"Try to learn to be a leisurely old man who has lost his power but is accompanied by his family. For the person you betrayed, this is already an unimaginable happiness!"
Facing Aigron's last warning, Marshal Marmont was stunned and speechless for a long time.
Quietly, tears flashed across the corners of his eyes.
Of course, he was not crying because of guilt, but it was much more complicated.
On the one hand, he cried because he had "survived". He had been facing the fear of death these days, and now that Aigron personally admitted that he could keep his life and property, he would of course be relieved;
But on the other hand, he also knew that both he and his family would completely disappear from the highest stage in the future. They would bear the reputation of betrayers and be forced to find a place for themselves in a foreign country. This pair of touching
For an old man who has had too much power, it is still too cruel.
However, everything has become a foregone conclusion. He is no longer qualified to choose his own destiny and can only passively accept all decisions of fate.
However, the marshal was a man who had experienced the world after all, and he soon readjusted his mentality.
At that time, he was just an unknown young civilian. With the help of fate, he was able to rise up and eventually became the marshal and duke of the empire. He remained standing despite the changes in dynasties and continued to become a powerful figure. Isn't this enough?
Now even if it falls, what is there to complain about?
Compared with the young man who first arrived in the small town of Paris decades ago, after experiencing all these glorious experiences that he had never dared to imagine, no matter what the outcome, he was already considered a "win". He won the war with Paris.
——Although it is only temporary, it is enough.
"Paris, you are such a capricious bitch. You have welcomed me, and now you are opening your mind to welcome your new master... In a few years, you will happily welcome a new group of guests, what a Senna.
River slut!”
After a period of silence, Marshal Marmont sighed.
After the final curse, he no longer had any resentment or anger, only calmness and calmness remained.
Then, he looked at Aigron with this calm look, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace to me. I am very pleased that you are so young and mature. You understand the best way to maintain this long-divided country.
.”
After laughing to himself for a moment, he continued, "I also remember the scene when I saw you in Austria. You were much sharper at that time than you are now, but this is understandable.
Anyone in your position would be angry at the way they were treated. But you transcended who you once were. You knew hatred but did not obsess about it. You did not let yourself be dominated by emotions, but chose to
What’s best for you…
I believe that as long as you can continue to rule in this way in the future, your reign will be much longer than that of the poor Count Artois... Well, it is really sad to think about it. He was born in the royal family and has been favored by all the stars since he was a child.
But you don’t have the talent to rule; but you have been in jail since you were a child, but you can understand this without any teacher, God will always play this kind of joke on us!"
After saying these sentimental farewell words, he asked another question.
"Your Majesty, I have one last question. Can you please tell me one last time with mercy?"
Although he was a little confused about Marshal Marmont's performance, since he had come to this point, Aigron would certainly not refuse.
"What do you want to ask?"
"Where is Fernand buried?" the marshal asked immediately.
This question made Aiglon feel a little shocked, but it was not a big deal in itself, so he told the other party indifferently, "He died suddenly during the banquet at Fontainebleau Palace. Although this caught me off guard, I
He was buried properly, and he was buried in a nearby military cemetery, and in a very conspicuous location."
Fernand, together with his colleagues, mutinied and kidnapped his benefactor, Marshal Marmont, and thus made a great contribution to Aiglon. Therefore, in order not to shake the morale of the army after killing him, Aiglon would naturally hold a ceremony for him.
A funeral that is gratifying and honorable, so as not to chill others.
"Then, after my confession is made public, will everything about him be moved and buried?" the marshal continued to ask.
Aiglon nodded, "Judging from his officially recognized crimes, he does not deserve to be buried with full honors in a military cemetery."
This is natural. After the trial of Marshal Marmont begins, Count Fernand de Morcerf will become a definite "traitor". At this time, the black materials about his life will gradually be revealed.
If he is exposed to the world, then people will discover that this once-prominent soldier turned out to be a shameless villain who pretended to be a noble, betrayed his benefactor, and betrayed the country. He will definitely not be worthy of staying in the honorary cemetery.
"Humph, he worked hard, but in the end he was just happy. Sometimes fate is quite fair." Marmont smiled sarcastically. Then he became serious again, "Then, Your Majesty, while he
He has not yet been crushed to ashes, so I beg your permission to say goodbye to him at his grave before being expelled from the country."
"You... said goodbye to him?" Aigron felt a little incredible. "Don't you hate him very much?"
"I do hate him with gritted teeth, but if I were in his position, I would have made the same choice at that time." Marshal Marmont replied calmly, "The reason why I value him so much is because he is like me.
But maybe, he's too much like me."
...Aigron could only express his deep agreement with the Marshal's frank assessment.
"Originally, he has become my enemy, but now that he is dead, our grudges have been settled, and I dragged him into the stigma. After careful calculation, I have made a little profit... Hahahaha.
"Marshal Marmont suddenly laughed cheerfully, "But no matter what grudges we had, they are meaningless after I left France. Now I just want to say goodbye to this old friend, and it is not appropriate to find anyone else.
.”
When Aigron thought about it, this was indeed the case.
Marshal Marmont has been in power for 30 years in two dynasties and has countless old disciples. However, he has now been ruined. His original "friends will only avoid him like the god of plague. No one wants to get involved with this outdated old man again."
Don't worry about any relationship at all so as not to affect your future, wealth and life.
In the end, he could only say goodbye to a dead "self".
Aigron is trying to reconcile with the past, but isn't this old, dying old man also trying to reconcile with himself?
"I can fulfill your wish." After thinking about this, Aigron graciously agreed.
In this way, the last meeting between the two people ended in a strange calm and calmness. From this day on, Marshal Marmont officially died politically. As for when his body will die in a foreign country, I am afraid it has already been
No one cares.
After bidding farewell to Marshal Marmont, Aiglon left the Île de la Cité prison and returned to the palace.
After a short rest, he received a new visitor - the Marquis of Treville.
This general, who was originally a tough character, now seems even more complacent because he has gained Aigron's trust after the "change of circumstances".
The middle-aged general, instead of looking fat or old, on the contrary, his square face looks more and more hard, his eyes are bright and full of ambition, and he is full of ambition to "do something big".
Aiglon naturally relied heavily on General Treville.
In order to stabilize one's power, the army is crucial, and if you want to control the army, you need generals who are both capable and loyal.
And General Treville is one of them.
As a general who still openly supported the Bonaparte family during the Restoration era, General Treville can be said to be "time-tested", and more importantly, he has little to do with Marshal Soult, but is considered a faction of his own.
——He also deliberately maintained this position so that His Majesty could safely continue to regard him as one of his own.
Precisely because the two people already had a deep relationship, Aigron didn't waste much words after meeting the general.
"General, I received your letter. Do you want to go to North Africa?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." The Marquis of Treville straightened his back and replied loudly, "I implore you to transfer me to Algiers to help Marshal Moncey complete your mission."
"Why do you have such an idea?" Aigron did not express his position clearly, but asked first.
"Your Majesty, as a soldier, I am eager to make achievements, and when the motherland needs it, I think it is my duty to do so." Marquis Treville replied with enthusiasm.
Although he spoke so impassionedly, the Marquis de Treville was certainly not just full of passion.
In fact, in the past few months, Aiglon has been touring all over France to win support from the people, while General Treville is dormant at home, calmly observing the situation and thinking about the next step for himself.
After becoming the Minister of War in the provisional government, Marshal Soult carried out a large-scale purge in the army with Aiglon's tacit approval, and he also watched with cold eyes.
He knew very well that Marshal Soult had the kind of personality that those who obeyed me would prosper and those who went against him would perish. He had always deliberately kept a distance from the Marshal, so if he rashly went to camp, it might have the opposite effect and let him get the handle.
The marshal also gave himself a good shake.
Moreover, this is Marshal Soult's period of strength, and he will definitely not get any good opportunities even if he stays in Paris.
So, after thinking calmly, he set his sights on North Africa.
At Aiglon's request, Marshal Moncey took over the position of Commander-in-Chief of the North African Army regardless of his old age. However, he was old after all and could not have too much energy to manage his subordinates.
In each army, he can only serve as a calming stone, using his many years of prestige to suppress potential rebels among the North African army.
And this also provided General Treville with a quite broad space.
The marshal can't control many things, and the cronies around the marshal don't have enough prestige. If he is in Algiers at the moment and has the trust of His Majesty the Emperor, he will have a lot of room for maneuver.
As long as he takes advantage of these opportunities and achieves some military exploits, even if Marshal Soult doesn't like him, he can still cultivate his own prestige and power.
Moreover, at that time, His Majesty the Emperor could justifiably transfer himself back to Paris and become a high-ranking member of the military.
After carefully weighing the situation, General Treville finally decided to "retreat in order to advance" and use North Africa as a short-term springboard, ultimately in order to stand higher in Paris.
And he believed that His Majesty would happily agree to this plan - because His Majesty needed to cultivate his cronies in the military, and it would be best to compete with, or even replace, Marshal Soult in the future.
At this moment, besides myself as a general, who else is more qualified to fulfill His Majesty's needs?
Precisely because he has planned all this, he is bound to win now.
Facing the impassioned general, Aigron could of course guess what the general was thinking.
However, he is not afraid of his subordinates' ambitions. As long as ambition is used in the right place, it will be the driving force for progress.
"I feel your enthusiasm to serve the empire, general." So, after a moment of thinking, he nodded slightly and agreed to the general's request, "Then let's do this, wait patiently, I will appoint you to Algiers
You, I am at the mercy of Marshal Moncey, and I hope you can serve the country well in the future..."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
General Treville was naturally overjoyed to see Aigron agreeing to his opinion so easily. He heard clearly that it was His Majesty who was going to appoint him, rather than through Marshal Soult, which would be tantamount to letting him go behind his back.
With His Majesty’s personal endorsement.
It is conceivable that with this endorsement, he will also have greater say and autonomy in front of Marshal Moncey, which is crucial to his dream.
When he thought of this, his heart was filled with passion, and he wished he could cross the Mediterranean Sea and run to the land of his dreams.
Seeing the happy general, Aigron was secretly satisfied, but he still reminded him emphatically.
"General, I know you are eager to make achievements, but you must understand that Marshal Moncey is our important elder today. You must maintain complete respect for him and must not let him have any complaints."
Aiglon did not make it clear. The reason why he respected Marshal Moncey so much was to keep him in check with Marshal Soult in Paris in North Africa. Under this general policy, he certainly could not tolerate General Treville offending Moncey.
The authority of the marshal.
The seemingly forthright Marquis de Treville was unexpectedly able to discern this subtle stance, so he repeatedly promised that he would never disgrace his mission, which reassured Aigron.
There are factions in any army. It can even be said that a pyramid-shaped society like the army, which resolutely obeys its superiors, must be maintained by factions. Therefore, although Aigron is afraid of Marshal Soult and constantly tries to weaken him, he
I don’t want to completely break the factional mountain.
He just needs to be their co-owner.
"Do a good job." Aigron patted the general's shoulder, and they understood each other tacitly, "I believe that with your ability, you will come back soon."