After traveling by land and sea under the stars and the moon, day and night, Michel Ney, Duke of Elchingen, finally arrived at the Palace of Fontainebleau.
Previously, he "started a business" with Aigron, and relied on his status as a "second generation emperor" and his experience in serving in the military to become one of the most important confidants around Aigron.
When Aiglon brought people back to France to seize power, he was left in the Principality of Ioannina to serve as governor.
Now, with the death of Father Faria, the Prime Minister of the Principality, the political situation of the Principality has undergone drastic changes.
At the suggestion of the priest, Aigron decided to promote the "localization" of the principality, that is, to support local elites to gradually participate in the core of power. For the members of the Knights of Fontainebleau who stayed there, Aigron also gave them their own choices.
The right to either stay locally and continue to be a lord, or return to the country to serve for oneself.
After a brief hesitation, Michel Ney made up his mind, gave up the huge power in his hands, and chose to return to France.
Although he can dominate there, in his mind, Paris is still much better than the remote Ioannina. The glorious future he wants is to become one of the top commanders of the French Imperial Army
, instead of wasting the rest of his life being a landowner in an obscure corner of Europe.
So, after receiving Aiglon's order, he first presided over the priest's funeral ceremony with Haidee who returned home, then handed over the power in his hands to his successor, then boarded the ship, and then headed towards the dusty road
France rushed over, and after a long and bumpy journey, he finally arrived at Fontainebleau.
Along the way, he was both worried and excited. France fell into the hands of the Bonaparte family, which meant that he could rise to great heights with the royal family. However, he was at a loss as to how to achieve the goal of "rising to great heights".
All this can only be pinned on Your Majesty, and he believes that His Majesty will never treat him badly.
Under the guidance of the guards, Michel Ney walked between the palace rooms in Fontainebleau, and then was taken to the audience hall, and then met the benefactor he had missed for many days.
When he saw Aiglon, who was dressed in casual clothes, Michel Ney subconsciously held his breath, then held his head high and saluted a military salute. "Your Majesty! God bless me, I have successfully completed your mission!"
In fact, Aigron didn't like to show off. When he was with Michelle and the others, he was very approachable. However, when the two reunited after two years, Michelle still seemed frightened.
After all, he really became His Majesty the Emperor, and his future only depended on his thoughts.
"Michel, welcome back." Aiglon extended his hand to him cordially, "I knew you would not be willing to stay in Ioannina, so I have been waiting for you to come back -"
Seeing that His Majesty was not alienated from him and was still as cordial as ever, Michelle was relieved. "Your Majesty, as you said, for me, it is my bounden duty to serve you, and I cannot allow myself to
While you are showing off your grand plans, I am hiding in a distant place to enjoy myself. I would rather leave everything behind and go through life and death for you..."
The reason why Michel sang such a high profile was not only to please his benefactor, but also to leave an impression in His Majesty's heart that he was "brave in doing things".
What he fears most now is that he will be thrown into the idle position by Aigron, and then he can only be an idle person that no one cares about, so naturally he has to express his stance enthusiastically and continue to go through fire and water for His Majesty.
"I'm very happy that you have this determination. I really need capable and trustworthy talents now..." Aigron smiled and nodded.
But soon, he frowned slightly again, "However, Michel, there are some truths that I must tell you clearly in advance. You used to be the governor of Ioannina, and you could give orders to everyone in the principality.
, I believe you are used to telling the truth; but now that you are back, although I can appoint you to important positions, I cannot promote you too high all at once, so you must get used to working with colleagues and superiors... I hope you
Change your mentality as soon as possible, otherwise, you will suffer a big loss, and I will not be able to protect you all the time."
Sigh... This is also a price that has to be paid. Michelle Ney lamented in her heart.
After all, he is still too young. He was born in 1804 and is not yet 30 years old. Now, there are a large number of senior generals in the French Army who are already in their 50s and 60s. Even if he has a "holy family", it will be difficult for him to do it all at once.
Just occupy a high position.
Nowadays, the vigorous era of the Great Revolution has ended, and the whole of Europe is fighting. The era of prosperity has long since passed. The generals who stood out in the era of the Great Revolution are now old, and there are no new wars to "eliminate" them.
Therefore, promotion within the army quickly returned to the old days.
The fact that Napoleon became a general at the age of 26 is already a legend in the past in various countries.
However, this situation had long been anticipated by Michelle Ney.
On the way back, he carefully planned his future and finally came up with two optimal options -
One way is to go to North Africa to lead troops, because this is the easiest place to get meritorious service. You can get promoted quickly by accumulating meritorious service, and then climb to a high position in the army as soon as possible.
The other option is to stay in the palace and serve as a senior officer of the Guards. After all, the Guards is a newly formed organization with a lot of room for advancement, and the generals are close to His Majesty, so they have the opportunity to be taken care of by His Majesty at any time.
Of course, these are just the calculations in his mind. Now that he has just met His Majesty, it is impossible for him to speak so clearly.
"Your Majesty, I understand what you mean. No matter where you place me, I will have no complaints..." He immediately responded with an impassioned attitude. "And no matter what position I take, I will calm down and communicate well with those around me.
Colleagues get along with their bosses!”
"Very good." Seeing that the other party is so sensible, Aigron is also quite satisfied. "After all, you are my subordinate who has been with me through life and death. I will not treat you badly. I will strive for generous treatment for you under the best possible conditions."
.Now, I plan to ask the Ministry of War to appoint you as colonel and brigade commander. This will allow you to be independent without being too conspicuous."
Brigadier... Michelle suddenly felt a mixture of joy and sorrow in her heart.
When I was the governor of Ioannina, although there were Aigron and Haidee in name, in fact, the sky was high and the emperor was far away. As long as I didn't get too messy, I could really do whatever I wanted; but now, after returning to France,
Relying on the emperor's reputation, he could only be a brigade commander...
Comparing the two, it is naturally impossible to say that I am not "depressed" at all.
However, even though he was depressed, he did not regret it. In his opinion, he had the emperor behind him after all, and he also had the title of duke. Even though he still needs to be inferior to others, as long as he slowly gets through the qualifications, he will not be out of trouble.
Big mistake, then after ten or twenty years, you will be promoted step by step and climb to the highest position in the army.
Look around at the younger generation of your own age in the military. In terms of qualifications to follow His Majesty, and in terms of contribution to His Majesty's life and death, who can compare with me?
Just wait slowly, and opportunities will eventually come to you.
Thinking about it on the other hand, after all, the colorful world of France is much better than the small Balkan country with poor mountains and rivers. As a brigade commander, I have at least thousands of people on my hands. As long as I have a good relationship with my boss, I can still live a leisurely life.
.
"Then, Your Majesty, where are you going to put me?" He quickly adjusted his attitude and then asked Aiglon.
"I want you to go to Marseilles," Aigron replied.
This answer suddenly made Michelle's mood sink to the bottom.
The two "top choices" he had longed for turned out to be empty, which made him deeply disappointed.
If you go to Marseille, how can you find an opportunity to perform meritorious service and get promoted? Has His Majesty really decided to dismiss you casually and throw him aside?
He was tangled up in every possible way, and the expression on his face suddenly froze.
"What? Michelle, are you not satisfied?"
"No... no, Your Majesty, I have no objection." Michelle replied with a sad face.
He also knew that he had just said that he would go through fire and water without hesitation. If he turned around and expressed dissatisfaction, it would be too ungrateful.
So even if you feel unwilling to do so, you can only admit it first and see if there are any opportunities for improvement later.
He didn't expect that his helpless expression would make Aigron laugh.
"Hahahaha... Michelle, don't be so depressed! Isn't Marseille a good place? There is a commercial port, sunshine, and a pleasant climate. You will live very comfortably there, and no one will bother you——
Besides, I still have an important task to entrust you with."
Michelle only regarded the previous words as comfort, but the last words made him suddenly cheer up.
Important mission? Does that mean that I am not actually being idle by His Majesty, but that I have another purpose?
He was so excited that the color quickly returned to his face, "Your Majesty, what important mission is it?"
"A task that I can only entrust to someone I trust..." Aiglon's expression also became serious, "You know even if I don't tell you, Marseille is close to the Kingdom of Piedmont, which is the territory of the Savoy family.
.”
"Yes, Your Majesty." Michelle nodded and waited for Aigron's next words.
“Not long ago, Prince Carlo Alberto, an ardent Francophile with close ties to the Bonaparte family, succeeded to the throne—and just before he came to the throne, he quietly
He came to Paris unexpectedly and expressed his goodwill to me face to face." Aiglon continued to explain to Michel, "Moreover, what he expected from me was not just neighborly and friendly goodwill... This new King, His Majesty, has something more.
Big ambition..."
Although she was a little shocked by this shocking news, Michelle quickly came to her senses.
"Since he wants to show goodwill to you, does that mean he is hostile to the Austrians?" he then asked.
"You are very clever, Michel, and this is exactly the cleverness I need." Aiglon smiled and nodded and admitted, "Yes, he hopes to get support from me to fight Austria together and achieve the unification of the Savoy family.
Italian ambition.”
Now Michelle couldn't help but be even more shocked.
Soon, thinking of His Majesty's appointment to him, he seemed to understand something.
"Your Majesty, do you mean... to promise him?"
"Promise, but don't agree either." Aiglon gave a puzzling answer, "No doubt, I do hope he will give in, but I have never thought about becoming a victim and taking risks for the Savoy family's business -
—He wants to use me, so why don’t I want to use him?”
Seeing that Michel was still confused, Aigron lowered his voice again, "He wants to use me as a hammer to swing at the Austrians, but on the other hand, I can also use him as a hammer to sting the Austrians.
Needle; now the core interests of the Austrians lie in Lombardy, which is their richest province, and their sensitive nerves must not allow any mistakes... Therefore, the changes in the Savoy family will stimulate them to come to me for help.
Make them want me."
After Aigron's explanation, Michel Ney finally understood the twists and turns.
Although the Savoy family threw an olive branch to the Bonaparte family, both sides had ulterior motives and wanted to take advantage of each other. Aiglon's idea was just to stimulate the Austrians, and then turn around and reach a compromise with the Austrians in exchange for mutual benefits.
.
At this time, Michelle finally understood what she needed to do.
"So, Your Majesty, do you want me to be responsible for negotiating with the Savoy family?"
"Yes, you are my absolute confidant. If you negotiate with their king over there, you will never arouse their suspicion." Aigron nodded, "Besides, I need this matter to be done in a low-key manner. We do
We must support the Savoy family, but this support must be limited, and once we reach a compromise with Austria, then I will not hesitate to cut off aid to them... All of this requires someone who I absolutely trust,
There are very capable people to take charge of it, and I think you are the most suitable candidate. After you arrive in Marseille, you can start to establish contact with the Savoy family, and then follow my instructions.
...Remember, everything must be done secretly, at least not to give others an excuse, do you understand?"
"I understand, Your Majesty..." Michelle Ney bowed slightly and accepted Aiglon's order. "As I promised just now, I will do my best to fulfill your wish...even if it costs any price.
He did not hesitate to do so."
Whether His Majesty's thoughts and actions are right or not is not a question that he has the right to evaluate. He does not even need to ask the reasons, he only needs to perform the task well.
Obviously, this is an international confidential diplomatic matter, and it involves three countries, so it is of great concern.
And this means that once the matter is completed, it will be a great service to His Majesty... So what reason do I have to refuse?
It seems that His Majesty has not forgotten him after all, and a bright future is at hand. Michelle thought with peace of mind.
Seeing Michelle's complacent look, Aigron also breathed a sigh of relief.
It was an idea that he and Talleyrand agreed upon together to use the Savoy family to intimidate Austria. Now he and Talleyrand are both implementing this plan in an orderly manner, but how could Talleyrand have thought that in his strategic plan?
On top of that, do you have any "additional plans"?
How will he react if he learns all this? I'm really looking forward to it...