Eagle’s Glory

"Long live the free Belgian people!"

Aigron's shout did not arouse the same enthusiastic response from the crowd as before. Instead, it made the air freeze instantly, and everyone in the house was shocked for a while.

People looked around at a loss, and they didn't understand why His Majesty suddenly mentioned the Belgians in his impromptu speech.

However, Belgium is indeed not peaceful at the moment.

The entire lowlands (including the Netherlands and Belgium) were once the territory of the Habsburg family, but after decades of armed struggle, the Protestant Netherlands became independent from the Habsburg Empire and established the Union. Provincial Republic, while the still Catholic southern Belgium continued to fall under the rule of the Habsburg family.

Although politically it belongs to the Habsburg Empire, economically and culturally, Belgium is deeply penetrated by France. Most of the local nobles, celebrities and wealthy businessmen speak French. During the French Revolution, the first people to respond to the French Revolution were the Belgians. In 1790, a group of Belgian revolutionaries rebelled against the Habsburg Emperor and declared the establishment of the "United States of Belgium", which received support from France.

France's "revolutionary export" naturally aroused panic among the major powers, and the first anti-French alliance was quickly formed. In the end, the two sides fought against each other around Belgium, and the Great Revolution entered its most intense stage.

Later, with the successive victories of the French army, the French Republic broke through the interference of the anti-French alliance and occupied Belgium and the Netherlands along the way. After Emperor Napoleon succeeded to the throne, they naturally became the territory of the French Empire (during this period, Napoleon once He handed over the rule of the Netherlands to his younger brother Louis, but because Louis was disobedient, he deposed Louis and re-annexed the Netherlands).

However, since the collapse of the empire, the Netherlands has regained its independence as a kingdom. At the Vienna Peace Conference in 1815, in order to weaken the power of France, it was decided to hand over Belgium to the rule of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Since then, there has been a brief unity in the lowlands.

But the Belgians don’t like this kind of “unification”. Their common language and religion are different from those of the Netherlands. In order to suppress Belgium’s centrifugal tendencies, the Netherlands only appoints Dutch people at the top levels of the government, which makes the Belgians even more dissatisfied. He was aggrieved and felt that he had been oppressed by the North.

Therefore, since the "unification", there has been an undercurrent in Belgium, and most people hope to get rid of the rule of the Netherlands. As for whether to rejoin France after breaking away from the Netherlands, or become an independent country on their own, it seems to them All are acceptable results.

Now, everything seems to be repeated again. After the turmoil in France and the change of dynasties, the situation in Belgium has become more and more turbulent. As a big city close to the border, the celebrities and dignitaries of Lille can naturally feel that. A sense of tension about the impending storm.

Because of this, when Aigron shouted this slogan, they instinctively felt panic - they were afraid that the young and vigorous King of Rome would really intervene in the turmoil in Belgium with his passion and ambition, and then trigger Unpredictable consequences.

After 20 years of war, they are all tired of it and only want to accumulate their wealth through business in peaceful times. They do not want to return to those periods of frequent currency devaluation and financial turmoil.

Just because they were still frightened by everything that had happened in the past, they naturally did not give Aigron a warm response.

Seeing that people didn't respond, Aigron's entourage began to applaud one after another. At this time, other people woke up from a dream and raised their hands to applaud. Although the "papapapa" applause was intensive, it was obviously weak and different from just now. The enthusiasm is completely incomparable.

Eggron is well aware of people's reactions. These officials and industrialists are afraid of war and are afraid of being involved in a new war by the events in Belgium. This is a very normal idea.

And he deliberately showed his support and sympathy for the Belgian revolutionary movement in this kind of public speech, which was also the result of careful consideration.

First of all, he controlled the wording and did not make any threats of force. He only expressed concern about this out of "the interests of France" and did not even explicitly target any specific enemy. This put him in a position where he could advance and retreat freely. He sympathized with The Belgian has no one who can morally contradict him.

Secondly, he wanted to take advantage of the turmoil in Belgium to promote reconciliation between himself and Britain as soon as possible, and to put the issue of Belgium's status on the negotiating table as soon as possible.

For the sake of reconciliation between Britain and France, Belgium's independence must be achieved, and France had to give up its territorial ambitions here and instead could only pursue economic expansion, which did not satisfy the appetite of nationalists.

Therefore, instead of passively expressing "acceptance" of Belgian independence in the end, it is better to hype up your sympathy for the Belgians first, and then it will be logical to advocate Belgian independence. This way, it will appear that you are taking the initiative, and you will not have to bear so much. Criticism.

Of course, this is not without side effects - he is now openly provoking international conflicts.

Although he is not the monarch of France yet, in the eyes of the outside world, he is no different from a monarch. Therefore, his speech is destined to attract attention from the outside world. Under such circumstances, he publicly expressed his sympathy for the Belgians. Naturally, It will also cause international conflicts.

Fortunately, the only one who rules Belgium now is the Netherlands. He can't offend Britain now, and he can't even offend the Czar. But provoking the Netherlands is nothing. He only needs to explain a few words that he has no intention of using force to interfere with Belgium. The Netherlands No one can do anything to him.

"We had to give up our claim to Belgium", "We intervened with our own strength and forcibly divided the Kingdom of the Netherlands, making Belgium a harmless and weak friend." This is actually the same thing. Aigron must try to deepen the The impression of the latter downplayed the former, so he simply took the initiative to speak out.

It is impossible for the people present to know about these considerations and his various efforts behind the scenes, so they are bound to be nervous about it.

If you want to be nervous, feel free to be nervous. Pass on this nervousness and let everyone know my weight... Aigron thought with pride.

When everyone looked at each other, he spoke again leisurely, "Everyone, I know that we must respect any of our neighbors, and I have no intention to interfere in the domestic affairs of our neighbors, but we must not allow our economic interests to be violated. We cannot harm our national sentiments and cannot allow our national feelings to be offended. The French people and the Belgian people have a historical and traditional friendship, and they also have inseparable economic exchanges today. Our task is to deepen this friendship in the future and lay the foundation for this great city. The foundation for permanent prosperity! In the next industrial development, this friendship will bring us great benefits, let us work hard together."

Agron's final words sounded like an intervention but also like aloofness. The words were vague but also had leeway. He very carefully wrapped the threat in a lot of friendly words. This is what he wanted to convey to the outside world. information.

Although he hates being the Riddler, sometimes he just has to be the Riddler.

In this way, in an atmosphere of excitement and tension, Aigron ended his impromptu speech, and what followed was a banquet.

Although everyone avoided talking about Aigron's impromptu speech just now, this small storm is destined to be spread to the outside world, and eventually merge into the torrent of the times in the shock, and be absorbed by the new history. Remembered - Today's Aigron has finally reached a time when every word and deed can make the whole of Europe hold their breath and ponder the deep meaning.

For Aiglon, he just needs to wait quietly. The next place to decide his fate is not in Lille or Rotterdam, but in London. Only the attitude of the British is crucial. As long as they acquiesce to all this, Then Aiglon's crown will be as stable as a mountain.

He believed that Talleyrand could do all this for him, just as his opponent had done in history.

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After the grand banquet, Aigron came to the residence arranged for him by the mayor.

When he entered the room, Agnes was already resting here.

During this period of time, they have been living together. Agnes was a little shy at first, but gradually she got used to it, and no one felt anything was wrong.

Because he had drunk a lot of wine, Aigron felt a little dizzy, so he stumbled to Agnes' side and sat on the armchair.

"Agnes..." he greeted softly.

Agnes did not answer, but leaned on his shoulder obediently, enjoying the tenderness when the two of them were alone.

However, she seemed to have something extra in her hands.

Aigron's eyes slowly moved downwards and he found that Agnes was holding a necklace. The chain of the necklace was made of gold wire, and was dotted with flower-like gemstones at equal intervals. The appearance of these gems is blue, and dark blue gems are superimposed on the surface, making it look very layered. There is also a pendant at the lower end of the necklace, inlaid with an orange-red gemstone, like a blooming flame.

Even though he grew up in the royal palace and was used to seeing all kinds of expensive jewelry, Aigron was still full of praise for this necklace.

"Good stuff, it suits you very well." He admired sincerely.

Agnes did not look very happy. She looked at the necklace in her hand, seeming hesitant and embarrassed.

Following Aiglon's tour, she gradually adapted to the identity of his lover, and in the towns she passed along the way, the local celebrities and dignitaries regarded her as His Majesty's favorite.

This means that when there is no queen, she is enjoying the courtesy of a queen. Not only are she given extremely high courtesy along the way, but people continue to contribute various valuable gifts to her.

Earrings, necklaces, chokers, bracelets... countless gifts flew towards her, enough to arm many aristocratic women of her age.

Even though she was born into a Duke's family, Agnes had never imagined being treated like this... She had tasted the taste of power.

At first, Agnes firmly refused to accept the gift. She believed that she should not receive the reward without merit, but Agron insisted to her several times that this kind of gift must be accepted, because for him it represented a kind of loyalty. contract".

Although he has gained the rightful name now, he is still alone after all. In order to gain an overwhelming majority of support in a national election, he will inevitably have to cooperate with local forces.

These gifts presented to Agnes represent the sincerity of local celebrities. The more valuable the gift, the greater their determination to cooperate with Agnes, which naturally means the more reliable the subsequent cooperation.

So Aiglon asked Agnes to accept the gift and register the person who gave the gift, so that he would naturally find them in the future.

Since Agron gave the order, Agnes naturally had no choice but to obey. As usual, although she was reluctant at first, she soon got used to this new life, and expensive gifts became her first choice. of collectibles - although she prefers collecting swords.

"Why are you so unhappy, Agnes?" Agron asked curiously. "Don't you like this gift?"

"No...it's very beautiful, of course I like it very much." Agnes shook her head slightly, and then replied with some guilt,

"But just because it is so valuable, I'm thinking that it's not something I should accept, but Princess Teresa... I'm robbing her of something she should have had."

Now Agron finally understood that Agnes was feeling guilty again for stealing Teresa's limelight.

"What a silly kid." Aigron couldn't help laughing. "Teresa is a princess of the royal family. Her father has the best collection. How could she care about jewelry? Just accept it with confidence. This is You deserve what you get.”

"No job deserves such remuneration..." Agnes retorted in a low voice.

"Being by my side and making me happy is worthy of such a reward. Because I deserve it, you must deserve it." Aigron replied without any doubt, "Now, don't think too much, my dear, please Close your eyes."

Agnes had nothing to say anymore, so she suppressed the guilt and uneasiness in her heart, and closed her eyes obediently. At this time, Agnes picked up the necklace from her hand, and then carefully put it on Agnes. On Nice's body.

After wearing this necklace, the brilliance of the gemstones, coupled with Agnes's white and slender neck, made everything match very naturally, and Agnes' original simple and humble temperament suddenly became a little more graceful and luxurious.

Although she is not a queen, she actually deserves all this.

After Aigron put it on, he took her to the dressing table and said, "Okay, open your eyes!"

Agnes opened her eyes and saw herself in the mirror.

It's really beautiful.

Inadvertently, she showed a smile. Although this was not everything she had ever dreamed of, maybe this life would not be so bad after all.

Then, under the reflection of the mirror, the lips of the two people were selflessly attached to each other again, just like they had done so many days and nights before.