Eagle’s Glory

"But I believe that smashing them will be easier than you think, because fate has abandoned them."

Theozolos-Kolokotronis became extremely eccentric.

If other young people said such words in front of him, he would just take them as the arrogant words of a yellow-mouthed child, but the young man in front of him carried a kind of self-confidence that he found unbelievable.

You know, his opponents are the tsars and kings... These behemoths can easily command hundreds of thousands of troops, and even a little finger can crush him to pieces.

He was either close to mad, or already mad, Theozoros thought to himself.

However, only a lunatic can do great things.

Think about his father, who had already become famous in his twenties, commanded tens of thousands of troops to sweep across Italy, conquered Egypt, launched a coup to dominate the whole of France at the age of thirty, and made the whole of Europe tremble for the next ten years... ...This kind of brilliant performance, I am afraid that only a lunatic can dare to imagine.

Maybe there is indeed something passed down through the blood in the dark.

"Then I hope to live to see the day when they are knocked down..." Theozoros calmed down, and then replied with a smile, "This must be a very interesting drama for me, no more than your father before. The ones that were staged were worse."

"You'll see, one by one, they'll be swept away by the flood, fall off the stage, and go moldy in corners where no one cares." Egron replied proudly.

Although it seemed like he was talking nonsense, Egron knew that he was not talking big, because historically speaking, few of the European kings on stage now had a good life——

The current King Charles X of France fell in haste during the July Revolution in 1830, lost his throne and was forced to go into exile in England, and died in a foreign land; the current Russian Tsar Nicholas I suffered a disastrous defeat in the Crimean War in history. Died of illness under depression (there are rumors that he was poisoned); the current King George IV of England was also criticized for his discord with the government and died in 1830.

Fate indeed no longer favored them.

And myself, so young and full of vigor, like the rising sun, how could I be afraid of them?

Seeing the young man's smug look, Theozolos felt a little daunting at the young age. He was speechless for a while, just walking with Aegron among the broken walls of the ancient city of Sparta.

after a long time,

He seemed to have sorted out his thoughts, so he spoke again.

"It is said that you are determined to form your own army? According to the news I have received, it seems that many people have come to join you."

"Yes." Aigron nodded unambiguously, "I think I need an army that obeys my orders in order to fight the Turks, I am not satisfied with simply being a donor, this is not enough for me. "

Although he didn't make it clear, Theodoros understood what he meant.

It seems that this young man is richer than he imagined, even while supporting himself with a huge sum of money, he can actually expand his army on the other side.

"Well, how many people do you intend to recruit with us?" he asked again.

"Don't worry, I've already promised, I don't intend to recruit everywhere and affect your conscription—I will only recruit some Greeks based on needs." Aigron replied with a smile, "I can't accurately estimate yet How many people can I recruit, but I don't think even in the best case, it will be in the thousands."

In Aigron's view, only when he has collected enough supporters of the Bonaparte family will he consider recruiting locals accordingly, so adding his existing knights, a few thousand people are enough.

Thousands of people... Theozolos thought silently.

He has been in battle for a long time, and of course he knows that even a few thousand people may play a decisive role in a battle, but in terms of scale, this really does not threaten his conscription. So he was relieved.

"In this regard, you have complete freedom, and I will never interfere with your actions." So, after a little thought, he made a promise, "As long as it is fighting for the freedom and independence of our nation, I will not interfere with you." It doesn't matter whether the soldiers are fighting under your command or under my command. I can also guarantee that you can have complete freedom of action, I will never interfere with your command, and you can freely use your power as long as it is used in Go up against our enemies."

Now that the other party has fully agreed to his own request, of course Theozolos Kolokotronis also knows that he should reciprocate, so he also adopted a very cooperative attitude.

However, he added, "However, although I don't doubt your wisdom and courage, I have to advise you that you are still too young and have no military experience at all. No matter how strong you are, it takes time to learn and accumulate, so I suggest you use your power carefully and refer to the advice of those experienced people around you - please remember, as a commander, you must be responsible for the strength of your subordinates. Life is responsible."

Aigron was also very happy to see the other party express his position in this way.

"To tell you the truth, my assistants have also advised me on the same thing." He replied with a smile, "Please rest assured, I can clearly understand my own shortcomings, and I will never waste my subordinates with a feverish head. their power."

Now that both sides have reached a tacit agreement on the most important issues, there is nothing to worry about next.

"Then let's assign the next task?" he suggested.

"How do you want to distribute it?" Theodoros asked immediately.

"My opinion is - you continue to be responsible for attracting the attention of the Turks, and I will trouble them elsewhere." Because he had an idea in his mind, Aigron directly proposed. "I think that the adults in Istanbul must have known the news that I came to Greece, and they would definitely not like my name... So once I appear somewhere and fight them, they will definitely be happy for me." Anger and anxiety, and our side will immediately become stronger."

"That makes sense." Theozolos nodded calmly, "Then where do you plan to make your name?"

Aigron didn't answer immediately, and then turned his head to look at the ancient monuments beside him. Then, he raised his head and looked at the blue sky in the distance.

"I want to complete Byron's unfinished business." Then, he replied leisurely.

"Byron's legacy?"

After listening to Edmond Dantès' translation, Theozoros was so shocked that he almost doubted his ears.

He believed that in such an occasion, the other party would definitely not joke casually, but this sentence sounded too much like a joke.

"As far as I know, before Byron died, he planned to lead the soldiers he recruited to attack the Nafpaktos (Nafpaktos) fortress." Fortunately, his consternation did not last long, and Aigron came up with an explanation, "Although the poet's wish was not realized due to various accidents, I think this is a very good idea and worth a try."

Since he came to Greece, Byron has been thinking about fighting for the cause of Greece's independence. He recruited troops, but the Greek troops he recruited at first only wanted his money, put forward all kinds of unreasonable demands, and refused to obey him. As a result, he couldn't bear it and disbanded the army.

Later, he spent his capital, sold the family manor, and spent huge sums of money to recruit professional sergeants. In March 1824, he finally formed a new army with 30 officers and 200 soldiers.

After forming this force, he gathered them at Messolonghi, and then he drew up a battle plan to take them to attack the Nafpaktos fortress controlled by the Ottoman army. In order to achieve this goal, Byron Also specially hired technical experts in artillery, and intends to personally command.

However, before the expedition was launched, he fell ill due to being exposed to the rain. To make matters worse, the doctor used bloodletting therapy on him according to the European practice at that time. It became more and more serious, and eventually lost his life.

It is probably the poet's eternal regret to die before leaving school.

Of course, Eggron’s mention of Byron’s will was not just to imitate the poet in a boring way. On the contrary, although the poet’s ideas are often unconstrained, there is nothing wrong with the plan itself.

The Nafpaktos Fortress is the Lepanto Fortress in Italian. This place faces the Peloponnese across the sea, and the sea is very narrow. As long as you control this place, you can guard the Gulf of Corinth.

And guarding the Gulf of Corinth means being able to move unimpeded on the sea west of Greece.

In the not-too-distant Middle Ages, around this sea area, the Western Christian coalition forces (Spain, Venice, etc.), under the command of Prince Don Juan, the illegitimate son of the Habsburg family, fought against the fleet of Ali Pasha of Turkey in 1571. An epic sea battle of Lepanto was fought.

In this battle, the Turkish Navy lost 25,000 people, and the Christian coalition lost 15,000 people. This is an unprecedented battle in the history of naval warfare.

Although a heavy price was paid, the Christian coalition forces also won an unprecedented victory, which severely set back the arrogance of the Turkish Empire at that time. Don Juan also became famous after that, becoming the protagonist of countless poems and dramas.

By the way, Cervantes, the world-famous writer and author of "Don Quixote", also participated in this sea battle in the Spanish fleet at that time, and became disabled.

At that time, the Turkish Empire operated a huge army and navy at the same time, spying on the Christian world in the interior of Europe, ready to launch an unstoppable march at any time to conquer the entire continent.

However, with the passage of the Middle Ages, Turkey, Venice, and Spain, the feuds, fell into irreversible decline at the same time, and the importance of Mediterranean trade also declined. With the rise of Western European powers, the Turks lost the opportunity to compete with them. Interest, the Turkish navy has also declined with the growing financial distress of the empire-correspondingly, the empire has paid less attention to the Nafpaktos Fortress and the Gulf of Corinth, and most of the original defense forces have also disappeared.

However, although the value of Nafpaktos Fortress has been reduced, it is not enough to affect the trend of history, and there is no need for a huge navy to guard it; but its important geographical location is still there, Byron's idea There's nothing wrong with it - if anything, it's that he's too confident in his rabble.

Byron died in 1824, and now it is 1827. Only three years have passed, and the situation in Greece has become more critical, but Egron still feels that the poet's ideas can be used as a reference.

Under the watchful eyes of Theozolos Kolokotronis, Aigron expressed his consideration in an orderly manner.

"Now I don't have the ability to fight them decisively, but this doesn't mean that I have to shrink back. On the contrary, the more I dare to show my sword, the more famous I can be—"

"Then what's next? If you really do it, what are you going to do next?" Theodoros Kolokotronis asked abruptly.

"Then I will act accordingly," Eggron replied. "If the Turks don't take it seriously, then I will continue to march until they find themselves humiliated; if they send someone to attack me, I will Just try to fight against them, and fight if you can win; if the opponent's strength is too strong, then I won't love to fight, I will just retreat, at least I will help you share the pressure."

Theozolos Kolokotronis listened quietly, and nodded slightly when he had finished speaking.

"It seems that you are indeed as clear-headed as you said. If this is the case, then I won't say anything more. You can just do what you think. In the end, I just want to remind you that everything is said It’s easier said than done, no matter how beautiful the idea is, once implemented in the real world, there will always be many accidents, so you have to think about everything and think of a countermeasure for any unexpected situation, so as not to be in a hurry.”

Then, he opened his arms again and put his arms around the young man's shoulders, "Young man, although you still don't understand something, I believe that with your wisdom, as long as you are given enough time and correct exercise, you will be able to You will eventually grow into a big man who is far behind me. I deeply know that the mission God has given to everyone is different, and your mission is much heavier than mine. I wish you all the best and may God gave us victory."

"I wish you all the best, and may God grant us victory." Aigron also hugged each other.

In this way, the meeting of the two parties came to a successful conclusion. For the two collaborators, they were both very satisfied with the result—and then, it was up to God to decide.