Under the excited gaze of everyone, Aigron showed no stage fright at all and calmly displayed the majesty of the young emperor, which was exactly what the people present wanted to see.
They needed to see hope in him, and he was willing to show it.
As time passed, the cheers of the crowd gradually subsided, and the young man finally began to take action.
He took a step forward and walked up to a group of unfamiliar people, then stared at them calmly.
It seems that they are the young officers who followed Edmond Dantès to the island today.
"Your Majesty!" The group of people bowed to him quickly.
Aigron's eyes wandered over them, looking at them with interest.
Then, his eyes fell on a young man wearing a black military uniform with yellow lines on his trousers and gold tassels.
This is a Swedish military uniform, and he is the only one wearing it, so the identity of the other party can be easily revealed.
He had just received a resume from Edmond Dantès and was particularly impressed by the name of the Duke of Elchingen, also known as Michel Ney, so he found this person at first sight.
Ney's son, in this scenario, has too much historical significance and deserves to be taken seriously.
"Is this the Duke of Elchingen?" He walked up to the young man and asked with a smile.
"That's me, Your Majesty." Michel Ney felt a little unbelievable about this honor. He immediately stood at attention loudly, and then gave a cool military salute to the young man in front of him, "Thank you for remembering my name!"
"How could I not remember this great name?" Aigron asked with a smile, and then he reached out and patted the other person's shoulder, "I am very happy that you can follow the footsteps of your fathers and serve the Bonaparte family again, and I will too.
I hope that this time we can win together and complete the unfinished business of our fathers. Duke of Elchingen, please work hard for me."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Michel Ney replied loudly, holding his head high. "I am destined to be loyal to you, and I am willing to die for you! In addition, you can call me Alois."
"Okay, Alois." Aigron nodded and called out the nickname affectionately, narrowing the distance between the two people.
This is indeed a very ideal start.
The only regret is that he looked a bit awkward wearing a Swedish military uniform——
At the juncture of the collapse of the empire, the Swedish king and former French marshal Bernadotte declared war on France, so Sweden was also one of the enemy countries of the empire. Bernadotte's ingratitude once made Emperor Napoleon furious.
However, these things are now a thing of the past. Besides, Bernadotte did not have much choice at the time. Napoleon had been defeated and was about to be defeated. Under the pressure of Britain and Russia, he could only
You can choose to "follow the crowd" and join the anti-French alliance camp.
The Swedish army was small and inconspicuous among the coalition forces. Bernadotte himself was not active in fighting, so there were not many blood feuds with the empire. After the destruction of the empire, Bernadotte did not add insult to injury and cursed the former
The old master, on the contrary, said something like "Napoleon was not defeated by us because he only relied on his own intelligence, so God punished him..." which was a bit merciful.
Thinking about it this way, allowing Ney's son to join the Swedish army could be regarded as a favor to his former colleagues.
Because of this, Michel Ney was also very grateful for Bernadotte's favor. Even when he met Aiglon, he wore a Swedish military uniform to commemorate and show off his military experience.
Aiglon was silent for a moment, and then spoke again.
"Aloys, actually you came at the right time. I need you to share your experience with me."
"It's precisely because I heard that you wanted to build an army that I came here to help you as much as I can." Alois quickly replied, "How far have you progressed now?"
"I have prepared all the elements, but the most important part can only be completed by you." All Aigron replied to him was a smile.
Then, he amplified his voice and continued speaking at a volume that everyone present could hear.
"In terms of money, I have raised enough money from my supporters to arm an army to the teeth, which means the biggest problem has been solved, and I am happy to spend money on my army, whether it is
Whether it's buying the best weapons or the best military uniforms, I can donate generously. It's also simple to ask for people. There are many desperadoes in this world. As long as I can give enough money, I can always find enough people to serve me.
; But I know that these alone are not enough. If I just spend a lot of money to buy a group of mercenaries, I will fail at any time. These mercenaries cannot withstand the real test. I can only build a loyal and capable officer group.
, so that I can truly spend my money effectively——"
Then, he looked at Michelle Ney again, "Aloys, with your help, my worries are finally over, thank God!"
The young man's words also made everyone present secretly nod.
Aiglon is waiting for others' services, and others are also weighing his quality to see if he is worth serving; and his words are reasonable, clear and rational, which further highlights the importance and importance of this group of people.
It's enough to meet their expectations.
"I am also willing to contribute all my knowledge and experience to help you achieve your goals, Your Majesty!" Michel Ney immediately stood up and assured the young man enthusiastically.
He is not afraid that Aiglon's current military strength is like a blank piece of paper. On the contrary, this is even a good thing - although he has the title of Duke, Michel Ney's current military rank is only a lieutenant in the Swedish army, which is not a good thing.
What senior military officer?
If he joins the army of a big country normally, he can only wait for his seniority to slowly rise, and his power will be out of reach; but if he joins the army of His Majesty Napoleon II, then it is obvious that he will become a rookie.
A veteran of the army, he directly became the confidant of His Majesty the Emperor at a young age.
This is really ideal.
And others, of course, have the same idea as him.
Although there are not many people on the island now, and they don't have much room to display, it is obvious that His Majesty the Emperor will not be satisfied with this mere island, and he will further expand his business.
If His Majesty's career is successful until he returns to the throne, then they will undoubtedly become His Majesty's royal tools for ruling the army, and their future is absolutely limitless.
If you want to get ahead, there is no better investment than this.
Driven by this idea, the people present, like the Duke of Elchingen, expressed their allegiance to His Majesty the Emperor.
With their words and words, the atmosphere in the lobby became lively again.
Aiglon smiled, admiring the fire burning in the eyes of these young people.
Great, that's what he wants.
Now that the heat has arrived, it's time to move on to the next step.
"Everyone!" He shouted softly again.
In an instant, everyone who was talking stopped, and the hall was silent again.
Aigron was satisfied with the authority he had initially established.
"You are all the most loyal warriors of the empire, so I must be honest with you. I think everyone can see that under the current situation, we are facing a very difficult situation, and we are also undertaking a very dangerous undertaking... …I can’t even guarantee that any of you will live to see the day when we succeed! We can only pray for God’s favor and then move forward with fearless courage. Moreover, courage alone is not enough, we must Everyone unites sincerely and makes us a close whole. Only in this way can we defeat enemies who are more powerful than us and move towards a glorious tomorrow..."
Aigron paused for a moment, then spoke again, "For this reason, I decided to create a knighthood, with me personally serving as the leader, and everyone present today will become a member of the knighthood. I want to show off in this way. Tell the world that you are a member of my career, follow me to make achievements, and you should also share everything I get after working hard!"
"oh!"
As soon as he finished speaking, people let out a cry of surprise.
Even his two cousins looked surprised because Aigron had not discussed it with them beforehand.
This was naturally Aigron's decision after thinking about it.
There is no doubt that he has the title of emperor and is the only legal successor to the empire, but this does not mean that he will naturally gain allegiance, especially under the current circumstances, he needs to win over these followers more closely.
The purpose of establishing the Knights is to use this sense of honor to slowly knit them into a whole and cultivate their sense of belonging to the team, so that they can be more dedicated to their status and serve themselves.
This is not his wild imagination. In fact, this kind of thing is quite common in European countries. Royal families of various countries use this method to absorb senior military officers and political elites - such as the Black Eagle Knights of Prussia and the Bath of the United Kingdom. Knights of Spain, Knights of the Golden Fleece, etc.
Even Emperor Napoleon created the Legion of Honor to reward military officers and politicians who were loyal to him.
Now, the Bourbon royal family rules France, so the members of the French Legion of Honor are canonized by the French King. In this case, Aigron chose to rebuild a knighthood as an honorary title for the elite members under his command, and the knighthood It also means internal loyalty at all levels, and his status as an orthodox monarch is unshakable.
Precisely because this approach was not unconventional, the people present were only slightly surprised and immediately accepted Aigron's move.
"Tell me, are you willing to join my cause?" Aigron raised his head and looked at all the people present. "I don't have to repeat the danger to you. Of course you can see it with your intelligence, so - I
I would like to advise everyone, it is not too late to quit now! If you are willing to leave now, I will never stop you, but if you swear allegiance to me today, then I will never allow betrayal. I hope you will follow your heart and make a career without any complaints or complaints.
A regretful decision.”
"I am very happy, Your Majesty." Michel Ney knelt down on one knee without any further hesitation, "Thank you for granting me this honor."
very good.
This young man is a talented person and has enough political sense. He actually grasped the situation so quickly and became the first person to swear allegiance.
Aiglon picked up a sword from the side and put it on his shoulder. In this simple way, he completed the canonization of the knighthood.
"I'm sorry that the conditions here are simple and we cannot hold large-scale celebrations, nor do we have time to design and create exquisite ribbons and medals. But even so, I can assure you that you will always be a part of the empire.
"Finally, Agron looked down at Michelle Ney who was kneeling on one knee, and then said calmly, "May the Lord bless you."
"May God bless you!" the Duke of Elchingen closed his eyes and replied loudly.
Then, Aigron's gaze shifted to the others, and at this time, as if they heard some order, these people knelt down one by one.
His two cousins, Louis and Charlie, were a little overwhelmed by his sudden attack, but in the current atmosphere, they had almost no choice, so they looked at each other and knelt down obediently.
Kneel down, waiting for the favor of their loyal monarch.
Suddenly, everyone knelt down, and only Chanel stood blankly, embarrassed and not knowing how to deal with herself.
Of course she was willing to kneel down, but she didn't know if she would get it this time? After all, I had never heard of a woman being able to become an honorary knight.
Fortunately, Aigron looked at Chanel and relieved her embarrassment, "Chanel, go and call the Count of Monte Cristo. I hope he will become one of us."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Chanel left immediately as if she had received an amnesty.
Next, Aiglon took the sword and walked up to the people kneeling on the ground one by one, and then put the sword on their shoulders.
"May the Lord bless you." He would say this to every person he passed.
"May God bless you!" everyone answered in the same loud voice.
No matter what they think in their hearts, they cannot slack off on the outside to show their excitement and loyalty.
And at the end, Chanel came with the count.
Edmond Dantès seemed to have heard Chanel's explanation. As soon as he arrived, he silently knelt down in front of the young man.
Aigron walked up to him, and then looked at Chanel.
"Chanel, you also kneel down."
"Ah?" Chanel was greatly surprised.
"Kneel down." Aiglon smiled and repeated the order. "With your contribution, this is the honor you deserve. I will never ignore my contribution because of my gender."
"Yes..." Looking at his smile, Chanel almost cried again.
Then, she also knelt down on one knee and fell in front of him.
Who would have thought that the honor of the unknown Noel family would reach its peak from her?