Seventy-Eight,
【The Glory of the Young Eagle】 【】
[I forgot to type the chapter name due to a slip of my fingers, and I can’t change it, so I’ll just add it here, "Friends and Enemies"]
While Valentine and Emily were being interviewed, the Count of Monte Cristo and his deputy, Count Morny, were busy with the latest "major mission" they had received.
Their task is to mobilize their newly developed network of informants to actively cooperate with the government's police forces on the streets of Paris to ensure that there are no mistakes in the ceremony to "welcome the return of the late Emperor's remains" to be held in Paris soon.
Since Aiglon restored the empire, in order to consolidate people's hearts, he naturally tried his best to promote "Napoleon worship" and use the glory of the late emperor to add legitimacy to his descendants. In order to achieve this goal, he also actively negotiated with the British, hoping that The remains of the late emperor can be returned as soon as possible from the island of St. Helena, the final place of exile, and then properly buried within the empire.
At this time, the British Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, faced Aiglon's request without setting any preconditions. He magnanimously agreed to this reasonable request and allowed the French to send a delegation to follow the British warships to St. Helens. Lena Island, take away the remains.
Aiglon chose his cousin Prince Charles to head the delegation.
Since this task is very special and must be carried out by members of the Bonaparte family in person, and since Aiglon himself has to sit in the country and has no other skills, naturally the responsibility of "welcoming and serving the envoy" can only be carried out by his cousin. Did it for you.
In this era, the means of intercontinental transportation were very backward. Even if you took a fast sailing ship, it would take at least more than two months to go back and forth from Western Europe to the island of St. Helena, which is isolated in the South Atlantic. This is not an easy journey.
In Aiglon's plan, when the remains of the late emperor return to the French port from St. Helena, a series of commemorative ceremonies will be held. From the port to Paris, there will be officials at all levels in every town along the way. A memorial ceremony was held with the people, and finally a funeral ceremony was held in Paris, the final destination, to ceremoniously bury the late emperor and let him rest forever in the capital of the empire.
This series of commemorative ceremonies is itself a public relations activity, which not only stimulates people's memory of the emperor and support for the Bonaparte family, but also gains popularity for himself.
The more important these rituals are, the less room for error they are.
Let me ask, if during the ceremony to welcome back the "remains of the late emperor", if someone suddenly throws a bomb or speaks obscene words, even if no casualties are caused, the empire's face will be greatly embarrassed.
Therefore, all of this must be prepared in advance. The army and police of the empire are on the bright side, and the spies and informants are on the dark side. The two are combined and all are dispatched. The entire ceremony must be completed successfully without any mistakes.
Such an important "political task" has naturally become the most worrying thing for Edmond and Count Morny. They move around, collect information, record all political organizations with evil intentions in Paris, and strive for their glorious resumes. effort.
At this time, Aigron was also in Fontainebleau, meeting his cousin before he left and seeing him off.
"My cousin, now I have entrusted our family's most important task to you. I also believe that you can handle it properly. I wish you all the best!" Aigron patted the other party's shoulder lightly. And send encouragement. ….
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【The Glory of the Young Eagle】 【】
Although the prince has always been dissatisfied with Aiglon's refusal to reuse him, at this moment, as a member of the family, he also knows how important the "glorious image" of Emperor Napoleon is and is related to his personal interests, so of course he Don't dare to neglect.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will do my best to complete the mission and will never let you down." He promised Aigron with pride.
Seeing that the other party was so polite, Aigron couldn't help but smile, and then he whispered to the other party.
"This time, in addition to bringing back the remains of the late emperor, I also hope that you will perform another task."
"Please do as you please!" the prince replied quickly.
"I think, even if I don't say it, everyone knows that since the Battle of Trafalgar, our navy has lagged far behind the British, and this is extremely dangerous for us. Even if We don’t want to go head-to-head with the British immediately. In order to protect the security of our coastline and our overseas interests, we must build a strong enough navy as soon as possible, and this means that we must learn from the British—" Aigron said seriously He told his cousin face to face, "This operation is also a rare opportunity for us to communicate with the British naval fleet and soldiers at close range. The British attach great importance to the concept of hierarchy. As a royal prince, those British naval officers will be very happy. When communicating with you, you can try your best to ask them for information about the navy without violating etiquette, and record it. I am convinced that this will be of great help to us."
After hearing Aigron's words, the prince's eyes suddenly lit up.
In fact, Napoleon III in history was indeed very interested in the navy. France under his rule accumulated a large amount of wealth due to the vigorous development of the Industrial Revolution, and he also invested heavily in the navy in an attempt to develop his overseas colonies. In particular, he took advantage of the opportunity of "overtaking at a corner" when the navy was just in the steam and ironclad era, built shipyards and maintenance facilities on a large scale, and built a huge naval fleet.
During the peak period of naval construction, the number of new warships in the French Empire briefly surpassed that of the British, which aroused doubts and fears in the British. Some even claimed that the French emperor was plotting to destroy the British Empire. Of course, this was not true. Not many people believe it.
However, in the end, history proved that the fate of France would be decided on the European continent. What destroyed the French Empire was the Franco-Prussian War on land, in which the navy could not play a role, and Emperor Napoleon III invested huge resources in the navy. , was also wasted with the destruction of the empire.
But even if history proves this, it is not a reason not to develop a navy. In order to expand the empire's trade interests and colonies, for its own prestige, and to satisfy the soldiers' desire for "progress", Aiglon also has the need to build a navy. sex.
At this time, it is appropriate to pull out his cousin as the "appealer" for the expansion of the navy.
Similarly, in the original history, the Orleans family welcomed back the remains of Emperor Napoleon in 1840, and the person sent to serve as the "welcoming envoy" was the king's third son, Prince of Joinville, François Ferdinand. D'Orléans was a prince who loved the navy very much. He joined the navy in 1831 and published an article in 1844, specifically discussing the gap between the navies of Britain and France, and fervently calling on France to vigorously strengthen its navy and defend the navy. overseas interests. ….
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【The Glory of the Young Eagle】 【】
In this world changed by Aigron, his cousin is destined to be unable to become the emperor of the empire, but he can inadvertently replace part of the role of Prince Joinville.
For Aigron, it is a choice to "make the best use of everything" by letting his cousin get involved in the naval career that he is already interested in, and as a member of the royal family, act as the spokesman for the interests of the navy at the social level.
The navy's "inheritance" is not only in battleships, but also in shipyards, military ports and docks. Although he does not want his ambitious cousin to get involved in politics, he allows him to use his talents in In terms of "naval construction", at least my cousin's talents will not be wasted too much.
After all, history has proven his ability and vision.
And just as Aigron expected, upon hearing Aigron's proposal, the prince immediately became energetic and his eyes lit up.
Although he can now live a luxurious life as a member of the royal family, it is actually very difficult for an energetic and ambitious young man like him to live idle and unable to exert any influence.
He had deliberately squeezed Aigron, hoping to get Aigron to find him a foreign princess to marry. He also hoped to take the opportunity to obtain more resources in order to get rid of the current mediocre situation.
And Aigron now took the initiative to give him the task of "inspecting the British Navy", which also gave him hope for his future.
Although this is still not close to the core rights, at least he can have an important career to do, and this makes him happier than getting a large reward.
Because of this, he immediately expressed his attitude to Aigron.
"Your Majesty, I will take this opportunity to carefully inspect the British Navy. If you need it, I can write a detailed report listing what I have seen and heard, as well as my conclusions, for your and other important people's reference. "
"That's good." Aigron nodded with satisfaction, "You should keep this matter deep in your heart and don't let others know. We are friends with the British now. Remember not to show any hostility. When we have If you have enough strength, you can have a good talk with them when the time comes—"
"Yes, Your Majesty." With full joy, the prince bowed and saluted Aiglon.
After meeting his cousin alone, Aigron took the prince with him to meet another guest of his at the court-the British Ambassador to France, Lord George Belford.
Like most British aristocrats, this Lord was tall, thin, unsmiling, clean-shaven, and looked very polite but not approachable by strangers.
After seeing Agron and Prince Charles approaching, the ambassador calmly saluted Agron.
"Your Majesty the Emperor and Your Highness the Prince, I am honored to be received by you."
"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Ambassador." Aigron replied with a smile.
This sentence is sincere. Because of the calm attitude of the British, the international environment that Aigron faced when he came to power was much easier than expected. There was no sign of the new "Anti-French Alliance". From this point of view, Aigron naturally Be grateful. ….
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【The Glory of the Young Eagle】 【】
Although he knew that the British did not do this out of good intentions, he also knew that under this calm appearance, there was also a deep-rooted suspicion of everyone in the island nation.
"My cousin will set off tomorrow, and then board a French warship as agreed, and then go to St. Helena Island with your warship." Aigron quickly got to the point, "This is not just a time to welcome back the remains. The ceremony is also a journey of reconciliation and friendship. On my behalf, my cousin will have friendly exchanges with every British person who travels with him." Aiglon introduced the ambassador cordially, "He is as happy as I am. Make friends with every magnanimous Englishman, drink and talk together, and build the friendship between our two countries.”
"We are also very happy to see this happen." The ambassador replied calmly, "Our naval officers will receive His Highness the Prince with the utmost respect."
As Aiglon expected, the British did not have much suspicion about the members of the Bonaparte royal family, nor did they taboo their dealings. This is the source of confidence for a world empire - I am not afraid of what you are thinking.
"In this new era, the British have a lot to learn from. I have never been shy about this." Aigron said sincerely.
Then, he returned to the original topic, "According to the plan, before leaving for the Atlantic Ocean, my cousin will present my personal gift to His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness Princess Victoria. Please convey this gift to me, Ambassador." best wishes."
"On behalf of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Princess, I would like to thank you for your enthusiasm and friendship, Your Majesty." The ambassador responded immediately.
King George III of the United Kingdom had many heirs, but he did not expect that by the third generation of the royal family, he would be in a dilemma of having very few heirs and making it unsustainable.
The reason is not that princes cannot have children, but because it is difficult for princes to have children in "legal marriages".
For example, Prince George (later King George IV) had numerous mistresses and gave birth to several illegitimate children, but he only had one daughter, Princess Charlotte, born from a legal marriage. Princess Charlotte died in childbirth in 1817. So there was no hope for this one.
The second prince, Frederick, had no heirs and died in 1827.
The third prince, William, inherited the throne after the death of his brother, King George IV, and is now King William IV. He had more than a dozen illegitimate children, but no legitimate heirs.
The fourth prince, Edward, Duke of Kent, also died in 1820. He left only one daughter, Princess Victoria, who was born in 1819.
According to British succession law, once the elderly King William dies, Princess Victoria will inherit the throne, and she will be the de facto "Crown Prince." So it was quite normal for Aiglon to give her a gift.
At this point in time, the relationship between France and Britain is very delicate. Although they have been enemies for centuries historically, as Britain became the winner of the Napoleonic Wars and the starter of the Industrial Revolution, it already has It has achieved a superior position unparalleled by other countries.
Even if they are unwilling, even if they are jealous, any Frenchman with a normal mind has to temporarily recognize the superior status of the British, and find ways to contact and learn their superior things. This is understandable and extremely necessary.
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【The Glory of the Young Eagle】 【】
"I hope that the ship of friendship can carry the soldiers of the two countries through the turmoil and hatred of the past and sail to the other side of prosperity." With poet-like exaggeration, Aigron made a beautiful promise that neither of them actually believed in their hearts. 3931432.
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