Eagle’s Glory

"You urge France to hold a popular vote on its future..."

Aigron quietly listened to Father Faria's suggestion without saying a word.

It's not that he thinks the priest's proposal is absurd or unfeasible, but because his proposal is too close to reality, and even faintly coincides with the original historical line.

Napoleon III in history especially liked to paint himself in the name of the people. Many major events in the empire were decided by referendum - of course, he cleverly designed the issues of the referendum and the specific voting time, so he was able to decide by himself. The direction of the "referendum", and the so-called people's empowerment is used to endorse its legitimacy.

Compared with the Capet family that has ruled France for thousands of years, the Bonaparte family is lonely and does not have the kind of orthodoxy that makes everyone speechless - Capet The family heir does not need to explain to the French why he can be king, because his ancestors have been kings for twenty generations, and the Bonaparte family does not, they can hardly believe that they are born to rule the country .

What's more, their ancestors are not even French, but a group of Italians and islanders.

Therefore, if you want to convince people, you must put a sacred coat on the rule of this family. The rulers of the past would choose religion, but in France today, religion is not very useful, although everyone admits that they are Are Catholic but few people really take religion seriously.

Since the old religion doesn't work anymore, it is necessary to try the new "religion", that is, the theory of popular sovereignty brought about by the rise of Enlightenment. The Bonaparte family recognizes that the sovereignty of France is not in this family, but in the whole nation. On the body, and this family is only the chief citizen, exercising the necessary administrative power, and commanding the army to defend the people and protect the country, so it seems to make sense in theory.

Of course, some people may ask, "Why should your family monopolize the cause of leading the nation to protect the country?"

This one is easy, just make sure that the person who dares to ask is speechless.

There is no doubt that the so-called popular sovereignty is just a cloak, and the essence is the violent rule of the Bonaparte family with the help of the army, but if the country is to run smoothly, the “cloth” is something that must be possessed, and the violence must be hidden in one place. Layer after layer of beautiful veils, instead of showing on the stage with claws and claws, will only make the audience cheer.

"You are very reasonable, I will consider it carefully." Aigron nodded.

Seeing Aegron's reaction like this, Father Faria was a little surprised. He didn't expect this young man to accept his opinion so easily.

As far as he understood His Majesty, he knew that this young man was humble on the outside, but he was stubborn and proud, and he was extremely confident. Such a person would never want anyone to share his authority—in fact, he did. He has always worked hard to ensure his absolute dominance over his followers, even if his cousins ​​are sidelined by him and unable to exert influence.

So how could he easily admit that it is up to the whole people to decide his whereabouts and where he belongs?

However, His Majesty agreed so easily. It can be seen that His Majesty's political savvy is much more powerful than he imagined, and that he did not follow the wrong person - Father Faria was also full of relief when he thought of this.

Aigron didn't know that his image in the priest's heart suddenly rose a little, he just followed the instructions.

On the contrary, he secretly admired that Father Faria, without any prompting, was able to learn the new changes of the times without a teacher—you must know that he has been imprisoned for more than ten years, and he has been isolated from the world during this period!

If there was no catastrophe at the beginning, Father Faria must have achieved greater success? A pity indeed.

Both of them were sighing to themselves, but Father Faria took the lead in adjusting his emotions, and then took the initiative to explain his intentions to Aegron.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, all of this will not affect your authority, but will make you unfavorable. People are everywhere, they are in different classes, they have different educations, and their situations are different, so they Their opinions and demands are also destined to be very different, and it can even be said that they are destined to conflict and quarrel with each other. In other words, you cannot please everyone, and you do not need to please everyone, you only need to please those who ask the least and the number of people. The most groups, everything you advocate, let them enjoy the respect they want, and with their support, you can have enough resources to bribe and suppress those who oppose you. As long as you can become Balancer between the various classes, then at least they will accept you as a communist. I admit it's not a perfect regime, but it's much better than those before in French history, and you don't have to feel any guilt. "

"Yes, I think so too." Aigron nodded, "Father, your words coincide with the proposal of the Marquis Noirtier. You have all seen the problems in reality, and based on reality, you have proposed one. It is suitable for my plan, it can be seen that you are all insightful people."

"You are over the top." The priest smiled slightly humbly. "It is not important to make suggestions. You have smart people around you. What matters is the courage to make correct decisions and firm execution. These are the qualities a leader must have. And you've proven that you're a true fit for the position - you're so much more important than me."

After the flattery, the priest changed the subject again and returned to the original topic, "Your Majesty, everything I said is only the measures you need to take, and no matter what measures, they must be based on 'good governance'. If you can lead your country to prosperity and your people to live in peace and contentment, then whatever you say is right, everyone will cheer on you, and no one will listen to the clamor of wicked people; if you can't lead The country is prosperous, then no matter how much ingenuity you play, you will eventually be ruthlessly abandoned by the fickle people of this country. So if you return to the throne one day, you must keep your mission in mind, and diligently lay the foundation for your family, That way you can hope to pass the country on to your next generation."

Although the priest's words were a bit ugly, Aigron understood what he meant.

Governing a country is the most important criterion for a king, and he only uses power to maintain power. If power is not used properly, it is natural to be overthrown.

Aegron never believed in this kind of trickery, so he was more able to accept this kind of argument than those "orthodox monarchs".

He also believes that with the help of his understanding of the general trend of history, he can do this—at least to be able to do a good job in his generation safely and securely. As for the future success of his descendants, it has nothing to do with him.

Next, Aigron continued to have a long talk with Father Faria. He showed a rare humility, listening less and listening more. He got more valuable lessons from Father Faria, and in his heart , Gradually have a draft of how to move the next chess.

"Thank you, Father, you gave me a sense of enlightenment." At the end of the conversation, Aigron said to the priest convincingly, "With you, I always have a feeling that I am touching the light of reason."

"Your Majesty, if my advice can help even one percent of your career, it would be a great honor of my life." Father Faria replied with a smile, "I don't know if I will be able to see you ascend to the throne. That day, but I believe that you will be able to do better than your predecessors and lead that country into an era of unprecedented glory."

"I hope so!" Aegron laughed, "and I believe you will be able to see it alive. God will not allow you to leave me prematurely, so you can watch it with peace of mind."

Then he bid farewell to the priest.

After returning to the residence, Aigron did not rest, but came to the study, and with the enthusiasm that had been aroused, he personally drafted a manuscript - or a declaration.

After writing it, he continued to scrutinize every word and sentence, and by the time he finished the manuscript, it was already early morning.

At this time, his excited spirit dropped slightly, and a drowsiness began to make him drowsy.

He opened the door of the room, and found his secretary Leon Esposito sitting on the desk outside the door, his head dozing off - it seems that although he does not know what document he is writing, he has always been Waiting for him to finish his draft so he can help him with the file.

Aegron was very satisfied with the secretary's conscientious performance, and at this time, Leon, who heard the sound of the door, also woke up, and then quickly stood up to salute Aegron. "His Majesty…"

"Good evening, Leon." Agron nodded to him with a smile.

Then, he didn't say any words of encouragement, but directly handed the manuscript he just wrote to the other party, "Just right, transcribe it in three copies, and then file the manuscript directly."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Leon took the manuscript and glanced at it with the help of candlelight.

Immediately afterwards, his face changed greatly, obviously a little unbelievable, but he looked up at Aegron a few times, but found that His Majesty looked calm and did not mean to joke.

He was a little incredulous and couldn't help but want to ask Aegron why he wrote such a declaration.

"I, François-Joseph-Charles-Bonaparte, solemnly declare my heart to the French people with the utmost sincerity.

Not long ago, I set foot on a beautiful and rich province in France, and kissed the land, and when I stood on the land of France, my soul also resonated with it.

This land and the people on it are what I once swore to protect, and I have not forgotten this oath until now. I am willing to use all my intellect and physique, and my whole life, to help it move towards prosperity and prosperity. To be rich and powerful without expecting anything in return is not only my duty, but also the sacred mission entrusted to me by my father - he was still calling the name of France until the last moment of his life, how dare I forget it for a moment? !

However, it is very regrettable that although I was warmly cheered by people where I set foot, because of some supporters of the reactionary forces, I had to end my journey in tears and reluctantly bid farewell to my motherland.

What saddens me is not the misery that I can't go back to my country, but the gloom that pervades this country. The people of this country are falling into the abyss of poverty and strife. The upper class is decadent and quarrelsome, fighting for petty profits, but only the people and the people who support them are forgotten!

This is shameless betrayal and stupid arrogance. In our great country, the people will never tolerate such incompetence and reaction. Thirty years ago, those great people told us what we can do, And thirty years later, we must prove that we are worthy of our ancestors.

Today, the situation is critical, the whole country is facing a crisis, and turmoil seems to be imminent, but those big people are still singing and dancing, as if no one cares about the mourning and pain of the poor! This outrageous betrayal must end.

It's not me who decides everything, it's you, all of you people, all I can choose is to participate in the great cause of everyone and witness the great brilliance of thirty years ago...I believe we can do it.

I don't care about my reputation or whether I have authority, I just want to see the people decide their own future... So, I hereby declare that I support a great movement in my country to drive away these shameless betrayals Let the people hold the sovereignty of the country, let all crises disappear, let justice reappear in the world, let us move towards a new era of peace and prosperity...

I tell you, in order to buy my conscience, both King Charles X and the Duke of Orleans sent messengers to secretly ask me to issue a declaration of allegiance to them in exchange for money, a huge compensation! But I refused, because in my heart, the only people who deserve my allegiance are France and her people, they don't deserve it!

So I implore you to at least listen to my voice, I believe that as long as we act together, the future will be in my hands..."

The more Leon looked, the more he trembled. He didn't understand at all why His Majesty suddenly wrote such a declaration.

"His Majesty…"

"Is there a problem? Leon?" Agron asked back.

"You support the republic?" He looked at Aigron in disbelief.

"I must say, I support at this moment." Aigron replied with a half-smile.

"At this moment?" Leon seemed to understand something.

He wanted to ask again, but Aigron raised his hand to stop him, "Okay, don't ask any more, just copy it verbatim, and call Prince Charles over tomorrow, I have something to tell him—"

After giving the order, Aegron dragged his tired body back to the bedroom and finally fell asleep.