Eagle’s Glory

Chapter 187 74, Strategy

With the arrival of early morning, the rising fog from the sea enveloped the entire sea area near Lavrion.

It was already summer, so the sky was already bright before the sun came out, and the bays and cliffs all took on a cool color, looming in sight.

Edmond Dantès was in the woods not far from the coast, holding a telescope and quietly observing the sea in the distance.

According to the news he had received before, His Majesty, to whom he was loyal, had sent an advance team for his disposal at his request.

This trust made him feel grateful, and it also put pressure on him, because he knew that he carried too many expectations and would never allow failure.

As he watched, several black spots suddenly appeared on the foggy sea level.

These black spots are looming, both like entities and as elusive as shadows.

As time passed, the black spots became clearer and clearer, and their outlines gradually emerged in the telescope.

After confirming these familiar ships, Edmond Dantès breathed a sigh of relief, then walked out of his hiding place and came to the beach, and several of his men followed him and talked with him. Let’s welcome the arrival of reinforcements together.

Once on the beach, he lit a torch to signal the ship.

The ships all stopped, then each put down a few small boats and approached the beach.

Edmond Dantès stared at the boats, and then subconsciously adjusted his clothes to maintain his usual demeanor.

Soon, these small boats came to the beach one after another with the help of the tide, and then the people on the boats got off the boats and regrouped on the beach.

Under the gaze of Edmond Dantès, commands came one after another, and the originally scattered crowd quickly gathered together and formed an orderly formation - obviously their commander was quite capable.

He immediately took steps and walked to the group of people.

The leader of this group of people was surprisingly an acquaintance of his.

Edmond Dantès was not curious about the other party's arrival - His Majesty's previous letter had made it clear that he would send his cousin to come with the advance team to negotiate with the Greek government as His Majesty's representative, so he Also mentally prepared.

"Your Highness the Prince!" The first time he saw Louis, he immediately bowed and saluted, "Thank you for coming."

"Long time no see, Earl." Louis nodded and said hello to him. "You did a great job here, and His Majesty particularly praised you."

"I'm just trying my best to complete the task.

Thanks to His Majesty’s continued support, we have been able to achieve modest results. "Edmond Dantès replied humbly. "Now that you are here to direct, I think everything will go more smoothly. "

Although he has gradually adapted to his status as a count and can already assume the posture of a big shot when interacting with other people, when facing His Highness the Prince, Edmond Dantès always I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed and cringe.

Not only because he is His Majesty's cousin and the prince of the Bonaparte family, but also because this man has seen himself in the most miserable state in the prison of Chateau d'If.

He knew that no matter how many people he looked majestic and acted like a count, it meant nothing in front of His Highness - Your Highness knew his true identity and fully remembered how he looked when he begged in front of him.

"You are too humble, Edmund." Louis smiled and shook his head, "Your ability has been proven by facts. Your Majesty and I are very satisfied. I have nothing to guide you. You can go ahead. Just do it and I wish you all the best.”

Although Louis hated this "sycophant" who popped up halfway and took away the trust and authority that he should have enjoyed, on the surface he concealed it very well and treated this Monte Cristo with a very cordial attitude. Lord Count.

Although he was proud, he was not stupid. He knew that falling out with the earl would not help, and would make him angry with his majesty, so he decided to build a good relationship with the other party first. He would need the earl anyway.

"Your Highness, I also wish you all the best." Edmond Dantes replied quickly.

After the pleasantries were over, Louis pointed to a young soldier beside him and introduced him to Edmond Dantès.

"This is Mr. Carlotz-Francois Lopez. He is the captain of the advance team and is responsible for protecting the safety of the two of us. If you have any needs, you can ask him and he will find a way to complete it. of."

Carlotz-François Lopez immediately gave a military salute to Edmond Dantès.

"Your Majesty, I am at your disposal."

"Mr. Lopez, thank you for your help. I feel more at ease with you here." Edmond Dantès looked at the officer and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He finally looked forward to reinforcements, and the captain looked like a brave and reliable soldier. With them as support, he finally had confidence.

"Okay, let's stop here for the greetings." After they finished greeting, Louis said, "Count, have you prepared a place for us yet?"

"It's ready," Edmond Dantès replied.

"Well, take us there quickly. I don't want to be here blowing the sea breeze all the time." Louis replied with a smile.

"Please come with me." Edmond Dantès also laughed.

Then, he led the group of people away from the coast and went deep into the inland area. After several hours of marching, they were a little tired and finally came to an abandoned village.

It seems that no one has lived here for a long time, and only some dilapidated farmhouses are left, which can barely provide shelter from wind and rain.

There is also a well in the center of the farmhouse, which should be considered ideal by the standards of a marching station.

"This is a really nice place." Louis whistled, "Edmond, when did you open such a big hotel?"

"Sorry, Your Highness, right now I can only find this place to set up camp for everyone. Although the conditions are poor, please forgive me." Edmond Dantès replied with some embarrassment.

"No, I don't mind this. I didn't come to Greece to enjoy life—I want to ask, how did you get such a place? And how are you sure it's safe here?" Louis shook his head.

"Since the Turks came, the villagers here have fled. Some of them have gone to other places, and some of them have gone to the mountains and become bandits. Now there is a group of bandits who are seeking refuge with me. Here is what they told me ." Edmond Dantes explained to the prince in detail.

Not long ago, under the introduction of a middleman, Edmond Dantès got acquainted with a bandit leader, Isaac Valleolo, and then spent money to recruit him and his bandit gang.

Although he did not dare to trust the other party too much, at least for now, they have carried out limited cooperation, and with the help of these bandits who are familiar with the local terrain, Edmond Dantès has made things much easier. Abandoned villages were also found with their help.

"I have heard about the bandits." Louis nodded, "Let me meet them later. Now is the time to tell him our origins."

"I will arrange it." Edmond Dantès responded quickly.

Then, he took Louis and Francois Lopez to the relatively best-preserved farmhouse nearby, which will also serve as Louis's temporary foothold.

In the dilapidated, almost empty house, the three found a few small wooden pier as chairs and sat down, and then began to discuss the next thing.

"Edmond, I think you should know my mission from His Majesty's letter, right?" Louis asked as soon as he sat down.

"Yes, Your Highness." Edmond Dantès nodded, "You will contact the independent Greek government and their opposition to determine their attitude and seek cooperation."

"So, you have been in Greece for so long, do you have any clues? Or...can you give me any useful advice?" Louis looked at the count expectantly, "There is not much time left for us, I Think we need to act quickly.”

As soon as he said this, Edmond Dantès looked a little ashamed.

"Sorry, Your Highness... Although I have been trying to contact the independent government of Greece recently, there is still no response. It is difficult for me to find a suitable messenger, and I dare not rush over directly..."

"That means there is no progress yet, right?" Louis frowned.

He wasn't angry, just a little disappointed. "Now that I'm here, your position is different. You can try to contact them and let them know our existence. If it doesn't work, I'll just run over. I think in the current situation, they shouldn't easily Reject aid from outside."

"I understand." Edmond Dantes nodded. "Then let this be my main goal from now on."

"As for the opposition to the Greek government, do you have any idea?" Louis asked again.

"I have a little idea about this." Edmond Dantès replied, "There was internal strife among the Greeks before, and there was blood with each other, and a deep hatred was formed. Many people were exiled, and some were imprisoned. Prison, while some fell into banditry. I think if we go through our current bandit friends, we should be able to contact several former opponents."

In fact, when the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, many of the original rebels were bandits. After the internal strife in the Greek government, it was quite normal for the losers to go back and become bandits.

Louis thought for a moment, then spoke again.

"It's not enough to find collaborators. If we want to make them work, we need to find someone with charisma. What we need is a Greek government that is willing to cooperate with us, not a group of people fighting on their own. Bandits, otherwise they are useless."

"Then what do you mean? Who do you think has the most appeal?" Edmond Dantès asked quickly.

"We have to find a way to get Theozoros Kroctronis to side with us, or at least remain neutral." Louis expressed his thoughts. "So it's crucial right now to find a way to get in touch with him."

This is indeed a crucial step.

Theodoros Koroctronis was the original leader of the rebel army. After the outbreak of the War of Independence, he used his many years of military experience to form an irregular army composed of bandits, and was then elected as the leader of Greece at that time. The commander-in-chief of the rebel army. Under his command, the rebel army quickly achieved many victories, defeated the Turks many times, drove the Turkish forces out of the Peloponnese Peninsula, and became a national hero in Greece.

However, not long after, fierce internal strife broke out in Greece. Kroctronis was imprisoned and his old ministry also suffered a bloody purge.

However, because of his high prestige, the winning faction in the Greek government did not dare to kill him directly.

Next, Turkey took advantage of the civil strife in Greece and invaded again with Egypt.

The situation became precarious. The Greek government, under the pressure of public opinion, released Krokotelonis and appointed him commander-in-chief again. However, by this time the situation had become extremely bad. Even with Krokotelonis' ability, It was no longer possible to save the overall situation, and could only watch the Turks and Egyptians advance step by step and occupy most of Greece.

It was obvious that the commander-in-chief was in serious conflict with his government, and his old troops also harbored hatred for the victors of the internal strife, and this was where they could be exploited.

"If Croquetronis, who has great prestige, chooses cooperation or neutrality, then all problems will be solved." After a moment of silence, Edmond Dantès echoed Louis' statement, "But--this Will the general easily agree to cooperate with us? He is now the commander-in-chief of the Greek government and may not be willing to overthrow his own government."

"Everyone has his own pursuit. Now it just depends on what he is willing to give up for his pursuit." Louis replied with a smile. "If what he pursues is to defend the independence of Greece, then in this situation, he will seek any life-saving straw. Even if our help is poison, he is willing to drink it; if what he pursues is to defend the independent Greek government, then of course he will not Would like to see it go - what do you think he would think?"

Edmond Dantes was silent again.

No matter from any aspect, he did not feel that the commander-in-chief would have any loyalty or gratitude to the government that had bloodbathed his subordinates.

"It's at least worth a try." He nodded in agreement with Louis' judgment.

"Okay, Count, we've settled on this." After the two people unified their thoughts, Louis made the final decision. "Let's divide the work between the two of us. I will find a way to contact the Greek government; while you will act in secret, contact his old ministry, his relatives, and everyone who can speak in front of him. We will be prepared, or The Greek government works with us, or we overthrow it and put Krokotronis and his supporters in power!"

"Okay, Your Highness." Edmond Dantès responded. "I follow your orders."