Eagle’s Glory

"Would you wait until he gave birth to a grandson before exercising your rights?"

The eyes of the Marquis Noirtier were full of prayer.

At this moment, he is not the all-powerful political trendsetter, nor is he the important imperial minister who once had blood on his hands, and he has changed back to an old man in his sixties.

This look made Edmund Dantes feel pity.

If he had a choice, why would he want to see a similar scene?

"Prosecutor Villefort was married before I entered the cell, does he have no children?" Edmund asked.

"There is only one daughter named Valentine," replied the Marquis Noirtier sadly, "a very clever and very lovely child. He was originally married to the daughter of the Marquis of Saint-Méran, but Madame has passed away. , he recently married a lady who continued."

Edmund pondered for a moment, as far as he is concerned, it is not a big problem to agree to this condition - he is not in a hurry to take revenge now.

However, he also knew that he could not agree to this request broadly. After all, if the prosecutor could never give birth to a son, would he have to give up revenge on him?

"I can wait, sir, but I can't wait indefinitely, please understand," he replied.

The Marquis of Noirtier also fully understood the count's concerns, so he nodded, "Okay, let's just wait quietly! If God still has mercy on me, then maybe he will have a baby with his sequel Mrs. Son; if God thinks the world needs justice and wants him to perish, what can I say? Let's take three years and we'll see after three years. Don't worry, I've been tight-lipped during these three years , I will never reveal half a word, I am waiting for the arrangement of fate."

The Marquis said these words with emotion and reason, and Edmund felt that he had nothing to dispute.

"Okay, then let's make an agreement." So he nodded and agreed, "Marquis, what your son did did not detract from my respect for you, your glorious past and present in front of me. The demeanor you show makes me deeply admire, you are a man of the sky, I hope you will always be healthy and dedicate your talents to His Majesty and the people in the future."

"You've won the prize, I'm just an old man with waning years, what's there to praise?" The Marquis smiled bitterly, looking downcast, "But I will do my best. I have experienced countless major events in my life, There are very few things left, families are broken, couples turn against each other, and the country is bleeding... I hope that when I die, I can see a better era to come."

Because of his son, the Marquis of Noirtier was obviously a little depressed, and Edmund Dantes and the Marquis of Treville were also tacit, and never stimulated him again.

Then, the three of them put aside the Villefort prosecutor, talked about some recent political topics, and figured out what happened next in the political arena—the most important of which was to figure out who could be used by the Bonaparte family.

When talking about this, the Marquis of Noirtier finally came to his senses and kept talking. Edmund Dantès was basically silent on these questions. He just listened quietly and memorized it. , like a student attending a lecture.

In the end, the Marquis of Noirtier made a summary of the current situation.

"In this day and age, it is no longer appropriate to enforce a dictatorship, especially in France after the awakening. A monarch cannot simply rely on swords and guns to impose his personal will on the people, or even ignore his government and parliament, he can only There is no other way to govern hand in hand with the existing regime, and accept the harsh scrutiny and judgment of the people.”

As if to prove his own point, he went on to explain, "At the time of his restoration in 1815, the late emperor renounced his dogmatic authority in the imperial age and declared himself to practise a politics of tolerance, because he knew that only Only then can they win the hearts of the people; and after the return of the Bourbon royal family, although they always want to return to the old times, they also know that it is impossible. King Louis XVIII promulgated the "Charter" is a clear example. He knew that if he didn't show tolerance, then he would be overthrown by the French people like his brother... It is conceivable that today, when the people are generally dissatisfied with the perversion of King Charles X, if His Majesty wants to win the hearts and minds of the people, it is bound to To be more forgiving than before."

"But... Your Majesty is not a tolerant person..." The Marquis of Treville sighed, "I have been with him for a while and I can see that he is a very modest person and is good at listening to other people's suggestions, but he also Very stubborn, once a decision is made, it is not allowed to be questioned by others, and it must be completed... It is not easy for His Majesty to forgive others for offending his authority."

It stands to reason that the Marquis of Treville should never say these words. As a minister, he should not criticize the monarch. However, the three people present at this moment are all core members of the Bonaparte party, so they said it privately and did not say anything. Don't make taboos, there is even a feeling of "close enough to His Majesty".

Edmund Dantès also agreed with this. He spent longer by His Majesty's side, and naturally understood the young man better. "His Majesty is a very proud man at heart. He looks down on people who talk rhetorically and get nothing at all. He is a doer, and he believes he must be right... I don't think this is a disadvantage, and if he didn't have these qualities, he would not It has achieved what it is today.”

"You're right, stubbornness is dangerous for stupid people, but for smart people, this is definitely not a disadvantage, because smart people tend to think too much about the future, but they don't know that big things are done by those who are single-minded. Was Robespierre trained to run a country when he was brought to power? He didn't, but he relied on that stubborn ferocity to stabilize the situation of foreign invasion and domestic rebellion, no matter how many heads he lost, it was all It’s his ability—even though I was hunted down by him, I admit it.” Marquis Noirtier replied with a smile, “However, different times have different practices, and it’s almost half the time to silently observe this country. It has been a century, and although I have been idle at home now, I still pay attention to the pulse of the new era... So I think that His Majesty needs to stubbornly realize his ideals, and at the same time have the skills to adapt to this era. Only in this way can he Be able to sit tight."

"I'd like to hear about it." Edmund Danteson became interested.

The Marquis of Noirtier knew that the Count of Monte Cristo was His Majesty's confidant, and everything he said in front of the Count today would definitely be heard by the young Majesty, so he also gathered up his strength and tried his best to think about it. You should make your "recommendation" more thorough so that His Majesty can listen to it.

"First of all, he will cooperate with Parliament, and treat it as a legislature to be respected rather than a mere executive, but at the same time he will also find a way to tame it, make it cooperate with every action of the monarch, and make his intentions fair and square. After all, our citizens still believe that Parliament represents them!"

"Then how to do it?" Edmund Dantes asked again.

"Since the restoration of the Bourbon family, I have observed it for more than ten years. Our parliament is like a big inn. Various factions constantly change their seats with the fluctuation of public opinion, and every time they send unexpected guests to the monarch. For the Yongjun, this will make them at a loss, they don't know how to deal with the chaotic situation, and the political wind that changes every two or three years; and for the wise monarch, this happens to be his right and left. the chance that he could hide himself behind the uproar of parliament, use the prime minister and ministers to face this tumultuous bickering, isolate himself from the endless bickering, exercise power detachedly, and win over those who are in the royal family. Opposition." The Marquis of Noirtier replied in a low voice, "I personally participated in the great Constituent Assembly in 1789. Although some people were boring and mediocre, there were many great people gathered together. The scene of a crowd of heroes! In comparison, today's parliament is full of eloquent but stubborn little trash, as long as you use your means, you can easily control them."

From the tone of the Marquis Noirtier, Edmund Dantès suddenly realized the position that the Marquis gave him, or the price he made to His Majesty.

Does he want to act as His Majesty's spokesman in Parliament in the future?

Edmund Dantes doesn't hold any opinion on this, and neither supports nor opposes it. After all, this is a decision that His Majesty can make, and he just conveyed it.

He did not resent the Marquis's political ambitions - after all, how could a man do great things without ambition?

"Of course, the so-called respect for the parliament is also risky. In order not to be held hostage by the parliament, I think the scope of suffrage should be expanded, the imperial power should be appealed to the whole people, and His Majesty should become the emperor of the referendum of the whole French people - just like his father did." Under Demont's gaze, the Marquis of Noirtier continued, "The Bonaparte family has no history and long pedigree, so use a referendum to consolidate it, which not only appears to be morally superior, but also shapes the legitimacy of the royal family. , so that His Majesty can assume the image of a 'people's guardian'. Whenever the clamor of the parliament begins to cross the line, he will denounce these idiots in the name of the people, and then use new issues and referendums to disturb the wind. After all, the people The emperor who is in need of the people to defend. People are willing to spend more money for those who have spent money on them, but they are extremely stingy with those who give them money. The more His Majesty gets from them, the more proof the royal family and the The bond between the people is unbreakable."

When the Marquis of Treville heard the word "people's emperor", he secretly laughed, and almost laughed.

He had personally stayed by the side of Bonaparte and his son, and of course he had witnessed the domineering and arrogant attitude of their father and son.

However, since it is useful, it might as well be used, so what's the problem? At least he didn't think there was anything wrong.

"If you refer power to a referendum, you can get temporary support, but it also carries great risks." After pondering for a while, the Marquis of Treville raised his own doubts, "After all, you gave others the right to support , then it will make others acquiesce that they have the right to object, and strictly speaking, this situation is very dangerous, I think Your Majesty needs neither support nor opposition, only natural obedience."

"So you are purely military thinking..." Marquis Noirtier shrugged, "It is very dangerous for you to bring the military's habits to the national level. Now it is not the Middle Ages, we are a country that was heavily influenced by the Great Revolution. A country that has been molded! All the idols of authority have been smashed. Our people are not even convinced by God. Think about how many priests they killed!? For such a situation, we must admit the reality and patiently build it with reality based on the power model.”

Then, he smiled slyly, "Besides, you are still a soldier after all, you don't understand that the referendum does not mean that there are two choices of support and opposition, but only two choices of support and more support! As long as the timing and means It's appropriate, and the people will be at peace with that - and whoever controls the vote count controls the result of the vote, and it's always been that way."

The Marquis Noirtier said in a evasive manner, but the other two who were doing it understood it.

They couldn't help but look at each other and smile, sighing that this marquis is indeed a veteran who has been in politics for many years.

"Hey, you are too good at playing tricks..." The Marquis of Treville sighed secretly, "It seems to me that nothing is better than grabbing the army. As long as you have half a million bayonets in your hand, you can say anything. The golden rule, why think about it so much. Back then, the clamor in the House of Five Hundred People was dispelled by the late emperor’s bayonet in the Wuyue coup, and that’s why the empire came into being.”

"Of course, for the empire, the army is everything. Your Majesty must control the army and never allow others to interfere, but... this must not be said publicly. Don't forget that the army ultimately comes from the people. If we can't convince the people, Then there would be no army loyal to the Empire - Louis XVI also had hundreds of thousands of troops, didn't he go to the guillotine?" The Marquis of Noirtier retorted, "Yes, the emperor must be the biggest warlord, but He must not let people see this, he will dress himself up with parliaments and laws, with referendums and circuses of all kinds, and let people forget that his power comes only from the most blatant violence - once it is seen through, then Other warlords who think they are qualified will also be ready to move, and the country will never have peace! Don’t forget, after the first emperor seized the country with a bayonet, the first thing to do is to cultivate the law, that is the real wise move! I am Since then, I have admired him with all my heart, and would rather serve him with heart and soul."

After saying this, the Marquis of Noirtier looked at Edmund Dantes earnestly again, "Count, I said and wrote inappropriate things in front of you, but these are all my life experiences, and I implore you to help me. I tell His Majesty... I believe it will definitely be of use to him."