Eagle’s Glory

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Seeing that Aiglon was so solemn, Marshal Soult couldn't help but feel a little proud.

Indeed, he had been suffering from the grievances of the Restoration Dynasty for more than ten years. He was so fed up with the grievances of being idle that he even went to the coal mines near his hometown to dig coal to pass the time.

If you are poor, you want to change, so he chose to engage in political speculation after observing the situation, and hitched a ride on the Bonaparte family. After many years, he once again became the Minister of War of the Provisional Government, and became the first person in the military. .

Of course, he also knew in his heart that although he had the most outstanding military exploits and the highest prestige among the marshals still alive in France, after all, most of the old marshals in the imperial era were arrogant and would not be willing to be his own. Subordinates obey their orders. Therefore, after he took office as Minister of War, he began to clean up in the name of "removing obstacles for the King of Rome", exclude dissidents, promote cronies, and finally unified the army on the hilltops under the strong control of the imperial government, and all factions were forced to Stay away from him.

After this reorganization and purge, the entire army has been deeply marked by his imprint, and will become a weight for him to continue to hold power in the imperial era.

However, although he was greedy for power, Marshal Soult did not have the terrible idea of ​​further interfering in the political situation or even vacating the palace, because he knew that he had more prestige but less popularity, and could not be accepted and loved by the people like the young Majesty; In addition, I am more than forty years older than His Majesty. Who knows how long I can survive? There's really nothing to argue about.

Therefore, he just wants to hold on to the one-third of an acre of land that he has finally built, and occupy the top position as the "first military leader" in the empire's power pyramid. That is enough.

Of course, whether Aigron can accept such a distribution of power is another matter.

After talking about the military parade after moving to the palace, Aigron turned to another topic.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, General Treville reported to me that he has made all preparations and can go to Algiers to take up his post after the New Year - I hope you will make it convenient for him and match him with adjutants and retinues as soon as possible. As well as other due military ranks and honors, so as not to delay the trip."

Marshal Soult has a clear mind. As early as when he heard that General Treville had privately requested His Majesty to go, he had already understood the general's thoughts.

Although the general has an old friendship with him, and the two of them have worked together, there is no clear connection between them. He does not belong to his group, and naturally he will not be favored by him.

Now that I have the upper hand,

General Treville did not dare to fight head-on with him, and he was not willing to be thrown into a high position in name only and idle, so he took the initiative to run to North Africa, hoping to get a chance to rise through his own achievements.

Marshal Soult is also happy to see this happen. He was originally a little worried about how to deal with General Treville. After all, this general has indeed made great contributions to His Majesty, and it is unreasonable not to give him some grace; now he wants to run away. Going to North Africa would make him out of sight and out of mind. It was now Marshal Moncey's territory, so he didn't need to worry too much.

However, in the long run, General Treville makes the marshal quite afraid. Now that Marshal Moncey is old, it is impossible for him to have any breakthrough in his career. However, General Treville is young, powerful and ambitious. I will definitely not be idle when I go to North Africa, and I will definitely try my best to gain credit.

And His Majesty... obviously also intends to vigorously support General Treville. After all, the relationship between the two of them is obviously closer.

Therefore, looking at the situation, the marshal thought that although he had no rivals in the army now, General Treville might be a huge threat in the future.

Although he knew all this in his heart, he had no reasonable reason to suppress General Treville at the moment, so he could only choose to wait and see what happened, letting the guy Moncey worry about his ambitious subordinates first.

When he really becomes a threat in the future, it won't be too late to use some means to suppress Treville - of course, it would be ideal if he was beheaded directly by some Bedouin nomadic tribe.

Of course, the marshal would not reveal his thoughts directly to Aigron. He just pretended to be a big brother and praised General Treville with a few words. By the way, he wished him the best in the future. North Africa has great ambitions and promises that he will provide convenience to the general so that he can take up his post as soon as possible.

In this way, Aiglon and Marshal Soult quickly reached a tacit understanding on both issues. Although they could not be said to be "confidential", they at least had a good conversation and were in a good mood.

So Aigron simply invited him to have lunch with him.

At today's lunch, in addition to the two of them, there were also Aiglon's two "adopted nephews", namely Prince Augustus and Prince Maximilian, Prince Eugene's two children.

Both men were wearing military uniforms.

The 20-year-old Augustus has grown into a tall and handsome young man. He is wearing the uniform of a hussar second lieutenant. The gorgeous lines on the uniform make him look passionate and full of young people who want to express themselves at any time. Full of energy.

The 14-year-old Maximilian is not only much shorter in height, but also looks a little childish. Because he is the youngest son, he also receives the most attention and favor from his mother, and his personality is much shyer. Since defecting to Aiglon, under Aiglon's care, he has transferred to a French military academy to study. It is expected that after graduation, he will also join the Guards and become an officer of Aiglon's army. And now, he is naturally wearing the simple uniform of a cadet.

Originally they were sitting at the dining table waiting, but after seeing Aigron, they immediately stood up and saluted Aigron respectfully.

Under the care of their mother, they grew up in Bavaria. It can be said that they are mostly Germans. But since their mother, Princess Augusta, brought them to Aiglon all the way, they knew that their future future depended on it. It's up to His Majesty.

Their mother warned them several times that as descendants of the Beauharnais family, they would have a place as long as the Bonaparte family could prosper, but even so, they must always remain respectful and cautious and not disgrace their father's reputation.

"Let me introduce to you -" Aigron walked to the dining table, and then glanced at Marshal Soult beside him, "This is the famous Marshal Soult, who is also the current Minister of Army of the Empire, your commander's commander. Sir."

Upon hearing that the old man in front of them was such a big shot, the two princes quickly saluted Marshal Soult with a military salute.

Then, Aigron introduced the two young princes to Marshal Soult.

As soon as he heard that these two children were actually the sons of Prince Eugène, the marshal, who was a little casual at first, suddenly became serious and looked at them carefully, as if he wanted to find some trace of his old friend in them.

Then, the marshal gently waved the marshal's scepter in his hand and motioned for the two juniors to sit down.

Soult has been leading troops in wars all year round, and has already developed a certain aura of calmness and self-reliance. In the eyes of these two inexperienced princes, his aura was even more overwhelming, so they became more restrained and behaved extremely humbly. cautious.

At this time, the servants served lunch.

"Two gentlemen, you don't have to be so formal. I invited you here today because I want you to get to know our country's most decorated marshal and to listen to his guidance and teachings. You should be polite, but If you don't dare to show off, it will be too disappointing and will disappoint the marshal..." Facing the exquisite dishes, Aigron first picked up the wine glass and began to liven up the atmosphere, "Here, let us First of all, I wish the great Marshal Sirte eternal health!"

At his call, the four people raised their glasses and drank the red wine collected in the palace, even the 14-year-old prince was no exception.

In any society or race, alcohol is a catalyst for social interaction. Sure enough, after drinking red wine, the originally rigid and reserved atmosphere loosened.

"Let us also toast to the great General Eugène-" Marshal Soult suggested. "He is a man who is admired by friends and enemies at the same time. I am extremely happy to have worked with him. If he were still here, the seat he is sitting on today should be his. Even if it is not a holiday, I believe, He will also live in each of our hearts..."

Although Marshal Sirte's remarks were largely polite, they were also somewhat heartfelt.

Indeed, if Aiglon's sworn brother was alive, he would definitely let him take charge of the entire army for him, and no one could say anything about it. The prince also had enough fame to take on this important task - but, fate But it made all this impossible.

The four of them drank another sip of wine together, but this time the atmosphere was much thicker, as they should be remembering the prince who passed away prematurely.

"I often heard my father mention you when I was a child, Your Majesty the Marshal." After a moment, Prince Augustus, who had already broken his restraint, boldly spoke on his own initiative, "He had many words of praise for you, thinking that you are just like The late emperor praised you for being so outstanding, so I admire you very much."

"Then I really want to thank him for thinking so highly of me..." After hearing the young man's words, Surte couldn't help but smiled proudly, "It's a pity that I don't have an outstanding son like you. I can't compare to you in this regard." Fuck him!"

Seeing the marshal praising themselves so much, the two brothers couldn't help but smile at each other, and they were naturally extremely happy.

A big shot like the Marshal is famous in Europe for his arrogance. Even if he can only receive half-hearted praise from him, it is a rare honor among juniors.

Moreover, they also knew His Majesty's intentions - although the two of them were not yet experienced in the world and were of low military rank, His Majesty hoped that they would get to know as many big shots as possible and gain their favor in preparation for their future career, so they He also tried his best to praise and please Marshal Soult in order to please the old Marshal.

In fact, although Soult and Eugène are both senior generals of the empire, they have cooperated very rarely. On the one hand, Soult has deep qualifications and has been a general as early as the Republic era, while Eugène only It was only in the middle and later stages of the empire that they were repeatedly promoted and got the opportunity to take charge of their own affairs; on the other hand, the military careers of the two men were rarely in the same place, especially in the later stages of the empire. He had been playing against Wellington in Spain, while Eugène was in charge. Italy participated in the wars against Austria and Russia successively, and there was no opportunity for exchanges.

However, as time goes by, everything has been covered with the dust of history. For Marshal Soult, who is gradually aging, what is important is not how many friendships he had back then, but the people who experienced that era with him. , as he passes away one by one, he will eventually become the master of time.

Because of this, he felt a little more emotional, and under the influence of alcohol, his mentality became more relaxed. He talked with Aigron and the two princes about his experience in the imperial court and what he had seen during his half-life in the military. heard.

The childish Prince Maximilian was particularly interested in these. He kept asking questions, and Marshal Soult patiently answered them, telling almost everything he knew. The four of them had a great time dining, and the atmosphere was extremely harmonious. .

Moreover, in this harmony, there is not much calculation of interests, because their interests do not overlap in the first place.

The Marshal knew very well that these two princes would be officers of the Guards in the future, and His Majesty attached great importance to the Guards. The Guards he personally led to form was naturally his "personal army" and he would never allow himself to interfere. of.

Besides, both of them are princes. Their father is Prince Eugene, who is half a member of the royal family. They naturally have a bright future. What's the point of winning over them by yourself? What price can buy their loyalty?

Because there was no profit calculation, there was no obstacle. As a simple elder, he faced the two young princes and the young majesty and could speak freely.

"To be honest, gentlemen, although this is not the most pleasant period of my life, it is indeed very pleasant. I served the late emperor to the end, and I am sincerely proud of it, but this loyalty also once made me proud. I was so trapped that I even suspected that I would die of old age in an uncared-for mountain village and end my ups and downs life in the most ordinary way..." At this point, the marshal smiled bitterly.

But soon, he cheered up again, and then looked at Aigron, "However, His Majesty changed everything. For this, I am extremely grateful to him and God for giving me the opportunity to serve as an imperial marshal one day in the future. I will be buried as a person, so that I can rest peacefully among my best memories... Let us drink to the two generations of His Majesty!"

"Cheers!" the two young princes responded quickly.

Agron was also deeply moved by Soult's true feelings.

There is no doubt that this important minister of his is indeed greedy for power and has many scheming intentions, but why is he not loyal to himself? In life, you can no longer expect others to be perfect.

No matter what, maybe he will conflict with him in the future because of power, but he will let the marshal get the reputation he deserves in the future.

He has always been able to tell the difference between one code and another.