Eagle’s Glory

"My brother is not that loyal to the Wang family."

Hearing this implicit answer, the marshal couldn't help laughing.

He reached out and patted the Marquis of Treville on the shoulder.

"Victor, although you are loyal to the empire, and although you live and die with those civilian soldiers, in the final analysis, you are still a noble. Some things are really innate..."

The Marquis of Treville couldn't figure out whether the marshal was ridiculing or praising him, but it didn't matter now.

Now that he has a connection with the marshal, he might as well see what the marshal's plans are.

"Then what do you need us two brothers to do?" So he asked directly.

"Do nothing, wait for me." The marshal replied without hesitation. "Three days later, at this moment, a carriage will pass by your door. It will stop for thirty seconds-note, only stop." Thirty seconds, and then you two brothers come up together, one more or one less, otherwise it will just wander aimlessly in the streets of Paris until dawn."

The Marquis of Treville immediately had an opinion.

"This is too risky. My brother can't have much contact with me. What if something goes wrong? Besides, both of our brothers are on the carriage. Who will ensure our safety?"

"I promise." The marshal replied, "Victor, I guarantee that there will be no problem with the safety of you and your brother Philip. No matter what you choose in the end, you can return home unscathed. If I decide to do anything to your brother Disadvantage, I won’t play such tricks!”

Although his assurance was only verbal, the Marquis of Treville accepted the promise.

The same words have different weights when spoken by different people. The marshal will not squander his lifelong reputation on such a thing.

"Okay." In this case, he no longer hesitated, but nodded directly and agreed. "See you in three days."

Seeing the Marquis being so decisive, the Marshal also smiled with satisfaction.

"I knew you were a man capable of great things, Victor. See you then!"

Then, at the end, he added quietly, "I firmly believe that God will bless those who have the courage.

"

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the living room, and the men waiting outside the door immediately gathered around him again, and then escorted him quietly out of the mansion.

The Marquis of Treville stood silently by the window, watching the uninvited guests disappear into the darkness.

What will be waiting for you next? He didn't know, but he knew that an opportunity was right in front of him at this moment, which was enough to change his destiny.

He has never been a person who dared not gamble. He has gambled his life several times so far. If this is the case, why not do it again?

He turned back again and looked at the closed bedrooms upstairs - and in those bedrooms, his children and grandchildren were sleeping soundly.

They are the meaning for themselves to continue living and the hope for the future of this family.

No matter how the situation changes, the Treville family will stand on the highest stage, no matter what means are used, no matter what price is paid, this must be the case.

——

three days later

It was a cold night in late winter, and there were scattered snowflakes floating in the sky. However, when they fell to the ground, they were not enough to accumulate snowflakes. They only left a little more mud and water on the road.

Of course no one would be interested in staying outdoors on such a cold night, so the streets were empty. Occasionally, a few carriages would pass by in a hurry and never make any stops.

Under this bottomless darkness, the back door of the Marquis Treville's house quietly opened. Then, a lone lamp hung from the back, and then two tall figures quietly walked out of the back door.

They didn't stand in the cold wind for long before a carriage came over quietly from the slippery road.

The carriage stopped at the back door, and no one made a sound. The two figures came to the side of the carriage, then opened the door of the carriage and got in.

Then, the carriage started again and continued to speed through the wind and snow.

The howling of the cold wind swallowed up the originally small sound, and in just a few dozen seconds, everything returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

The Marquis of Treville sat silent in the carriage, and next to him sat his brother, His Excellency Philippe de Treville, Duke of Treville.

The Duke's face is somewhat similar to his younger brother's, with a square face and majestic thick eyebrows, but he looks older and his temples are completely gray.

Compared with his younger brother, he is more taciturn. Compared with his younger brother who can occasionally get angry, he has been more cautious in his words and deeds throughout his life, and can easily express his emotions and anger.

This style of his gave him a reputation as a "hard rock" in the court of the Restoration Dynasty. This reputation made him lack friends, but it was also regarded as a reliable performance. Both the late King Louis XVIII and the current King Charles X believed that the Duke was calm and capable, a rare talent among the nobles who generally like to be extravagant and licentious.

Because of this, the Duke has been highly regarded in the past ten years. Naturally, he has obtained the favors of palace position and member of the House of Nobles. He has even served as a minister in several cabinets. He can be said to be one of the real dignitaries of the kingdom.

However, despite his high position, the Duke still lives a simple life, rarely wearing medals, and usually lives in seclusion, rarely participating in social activities. His lifestyle makes others respect him more.

If such a person was witnessed in a carriage on this snowy night, he would surely arouse suspicion, right?

Fortunately, there were no curious eyes looking at the two brothers at this moment.

Because there was wind and snow outside the car, the windows were closed and the situation outside could not be seen. Therefore, after the carriage started, Marquis Treville had been trying to memorize the route of the carriage. However, perhaps because he was afraid that someone would do this, the coachman After deliberately driving the carriage around this neighborhood several times, the Marquis finally gave up the idea.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage finally stopped.

Then, the carriage was pulled open from the outside.

After a long time, they finally saw the light again. The Treville brothers were a little uncomfortable and it took them a while to see their surroundings clearly.

At this time, they were in a small open space. It looked like a vegetable garden, but there was a little snow on the ground, so it was hard to tell what was being planted.

Before they could ask any questions, someone gestured to them, indicating that they should follow him.

The two brothers naturally obeyed the order, and they followed the man into a nearby tavern. Then in a corner, the guide opened the carpet covering the ground, and then lifted up a wooden board, revealing the cellar below.

He made a gesture to invite in, and by this time, there was no need to hesitate. The two brothers walked in without hesitation.

After passing through the narrow corridor, they finally arrived at the inner space under the cellar.

This space is quite large, and can almost be described as "a unique cave". Candlesticks are hung on the four corners, and the candles lit on them illuminate the inside. It is fully furnished, and there are obviously escape passages and vents elsewhere, and there are Several cubicles.

Right in the center of the space, there was a huge dining table, with two people sitting on it.

Both brothers knew these two people - surprisingly they were Prince Talleyrand and His Excellency Marshal Soult, Duke of Dalmatia.

Prince Talleyrand took the lead in raising his glass and greeted the two brothers with a warm welcome.

"Welcome, Mr. de Treville, we have been waiting for you for a long time."

Then, he pointed to the chair next to the dining table and said, "Please sit down."

The prince's voice was as gentle and gentle as ever, but the tense nerves of the two brothers did not relax.

Prince Talleyrand acted like a host. It seemed that this place was his. However, from what they saw, this facility could not be built overnight. Prince Talleyrand had only arrived in Paris not long ago. Could he? Can such preparations be made?

The two Treville brothers sat down obediently, and then their elder brother, Duke Treville, asked coldly.

"Your Highness, I haven't seen you for a long time. I'm very relieved to see you in such good health. May I ask where you are here?"

"To be precise, this is a refuge." Perhaps because he was in a good mood, Prince Talleyrand did not hide his thoughts at all and replied to his question, "As you can see, this place has actually been built for a long time - —In fact, it was built during the Terror.

At that time, the situation was unpredictable. Those who were in power today might be guillotined tomorrow. So some smart people in power began to consider their options. While they were arresting people and sending them to the guillotine, they were secretly preparing shelters for themselves. They come here to escape the limelight when things go wrong... Thanks to them, we have an interesting social scene in Paris, reserved for those with the brightest minds. "

Prince Talleyrand smiled while recalling the past, "Later, this place fell into the hands of Fouche. You know, he was in charge of the police department at the time and offended many enemies. He regarded this place as a secret gathering place for himself. , every time I want to make some conspiracy, I come here to discuss it with my friends..."

"Fouche is dead, so this place belongs to you?" The Duke finally understood.

"Yes! That's it." Talleyrand smiled and nodded. "What a pity that Fouche died like this! If he were still alive, how excited he would be now, it's time for him to do something big again! You don't know, in 1815, he was jumping up and down here, I personally wrote my next liquidation list...how many interesting dramas are going on here!"

Having said this, the prince picked up the wine glass with great interest, and then suggested to the other three people present, "Come, let us drink a drink to the late Duke of Otranto, in memory of his ups and downs life!"

However, no one responded to the prince's eager proposal.

Everyone here knows what Fouche is.

He was erratic, betrayed almost every benefactor, he was ruthless, and as a commissioner of the National Convention, he single-handedly caused the Lyon Massacre. He was shameless, almost more so than Talleyrand.

Everyone knows what Talleyrand said in 1815 - Napoleon landed in France from Elba and re-established the Hundred Days Dynasty. However, after the defeat at Waterloo, his dynasty collapsed instantly.

It was also after the news of the defeat reached Paris that Fouche, Talleyrand and others launched a coup in Paris, took over the power of Paris, and then "greetly welcomed" King Louis XVIII back to loyal Paris, for the second time Restoration of the Bourbon dynasty.

On July 28, 1815, Fouche organized a ceremony to welcome Louis XVIII. In order to become a minister of the dynasty, he bowed deeply in front of the king, knelt down on one knee, kissed his hands in salute, how loyal!

However, the king and his court were afraid of Fouche's loyalty. At the strong suggestion of the people around him, Louis XVIII expelled Fouche from the country. Finally, this big man who everyone hated died in 1820. No one in Dresden, the place of exile, grieved.

Prince Talleyrand's proposal was met with an awkward silence in response, but the prince did not feel dissatisfied at all and drank the wine with a smile on his face.

"In 1790, you were here to make everything change, in 1800, you were here to make everything change, and in 1815, you were here to make everything change." Marshal Soult, who had been silent, finally spoke coldly, "Now it's 1830, and you're still here You are making trouble here! You are such a difficult person, I really don’t know when France will be able to get rid of this unfortunate Talleyrand plague.”

"My friend, don't worry. When I get tired of playing, I will throw away and leave, probably soon." Prince Talleyrand answered with a laugh, and then he said quite proudly, "I have done countless things. Strategy, but I finally discovered that the first important thing about politics is to live long. No matter how difficult and dangerous the situation is, as long as you outlive your political opponents, you will be able to win. As for how to survive, it depends on yourself. You are capable now, so I advise you to take good care of your health! Unlike me, you still have future generations to take care of."

Still no one echoed his words. Obviously, everyone present had a bad impression of Prince Talleyrand.

But Talleyrand didn't care. He was used to working with people who hated him.

He knows better than anyone else that personal feelings are meaningless, and the value of his existence only lies in what he can bring to others.

If he could bring power and wealth, then even if he was the enemy of his father, there would be people who would kneel down to accommodate him - he could see this happening more than once.

Therefore, he slowly took another sip of wine to clear his throat, and then looked at the three people in front of him.

"I feel that with the configuration of the few of us here, we can set up a national salvation committee. At least it will not be worse than the grass-roots teams I set up before - are you interested?"

Although his proposal was very tempting, the two Treville brothers immediately shook their heads, and Marshal Soult patted the table impatiently, interrupting him.

"Face it, Talleyrand! Stop joking."