After hearing the news, both Letizia and Agron were a little surprised.
After all, she sent someone to inform her son just to prepare him. Aiglon would choose to visit her one day in the future. This was also the etiquette that a nephew should have.
Unexpectedly, Prince Lucien Bonaparte rushed over directly like this - which also showed how much this uncle valued his nephew.
"Ask him to come over quickly!" Queen Letizia reacted quickly, calling the attendants to call her third son, and then asked someone to add a set of tableware to the dining table.
"It's always good to have more people around," she said with a smile.
Soon, the attendant brought in a middle-aged man, and Aigron was able to see his third uncle Lucien Bonaparte for the first time in his life.
He is not tall, with brown-black hair, but his temples are already gray, and the weather of the years can be seen. His facial features are soft, his manners are elegant, his eyes are introverted and somewhat unhappy, and he looks different from others. He looks like a prince, but he has the air of a frustrated poet.
He walked quietly to the dining table, his eyes always focused on Aigron, and Aigron also stood up politely and bowed to his uncle.
"Nice to meet you, my uncle...I have been looking forward to this day for a long time." He said respectfully.
"I have been looking forward to it for a long time." Lucien Bonaparte nodded slightly, and then sighed with emotion, "More than ten years of waiting! But all this has not been in vain. You are finally here. There’s a way.”
In his sigh, he could vaguely see some of the momentum he had when he accompanied Napoleon to launch a coup.
Before Aigron could speak, he walked up to Aiglon again, then raised his hand, lightly knocked on Aigron's chest, and then spoke again, "You are taller and stronger than I thought." .”
"In order to complete our family's unfinished business, I must maintain a strong body." Aigron answered.
"Excellent answer!" Lucien praised loudly, "When we were your age, we didn't think so much - at that time we all thought that we would be satisfied if we could keep our family's property in Corsica. Who can imagine what happens next?”
Then, he hugged his nephew tightly and said, "You have done a good job, my child. I can see all the hard work you have put in so far. I ask myself, when I was your age, I didn't have such a good job." Ability... So, you are better than me, and you are the hope of our family."
These words seemed to come from the heart, so Aigron didn't know how to answer for a while.
"The only thing I'm dissatisfied about is, why didn't you contact me when you came to Rome before? Do you still have a grudge in your heart about the disputes of the previous generation?" Lucien Bonaparte continued, "Although I am not your servant, as an uncle, I am also willing to help my nephew in trouble, but you have ignored me."
"I'm sorry, uncle." Aigron smiled sheepishly, "It's not that I don't believe in your loyalty to the family - your performance in 1815 has proved that you do have this kind of loyalty, but before I When I came to Rome, I didn't know what my fate would be next, so I didn't want to cause any trouble to you. After all... you managed to escape the storm and found a peaceful life again under the protection of the church. I didn't want to Destroy it."
Aigron had not contacted Lucien before. On the one hand, he was worried about his political attitude. On the other hand, he really felt that he should not bother his uncle this time. Anyway, he knew that Lucien did not have much money in his hand and could not give him anything. How much sponsorship.
"Since you are not afraid of causing trouble to your grandma, why should you worry about causing trouble to me?" Lucien Bonaparte asked. "You guessed it right, I really have nothing to offer now, and I can no longer stir up troubles, but even so, I can still give you a little help within my ability, and this is what I should do."
After hearing these words, Aigron felt warm in his heart.
"Thank you, uncle, I will never forget the help you gave me."
Lucien Bonaparte was not just talking. He really used his connections in the church to speak good words for himself. He was also willing to act as an intermediary between himself and His Majesty the Pope. He was really doing his best to help. By myself.
Of course, in his current position, there is only so much he can do to help.
"Okay, you two, stop talking, let's continue with dinner -" Letizia said with a smile, "And don't look so solemn, our family gathering needs to be more cheerful."
Aigron and Lucien smiled at each other, then sat down respectively, and then they began to chat while eating.
At this time, Lucien finally turned his attention to Theresa.
"My niece-in-law is so radiant." He looked at Teresa's appearance carefully, and then said with a smile, "Such a beautiful princess, I dare say she must be the most beautiful in the palaces of all countries! Aigron is so lucky .”
"You have indeed become an Italian, Your Highness." Teresa replied with a smile. "So good at coaxing people."
"No, I am telling the truth. I saw quite a few queens and princesses back then. I think I am qualified enough to make this judgment." Prince Lucien Bonaparte suddenly thought of something and sighed again. Get up, "It's really amazing to think about it. You know, I grew up in Corsica. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I had the opportunity to see the world in Versailles. I especially wanted to see the king and queen. Of course, at that time I am just the son and grandson of a minor nobleman, so what chance do I have of getting the attention of the palace?
Only at the grandest celebrations could I see poor King Louis XVI and his queen. Although I only looked at them from a distance, I was filled with envy and thought what a majestic scene this was! I have imagined that one day I can become a courtier, be able to experience the grandeur of the royal family up close, and appreciate the beauty of Her Majesty the Queen and other ladies, haha... Don’t laugh at me, who hasn’t had similar fantasies in their youth? Woolen cloth? ! My friends and classmates laughed at me, thinking I was being too fanciful, and I thought so too. "
When he said this, he changed the topic again, "But who could have imagined that not many years later, a Habsburg princess became my sister-in-law, and more than ten years later, another Habsburg princess became my sister-in-law. The princess of the Busburg family became my niece-in-law. What an amazing fate... When I think back now, it feels like a dream. If someone had told this story to me as a teenager, I would have thought he was a lunatic. .”
After hearing his uncle's emotion, Aigron realized that although he was unknown now, his uncle was after all a person who had left his name on the stage of history.
He saw the grand pomp of the king and queen, the Constituent Assembly and the ensuing Revolution, the Jacobin dictatorship and the Directory, until in the end he himself became one of the few people at the pinnacle of French power.
"Our family is good at turning dreams into reality." With his heart surging, Aigron couldn't help but comment, "Grandma will definitely think that this is God's favor for us, but for me, this is more due to our exuberance. Ambition, and the never-ending power of action, and the brains to match these ambitions... We believe in miracles, because we ourselves are making miracles.”
"You are right." Lucien Bonaparte nodded, "However, it is also important to be born in the right era. Hundreds of years ago, society was suffocatingly closed, and every class was unbreakable. The country It was just a playground for the kings and dukes with the noblest blood. At that time, no matter how capable you were, you could only crawl under them. It was this era that gave us opportunities, and we just seized the opportunities better than others - as for I have seen with my own eyes what happens to those who fail to seize and take advantage of their opportunities.”
Having said this, His Royal Highness raised his palm and slowly lowered it, vividly simulating the scene of the guillotine falling.
"When the Robespierre brothers went to the guillotine, no one thought that our Bonaparte brothers would rule France, but we did it. Although we ultimately failed more than ten years later, at least we put our destiny in In our hands. To this day, I have never regretted it. Compared with those who died in obscurity, at least we were once extraordinary."
Then, he picked up the wine glass and said to his nephew, "Cheers to fate."
"Cheers to fate!" Aigron also became interested and drank with his uncle.
However, the uncle and nephew were talking with interest, but Teresa listened with some discomfort.
Marie-Antoinette, Queen of Louis XVI, was born in the Habsburg family and was her great-aunt. She was eventually sent to the guillotine. Perhaps she did bring it upon herself, but as a descendant, she could not help but feel this way. An aunt has a compassionate heart.
Moreover, if one day Aigron's dream comes true, then she herself will be another mother of the country from the Habsburg family. She is not willing to let herself, Aigron, and their descendants have to endure such terrible things. destiny.
Even thinking about it makes me feel uncomfortable.
So she decided to change the subject.
"So do you think our success is big now?"
Perhaps because of drinking, Prince Lucien Bonaparte's originally serious face became much softer.
"Based on normal logic, the chance is really low. Please forgive me for not speaking politely, but I think as an elder, I should tell you the truth." He answered honestly.
"It doesn't matter, you are indeed telling the truth, I won't mind." Aigron shook his head.
Although he is high-spirited now and has already achieved a huge career, he still maintains a clear mind and can judge the situation - the resources he has in his hands now are almost nothing compared to the whole of France. The army is now only a few thousand strong and lacks weapons. However, the Kingdom of France has hundreds of thousands of standing troops. In a head-on confrontation, any division can defeat his pitiful strength.
Therefore, anyone who can face reality cannot say that the odds of winning are high.
"When I say there is little chance, I don't mean there is no chance." Lucien Bonaparte changed his subject. "Although France is powerful, it does not like the Bourbon family. On the contrary, they hate the reaction brought to them by the Restoration Dynasty. There are always people who want to overthrow it - if there is another revolution to overthrow it, then you will have a chance, because as soon as the Bourbon crown falls, many French people will remember that there is still a Bonaparte family suitable to lead They—it was a revolution that brought our previous generation to the stage, so the new revolution will bring my next generation to the stage as well.”
This judgment actually coincides with Aigron's judgment. After all, it is a foolish dream to conquer France by frontal force. We must find a way to overthrow the current restoration dynasty.
Fortunately, the original historical line gave Aiglon great confidence - because at the end of July 1830, the July Revolution broke out in France and ousted the Bourbon dynasty. King Charles X was forced to take his family members with him They fled to England, and from then on the rule of the main branch of the Bourbon royal family ended.
Of course, it was not the Bonaparte family that ruled France next, but the Orléans family, a young branch of the royal family that took the opportunity to seize power. It was known as the July Dynasty in history. It was not until 1848, 18 years later, that Aiglon's cousin took advantage of the opportunity to seize power again. Revolution returned to France and eventually restored the Empire.
But this time, Aigron didn't want to wait another eighteen years, he wanted to get the crown as soon as possible.
However, he also knows that the historical line has changed, and the original history can only give him a reference, and cannot be copied completely - it may be earlier, it may be delayed, but such a revolution that overthrows the Bourbon royal family should be inevitable.
And he'd be more than happy to give it a push.
"It's easy to incite riots and coups, but it's very difficult to ensure that the fruits of a coup fall into your own hands." Lucien Bonaparte's smile was a little weird. "During the Coup of Brumaire, your father faced him in the Senate. Those angry MPs were almost incoherent, but they managed to save the situation and prevent it from getting out of control."
Aiglon also knows this truth.
He cannot let the Orleans family pick up the fruits of victory. If he wants to achieve this goal, he must act in a planned and step-by-step manner.
The Duke of Orleans and his family returned to France after 1815. They had been in France for more than ten years, and they were eager to win the throne. But now that he is abroad, he can only control domestic supporters in a short period of time. In comparison, it is indeed It's a disadvantage.
Fortunately, he still has time - although it may not be much.
"Do you have any good suggestions?" Now that he had said this, Aigron asked his uncle sincerely.
After all, he is experienced in seizing power through coups.
"I have been away from France for more than ten years and have long been forgotten. I don't know many things anymore." Lucien Bonaparte replied with a wry smile, "But there is one thing, my nephew, you must remember. The core. It depends on the army, as long as you have the support of the army, everything will go smoothly for you."
Aiglon was slightly disappointed.
Although my uncle was right, it was just correct nonsense—truth that everyone knew.
"One more thing -" Lucien Bonaparte added, "find out the background of your opponents. My friends may be able to give you some help."
