In the spring season, everything is full of life, and Algiers, which faces France across the Mediterranean Sea, has also arrived in comfortable spring.
Different from France, the warm and dry Mediterranean coast always has a lazy atmosphere, which makes people want to sit on the beach, fish, and spend another sunny day leisurely.
However, for the Marquis of Treville, his mood was not so leisurely.
At this moment, he was standing on the balcony of his mansion, looking at the port in the distance where warships and merchant ships frequently came and went, while reading the letter that had just been sent from France with mixed feelings.
After being released by Aiglon, Edgar wrote a letter to his father as soon as he returned home, describing in detail his experience of being imprisoned and living in prison, and then also described the "deal" he had reached with His Majesty the Emperor. It was written down exactly.
After Aiglon's review and a period of transmission, the letter finally reached the hands of Marquis Treville.
Although on the surface, the Marquis still maintained his composure, his trembling hands at the moment were enough to reveal his true mood.
His son's release from prison should have made him feel more happy, but the news that followed made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
Sure enough, as he had guessed before, Alice hooked up with the young emperor and became pregnant with her child. In order to cover herself up and give this scoundrel a visible identity, she instigated His Majesty the Emperor. My son was released...
"What a shameless and vicious woman, she actually tried to murder and humiliate her husband and humiliate our family like this!"
When he thought of this, the Marquis couldn't help but became so angry that he couldn't help but curse.
Although he has suffered enough times in his life through ups and downs, this is the first time he has been tricked to this extent by a woman. How can he not be angry?
But Qi Gui Qi, he is now unable to do anything.
He was now in Algiers, thousands of miles away from Paris, and the two Alice sisters were with His Majesty the Emperor. What could he do with her? She'll be lucky if she doesn't slander her.
Not only that, he has no way to make all this public, because there are many secrets surrounding Alice, and these things are not convenient for the public to see, no matter when his father and son took Agnes Neither the plan to be pushed into the pit of fire nor the plan to "train a new account" should be known to outsiders, otherwise the reputation of the Treville family will inevitably suffer a heavy blow and may even become a laughing stock - and this This was completely unacceptable to the Marquis.
The only consolation was that after the Marquis and Alice finally broke up, His Majesty the Emperor finally agreed to his plan and promised to do his best to help him cultivate his real grandson.
If His Majesty takes care of him, then this child may really be able to take on the family business and let the name Treville continue to flourish.
Although you are an illegitimate child, I hope you can make a difference and don't let our family decline... He could only pray silently in his heart.
In fact, deep down in his heart, the Marquis also doubted whether Alice and His Majesty had had an affair for a long time. This incident was a conspiracy secretly led by His Majesty. The purpose was to drive away the annoying husband and legitimately occupy his own. daughter-in-law.
But after thinking about it carefully, he thought that based on his understanding of His Majesty the Emperor, the other party would not do such a deceptive thing - if he really did it, then obviously he would not let Edgar take all this. I have made it clear to myself, and I will not let myself continue to stay in this important position, and I will try my best to comfort myself.
If he was really the leader of the conspiracy, he must have been quietly taken away by the palace messenger before he knew anything about it, and he has disappeared into obscurity ever since.
So...all this was done by that stinky bitch Alice. She plotted to frame her son and seduced His Majesty. For the sake of power, she would do anything!
When he thought of this, the Marquis couldn't help but cursed again.
Despite the scolding, deep down in his heart he looked at his daughter-in-law with admiration.
Although he had always felt that Alice was smart and good at running a house, she was just a female prostitute who could not make any waves, so he manipulated her with peace of mind. However, he did not expect that she could actually be so decisive and take advantage of him. The opportunity to leave Paris ruthlessly pushed the father and son into a desperate situation step by step.
Do you want to "settle the ledger" with these sisters? He doesn't have the ability now.
At least she won this round, a complete victory.
The Marquis gritted his teeth and could only swallow the bitter pill in despair.
Under the comfort of Edgar's letter, although he was furious, the Marquis of Treville could only temporarily swallow his breath and acquiesced to His Majesty's disposition.
Like Edgar, he is now praying to God extremely devoutly that the child Alice gave birth to must be a daughter. Otherwise, even if His Majesty the Emperor has no intention of "changing the species", God knows that this woman who deeply hates her father and son will still be able to survive. What kind of monster could he do to cause the Treville family to suffer another heavy blow?
It must be a daughter!
After sighing, the Marquis of Treville burned the annoying letter, then picked up a riding crop and whipped the items in his room to vent his anger and helplessness.
After venting for a while, Marquis Treville slowly regained his senses from the messy room.
He must now accept reality and find ways to improve it.
Edgar can be a hands-off shopkeeper from now on and enjoy his life in exile, but he can't. Now with the exile of Treville Changzhi, the backbone of the family is himself. He must stand firm, restore the family's prestige and power, and then pass on these family properties to his successors. Only in this way can he To be able to die in peace.
And now, what needs to be done is very simple - perform meritorious service, perform more meritorious service, and then return with honor from this hellish place as soon as possible, strive to become a marshal of the empire, and then enter the army under the support of His Majesty the Emperor. The highest decision-making level, and then wait for the opportunity to go further and reach the top.
He had volunteered to come here on his own initiative in order to make meritorious deeds, but now, with the outbreak of the "family crisis", his desire for merit and honor has become even more intense.
He was horny now.
Soon, the Marquis of Treville, who had regained his composure, returned to his usual sharp and determined look. He straightened his uniform in front of the mirror, handed the mess to his orderly, then strode out, mounted his horse, and headed towards the French Governor's Palace in Algiers.
Because of General Treville's special status, he did not encounter any obstruction along the way and soon arrived at the meeting room of Governor-General Marshal Moncey.
And without waiting long, Marshal Moncey, wearing military uniform and holding a marshal's scepter in his hand, arrived in front of the Marquis of Treville.
Because they had fought together in the imperial era and had an old friendship with each other, the marshal did not act like a superior in front of the Marquis, but looked at his "special" subordinate with a pleasant look.
"Victor, why did you come to me suddenly?"
Although the marshal acted approachable, the Marquis of Treville certainly did not dare to be disrespectful in front of the senior marshal, so he respectfully performed a military salute and then told the other party his purpose.
"Marshal, I'm here to ask you for help. In fact, I have written a plan for you before. I hope you can approve it for me to implement it as soon as possible, or give me a suggestion and let me modify it according to your wishes." .”
Although he has only been in Algiers for two or three months, the eager Marquis de Treville has already made intensive preparations. On the one hand, he uses the authority given to him by His Majesty to "control the military police and manage military discipline". He made friends with military officers everywhere, became familiar with the various local troops in Algiers, and made many connections; on the other hand, he also collected local intelligence wherever he could, including the remnants of the Ottoman forces, various Bedouins and Berbers. The tribesmen and other information were collected and planned for the next French army's actions.
At this time, although France had sent a large army to Algeria, there was also debate about the next route, both in France and within the French army in Algeria.
One group is the "radical group". They believe that since the conquest has begun, they should continue to advance, expand the occupied area, defeat all resistance forces, and establish a French territory covering the entire Algeria as soon as possible; while the other group is the "slow advance group" ", they believe that there are not many valuable places in North Africa. Since they have occupied the wealthy coastal cities such as Algiers and Oran, they might as well focus on digestion first. As for those areas with low value and strong tribal power, You can abandon it first, there is no need to rush to pay such a high cost to conquer it.
There are also small factions with different opinions within these two groups. In short, there are different opinions and everyone has his own opinion.
The Marquis of Treville belongs to the most radical group of "radicals".
Of course this is normal. He is here just to gain merit. How can he achieve merit if he is not radical?
Therefore, as soon as he gained a foothold in Algiers, he recruited talents and devised action strategies. He also wrote several plans and submitted them to Marshal Moncey, who served as governor, and took the initiative to invite Ying to expand the country's territory.
However, these petitions he submitted did not have the desired effect. On the contrary, they were like a mud cow drowning in the sea, and they were never approved by Marshal Moncey.
Moreover, the marshal often lives in seclusion, leaving most of his official affairs to his staff, and there is never any sign of serious warfare.
Although he felt a sense of collegiality and respected the marshal's character, the Marquis was still a little dissatisfied with the marshal's "inaction" state, which was similar to that of a hands-off shopkeeper.
Since I no longer have the ambition to be enterprising because of my old age, why not just retire and return to the fields to take care of myself? He couldn't help but complain in his mind.
Today, because of family affairs, the Marquis' desire to perform meritorious service was even more unbearably stimulated, so he finally stopped waiting and ran directly in front of the Marshal, hoping to use this action of "forcing the palace" to make the Marshal Stop treating it coldly and give yourself a direct explanation.
Facing the eager look of Marquis de Treville, Marshal Moncey just smiled.
"Victor, don't be so impatient, sit down first——"
At his signal, the Marquis of Treville had to sit down first, but he still looked at the other party eagerly.
"Actually, I have read your report, and to be fair, it is indeed well written. It seems that although you have been forced to retire in the past ten years, you have indeed not lost your original skills-" The marshal still smiled, and then nodded in approval .
But soon, he changed the topic again, "I know that at this moment, you should be dissatisfied with me. You think I am old and confused - okay, I admit it, as a seventy-seven-year-old man, It's a bit confusing indeed - but that's not the main reason why I'm keeping silent about you. The reason I'm doing this is that I don't think the time has come yet. After all, we have just consolidated this new occupied area and we need time to Stabilize the situation and then ensure everything is safe——"
"Your Excellency, you are right, but if we just wait blindly, then we cannot wait for the perfect time." Marquis Treville couldn't help but retort, "You and I have both been in the military for half our lives, and we can both see that victory often belongs to The side that is more diligent and proactive, not the side that is better prepared.”
"But we can't only think about victory, Victor." Marshal Moncey shook his head slightly, "The situation at this moment is special. What we stay here represents is His Majesty's face. Therefore, compared to victory, I can't give Your Majesty's defeat will cause serious public opinion impact, which is unbearable for the nascent empire, so I cannot risk our men. As Commander of the Expeditionary Force and Governor of Algiers, Your Majesty has entrusted me with It’s not just the 30,000 men here, there are too many things...so I can’t agree with it.”
The Marquis of Treville also understood what the marshal meant. He knew that in this special environment, even a small stain might lead to unpredictable consequences, so the marshal simply chose to keep it quiet and wait until the foundation of the empire was established. After becoming stronger, choose bolder and more aggressive actions.
This is not wrong. After all, the marshal himself has reached the pinnacle of the imperial military. He no longer has any pursuit of achievements. All he thinks about is to preserve the reputation of the empire and the emperor and let himself survive safely. Just laid off.
And this point is that he and the marshal have fundamentally different positions.
"I understand what you mean, Your Excellency... However, I think that if we just react passively to the situation, then we will not be able to obtain the so-called safety." So, Marquis Treville continued to insist on his opinion, "Those tribesmen have not Civilization, when they see us restrained, they will not think that we are tolerant, they will only think that we are weak...and this will in turn arouse their hostility even more. In fact, according to the information I have received so far, these tribes They are slowly gathering together, and in the name of opposing us... Shouldn't we take preventive actions to nip it in the bud?"
The marshal frowned and fell into thought for a moment.
Of course he also understood that what the Marquis said was reasonable, but it was really difficult to make a decision.
"Your Excellency, please allow me to act on my own. I will bear all responsibilities myself!" The Marquis increased his volume. "Three thousand people, as long as you give me three thousand people! If you believe in Victor de Treville, give him this chance. If he fails, then just let him fend for himself. You You can still rely on your own prestige to deal with domestic public opinion, and your Majesty will not lose anything, how about that?"
