As the time comes to early summer, the temperature begins to get hotter. Near noon, the sun is bright in the sky, and the dense forests and bushes surrounding the countryside dye the earth bright green, but there are only a few pedestrians everywhere.
Only some cicadas were chirping listlessly. Far from waking up the land, these chirpings only accentuated the dullness everywhere.
This is the French countryside. Most of the time it seems lifeless, as if it is a wasteland that has been sucked dry by work and taxes. Only those thunders that can pierce the sky can wake up these dull earth and summon the vitality contained in it.
, and those villagers who live their lives listlessly all day long will also be called by the thunder, sweep away their usual stupid appearance, and use the most terrifying and ruthless iron fist, making the whole of Europe tremble.
There are some small towns outside Strasbourg, scattered like islands in a sea of farmland. There are many houses in the small towns that seem to have been handed down intact from the Middle Ages. These houses used to be squires or
It is the residence of rich peasants, but with the changes of the times and the turmoil again and again, many houses have changed their owners many times, and it is even unclear who the original owner was.
At this dull noon, a spacious carriage quietly drove into a house along the smooth gravel road. Perhaps because of the weather, not many small town residents noticed the visit of these uninvited guests.
They would never have imagined that their originally peaceful life would suddenly cause an uproar in this leisurely and dull noon, and that it would even become a topic of conversation for them for decades.
The carriage stopped quietly in the vestibule, and then Andre Davout carefully stepped out of the carriage. After making sure that the surroundings were safe, he turned back and made a gesture to the people in the carriage.
Then, Aigron and the Marquis of Treville stepped out of the carriage together.
At the moment, he was wearing black casual clothes, a velvet hat on his head, and a bow tie in a fashionable style. He looked more like a pretender to the throne than a pretender to the throne.
He is like a young master who uses his family's money to travel and see the world.
After stepping off the carriage, Aigron took a deep breath in the musty smell mixed with soil and moss.
This was the smell of France opening its arms to welcome him for the first time.
He looked around again. This was an old house, and it didn't look like it had been repaired much at all. The yard was full of traces of water leakage, and the ground was paved with large cracked square bricks, which were oddly shaped and uneven.
Looking at these cracks and the moss inside them, Aigron even guessed that these square bricks might be older than his great-grandfather.
"I have truly set foot on the land of France, the land that belongs to me," Aigron said with some emotion.
"Yes, Your Majesty, congratulations." Marquis Treville replied respectfully, "This is your land."
After leaving Bavaria, Aigron asked Teresa to return to Ioannina to raise the baby. Chanel was also ordered by him to take care of his pregnant wife along the way. In addition to the indispensable bodyguards, Aiglon was currently surrounded by only
His captain of the guard, Andre Davout, and the other two most reliable guards were left to follow the Marquis of Treville on the journey back to France.
Logically speaking, they would have suffered a lot during this bumpy journey, but when Aiglon visited the Principality of Parma before, his mother Luisa specially applied for a passport for him under a false name in order to please him.
And he was given the identity of an ordinary local noble.
Although the name was fake, the document could no longer be authentic, so Aigron used this completely legal document to travel unimpeded through the Principality of Baden along the way, and then entered France.
Of course, the last stop in a small town outside Strasbourg was due to the advance arrangements of the Marquis de Treville.
After many days of journey, Aigron finally set foot on the land of France, and this shabby house in a small town was his first residence in France.
Needless to say, this place was also a daily gathering place for Bonapartist supporters. It was remote and dilapidated and not easily noticeable, making it an ideal hiding place.
This house with an unprepossessing appearance has exposed wooden boards, bricks, stones and iron bars scattered across the gray walls. Due to its age, or perhaps just by chance, they are tightly squeezed together. I don’t know how many years, the huge beams on the ceiling have been covered by it.
Several floors were bent under the pressure, but luckily they were not broken. The walls of these floors were reinforced with wooden bars and covered with bluestone slabs nailed into geometric patterns, retaining the elegance of the eighteenth century's pursuit of exquisite art, but this time
At that time, I could only find the last few traces of my past appearance, and I could no longer see the original appearance clearly.
On the wooden framed windows, the former carvings have been damaged by wind and rain, and are now incomplete. None of the windows is vertical: some are tilted outward, some are recessed, and some are about to fall apart. Each window is stained by rain.
Somehow some soft soil blew in through the cracks. When spring arrived, a few small flowers, moss and delicate grass emerged from the mud. Soon they covered the roof and window sills, making
They are covered with fluffy moss.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry, for the sake of safety, we can only temporarily place you here..." Marquis Treville apologized to Aigron with a guilty look on his face. "If you stay in an inn, you may be questioned by nosy people.
And when you stay here, no one will bother you. This is where I rested before I left France. Don’t worry, you know there are very few people here.”
"It doesn't matter, I didn't come back to enjoy happiness, at least not yet." Aigron smiled and shook his head, then he took another breath of air full of dust and mud, and then said something that made Treville
The Marquis said something incomprehensible, "The dilapidation here is quite poetic. Just standing here, I feel like I have seen the past of France."
A general who once galloped on the battlefield did not understand poetry, but from Aigron's face he could see that His Majesty was in a good mood now.
Yes, this down-and-out prince who once lost everything has now regained his freedom and returned to the country that once belonged to him in a heroic manner. How could he not be complacent?
The Marquis of Treville himself felt honored.
This is indeed a rare magnanimity.
When he first proposed it at Nymphenburg Palace, he was originally worried that the young man would not dare to take risks, and he was even mentally prepared to be scolded. However, he did not expect that instead of scolding him, the other party would instead trust him.
Complete and unreserved trust, considering that it was the first time they met.
Even though he was usually cold and calm, General Treville was still a little moved by this.
Indeed, as Princess Teresa said, since Your Majesty listened to his advice without reservation and placed complete trust in him, it means that he must take full responsibility, and his honor and dignity are no longer the same as those of this young man.
Safety and danger are tied together
If the operation fails and something unexpected happens to His Majesty, then the Marquis of Treville will be proven to be just a waste who can only talk nonsense, and he will no longer have political value at all. His life's hard work and the wealth he has accumulated within the party
All reputation and prestige will also be wasted.
Because of this, he sincerely decided to fulfill his oath in front of Princess Theresa and do his best to protect the safety of this boy, even if it cost his life.
The stakes were so high that it was impossible for him not to feel nervous at all, but he had been on the battlefield for a long time and no longer had much fear when facing danger. He would only become more excited and calmer.
After looking around for a while, admiring the abandoned house and the beautiful scenery of the surrounding countryside, Aiglon made a calm gesture, and the Marquis of Treville led Aigron into this old house that seemed to be crumbling from the outside.
The furnishings inside the house are naturally as outdated as they look on the outside. There is a rusty iron shelf next to the fireplace, with a statue of the Virgin Mary whose original appearance is no longer visible. Next to it, there is a corroded wooden ladder that leads directly to the top.
It has two floors and an attic, and is not very deep. It only relies on narrow windows for lighting. At this time, because the windows are closed, the light in the hall is very dark.
At first glance, it looks like a place for conspiracy.
In the empty main room, there were only some old-fashioned wooden items, no soft sofas, only a wooden table and some small wooden chairs. Aigron took out a handkerchief, wiped one of the wooden chairs clean, and then sat down directly.
Then he breathed a long sigh of relief and cleared away the fatigue accumulated during the journey.
"Marquis de Treville, as you wish, I have arrived in France. So according to your plan, what should I do next?" Then he went straight to the topic.
The Marquis of Treville has been thinking about this issue for a long time. Although he is not sure about it now, he at least has an idea in his mind.
Therefore, he did not hesitate, first found a chair and sat down, and then directly reported back to the young man in front of him.
"Your Majesty, the most important thing for you now is to appear in public, but it is not advisable to make too much noise, lest you cannot escape, so I think the most suitable place is here. Although it is a remote countryside, it is far away from Stella
The fort is very close, there are garrisons and cities there, and the news spreads very quickly. As you can imagine, once the news of your public appearance spreads there, the officials there will automatically become your helpers, and they will respond as urgently as possible.
With your attitude, the news will reach Paris even faster than your own supporters. As long as the news reaches Paris, it means that the whole country knows about it, and you have achieved your goal."
"It sounds quite simple, and it's quite similar." Aigron smiled and nodded, "So what should I do specifically?"
The Marquis of Treville continued to explain his thoughts to him. "According to the information provided by our supporters, the mayor here and a few of his friends go to a cafe to play cards or chat every day. We can go directly to kidnap the people here."
Mayor, and then take him to a nearby church, and then ask the parish priest to ring the bell to summon the villagers. No matter how many people come, you can directly address them with a speech. The speech does not need to be too long, but it must be impassioned and able to keep your audience.
It may be a little difficult for ordinary people to make a deep impression, but it shouldn't be difficult for you because you are the emperor's son and people today miss the emperor."
Aiglon listened quietly, while his brain was working at full speed, measuring the feasibility and safety of Marquis Treville's plan.
"Then what? What do we do after the speech?" he asked.
"For you to appear in public and publicly declare that you will take on the great destiny, you have accomplished your main goal. After that, you can move the camera, no doubt, during your speech
, someone will notify the local garrison, but the speed of mobilization of the garrison and the attitude of the officers and soldiers are uncertain. You can decide what to do after judging on the spot. If the situation is critical, you can evacuate immediately; if the officers and soldiers
There are your sympathizers among them, you can leave after impressing them."
Aigron listened silently to Marquis Treville's plan.
It must be admitted that this plan is simple and clear, full of military directness.
However, it can also be felt that the Marquis of Treville has fully considered the risks. No matter which step in the plan, he left room for Aiglon to retreat and escape at any time, and the safety factor was very high.
It seems that he has thought clearly along the way.
He is worthy of being a general from the imperial era. Both his experience and judgment are much stronger than those of the young people around him.
However, why does this plan seem to have an inexplicable sense of déjà vu?
Forget it, don’t think too much about what is available and what is not.
Now that the Marquis has figured out the general plan, Aigron can only choose to follow the good path.
Anyway, he didn't see anything unreasonable.
"Okay, General, then everything will be done as you said." Aiglon nodded, indicating that he agreed with the general's plan, "Since we have arrived in France, I should follow your arrangements. After all, I am
As an elder, you have been here much longer than I have."
Although Aigron's tone was calm, General Treville's heart warmed up when he heard it. He knew that he could be praised as an "elder" by Aigron in person, naturally not because of his age, but only by showing enough ability. This young majesty could
Will truly recognize myself.
This is his purpose, step by step, he wants to show his abilities, build prestige, and show loyalty in front of young people, so that he can continue to think that "General Treville is his number one supporter." Only in this way can he make people
My family will occupy a superior position in the future when this young man achieves great things.
"You have entrusted your safety to me, and I will guarantee this trust with my life." General Treville replied with a solemn expression, "Your Majesty, I believe you will succeed."
"It's not me, it's us." Aigron gently patted the 'elder' on the shoulder and corrected him, "You will always have an indispensable part in my career."