Eagle’s Glory

While Aigron and Heide were in Athens to attend the coronation ceremony of King Otto I, there was an unexpected visitor in Paris, thousands of miles away.

However, compared to Aigron's pomp, Edmund Dantes was much more low-key. He used a false identity to infiltrate this magnificent city, and no one noticed his arrival.

This is not the first time Edmund has come to this city, but the last time he came, he was just a poor **** who had just crawled out of a black prison and survived the disaster; and after a lapse of a year, he When he came to Paris again, the tempering of blood and fire had shaped him into a brave and resourceful elite, and he was also a count with a fief.

In just one year, his mentality has undergone earth-shaking changes, and the outside wind and rain can no longer shake his hard heart.

The first step in coming to Paris, he was not in a hurry to find a place to live, nor was he in the mood to appreciate the well-known attractions of this prosperous city, but found a way to come outside the residence of General Treville.

According to His Majesty's orders, General Treville is his biggest and most reliable helper. The general is also brave and resourceful, and he is a native of Paris. He is familiar with the local situation and has some connections in the upper class - and these are exactly the same The thing Edmund lacked the most.

Of course, he did not go to the book to visit immediately, but secretly observed it outside.

After all, the Marquis of Treville sneaked into the territory of France with Agron before, and there was a lot of trouble. The Bourbon royal family was sure that Thunder was furious to track down the responsible person. He could not ensure the safety of the Treville family, so he did not dare to rush. snare.

After a patient observation, he found that someone was watching secretly outside the mansion, but the Treville family didn't seem to have suffered any serious trouble, so he was relieved.

The stalking people couldn't help him at all, because he had lived at the Treville house last time, so he knew the environment inside very well.

When the night came, he quietly walked out of the darkness, and then walked in through the secret door of the small garden.

As soon as he came in, he was immediately noticed by the servants in the mansion, but after confirming that he was the "VIP" who lived in the mansion last year, he immediately received due courtesy, and then the Marquis of Treville He also learned the news of the arrival of the Count of Monte Cristo.

The general did not alert the other family members, and immediately the servant took the count into his study.

In the flickering candle-lit study, the old acquaintances of Edmund Dantès and the Marquis of Treville finally met again.

Because they knew each other's important position in His Majesty's heart, and they had heard of each other's "heroic deeds", the two of them felt a little sympathetic to each other as soon as they met, and they held hands directly. Damon clearly felt that the general's body seemed a little weak.

"Count, I am so happy to see you again!" The Marquis of Treville took the lead in greeting. "Your presence will definitely make us Bonapartists even more powerful."

"I'm glad to see you again, General," Edmund Dantes replied sincerely. "It looks like you've been ill recently?"

"I made you laugh." General Treville smiled bitterly, "The last time I ran back to Paris, the pseudo-king was so angry because of His Majesty's appearance that he ordered all suspicious persons to be interrogated. In order not to make them suspicious, I took the initiative to I drank the medicine and pretended to be sick—I did it quite successfully, so I was lingering in bed for a long time, and I only recovered a little now, and in a sense you came at the right time."

Edmund was both admiring and moved when he heard it. Although the general said it lightly, his courage and courage were indeed not something ordinary people could have.

"Your loyalty is enough to make everyone respect you." He said solemnly, "Your Majesty will never forget the price you paid for him."

"As long as the empire can be reproduced, I will not hesitate to pay a great price." General Treville replied.

After speaking, the two held hands tightly again to express their admiration among their fellow party members.

"At this moment, Your Majesty is probably attending the coronation ceremony of the king of Greece." After shaking hands, Edmund spoke again, "He has found a king for Greece, and hopes to win lasting peace for them, now his attention It's time to put it here. He thinks the days of the false king and his dynasty are numbered, and it's time for us to prepare for it."

Although Edmund didn't make it clear, how could the Marquis of Treville, who had been lurking at home for a long time to watch the opportunity, could not understand what he meant?

His Majesty's meaning is very clear - the Bourbon Dynasty seems to be crumbling, the crown is likely to fall to the ground again in the near future, but there are many people who want to rush to take the crown. He must also be behind in the process of grabbing the crown, so in order to be able to grab the crown, he must prepare in advance.

And this happens to be the judgment of the Marquis of Treville.

Because of this, he was more than willing to cooperate.

"His Majesty's wisdom and insight are indeed far from ordinary!" He praised loudly, "Yes, now is indeed a good time to expand our power, the days of the false king will not last long, and his son is extremely mediocre, unworthy to lead this Country, this is something everyone can see clearly! On the other hand, the Duke of Orleans is on the side, and His Majesty should prepare early."

"His Majesty means that we need to find more supporters among the elites and let them help His Majesty to seize the throne." Edmund simply pointed out his words, "Before he returns to Paris, we must clarify who is standing with us. On the one hand, who are the neutrals who are watching and who are the enemies we must bring down—General, Your Majesty clearly told me that this is the only focus we need to focus on during this period of time, and other things can be left behind.”

"I will cooperate with you to complete this work." The Marquis nodded happily, "I have been dormant in Paris for too long! For so long, I almost forgot that I used to be a general... But now, I will pick up the past again. I want to activate all the contacts I can use so that you can complete the work smoothly.”

Edmund Dantes recalled what His Majesty had said to him, and then recited it himself.

"The support of the army is absolutely essential to us. However, the senior members of the army are promoted after the restoration of the Bourbon family. They have absolutely no goodwill towards us. At most, we can only count on them to be neutral. Looking for support among those unhappy senior officers, he thinks that if a former imperial marshal is willing to stand on our side, it will be a decisive bargaining chip..."

"Marshal..." The Marquis of Treville pondered for a moment, searching for the marshals who are still alive in his mind, and guessing that among them there may be candidates who will support the Empire. "The marshals who are still alive and who are most likely to be on our side, I think it's Marshal Moncey or Marshal Soult, they both have a huge reputation, and if one of them is willing to stand on our side, we will There's a lot of momentum, and if both agree, then I think we'll have no barriers within the military."

Edmund was stunned secretly. He didn't expect that the general's reply was similar to His Majesty's guess before.

General Treville was a high-ranking official in the army before. It was natural for him to be familiar with these situations, but His Majesty had never had much contact with France. He could estimate clearly that it was indeed not easy.

"I know, it's definitely not easy to get two famous marshals, Qu Jie, to deal with me, and it's hard to say how much energy they still have to participate in domestic politics..." Edmund sighed softly, "But Since this is His Majesty's will, we will take this as our goal and try our best to achieve it."

"No matter what, we have to try. These two marshals are not very happy because of the suppression of the dynasty. I think they have enough motivation to support His Majesty, as long as we win them and put forward enough conditions." Trey General Will is quite confident.

He was not worried that he would be ostracized by the marshals and become subservient after the event was completed, because these marshals were not the heirs of His Majesty, and they could not be truly trusted by His Majesty. In the end, His Majesty had to control the army through himself.

Marshal Moncey is relatively old, now in his 70s, he would not have had much energy to participate in the power struggle; as for Marshal Soult, he is young and powerful, but because of this he will never be In His Majesty's eyes, "our own people" can only use cooperation while guarding against them.

Therefore, executing this order, he has nothing to lose, only good and no harm.

Now the focus is on His Majesty's seizure of power, and other things will be discussed later - His Majesty is a person who knows how to judge merit and reward, and he will give due rewards.

Edmund Dantès didn't know the careful thoughts of General Treville. He saw more hope from the general's statement, so he became more confident.

He is convinced that His Majesty is what people want, and that false kings or other pretenders of the throne will never have the charm and appeal of His Majesty.

"By the way, I have something to remind you that after I came to Paris this time, I was no longer the Count of Monte Cristo, but the Count of Bellevue of the Duchy of Parma, a foreigner who admired Paris and came to visit person."

Principality of Parma? As soon as he heard this word, the Marquis of Treville fell into deep thought.

He knew that His Majesty's mother was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma, so the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo must have been forged by Queen Louisa with the help of her.

Does this mean that the mother and son, who had a bad relationship, secretly colluded?

But soon, the general put this thought aside. After all, His Majesty's family affairs are not his qualifications to manage, and it is normal for Queen Louisa to help her son ascend to the throne.

"Okay, I understand." Marquis Treville nodded, "Then you must still need a foothold?"

"Yes, I need to be active in the social world of Paris in this capacity to disguise my real purpose." Edmund Dantes nodded again, "For this I need to buy a mansion that fits my status. , and live a life that fits your identity, I think with your help, it's definitely not a problem..."

"Of course it's not a problem," the general replied readily, "however, if I personally take charge of this matter, I'm afraid it will make people suspicious, so let Alice help you. Someone will pay attention to her."

"Is Mrs. Alice all right?" Edmund asked in passing. "And your granddaughter."

"Madam is very good, as for Xia Lu, she is even better!" The Marquis of Treville burst into a smile from the heart, "As expected of my granddaughter, she is beautiful and healthy, and she has basically never been sick. , and smart and quick to learn everything... She must be a gift from God, I have to spend a few hours with her every day now, otherwise I just feel uncomfortable and panic."

As he said this, the marquis's face showed a radiance of pride and happiness, and now he did not look like an ambitious conspirator, but really like an ordinary grandfather.

Seeing the marquis so happy, Edmund was also happy for him from the bottom of his heart. "That's great... I also want to see Miss Xia Lu, she must be beautiful."

"What's so difficult about this, I'll bring her to you right away to take a look." The Marquis responded.

He wished everyone could see his granddaughter and praise her.

Just as he was about to go out of the study to find Xia Lu, Edmund Dantes remembered something else.

"By the way, General, before I left, His Majesty also explained a very important thing to me... to track down the assassin who killed him."

"What! What else?" The general was stunned for a moment, and the smile on his face also became solemn. "what happened?"

So Edmund relayed to the Marquis what His Majesty had said.

Like Edmund, the Marquis was extremely angry when he heard it, but what he was angry about was not the "humiliation and death of the minister", but that the glory and wealth he dreamed of was almost extinguished.

"Shameless! Despicable! Someone would do such a thing... They will definitely pay the price!" He yelled.

"Yes, they must pay the price, and His Majesty will not forgive such offenses. Whether it is an assassin or a messenger, he will find out and punish him properly." Edmund nodded, "He The task of tracing was handed over to me, and now the biggest clue is the identity of the assassin - she is, Miss Agnes' master."

"What? Agnes is also involved?" The Marquis was taken aback again, but quickly shook his head again, "No, I know this little girl Agnes very well. Doing such crooked things should have nothing to do with her."

"I think so too, Miss Agnes will not be involved." Edmund agreed, "but we can find her master from her, the question is just how to do it."

"With Alice here, this little girl is easy to deal with." The Marquis twitched his lips, showing a sneer, "Okay, I'll bring Xia Lu to you to have a look, and then I'll let Alice see you later—by the way, We don't tell her about this, she shouldn't know."

"OK."