Eagle’s Glory

It was already late at night, but because of the letter from Edmond Dantès, Aigron was full of enthusiasm and energy, as if he had inexhaustible energy.

He had always wanted to win over Marshal Soult, and judging from Edmund's report, the Marshal did not seem to exclude him from this option.

——Obviously, the marshal is still hesitating now. He has several choices, but for Aigron, as long as he is willing to open a door, he will have a chance to enter the house.

What Marshal Soult said to Edmund was obviously a "test question" for Aiglon. He wanted to see how good he was and whether he had the ability to lead this country into a new era.

For others, it may not be easy to understand all this, because the authorities are obsessed with it. Even today, when the Industrial Revolution has happened quietly for decades, not many people can imagine the incredible changes it will bring to human civilization.

It's 1828 now, and people's lives don't seem much different from 1728. However, just a few decades later, European countries already have railway networks stretching tens of thousands of kilometers, and telegraph networks radiating to almost every town. As well as the iron ships that traveled across the seas and braved the wind and waves. Now, to an ordinary person, all this is as incredible as a dream.

However, reality is reality. Europeans have relied on years of accumulation of knowledge in mathematics, physics and manufacturing. Now they have reached a critical point. With just one step, the treasure house of knowledge will be opened, and endless scientific achievements will be made. Like a blowout, they appeared intensively in just a few decades, eventually transforming all human life.

Most people are unaware of this. They are busy every day and live the same life as their ancestors. However, a small number of people have vaguely felt the coming of the times, either because of their experience or their intelligence. , they may not know what the future will be like, but they know that it won’t be long before people’s lives will be changed beyond recognition.

And Aigron just knew what would happen. He didn't mind shamelessly treating "what he knew" as "things he thought about" and sharing them with Surte as his own opinions. He believed that what he thought would be It would far exceed Marshal Soult's expectations and take longer than he wanted.

"Dear Marshal Soult, I have admired you since I was a child, and I am extremely grateful to you for your willingness to stand by the Bonaparte family until 1815 and join hands with the emperor to fight against powerful enemies. Your martial arts and your loyalty, I keep it all in mind, and I extremely look forward to working with you again as the emperor's heir. I believe that if we really stand together, we will bring France into a new era...

When you see this, you may smile disdainfully, thinking that I am just telling you some hypocritical clichés.

But please believe that I say this with sincerity.

What you said to the Count of Monte Cristo has been relayed to me. I am very happy to hear your high opinion - today, more than ten years after the fall of the empire, you have not wasted your energy. Instead of dwelling on a certain battle or decision in the past, you see something deeper. You find the source of the British's strength. You think their superiority in machines, that is, technology, will allow them to continue. I also recognize the danger of maintaining myself so powerful that France can no longer match it.

The British now have the best technology, and they use it in coal mining and ironmaking, so they can have more machines, which will help them establish their advantage over other countries. But their advantages are not invincible. If we can develop technologies with the same or even greater intensity and apply them in the military, then we can defeat them - for example, the Royal Navy now controls the ocean, and they They also control the best oak raw materials. It is impossible for us to surpass them with current technology. However, new technology will bring us new opportunities. Steam power will be applied to ships sooner or later, and the surging power possessed by machines will allow ships to no longer rely on sails, and can even push giant ships made of steel... Once we With such technology, the advantages accumulated by the Royal Navy will be gone. We can use a brand new fleet to compete with them. Even if we cannot defeat them, we can at least be on the same starting line. If we are determined enough, This can absolutely be done.

Battleships are just one aspect, and there are many more important aspects that deserve our attention. For example, if we build a train driven by a steam engine and let it drag each carriage on the track, and if we pave a Rail network, then it can greatly improve the domestic transportation situation. The speed and scale of our mobilization of manpower and material resources will be unprecedentedly fast. The speed of our dispatch of troops and the intensity of ensuring their logistics supply will also become very amazing. This It will change the face of the entire war in a very short period of time... If you are ignorant, you may think that I am talking nonsense, but I believe that as the best commander in our country now, you will definitely be able to taste it. means.

I dare to assert that in the next era, there can be such amazing changes, which will definitely change the face of the entire country and even the entire world. It will definitely come. The only question is, whose era does it belong to? Who will it be controlled by?

I will not hide my ambition from anyone. I want to control this new era and make my empire the best in it. It is impossible for me to achieve this goal alone. I desperately hope that people with the same ambition will stand by my side and work with me to achieve this goal... After seeing the letter from the Count of Monte Cristo, I I am convinced that you are definitely a suitable candidate.

I will not force you to remain loyal to the Bonaparte family. You have done enough. I cannot ask you to continue to make sacrifices for us and face new dangers. But please ask yourself, do you think if you want to prevent As the British century approaches, who is most suitable to helm this country? I think you will be able to come up with the correct answer.

A short letter cannot allow us to communicate effectively. I sincerely look forward to meeting you one day in the future. I want to pay tribute to you in person and express my gratitude, listen to your teachings, and figure out how to work with you. Change this country... If one day comes, I dare to say that this will be the moment that determines the destiny of the country.

Salute to you again! No matter what choice you make, I am forever grateful for all you have done for the Empire and for the Bonaparte family.

Yours faithfully, François Bonaparte. "

With a glimmer of inspiration, Aigron wrote the letter passionately and then carefully sealed it.

Tomorrow, his secretary will recompile the letter in secret language, and then have someone send it to Paris, where it will then be delivered to Marshal Soult.

He would not naively think that as long as he read a letter, the marshal would be influenced by him and follow the Bonaparte family wholeheartedly. This was impossible.

But he believed that after reading this letter, Marshal Soult would have a new understanding of him.

Originally, because he was very young, in the marshal's mind, he would definitely feel that he was just a fledgling boy. Although he had some courage and strategy, he had little experience after all, let alone experience in actually governing the country.

But after reading the letter, he will definitely change his mind.

Aiglon deliberately grasped the scale, not only looking forward to the future, but not looking too far into the future - the steam age is something that the marshal can understand. If he goes further, he will definitely be regarded as the nonsense of a madman, and there is no point in it. significance.

But just this scale is enough to bring about earth-shaking changes in human civilization.

Humanity has had a history of civilization for thousands of years, but after all, it is nothing more than dynasties coming and going, feudal lords annexing each other and then splitting, empires rising and falling, everything seems like a documentary that is constantly looping and rewinding. Birth, old age, sickness and death in the midst of chaos and ignorance, living a life where the average life span is no more than 40 years old, the infant mortality rate is extremely high, and even a meal of meat is a luxury for ordinary people - pain is the normal state of life, and living is just to welcome death silently, relying on religion Only then can you get some illusory comfort.

Only after the Industrial Revolution did material production become extremely abundant. Most people got rid of the heavy and arduous farm work, and finally had hope of living beyond the age of 60. Obtaining food was no longer a daily worry.

Most people finally have the qualifications and leisure to acquire knowledge, think about metaphysical issues, and truly live.

Only after the Industrial Revolution did history truly have meaning.

Of course, the industrial revolution will also bring some side effects, such as environmental pollution, metropolitan diseases, etc., but these are the "diseases of wealth" of civilization. People in the past were not even qualified to expect such a life.

Eggron can't share this with others, but he hopes that he can contribute to the process.

Owning an empire is of course a coveted happiness, but taking this empire is also a heavy obligation. He is not the kind of person who says "who will care about the flood after I die". On the contrary, he cares a lot about himself. What kind of reputation can it leave for future generations?

He will strive to leave his mark on the world, perhaps even outlasting his dynasty.

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After Aiglon sent his reply to Marshal Soult, his life returned to its previous track and he began to prepare intensively for his next action.

Based on the idea discussed with Michel Ney and Andre Davout, he wrote to Prince Otto, who had become the king of Greece, and vaguely hinted that he wanted to take some big actions in the near future. .

Soon, his hint was noticed by King Otto, who eagerly replied to Aegron, trying to find out what he wanted to do.

Aiglon did not reply to the king quickly this time. He just pretended that he wanted to make some big move and began to recruit his own troops.

After the establishment of the Principality of Ioannina, his original army was roughly divided into several parts: some Greeks retired directly and were assigned to the land around the city of Ioannina as yeoman farmers and became a barrier to the principality; some were stationed They went to several important strongholds and ports as a garrison; part of them served as a mobile force to patrol between several cities in the principality, and took on the task of suppressing bandits; and finally, they were the main force that stayed behind in the city of Ioannina.

Of course, after the dispersion, Aigron also paid great attention to maintaining the principality's violent machine. He has always emphasized the need to maintain mobilization. Once something happens, soldiers and reserve soldiers everywhere can be remobilized and reorganized into an army.

After Aiglon issued the order, the principality quickly carried out corresponding mobilization in accordance with the various regulations set before. Small troops continued to gather towards the city of Ioannina. At this time, the principality was lurking in Ioannina. Nina's informants from various countries also truthfully reported all these disturbances to their governments.

For a time, rumors that "Duke Lechstadt is restless again" spread throughout many countries in an instant.

As Aigron said, no one actually cares about the small Principality of Ioannina. After all, it is small, weak and remote; but many people care about him very much.

People everywhere are speculating about what Aigron wants to do. Is he dissatisfied with the current territorial area of ​​the Principality of Ioannina and wants to continue to expand and conquer?

However, Aigron didn't seem to care about this. After issuing the mobilization order, he remained silent and just maintained the tension of the situation, allowing the outside world to speculate on his actions.

As a neighbor and ally of the Principality of Ioannina, Greece is the country that is most concerned about his actions. They want to find out whether Duke Leichstatt is really not satisfied with the status quo again.

Because of this, King Otto wrote several letters to Aigron later, using more and more sincere words, trying to figure out Aigron's intentions.

The king even hinted in his letter that if the Duke really wanted to take action, the Greeks might still enthusiastically support it.

At the end of the letter, he also sincerely hoped that he could meet with Aigron to discuss the current major issues. He was very willing to provide the principality with the support he could as an ally.

The heat has arrived!

When Aigron saw the reply, he was quite happy... This was the response he wanted to get.

He could see that King Otto had noticed the tense situation and had the idea of ​​"just the right moment".

However, judging from the wording, he finally had some sense, and did not encourage Aiglon to take action, nor did he promise that he would directly participate in the war.

That's fine, Aigron is really afraid that the little guy's enthusiasm will get the better of him, which will eventually cause big trouble for everyone and make himself self-defeating.

After receiving this reply, Aigron finally broke the silence during this period and formally wrote a letter to King Otto, inviting him to meet with him for hunting at the border between the two countries and to review the army together.

He knew that Otto would definitely agree.

The storm is being stirred by him, but the eye of the storm is not here.