changed from his usual pride, and he asked the other party very humbly. General Treville had also thought about this issue for a long time, so he was able to give Aigron an answer on the spot - of course, he absolutely did not He dares to treat his loyal lord as a "junior", so his attitude has always been "suggestion" rather than "advice".

He knew very well that this young man had such talent and firm will since he was a child, so his character must be arrogant and conceited. Even if he was pretending to be humble and seeking knowledge at the moment, if he lost his mind and took it seriously, he would really go. If you treat him with the attitude of a teacher teaching a student, even if he does not feel dissatisfied today in order to win over people's hearts, when his position is stable in the future, he will never get any good results.

Although the general has been trying hard to maintain an outspoken, upright and loyal persona, he is after all a member of the Treville family and has the ability to see into people's hearts. He served under Emperor Napoleon at that time and was deeply loved by His Majesty the Emperor, even the later emperors. He has never been offended even though he has become more and more self-willed, and it is definitely not the so-called "straightforwardness".

With a meticulous and respectful attitude, the Marquis of Treville bent slightly, and then calmly continued to speak to the young man, "I have been in the army for many years, and even though I have been forced to withdraw from the army, I still keep in touch with my old friends. I can tell you that the military is a closed world, like a brotherhood. They have deep personal relationships because of their long-term service. And nowhere is the relationship between superiors and subordinates more important than in our military. Therefore, Officers at the top wield great influence.

——At the top of our army today are the remaining marshals from the imperial era. After the departure of the late emperor, they represented that era full of victory and glory. They have the highest prestige in the army and therefore have the most weight in their words. Their subordinates are spread throughout the army. If you can get them to advocate for you within the army, then you will naturally get twice the result with half the effort. After the restoration of the Bourbon family, they also made several marshals, but they either died because of old age, or they could not assume enough prestige because they did not have much military merit, and they had few personnel connections in the army, so they were not worthy of fear. . "

Aiglon thought about the other person's words silently, and then nodded slightly.

"Well, you are right, we need to seek the support of the marshals, but what are the details?"

General Treville then explained to him the conclusions he had arrived at after his observations.

It is now 1828. Among the marshals conferred by Emperor Napoleon, Masséna, Ney, Suchet, Berthier, Davout, Augereau and others are all dead, while Marmont, Macdonald, Saint-Symi Erl, Oudinot and others turned their backs on Emperor Napoleon after he abdicated the throne for the first time, and refused to serve Emperor Napoleon during the Hundred Days Dynasty. It was obvious that they had already sided with the Bourbons, so they could not do it no matter what. Consider trying to win over them.

So far, among these marshals, there are very few who meet the two conditions of "still alive" and "not betraying Emperor Napoleon or living in seclusion in 1815, but choosing to continue cooperating with Emperor Napoleon."

Under Aigron's sight, the general expressed his conclusion——

"Sourt and Moncey."

Aigron continued to frown in thought.

This answer is not surprising,

Marshal Soult was a well-known general during the imperial period. He made many military exploits and was named Duke of Dalmatia by the emperor. During the Hundred Days Dynasty, he actively served the emperor, served as chief of staff, and participated in the ill-fated the Battle of Waterloo;

As for Marshal Moncey, his military career was less impressive, but he still made many meritorious deeds through hundreds of battles, and was named Duke of Conegliano. During the Hundred Days Dynasty, he also took the initiative to request to serve the emperor, but Because he had actively called on the emperor to abdicate in 1814, the emperor did not reuse him this time. Instead, he appointed him as a member of the Senate and left him idle.

After the defeat at Waterloo, the Bourbon dynasty was restored again, and both marshals were unlucky. Marshal Soult was exiled and was not allowed to return until 1819. Although his status as marshal was restored, he could no longer have it. His original military position was gone;

Marshal Moncey was assigned by King Louis XVIII to interrogate Ney. He knew that if he accepted this task, he would be able to clear himself, but he would have to bear the historical responsibility of killing such a great general as Ney, so he wrote He wrote to the king flatly rejecting the order, and stated that he would not hesitate even if the king revoked his title and title.

Louis XVIII was furious, dismissed him from his post and imprisoned him. He was released a year later. Marshal Marmont presided over Ney's trial and eventually shot him.

All in all, both marshals met the two prerequisites, and both were not doing well in the current Bourbon dynasty - which meant that they had enough motivation to support Aigron's side.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Aigron asked again.

"You can write letters to the two marshals respectively, appreciating their loyalty back then, and stating that you need their help now, and then promise that as long as they do this, you will reward them with the highest courtesy in the future." Marquis. Answer confidently.

"Of course I can do this, but they are all veterans. I'm afraid it doesn't mean much if I just write a letter to promise." Aigron said hesitantly.

"Of course, no one can expect to impress them with just a letter, but you have to do it. This is the first step. You have to show your desire to bribe them and your sincerity. Only with sincerity can you negotiate. Basically, I believe that both marshals have motives to settle everything in the past." General Treville immediately replied, "In order to enhance your persuasiveness, you can also prepare a heavy gift for each of them, which is more appropriate."

As if to increase his persuasiveness, General Treville waved his hand heavily, as if waving a riding crop.

"Your Majesty, we must seize the time. The Bourbon dynasty is currently unpopular. Everyone can see it. Many careerists are ready to take action. According to the news from my friends, the Orleans family is also deliberately trying to win over these people. If we let If they succeed, it will be troublesome——"

Aigron's heart trembled.

For him, this is not a hypothesis, but a fact - because in the original historical line, after the Orleans family usurped the throne, they immediately moved Marshal Soult out to be the pillar of the army, and let him serve in the cabinet successively. The positions of Secretary of State for War, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister are almost overwhelmingly powerful.

"Who do you think is most likely to be the breakthrough?" he asked quietly.

"I think it's Marshal Soult." General Treville gave an answer that was not surprising to Aiglon. "He is more ambitious and very willing to regain power and make up for the time he lost."

Huh, just because you are ambitious and greedy, you will get more solicitations.

Aiglon thought for a moment, and then smiled bitterly - this is always the case in the world.

"Very good... General Treville, you are right, this is what we should do." He made a decision, "We will do it, and we will do it immediately. I will write the letter tomorrow."

"That's great, Your Majesty!" General Treville's serious face also showed joy.

Of course, it is impossible for him to actively serve Egeron for nothing.

He could see that the marshals of the imperial era had passed away one by one, and even if they were still alive, most of them had abandoned the Bonaparte family. This meant both difficulties and opportunities.

If this young man really realizes his ambition, he will definitely have to win over the existing senior military officials as a temporary stopgap measure, but as his confidant, he will inevitably be promoted and hold huge power.

He had never thought of monopolizing the command of the entire army - he did not have the ability and prestige, and there was no need to do such taboo things.

Besides, now that his son is useless and cannot join the army to succeed him, and he only has one granddaughter, what's the point of trying so hard to gain fame?

For him, he would be satisfied if he could find a marshal in the future, take charge of a part of the army in a glorious manner, and settle his past enemies with pride.

He looked at the young man's shining eyes, and suddenly his eyes were a little blurry, and he felt as if there was a marshal's scepter waving towards him.

Yes...I deserve it. he thought with excitement.

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