Eagle’s Glory

With great comfort, Aigron teased Agnes in his arms - the room where Teresa was resting was very close to him, but this did not make him feel any discomfort. On the contrary, it made him feel more comfortable. A different kind of fun.

However, he did not dare to push Agnes too hard. After all, Agnes said that she would never do anything casual in front of Teresa. She was absolutely serious. If Agnes was really desperate, he would only It caused her to have a complete psychological breakdown and then react violently.

Since he couldn't really do it, Agron had no choice but to resort to the next best thing and use more and more skillful techniques to take advantage of this girl. Agnes had obviously bowed to her fate. She was obedient and obedient and allowed this young man to do whatever he wanted. She just wanted to hold on. Her last line of defense - as soon as possible, she didn't know what it meant.

Just as Aigron was enjoying the joy of his success, the door rang at an inappropriate time.

"His Majesty!"

Aigron, who was disturbed from his leisurely mood, suddenly felt an unknown fire in his heart, but he finally controlled himself because he heard that the person who spoke was his personal guard captain Andre Davout.

Andre has been with him for so long, and he is definitely not a fool. He knows that he is "summoning" Agnes and yet dares to knock on the door and disturb her. There must be something important.

"What's the matter, Andre?" Aigron stopped his hand and asked impatiently.

"Your Majesty... I'm sorry." Andre's voice outside the door was obviously a little nervous. He knew that he had done something unpleasant, but he could only bite the bullet and continue to report to Aigron, "Marshal Soult is here. , waiting for your summons outside the door."

Sirte is here? Aigron's original anxiety was instantly swept away.

When he and Teresa arrived at the palace just now, Talleyrand led the cabinet officials to greet them. Aigron scanned the circle carefully, but did not see Marshal Soult among the officials who greeted him.

Soult was the Minister of War, nominally a member of Prince Talleyrand's cabinet but almost equal to Prince Talleyrand himself. However, he did not come to greet him immediately. Instead, he waited until he entered the palace before coming to see him.

Even if this is not a sign of authority to oneself, at least it is not respectful enough.

Maybe he used this way to remind himself that he was not his servant? A little anger suddenly flashed in Aigron's heart.

He had already had a confrontation with Marshal Soult once over the question of "whether to try Marshal Marmont." He must have taken a tough stance.

The marshal felt resentful, so he would use this method to make a small protest against himself.

Both of them have extremely strong personalities. Marshal Soult has relied on his own military service for many years, so it is normal for him to underestimate his young self.

When he thought of this, Aigron felt even more unhappy. He had worked so hard not just to look at the old man's face.

Of course, now that he was still employing people, he still needed Surte to lead his horse and support him. In addition, Surte's faction also made great contributions in his return to the country, so Aigron decided to treat it as if nothing had happened. Forgive the other person for their offense.

However, he is not afraid of a showdown with the other party. After all, he has arrived in Paris and appeared in front of the people of the country. It means that the honor and reputation are all in his hands. No matter how prestigious Marshal Soult is, he cannot Really break up with himself - even if he does that, he will definitely not gain anything.

"Let him come over." After weighing everything, Aigron replied coldly.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Andre was relieved, and then went to lead Marshal Soult over.

Agnes also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She was so hot and uncomfortable from Agron's teasing just now that she was relieved now that she had a chance to escape.

"It's time for me to go." As she said this, she tried to break away from Aiglon and leave the room.

"No, you don't have to leave." Aigron still held her tightly and refused to let her go.

"You are summoning the marshal, how can I be there!" Agnes became anxious.

"Why can't you be there? I want you to stay here with me!" Aigron replied in a tone that left no room for doubt, "Do I need his approval for what I want to do?"

Agnes wanted to argue again, but when faced with Aigron's eyes at this moment, she suddenly felt a little frightened and forgot to say anything.

After all, Aiglon has always been either a humble gentleman or a dissolute prince in front of her, and he has basically never acted domineering. When she met him for the first time, she instinctively felt some fear, so much so that she suddenly forgot about it. Argue for yourself.

Just when she was at a loss what to do, there was a burst of footsteps at the door.

It was too late, and she couldn't run away even if she wanted to... Agnes suddenly felt a sense of despair, and even wished she could disappear on the spot.

At this time, the door slowly opened, and Andre and an old man in military uniform appeared in Aigron's sight.

Although this old man looks to be over sixty years old and has gray hair, he has a dignified appearance, a square face, a serious expression, and piercing eyes. He has the air of a commander leading troops in war.

At this time, the old man also saw Aigron at the door. At the same time, he also clearly saw that in the arms of the sitting young man, there was a beautiful girl in uniform looking at him with nervous and desperate eyes.

In an instant, he froze and stopped.

Not only him, but Andre was also shocked. He originally thought that when he left, His Majesty would let Miss Agnes leave quietly and meet the Marshal alone, but he didn't expect that he had brought the Marshal over, and His Majesty was still in high spirits.

But after all, he was young and quick to respond, and he had some wit. He reacted immediately.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, please come in." As he said this, he stepped back and quickly closed the door, pretending that he had not seen anything.

Marshal Soult felt very embarrassed, but at this time it was impossible for him to reopen the door and go out, so he had to take a few steps towards Aigron's seat, and then saluted Aigron with a military salute, "Your Majesty, welcome Back to the capital! I hope I didn’t disturb your pleasure.”

"No, you came at just the right time, Your Excellency Marshal." Aiglon replied, "In fact, I have been eager to meet you since I first entered Paris, because you are the help I need most at this moment, and also One of the people I need to be most grateful to..."

As he spoke, he finally let go of Agnes, and then whispered in her ear, "Don't go, stay here, I need you."

Agnes escaped from Aigron's arms as quickly as a rabbit, and her face turned red from embarrassment and shame, but even so, she did not forget Aigron's instructions, even though she felt a lot of confusion and confusion in her heart. He was dissatisfied, but still obeyed Aigron's wish and stayed next to the desk.

She stared at the vase at the door intently, as if she was also an ornament in the room.

Marshal Soult silently watched the interaction between the boy and the girl. There was no anger or embarrassment in his heart. He just felt that the young man was just a young boy after all, and his actions were still a bit frivolous and dissolute.

Humph, even though he has some talent, he is still just a little guy after all...

"You have thanked me. I was just acting in accordance with my obligations. How dare I claim to be your benefactor?" He said humbly and politely, "You are able to come back because God is protecting you, not as a human being. As a mortal, I can take credit."

"God's blessing is important, but mortal efforts are also indispensable. Without the efforts of you and General Mippe, I would not have been able to win the support of the army so easily, let alone enter Paris so quickly. Going back to before, You have made great contributions to the country and my family over the years, and you were still loyal to us until 1815... I am as grateful to you as the late emperor." What Aigron said was sincere, "Although we It’s just our first meeting, but your courage left a deep impression on me, and I’m very grateful for everything you’ve done for me.”

"Although it's only the first time we've met, you left a very deep impression on me." Marshal Soult replied half in a statement and half in a sarcastic manner. "Your Majesty, I am also convinced that with the help of veterans like us, you will be able to create a brilliant career."

When they first met, they exchanged greetings. Although both of them had their own agendas, they still spoke sincerely, and the embarrassment they felt when they first met was diminished.

"Marshal, if you have anything to say, just tell me." Aigron glanced at Agnes, "This lady is my close friend and one of the people I trust most. No matter what she hears, she will not have any problem." Obstructive."

Is this a matter of peace of mind?

Good boy, I really have you. Soult complained in his mind.

But since the young man said this, Soult had no way to drive Agnes away, so he had to pretend that no one else was present and started to talk about what he wanted to say.

"Your Majesty, I heard from Mippe that you insisted on putting Marmont on trial."

"Yes, I have made up my mind on this matter." Aigron replied without hesitation. "In the past ten years, there have been more and more examples of the military being lawless and acting on their own initiative. Their respect for authority and honor has been shaken. , and the root of all this must be traced back to the endless betrayals, betrayals, and knives against our comrades in 1814 and 1815; if these ideological cancers are not eradicated, our great army will inevitably find it difficult to regain its former honor and glory. Tradition, so in order to strictly enforce discipline and rebuild a sense of honor, I must take action, and the trial of Marshal Marmont is an extremely important part of it. We cannot forgive him because of his status as a marshal. On the contrary, precisely because of his He is a marshal, so he should be used as a role model, don’t you think?"

Aigron's series of words tied the trial of Marshal Marmont to "the army's sense of honor," making it impossible for Marshal Soult to intercede.

Faced with this attitude, Soult naturally had no choice but to give in - to put it bluntly, he had no friendship with Marmont in the first place, and he only interceded out of sorrow for the death of a rabbit. Now that Aiglon's attitude is so tough, he has no choice but to give in. Will fall out over a mere Marmont.

Moreover, regarding the trial, Aigron's attitude was that "the trial itself is non-negotiable, but the sentence can be negotiated." He did not mean to be shot or severely punished, so Soult only had to say a few nice words to be considered benevolent.

"I understand, Your Majesty, in that case, I will cooperate with you in trying him. I have found several prestigious military judges who will try him together with Prosecutor General Villefort -" Marshal Soult After a slight hesitation, he obeyed Aigron's opinion, "During this period, he should be treated properly, and his property should be returned to him after his exile."

"Just follow your opinion." Aigron didn't want to pursue him to the end, so he agreed with the marshal's opinion.

In this way, the first air-to-air confrontation between the two ended with Aigron's small victory.

But this was just the beginning of the cooperation and struggle between the monarch and his ministers - before Aigron could feel happy about his victory, the marshal spoke again.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for not feeling your welcome in time, because I am worried about an important personnel order in the War Department. I hope to get your help."

"What help?" Aigron was a little confused.

After all, in theory, Aigron is not the emperor now, and he can't interfere in Marshal Soult's personnel affairs at all.

"It's about Algeria." The marshal replied calmly. "Before the turmoil broke out, the puppet king sent a large number of troops across the sea to reinforce the pioneering army in Algiers. However, in the subsequent turmoil, the dynasty was destroyed. This gave that This expeditionary force has brought great shock, and now they feel at a loss and even fear that they will be abandoned by their motherland... For this reason, we need to quickly regain control of the situation there."

Aiglon instantly understood what Surte meant.

In fact, after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Europe entered an era of long-term peace, and officers no longer had the rapid "room for advancement" that they had during the Great Revolution. At this time, the conquest of Algeria became a desire within the army. The alternative to meritorious service, no matter how the dynasties changed, no matter which family came to power, was to deliberately promote the conquest of Algeria and North Africa.

What are the benefits of this? Firstly, it can satisfy the officers' desire for promotion and wealth and consume their strong ambitions; secondly, it can send unstable troops and unreliable generals to colonies across the sea to exclude dissidents through peaceful means.

In fact, just in 1829, the Bourbon family sent more troops to North Africa, so when facing the revolution of 1830, they happened to have so few troops that they were at a loss.

But now, that expeditionary force has become a problem to be solved.

Aiglon and Soult are not worried about them rebelling. They rely entirely on domestic logistics and do not have the capital to rebel. What they need to worry about is how to deal with them?

"The conquest of Algeria is bound to continue. This is where our prestige depends." Aigron immediately replied, "However, the officer group inside is temporarily suspended and let them return to the country to report on their duties. If there are any whose ideas are unreliable, they will be replaced immediately."

"I think so too, Your Majesty." Sirte replied leisurely, "But there is a more important question that I need to ask for your opinion on."