Talleyrand's handwritten letter to Aiglon was delivered to Aiglon a few days later. After receiving the letter, Aiglon immediately put down what he was doing and opened his letter to review.
However, after reading it, he was a little disappointed, because the content in it was bland. Although the rhetoric was gorgeous, it was just some scene talk. Talleyrand did not say that he must work for him, let alone give him any advice.
.
Aiglon knows that this old fox is accustomed to changing the direction of the situation and will not make a bet until the last moment. He is now disengaging from him. Rather than siding with him, he is testing himself to see what he can do.
and sincerity.
Of course, this is also a great progress for Aigron - Talleyrenko's contact with him means that in his eyes, he does have a chance.
More importantly, he has now established a channel of communication with Talleyrand, and can continue to work hard to persuade him to side with him.
There is no doubt that while in contact with himself, Talleyrand will continue to maintain contact with other people in order to wait for a price; but having said that, he cannot also use direct or indirect means from Talleyrand.
, can you detect the reality of your opponents?
Now he does not lack talents who are loyal to him, nor does he lack his own courage. What he lacks most is information. After all, he is not at the center of the whirlpool in Paris. He can only rely on various means to make up for this shortcoming and obtain enough information.
He is not afraid to communicate more with Talleyrand and confess himself. Although Talleyrand is a well-known diplomatic master in Europe, he grew up with Metternich, and his knowledge may not be any worse than that of him, not to mention that he has enough knowledge.
Taking the "lessons of history" as his reference, he would not be timid in front of Talleyrand even if he thought about it.
Besides, I am still very young, and whatever outrageous remarks I make can be made up for by my youthful exuberance. For a dying old man like Talleyrand, the sharpness that young people should have may actually be refreshing.
Precisely because he had history as a reference, on the one hand he stole Talleyrand's ideas and used major concessions on the Belgian issue as sincerity in exchange for the British compromise, which made Talleyrand have to marvel at his own vision;
On the other hand, he even knew what treatment Talleyrand received in the original historical line, so he could simply offer a higher price.
The price he offered Talleyrand was very high, higher than the price offered by the Orleans family. It was like seeing his opponent's trump card in a poker game and then raising his own bet, making a sure profit without losing anything.
Of course, it is definitely not enough to rely solely on historical references. Ever since I escaped from Austria, the direction of history has been constantly deviating because of me. Now there are still some small, unimportant deviations, but as I rise step by step, the deviations will become more obvious.
It will get bigger and bigger, and there will no longer be any "trump card" to show him.
Therefore, he must study relentlessly during this period of time when he can still "reference history" and become a player who can also play blind chess very well, so that he can be qualified to compete with others.
As for Talleyrand, he had actually made arrangements in his mind.
If Talleyrand refuses to cooperate, he will immediately settle the matter once he returns home - not that he cares about the old grudges between Napoleon and Talleyrand, but that this old guy is too dangerous and he dare not keep him in his heart.
He continued to plot and would rather put him under house arrest and let him die under his nose.
If Talleyrand cooperates with him, then of course he is willing to fulfill his promise on the surface and give Talleyrand the respect he deserves. Anyway, this bad old man will not live long.
Historically, Talleyrand died in 1838, and a few years before his death, he was already unable to perform his duties due to old age and decay, which meant that he would be unable to bear the heavy responsibility and step down around 1835-1836.
Whatever you give him, time will make him spit it out.
Even in the worst-case scenario, he only had to endure Talleyrand for three to five years and let the old man become the number one figure in his court, controlling power but also suffering from infamy.
It just happened that in the past few years, I could do all the things I wanted to do but offended others. Anyway, Talleyrand, an old man, would not be angry, let alone get scolded.
Thinking about it this way, not only did he not lose anything in this political transaction, but he actually gained something - no matter what he thought, he had to compromise with the existing interest groups when he first came back. Since he had to compromise anyway,
Why not choose Talleyrand, an old man destined not to live for more than a few years?
Talleyrand's problem has made progress, and the military's problem has become more urgent.
Sirte... Sirte.
This name has been lingering in his heart for too long.
Since the last time the Marquis of Treville and the Count of Monte Cristo jointly visited Marshal Soult, he had established contact with Soult and sent several personal letters to him.
But the marshal, who lives in seclusion in the countryside and digs coal mines, received the letter but never received a reply. Everything seemed to be lost in the sea, leaving him unable to figure out what the marshal meant.
Considering his status, Surte's behavior was indeed very rude, but now that he was not being polite, he could only wait patiently for Surte's reply.
After all, Sirte is too important to him right now.
Obviously, if he wants to get a big position and hold it firmly, he needs the support of the army, and the army needs a sea-fixing needle - Soult is such a person.
The marshals of the Napoleonic era were either dead, had defected to the Bourbon family, were completely indifferent to politics, or lacked prestige. Among the remaining marshals, Soult was the best candidate.
Aigron thought to himself that Surte had been idle for many years and had gone to dig coal mines. Others might have tolerated it, but Surte would definitely not, because he was a careerist and extremely greedy for power.
exuberant.
He must be very anxious in his heart right now, eager to return to the highest stage.
In the original historical line, Marshal Soult joined the Orleans family and became the Orleans family's main spokesperson in the army. He became the minister of war and the prime minister, enjoying all the glory of his position.
So why doesn't Surte respond to himself?
Is he waiting for a price like Talleyrand? The Orleans family must have approached him to "join in the grand event".
Aigron felt a little worried when he thought of this.
After all, Talleyrand could offer a higher price, but the price Soult got from the Orleans family was definitely not low. He couldn't offer a higher price. He couldn't let him sit on the throne first.
?
Therefore, we can only "move him with emotion" and use our so-called advanced ideas to impress him.
Do you want to write another letter to Soult?
While he was thinking hard, there was a knock on the door of his study.
"Your Majesty." The voice of his secretary Leon Esposito came from outside.
"Come in." Aigron interrupted his thoughts.
After the secretary came in, Aigron asked, "What's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, we have received a letter, which was sent to you from Marshal Soult. Because of the remote location, we were delayed for a while on the road."
…
Aiglon was stunned for a moment, and then laughed subconsciously.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
It seems that my letter is not useless, Soult is also tempted? Sure enough, I have destiny, he thought to himself.
He asked his secretary to bring him the letter, then opened it and read it.
"Sir, I have received your previous letter and read it in detail. It is very enlightening.
I have many questions that I want to ask you, and I believe that you also have many questions that you want to ask me. Unfortunately, for various reasons, we cannot speak freely now - of course I believe that there may be such a day in the future.
Because we are far apart, the communication delay between us is too high. If possible, I would like an adjutant who has followed me for many years to visit your residence with my sincere greetings and let him listen to your teachings. You can
Say what you want to say to me freely, what do you think?"
The letter was very simple, with no signature at all, and the handwriting was very sloppy, but Aigron didn't care about that. He was more concerned about the actual content of the letter.
Marshal Soult wishes to send his adjutant to visit me?
Very good……!
A flash of ecstasy flashed through Aigron's heart.
Obviously, this means that after reading his previous handwritten letter, Soult was indeed moved. He sent his adjutant here, partly to find out the truth, and partly because he probably wanted to put forward his own bid.
Aigron's attitude is very simple - I'm not afraid that you'll ask for an exorbitant price, but I'm afraid that you won't pay any attention to me.
No matter what trouble Surte may cause him in the future, at least for now, he is one of the people he needs most. As long as he can win over him, he is willing to pay no matter the price. As for how to deal with it in the future, that is a matter for the future.
Aigron thought for a while, since this letter was delayed for a while on the road, Soult must have been waiting for him for a long time.
And when his reply reaches Soult, God knows how long it will be delayed - the matter is so important that no delay is allowed.
Besides, the adjutant also needs to be brought to him safely and returned without any mistakes.
So he made a decision after thinking for a moment.
"Immediately arrange for someone to send a message to the Count of Monte Cristo in Paris, asking him to immediately put down all the things he is doing and rush to Marshal Soult's residence, where he has his new mission. It is extremely urgent and no delay is allowed."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Leon agreed without any further questions, and then ran to make arrangements quickly.
Aigron didn't want to reveal too much inside information. Anyway, as long as Edmond Dantès arrived at Marshal Soult's place, Soult could naturally tell Edmund the rest - after all, the Marshal already knew him.
Next, let Edmund escort the adjutant all the way here, and then escort him back - when the whole process is completed, he will officially have a relationship with Soult.
He didn't expect that he would get two pieces of good news at the same time today.
Talleyrand and Soult, two generals, one civil and one military, were already top talents during the Napoleonic War era when all the stars gathered together. Although their personal qualities had their own shortcomings, they all relied on their own talents to climb the ladder.
To reach the top, this combination was already terrifying at the time, but in this era when the stars are fading, it would naturally be invincible.
It can be said that as long as he obtains the "loyalty" of these two people, even if it is just out of interest, then his career will have been half successful.
In other words, Talleyrand and Soult finally put aside their original wait-and-see attitude and began to play their own chess, which seemed to mean that, in the eyes of these two experienced old guys, the current situation
It’s time to consider leaving the mountain.
That further shows that your time is coming.
When he thought of this, his mood suddenly improved a lot.
More than half a year has passed since he quietly left Ioannina and settled in this country farm. Although the environment here is quiet and charming, for someone like him who can't rest, it is inevitable that he will become increasingly bored.
It felt like the good news he received today was like a shot in the arm, making him immediately full of energy again.
He just hopes that everything will go more smoothly in the future, so that he can cross the last distance as soon as possible and set foot on the land of France, which is his final stage.
With such excitement, Aigron left his study and came to the open space outside the farmhouse, where there were already many people - his wife Theresa, who was with Chanel and others,
Playing with a young baby.
This almost one-year-old child was wearing thick clothes and wrapped tightly. He was toddling on the ground, walking crookedly, and often falling down. His wife was watching over him every step of the way, shouting from time to time.
Smiling sweetly while supporting the child.
Needless to say, this child is naturally his and Theresa's eldest son Francois.
After leaving Ioannina, Teresa first took her son to visit her parents, and then left quietly, leaving her son in the care of her parents to comfort Archduke Carl and his wife, who had grandchildren for the first time, with family happiness.
However, as time went by, Teresa missed her son more and more, and wrote letters to her parents urging them to send her son over as soon as possible. Although the Grand Duke and his wife were reluctant to leave, after several urgings from Teresa, they finally sent the son last time.
The confidant who sent Theresa here also sent Francois here.
It is conceivable that Francois was well taken care of and was white and fat when he came here.
And after he arrived here, he quickly became the person that Theresa, Chanel and others paid the most attention to, watching over him almost every step of the way, and even slightly neglected Aiglon.
However, Aigron didn't mind this. Instead, he was glad that the previous haze slowly dissipated with the arrival of his son.
With everyone watching, he walked up to his son and hugged him.
"Your Highness, why are you so happy today?" Seeing that he was in a good mood, Teresa asked with a smile.
"——Teresa, for the first time, I feel that old men can be cute." Because he was in a good mood, he flicked his son's forehead teasingly, "Lucky boy, you don't have to worry about the family fortune.