Eagle’s Glory

It was another night of light snowfall.

Paris is still in the middle of winter, cold and desolate. There are no pedestrians in the dark streets. The shops and houses along the streets are also closed. Only the occasional carriage passing by will bring some popularity. .

However, when a curious tourist steps into the singing and dancing venues and entertainment venues where citizens gather, he will find that the coldness and desolation are just a disguise on the surface. Paris remains unabated even in this cold season. The usual frivolity.

At this time, carriages were filing out along the gate of the palace. Escorted by cavalry on both sides, they passed through the still slightly snowy streets and passed through Place Caruso opposite the Louvre. Soon after, we stopped in front of the Grand Theater on rue Saint-Niques.

Then, under the vigilant gaze of the guards, the Agrons stepped out of the carriage.

Although it was a dark winter night, there were bright lights everywhere in the theater. Against the backdrop of the lights, this exquisite building had a bit of an eerie beauty, which perfectly complemented today's atmosphere.

Aigron looked carefully at the building in front of him, and then looked around subconsciously.

This theater does have a "fate" with the Bonaparte family.

Because this is the closest theater to the Tuileries Palace (less than one kilometer), Napoleon often attended public events here after he came to power in the Brumaire Coup of 1799, and his whereabouts gradually became known everywhere. known to his disgruntled opponents.

So, on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1800, almost exactly 30 years ago, when he went to the theater to watch the opera "Genesis", a group of royalists carried out their elaborate plan. assassination plan.

They built a carriage full of gunpowder, put the gunpowder into disguised wine barrels, and then parked the explosives carriage at the corner. They only waited for Napoleon, who was still the First Consul at the time, to pass by, and lit the fuse to send him to heaven. .

The plan was indeed perfect. However, things did not go as planned. The First Consul left the palace first because he did not wait for his wife Josephine. Moreover, he was driving very fast, and even the cavalry escort next to him was left behind. .

The sudden appearance and speed of the car caught the assassin off guard, so the fuse was lit a few seconds late. The explosive did not explode until Napoleon's car was far away. Only the glass of the car was damaged by the shock wave of the explosion. The administration is safe and sound.

Napoleon was extremely annoyed when he discovered that he had just escaped assassination, but in order to let everyone know that he was fine and show his "magnitude" at the same time,

Regardless of the risk that there might be another assassin lurking in the opera house, he still attended the performance at the opera house as scheduled. At this time, the audience who had received the news were in a commotion, but after seeing that Napoleon was safe and calm, their commotion subsided. It gradually subsided and everything returned to normal.

Of course, such a blatant assassination would not be let off lightly by Napoleon. When he returned to the palace, he was furious and immediately ordered to track down the murderer. Even though it was later traced that his assassin was a royalist, he still took advantage of the opportunity. He also arrested and punished a group of Jacobins he disliked as "assassin accomplices".

This anecdote has undoubtedly become another legend in Napoleon's career. Like Hitler later, he escaped from a well-planned explosion, which also made him more convinced that he was "destined" and became his most famous hero. One of the catalysts for later becoming emperor.

And today, Aigron followed the same road from the palace to the entrance of the Grand Theater.

And he was lucky. Nothing happened. There were no carriages filled with explosives, nor cold guns placed on street corners and buildings. Everything was so peaceful and quiet. France seemed to no longer resist the Bonaparte family and accepted it silently. of his rule.

Of course, this may just be an appearance.

Thirty years have passed, and emperors and kings have come and gone. Each of them once held great power and was unattainable. However, each of them had to leave sadly after not ruling for long; only this grand theater still stands majestically here. , various dramas are constantly being performed in it, and during these thirty years of ups and downs, France itself seems to be a stage for burlesque, with dramas of you singing and me appearing on the stage, and the king's flag changing on the city wall. .

"My dear, why are you so lost in thought here?" Just as he was silent, Teresa beside him called him softly. "We have to go in, Queen Hortense can't wait any longer."

As his wife called, Aigron interrupted his reverie.

Whether inside or outside the theater, the stage has been set for him. He must play his role well and never allow himself to be knocked off the stage by the audience.

Today, he came to attend a theater event at the invitation of his aunt, Queen Ortense.

His aunt had a pretty good talent for composing, and she often held various concerts and theater performances for her own entertainment back then. Now that she has made a comeback, she is naturally happy to go back to her original hobby.

She has always been a woman who likes excitement and glitz, but because of the destruction of the empire, she had to run away to Switzerland to live a secluded life. Now she has become a member of the royal family again, and has even become the most popular among the royal family in Paris. Elder, of course she will happily enjoy the prosperous life of the past to make up for the loneliness and desolation she has experienced in the past fifteen years.

In response to her warm invitation, Agron was too kind to refuse and agreed to attend her concert with his wife.

Moreover, as the emperor and empress who had just ascended the throne, it was indeed necessary for the couple to appear in public from time to time.

"Okay, let's go in."

Agron responded to his wife's urging, then took Teresa's hand, and the couple walked forward together arm in arm, stepped onto the steps and entered the theater.

On the steps and in the aisle, the guards lined up neatly, saluting the two majesties with guns in hand. As they walked along the aisle into the Grand Theater, a wave of heat suddenly hit them.

This is the heat wave condensed by the breathing of hundreds or thousands of people gathered together. This is the heat wave heated by the unremitting burning of brilliant lights. It disperses the winter wind on Aegron's body, and he no longer feels the cold. Instead, he has successfully integrated into this small world.

At this time, everyone was watching the couple.

The applause and cheers suddenly sounded, almost deafening for a moment. They were like big stars appearing on the stage, just throwing glittering magnesium powder in the air.

This young couple with outstanding appearance is indeed quite lovable, and as they have just become empresses, they are still in the most beloved stage.

Amid the cheers of the audience, Agron and Teresa also waved enthusiastically, and then walked along the nearby corridor and up the stairs to the box, where Queen Ortense was waiting for them.

In order to reflect the spirit of the royal family having fun with the people, Queen Ortense spent her own money and then gave away free tickets to the outside world at her concerts, which further stimulated the people's enthusiasm to see the royal family; and she also served the royal family The members reserved the most luxurious boxes to welcome their nephew and his wife.

When the emperor and his wife appeared at the door of the box on the top floor, Queen Ortense, who had been waiting here, immediately came to greet them.

"Good evening, your majesties. I am honored to be honored by you..."

Aigron, on the other hand, was not so polite and walked directly up to hug the queen affectionately.

"My dear aunt, you must have spent a lot of money tonight. This scene is not something that ordinary people can handle."

Queen Hortense was naturally very happy to be treated so kindly by Aiglon, and her eyebrows arched up with a smile.

She also gave her distinguished nephew a warm hug, and then kissed him on the cheek.

"It doesn't matter, Aiglon, as long as I can make you happy, it's worth it even if I spend the money."

Then, she brought the couple into the box together.

The box was beautifully furnished, and there were already two young men inside. When they saw the emperor and his wife, they immediately saluted Aigron.

Aiglon glanced around and found that one of the two people was the queen's youngest son, Prince Charles, and the other was about the same age as Aigron himself and was quite handsome, but he had never seen it before.

However, even if he has never met him, Aigron naturally knows who this young man is——

Yes, he must be Count de Morny, the illegitimate son of Queen Hortense.

The Queen warmly invited him to come to her concert. On the one hand, she wanted Egeron to support her and have some fun. On the other hand, she also wanted to introduce him to Egeron for the sake of the illegitimate son's future. Long.

Although he knew that the queen had this little thought, Aigron still agreed to her. After all, this was the aunt who had helped him in the past. He didn't mind giving her some help as long as it was harmless.

Moreover, judging from the original historical line, the Count of Morny was not a mediocre person who climbed to the position entirely relying on family connections, but he did have some ability.

After 1815, with the complete defeat of Emperor Napoleon, his relatives naturally dispersed and fled to live in seclusion. Queen Ortense ran to Switzerland, preparing to spend the rest of her life there. However, although Morny was her well-known illegitimate son, no one made trouble for him, so he stayed in Paris, where he received education and grew up.

Historically, after coming of age (this was already the reign of the Orleans family), like most nobles, the young Count Morny joined the army just after he came of age, but he soon discovered that he did not like it. After serving in the army, he entered politics several times.

At first, because of his well-known status as the "illegitimate son of Queen Ortense", he was not liked by the ruling Orleans family, so he did not become famous. However, when the revolution of 1848 overthrew the Orleans family, he After his "brother" Prince Louis Bonaparte returned to France, his fortunes turned around.

He quickly joined his brother. At this time, Louis Bonaparte was also worried that he had too few talents, so the two brothers hit it off, and soon Morny became his confidant, helping him achieve his dream. The great cause of restoration.

In the end, Louis Bonaparte ascended to the throne and became Emperor Napoleon III. He did not forget the contribution of his younger brother, so he promoted him all the way, and finally made him Duke of Morny, giving him the title of supreme leader. minister's status.

Of course, the world line has changed now. Although the Bonaparte family has indeed been restored, Aigron was successfully restored.

But for Morny, this doesn't make much difference - anyway, given his special status, it is indeed the only way for him to truly prosper if he makes this choice.

Moreover, he had already observed His Majesty's attitude towards employing people and found that he did not object to using these dishonorable illegitimate sons - the previous Count Alexander Walewski was quickly employed after taking refuge with His Majesty. Nowadays, there is a tendency to rise rapidly in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Because of this, he begged his reacquainted mother to introduce him to His Majesty; and Queen Ortense also felt in her heart that she owed this illegitimate son who had been abandoned in Paris for more than ten years, so she agreed to this opportunity in her life. It seemed like a harmless request, so today's meeting took place.

However, although he felt that he was worthy of this opportunity, Count Morny was still a little uneasy when facing Aiglon. After saying hello to His Majesty, he bent slightly, like a pupil who made a mistake, and waited. Agron's Disposition.

At this time, Aigron was also watching him.

When he came in just now, he found that he and Prince Charles were chatting happily. Apparently his cousin did not care about his mother's past romantic history, but generously accepted his illegitimate brother as he did in history.

In that case, give him a chance.

Aiglon's eyes moved away from Count Morny, and then placed them on the stage in the distance. Because he stood in the top box, he had a panoramic view of the wide stage. At this time, a large group of musicians had already Various musical instruments were arranged and placed there, and they were immediately ready to play the music composed by Queen Hortense when she was in seclusion.

To be honest, he was quite interested.

"Mr. Morny, have you ever heard of the Count of Monte Cristo?" he asked casually.

"I've heard a little bit about it." This sudden remark caught Morny off guard, but he had always been highly focused, so he quickly reacted and answered immediately.

These days, he has been collecting information about His Majesty, and of course he also knows about the existence of the Earl, his favorite.

"Then are you willing to help him? He is in need of talents around him now -" Aigron asked. “And you learn a lot from being around him, too.”