Just as the Marquis de Treville was cheering for His Majesty's journey and sent his only son Edgar de Treville to Greece to participate in the grand event, the court in Paris finally received news from Greece.
After more than ten years, the surname Bonaparte finally shocked the French monarch again.
In 1815, Napoleon landed in France and restored the empire. At that time, the king of France was Louis XVIII, the younger brother of Louis XVI. But now in 1827, the throne of France has been replaced by Charles X, the youngest brother of Louis XVIII.
Compared to his slightly more liberal-minded brother Louis XVIII, Charles
The rulership is answerable only to God.
The king, who only ascended the throne after the death of his two brothers, had been on the throne for three years. During these three years, he appointed ministers who best suited his personal political views to run the country and overthrew Louis XVIII.
He adopted a policy of reconciliation and strived to rule France absolutely like Louis XIV. He had a famous saying that appropriately confessed his goal of rule - "I would rather cut down trees to make a living than rule like the King of England!"
He also used this kind of fanaticism to maintain his rule.
In order to try a large number of revolutionaries and sympathizers of the Napoleonic Empire, the Restoration Dynasty established military tribunals and special courts. The "regicides" of that year, that is, the members of the National Convention who voted for the execution of Louis XVI, voted against him during the "Hundred Days"
None of Napoleon's generals were spared, and tens of thousands of officials were purged from the administrative agencies. Most of the officers in the imperial era were directly dismissed from their posts and could only receive half salary as retirement compensation.
Under such a severe purge policy, he originally thought that the Bourbon royal family's rule over France would be as stable as when his ancestors were in power, at least until the end of his life. However, at this time, he discovered that the nightmare
But his surname surrounded him like a ghost, giving him no rest.
In 1789, the French Revolution broke out. Because the famine in Paris had not been solved for a long time, it intensified. Angry citizens and women gathered together on October 6, 1789, and then went to the Palace of Versailles to petition, and then forcibly captured Louis XVI.
He and his family were taken hostage to Paris and then placed in the Tuileries Palace in the city.
Since then, the Tuileries has replaced Versailles and become the forbidden palace of French monarchs.
During the reign of Napoleon I, he lived here for a long time and spent a lot of manpower and material resources to renovate the interior of the Tuileries Palace on a large scale, adding many luxurious furnishings and oil paintings and murals; after Napoleon abdicated for the first time in 1814
, the Tuileries Palace became the palace of Louis XVIII of the restored Bourbon dynasty. Out of the same considerations as Napoleon, Louis XVIII did not restore the status of the palace of Versailles, but continued to live in the Tuileries Palace.
This luxurious palace has witnessed the entire history of France in the 19th century.
Monarchs belonging to different families came and went and gave orders, but no one could completely tame this unruly and passionate country.
"I should have known that this little bastard would never settle down!"
In the study room of the Tuileries Palace, the elderly King Charles X was furious with his Prime Minister, Count Villers. "He used to use rhetoric to seek reconciliation with me, saying that he respected me as king and had no interest in French affairs.
, in the end, every word is a lie! A bad seed is a bad seed, and the naturally vicious blood has been passed down! How could the Habsburg Emperor be so stupid that he actually allowed this man to grow up healthy?!"
Count Villers just lowered his head and allowed His Majesty the King to vent. He knew that His Majesty was angry now and could only wait until he finished venting before discussing the issue.
Last year, the Duke of Lechstadt, who was living in seclusion at Schönbrunn Palace, took the initiative to write a letter to show his kindness to His Majesty the King and stated that he had absolutely no intention of interfering with his rule.
Although no one would believe the sincerity of this little guy at the time, since he said so, His Majesty the King was of course happy to write a warm reply, thanking him for his general knowledge, and encouraging him to study hard and serve the Habsburg royal family in the future.
service.
However, no one expected that Duke Lechstadt would flee Vienna not long after the reply was sent. Looking back, every word in his letter turned into sharp irony.
Although this young man has not yet set foot in France, and has not even sent any declaration to France, everyone knows that he only has one thing in mind - and that is the throne currently occupied by His Majesty the King.
After venting his anger, His Majesty the King finally calmed down a little.
"We must not let this little guy do whatever he wants." He said coldly, "We have to find a way to stop him."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I think so too." Count Villers immediately nodded in agreement, "If you allow it, I think we can send the Mediterranean fleet and part of the army to destroy him."
"In what name?" the king asked.
The Prime Minister was suddenly speechless.
Indeed, judging from the intelligence received, at least so far, the Duke of Lechstadt has not raised the banner of being an enemy of the French King. Even the title he uses is an unknown title: Captain of the Knights of Fontainebleau.
And what he did was just to help Greece's liberation cause.
If you put aside his identity, this is almost a righteous act worthy of admiration.
The French people have always been sympathetic to the Greek independence cause. Although this sympathy does not mean military intervention or financial support, annihilation by force may greatly violate the will of the people.
What's more, if a dignified king of a country panics at the slightest move by a young boy, how can he behave like this?
He had already considered these things before, but he did not speak out because the king was angry. Unexpectedly, His Majesty the King was angry, and at least he was still thinking calmly.
"Then what do you think should be done?" Count Villers asked cautiously.
"We have instructors stationed in the Egyptian army. Please pass on the secret order and let those instructors encourage and help Ali Pasha to wipe out these Greek traitors as soon as possible, especially the Bonaparte supporters." His Majesty the King.
He expressed his plan, "On the surface, we should not appear too angry. You must emphasize to other countries that Bonaparte is not only our enemy, but also the enemy of the entire Europe and human civilization. We cannot give them
A place to stay.”
The Count of Villers secretly agreed that the views put forward by His Majesty the King coincided with his own thoughts.
He himself also knew that the current rule of the Bourbon family was not very popular, and the nostalgia for the Bonaparte family was gradually spreading in France. Under such circumstances, forcibly sending an expeditionary force to wipe out the Duke of Lechstadt would only make the people
I just sympathize with him more - because on the surface he is not an enemy of France.
If we could use the help of the Egyptians, the situation would be much better.
"Okay, Your Majesty, I will carry out your order immediately." He agreed immediately.
The king frowned and looked at the mural on the wall angrily.
"I hope God will send down a heavenly punishment as soon as possible, just like he did to his father, so that this little bastard can be wiped out in ashes, so that our country can avoid disaster." He muttered, "Fate has its own judgment. This family that has brought harm to the world should have been extinct long ago.
"
After cursing viciously, he turned to look at the Prime Minister again.
"Do you have anything else to report?"
Count Villers was silent for a moment, and then decided to repay the truth.
"There is evidence that students in Paris and some provincial cities are secretly working together to launch a petition."
In 1826, under the urging of King Charles X, the French Parliament passed a new publishing law, implemented strict press censorship, and threatened publishers with fines to suppress public opinion.
However, contrary to expectations, the government's harsh measures not only failed to calm public opinion, but triggered protests everywhere, especially students and intellectuals in Paris who were disgusted and used various methods to denounce the government.
If it were just some students making trouble, the king would of course not care, but there could always be a vague ghost behind the protests that spread all over the place.
"Is the Duke of Orleans behind it?"
"Yes, there is a lot of evidence to prove that supporters of the Duke of Orleans are instigating and participating in these protests." The Prime Minister replied immediately.
The king's steps became anxious.
"The Duke is not only secretly in contact with the protesters, he is also buying parliamentarians from various places to continue to oppose the government in order to intensify the confrontation between the government and the opposition." The Prime Minister continued, "Your Majesty, the activities of the Duke of Orleans have become increasingly frequent recently.
I have reason to think that they want to cause chaos."
Inadvertently, His Majesty the King clenched his fists angrily.
Compared to Greece, which is far away, France itself is more worthy of their worries.
Compared with the disgusting Bonaparte, the name Orleans disgusted him even more.
Because the Duke of Orleans and his family are threatening his throne at the moment, and they are not afraid to use various subtle or covert means to shake the rule of the Bourbon royal family.
From the beginning of the Restoration, he firmly supported the severe liquidation of those revolutionary leaders who had rebelled during the Great Revolution, as well as those who firmly supported the Bonaparte family. Under his severe attacks, a large number of political opponents and civilians died inexplicably.
The White Terror also aroused hatred and counterattack from his enemies. On February 14, 1820, his youngest son, the Duke of Berry, was assassinated.
The murder of the prince not only brought grief and anger to the Bourbon royal family, but also brought a succession crisis:
Louis XVIII had no children, and his heir could only be his younger brother, who later became King Charles X. King Charles X had two sons, but the eldest son, the Dauphin, had no heirs, and the younger son, the Duke of Berry, was killed.
At that time, there was no son, only the Duchess, Princess Mary Caroline, was pregnant at the time, and the child was unknown.
According to France's ancient inheritance laws, women do not have the right to inherit. This means that if Princess Caroline, who is pregnant at this time, gives birth to a daughter, the throne will only flow to the one closest to the royal family in the future.
In the hands of the side clan - this side branch is the Duke of Orleans family.
The Duke of Orleans, whose ancestry is Prince Philippe, the younger brother of Louis XIV, is also the branch of the royal family closest in blood to the royal family.
The nobility of blood not only gave them a large amount of wealth and honor, but also gave them the ambition to covet the throne. During the Great Revolution, the then Duke of Orleans actively participated in the revolution in order to shake the rule of the royal family. For a time, the Duke
His residence, the Palais Royal, became a gathering place for revolutionary leaders. The Duke even voluntarily gave up his title of nobility and changed his name to Philippe Equality in order to please the masses.
Later, during the trial of Louis XVI, the duke voted in favor of the death penalty for Louis XVI.
However, he failed to control the flames of revolution. In the following era of great terror, this speculative and revolutionary duke was eventually guillotined by the Jacobins, and all the conspiracies became a dream.
Although the Duke died, his bloodline and ambition were not cut off. His son Louis-Philippe fled France and eventually returned with the restoration of the Bourbon royal family, regaining the title of Duke of Orleans and a large amount of wealth.
.
The Royal Bourbon family has not forgotten what the Duke of Orleans and his family did back then, and some people even denounced them as regicides; and the Duke of Orleans and his family have not forgotten the ambition passed down from their ancestors, buying people's hearts everywhere, and playing against the royal family. Their ambition can be described as
It is known to everyone on the road.
It can be imagined how much panic the Duke of Berry's death brought to the Bourbon family, and how much hope it brought to the Duke of Orleans' family - they were about to seize the throne through peaceful means and without any bloodshed.
However, at the last moment, fate once again closed the curtain on the troubled Bourbon royal family.
On September 29, 1820, the Duchess of Berry gave birth to a son in the Tuileries Palace. This son immediately became the future heir of the Bourbon family. King Charles X called him a child given by God.
The Duke of Orleans and their supporters were even more angry when they saw the throne in their hands falling.
They took advantage of the fact that the royal family was not present when the duchess gave birth to the child and spread rumors, claiming that the son had been replaced and that the duchess had replaced the daughter she gave birth to with a child adopted from outside.
(Earlier, in order to determine the bloodline of the royal heir, the French royal family had stipulated that royal relatives must be present when the queen gave birth. However, this rule had long been abolished during the reign of Louis XVI. He was reluctant to let his queen undergo childbirth.
When she is in pain, she has to be watched by everyone, so the duchess is not violating the rules.)
Under the deliberate manipulation of the Duke of Orleans, this rumor spread everywhere and was widely publicized by those opponents who were dissatisfied with the Bourbon royal family.
Bloodline is what the nobles care about most. Questioning the bloodline of his grandson will make the king furious more than any attack. He will never forgive the Duke of Orleans.
"It seems that I have to take drastic measures to eliminate all these parasitic insects in the kingdom." He said angrily.
"Your Majesty, it is not appropriate to act rashly at the moment. The Duke has many supporters." The Prime Minister hurriedly advised.
"If we deal with it now, we still have time. If we hesitate any longer, it may be too late." The king replied. "I will arrest them all!"
The Prime Minister was silent for a while. He knew that it was not appropriate for him to participate in this topic at the moment, so after thinking for a while, he decided to change the topic.
"Count Telewin, the ambassador to Vienna, is familiar with Eastern affairs. He has met the Duke of Lechstadt before and is at least somewhat familiar with him. I suggest sending him to Constantinople. I think he can handle it properly.
good."
"That's it." The king nodded.
Orleans and Bonaparte, both inside and outside, made him extremely annoyed. If he didn't handle it well, it would cause endless harm.
What he is most worried about is that he is old, the crown prince is incompetent, and his grandson is still young and ignorant. If he delays it any longer, God knows what will happen.
"We have to prepare for this." After thinking for a moment, he emphasized again.