"But I believe it will be easier than you think to crush them because fate has abandoned them."
Theodoros-Kolokotronis became extremely eccentric.
If other young people had said such things in front of him, he would have just regarded them as the arrogance of a child with a yellow mouth who didn't know the bounds of heaven and earth. But the young man in front of him had a kind of confidence that he found incredible.
You know, his opponents are tsars and kings... These behemoths can easily command hundreds of thousands of troops, and even a little finger can crush them.
He is either close to madness, or already mad - Theodorus thought to himself.
However, only a madman can do great things.
Think about his father, who rose to fame in his twenties, commanded tens of thousands of troops across Italy, conquered Egypt, launched a coup to dominate France at the age of thirty, and made the whole of Europe tremble in fear for the next dozen years... … Only a madman would dare to imagine such a brilliant performance.
Maybe there is something that has been passed down through the bloodline.
"Then I hope to live to see the day when they are defeated..." Theodoros composed himself, and then replied with a smile, "This must be a very interesting drama for me, and it will not be any worse than your father before. The ones that are staged are worse.”
"You will see that they will be washed away by the torrent one by one, fall off the stage, and then go into a corner where no one cares about them." Aigron replied proudly.
Although it seems like he is talking nonsense, Aigron knows that he is not talking nonsense, because historically speaking, few of the European kings currently on stage have a good life——
The current King of France, Charles X, historically fell hastily in the July Revolution of 1830. He lost his throne and was forced to go into exile in the United Kingdom and died in a foreign land. The current Russian Czar, Nicholas I, historically suffered a disastrous defeat in the Crimean War. He died of illness due to depression (there are rumors that he was poisoned); the current British King George IV was also criticized for being at odds with the government and died in 1830.
Fortune indeed no longer favored them.
And I, so young and as vigorous as the rising sun, how could I be afraid of them?
Seeing the young man's smug look, Theodorus suddenly felt a little intimidated. He was speechless for a moment, just walking with Aigron among the ruins of the ancient city of Sparta.
After a long time, he seemed to have collected his thoughts and spoke again.
"It is said that you are determined to form your own army? According to the news I have received, it seems that many people have come to defect to you."
"Yes." Aigron nodded unequivocally, "I think I need an army that takes orders from me in order to fight the Turks. I am not satisfied with simply being a donor. This is not enough for me. "
Although he didn't say it clearly, Theodorus also understood what he meant.
It seems that this young man is richer than he thought. Even while supporting himself with a huge sum of money, he can actually expand his own army on the other side.
"So, how many people do you plan to recruit here?" he asked again.
"Don't worry, I have promised before. I don't plan to recruit everywhere and affect your recruitment - I will only recruit some Greeks based on needs." Aigron replied with a smile, "I can't make an accurate estimate yet. How many people can I recruit, but I think even in the best-case scenario, it's only a few thousand people."
In Aigron's view, only after he has collected enough supporters of the Bonaparte family will he consider recruiting local people accordingly. Therefore, combined with his existing knights' manpower, several thousand people are enough.
Thousands of people... Theozoros thought for a moment silently.
He has experienced battles for a long time, and of course he knows that even a few thousand people may play a decisive role in a battle, but in terms of scale, this does not threaten his recruitment. So he was relieved.
"In this regard, you have complete freedom, and I will never interfere with your actions." So, after thinking for a while, he made a promise, "As long as we fight for the freedom and independence of our nation, I will not interfere with your actions." I don’t mind whether the soldiers fight under your command or mine. I can also guarantee that you can have complete freedom of action. I will never interfere with your command. You can use your own power freely, as long as it is used for Just fight our enemies above."
Since the other party fully agreed to his request, Theodoros Kolokotronis certainly knew that he should reciprocate the favor, so he also adopted a very cooperative attitude.
However, he still added, "However, although I do not doubt your wisdom and courage, I have to advise you that you are still too young and have no military experience at all. Even if you have the ability to comprehend No matter how strong you are, it still takes time to learn and accumulate, so I suggest you use your power carefully and refer to the advice of experienced people around you - remember, as a commander, you must protect the health of your subordinates. Life is responsible.”
Seeing the other party's attitude, Aigron was also very happy.
"To tell you the truth, my assistants have also advised me on the same thing." He replied with a smile, "Don't worry, I can clearly understand my own shortcomings and will never squander my subordinates in a hot head." their strength.”
Now that both parties have reached a tacit agreement on the most important issues, there is nothing to worry about next.
"Then let's allocate the next tasks?" he suggested.
"How do you want to distribute it?" Theodoros immediately asked.
"My opinion is - you continue to be responsible for attracting the attention of the Turks head-on, while I go and cause trouble for them elsewhere." Because he already had an idea in mind, Aigron directly suggested. "I think the adults in Istanbul must have known about my coming to Greece for a long time, and they will definitely not like my name...so once I appear somewhere and fight with them, they will definitely fight for it. They are angry and upset, and our side will soon become more powerful."
"It makes sense." Theodoros nodded calmly, "Then where do you plan to make your reputation?"
Aigron didn't answer immediately, and then turned to look at the ancient ruins next to him. Then, he raised his head and looked at the blue sky in the distance.
"I want to complete Byron's unfinished legacy." Then he answered leisurely.
"Byron's legacy?"
After listening to Edmond Dantès' translation, Theodorus looked astonished and almost doubted his ears.
He believed that in this situation, the other party would never make a joke, but this sentence sounded too much like a joke.
"As far as I know, before Byron died, he planned to lead the soldiers he recruited to attack the fortress of Nafpaktos." Fortunately, his shock did not last long, and Eggron came up with an explanation, "Although the poet's wish did not come true due to various accidents, I think it is a very good idea and worth a try."
Since coming to Greece, Byron has been obsessed with fighting for the cause of Greek independence. He recruited troops. However, the Greek troops he initially recruited only wanted his money, made various unreasonable demands, and refused to obey him. orders, but he couldn't bear it and disbanded the troops.
Later, he spent all his capital, sold the family manor, and spent huge sums of money to recruit professional sergeants. By March 1824, he finally formed a new army with 30 officers and 200 soldiers.
After forming this force, he assembled them in Mesolonghion, and then he formulated a combat plan to take them to attack the Nafpaktos Fortress controlled by the Ottoman army. In order to achieve this combat goal, Byron Technical experts in artillery have also been specially hired and they plan to personally command it.
However, before the expedition was launched, he fell ill due to being exposed to the rain. To make matters worse, the doctor followed the popular practice in Europe at the time and used bloodletting therapy on him. As a result, more and more blood was bled, and his condition also deteriorated. It got worse and worse, and eventually he lost his life.
It is probably the poet's eternal regret that he died before leaving the army.
Of course, Agron mentioned Byron's legacy not just to imitate the poet in a boring way. On the contrary, although the poet's ideas are often wild and unconstrained, there is nothing wrong with the plan itself.
Nafpaktos Fortress is the Lepanto Fortress in Italian. This place is across the sea from the Peloponnese Peninsula, and the sea is very narrow. As long as you control this place, you can guard the Gulf of Corinth.
Holding the Gulf of Corinth means being able to have unimpeded access to the sea west of Greece.
In the not-so-distant Middle Ages, surrounding this sea area, the Western Christian coalition (Spain, Venice, etc.), under the command of Prince Don Juan, the illegitimate son of the Habsburg family, fought against the Turkish fleet of Ali Pasha in 1571. An epic battle of Lepanto.
In this battle, the Turkish Navy lost 25,000 people and the Christian coalition lost 15,000 people. This was an unprecedented fight in the history of naval warfare.
Although they paid a heavy price, the Christian coalition also achieved an unprecedented and brilliant victory, severely dampening the arrogance of the Turkish Empire at the time. Don Juan also became famous and became the protagonist of countless poems and dramas.
By the way, Cervantes, the later world-famous writer and author of "Don Quixote", also participated in this naval battle in the Spanish fleet and became disabled.
At that time, the Turkish Empire also operated a huge army and navy, spying on the Christian world in the interior of Europe, and was ready to launch an unstoppable march to conquer the entire European continent.
However, as the Middle Ages passed, the feuds of Turkey, Venice and Spain fell into irreversible decline at the same time. The importance of Mediterranean trade also declined. With the rise of Western European powers, the Turks lost the ability to compete with them. Interest, the Turkish Navy also declined with the increasing financial embarrassment of the empire-correspondingly, the empire paid less attention to the Nafpaktos Fortress and the Gulf of Corinth, and most of its original defense strength also disappeared.
However, although the value of Nafpaktos Fortress has been reduced, it is not enough to affect the direction of history, and there is no huge navy to use it to guard; but its important geographical location is still there, Byron's idea There was nothing wrong with it—if anything, it was that he was too confident in his rabble.
Byron died in 1824, and now it is 1827. Only three years have passed, and the situation in Greece has become more critical, but Eggron still feels that the poet's ideas can be used as a reference.
Under the gaze of Theodoros Kolokotronis, Aigron stated his considerations in an orderly manner.
"Now I don't have the ability to fight them, but this doesn't mean that I have to stay still. On the contrary, the more I dare to show my sword, the more famous I will be -"
"Then what's next? If you really do it, what are you going to do next?" Theodoros Kolokotronis asked abruptly.
"Then I will adapt to the situation." Aiglon replied, "If the Turks don't take it seriously at all, then I will continue to march until they find that they are embarrassed; if they send people to attack me, then I will Just try to fight them, and fight if you can win; if the opponent is really too strong, then I will not be reluctant to fight, I will retreat directly, at least I will help you share the pressure."
Theodoros Kolokotronis listened quietly, and only nodded slightly after he finished speaking.
"It seems that you are indeed as clear-headed as you said. In that case, I won't say anything more. You can just do what you want - in the end, I only remind you that everything is said. It's easier said than done. No matter how beautiful your idea is, once it is implemented in the real world, there will always be many surprises, so you should think more about everything and think of a plan to deal with any unexpected situations to avoid being in a hurry."
Then, he opened his arms and put his arms around the young man's shoulders, "Young man, although you still don't understand things, I believe that with your wisdom, as long as you are given enough time and correct training, then You will eventually grow into a big man who is far behind me. I deeply know that the mission given to everyone by God is different, and the mission you bear is much heavier than mine. I wish you all the best. God gives us victory.”
"I wish you all the best, and may God grant us victory." Aigron also hugged the other party.
In this way, the meeting between the two parties ended successfully. For the two collaborators, they were both very satisfied with the result - and then, it was left to God to judge.
