After leaving the dilapidated shack, Edmond Dantès felt a lot more relaxed all over.
Although he had maintained his composure and dignity just now, how could he not have fear in his heart?
After all, those soldiers who kill without batting an eye may suddenly shoot at any time and take away his life and money.
Although it was already summer, he found that his back was already covered in cold sweat.
Fortunately...the adventure finally yielded the best results.
If he didn't take risks, there might be safety, but there was nothing else, so he would rather take risks.
Why should people who have died once before fear death again?
It was already evening, and taking advantage of the increasingly dark and unclear sky, he quietly walked out of the small port of Lavrion. Then, he said goodbye to the translator and intermediary he had brought with him, and each of them disappeared into the night.
Then, with the help of the dim starlight, he came to an olive grove. He followed the route in his memory to the woods, and then walked to a well-hidden tree house.
This is where I temporarily hide.
He stopped at the door because he clearly found that there were signs of someone stepping in.
He quietly reached into his pocket, gripped the pistol tightly, and then looked through the cracks with alert eyes to see what was inside.
"Oh, don't be nervous, it's me!"
There was a shout from inside.
As soon as he heard this voice, Edmond Dantes' tense heart finally relaxed, he let go of the gun in his hand, and then opened the door.
There was a person inside, sitting on a simple chair, looking at him with a flattering smile.
"Mr. Wilmore, are you back after finishing your work?" He crossed his legs and asked in a flirtatious tone.
This is a middle-aged man about forty years old. Because he has been traveling all year round, his face is dark and he has long wrinkles on his forehead, but it is obvious that he is a white man.
He is not tall, and his brown hair is messy and scattered on his head like a rag, but his beard is neatly trimmed. His right eye was blinded due to trauma, so he wore an eyepatch, which made his smile even more
It looks a little bit weirder.
He is a smuggler who has been in Greece for many years, the French Syndicate de Meine.
【Supporter 2】
He claimed to be a descendant of a nobleman, so he used the prefix de before his surname. But so far, no one knows whether this identity is true or false, and no one has seen other members of the family - of course, no one has
Interested in finding out more about him.
He is a smuggler with a fairly reliable reputation, and that is enough.
After being introduced by a smuggler, Edmond Dantès got to know him, and because he was good at speaking French, reliable and popular, Edmond Dantès also deliberately attracted him.
A sum of money temporarily gained his cooperation and allowed him to become one of his agents.
In order to gain his trust, Edmond Dantès revealed the purpose of his hard work - he planned to sponsor the Greeks' war of independence.
However, he did not reveal the person behind the scenes, but played himself as a wealthy foreign aristocrat who was obsessed with the heroic cause.
Syndicate de Mein didn't care who he was or his career, but considering the price he offered, he happily chose to cooperate.
Therefore, during this period of time, Edmond Dantes was responsible for the task of purchasing arms, and also arranged for him to be responsible for matchmaking. He wanted to use this well-connected smuggler to get acquainted with the various forces in Greece. If he could recruit some
It is more ideal if people use it for themselves.
"My business is finished, then Mr. de Mayne..." Edmond Dantès called the other party's name in a reserved tone, lit the oil lamp hidden under the chair, and then used the dim light to
Lantern looked at the other party. "How are things going on over there?"
"It's not that easy, sir." Syndicate de Mein spread his hands regretfully, and then sighed, "You also know that the current situation of the Greeks is not good. They are being beaten back and forth. The emperor is **
The team blocked them all, and some of my old friends either couldn't be contacted, or they had simply gone to see God... I couldn't contact them for a while."
Edmond Dantès listened quietly without making any comment.
He knew that Syndicate de Mein was just an ordinary smuggler in the final analysis. Even if he had a wide circle of friends, he would not really know a few big shots. Moreover, under the current situation, it was impossible to contact the rebels too smoothly. Although the current results
It’s helpless but acceptable.
However, this does not mean that he is satisfied.
Even in order to put some pressure on the other party, he must look disappointed.
"Then do you have any good news for me?" he asked coldly.
"Yes, sir!" Seeing that his employer was unhappy, Syndicate de Mein stopped smiling and quickly replied seriously. "I contacted an old friend, and he is currently working as a bandit a few miles away from here.
I still have some younger brothers... who are very interested in serving you."
"Bandits?" Edmond Dantès frowned, "Are they really willing to come to me?"
"As long as you give them enough money, of course they are willing." Syndicate De Mein smiled slyly, "You have also seen that this place is now in chaos, and no one can live well, and even the bandits have less and less space to survive.
The younger he is, seeing that even his subordinates can no longer survive, of course he wants to find a way out."
Edmond Dantès thought for a while. Although bandits had a bad reputation and they must have done a lot of bad things, at least now, he had no right to be picky.
"Are they reliable?" he asked again, "What if they just want to find out my whereabouts and then take the opportunity to rob me?"
"That guy is different from other bandits. He is a little more moral..." Syndicate de Mein replied.
However, he also knew that this reason was really unconvincing, so he laughed again, "Sir, I understand your concerns, and I dare not vouch for him, but...how many people in this world do you think are...
Who is trustworthy?"
Edmond Dantès thought about it and felt that there was nothing wrong with what the other party said.
In the final analysis, he cannot place his hope on anyone's morality. Not to mention bandits are not trustworthy, Greeks and Egyptians are also not trustworthy. If that is the case, what's the difference?
However, that doesn't mean he should take it lightly.
Although he has never seen this group of people, judging from Edmond Dantès's experience, most of the bandits are robbing and advocating violence. If you can't suppress them, then even if they have nothing before
If you have bad intentions, you may end up choosing to kill people and gain goods.
Therefore, you can recruit them, but you must frighten them.
He felt painfully that he needed to find a way to get some direct armed forces.
I quickly contacted Monte Cristo Island, reported my current progress to His Majesty, and then asked Your Majesty to send some more people to assist me - he quickly made a decision in his heart.
For a moment, many thoughts passed through his mind, but he did not show any expression on the surface.
"Okay then, please help me contact the bandit leader first and ask him to come and negotiate with me. I am willing to pay to hire him and his men and let them participate in my cause - if he is not willing to come alone
, then I will treat him as insincere, and there will be no need to talk about other matters."
"Your conditions are a bit harsh." Syndicate de Mein said awkwardly, "Nowadays, everyone is a bit timid."
"He is asking for something from me, not the other way around, so I have the right to make conditions. We must establish initial trust, right?" Edmond Dantès asked forcefully, "During our cooperation during this period, you
You should have also seen that I am a person who keeps my word, and I am generous and willing to spend money for my friends - so as long as your friend proves worthy of my trust, then I can compensate for the concessions he has made."
"Okay then, I will convey your conditions to him..." Syndicate De Mein thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I have one more thing to entrust to you." Edmond Dantès spoke again.
"Please tell me."
"I have reached an agreement with the Egyptian officer you introduced today. He is willing to trade with me, and I have paid the deposit. The first transaction will be carried out tomorrow, and I need you to help me transfer these goods to
Store it in a safe place.”
"Okay! In the name of our family's great name, I assure you that I will be able to complete the task." This time, Syndicate de Mein became more energetic and he responded loudly.
Edmond Dantès has not studied the genealogy of European nobles and does not understand heraldry, but he is not a fool. On the contrary, he is quite knowledgeable, so of course he will not believe the noble status claimed by the other party.
But what’s there to worry about?
After all, even the "Count of Monte Cristo" himself is neither fish nor fowl, so why should he care about the authenticity of other people's aristocratic pedigrees?
In short, this Mr. de Mein is very useful now, that's enough.
Then, Edmond Dantès seemed to think of something again.
"Have the bandits you mentioned always been bandits, or have they migrated from other places?"
His question made Syndicate de Mein stunned for a moment.
Then he laughed again, "You are really aware of everything... Well, let me tell you straight, he was originally a subordinate of Ioannina Pasha, but wasn't the Pasha later beheaded by someone sent by the Sultan?
?They have no leader, so they have to wander around. They have no other means of making a living, so they have to make a living as bandits..."
I see.
Edmond Dantès probably understood why Syndicate de Meyne would be friends with such a person.
Just as the Greeks were torn apart, the once glorious Ottoman Turkish Empire is now infected with a disease unique to the end of the empire - political chaos, various forces are fragmented, internal strife continues, and warlords are separatist.
The pashas (governors) stationed by the empire in various places have become local emperors one after another. They often listen to orders but not propaganda. Some even directly monopolize local military and political power and only obey the sultan in name, just like the vassal towns in the late Tang Dynasty.
.
For example, Ali Pasha of Egypt, who sent troops with Turkey this time, has become the de facto ruler of Egypt and is allowed to inherit his position hereditary. The Sudan only has nominal suzerainty.
This time, the Sultan also paid a large price to allow him to send troops: the two parties signed an agreement, and the Sultan promised to hand over Syria, Crete and other places to the management of Ali Pasha after successfully suppressing Greece.
Ali Pasha of Egypt was like this, and other lords were naturally like this as well.
For example, Ali Pasha of Ioannina openly raised his troops in rebellion not long ago.
This pasha once relied on his brutal methods to rule a large area such as Albania, and began to openly oppose the imperial center in Istanbul.
In 1820, Ali Pasha assassinated Pacho Bey, his political rival in Istanbul, and Sultan Mahmud II took the opportunity to dismiss Ali Pasha from his post and asked him to return to the capital to report on his duties.
Of course Ali Pasha knew that he would die if he reached the capital, so he refused to resign his official position, and united with other pashas in the surrounding areas to openly launch troops to resist the Sultan.
By 1822, after two years of fierce fighting, despite initially gaining the upper hand, Ali Pasha was finally defeated by the Sultan's army. In January 1822, the Ottoman army came to Ali Pasha's refuge and deceived him.
Said the Sultan would grant him a full pardon.
Ali Pasha was fooled and prepared to lift the resistance, but when he was asked to surrender and be beheaded, Pasha chose to resist bravely to the end. In the final battle, a bullet penetrated his body and his head was immediately beheaded.
He took it down and gave it to the Sudan.
The remaining remains of him were buried in a local mosque.
After Ali Pasha's death, his original army was scattered. Some turned into bandits and wandered around, some disappeared, and some simply joined the Greek rebellion and continued to fight against the Turkish Sultan.
Therefore, the current Balkan Peninsula is in chaos. The Turkish Empire and Greece, warlords Pasha, and other various forces are intertwined with conflicts. They cooperate with each other and fight with each other. The situation is chaotic, and civilians are the most direct victims.
Of course, they also endured the most profound disasters.
[Ali Pasha of Ioannina is the historical prototype of Ali, the governor of Ioannina who was betrayed by Fernando in "The Count of Monte Cristo".
In the original work, Alexandre Dumas fictionalized that Haidee was the daughter of this pasha, but in history, the pasha was already 80 years old when he was defeated and killed, while Haidee was only 4 years old... Therefore, in order to make it more
To be more realistic, this work sets Haidee as the granddaughter of this pasha, otherwise it would be too scary...]
After learning about the other party's past experience, Edmond Dantès suddenly became more interested in this group of bandits - after all, compared to the ragtag group of ordinary bandits, people who have had formal military experience are obviously more likely to
A bit more useful.
Moreover, their embarrassing situation left them with few choices - they were enemies of Turkey, but the Greeks did not welcome them, so they could only work for their own survival in a hurry.
Maybe they can be our first surrender, he thought to himself.