Under the sunny and sunny sky, Aiglon led his army to march toward Mesolonghion in a mighty manner.
This army has a neat appearance, and its morale is high due to several previous victories. From officers to soldiers, everyone believes that the next victory will definitely belong to them.
After setting off from Nafpaktos, they quickly covered more than half of the dozens of kilometers. After two days, this army could already see the outline of the frontal fortress of Mesolongion.
Along the way, they encountered a small group of enemy troops, but just as Major Hench expected, they made no resistance at all and fled directly to the rear.
It was obvious that these troops were only used to detect the enemy's situation. Their real intention was to retreat to the fortress, rely on the fortified city to hold on, and then wait for the arrival of reinforcements.
Although he fully understood the other party's intentions, at this time Aigron could only act according to the plan.
At noon that day, they arrived outside the city of Mesolonghion almost without firing a shot.
Under Aigron's order, the advancing army stopped at a high ground a few kilometers away from Mesolonghion, and then camped on the spot. Then he sent people to sweep the surrounding area while peeking at the movements inside the fortress.
At this time, not only him, but almost everyone in this temporary camp was observing the opposite fortress with telescopes or naked eyes.
Aigron, standing on the high ground, carefully observed the fortress with a telescope.
Messolonghione is strictly a peninsula deep in the bay, showing a cone shape, with only a solitary east side connected to the land front, which is then blocked by walls and fortresses.
In other directions, there is an endless sea, with only some sandbars and small islands scattered around the fortress.
Such terrain meant that the defensive pressure on the defenders would be greatly reduced. It was also the biggest reliance that the Greek rebels relied on to repel the Turkish army many times at that time.
It is indeed a strong fortress... No wonder it has achieved such a prominent reputation before.
But now, this fortress has fallen into the hands of the Turks, and the difficulties they faced at that time have become a problem for Aigron.
However, despite all the difficulties, Aigron is not without confidence.
First of all, the Turks are unpopular in Greece. The massacre they launched in Messolonghion has further cut off the possibility of them getting any help from the locals. On the contrary, under the banner of liberating Greece, they can win the sincerity of all local Greeks. support.
Secondly, he had previously severely damaged the defenders during the siege of Nafpaktos, and the connection with the Turkish army had been cut off. These defenders would inevitably fall into an isolated and helpless situation, and their morale would definitely be severely affected. The attack will definitely not have the fearless spirit of the Greek rebels who share the same hatred with the enemy.
Many battles in history have already proved that no matter how strong the fortress and defense line are, if the defenders do not have morale and courage, they will only be reduced to decoration.
And the same history has long proved that at this time, the Ottoman Turkey, which was strong on the outside and ineffective on the inside, had long been reduced to the sick man of Europe. Its army was as decadent and weak as its politics. It might still be able to show some blood and courage when defending its homeland. , but when fighting outside the homeland, there is no outstanding performance at all.
Because of this, he is so confident that he must let himself chew this hard nut.
No matter what, now that we have taken this step, we must finish the rest of the road.
Now, what he needs most is a clear plan, and if he wants to formulate such a plan, he must get clear information - and this information cannot come from himself or the people around him, only It can come from those who have fought bloody battles here.
And Aigron also believed that there must be many eyes full of hatred or fear in the city of Mesolongion at this time, staring at him and his army. They will definitely try their best to fight against themselves and make their army return in vain.
It is conceivable that the war will inevitably burn between the two parties soon, but at this moment, everything seems to be so peaceful.
As dusk approached, he called several of his closest men to his tent and held a small military meeting.
After they sat down one by one, Aigron carefully observed their expressions and found that everyone looked solemn, and they were no longer as relaxed as they had been when they just set off.
Obviously, after seeing the terrain and defense facilities of Mesolonghion Fortress, their originally high enthusiasm had been cooled down by reason.
"Everyone, Messolongion is right in front of us." After everyone arrived, Aigron spoke first. "For us, capturing it is of extraordinary significance - I believe you have already I understand this. Now I want to ask you, is there any way for our army to capture it as soon as possible?"
After he finished speaking, there was another silence in the entire tent. It was obvious that everyone present had no good ideas.
Everyone looked at each other, and finally everyone's eyes fell on the supreme commander Michelle Ney.
Michel Ney was obviously on pins and needles, but under everyone's gaze, he had to speak reluctantly.
"Your Majesty, after seeing it with my own eyes, I have to admit that it is stronger than I thought before. Its terrain is superior and its defense facilities are quite complete. It is definitely not easy to capture - especially since we are now There is also a lack of heavy artillery, making it difficult to destroy their fortifications..."
The further he spoke, the softer his voice became, clearly lacking confidence.
As the supreme commander of the entire army except for Aigron, Michel Ney knew that he shouldered a huge responsibility, so he was very unwilling to take unnecessary risks and sacrifices, and he was even less willing to launch an attack regardless of casualties.
He knew that although his side might have more troops than the defenders in the fortress at this time, such a slight advantage in troops could not overcome the defensive advantage brought by the fortress facilities; in addition, he lacked heavy firepower, making it difficult to destroy these forces in front of him. fortifications.
"You don't have enough confidence?" Aigron asked the other party directly.
"Your Majesty, my judgment of the situation comes from objective reality, not from blind fanaticism, so you can't expect me to be confident every time." Michel Ney admitted in a tactful way I really don't have enough confidence.
As if he was afraid of being accused of cowardice by Aigron, he immediately explained for himself, "Please don't misunderstand me. I have already sworn to kill you for you, and I am absolutely not afraid of charging into battle, but I think our soldiers are your valuable property. It should not be squandered in futile attrition - soldiers will die generously if they know that their death will open the way to victory, but if they know that their death is only for Add rotten mud to the trenches, and they will surely lose all enthusiasm—"
Aigron heard it from the other party's words. After seeing the situation of Mesolongion Fortress with his own eyes, he had doubts about whether he could win.
"Like you, I don't want my soldiers to bleed in vain. That's why I use you people - your duty is to help me win with the least casualties." Aigron looked at the other party, and then said Ask, "Michelle, tell me, how do you feel confident enough to win this?"
Under Aigron's gaze, Michel Ney hesitated for a moment, and finally replied in a low voice, "If you can give me another 10,000 people, or give me a few more months, I am confident that I can win it for you." .”
"It is impossible for me to recruit another 10,000 people for you in a short period of time. Although I have asked our Greek allies for help, they certainly cannot spare so many people and can send me one or two thousand people. I'm so thankful to God..." Aigron shook his head regretfully, "Besides, I can't give you a few months. The Russians are about to go to war with Turkey. I can't let the aura of the winner slip away from me. Move to him again, and within a month I will see Mesolongion fall into my hands!”
"In this case...then I can only ask you to give me a little more time." Michelle Ney lowered his head, as if he was afraid to look directly at Aigron. "let me try."
He felt in his heart that His Majesty's request was a bit too much, but he didn't dare to say it to his face, so his face became a little ugly.
After seeing his expression, Aigron probably guessed what he was thinking.
Seeing that his number one general behaved like this, he felt a little disappointed, so he turned to look at the others, only to find that everyone no longer responded to him as eagerly as usual, but avoided looking away. Dare to look directly at yourself.
Now he understood that almost everyone present had the same idea as Michel Ney, and felt that there was little hope of taking Mesolonghion by force in a short time.
Seeing them acting like this, Aigron couldn't help but feel a little anxious, but he also knew that this was a normal reaction.
After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "Everyone, since we met on Monte Cristo Island, you have been following me for a long time. You should all know that I am by no means a person who easily gets hot-headed. All my strategic decisions are made after careful consideration. It was just put into practice.”
Then, he stood up directly and pointed to the map on the table, "You can understand without me saying too much. As long as we capture this place, we can clear a large area of enemies and put them away." In our pocket, this will be our biggest gain since landing, and this victory will definitely make us famous all over the world!"
After speaking impassionedly about its great significance, he took the initiative to lower his tone, "Yes, I admit that Mesolonghion is a dangerous peak and it is not easy to climb it. It is strong and tenacious and has geographical advantages. It We have had brilliant achievements before, and these are all reasons that make it difficult for you; but don’t forget that at this moment we are fighting for a just cause. We have already beaten them all once. It is us. We have forced them to never dare to fight with us again, and can only hide in their turtle shells and tremble. It is they who are afraid, not us!"
As if to increase his persuasiveness, he slammed the table, "Messolonghion looks solid, but it is just a broken house. As long as we give it a hard kick, it will surely collapse." !”
Under his hoarse shouting, the atmosphere in the tent finally became a lot more intense, and the officers' originally solemn expressions began to loosen.
If others said this, they might just regard it as meaningless talk. However, during this period, Aigron has established prestige in their minds due to his victory after victory. Therefore, under his mobilization, in a short time Guilt is indeed enough to give these men courage and a desire to win.
Seeing that his mobilization before the battle was effective, Aigron finally felt a little more comfortable.
He looked at Michelle Ney again.
"Michel, you launch a tentative attack as soon as possible. I want the Turks to see our courage and determination."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Since Aiglon had already said this, Michel Ney could only bite the bullet and agreed.
"Give me a few days and I will arrange for the soldiers to dig trenches and wait until we get closer before launching an attack. At that time, the artillery will also coordinate together to see what the effect is..."
"Okay, let's do that." Aigron nodded, finally agreeing with the other party's arrangement.
Seeing that his proposal finally passed, Michelle Ney secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But even so, he was still uneasy and unsure of the effect of the next attack.
For Aigron, although this meeting did not satisfy him, it at least temporarily unified his thoughts, which was enough.
He had to find a way to boost the morale of his men, lest they start to retreat one by one; but at the same time, he didn't want to push too hard and make everyone feel that he was forcing others to do something difficult.
He himself also knew that officers were the backbone of the army and the guarantee of combat effectiveness. If even the highest-ranking officers under him had doubts, the outcome of the next war would have been doomed.
And he himself also knew that simply attacking from the front like the Turks was definitely the stupidest method. He simply didn't have that many troops and time to waste.
If it took a heavy price to capture Mesolonghion, then all his plans would be meaningless.
So, he found a better way to open the door to victory.
While he was sitting in his tent thinking hard, his guards finally reported the good news to him - his loyal subordinate, Edmond Dantès, Count of Monte Cristo, asked for an audience.
Source of "The Glory of the Young Eagle":
