As time passes quietly, history enters the new but unremarkable year of 1831.
The hustle and bustle of the imperial court moving into Fontainebleau has subsided, the grand scene of the resurrected Guards parade has also returned to calm, and the elegant and magnificent Palace of Fontainebleau has returned to its usual silence.
Because the weather has been excellent recently, the snow on the palace, river banks and roads is slowly melting. The snow water gathered into a trickle, and finally merged into the Seine River flowing quietly next to the Fontainebleau Palace.
After the snow melts, the buds of grass can already be seen on the river bank. Although it is still the middle of winter, from these signs, spring is already quietly approaching.
On this cold but sunny morning, the Marquis of Treville came to the Palace of Fontainebleau.
Today, the Marquis is wearing the military uniform of a cavalry general, and neatly wears the important medals he has won on the battlefield over the years. Although some graying has appeared on his temples due to age, his eyes are bright, his steps are strong, and his movements are full of energy and courage.
During the Restoration Dynasty, the Marquis of Treville had to retire from the army because of his support for the Bonaparte family. This outfit was rarely shown to outsiders. But now, with the re-emergence of the Bonaparte family, he finally You can find your lost soul again.
Retrieval alone was not enough, he wanted more.
At that time, the Marquis of Treville relied on his bravery and the favor of Emperor Napoleon (as we all know, the emperor always favored those old nobles who were loyal to him, which satisfied his vanity) and steadily rose in the army, and he also He is certain that he will climb up to the position of marshal step by step, just like Marquis Grouchy.
Moreover, he was still very young at the time and had every hope of replacing the aging marshals and becoming one of the main leaders of the army.
However, he was forced to bid farewell to the army for fifteen years, and his rank and medals stayed in 1815 forever.
what does that mean?
It means that his life has been delayed for fifteen years, and there is a gap of fifteen years in his life.
A full fifteen years! How many more fifteen years are there in life? In a blink of an eye, he was already an old man in his fifties and even had grandchildren.
For most people, the age of fifty is the age when they know their destiny. They will no longer expect any changes in this life, and they no longer believe that they can do any great things. However, the Marquis of Treville is completely different.
Like members of the Treville family of all generations, he has a desire for fame and power that ordinary people cannot imagine. Even at this age, he still wants to fulfill his long-cherished wish in life and reach the top of the French Army, just like Sule today. Like Marshal Special.
This is not only for yourself, but also for your family. The Treville family had been prominent in the court of Versailles for several generations, but they suffered a tragic blow from the Revolution and almost wiped out the family. Fortunately, the two brothers escaped and worked hard to re-run the family.
Every step he takes is to lift the family to the position it once held, and he believes this is his birthright.
It is precisely because of this "obsession" that he is fearless and sacrifices himself, not to mention his aging body.
Now, he will use all his intelligence and courage to exchange for a further step to the young man who is loyal to him.
He believed that he could earn it.
Undoubtedly, many generals now want to seek "progress" by currying favor with His Majesty, but the Marquis of Treville has been bravely loyal to the Bonaparte family in the past ten years, and even stood firm when His Majesty returned to the country to seize power. After achieving great merit, he knew that his position in His Majesty's heart would definitely be closer.
He wants to use this "closeness" to get the opportunity first.
He came to see His Majesty this time specifically to bid farewell to His Majesty.
According to the previous plan of the monarch and his ministers, he will set off for Algiers after the New Year, where he will assist Marshal Moncey in managing the French Expeditionary Force. Marshal Soult also prepared him for him after reaching a tacit understanding with His Majesty. The necessary adjutants and staff are now ready, just waiting for him to go to North Africa for a big fight.
In this regard, the Marquis of Treville is naturally very satisfied.
Emperor Napoleon was galloping around Egypt and had enough of the Turkish emperor's addiction. Although he was not qualified to stand on his own like the emperors at that time, he could at least try his best to "make contributions."
He didn't care who his enemies were, whether they were Turks, Arabs or Berbers, as long as they could "lend" him some military merit.
As long as he has military merit, His Majesty will transfer him back to Paris, enter the center of the army, and then become a member of the top leadership of the imperial army.
Although he is not as good as Marshal Soult, he is at least one of the most powerful people among the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the empire.
As a man, wouldn’t it be nice to have thousands of people follow your orders? !
With full of pride, General Treville strode into the garden of Fontainebleau following his attendants, and Aiglon was already standing there.
It was still winter, so there were not many flowers blooming in the garden, but the air was cold and fresh, which was also interesting.
It was precisely because Aigron had a good impression of the Marquis of Treville that he had always been loyal, so he did not choose to only receive the Marquis in a courtesy manner in the audience hall, but chose to receive him in a more open and casual garden.
Aigron watched the Marquis, who was dressed in military uniform and decorated with medals, striding towards him. After the two people looked at each other, the Marquis stood still, and then saluted Aigron loudly.
"Long live your Majesty!"
"Once I see what you are like now, I have no doubt that you will be able to achieve great things, my respected general."
Aiglon nodded gently to the other party, and then said with a smile.
He really admired the Marquis de Treville.
It's not because the other party comes from an old aristocracy, but because he is not only brave, but also lacks political acumen. He is indeed a rare talent.
Now, most of the army is controlled by those marshals, and Aigron just chooses to control the Guards himself. However, this is by no means a situation that Aigron is willing to see all the time. He hopes to gradually replace the old man with someone closer and more trustworthy. The handsome men are in charge of the army.
However, the army is the country's most important tool of governance and the most basic source of its power. It cannot tamper with it casually, which is tantamount to cutting off its own limbs. So he must be cautious in achieving his goals.
The confidant soldiers currently surrounding Aigron are either members of the Knights of Fontainebleau or officers of his Guards. Although they are loyal, they are generally young and seriously lack experience and qualifications. Rushing to high positions will only Everyone was dissatisfied with letting the morale of the military fluctuate, so he only planned to let them slowly experience it at the grassroots level, and then improve it step by step as time went by.
But the Marquis of Treville is a "special case" among them.
He was originally a general in the empire and had always had a reputation for being brave and fearless. In Aigron's view, he was most suitable to make the transition as the "Mesozoic" before his cronies grew up.
With the Marquis Treville's strong qualifications and long-standing reputation, as long as he makes some achievements in North Africa, he can legitimately promote him to become a marshal, and then let him enter the army center as his agent, and wait for him to return. After a few years or more, Aigron will slowly grow old and retire, and the people around Aigron will also grow up, and they will take over at that time.
For Aigron, this is naturally the most ideal situation. He can try his best to achieve "unification within the army" and completely concentrate the command power in his own hands without causing any trouble in the army.
Since the Marquis of Treville was so important in his plan, he was of course willing to show him due respect and kindness.
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will do my best to never disappoint your expectations." Faced with Aigron's smile, Marquis Treville confidently made a promise, "As long as I am here, all Algerian people will be able to live up to your expectations." Not even a mouse dares to jump!"
"I have no doubt that you have the courage and ability, General." Aigron nodded, but soon changed the subject, "However, the situation there is quite complicated and the situation is changing. If you keep high pressure, it will only Let everyone become our enemy. I am not afraid of that happening, but I hope that we can achieve our goals with as few resources as possible. You are not just a reckless man, I hope you can understand me. Hard work...General, I think you must know better than me that a successful general must not only be able to engage in military affairs, but also be able to engage in politics."
Although Aiglon's words seemed a bit confusing, Marquis Treville fully understood what he meant.
Although he has been idle at home for more than ten years, he has never forgotten his ambition for a moment, so he has been paying attention to the current situation and watching for opportunities.
Since the Napoleonic Empire was completely destroyed by the anti-French alliance in 1815, the Vienna System has become the criterion for the balance of power among European powers.
One of the purposes of the establishment of this system is to strictly guard against France and do not want to see any expansion of France in Europe. Although France later joined the Holy Alliance through diplomatic operations, the essence has not changed.
Therefore, in order to realize their ambitions as a great power and at the same time to satisfy the strong ambitions of the soldiers to make contributions and get promoted and make a fortune, the Bourbon family set their sights on Algeria, which is across the Mediterranean.
Algeria was still nominally a Turkish territory at this time, and was ruled by the "Germany" appointed by the Turkish Sultan.
But in fact, since the 18th century, the once huge Ottoman Turkish Empire has flourished and declined, and has entered its twilight years. The central government's ability to control local governments has seriously declined.
During this process of decline, the phenomenon of "vassalization" began to occur in various parts of Turkey. Governors in various places were only nominally vassal to the Sultan, but in fact the power of appointment and dismissal was no longer in the hands of the Sultan.
In Algeria, because the sky is high and the Sudan is far away, this phenomenon of vassalization is particularly serious.
Of the 30 "Dei" who ruled Algeria from 1671 to 1818, 14 came to power by killing their predecessors in rebellions or coups. Within Algeria, it has also become a mess, with the rulers of each province acting like separate armies. The ruling group headed by Dey only has influence in the coastal area of Algiers, and the vast interior is actually in a semi-independent state, divided by tribes.
While Turkey was prosperous and declining, European countries were rising at an unprecedented speed. Through the development of science and technology, the national power of the great powers became stronger day by day, and then they began to conquer the world.
From this time on, the "Turkish Heritage Partition Feast" began in full swing.
The Caucasus, Bessarabia, Egypt, Transylvania, Greece... pieces of land that were once conquered by the Turks were divided by the ruthless claws of European countries.
Going further, it even triggered the First World War - the disputes after the independence of the Balkan countries, Austria's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were essentially part of the battle for Turkish heritage.
France is naturally not willing to lag behind in this "feast".
After temporarily giving up their expansion plans on the European continent, the Bourbon family set their sights on Algeria.
But at this time, it found a "perfect" excuse.
During the Revolution and Napoleon, France purchased a large amount of grain from Algeria due to domestic and military needs. Due to France's tight military expenditures for years of war, it naturally did not have so much money to pay, so France owed a large debt to Algeria. According to statistics, by 1815, the total amount owed reached 13.8 million francs.
After the collapse of Napoleon's empire, Dey Hussein of Algeria repeatedly raised the issue of debt repayment to the successor Bourbon France, but how could the Bourbon family recognize this debt? Naturally, they have been defaulting on repayment.
Not only did they default on repayment, the Bourbon family also used this debt dispute as an excuse to actively provoke Algeria's Dei and also proposed "suzerainty" over some tribes.
Faced with such unreasonable demands, Algeria's rulers were naturally furious.
On April 29, 1827, Dey Hussein of Algeria received the French consul in Algiers, De Waal. During the meeting, Hussein asked De Waal why the French government had not responded to the debt issue. De Waal replied arrogantly: "My government will not give you the documents, which means your request is invalid."
De Waal's arrogant attitude made Hussein greatly angry. He ordered De Waal to leave immediately, but De Waal ignored him. So, the angry Hussein hit Dewaal in the face with a fan. This is the so-called "slapping incident". The Bourbon family finally got this coveted "opportunity".
So the French government issued a note, deeming this a serious insult to France, and dispatched a naval fleet to Algiers, demanding an apology from Hussein and giving him a 24-hour response. France's request was sternly rejected by Hussein. As a result, France severed diplomatic relations with Algeria and began to blockade Algerian ports.
It was from this time that France's war of conquest of Algeria officially began.
Now, the Bourbon family has disappeared from the French political stage, but the war they started has been inherited by Aiglon with great enthusiasm.
Like the Bourbon family, he also needed a place to vent the vigorous energy of the French people and gain prestige for himself.
[In fact, Emperor Napoleon himself had considered conquering Algeria. He sent people to inspect the Algerian coast, drew military maps, and formulated a military action plan. Assuming he is not destroyed, then his next conquest should be here...]
(End of chapter)
