Eagle’s Glory

In the cold wind of late autumn, the Austrian ambassador to Turkey Friedrich von Genz, as usual, took a walk in the small garden of the embassy after breakfast to clear his mind.

During this time, for him, it was a bleak and turbulent day.

As Prime Minister Metternich had predicted, the Russian Empire did march.

In a religious sense, he should be happy, because this will be another time for Christians to punish the brutal and barbaric heretics, but as a diplomat of the Austrian Empire, he has to feel as much as the Prime Minister for the instability of the balance of power in Europe. worried.

Of course, these worries are not enough to scare him at present. After all, he has experienced the most terrible and bloody events before, and the small scenes in the Balkans are not worth mentioning now compared to those back then.

He had been sent to Istanbul to fix this annoying mess.

As Prime Minister Metternich's confidant and friend, he has already enjoyed a certain reputation in the European diplomatic circles, and after he came to Istanbul at the order of the Prime Minister, he also received the courtesy of the high-level Ottoman Empire as a matter of course.

Right now, the desperate Sultan and his ministers are helpless against the current corrupt situation. The flames of the Greek War of Independence have not been extinguished for several years but have revived. Not to mention, the Russian Empire also took the opportunity to get involved and launched a war against the heart of the empire. marched.

At this time, the Ottoman Empire was in a new low period, with internal corruption, military weakness, and finances on the verge of exhaustion. Just suppressing the Greek uprising army had exhausted their financial and material resources, and how could they have the ability to resist the original Ottoman Empire? Unbeatable Russia?

Obviously, if only the Ottoman Empire itself was relied on, they would not be able to withstand the Tsar's army anyway.

In a panic, Sultan Mahmud II replaced his ineffective Grand Vizier Mehmet Selim Pasha and appointed his favorite Izet Mehmet Pasha to take over, but the newly appointed Grand Vizier What can be changed? He could only watch helplessly as the Russian army marched towards Istanbul, helpless.

Now that there is no hope for himself alone, Izet Mehmet Pasha can only turn his attention to the European powers. He desperately lobbied the ambassadors of the European powers, pointing out that if the Ottoman Empire collapses, it means that Istanbul will fall into the The hands of the Russians, and that will mean that other countries will follow in their footsteps in the future and become victims of the insatiable Russians.

It has to be said that the grand vizier has grasped the key points and straightened out the essence of the problem. Under Russia's pressing step by step, Turkey's survival is no longer just a matter of its own family, but concerns the interests of all European powers , no one wants to see the fleet of the Russian Empire can enter and leave the Mediterranean at will, and no one wants its bloody mouth to swallow another piece of European land.

Because he does not want to see this situation happen, Ambassador Friedrich von Genz can only find a way to stop it.

His main attention was not on Sultan Mahmud II and his Grand Vizier. In his eyes, Turkey, which was like a candle in the wind, was not worth his energy.

However, in any case, Turkey is still an ancient empire that has ruled Constantinople and Asia Minor for hundreds of years. No matter how dilapidated the status quo is, it still has some heritage and is worth using, so he also suppressed the contempt in his heart. From the bottom of my heart, I used a superficially polite attitude to cheer up the Sudanese monarchs and ministers and encourage them to support the crisis.

This experienced and seasoned diplomat assisted Metternich in successfully hosting the Vienna Conference more than ten years ago, and helped the Prime Minister delineate the pattern of the current order in Europe. He has already understood all the subtleties of diplomatic conflicts among the great powers Now, it is naturally easy to use diplomacy to persuade or coax the Sudanese monarchs and ministers.

According to the will of Prime Minister Metternich,

He made two suggestions to the Sudanese monarchs and ministers. First, the Sudan should abandon the protracted and fruitless counter-insurgency war in Greece, and make every effort to shrink its military strength in order to try its best to fight against the Russian Empire's military front and gain buffer time; second, the Sudan should use the current With the only time left, the envoys of the European powers should be asked to inform the governments of the countries as soon as possible, to know their interests, and to express their willingness to accept the arbitration of the great powers.

It has to be said that his ability to play diplomacy is really strong. After being coaxed by him three times, the Sudanese monarch and ministers actually fully accepted the ambassador's suggestion after careful consideration.

For the Sultan and his subjects, the foundation of the empire lies in Istanbul. If it falls into the hands of the Russians, it will be the end of the empire. It is worth paying a price to keep it.

Although the rebellion in Greece is infuriating, at the moment of life and death of this empire, giving up the slow-moving counter-insurgency war, although uncomfortable, is also a bitter fruit that has to be swallowed.

Seeing that so many achievements have been achieved before formally intervening in the arbitration, the ambassador was quite happy in his heart, but on the surface he still pretended to be frowning, planning to squeeze more chips from the panicked Turks next.

Right now, although the situation is in decline, there are also opportunities. As long as we seize that chance, Austria may benefit from it.

And this depends on the means of the country's intermediary operation.

He is now looking forward to the news from Greece, because it is very important to him.

And just when his walk was coming to an end, he finally received the good news that he wanted to get, Mr. Alfred von Mayrhofen, the secretary he sent, had quietly returned,

He immediately returned to his office, and ordered his entourage to call von Mayrhofen to him.

Upon entering, von Mayrhofen immediately bowed to his superior.

"Mr. Ambassador, I have completed your mission, and now I am coming back to report to you."

Even at this urgent moment, Ambassador Von Genz still retained his habitual reserve. Instead of answering immediately, he looked his subordinates up and down.

"You seem to be in good shape." He said a digression, "Is everything going well?"

"Yes, everything is going well!" Von Mayrhofen immediately replied in an excited tone, "Mr. Ambassador, I have met the Duke of Lechstedt and Her Royal Highness Princess Teresa. They are very enthusiastic about me and express Willing to cooperate with the will of the Prime Minister..."

While speaking, he took out the autographed letter jointly written by Aigron and Teresa from his arms, "This is their letter to you, and it contains all the promises we want!"

After finishing speaking, he bent down and handed the letter to the ambassador.

After receiving the letter, Ambassador Von Genz calmly opened it and took out the letter paper inside.

The content of the letter was not long, and he finished it after scanning it roughly.

Yes, everything they want has already been obtained. No matter the sultan's monarch and ministers, or the young couple, they all chose to act at the pace they expected.

Very good...so good!

Although he was very happy in his heart, there was only a calm smile on the corner of his mouth.

Then, he put down the letter paper, then raised his head and looked at his subordinates with encouraging eyes.

"Von Mayrhofen, you have fulfilled the mission I entrusted to you excellently. With this achievement, you will undoubtedly be able to receive the medal from the motherland."

"It's just what I should do." Von Mayrhofen replied humbly, also hiding his ecstasy.

"In addition to meeting the Duke of Reichstedt this time, you also met the leaders of the Greeks. What do you think of them?" Ambassador Von Genz asked again.

"They are generally very grateful to the Duke of Reichstedt, and believe that the independence of Greece cannot be separated from the support of European powers..." Von Mayrhofen replied in a low voice, "So they are eagerly expecting that the European powers will put pressure on the Turks to let the Turks Turkey backed down and withdrew from their territory, allowing them independence."

"Then what do they think of the Russians?" the ambassador asked the crucial question.

Von Mayrhofen hesitated, then told the truth.

"As far as religious feelings are concerned, they tend to be Russians. After all, both sides are Orthodox Christians. However, this religious feeling is not higher than national feeling. Many people think that Western Europe is more reliable and can get more cultural and scientific achievements from it. In general, as the Russians march, the Greeks’ pro-Russian sentiment will inevitably rise, but as long as we and other powers show our position in due course, then not many people will be willing to serve the Tsar.”

Ambassador Von Genz nodded slightly, as if thinking about something.

Obviously, the advance of the Russian Empire will inevitably be objectively beneficial to the independence of Greece, and then it will inevitably arouse a wave of pro-Russian feelings among the Greeks; therefore, in order to suppress this wave, Austria and the United Kingdom should express their support for Greek independence as soon as possible, At the same time, let your allies internally eliminate these forces that support the Russians.

"Okay, then you can write a report on what you saw and heard during this trip, give me a copy, and copy the copy to Vienna"

"Okay." Von Mayrhofen nodded immediately.

Logically speaking, he should have resigned at this time knowingly and went back to rest, but he didn't leave immediately.

"Why, is there anything else to report?" So the ambassador asked again.

"The Duke of Lechstedt sent an envoy who pretended to be my servant and came with me." Von Mayrhofen told his superior cautiously, "On the one hand, he is trying to coordinate with you; On the one hand, he needs to carry out an important secret mission, and he also needs your help."

"What does he want me to do?" Ambassador Von Genz frowned slightly, and then asked suspiciously.

Therefore, von Mayrhofen immediately made Eglon's plan of "finding and buying Haidee, and then bringing her to him, making her the Grand Duchess of Ioannina, and marching into Ioannina as a puppet flag" exactly as it should be. He told the ambassador carefully.

"There is still this trick...?" Ambassador Von Genz was amazed when he heard it, and then he couldn't help but sigh, "Duke Lechstadt...is really worthy of being Metternich's student."

This plan seems ordinary, but being able to come up with such a plan has already proved the young man's intelligence gathering ability and decision-making ability. At least for now, he doesn't know that there is an orphan pasha left as a slave in the Sultan's court.

So smart and sharp, it's no wonder that he can become a master at a young age.

When the Duke was still in Schönbrunn Palace, he had already met the young man a few times. Although he thought the Duke was smart at that time, he still didn't quite understand why Metternich valued him so much. All the incidents have provided him with proof.

If he stayed in Austria, then married Princess Teresa according to the wishes of the emperor and Prime Minister Metternich, and was accepted by the royal family, maybe he would succeed Prime Minister Metternich to preside over the overall situation in the next twenty years...

It's a pity that fate is still so mysterious after all... The ambassador secretly sighed inwardly.

Everyone has their own ambitions, and it is useless to talk too much.

The ambassador soon discovered that his subordinates were looking at him curiously, so he returned his expression to his usual indifference and seriousness.

"Although this request is a bit outrageous, it is not beyond our tolerance. Considering that the Duke of Reichstedt has given up seeking the Greek throne because of us, I think we can agree to his request. After all, since the Turks are destined to If you lose Greece, it's no big deal to lose one Ioannina so much"

"I think so too." Von Mayrhofen quickly echoed.

"What's the name of that messenger?" the ambassador asked again.

"I don't know his real name, but he has the noble title Count of Monte Cristo..." von Mayrhofen replied.

The ambassador frowned slightly.

In his decades of diplomatic career, he had never heard of this title.

It seems that it is not a hereditary noble, it should only be granted by the Duke in his own grass-roots team.

But it doesn’t matter to the ambassador. Napoleon conferred so many princes and dukes back then. He and Metternich talked and laughed with them as humbly as they did. To the old-fashioned and arrogant court, a noble without blood was treated as a hereditary noble. , is indecent, but for a diplomat, this is not difficult at all.

"Okay, let him come and see me." The ambassador ordered.

Von Mayrhofen immediately withdrew knowingly.

Soon, the door opened again, and then a tall, strong young man in his thirties walked in.

He was dressed in a servant's clothes, but even that could not conceal his grandeur; his face was serious, he had a bushy beard, he walked vigorously, and he looked energetic, as if he was ready to explode at any time.

The ambassador could feel that the guy opposite had a murderous aura, and he should have killed many people with his own hands.

Rather than saying that he is a nobleman, it is better to say that he is more like a gangster.

But isn't this era the era when Jiangyang bandits became nobles?

After entering the door, Edmund Dantès walked up to the ambassador, and then bowed to salute him. "Ambassador Von Genz, nice to meet you."

The ambassador also stood up, looked at the other party with a gentle and friendly smile, and then offered his right hand.

It is this right hand that has drafted several treaties that will determine the fate of European countries, and it has a chilling weight.

And the Count of Monte Cristo, without fear, but politely took it.

The mysterious fate made this prisoner, who was still tumbling in the mud of the dungeon not long ago, suddenly boarded the Daya Hall, and shook hands with this giant in the European diplomatic circles.

Isn't all of this a miracle caused by that young man!

"Mr. Earl, it is a pleasure to meet you."