Eagle’s Glory

After seeing off Count Alexander Walevsky, Aigron just took a short rest and asked the guards to bring another visitor to him.

The visitor was quickly brought over.

Prosecutor Gerard de Villefort still had a stern face as usual, as serious as granite.

Only those with the most meticulous observation can find a trace of fear and flattery in his eyes when facing Aiglon.

After seeing Aigron, he bowed respectfully to Aigron, then lowered his head and waited for the young man's instructions.

"Mr. Villefort, I have to say that your performance is even better than I expected." Aiglon looked at the other party gently, "You have done great service for me and saved France from a huge disaster. Although Your achievements will not be recorded in the annals of history, but I will always remember them."

Aigron's encouragement made Villefort feel more inspired.

Of course, deep down in his heart, he still felt a little regretful.

For the incident that was originally noisy for a while, it died down quietly, with "Gao Dan planned and executed all this" as the conclusion. It is impossible not to regret it - only he himself knows that in order to put it right, The Duke of Orleans was dragged into the water. He wasted no time at that time and made up all kinds of accusations.

It is conceivable that if this case really proves the Duke of Orleans' crime, then he will definitely go down in history and become the most famous legal worker in French history.

However, the King of Rome made a frivolous decision and all his hard work was in vain.

However, although he is unwilling to do so, as a "tool man", what can he say about this?

He can only act according to orders, and he can only do as much as the superiors ask him to do. Otherwise, His Majesty has many ways to ruin his reputation.

Judging from the results, he did his "errand" well, which naturally gave him a lot of political capital. Judging from past deeds, His Majesty is a person who knows rewards and punishments. If this is the case, then he is destined to prosper in the future. So a little regret is really nothing.

When he thought of this, Villefort suddenly became enlightened.

In front of others, he is an incarnation of the law who is not afraid of the powerful and upright. But in front of the young man who has his fatal handle, he is not qualified to talk about moral integrity. He can only try his best to use his own ability to please this young man. His Majesty,

In exchange for your own advancement.

While Villefort was still deep in thought, Aiglon spoke again.

"Now that the Duke of Orleans' matter has come to an end, you can focus on other matters."

These light words suddenly made Villefort startle, and he quickly became serious again.

"Your Majesty, what case do you want me to handle?"

"When I was in Lyon, I captured Marshal Marmont, and then kept him captive and brought him here." Aiglon simply explained his thoughts to the other party, "I had too many things to deal with before, so I didn't have time to deal with them. Him, but now I have my hands free, I need to prosecute and try Marshal Marmont, and since you are so capable, I think you should take the lead in handling this matter."

Although Aigron was praising Villefort, Villefort was secretly complaining.

The Duke of Orleans is not easy to mess with, but Marmont is not an easy person. In a sense, he is even more difficult to deal with than the Duke of Orleans. After all, this marshal has been in the army for decades and has promoted and won over many officers. These vulgar warriors are not If one or two good people decide to avenge their benefactor, the King of Rome certainly does not need to be afraid, but he will be in big trouble.

Moreover, more importantly, if Marshal Marmont is to be tried, it will inevitably involve the dark history of the past and the disputes between the Bourbon family and the marshals. These things hidden in the dark cannot be easily revealed. of.

Moreover, Villefort has always created a persona for himself as a loyal royalist. Even when facing the hearing of the House of Lords not long ago, he publicly swore an oath with great courage - however, if he presides over the trial of Marl Marshal Meng would inevitably stand on the opposite side of the Bourbon family. At that time, his so-called loyalty would become a joke to the outside world, and the reputation he had worked so hard for himself would inevitably begin to collapse.

If he attacks the Duke of Orleans, others will only applaud him, but if he stabs the exiled royal family in the back, he will only be seen as acting on the wind.

"Your Majesty..." Because of the fear in his heart, Prosecutor Villefort briefly overcame his fear of Aiglon and couldn't help but whisper to excuse himself, "This case is very complicated and will involve members of the military. You'd better act cautiously...Don't forget that you have just come back, so you should not act too tough to avoid causing doubts about you."

"What, are you teaching me how to do something?" Aigron frowned.

This question frightened Villefort out of his mind. He quickly shook his head, "No, that's not what I meant. I just think it is necessary to remind you..."

"I know this without you reminding me. And Attorney General Villefort, I want to remind you that I have other advisers on this matter. I don't need you to advise me on what to do. You only need to carry out my will." That'll be fine." Aigron interrupted the other party coldly.

Then, he softened his tone slightly and continued, "I have been thinking about how to deal with Marmont for a long time, and now I have an idea. Of course I will not execute him, because I am not coming back to settle matters. The impact of executing a marshal is really too great, and it will also affect my international image; but even so, based on what Marshal Marmont did, he should be convicted, not only for trying to lead his troops to stop me, but also for Because of what happened in 1815, he was guilty! As a marshal of the empire, he voted for the death penalty for his colleague, marshal Nei Yin. He was a coward who avoided fighting, but he allowed a horse to die several times but still returned. The hero who bravely charged was sentenced to death! He must be punished for this, otherwise how should I explain to my followers and supporters of the empire? How should I establish correct values ​​​​in the army? Should I tell For them, only betrayal can lead to glory and wealth, but loyalty and bravery are useless? So what’s the point of such an army?!”

In fact, the reason why the Bourbon royal family wanted to execute Marshal Neyin in 1815 was because Marshal Neyin first defected to the royal family and received preferential treatment. However, when he suppressed Napoleon's landing, he chose to defect again and returned to the emperor's throne. Under his command, King Louis XVIII hated this kind of "repeated leaps", so he could spare Davout, Soult and other marshals who continued to serve the emperor, but he insisted on executing Nei Yin.

Because it was the king's will, Marshal Marmont was just "following the crowd". Even if he did nothing, Marshal Neyin would still be executed.

But no matter what, for the sake of his own glory and wealth, Marmont still chose to stab his old colleagues in the back, doing something that Moncey and others despised, and in exchange for the favor and reuse of the Bourbon royal family, he rose all the way up. Became Minister of War.

Therefore, Aigron wanted to re-clarify the old events of 1815 by trying Marshal Marmont, and change the restoration of the Hundred Days Dynasty from "rebellion" to "glorious". This was also his necessary attempt to reshape the legitimacy of his dynasty.

There is also an unexplainable purpose. He also wants to use this to establish his prestige to the veterans of the current army and let the old marshals know that they are not outside the law. If Aigron insists, he can definitely put them on trial. seats.

Because he had just returned home and had no foundation, he had to compromise with the elders and act as a sign while the elders assisted him in actual rule. However, this was a principle that must be adhered to. He would never allow himself to be just a mascot.

The fallen Marmont can become a living example. It doesn't matter how much punishment he received. What is important is that as long as he is judged, it means that others can be judged if they have done something wrong. This is not allowed in his dynasty. Lawless elders exist.

Aiglon does not need to disclose these calculations to Villefort.

Villefort is an easy-to-use legal tool, and Aigron has seen that, even when there is not enough evidence to support it, Villefort can drag down the Duke of Orleans for false accusations, so it is naturally even more difficult to deal with a notorious Marshal Marmont. If Villefort takes action, there is no doubt that Marmont can be convicted - what crime to convict and how much punishment to impose are matters that can be reconsidered. As long as Aiglon is convicted, the goal has been achieved.

Of course, for this Villefort will definitely lose his reputation and become a legal lackey in the eyes of everyone, but Aiglon doesn't care about this.

He knew that Villefort didn't have much time left to play around, so it was better to squeeze out his remaining value as soon as possible while Villefort was still alive.

Faced with Aiglon's intimidation, Villefort had to retreat again - in front of the past kings, he could show his uprightness, but in front of Aigron, he had no room for struggle and could only obey every reasonable decision. Or unreasonable orders.

But in this desperate situation, the drowning Villefort still wants to struggle for himself and find a life-saving straw - or at least find someone to share the responsibility.

"Okay, Your Majesty, since you need me to do this, then I will definitely handle this matter for you and do my best." He calmed down and then said to Aiglon carefully, "However, Marshal Marmont After all, he is one of the main generals of the army. He is involved in too many people and facts, and he is very sensitive. As an outsider, if I am involved in everything, it will easily cause turmoil within the army, so I ask for your permission. I can get the assistance of several military judges, and it is best to have Marshal Soult appoint him personally, so that I can fulfill your wish without causing unnecessary disputes..."

Why couldn't Eggron see that Villefort wanted to share the responsibility and portray himself as a victim of the internal struggle in the army? As long as Marshal Soult nodded personally, no one would care about Prosecutor Villefort anymore.

However, this advice is also quite reasonable.

Now only Marshal Sirte can decide "what can be investigated and what can be reported," so that there will be no turmoil within the army.

More importantly, Marshal Soult is the most powerful "veteran" in his hands now. He needs to let Marshal Soult truly face the facts - even if the Marshal does not agree with him, he will have to go to court and be tried.

Therefore, after thinking for a while, he finally nodded and agreed to Prosecutor Villefort's proposal.

"What you said is indeed reasonable, so let's do this. You first collect the incriminating evidence about Marshal Marmont, and then wait for the army's cooperation. Note that you must be cautious enough so that no one else can find anything after he is convicted. What’s wrong!”

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will." Prosecutor Villefort bowed quickly.

After Aigron agreed to his last condition, he relaxed slightly, and then he realized that his back was soaked with cold sweat.

He is clearly an "upright legal incarnation", but now he has become a tool for this young man to attack dissidents. In order to please this difficult master, he has to make up crimes, deceive and frame him in every possible way... It makes me wonder just thinking about it. Wronged.

But what if I feel wronged? He has no choice but to be driven by this young man. His path is dark. He can only hope that all the hardships will come to an end, and he can sacrifice his reputation and conscience in exchange for a prosperous career.

After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Aiglon carefully, "Your Majesty, I understand your wish to severely punish Marshal Marmont. I also think he is a hopeless bastard and an ungrateful coward. But even so, After all, he is a marshal and has great influence both internally and externally. You may want to consider being a little more lenient to him... In this case, you can show your tolerant image to the outside world and prevent the past mutual reckoning from recurring. "

"I know, I will be measured." Aigron waved his hand impatiently, "He will be convicted and thrown into prison for a year or two. Then I will deport him, but I will not deprive him of it. The title of Marshal will be left to him to fend for himself from now on. If he is still interested in continuing to oppose me, then let him be."

In the final analysis, what Aiglon wants is the fact of being "tried" and "convicted." As for the multiple punishments, he doesn't care. Anyway, Marmont's political future is over, and it won't cause him any more trouble.

Although Aigron said harshly, Villefort breathed a sigh of relief.

He was originally afraid that Aiglon would go his own way and sentence Marmont to death or a severe sentence. As the leader of the case, even if someone shared the blame, he would have to bear great pressure. But now, since His Majesty only intends to punish Marmont in this way. Marshal Meng, then there is not much to worry about.

"Your Majesty, then I know what should be done." He bowed slightly, and then continued in a humble tone, "I will convict him of several serious crimes, and then sentence him to a heavy sentence, and then you can make the decision before Show mercy and specifically order him to have his sentence commuted... and finally banish him, so that no one will accuse you of anything, and you will be enough to let people know that betrayal will not end well."

Aigron looked at Villefort and realized that this person was really useful.

What a pity...sigh.

"Then let's do it." He waved his hand.