Eagle’s Glory

"I...I will never forget your kindness..."

Haidai's tearful eyes, combined with her thin body, looked pitiful, and anyone who looked at it couldn't help but feel a little protective.

Aegron had heard a lot of similar words, but hearing it from Haidai at this moment gave him a sense of pride and mission in particular.

This little girl is very grateful to me. She has got everything because of me. From now on, her honor, disgrace, and fortune are bound to me. As long as she is loyal to me, then I should protect her. To be considered a "monarch".

"Of course." He replied softly to Heide, then carefully lowered her to the ground.

On the city wall and on the side of the road, the cheering crowds were watching them, and Aigron and Teresa also held Haide's hands respectively, and then the three walked into the city gate together.

This is a kind of political announcement - from now on, the patron saint of Heide and the Duchy of Ioannina will be this young couple.

Amidst the cheers, Aigron and Haide toured the city together to familiarize the residents with their appearance. Such a tour did not end until the afternoon.

And the place where they stayed was Ali Pasha's tomb - of course, a headless corpse was buried in this tomb.

The tomb is simple in decoration, with only some stones stacked on it, and a generation of heroes fell on the stage of history in this way.

Led by Aegron, a large group of people surrounded the tomb in unison. The shadow of the sun slanted westward, and the dim sunlight added a bit of desolation to the air at this time.

This Ali Pasha is also a figure who takes advantage of the situation.

He was originally born in Albania and was the child of an official. When he was thirteen years old, his father's colleagues killed him. In order to make a living and regain the honor of the family, Ali recruited a group of bandits, and then for 20 years. , he used his bandit armed to manipulate the struggle between local landlords and officials, and from time to time he played the banner of "loyalty to Sudan and crusade against rebels".

As he became more and more famous and controlled more and more teams, the Turkish sultan noticed his presence and offered him an olive branch, recruiting Ali and appointing him as Pasha, ordering him to surrender the area under his control of bandits.

Ali Pasha did not miss this opportunity, and he quickly recruited an army in the Epirus region, expanded to the surrounding area, and controlled almost the entire region of Ioannina. And he caught up with the good times. It was at this time that the Sultan was constantly caught in the war with France and the Russian Empire, and he was too exhausted to take care of him.

It is a pity that the good times did not last long. After the collapse of Napoleon's empire, Europe entered a period of peace, and the sultan could finally free up his hands to clean up domestic problems. At this time, the Ali Pasha of Egypt was too big, and the Sultan was unable to solve it, but the Ali Pasha of Ioannina, the Sudan was able to eradicate.

In 1820, the Sultan sent a large army to crusade against the Pasha. At this time, Ali Pasha's power in Ioannina was deeply rooted, so he took his army to resist stubbornly. Until 1822, the Pasha finally couldn't resist. The army of the empire was finally beheaded by the sultan, the capital was passed down, and all the sons were killed. Only one granddaughter, Haide, saved her life, but she was also reduced to a slave.

Now, five and a half years have passed since Ali Pasha gave the headship, but the city of Ioannina and the villa where he last lived are still the same as before.

Looking at the villa in the distance, Aegron couldn't help feeling a little sigh.

Ali Pasha is also a trend-setter of the times. He broke into the world by means of turning clouds and rains. However, he was unable to control the times in the end. Instead, he was swallowed up by the changing times and became the dust of history.

That's the price of losing the bet.

However, if he was given another chance to choose, would he choose to be an unknown mountain bandit in Albania, or to repeat his life and be a local emperor who ordered one side?

Don't even think about it, he will definitely choose the latter.

The same goes for Aegron.

He can't be sure that he will win, and maybe one day he will end up unfulfilled, but even so, he must gamble and live his life vigorously. He has tasted the taste of power, and it is absolutely impossible for him to voluntarily Get off the stage.

After sighing for a moment, he turned his head and nodded to Haidai, while Haidai walked to the edge of the tomb and knelt down.

She gently stroked the stones on the tomb, and the cold touch made her heart cramp.

Grandpa was quite unfamiliar to her, she had even forgotten what he looked like, but she knew that it was Grandpa's death that made her lose everything and become a slave.

The pain she had endured suddenly came to her heart, and the family affection associated with the inheritance of the bloodline made her even more painful. She cried out, and the tears fell on the stones drop by drop.

No one stopped her, no one spoke, and everyone kindly asked Haidee to vent the grief in her heart.

And Aigron also took off his hat to pay tribute to the late Pasha.

On the one hand, he respected the hero; on the other hand, Haidai was his tool. In order to make Haidai more justifiable, he should also raise the status of Pasha.

Anyway, people who have died will not come to fight with him for power and profit, so they might as well be more respectful.

At dusk, the little ceremony was over.

Then, under the guidance of Edmund Dantes, they came to a small lake, and there was a two-story building made of bricks and stones in the small lake.

"Your Majesty, this is the villa where Ali Pasha lived before, and it is also the last place where he resisted--" Edmund Dantes introduced to Aegron. "Your Majesty, if you don't mind, this place can be used as the residence for you, His Royal Highness Teresa, and His Highness Heide."

Although Haidai has not been officially canonized yet, Aegron has asked his subordinates to call Haidai His Highness in order to elevate Haidai's status.

Aigron looked out and saw that the villa on the island in the distance was a mixture of brick and wood structures, which looked quite simple, and there was a small garden beside it.

He didn't think it was shabby, because such living conditions were already the best place to live after he left Schönbrunn Palace. Compared with Monte Cristo Island, it was completely different.

Moreover, the small lake is a natural moat, and the safety is absolutely no problem.

"Yeah." So he nodded slightly.

"We've already had it cleaned and renovated, and you can move in with confidence." Edmund Dantes whispered, "We've kept some of the personal belongings left by Ali Pasha and are waiting for your instructions. "

"Leave it all to Haidee, she should have these." Aegron replied indifferently.

Then, they took a small boat and came to the island along the not wide water.

Agron and Teresa walked to the second floor of the villa together, then leaned against the wooden railing and looked at the distant scenery.

"Teresa, this is the first country that belongs to us." With a kind of self-satisfaction, Aegron whispered to Teresa.

"Yes, Your Highness... We succeeded!" Teresa also nodded heavily.

"No doubt now is not the time to be complacent, we still have a long way to go..." Aigron stretched his voice, then grinned again, and waved his hand heavily, "But we should celebrate it !"

For Aegron, it was a milestone victory, and he now owns a piece of land of his own.

Although the nominal monarch is not him, even though the size of this small principality is not enough to accommodate his ambitions - but for now, he is satisfied enough.

No matter how deep his personality is, he will inevitably have a little juvenile spirit. Since he came to Ioannina, his heart has been dancing with ecstasy. It was only to maintain his demeanor in front of everyone that he made a calm, reserved and unfathomable expression. look.

Only Teresa was qualified to share his gaffe alone.

"Your Highness..." Teresa couldn't help laughing when she saw him cheering.

Then, as if coaxing a child, she reached out and wiped the young man's hair, "Okay, if you want to celebrate, let's hold a celebration! The new born in the Principality of Ioannina should be held for this. Celebration."

"You're right, we're going to hold a grand celebration to celebrate the double event of the canonization of Haidé and the establishment of the duchy." Aegron echoed her, "We're going to open our purse again and send a reward to all followers. Our meritorious servants! Even my soldiers I will reward them... I am happy to pay any price for this."

After a few months of intense consumption, Aigron has run out of money on hand, but when he came to such a place and established a new state power, he knew that he should give generously to his heart and reason. Only in this way can people be motivated and people can continue to have the motivation to follow themselves.

Money is what he does for this, and it is foolish to be a miser to be an emperor.

After laughing alone for a while and venting his complacency, Aigron returned to normal, and he called Edmund Dantes, who was still waiting for an order.

At this time, it was already nighttime, the blue sky was like washing, and the small garden was enough to see the sky full of stars, which made people feel uplifted.

"Your Majesty, good evening." Edmund Dantes bowed and saluted.

"Edmund, I think you should know that after the duchy is established, your adoptive father will be the prime minister of the duchy." Aegron said straight to the point.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I thank you for this honor..." Edmund Dantès bowed again to express his gratitude, "I firmly believe that Father Faria will never betray your trust, He is the right person."

Before Aigron came, he had already learned of Aigron's appointment through a letter, and he was even more grateful than he was surprised. For him, the only people in the world worth caring about now were the priest and his ex-fiancee in Paris. That's it.

"I have the same confidence as you in him, but we also have to admit that Father Faria is old and inconvenient after all... So I hope you can do your best to assist him without any slack." Seriously told him, "In the future, Teresa and I may have to leave here often, and many things need to be handled by you. You must use your courage and mind to guard this place for me. Now this place is ours. The foundation is established...I will not allow any mistakes."

Hearing these words, Edmund Dantes couldn't help but swell up.

"Your Majesty, don't worry! I use my life to guarantee Father Faria that we will fulfill our oath."

"There is one more thing—" Aigron spoke again, "I plan to appoint you as the guardian of Her Royal Highness Haidé, you are responsible for managing the attendants around her, responsible for her education, and all the schedules, without your consent. , no one is allowed to meet her alone or without permission."

Aigron knew that Heide was his important treasure and that he had to look after it carefully, and Edmund Dantès was indeed the most suitable person in charge of the job.

"Okay, Your Majesty." Without any hesitation, Edmund Dantes agreed.

Seeing his decisive appearance, an interesting thought suddenly flashed in Aegron's mind.

So, he pretended to look at each other in thought, until Edmund was a little uncomfortable before he spoke leisurely.

"Edmund, now that you have become famous, you are already a real earl, and you will soon have your own territory, and you will also take care of the Grand Duchess of a principality. Even most hereditary nobles are not comparable to you... …”

"Yes, Your Majesty, this is the grace you bestowed on me, and I will keep it in my heart." Edmund Dantes replied solemnly.

"So, have you considered your life-long event?" Aigron asked suddenly. "Nobles always need heirs... Otherwise, what's the point of titles?"

This question stunned Edmund Dantes.

"I didn't think about it...now I don't think it's the time to think about it."

"It's almost time, I don't want to delay the important life events of my favorites because of me—" Aegron replied with a smile.

Edmund Dantes was speechless, apparently caught off guard by the topic.

"What do you think of Haidee?" Agron asked again coldly.

"No! She's so small... and she's still the Grand Duke, how can I...?" Edmund Dantes shook his head as if electrocuted, "I admit that I really like her, but that's right The junior's love, we are more than 20 years apart, how could I have such an idea?"

"Then do you have a crush?" Aegron asked again, "If you have a crush, I can find a way to facilitate it for you."

Edmund Dantès flashed a sigh of relief.

"No, no need, Your Majesty, I can handle this kind of thing myself."

From Edmund's reaction, Aigron saw something.

"You haven't forgotten your ex-fiancee yet?"

The question seemed to poke his sore spot.

"Yes, I...I miss her." Edmund Dantes nodded sadly.

"But as far as I know, she is married and has given birth to the son of your enemy," said Aegron calmly.

The great pain caused Edmund Dantes's mouth to twitch. "Yeah, I know……"

He answered hoarsely. "But I can't help but miss her, miss my Mercedes... So, Your Majesty, don't worry about this for me."