Eagle’s Glory

In the cold wind of late autumn, Austrian Ambassador to Turkey Friedrich von Genz, as usual, took a walk in the embassy's small garden after breakfast to clear his mind.

This period, for him, was a bleak and turbulent day.

As Prime Minister Metternich had anticipated, the Russian Empire really made an advance.

Religiously, he should be happy, because it will be another time for Christians to punish savage pagans, but as a diplomat of the Austrian Empire, he has to feel as much as the Prime Minister at the turmoil in the balance of power in Europe. Worried.

Of course, these worries are not enough to frighten him at the moment. After all, he is a witness to the most terrifying and **** events in the past. Now the small scenes in the Balkans are not worth mentioning compared to those days.

He was sent to Istanbul just to deal with these pesky things.

As a confidant and friend of Prime Minister Metternich, he has already enjoyed a certain reputation in the European diplomatic circles, and after he came to Istanbul on the order of the Prime Minister, he was naturally treated by the top officials of the Ottoman Empire.

Right now, the devastated Sultan and his ministers are helpless and anxious about the current corrupt situation. The flames of the Greek War of Independence have not been extinguished for several years, but have rekindled. to march.

At this time, the Ottoman Empire was in a new trough period. Its internal affairs were corrupt, its military was weak, and its finances were on the verge of being depleted. Just suppressing the Greek rebels had already exhausted their financial and material resources. Can't beat Russia?

Obviously, if the Ottoman Empire alone, they would not be able to resist the Tsar's army anyway.

In the panic, Sultan Mahmoud II replaced his ineffective Grand Vizier Mohammad Selim Pasha and appointed his favorite Izet Mohammed Pasha to take over, but the newly appointed Grand Vizier What can Ziel change? He could only watch helplessly as the Russian army marched all the way towards Istanbul, unable to do anything.

Since it was hopeless on his own, Izet-Mohammad Pasha could only turn his attention to the European powers. He desperately lobbied the ambassadors of the European powers, pointing out that if the Ottoman Empire collapsed, it would mean that Istanbul would fall. into the hands of the Russians, and that would mean that other countries would follow in their footsteps and fall prey to the insatiable Russians.

It has to be said that the Grand Vizier has grasped the key points and straightened out the essence of the problem - under the pressure of Russia, Turkey's survival is no longer a matter of its own family, but of all European powers. For the interests of the Russian Empire, no one wants to see the fleet of the Russian Empire going in and out of the Mediterranean Sea at will, and no one wants its **** mouth to swallow a piece of European land.

Precisely because he did not want to see this happen, Ambassador Friedrich von Genz had to find a way to stop it.

His main attention was not on Sultan Mahmoud II and his Grand Vizier. In his eyes, Turkey, which was like a candle in the wind, was not worth his energy.

However, in any case, Turkey is still an ancient empire that has ruled Constantinople and Asia Minor for hundreds of years. No matter how shabby the status quo, it still has some background and is worth taking advantage of, so he also suppressed the contempt in his heart. In the bottom of my heart, with a polite attitude on the surface, I came to cheer up the sultan's monarchs and ministers, and encouraged them to support the crisis.

This seasoned diplomat, who assisted Metternich in successfully holding the Vienna Conference more than ten years ago, helped His Excellency the Prime Minister delineate the pattern of the current order in Europe, and already understood all the subtleties of the diplomatic conflict between the great powers. , Now playing with diplomacy to persuade -- or coax -- Sultan monarchs and ministers, it is naturally easy.

According to Prime Minister Metternich's will, he made two suggestions to the sultan's monarchs and ministers - first, the sultan should give up the protracted and fruitless Greek anti-rebellion war, and make every effort to shrink the military in order to try his best to fight against the Russian Empire's front and win Buffer time; Second, Sudan should use the time left at the moment to ask the European powers' envoys to inform the governments of the countries as soon as possible, understand their interests, and express their willingness to accept the arbitration of the powers.

I have to say that his ability to play with diplomacy is really strong. After being coaxed by him three times, the Sultan's monarch and ministers, after careful consideration, actually fully accepted the ambassador's suggestion.

For the sultan, the foundation of the empire is in Istanbul. If it falls into the hands of the Russians, it will mean the demise of the empire. It is worth paying a price to keep it.

Although the rebellion in Greece is infuriating, at the moment of life and death of this empire, giving up the counter-insurgency war that has not progressed, although it is uncomfortable, it is also the bitter fruit that has to be swallowed.

Seeing that so many results have been achieved before formally intervening in the arbitration, the ambassador is quite happy, but on the surface he still pretends to frown, planning to squeeze more chips from the panic-stricken Turks.

Right now, although the situation is in ruins, there are also opportunities. As long as we seize that first-line opportunity, we may be able to benefit Austria from it.

And this depends on the skill of the country's intermediary operation.

He is now looking forward to the news from Greece, because it is very important to him.

And just when his walk was about to end, he finally received the good news he wanted - Mr. Alfred von Mayrhofen, the secretary he sent, has quietly returned,

He immediately returned to his office and ordered his entourage to call von Mayrhofen to him.

As soon as he came in, von Mayrhofen immediately bowed to his boss.

"Mr. Ambassador, I have completed your mission, and now I am back to return to you."

Even at this urgent moment, Ambassador von Genz still retained his habitual restraint. He did not answer immediately, but looked up and down his subordinates.

"It looks like you're in good shape—" he said off-topic. "Is everything going well?"

"Yes, everything went well!" von Mayrhofen replied immediately, in a tone of excitement, "Mr. Ambassador, I have met Duke Reichstedt and His Royal Highness Princess Theresa, who have been very enthusiastic about me, and Expressed his willingness to cooperate with the will of His Excellency the Prime Minister..."

As he said that, he took out a handwritten letter from Aigron and Teresa from his arms, "This is a letter they wrote to you, and it contains all the promises we want!"

After speaking, he bent down and handed the letter to the ambassador.

Ambassador von Genz accepted the letter, then calmly opened it and took out the letter inside.

The content of the letter was not long, and he read it after a cursory scan.

Yes, everything they want has been obtained. Whether it is the sultan or the juvenile couple, they all chose to act according to their own expectations.

So good... so good!

Although he was very happy, there was only a calm smile on the corner of his mouth.

Then he put down the stationery, then raised his head and looked at his subordinate with encouraging eyes.

"Von Mayrhofen, you have done an excellent job in the mission I entrusted you with, and for this merit, you will certainly be awarded the medal of the motherland."

"That's just what I'm supposed to do," von Mayrhofen replied humbly, also disguising his ecstasy.

"In addition to meeting Duke Reichstedt this time, you also met the leaders of the Greeks. What do you think of them?" Ambassador von Genz asked again.

"They are generally very grateful to Duke Leichstedt, and believe that Greek independence cannot be separated from the support of European powers..." von Mayrhofen replied in a low voice, "so they are eagerly expecting European powers to put pressure on the Turks, Get Turkey to make concessions, withdraw from their territory and allow them to be independent."

"So what do they think of the Russians?" the ambassador asked the key question.

Von Mayrhofen hesitated, then told the truth.

"In terms of religious sentiment, they tend to be Russians, after all, both sides are Orthodox. But this religious sentiment is not higher than national sentiment, and many people think that Western Europe is more reliable and can get more cultural and scientific results from it. In general, with the advance of the Russians, the pro-Russian sentiment of the Greeks will inevitably rise, but as long as we and the other powers show their positions in time, not many people will be willing to serve the tsar."

Ambassador von Genz nodded slightly, as if thinking about something.

Obviously, the advance of the Russian Empire is bound to be objectively beneficial to Greek independence, and then it will inevitably arouse a pro-Russian wave in Greek sentiment; therefore, in order to suppress this wave, Austria and the United Kingdom should express their support for Greek independence as soon as possible, At the same time, let their allies eliminate these forces supporting the Russians internally.

"Okay, then you can write a report on what you have seen and heard on this trip, give me one copy, and copy the other to Vienna—"

"Okay." Von Mayrhofen nodded immediately.

It stands to reason that he should retire at this time and go back to rest, but he did not leave immediately.

"Why, is there anything else to report?" So the ambassador asked again.

"The Duke of Reichstedt sent a messenger disguised as my servant and came with me." Von Mayrhofen told his superior cautiously, "On the one hand, he is to coordinate your position with you; On the other hand, he has an important secret mission and needs your help."

"What does he want me to do?" Ambassador von Genz frowned slightly, then asked suspiciously.

As a result, von Mayrhofen immediately followed Aegron's plan to "find and buy Heide, bring her to him, make her Grand Duchess of Ioannina, and march into Ioannina as a puppet flag", It was told exactly to the ambassador.

"And this hand...?" Ambassador von Genz was amazed, and then he couldn't help sighing, "Duke Leichstedt... As expected, he is a student of Metternich."

This plan seems ordinary, but being able to come up with such a plan has already proved the young man's intelligence-gathering ability and decision-making ability - at least now I don't know that there is still a Pasha orphan who remains in the Sultan's court as a slave.

So smart and perceptive, it's no wonder that he can become a master at a young age.

When the Duke was still in Schönbrunn Palace, he had already met the young man several times. At that time, although he thought the Duke was smart, he still didn't quite understand why Metternich valued him so much. Everything that happened, provided him with proof.

If he stays in Austria, and then marries Princess Teresa according to the wishes of the emperor and Prime Minister Metternich, and is accepted by the royal family, maybe he will take over from Prime Minister Metternich to preside over the overall situation in the next twenty years...

It's a pity that fate is still so mysterious after all... The ambassador secretly sighed in his heart.

Everyone has their own aspirations, and it is useless to talk too much.

The ambassador soon found that his subordinate was looking at him curiously, so he returned to his usual indifferent and serious expression.

"Although this request is a bit outrageous, it is not beyond our tolerance. Considering that the Duke of Reichstedt has given up his pursuit of the Greek throne because of us, I think we can agree to his request. After all, since the Turks are destined to be Losing Greece, it's no big deal to lose so much Ioannina—"

"I think so too." Von Mayrhofen quickly echoed.

"What's the name of that messenger?" the ambassador asked again.

"I don't know his real name, but he has a title of nobility - Count of Monte Cristo..." von Mayrhofen replied.

The ambassador frowned slightly.

In his decades of diplomatic career, he had never heard the title.

It doesn't seem to be a hereditary noble, it should just be the duke's title in his own grass team.

But it doesn't matter to the ambassador. Napoleon had so many princes and dukes. He and Metternich were not as humbly chatting and laughing with them. For the old-fashioned and arrogant court, a noble without blood was regarded as a hereditary noble. , it's disrespectful, but for a diplomat, it's not difficult at all.

"Okay, let him come to see me." The ambassador ordered.

Von Mayrhofen immediately withdrew with interest.

Soon, the door reopened, and then, a tall and strong young man in his thirties walked in.

He was dressed as a servant, but even that couldn't hide the pomp and pomp; his face was serious, with a fine beard, his steps were strong, he looked energetic, and seemed ready to strike at any moment.

The ambassador could feel that there was a murderous aura about the guy on the opposite side, and he should have killed a lot of people with his own hands.

Rather than saying that he is a nobleman, he is more like a Jiangyang robber.

But isn't this era when Jiang Yang thief became a noble?

After entering the door, Edmund Dantes walked up to the ambassador, then bowed and saluted. "Ambassador von Genz, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The ambassador also stood up, looked at each other with a gentle and friendly smile, and then took the initiative to stretch out his right hand.

It is this right hand that has drafted several treaties that determine the fate of European countries, and has a chilling weight.

And the Count of Monte Cristo, unafraid but courteous, took hold.

The mysterious and unpredictable fate made this prisoner who was tumbling in the mud of the dungeon suddenly boarded the hall of elegance and shook hands with this giant in the European diplomacy.

Isn't all this a miracle caused by that young man!

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Count."