Eagle’s Glory

As time passed quietly, in just a few days, the news that the palace moved to the Palace of Fontainebleau was no longer noticed. For the people in Paris, whether His Majesty the Emperor was or was not within their sight, it was not It is no more important than their daily necessities, and in this peaceful and stable period, they do not care that the palace is far away from Paris.

On this calm and then cold winter day, Edmond Dantès, Count of Monte Cristo, wearing a heavy coat and a black shawl, quietly arrived at the Palace of Fontainebleau.

The palace guards let him in after briefly confirming his identity.

Although the court has moved far away from Paris, as the "Count of Monte Cristo", he naturally has the right to see His Majesty at any time - at least, this must be the case before he falls out of favor.

However, even if he could come to see His Majesty at any time, he still had to abide by a lot of rules. He had to wait in the audience hall until His Majesty was free before calling him to him.

He was lucky today. After a short wait, the attendants beside His Majesty invited him out of the antechamber and took him to Aiglon's study.

"Good morning, Edmund -" Aigron was in a good mood today, so he took the initiative to say hello to his favorite, "Seeing you always makes me happy."

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Compared to Aiglon's kindness, the Earl was naturally much more reserved. He first saluted Aiglon, and then greeted Aigron as a friend.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Aigron quickly got to the point.

"Has your work been going well recently?"

"Thanks to your care, it is indeed smoother." Edmund replied, "I have recruited a few capable talents and trained them in how to inquire for information. They have made rapid progress..."

Previously, when Agron took Agnes on a nationwide tour, Theresa, who stayed in Paris, often "shut her eyes and ears" and was inundated with a sea of ​​official documents from the government led by Prince Talleyrand, unable to get any information. How much useful information.

In this case, even if the monarch holds power, he cannot truly exercise power.

So Teresa secretly asked the Count of Monte Cristo to set up an information network in Paris so that the couple could keep abreast of important information such as public opinion, price fluctuations, natural and man-made disasters, etc.

Obviously, her purpose is to let the Count of Monte Cristo, the couple's two most trusted people, serve as their eyes and ears to monitor Paris and the country.

In order to achieve this goal, she also specially allocated funds to the earl alone, not wanting anyone else to get involved in this project.

Precisely because he understood His Majesty's deep intentions, after accepting the mission, Edmund also secretly recruited minions and prepared to establish a secret organization centered in Paris - to put it harshly, it was a secret service independent of the police department. .

Not long ago, he also got an unexpected assistant-the illegitimate son of Queen Ortense, the young Count de Morny.

Although he is related to the royal family by blood, this illegitimate earl never dares to call himself "royal". He knows that if he wants to get ahead, he must achieve results that satisfy His Majesty, so after he came to Edmund's side, , showing no less enthusiasm than Edmund, desperately trying to expand the power of this "little gang".

However, he did not dare to be disrespectful to Edmund, nor did he think of evading the Earl. After all, he had already inquired and found out that Edmund was one of His Majesty's closest favorites, and they even had a close relationship with each other. In terms of friendship, if he offended the earl, no matter how good his work performance was, he would never get any good results, so he was usually respectful to the earl and did not dare to make any mistakes.

With such a capable and energetic subordinate, Edmund naturally became more powerful, and within a short period of time, their small organization began to operate.

While the business was "booming", Count Morny also suggested that Edmund seek a qualification to meet His Majesty regularly and report intelligence.

The point is not what is reported, but the "regular reporting" itself.

The young Morny saw very clearly that in a system called constitutional but actually autocracy like the Empire, pleasing His Majesty the Emperor was more important than completing the work; for the count, what "title" and "official position" "They are all false. The number of meetings with His Majesty the Emperor is the "source" of power.

As long as he can obtain the right to meet with His Majesty and report on his work regularly, then any other department will be in awe of him. Even the Prime Minister will not easily hinder them, because no one can be sure. After meeting His Majesty, the Earl Will you add insult to injury and say something detrimental to yourself?

Although Edmond had been working as a lurker in Paris for a long time, he had never been involved in officialdom, so he did not know much about the twists and turns of politics. After being reminded by Count Morny, he woke up like a dream, Then he took the initiative to submit a letter to Aiglon, hoping to meet with His Majesty regularly on a ten-day cycle to submit a summary of public opinion and intelligence analysis during this period - if there are special circumstances, you can also request an urgent meeting.

After Aiglon saw his letter, he immediately understood the count's intention, but he did not want to refute the count's face, so he immediately approved his request - after all, he did have the need to regularly understand the information.

Therefore, this is equivalent to giving Edmund the opportunity to meet His Majesty at least three times a month. Although nominally his current official position is not high and he is just an ordinary official in the Ministry of Interior, this "honor" can even Already comparable to ordinary cabinet ministers. No senior official in the empire who knows the inside story will doubt that the Count of Monte Cristo will quickly become the top prominent figure in the empire.

Now that they have received the "special power" given by Aiglon, the two Earls Edmund and Morny naturally dare not neglect it. While they are painstakingly collecting information from everywhere, they are also racking their brains to compile and write reports. It can be said that in a short period of time, Here, these two people have quietly become the "pioneers" of the Empire's secret police.

Today, Edmund's meeting with His Majesty is their first opportunity to submit a report.

After Aiglon mentioned it, Edmund immediately cheered up, and then seriously told the important information that he and Morny had collected from everywhere, including political jokes circulated by the people, parliamentarians and ministers. Sexy news and so on.

Then, he handed the report he painstakingly compiled to Aigron.

Aigron opened it and looked through it.

Perhaps because of the recent "peace in the world", there was nothing very urgent or important in it, so Aigron just browsed it hastily, and then a recent rumor suddenly fell into his eyes.

The political joke was not directed at him, but at Agnes's father, Duke Nordlyen.

"What should I do if I want to be rich and prosperous? All I need to do is send all my daughters to the palace! Nepotism is the key to the treasury."

After looking at it, Aigron frowned slightly.

Obviously, some people hated Duke Nordlien for taking advantage of the situation and abandoning his original benefactor, the Bourbon family, so they secretly stirred up public opinion to ridicule the Duke.

Because of another change of dynasty, the old nobles who were originally in power in the Bourbon royal court have now lost their power and are either in exile or living in seclusion. Many people have lost their nobility due to the "Reform of the House of Nobles" initiated by Aigron when he came to power. House member seats.

In this case, it was enough for the Duke to keep his position, which was enough to make people hate him. He also suddenly became the general manager of the state-owned railway company because of Aiglon's instructions, which naturally made people even more jealous, so They murmured and ridiculed in private that the Duke got this by sending his daughter to His Majesty's bed.

Although the words are a bit ugly, it seems that they are actually correct...

"What's going on?" Aigron pointed to this rumor and then asked Edmund.

Then, he lightly patted the table, "This is nonsense and slander! How can I be so picky about food? Does anyone think that I will accept it if I send a woman over? If I want to be generous, I must first be Only a woman of Agnes’s level will do!”

Seeing Aiglon's strange "justification", Edmund simply couldn't laugh or cry. He tried hard not to laugh, and then carefully explained to Aigron.

"Your Majesty, of course this ridiculous rumor is just pure slander. The reason why I collected it is just because it reflects the recent negative public opinion against the Duke among the people. If you allow me, I can immediately pursue the rumor. source and punish those who spread rumors and slander.”

"Forget it, this kind of rumor is not a big deal. At least we can show some tolerance." Aigron waved his hand and let it go gently, "Besides, the more the Duke's reputation among the people becomes, The more advantageous it is to me, because it means that he will be more isolated politically and will no longer have the opportunity to rebel. In the future, my family will be even more tied to me... and so on!"

When talking about it in excitement, Aigron suddenly seemed to think of something.

"Wait, what does 'all' mean?"

The monarch and his ministers looked at each other.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Edmund managed to break the silence.

"Your Majesty, after all, in addition to Miss Agnes, Mrs. Alice is also serving in the palace and is usually very close to you. Because of Miss Agnes's precedent, these villains with ulterior motives have some inexplicable consequences. Lenovo…”

Edmund tried to speak more neutrally and tactfully.

Because, in fact, he didn't know whether Aiglon had "that intention" in letting Lady Alice stay by his side, so of course he didn't dare to deny the rumors categorically, otherwise wouldn't it offend His Majesty?

But in fact, Aigron didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He wanted to explain, but found it difficult to explain for a while.

After all, it is true that he hooked up with Agnes, and he also let Agnes's biological sister stay in the palace, so isn't it normal for the outside world to have some similar speculations? Besides, at this time, the fact that the Duke is still in such high regard is indeed unavoidable and can lead to some associations.

However, he could only feel dumbfounded, because the person who hired and reused Alice was actually Theresa, and he usually didn't bother to pay attention to those personnel in the palace.

But these things cannot be explained clearly to the outside world, and the more they are explained, the more likely they are to arouse suspicion.

In the final analysis, his high-profile nationwide tour with his mistress as soon as he came to power has deeply convinced the people that their young Majesty is a dissolute prince with a romantic nature. Once this impression is established, they will naturally use "colored glasses." To speculate on their majesty.

Fortunately, in this era, being a king is not a crime or even a personal shortcoming. At least the French people will not resent it. Therefore, Aigron quickly thought about it.

"Forget it, the rumors stop with the wise. They can think whatever they want. People pay attention to these insignificant things, which at least shows that their lives are getting along well now. This is the greatest affirmation for me."

Edmund was quite convinced of Aigron's "Spiritual Victory Method".

Since accepting this task, he has collected intelligence everywhere and gone deep into the people. Naturally, he is closer to ordinary people than most people in the palace.

After a comprehensive understanding, he can at least be sure that after His Majesty came to power, the political situation across the country has become stable, prices are no longer skyrocketing, and finance is no longer turbulent. Everything is indeed developing for the better.

Under such circumstances, who would care about His Majesty the Emperor's romantic affairs? People just think of it as an interesting conversation piece.

After all, for kings, food is the original sin. As long as he can make the economy prosperous, let people have jobs, and feed their families, no one will care what evil things he does in private.

"Your Majesty, you are right. I can tell you honestly and honestly as a friend that you are indeed loved by the people now. This kind of love has not been seen in this country for many years. People have high hopes for you, and Trust that you can fulfill your commitments.”

Aiglon was also deeply relieved to hear Edmund's heartfelt words. He couldn't help but reach out and patted Edmund on the shoulder.

"I will not let down people's expectations, just as I have never let you down, Edmund. We must continue to work hard for this in the future, because my career cannot be separated from your assistance."

"I will serve you wholeheartedly, Your Majesty." Edmund held his head high and once again made a heartfelt promise to Aiglon, "I will complete any of your orders, even if it costs my life. No matter what."

"It doesn't have to be so serious. Rather than giving up your life, I hope you can live the rest of your life with wealth that is unmatched by others, because that's what you deserve." Aigron replied with a smile, "Say Now, I would like to ask, has the Marquis of Noirtier shown his cards to you?"

This question made Edmund, who was originally full of energy, suddenly feel at a loss.