Eagle’s Glory

While Aigron and Haidee were attending the coronation celebration of King Otto I in Athens, an unexpected visitor arrived in Paris, thousands of miles away.

However, compared to Aigron's pomp, Edmond Dantès was much more low-key. He used a false identity to sneak into this magnificent city, and no one noticed his arrival.

This is not the first time Edmund has come to this city, but the last time he came here, he was just a poor guy who had just crawled out of the dark prison and was surviving the disaster; and a year later, he When he came to Paris again, the tempering of blood and fire had shaped him into a brave and resourceful elite, and he was also a count with a fief.

In just one year, his mentality has undergone earth-shaking changes, and the wind and rain from the outside world can no longer shake his hard heart.

When he first came to Paris, he was not in a hurry to find a place to live, nor did he have the heart to appreciate the famous attractions in this bustling city. Instead, he found a way to get outside General Treville's residence.

According to His Majesty's instructions, General Treville is his biggest and most reliable helper. The general is also brave and resourceful, and is a native of Paris. He is familiar with the local situation and has some connections in the upper class - and these are just the right things. It's what Edmund lacks most.

Of course, he did not immediately go to visit him with a letter, but secretly observed it outside.

After all, the Marquis of Treville and Aiglon sneaked into France before and caused a lot of trouble. The Bourbon royal family must be furious and trace the person responsible everywhere. He cannot ensure the safety of the Treville family, so he does not dare to surrender rashly. Snare.

After patiently observing, he found that someone was indeed secretly watching outside the mansion, but the Treville family didn't look like they were in any serious trouble, so he felt relieved.

The people following him had no trouble at all, because he had stayed at Treville's house last time, so he knew the environment inside very well.

When night came, he quietly walked out of the darkness and entered through the secret door in the small garden.

As soon as he entered, he was immediately noticed by the servants in the mansion. However, after confirming that he was the "distinguished guest" who stayed in the mansion last year, he immediately received the courtesy he deserved. Then the Marquis of Treville Then we learned about the arrival of the Count of Monte Cristo.

The general did not alert other family members, and the servant immediately took the count to his study.

In the candlelit study,

Edmond Dantès and the Marquis de Treville, old acquaintances, finally met again.

Because they knew each other's important position in His Majesty's heart, and they had both heard of each other's "heroic deeds," the two of them felt a sense of sympathy for each other when they met, and they immediately shook hands - during this handshake, Edmund clearly felt that the general's body seemed a little weak.

"Count, I am so happy to see you again!" Marquis Treville was the first to send greetings. "Your arrival will definitely make us Bonapartists even more powerful."

"I'm glad to see you again, General." Edmond Dantès replied sincerely, "It seems that you have been ill recently?"

"I made you laugh." General Treville smiled bitterly, "The last time I ran back to Paris, the puppet king was so angry that His Majesty showed up and ordered all suspicious persons to be investigated. In order to prevent them from becoming suspicious, I took the initiative I drank the medicine and pretended to be sick - I did it quite successfully, so I lingered on the sick bed for a long time, and I have only recovered a little now. In a sense, you came at the right time."

Edmund was impressed and moved at the same time. Although the general said it easily, his courage and courage were indeed not something ordinary people could have.

"Your loyalty is enough to awe everyone." He said solemnly, "Your Majesty will never forget the price you paid for him."

"As long as the empire can be restored, I will not hesitate to pay no matter how high the price is." General Treville replied.

After finishing speaking, the two people held hands tightly again to express their admiration among their colleagues.

"At this moment, His Majesty is probably attending the coronation ceremony of the King of Greece." After shaking hands, Edmund spoke again, "He has found a king for Greece, and hopes to win a long-lasting peace for them. Now his attention We have to put all our efforts here. He believes that the time of the false king and his dynasty is numbered, and now is the time for us to prepare for it."

Although Edmund didn't make his words clear, how could the Marquis of Treville, who had been lurking at home for a long time and secretly watch for opportunities, not understand what he meant?

His Majesty's meaning is very clear - the Bourbon dynasty seems to be crumbling, and the crown is likely to fall to the ground again in the near future. However, there are many people who want to rush over and snatch the crown away. His Majesty, who is abroad, is in a state of collapse when the dynasty collapses. , must also be one position behind in the process of grabbing the crown, so in order to grab the crown, he must prepare in advance.

And this happened to be the judgment of the Marquis of Treville.

Because of this, he was more than happy to cooperate.

"Your Majesty's wisdom and insight are indeed far beyond ordinary people!" He praised loudly, "Yes, now is indeed a good time to expand our power. The days of the false king will not last long, and his son is extremely mediocre and unworthy of leading this country. Country, this is something that everyone can see clearly! On the Duke of Orleans’ side, His Majesty must make preparations in advance.”

"What your Majesty means is that we need to find more supporters among the elite so that they can help His Majesty seize the throne." Edmund simply made it clear, "Before he returns to Paris, we must make it clear who stands with us. On the other hand, who are the neutrals who are waiting and watching, and who are the enemies we must defeat - General, His Majesty clearly told me that this is the only focus we need to focus on during this period, and other things can be put behind."

"I will cooperate with you to complete this work." The Marquis nodded happily, "I have been dormant in Paris for too long! It has been so long that I have almost forgotten that I used to be a general... But now, I will pick up the Memories of the past, I will mobilize all the connections I can use so that you can complete your work smoothly."

Edmond Dantès recalled what his Majesty had said to him, and then recounted it himself.

"The support of the military is absolutely essential for us. However, the top brass in the military are all promoted after the restoration of the Bourbon family. They definitely don't have much goodwill towards us. The most we can do is count on them to be neutral. Your Majesty means that in Looking for supporters among the frustrated senior officers, he believes that if a former Imperial Marshal is willing to stand on our side, it will become a decisive bargaining chip..."

"Marshal..." Marquis Treville pondered for a moment, searching in his mind for the marshals who were still alive, and estimating those among them who might support the empire. "The marshals who are still alive and most likely to be on our side, I think are Marshal Moncey or Marshal Soult. They both have huge reputations. If one of them is willing to stand on our side, we will The momentum is strong, and if both agree, then I think we will have no obstacles within the military.”

Edmund was secretly stunned. He had no idea that the general's reply was similar to His Majesty's previous guess.

General Treville was a senior official in the military before, so it was natural for him to be familiar with these situations. However, His Majesty has not had much contact with France. He could clearly estimate that this was indeed not easy.

"I know that it will definitely not be easy for two famous marshals, Qu Jie, to deal with me. Moreover, it is hard to say how much energy they have to participate in domestic politics now..." Edmund sighed softly, " But since this is His Majesty’s wish, then we will take this as our goal and try our best to realize it.”

"You have to try no matter what. These two marshals are not happy because of the suppression of the dynasty. I think they have enough motivation to support His Majesty, as long as we win over them and put forward enough conditions." Trey General Weir is quite confident.

He was not worried that after the matter was accomplished, he would be ostracized by the marshals and subordinated to others, because these marshals were not His Majesty's cronies, and they could not be truly trusted by His Majesty. In the end, His Majesty still had to control the army by himself.

Marshal Moncey is relatively older, now in his 70s, and would not have had much ambition to participate in the struggle for power; as for Marshal Soult, he is young and capable, but because of this he will definitely not be The "own people" in His Majesty's eyes can only take advantage of cooperation and take precautions at the same time.

Therefore, by executing this order, he loses nothing, only benefits and no harm.

The focus now is to seize power for His Majesty, and we will talk about other things later - His Majesty is a person who knows how to reward according to his merits, and he will give him the rewards he deserves.

Edmond Dantès didn't know what was going on in General Treville's mind. He saw more hope from the general's statement, so he became more confident.

He firmly believes that Your Majesty is what people want, and the false king or other pretenders to the throne will never have the charm and appeal of Your Majesty.

"By the way, there is something I want to remind you. After arriving in Paris this time, I am no longer the Count of Monte Cristo, but the Count Bellivet of the Principality of Parma, a foreigner who admires Paris and comes to visit. person."

The Duchy of Parma? Upon hearing this word, Marquis Treville suddenly fell into deep thought.

He knew that His Majesty's mother was the ruler of the Principality of Parma, so the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo must have been forged with the help of Queen Louisa.

Does this mean that the mother and son, who originally had a bad relationship, secretly colluded?

But soon, the general put this idea aside. After all, he was not qualified to take care of His Majesty's family affairs. Besides, it was only human nature for Queen Louisa to want to help her son ascend the throne.

"Okay, I understand." Marquis Treville nodded, "Then you must need a place to stay, right?"

"Yes, I need to use this identity to participate in the social circles of Paris to hide my true purpose." Edmond Dantès nodded again, "For this reason, I need to buy a mansion that matches my identity. , and live a life consistent with your identity, I think if you help me, this will definitely not be a problem..."

"Of course it's not a problem." The general replied happily, "However, if I take charge of this matter personally, I'm afraid it will make people suspicious, so let Alice help you. She is very good at doing this kind of thing, and she doesn't Who will pay attention to her?"

"Is Mrs. Alice okay?" Edmund asked casually. "And your granddaughter."

"The madam is very good, and as for Xia Lu, she is even better!" Marquis Treville suddenly smiled from the bottom of his heart, "As expected of my granddaughter, she is beautiful and healthy, and she has never been sick. , and she is smart and learns everything quickly... She must be a gift from God to me. I have to spend several hours with her every day, otherwise I would just feel uncomfortable all over."

When he said this, the Marquis's face glowed with pride and happiness. Now he didn't look like an ambitious conspirator, but truly looked like an ordinary grandfather.

Seeing the Marquis looking so happy, Edmund was also happy for him from the bottom of his heart. "That's great... I also want to see Miss Xia Lu, she must be very beautiful."

"What's the problem? I'll just bring her over for you right away." The Marquis agreed.

He wished everyone could see his granddaughter and praise her.

Just when he was about to walk out of the study to find Xia Lu, Edmond Dantès remembered something else.

"By the way, General, Your Majesty also told me a very important thing before I left... to track down his assassin."

"What! Is there such a thing?" The general was stunned immediately, and the smile on his face became solemn. "what happened?"

So Edmund relayed to the Marquis exactly what His Majesty had said.

Like Edmund, the Marquis was extremely angry when he heard this, but what he was angry about was not that "the master humiliated his ministers to death", but that his dream of glory and wealth was almost extinguished.

"Shameless! Despicable! Someone would actually do such a thing... They will definitely pay the price!" he yelled.

"Yes, they must pay the price, and His Majesty will not forgive this offense. Whether it is the assassin or the instigator, he will find out and give him the punishment he deserves." Edmund nodded, "He will The task of tracing is entrusted to me, and the biggest clue now is the identity of the assassin - she is Miss Agnes's master."

"What? Agnes is also involved?" The Marquis was startled again, but quickly shook his head, "No, I know Agnes very well, she is very stubborn, she doesn't know how to care, and she doesn't care. Doing such crooked things should have nothing to do with her."

"I think so too. Miss Agnes will not be involved." Edmund also agreed, "But we can find her master from her. The only question is how to do it."

"With Alice here, this little girl is easy to deal with." The Marquis curled his lips and sneered, "Okay, I will bring Xia Lu over to you first, and then let Alice see you later - by the way , let’s not tell her about this, she shouldn’t know.”

"OK."