After receiving Edgar's personal assurance, Aigron no longer hesitated.
He wanted to get Agnes, but he knew that Agnes would not obey him easily. Since he couldn't get it from the front, he had to go in other directions.
Agnes's weakness is her family.
With just one word from Alice, she would come to this hellish place to suffer without any regrets. Then in the future, as long as her family members ask for help from her, she would definitely make sacrifices without any regrets.
He was originally worried that her father and brother would be die-hard royalists and would choose to flee once he returned to France and took power. However, judging from Edgar's tone, their bones were not that hard.
In other words, as long as they could keep the family's prosperity and wealth, they would rather sacrifice Agnes.
If this is the case, it would be easy to handle... Aigron knows that his strength is limited. Even if he returns to the throne, he will not be able to carry out another bloody purge. He can only limit his revenge to a small area. For Other forces should focus on tolerance and co-optation.
Since the intention is to win over, why can't Agnes and her family be given preferential treatment?
Of course, to put it bluntly, the basis for all of this is that he can win the final victory, and if he wants to win the final victory, he must win in Greece - win in Mesolonghion.
Therefore, he could only put Agnes aside and concentrate on the war.
As long as he moves forward step by step and achieves his goals unstoppably, fate will naturally bestow upon him the prizes he dreams of. If France will become the cake on which he indulges his appetite, then Agnes will be the delicious dessert on top. , he wants to swallow them all in one breath, leave nothing behind, and let go of nothing.
The war around Mesolonghion Fortress is still going on, but due to various reasons, there has been very little progress, turning it into a boring stage play. In addition to making noise and a small amount of death, there is only a waste of time waiting. .
Aiglon did not have enough troops, and he lacked the heavy artillery that could destroy the entire fortress, so he could only ask his subordinates to continuously dig trenches according to the ancient method, approach the walls of the bastion one by one, and then bombard them with artillery to cover the front line. soldiers.
Looking from the high ground, the winding trenches are like snakes, slowly spreading towards Mesolonghion.
From a visual point of view, this scene is very spectacular, but there is no doubt that this method of attack is unlikely to achieve any obvious results in the short term.
In the not-so-old past, Europe had a long-term rule by fortresses. At that time, military battles often revolved around fortresses, and they lasted for a long time. A siege often took years to conduct. But now, He seemed to be facing this situation.
If Aiglon is willing to wait, he can also use this method to slowly kill the defenders inside the fortress - after all, he has cleared all the roads outside the fortress. Mesolonghion is now an isolated city and cannot be obtained. Although he can receive assistance from the outside world, he can always get a steady stream of supplies. As long as he continues to consume it like this, he will definitely win.
But Aigron didn't want to wait.
The reason why he ran to remote Greece was to gain fame, and his previous series of victories had allowed him to achieve part of his goal. Even the Pope, under his bribe, publicly called him a model of Christians. , which shows that his strategy is correct.
Now that the Tsar is about to join the war, the Greek War of Independence has obviously reached its final stage. Whether looking at the original historical line or the new historical line, once Russia sends troops, the already crumbling Ottoman Empire will inevitably be unable to resist. , they would definitely be willing to spit out Greece in order to seek peace.
And then Greece will be independent - and everyone will be happy.
But Aigron would never laugh, because that would make him appear insignificant.
Therefore, even in order to reflect his sense of existence and decisive significance, he must try his best to win and make himself the biggest contributor to the Greek War of Independence.
So he could not waste time here protractedly, but must win the victory before the tsar marched.
He instilled his ideas into his officers. Although he knew that such an attack was unlikely to be effective, under his order, his army continued to launch small-scale attacks to tire out the defenders. The military spirit also attracts their attention.
As for the hope of victory, now it can only be pinned on the Count of Monte Cristo.
Fortunately, Edmond Dantès lived up to his expectations. After receiving the order from him, he immediately devoted all his energy to this task, personally selected the personnel, and quickly organized A death squad.
He would take them to sail through the sea between the sandbanks to the east of the fortress, and then use the breakwaters and walls to sneak into the fortress, destroy the key targets inside, and disintegrate the enemy's fighting spirit from within.
In the following days, he has been training hard with his men to prepare for the final action.
Because the situation on the frontal battlefield was unfavorable, Edmond Dantès was even more anxious than his Majesty. He wanted to launch actions countless times every day to reduce the casualties of the soldiers, but every time it was difficult to suppress it. An anxious rage.
He knew that he could only have one chance to act. Failure would mean that all previous efforts were wasted and that the hope of the entire army would be dashed. Therefore, he had to act cautiously and could not act until he was confident enough.
Of course, the so-called "enough certainty" only changes from "impossible" to "minimum".
Under his supervision, everyone was training silently, waiting for that moment to arrive.
On this dull morning, amid the continuous sound of artillery fire, Edmond Dantès solemnly came to Aigron and saluted him.
As soon as he saw Edmond Dantès, Aigron felt a different temperament from him.
The other person's eyes were firm and as serious as a stone. This was the unique expression of a person who was ready to die.
And his skin also showed a bronze color, obviously due to excessive exposure to the sun.
His eyes and skin made him look full of power, like a leopard ready to attack, seemingly ready to pounce on its prey at any time.
Seeing his appearance, Aigron suddenly understood, and his expression became serious.
"Are you ready?" he asked in a low voice.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Edmond Dantès nodded heavily. "Our people are all ready."
"When will we act?" Aigron asked.
"If there are no accidents, we will take action tomorrow night." Edmond Dantès replied, "The tide tomorrow night is very ideal, allowing us to sail in the middle of the night. At the same time, it is the last quarter of the moon, and the moon will only appear in the second half of the night. Rising, that is to say - when we are sailing, the moonlight is dim, but when we come to the fortress, the moon can give us instructions."
After hearing his answer, Aigron nodded with satisfaction. "It seems that you have indeed made enough plans. If this is the case, then I approve your action."
After a pause, he looked into Edmond Dantès's eyes, and then said solemnly.
"I leave everything to you, Edmund, and I know you will never let me down."
"Your Majesty, of course I will not let you down. I said that I would go through life and death for you... If the action fails, I will definitely not be able to see you, because I will die before the last moment and use my life to atone for my sins. "Edmond Dantès answered equally solemnly.
"However, I ask you to go see my subordinates today and encourage them. People who perform such tasks need a kind of mental stimulation, and you are the best person to provide this stimulation."
Edmond Dantès spoke vaguely, but Aiglon certainly understood that even the bravest person would hesitate to perform such a mission of near death.
Among the whole army, he was the only one who had this prestige and could give people a reason to die happily.
So Aigron agreed without thinking.
"Okay, take me there."
Soon, Edmond Dantès took Aiglon out of his tent, and then walked southeast along the high ground to a beach.
Because the sea water is relatively shallow, the sea water on this beach is as bright as a gemstone and crystal clear. Standing here, you can also see several sandbars not far away. In the far distance behind the sandbars, there are The outline of Solongion appeared vaguely on the horizon.
When Aigron arrived, Edmond Dantès ordered all his men to gather at the beach to welcome His Majesty's arrival.
Their eyes were all focused on the young man, and Aigron had long been accustomed to being watched by many people, so he didn't feel uncomfortable at all and instead took the opportunity to look them over.
There were not many of them, probably only a few dozen. They were all wearing civilian clothes. Their skin had become dark due to long periods of exposure to the sun. There were even marks of cracks on their hands, and there were traces of cracks on their clothes. There are a lot of sand and traces of the sea water being dried.
It can be seen from this how seriously Edmond Dantès leads them in training.
"Your Majesty, in order not to attract attention, I deliberately asked them to wear civilian clothes." Edmond Dantès explained in a low voice next to him, "When the time comes for action, I will let them wear the clothes we captured from the Turks. The military uniforms obtained in order to cause greater confusion to the enemy."
"Very good." Aigron smiled with satisfaction. "You are quite attentive."
"Now, please speak to everyone. Everyone is looking forward to this." Edmond Dantès looked at the young man expectantly. "There are many Greeks in there. I will translate for you."
Aigron nodded, then turned to look at everyone present.
At this moment, standing on the beach, he was also exposed to the sun from the sky, and his breath was filled with the salty sea breeze. For a moment, he didn't know how to speak.
He had also used lectures to motivate his subordinates before, but that was to lure and motivate them with merit, honor, splendor and wealth. Now, it will definitely not work if he uses the same words again, because for this kind of mission, which is almost a near-death mission, he said the reward What’s the point of having to be extravagant?
Fortunately, he was always eloquent, so after thinking for a while, he came up with the words.
He bit his lip gently, trying to show the most serious look, then held his head high and looked at everyone head-on.
"Warriors!" he shouted, then raised his right hand to salute them. "You who were selected by the Count of Monte Cristo are the bravest and most elite among my men. You can hold your heads high among all the robes. You deserve everyone's admiration!"
After he finished speaking, Edmond Dantès also translated loudly for him, and everyone looked at the young man intently.
"I am very happy. Next is the time for you to take action. It is the time for you to show your talents and fight for victory for me and all the soldiers in the army. Only the bravest soldiers are qualified to fight for this honor. Yes, it is you. Only you can do it!”
After a pause, Aigron took a deep breath, then nodded, and then he continued melancholy, "Of course, being brave means paying a price. You don't need me to tell you, you can see what you're going to do next. How much risk are you facing? You are the warriors I admire, so I don’t want to tell you any lies, nor will I treat you as fools who are easy to fool. I tell you clearly, the chance of your death after tomorrow night The odds are much higher than surviving. I want you to die. Die for me and for Greece! Your precious lives will be used by me to win the victory we must win. Please tell me now that someone is holding back. If you back down, it’s still too late to stand up now, I allow anyone to leave!”
After finishing speaking, Aigron looked at the people in front of him, but the queue remained motionless and no one left.
Obviously, his truth made the atmosphere more serious.
"Very good... You have proven your bravery with practical actions, and also proved the Count of Monte Cristo's vision. None of you have flinched - I hope you still won't when that moment comes!"
Aiglon raised his hand again and pointed at the vague Mesolonghion in the distance, "Did you see it? It was your land, your residence, and the place where you and your family depended on each other. However, it fell. At the hands of the Turks, what terrible massacre and destruction did it experience? You are the survivors, so you know what you are carrying and what you should do! In despair, I bring you hope, Now, I give you the opportunity to use your own swords and guns, your own blood and lives to tell those bastards who rule you, bully you, and massacre you that they must pay a price that matches their crimes! Even if You sacrifice your lives to get it for me! Use it to wash away all the humiliation and disaster you have suffered... Tell me, can you do it!"
The thunderous roar gave Aigron the answer he wanted.
