Edmond Dantès's request for an interview was exactly what Aiglon wanted to see at this time.
Just before setting off for the expedition, he gave Edmond Dantès a task to go to his army to find those who had fought in Messolonghion and its surrounding areas. If they had participated Siege warfare is given higher priority.
After accepting his mission, Edmond Dantès has been working hard to complete the mission. Since he has come to see Aigron himself, it naturally means that he must have achieved some results.
And this kind of achievement is exactly what Aigron needs now.
After convening a military meeting before the war, not only Aigron's officers, but also he himself lost confidence in victory in the frontal attack on the Mesolonghion Fortress.
The excellent terrain and solid defenses of this fortress left a very deep impression on him. He knew in his heart that if he blindly attacked head-on, there would be only one result - a bloody head-on collision in front of this fortress, just like The same Turkish army that besieged several times before.
Moreover, with the money he has now, even a tragic victory is a result that he cannot accept.
Therefore, he must find another way to solve the problem, at least to make the price he pays within an acceptable range.
At his order, the guards quickly brought Edmond Dantès in front of him. ,
"Edmund, I hope you have brought me good news." Aiglon said with a smile as soon as he saw him. "Is there any progress on the mission I assigned you?"
"Your Majesty, if there is no progress, I will not come here to disturb you." Edmond Dantès replied immediately.
So Aigron stopped talking, but looked at him quietly, waiting for the surprise that the other party would give him.
Under his gaze, Edmond Dantès quickly took out a piece of paper from his arms, and then spread it out on the table in front of Aigron.
Aigron lowered his head and looked at it, and found that there was a drawing on it. Although the drawing was very sloppy, the outline of the terrain on it could be roughly seen. In addition to the cone-shaped terrain, there were various types of terrain on it. Along with the outlined lines, defensive facilities such as bastions, city walls, breakwaters, and sandbanks are also marked accordingly.
Because Aigron had carefully observed Messolongion when he first set up camp, so at this moment he was sure that this sketch was the map of Messolongion.
He understood something immediately, so he raised his head and asked Edmund.
"Did you draw it?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Edmond Dantès nodded immediately, "According to your instructions, I took my assistant and visited the Greek soldiers in the army for a while, asking everyone about their origins. Finally, I found a few people who had stayed in Mesolonghion, and then I carefully asked them about the situation inside the fortress, and recorded each of their confessions. Finally, I combined their confessions and drew this picture. .”
At this point, he suddenly seemed a little ashamed, "However, because their description is not detailed enough, I can't draw all the details now, but I believe that as long as we continue to work hard, we will be able to draw all the needed details." List them one by one..."
Aigron didn't speak anymore, but looked at the sketch carefully again.
Although it is simple, the specific terrain of Mesolonghion is already clear at a glance, and even the small islands and sandbars in the sea next to it are simply marked.
Considering that it has only been a few days since Edmund took over this task, he is already doing very well at this level.
"You did a good job, Edmund, I will continue to give you time." He nodded approvingly to the other party. "I think you should know now that the work you do is of great significance to us. It can even be said that you shoulder our hopes-"
Of course Edmond Dantès knew what Aiglon meant.
After arriving outside the city of Mesolonghion, he himself saw the defense facilities of this fortress. He knew that with the current strength of his army, if he forced a frontal attack, God knows how many sacrifices would be caused, so he We must help His Majesty find another way to win.
In silence, Aigron picked up the pencil and drew a circle on Edmund's sketch to mark his position. Then he used the pen to draw a few lines on the map to demonstrate his next attack. route.
But after thinking for a moment, he shook his head.
After the design of the bastion defense line, there is indeed no room for breakthrough on the front. If you want to force a breakthrough, you will inevitably face the pincer firepower of the star-shaped bastion, and there is no room for trickery.
So, if you want to take a trick...you have to find space outside the front.
Aiglon set his sights on the sea to the west.
If he had a powerful fleet, he could consider using strong artillery fire to suppress the forts and then force a landing, but unfortunately he didn't have one, so he had to give up this idea.
If you can't consider the sea... His eyes slowly moved and finally landed on the small islands and sandbars in the sea east of the fortress.
An idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
"We need to break out of here—" He pointed to the sea between the islands and sandbars. "If we can have an elite death squad break into the fortress from here at night, it may bring us unexpected effects."
Edmond Dantès was stunned for a moment, then frowned slightly.
"Your Majesty, what you said is indeed correct, but based on my experience as a sailor, it is not easy to do this. The space between the island and the sandbar will be filled with rocks, the water flow will be very turbulent, and the water surface will be very turbulent. It is estimated that the depth is not very high, making it difficult for a boat to pass through it...so, please reconsider."
"In that case, that's what you need to consider next!" Aigron loudly replied to the other party, "Edmund, I know you are an excellent sailor, tell me, can you do this?" ?”
Edmond Dantes hesitated.
Of course he knew how difficult it was, and he also knew that he was no longer a sailor for more than ten years since he was imprisoned in the dungeon of Castle Eve.
However, when facing the young man's eyes, he was still unwilling to express negative opinions.
Not only because of his kindness to him, but also because he didn't want to let him down.
"I can do it." He said this answer with a solemn expression, and then added the necessary conditions, "But first, I need to have a guide or a group of good enough guides, and secondly, I think we Need some shallow-draft flat-bottomed boats.”
After hearing Edmund's answer, Aigron couldn't help but show a satisfied smile on his face.
As long as the other party says "can", it means that the entire plan is feasible, and then the rest is a matter of meeting the conditions.
"I will get this support from our allies. If they can't give it, we will recruit it on the spot until the conditions are met." He clenched his fist with his right hand and waved heavily, "Now my top priority is It is to meet military needs, everything else can be compromised for this, we must capture Messolonghion as soon as possible, both from our interests and from propaganda, this is essential!"
After venting his anger, Aigron, who was already in high spirits, looked at the sketch again.
The map shows that there is a breakwater, city wall, and some defensive facilities on the edge of Mesolonghion adjacent to the sandbar.
——Obviously, when the fortress was built, the designers had considered the possibility of being sneaked from this direction.
Therefore, in order to achieve a sudden attack, he must constantly launch feint attacks from the front to attract the enemy's attention, and then launch a fatal blow at a moment when the enemy is relaxed, sending an elite assault force to destroy the enemy's Important locations - such as granaries or arsenals, etc.
If they succeed in this attack, the enemies in Mesolonghion Fortress will be in chaos. They, who are already depressed, will inevitably further lose their courage and ability to resist.
This fatal blow can only be done at night, but at night, the difficulty of passing through the sea between sandbars will be greatly improved.
Therefore, he could only place his hopes on Edmond Dantès.
While the two were talking, he already had a rough plan in mind.
There is no doubt that this plan has no room for implementation yet. It requires time to prepare and more detailed information. But at least his previous irritability has been cleared away and he has begun to become confident again.
He looked at Edmond Dantès with bright eyes, and then gave him the next instructions.
"Edmund, you should prepare for this next. Continue to look for Greeks who are familiar with the situation here, especially to find out the situation in the city and make material preparations. You are the person in charge of the entire operation. People have the highest priority, no matter what you need, just report it to me directly, and I will be responsible for coordinating and meeting all your needs."
Under Aigron's gaze, Edmond Dantès felt his blood boil.
He knew that he shouldered the young man's greatest expectations, and he might even have become the key to victory at this moment.
And this reality not only brought him extremely heavy pressure, but also brought him unprecedented pride.
The young sailor who was about to turn into mud in the dungeon was now affecting the direction of world history... When he thought of this, how could he not be filled with emotion?
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Without another word, he straightened his back and responded loudly to Aiglon. "I will try my best."
"Okay, let's do it this way." Aigron nodded with satisfaction, and then made a gesture to indicate that Edmond Dantès could leave now. "In addition, we must remember what we said today. Before I decide to announce the matter, no third person is allowed to know, and you must keep it secret."
"clear."
Edmund bowed to Aegron, then turned and left the tent.
After Edmund left, Aigron was overjoyed. He returned to the table and picked up the sketch he had just received. Then he walked out of the tent and came to the commanding heights. He used his telescope to carefully observe the fortress in the distance. Difference between actual and sketch.
He knew that the next moment that would determine his fate was destined to take place here.
It was not until evening that he reluctantly returned to his tent to rest.
===============================
In the next few days, Michel Ney followed Aiglon's orders and led his men to dig trenches along the edge of the camp, extending all the way to Mesolonghion, preparing to launch a frontal exploratory attack.
While Aigron was paying close attention to the actions of his army, he was constantly asking for various support from his Greek allies.
Soon after, his wish was finally answered.
Under the orders of Panos, a force of Greeks marched from the Peloponnese to Nafpaktos, and then came under his command, giving him new reinforcements.
Although the number of this unit is small, only more than a thousand, according to his request, these people are basically from Mesolonghion and its surrounding areas. In other words, they are familiar with the situation here and are enough to provide Aigron provides intelligence assistance.
Overjoyed, he secretly ordered Edmond Dantes to find assistants who were familiar with the internal conditions of the fortress and the surrounding hydrological conditions in order to make the next plan.
However, in addition to this good news, he also received news that shocked him - his maid Chanel also secretly came with the army.
When he heard the news, Aigron was angry at first, and then he couldn't laugh or cry.
He knew in his heart that Shanel came here because she was worried about him, but even so, this was unacceptable.
So, he secretly ordered his guards to secretly bring Chanel into his tent.
As soon as she saw Aigron, Chanel immediately focused her eyes on him, her eyes sparkling with fluorescent light, and she almost shed tears immediately.
It can be seen that she has been suffering from lovesickness recently.
As soon as he saw Chanel like this, the original anger in Aigron's heart dissipated unconsciously.
"Chanel, why are you acting so nonsense!" Although his words were scolding, his expression was not serious, "Why did you sneak over here?"
"Your Majesty, I miss you so much..." Chanel choked up as she spoke, "Please forgive me!"
Aigron was getting more and more intolerable, but he still managed to maintain his seriousness, "I know you miss me, but even so, you shouldn't break the rules. Didn't I tell you before I left? I want you to stay behind and wait for me. , assist Theresa, you come here now, what should Theresa do?"
"Her Highness Theresa asked me to come here..." Chanel replied softly.
Aigron was speechless.
Then, he frowned and said, "Forget it if you are just messing around, why is Theresa also acting like this? Doesn't she understand what time it is now?!"
Being scolded by her master, Chanel lowered her head in grievance and almost cried again.
"We are not the only ones who are fooling around..." After a moment, she protested to the young man in a low voice, "Aren't you just fooling around...? Your Highness Teresa asked me to come here because she was too angry."
