Eagle’s Glory

The Glory of the Young Eagle text volume 60, after legality was instructed by Aigron, Edmund returned to Paris with the young Count Alexander Valewski.

He first found the Marquis of Noirtier and conveyed to him Aigron's intention and bottom line of cooperation with Prince Talleyrand. The Marquis of Noirtier, who had experienced many ups and downs, quickly understood Aigron's instructions. .

Next, he took the two young men to Prince Talleyrand's hideout to prepare for final negotiations.

The Marquis was very confident in this. After all, in the Marquis's view, Talleyrand and Aigron had already colluded together in general, and each was very satisfied with the other's "offer", and now they both have a tacit understanding of each other. Cooperation, so formal cooperation is just a step away.

But the more times like this, the more important it is to not be careless. The Marquis has experienced Talleyrand's unpredictable methods many times, and he will never believe him until the last one.

Moreover, even if they want to cooperate in the end, the Marquis believes that he must show a "me-first" attitude to let Talleyrand understand that His Majesty is not obligated to beg him, and he must not get used to his arrogance, otherwise there will be consequences. endless.

One early morning, this group of people passed through the thin fog, and then passed through the covered tavern and entered the underground hidden place, where Prince Talleyrand, who had been notified, was already waiting there.

As soon as he entered this confined space, the leading Marquis Noirtier looked directly at Prince Talleyrand who was sitting upright, then strode forward and extended his hand to Talleyrand. .

"Your Majesty, I am here to visit you on your Majesty's order. I wish you all the best."

Prince Talleyrand stood up unsteadily, then with a smile on his face, he gently took the Marquis's hand.

"I thank the King of Rome for his kindness, and I wish him all the best."

Because he was a lame, Talleyrand had to use the crutches in his hands when he stood up. The swaying look was a bit funny, but no one present felt funny - because they all knew that the man in front of them The man is one of the few remaining elders of that heroic era. He is the writer and witness of decades of history. Countless people have died because of him. There is a creepy aura in his smile that is enough to make people forget. He's old and funny.

The Marquis of Noirtier was equally impressive in front of Prince Talleyrand.

He is not only an enterprising politician, but also an extremely good swordsman.

Although his skills have declined due to old age, he still has an aura of calmness and authority. Standing in front of Talleyrand at this time, he still looks majestic and majestic, and his aura is not lost by half.

The two gray-haired old men stood together, and time seemed to have frozen - they had known each other before 1789, and together they had witnessed the rise and fall of kings, and also witnessed all the bloody events. On a windy day, under their shadow, everyone present held their breath.

This is what I want to be!

Seeing such demeanor of the two old men, the young Count Walewski couldn't help but be secretly attracted to them in his heart.

Although he is the son of the emperor, he can only serve as a minister to others, but there are differences among ministers. Young, energetic and ambitious, he wants to be the greatest minister, and the excellence of his "brother" Performance gave him a chance to realize his dream.

Of course, he must be able to seize the opportunity. He must show his ability and loyalty in front of his "brother" before he can turn this opportunity into a reality.

After all, he is still very, very young and has plenty of time. When these old men pass away one by one, he will naturally have a place on the stage. During this period, he only needs to continue to learn and grow.

While the young man was daydreaming about his future, Talleyrand quickly noticed the young man falling behind the Marquis.

It seems that they should be Noirtier's entourage - but on such an important occasion, Noirtier would not bring anyone who is not important.

If he were an ordinary person, he might not care about such small details at all, but Talleyrand had seen too many storms and waves after all, and was much more cautious than ordinary people, so he did not get into the topic first, but asked about Noirtier Marquis.

"This young man looks very unfamiliar. Can you introduce him to me?"

He spoke politely on the surface, but in fact he was doubting whether the young man in front of him was reliable. Edmund immediately understood what he meant, so he immediately answered the question on behalf of the Marquis.

"This gentleman is Count Alexander Valewski, recently chosen by His Majesty to serve as my secretary. You can rest assured that he is absolutely reliable."

After hearing the name, Prince Talleyrand immediately understood everything. A complicated smile appeared on his face, and then he greeted Count Walewski in a friendly manner.

"Young man, I have seen your mother. She is indeed a charming Polish beauty. No wonder she can capture the emperor's heart..." he said, sighing again, "But it's a pity that beauty is so unlucky, she passed away too early. "

Count Walewski did not have much impression of his mother. After all, when he was only seven years old, his mother died in childbirth after remarrying. However, since Talleyrand showed his memory, he certainly did not It will be a spoiler.

So he too sighed sadly.

"Ever since the late emperor was exiled to a desert island, my mother lamented day and night, feeling dejected by the suffering he suffered... This also greatly wore down her body. Her biggest last wish before she died was that I remember who I am to the end. Where do you come from? Don’t tarnish the reputation of the late emperor. Therefore, since I was a child, I have already made up my mind to do my best for the revival of the Bonaparte family. So after hearing that His Majesty returned to France , I immediately threw myself under his command.”

"Your loyalty is truly touching." Talleyrand still smiled, "I wish you success worthy of this bloodline in the future."

"I also aspire to be able to do it, but before that, I must learn from you and the seniors." Count Walewski responded very obediently, "Please feel free to teach me in the future."

"Of course!" Talleyrand laughed loudly, "I have always liked teaching young people, because it means the inheritance of our civilization... We will probably have many opportunities to work together in the future. As long as you are willing, I have a lot to teach you. for you."

Count Walewski felt honored to be treated so kindly by Prince Talleyrand, but he also knew that he was shallow and the person supporting the scene today was definitely not him, so after a brief greeting, he immediately disappeared again. After the Marquis of Noirtier, he would never cause any trouble to his predecessors.

Being able to participate in such a secret meeting today is already a huge leap in his life. From now on, his life will be completely different from before. Now, he just needs to do his job as a secretary with peace of mind and take careful notes beside him.

Then, the Marquis of Noirtier took over the topic again, "His Royal Highness, Your Majesty is very grateful for your previous help. He hopes that we can still cooperate happily in the future."

After finishing speaking, he took out a letter handwritten by Aiglon from his arms and handed it to Prince Talleyrand.

"During this period, His Majesty searched for fugitive members outside Paris and tried hard to 'persuade' them to side with His Majesty. Things went quite smoothly. However, after all, time was still too short, and there were still some stubborn people. The guys couldn't see the situation clearly and were unwilling to cooperate. For these people, His Majesty had no choice but to leave them in Fontainebleau and slowly convince them."

Talleyrand took the letter and browsed it slowly, while reminding him in a low voice.

"Your Majesty had better be polite to these people. Although the functions of the parliament are now close to paralysis, members are members after all. If they suffer too harsh treatment, I am afraid it will not be in your favor in terms of public opinion."

"Of course your Majesty is aware of this, so the MPs under house arrest did not undergo any violent torture, and their living conditions were met as much as possible." The Marquis explained for Aigron, "Your Majesty wants to know, how are you doing here? What if? Isn’t it enough, coupled with those legislators who are willing to cooperate with us?”

"If you want to build a complete absolute majority and dominate the operation of the entire parliament, it is quite insufficient now; but if you just want to tear it down so that it cannot achieve any issues that I don't want to see, then it is already Enough." Prince Talleyrand showed a sly smile, "The real problem now is that we must not only ensure that Parliament resumes operations as soon as possible, but also ensure that it does not become a rubber stamp for the Duke of Orleans. I'm afraid this requires a little effort. "

The Marquis understood that this was Prince Talleyrand hinting at his importance to Aiglon.

For Aiglon at the moment, the last thing he wants to see is that the legal parliament awards the throne to the Duke of Orleans when the "throne is vacant". Although this is not the end of the world, it will definitely bring a lot of trouble to Aigron. , and may even bring unpredictable consequences.

In order to avoid this happening, there are two ways. One is to use various means to make the parliament "illegitimate" and destroy the legitimacy of the parliament granting the crown; or to settle for the next best thing and find a strong enough force in the parliament. The opposition acted as an ally to thwart the ambitions of the Duke of Orleans, leaving the throne vacant and turning to other methods to elect the king.

Talleyrand also knew the stakes, so on the one hand he tried every means to thwart the Duke of Orleans' ambitions; on the other hand, he used his own role to remind Aiglon, so that Aigron had to rely on him temporarily.

"Of course your Majesty knows that this is not easy." The Marquis of Noirtier was not surprised by the prince's reaction, "So, he is willing to provide you with all the conveniences he can, and your expenditure on this matter will be completely covered by He'll take it."

Undoubtedly, "all conveniences" means that this is a blank check issued by Aigron. No matter how much money Prince Talleyrand said he spent on doing this, Aigron will reimburse him, so that this money-grubbing and lustful person will be reimbursed. Old people can take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune.

However, regarding such a huge benefit, Talleyrand just nodded lightly, indicating that he understood.

"That's not bad. To be honest, no matter what political system it is under, politics will always be a business that costs money. If Your Majesty is willing to help me relieve this worry, then I will be more confident. However, just spending money may still be enough. not enough……"

"Do you have any other requests?" Marquis Noirtier frowned slightly.

Although he knew that his side was currently asking for more benefits from Talleyrand, he had always hated others speaking openly to him. Seeing that Prince Talleyrand actually wanted to ask for more benefits at this time, he was dissatisfied with this insatiable greed. The behavior is naturally very objectionable.

"Don't be nervous, Marquis, I'm just talking about a very real issue - besides money, there are other things in politics, doctrine." Even at this time, Prince Talleyrand still spoke softly and with a soft tone. A slow aristocratic tone, "I have never believed in any doctrine in my life, but I have witnessed with my own eyes the passion brought by various 'isms'. Maybe it is not a good thing, but it is indeed a must." Something to look at and respect.”

"Then what doctrine do you hope to have?" The Marquis of Noirtier was still unsure of Talleyrand's ideas, so he asked him.

"I want to have an doctrine that can convince everyone in the country, or in other words, a way to make all doctrines speechless." Prince Talleyrand's words were still confusing, making people confused.

Fortunately, he didn't intend to play tongue twisters and immediately solved the doubts of the people present. "I remember that His Majesty the King of Rome has always been very concerned about the referendum, thinking that this is a way to give him absolute legitimacy in the new era, right?"

"That's true, but what does this have to do with what you said?" the Marquis continued to ask.

"My idea is very simple. The reason for the existence of this parliament is just to resist the king. And now that the king no longer exists, what is the value of its existence? It is not popular among the people, and the people do not You may not like it - if it didn't matter before, but now, letting an unpopular institution decide the ownership of the crown is really unconvincing, and I'm afraid even your Majesty won't like it. Are you being ridiculed as the emperor who 'bribed votes'?" Prince Talleyrand showed a sarcastic sneer, and then spread his hands, "So I think that after resuming operation, this parliament should end with self-dissolution. Next, all the people should re-elect a parliament that fairly represents the people of the whole country, and then let it decide the next state structure of the country and who should lead it..."

The Marquis of Noirtier and Edmond looked at each other in confusion.

To be fair, as Aiglon's close ministers, they all know that Aigron has always insisted on a referendum as a prerequisite for proclaiming the emperor. Prince Talleyrand's proposal does not go against His Majesty's will - it can even be said to be in line with it.

However, at this moment of national unrest, it is obviously unrealistic to hold a parliamentary by-election.

There is also a technical problem - according to today's parliamentary election system, only people with an annual tax of 300 francs or more have the right to vote. This means that only the middle and upper classes of society are eligible to vote. In some provinces, only a few hundred people can vote. Right, this is not a "popular" referendum at all.

"The election of parliament is not universal." The Marquis immediately pointed out the problem.

"This is just a trivial obstacle. You just need to tell me, do you agree or disagree?" Talleyrand looked at him gently but aggressively, "If you agree, I can do the rest."

Facing Talleyrand's gaze, the Marquis couldn't help laughing after thinking for a moment, "If you can do it, your Majesty will of course be happy to accompany you. He will never worry about losing to anyone in popularity."