After reaching an agreement with Syndicate de Meyne, Edmond Dantès sent the other party away.
It wasn't until he watched the other party's figure disappear into the shadows of the woods that he finally relaxed his tense nerves.
Now that I am finally alone, I can finally have a good rest without having to worry about bullets flying from nowhere.
Carrying out such a dangerous and complicated mission in a foreign country excessively consumed his mental energy. Although he had already tempered himself to be mentally strong, he still felt a little tired from time to time in his heart.
Although he knew that the identity of Syndicate de Mein must be fictitious, he was willing to believe in the identity of the other party, and the fact that they were both "French" allowed him to not be so cautious when getting along with the two people.
I hope my judgment is accurate.
Edmond Dantès put aside his selfish thoughts and walked back to the side of the simple thatched house. Then he picked up the letter and leaned on a wooden board to write quickly.
With the help of the dim light, he wrote down his current situation, the progress he had made so far, and the help he currently needed, as well as his views on the current situation in Greece.
Tomorrow, he will go to the port of Lavrion again, and then secretly send this letter of infinite hope to his master who is still on the island of Monte Cristo. He is expected to receive the letter in a few days.
Since he came to Greece, he has written to His Majesty regularly every few days. On the one hand, he reported to him his progress and put forward his needs; on the other hand, he reported that he was safe and let the other side know that he was still alive.
Judging from the current activities, although Edmond Dantès cannot be said to be too optimistic, he feels that it is relatively smooth, so he is confident enough to claim credit from his master.
He also believes that everything he has done so far is enough to satisfy him.
After finishing the letter, Edmond Dantès tidied up hastily with a sense of satisfaction and security, and then lay down on the bed made of broken wooden boards, ending this fruitful day.
In the next few days, Edmond Dantès, with the help of Syndicate de Meyne, successfully completed the transaction with the Egyptian officer Yusuf Naqif, and received a lot of money from him.
arms.
Seeing that the other party took out a batch of weapons for sale so easily, he couldn't help but be a little curious about Yusuf Naqif's specific position, but he also knew in his heart that the fewer questions the better for some things, so he didn't ask more
Do testing.
Together with his people, he found a secret cave nearby and carefully hid all the weapons.
But if nothing unexpected happens, soon after, when his loyal masters come to this land with the volunteers, these secret caves will become one of their supply warehouses.
After successfully completing this transaction, Edmond Dantès' energy was finally freed and he could focus on other aspects.
At this time, Syndicate de Mein also brought him good news - his bandit leader friend, after a few days of hesitation, finally decided to come out of his hiding place and ask to see this man.
Mr. Wilmore, a wealthy man, wanted to see if he could find a new way of making a living for himself and his gangsters.
Edmond Dantès was overjoyed in his heart, but he still maintained a cold attitude on the surface, and then discussed the meeting place with Syndicate de Meyne.
Early the next morning, he came to a hill near the port of Lavrion under the leadership of Syndicate de Mein.
It can be seen that this is a cemetery, with some crooked crosses erected on it. However, because no one has taken care of it for a long time, it has long been overgrown with weeds, and only small bumps of slightly undulating soil are left.
Edmond Dantès didn't care about the environment here. He looked around among the weeds, waiting for the arrival of the promised person.
He didn't wait long. Soon, a tall figure appeared in his field of vision.
This man was wearing ordinary burlap clothes and a tattered wide-brimmed felt hat on his head. He didn't look like a murderous gangster, but more like a submissive farmer.
However, from his strong arms and the occasional flash of sharp eyes, one can still see the characteristics of an outlaw in this man - on his waist, Edmond Dantès discovered
A hidden hilt.
Because of the felt hat on his head, Edmond Dantès couldn't see clearly what the other party looked like. He could only see the big beard on the lower half of his face. However, from the figure of the other party who was getting closer, and the syndicate-de-
From Mayne's expression, he still judged that the other party was the person he was looking for this time.
He spread his hands in a welcoming gesture to show that he was not hostile; and the other party also spread his hands when he came over, indicating that he was only here for negotiation.
Soon, the two people came to face each other.
The sea breeze echoed in this desolate cemetery, causing the weeds to sway up and down, adding to the desolate atmosphere.
"Isaac Palaiologos." Under the gaze of Edmond Dantès, the other party took off his hat, bowed to him, and then saluted him in Greek.
At this time, Edmond Dantès could finally see the other person's face clearly - he was a strong man with short hair, probably in his 30s. His broad forehead was full of strength, but he was now a little thin.
, and his thick beard was stained with some dust, making him look even more dusty.
It seems like things have been pretty bad recently.
[Supporter*3, the original name made up by the book friend was Edward Palaiologos, but this name was too un-Greek, so I changed to the Greek name Isaac, sorry~]
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Edmond Dantès saluted the other party in the Greek he had just learned.
Then, he had some doubts again.
"you are not***?"
"Not everyone who has served Pasha is a ***. For example, I am an Orthodox Christian, and some European officers have also served for him." Isaac Valleolo shook his head, "
Sometimes, fate is so strange."
Edmond Dantès's Greek is not pure, and some of it needs to be translated for himself by de Mayne next to him.
However, from the other party's depressed expression, he unexpectedly found a sense of resonance.
As a Greek, he worked for Ali Pasha who was entrenched in Albania, and then became a bandit and wandered around after the Pasha was killed... His life must be a tortuous story.
Because of this, he didn't want to get to the bottom of it.
"In that case, why didn't you go back to your hometown after the Pasha was killed?" Edmond Dantès asked, "I think you can find a place to stay?"
"I have offended some people in my hometown, and they can't tolerate me. I don't want to be a farmer all my life." Isaac Valleolo shook his head again, "Besides, if I go back to my hometown, my
The men have nowhere to go, most of them have nowhere to go."
After hearing what the other party said, Edmond Dantès immediately changed his view of him even more.
"I didn't expect you to be so particular about friendship."
Edmond Dantès knew very well that the other party must be desperate now, so he risked his life and tried his luck - but on the surface, he always maintained a polite and polite attitude so as not to anger this person.
Bandit leader.
"If you have been with a group of people for so many years, you will have the same idea." Isaac Valleolo replied coldly, "Okay, you have asked me enough questions, now it is my turn.
Let me ask you - Mr. Wilmore, I heard that you are willing to pay to hire us, so how much can you pay?"
"It depends on your performance. If it reaches a standard that satisfies me, I am willing to pay a high salary." Edmond Dantès replied calmly.
As he spoke, he took out a gold coin from his pocket and shook it in front of the other party, "You should have heard De Mein say that I am rich. Yes, I am an idealist.
And I happen to be very rich. I am willing to spend a lot of money for my dream, and if you can help me, then part of the money will be yours."
"Ideal..." Isaac Valleolo curled his lips and laughed slightly disdainfully. "If you are just here to experience Ideal, I advise you to go back to your comfortable home as soon as possible, this damn place.
There is no ideal, only constant betrayal and killing."
"This issue is none of your business. I am responsible for all my actions." Edmond Dantès ignored the other party's advice.
Then, he changed the subject, "How many people are there in your team now?"
"There are more than 20 people." Isaac Valleolo hesitated and then replied. "Although there are not many people, they are all veterans and are familiar with the situation here."
Very good, it is indeed a force that can be used.
Edmond Dantès thought for a moment, and then asked another question, "How much blood debt are you carrying?"
Although he doesn't care much about the other party's criminal record, if their reputation is too bad in the local area, it will be troublesome to use it and will damage His Majesty's reputation.
Fortunately, his concerns were quickly dispelled.
"We just want to live, we don't like killing. Besides, our numbers are so small, we don't dare to do anything too extreme." Isaac Valleolo replied, "But we did kill people."
Syndicate De Mein next to him also suddenly nodded and supported his friend, "Mr. Wilmore, I swear on our noble family reputation that what he said is true. Isaac is not a madman who kills innocent people indiscriminately. Otherwise, we
Nor will they become friends."
In this case, Edmond Dantès doesn't care.
It was bandits instead of angels who came to him, so what else could he expect? As long as they weren't the kind of ruthless bandits who were guilty of bloodshed and committed all kinds of evil, it didn't matter.
It seemed that all worries had been eliminated, and Edmond Dantès suddenly felt that this was an ideal partner for cooperation.
These bandits can serve as their initial strength, and they can be temporarily armed with the weapons they just bought.
But... now of course he would not be so naive as to believe the bandits' sincerity so quickly.
In particular, he currently does not have the power to intimidate these people, so he only expects them to loyally obey his command.
However, he believes that he will be able to do this soon.
"Well, I have no other questions." After a moment of silence, he expressed his decision, "Pagliolo, I can hire you and pay you a sufficient salary, but in exchange, I ask you
You must be loyal to me and obey my orders."
Isaac Valleolo narrowed his eyes, looked at the man in front of him, and then nodded slightly.
"I have no opinion."
Although his tone was calm, it also meant that the two parties had officially entered into a cooperative relationship - or to be more precise, these bandits had officially surrendered to Mr. Wilmore and the forces behind him.
"Well, when you go back today, tell your men about this matter, and then wait for news from me." Edmond Dantès breathed a sigh of relief, and then gave instructions to the other party.
Then, he picked up the gold coin in his hand and threw it directly towards the other party, "I will contact you soon, so be ready at any time."
Isaac Valleolo received the gold coin.
A mere gold coin would definitely not be able to support him and his men, but it also clearly demonstrated the employment relationship between the two people.
Looking at the tall man in front of him, he felt a little dazed for a moment, feeling as if he had returned to those days of military service.
"Yes!" He raised his hand unconsciously and gave a military salute to the other party.
Edmond Dantès smiled and nodded at the other party, but then found that the other party did not leave.
"Do you have anything else to do?" he asked quickly.
"It's an unrelated matter, but it's very important to me." Isaac Valleolo hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Sir, you came from Western Europe, right?"
"So what?" Edmond Dantès replied.
"So... do you know a French officer named Fernand Morcerf?" Isaac Valleolo asked in a low voice.
At this moment, his expression suddenly looked a little nervous, and he seemed to care more about the answer than he did during the discussion just now.
Fernand Morcerf! This name rang in Edmond Dantès's ears like thunder.
No one cares about this name more than him.
"I know him." He tried hard to control his expression, and then looked at the other person coldly, "But he probably doesn't know me, and we have no friendship. Why, do you know him too?"
To Edmond Dantès's expectation, what greeted him was Isaac Valleolo's terrifying gaze flashing with hatred. Only when he faced this gaze did Edmond truly understand that he was facing him.
The right one is a bandit leader who has committed countless murders and expropriations, a desperado who once joined the rebel army.
"I know him, of course I know him, this despicable and shameless traitor!" he replied loudly.
Looking at the other party's face twisted with hatred, Edmond Dantès seemed to finally understand something, and he smiled slightly.