Eagle’s Glory

"Your sadness, crying, and pleading eyes are ten thousand times more effective than strong threats. I guarantee you this as a man."

…

Edmund's words made Agnes blush quickly.

I was both ashamed and a little annoyed.

"Do you all think that we girls should always pretend to be weak and be complacent about our ability to please men?!"

"Of course that's not the case. On the contrary, it is because you are so unique that you are so loved by His Majesty and us." Edmund shook his head without changing his expression. "But, since you are asking for someone now, then I think, It seems good to occasionally try out those girlish tricks - don't forget, even the most tolerant saints hope to get some spiritual rewards when they show kindness to others. Since you have already fallen into the requirements Now that people are merciful, why should they cling to their pride?"

Agnes was suddenly speechless.

She also knew that what the count said was actually the truth. The young man was indeed soft-spoken and not soft-spoken. If she was willing to speak softly, it would be easier to impress him.

When it comes to how to please others and get close to others, Agnes has been exposed to it at home since she was a child, and she doesn't understand it at all; however, the thought of herself having to flatter him makes her a little unbearable.

In the end, like most people, she wisely chose to avoid talking about it and left the problem to her future self.

"Okay, I understand, I will think about it!" She simply avoided this troublesome topic in the most common way, "Goodbye, Earl, take care of yourself!"

Then, before the count could speak again, she turned around and left in a hurry.

Miss Agnes, the way she behaves when she is embarrassed and nervous is indeed quite cute... No wonder His Majesty said he likes to tease her.

Now, she strongly ties the master's fate to her own, which means that Bianca must not die. However, Edmund believes that to His Majesty, Bianca itself is not important, as long as he can Just use her as a weapon to attack your political opponents.

Therefore, as long as Miss Agnes is willing to bow to His Majesty, everything will be easy.

What happens next is not something he can handle.

He only hoped that Miss Agnes could get out of the gloom - even though the life that fate prepared for her next might not be the one she wanted most.

What more can be said? I hope she won't experience such a painful blow in the future.

Your Majesty, please stop torturing this poor child...

After feeling a few words in his heart, Edmund quietly returned to his bedroom and reunited with Lady Emily, who had been waiting for him.

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Late at night, everything is silent, but not everyone can sleep peacefully.

The tragic entanglements in the world are not only played out in the house that originally belonged to the banker Mr. Danglars, but also in the Tuileries Palace, the most "noble" and most important place in France.

Normally, the elderly King Charles X would have gone to bed at this time. However, tonight he had not yet fallen asleep. Instead, he summoned his Prime Minister, Prince Polignac, to discuss the matter.

Perhaps due to long-term anxiety, the old king's gray hair has become extremely dry, and the wrinkles on his face are stuck one by one on his thin face, making his tall nose and sharp eyes look particularly fierce.

And he was exuding an aura of anxiety at this time, so that the king of a country could not see much of the majesty and calmness of a king, only the kind of hesitation that seemed to be facing the abyss.

Prince Auguste Polignac is already the third prime minister he has received within a year.

Just last year, because he felt that domestic public opinion was unfavorable to him, the king and Prime Minister Count Villers jointly issued a strict press control bill. However, after the bill was promulgated, it was immediately

It aroused a strong backlash inside and outside the Parliament, with crowds protesting everywhere; at the same time, the National Guard, composed of the middle and upper classes in Paris, also openly showed disrespect to the Prime Minister and the government, and even deliberately booed the King during his review.

Under such great pressure, the king had to replace Count Villers with a relatively moderate royalist, Viscount Jean-Baptiste Martinac, as prime minister in an attempt to calm the palace. Conflicts with the outside world; after the Prime Minister came to power, he implemented some relatively moderate policies in an attempt to restore public opinion. However, to the King's dismay, even though the new Prime Minister tried his best, he still failed to win the favor of public opinion and parliament. This also Making him deeply regret the concessions he made.

After months of hesitation, he made another change, dismissing Viscount Martinac, who had been in office for less than a year, and replacing him with Prince Polignac, who was known for his extreme royalist stance. Get on stage.

The prince also understood the idea. As soon as he came to power, he formed a purely royalist government around himself, so that he had a stalemate with the parliament just after he was appointed, and almost every time he spoke, he provoked fierce opposition.

In the king's view, since good words are useless and all superficial concessions cannot bring tameness, it is better to simply make up his mind and use an iron fist to prevent the public opinion community from further slandering the dynasty. After the government gets the situation under control, Then dissolve the parliament and hold a new election, replacing it with a more cooperative and docile parliament.

Of course, even he knows that today's France is no longer a country where the king can make decisions with a single word. No matter how reluctant he is, he has to recognize the previously promulgated constitution. This is not because he loves the rule of law. It was the fate of his brother Louis XVI that reminded him.

If it weren't for the fact that several attempts failed, if it wasn't for the premonition that his rule was in turmoil and the opponents below were ready to take action, His Majesty the King would certainly not be willing to take this step.

Therefore, before implementing such radical measures, he must unify the positions of himself and his cronies, and must implement his decision with the strongest determination and the harshest means.

Prime Minister Polignac was summoned by the king for this purpose.

At this time, the palace was as usual, with lights high and bright, and the large room was as bright as day. However, in the eyes of the Prime Minister, the king was filled with strong shadows, which was incompatible with the light around him.

If I could use one word to describe His Majesty the King's face at this moment, it would be gloomy.

In His Majesty's heart, there is not only the anxiety caused by everything gradually getting out of his control, but also the confusion and fear about the future.

It is obvious that in order to maintain his rule and the rule of the Bourbon family, His Majesty King Charles After being appointed again, the more I tried, the more I failed, and the more I failed, the more anxious I became.

Both His Royal Highness the Prince and His Majesty the King themselves felt deeply that they were already sitting on the crater of the volcano, and that the chances and luck left for them to save the dynasty seemed to be running out.

It is precisely because of this sense of urgency and fear that the king's attitude becomes stronger and his actions are more arbitrary than before. He is struggling and swinging like a poor man trapped in a swamp, trying to use his last strength to prevent the country from falling apart. "The past repeats itself."

He no longer dares to expect that his family can rule this country for generations like his ancestors, but at least he also wants to let himself die as a king without having to suffer the shame of exile or even being beheaded.

He is already old and can no longer live for a few years. As long as these few years are delayed, his children and grandchildren will naturally take over the mess. At least he can stay in the history books as a king like his ancestors. As for him, The specific performance is up to others to comment.

Whether history will satisfy the king's last humble wish remains to be seen.

"How are you preparing?" the king asked impatiently after the prime minister saluted.

"The Ministry of Interior has drawn up a list of banned newspapers and they will all be

They will be banned one by one within a few days, and the most radical writers and editors will be arrested as dangerous elements, and those in serious cases will be exiled. "The Prime Minister replied in a low voice. It was obvious that he had already prepared for the issues that His Majesty the King was worried about. "There is no doubt that the Parliament will fiercely oppose or even protest. I have carefully estimated that my government will not receive majority support, so If necessary, we have to forcefully dissolve the parliament, and then use the intermission between elections to recruit more loyalists into the parliament."

"Is there unity of opinion within your government?" the king asked again.

"There may be a few people who will object because of their personal stance or reputation-seeking reasons, but I am sure that most of the people in the cabinet are absolutely loyal to you. Anyone who expresses different opinions will be dismissed immediately as a warning to others."

Obviously, with the king's approach, he was almost ready to break with Parliament and the constitution recognized after the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty. He was outraged by Parliament's uncooperative attitude, and he himself knew that in this era of economic depression and public discontent, Under such circumstances, the parliament elected by normal elections will definitely oppose the dynastic government, so he decided to ban newspapers and control public opinion on the one hand, and on the other hand, he would take the opportunity to dissolve the parliament, and then use various electoral tricks to try to refresh the parliament. At the worst, he could Taking advantage of the adjournment of Parliament to deal heavy blows to various opposition elements.

"Well done, August." The king nodded, approving of the prince's unreserved and unhesitating loyalty.

He was not complimenting casually. In the world, it is often easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to provide help when the time is right. At this time, everyone can see that the king is in a dilemma, and is in sharp opposition to public opinion and parliament. The position of prime minister is not only not glamorous, but is definitely a hot spot. Damn it, the prince dared to come to the front to take up this mess for King Charles X at this time. This can definitely not be summed up by "lust for profit".

[At that time, after Louis XVIII returned to the country for restoration, France promulgated the 1814 Constitution and established a bicameral parliament modeled on the British system, that is, the House of Nobles monopolized by hereditary nobles and the elected House of Representatives (National Assembly), but the prime minister was appointed and dismissed by the king. Requires parliamentary consent.

Therefore, the government often clashed with parliament, especially during the reactionary rule of Charles X. When almost every prime minister implemented policies, he encountered fierce opposition from parliament and public opinion, and eventually had to collapse and replace him. 】

"Your Majesty, my family has loyally served the kingdom for more than ten generations. I myself have been imprisoned for supporting the royal family. My honor and my life are closely related to the royal family's emblem. In any case, At any time, as long as you and the royal family have needs from me, I will not hesitate to meet them." His Majesty the King's encouragement made the prince slightly emotional, "I know what we are facing, but I will go forward unwaveringly for As you go on, I firmly believe that God will favor the most sacred orthodox monarch."

The prince's words also moved the king quite a bit.

So he nodded slightly.

"Yes, from now on, we will face many difficulties and obstacles. May God favor us and let us get through this storm. I have seen too many storms in my life, and it was not easy to return to this calm bay, but May fate not capsize our poor ship again."

Although the king said the word "again" lightly, only those who have experienced it can deeply understand the sadness and pain involved - in 1804, he was only 24 years old because he tried to organize a coup to overthrow Napoleon, who was preparing to proclaim himself emperor. The royalist Polignac was arrested and thrown into prison. He was imprisoned for almost ten years before being released in 1813. He was an eyewitness of the entire bloody era, so he was naturally the best able to deal with it. The word "again" resonates with me.

The last time he saw with his own eyes the consequences of Louis XVI's step-by-step weakness and concession, this time he was determined to follow Louis XVI's brother with the firmest stance. Maybe this would not bring good results. , but no matter what, at least you must not surrender without resistance.

After the king calmed down, the prime minister hesitated for a moment before speaking to his majesty in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, in addition to radical elements in the press, the Ministry of Interior is also very strict with other suspected dangerous elements.

for attention. They also keep a list and can arrest them if necessary - if you order them. "

The king did not immediately give a positive or negative answer, but asked a question.

"How is Talleyrand doing now?"

"Prince Talleyrand...according to reports, he now lives in seclusion and hardly interacts with outsiders. In the first few days, he occasionally saw guests, but recently, even guests have stopped coming." The prince answered immediately.

Apparently, his people were indeed monitoring Prince Talleyrand.

"This old bastard! He is just a mourning crow! As long as he appears in any land, nothing good will happen!" the king said bitterly.

Like most people, His Majesty felt unhappy at the mere mention of Talleyrand's name.

But in the end he did not order the arrest of the other party.

Because he knew that the crow that announced the funeral was just a crow after all, and was never the cause of death. "Continue to monitor him and don't arrest him for the time being. He will definitely show his fox tail."

"Yes, Your Majesty."