After the short war ended, Nafpaktos quietly changed hands and ushered in its temporary new owner. This sudden fight did not leave many scars on it, and soon it returned to its usual tranquility.
Because it is close to the seaside, the climate here is warm and humid under the constant sea breeze, and the scenery is quite pleasant. If it were not for being involved in the fight between the two parties, this might even be a good place for a vacation.
Currently, this small fortress and port has become the only territory in the world owned by the Bonaparte family.
In the gentle sea breeze, Aiglon took his cousin Charlie to patrol Nafpaktos. As members of this family, they naturally wanted to be exposed in front of others to declare their recently acquired power.
Under the leadership of the guards, Aigron walked through the narrow streets and alleys, and the surrounding buildings were guarded by guards. The remaining residents in the city watched from a distance. No one dared to approach, but they all used
He looked at the young man with curious eyes.
It is probably hard for anyone to believe that this young man who looks elegant and elegant would have the courage to come here to start a career.
Aigron didn't pay much attention to these residents. Firstly, he had no need to please them; secondly, these people probably didn't have a good impression of him, the "liberator" who suddenly came from a foreign country.
As far as he is concerned, it is enough that these residents do not hinder his next actions.
Under the guidance of the guards, he and Charlie came to the temporary hospital converted from the former Turkish army barracks.
Soldiers injured in previous battles were transferred here for treatment.
Of course, although it is treatment, the treatment methods he can use at the moment are extremely limited. Those who are slightly injured may be okay. As for those soldiers who are seriously injured, whether they can survive can only depend on God's will.
The seriously wounded were lying on beds or stretchers, crowded into several small rooms. When the young man appeared at the door, there was a commotion immediately.
Some people struggled to get up; some people were really unable to get up, so they lay on the hospital bed and saluted or paid tribute to him; while others lay indifferently on the bed in a daze, as if they were indifferent to everything, and all honor and grace were gone.
It means nothing to them.
Aigron was not angry at these people who were indifferent to his arrival. After all, it was normal for people who were going through the test of life and death to be unable to muster the energy to care about the so-called "His Majesty the Emperor."
He looked around the room. There were shocking blood stains and blood-stained bandages everywhere. Just standing at the door, a strong smell of blood made him feel dizzy. From time to time, there were several sounds of dying people in the room.
His moans really made people feel pity, and they even had an instinctive urge to escape from this hellish place.
However, Aiglon did not let himself be overwhelmed by pity and timidity. He knew that he had to get used to these. For him, these scenes were also the price he had to pay along the way.
Obviously, running in front of those who ignored him would only bring trouble to himself, so he paused for a moment, and then chose to walk to a wounded soldier who was struggling to lift his body and wanted to pay tribute to him.
.
This wounded soldier looked very young, probably in his early 20s. Perhaps because of excessive bleeding, his face was very pale. It could be seen from the light beard on his lips that he was indeed inexperienced in the world.
Aigron's eyes moved on his body. Although he was covered with a thin blanket so that he could not see his lower body, it could be seen from the crutches beside him and the newly made wooden prosthetic legs that he
It must have been amputated.
This poor man, no matter how many dreams he once had of making great achievements, the reality is that he has become a disabled person and can no longer run carefree... He thought to himself.
Soon, he suppressed the sympathy and sadness in his heart and tried to look at the other person calmly.
Then, he gently leaned down, gently pressed the other person's bandaged shoulder, and then said to the other person in his softest tone, "I salute you, my loyal warrior."
"Your Majesty!" The young wounded soldier looked very excited when Aigron looked at him like this. However, his weak body did not allow him to make any other movements. He could only tremble slightly on the hospital bed.
Perhaps because he moaned too hard before, the wounded soldier's voice was a little hoarse, but he still tried his best to let the young man hear his voice clearly, "I did not break my oath, I fought for you bravely."
"I saw it...thank you." Aigron didn't know how to comfort the other person, so he could only reply. "Your loyalty and bravery are worthy of being an example for others. What's your name?"
"Gabriel Ramiere." The wounded soldier replied in a weak voice, "As you can see, I lost a leg... As an unlucky guy who entered the battlefield for the first time, this is not bad. But no matter what,
After experiencing high fever and pain, I survived. This is what fighting is like. I consider myself unlucky. At least compared to those guys who are dead, I am lucky... Now I only regret that I may not be able to fight for you anymore.
Already."
"Yes... I know how much sacrifice you have made." Aigron nodded solemnly, "You lost this leg for me, I will remember it. What are your wishes? As a deserved reward.
, I will try my best to complete it."
"If you want to talk about your wish... there is indeed one." A weak smile appeared on the wounded soldier's face, and then he suddenly grabbed Aigron's hand, "Please succeed and make our sacrifice worthwhile... Your Majesty
,."
Aigron was stunned for a moment, looking at the other party's bright and expectant eyes, he didn't know what to say for a moment.
Aigron knew that his subordinates were divided into several categories. One was the die-hard supporters of the Bonaparte family and remnants of the empire; the other was opportunists, just to make a career on their own; and the other was completely
It seems that he is the first type of mercenary who only takes money to make ends meet.
For such people, spiritual encouragement must be given.
So, he nodded without hesitation.
"Don't worry, I will do it. The victory will belong to us. And when the time comes, you will return to France in glory and enjoy everyone's admiration and cheers! Give me some time, I will do it!"
After he finished speaking, he held the other person's hand tightly and let go again after a long time.
Then, he continued to comfort other wounded soldiers, until finally, he took off his hat to salute everyone, and then left in silence.
As soon as he walked out of the temporary hospital, he looked at his guard captain Andre Davout.
"The man named Gabriel Ramie just now... Arrange for this man to retreat to Mesoni later, and let Teresa arrange a job for him. He is so loyal, we cannot abandon him, and he looks like
He also has a bright mind and can be properly cultivated."
"Okay, Your Majesty." Andre Davout was convinced by Aigron's words, "I will make arrangements."
"Your Majesty..." At this moment, Charlie next to him also interrupted.
"What's wrong?" Aigron turned back to look at his cousin.
"I think we can appropriately reward the meritorious soldiers in this battle." Charlie looked at his cousin carefully, "Now that we have just gained a foothold, there will inevitably be more intense battles next, so we urgently need to consolidate military morale. If
Being able to let everyone see the generosity of our Bonaparte family is also an inspiration to them."
"You are right." Aigron nodded and agreed with his cousin's opinion. "Next, you can go to the officers and make a list of meritorious officers. I will reward them severely. If you have time in the future,
I would like to have some commemorative medals made to commemorate their achievements."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Seeing that his suggestion was accepted by Aiglon, Charlie was very happy and immediately agreed.
Although the two cousins have their own little plans in many places, and sometimes even have conflicts of interest, at this moment their interests are completely consistent, and Aigron will not deliberately refute his cousin, as long as
He is willing to listen to any useful suggestions.
He knew that because of all his previous "misdeeds", especially after the incident of secretly enriching himself while selling jewelry came to light, Charlie was eager to make meritorious deeds to wash away the impression in his mind.
Therefore, he deliberately brought Charlie to his side during this expedition, giving him a chance to perform hard and make up for his mistakes. This can be regarded as a kind of "doing the work better than doing the work".
Judging from his current performance, his cousin has indeed met his expectations. He was quite brave in previous battles and has always carried out his orders to the letter.
"My cousin..." After a moment of silence, Aigron suddenly said to Charlie.
"Your Majesty, do you have any instructions?" Charlie asked with a hint of anxiety.
"We had a lot of unpleasant things happen before... Sometimes I would even get angry with you, which is really regrettable." Aigron looked at Charlie and said slowly, "However, this expedition made me think
I understand, a family is a family after all, and only family members are most attentive to our family's business. So to me, the importance of you and Louis is irreplaceable. I hope you will continue to work hard in the future.
As long as your performance this time satisfies me, I can forget all the mistakes you made before."
After finishing speaking, he gently patted his cousin on the shoulder to show encouragement, then turned around and left with the guards, leaving Charlie standing alone behind, looking at his back blankly.
On the surface, Aigron's words sounded like complete encouragement, but to Charlie, they sounded a bit meaningful, especially now that he had something in his mind.
On the island of Monte Cristo, Teresa started checking the accounts as soon as she arrived on the island, and then found out the flaws in his selling of jewelry, forcing him into a corner. He was forced to admit the account, and then promised to always obey Teresa.
Teresa's order in exchange for Teresa keeping Agron's secret.
Although he had temporarily overcome the crisis at that time, he had always been worried about it, fearing that Theresa would break her promise and secretly reveal everything to his cousin.
At this moment, he felt uneasy again. On the one hand, he felt that something was wrong with his cousin's behavior, but at the same time, he was somewhat lucky and felt that things were not that bad.
The anxiety and suffering, coupled with the humiliation of being defeated by Teresa, caused the flames of anger to burn in his heart again.
For him, there was nothing to be ashamed of in what he had done. On the contrary, Teresa acted so domineeringly as soon as she arrived on the island, which embarrassed him and was really unbearable.
"Hateful Austrian bitch, how dare you do this to me... Just wait, sooner or later I will make you look good!" He cursed secretly in his heart.
He watched quietly as Aigron and the guards disappeared from his sight, and then walked back to his temporary residence.
And he is not living here alone, there is another person living in the room next to him.
When he came back, the guest was sitting leisurely at the window, taking a paintbrush and daubing it on the canvas.
As soon as he saw Charlie coming back, he immediately put down the brush in his hand and saluted Charlie.
"Your Highness!"
Charlie also nodded to the other party. "Good afternoon, Edgar."
This guest was naturally Edgar de Treville. Although he came back with an anger, Charlie did not show his emotions on his face, but greeted Edgar gently.
Ever since he knew the other party's identity, Charlie had always wanted to make friends with him out of an instinctive consciousness.
Although he did not think highly of Edgar himself, he could not ignore General Treville. In his opinion, this family was a famous family in France and an important supporter of the Bonaparte family.
It has the value of win-win.
After the previous war, he could see that Edgar was not valued by His Majesty and was only given the task of cleaning up the battlefield. When Edgar was frowning, he stood up in time and let others take Edgar's place.
Plus, these troublesome things have been completed.
As for Edgar, he was naturally very grateful to His Highness the Prince. He had already developed his ability to treat people in the Paris social scene, so he immediately flattered His Highness the Prince in every possible way. Therefore, the two of them had only known each other for two days.
They already seemed like good friends.
Of course, deep down in their hearts, they both know that the other person is by no means a person they can relate to, and everything is just superficial.
"Edgar, I have something to say to you." After greetings, Charlie got down to the topic, "Just now, His Majesty gave me the task of rewarding people based on their merits. If you are willing, I can give you a reward."
Also put it on the list, so your father in Paris will definitely be happy about it."
"It's better not to do this..." Edgar quickly shook his head, "His Majesty knows exactly how I behave, otherwise he wouldn't assign me like this... It's good to get meritorious service, but if I offend him
It’s not good to be angry.”
This guy does have some brains! He also knows how to know himself.
Charlie was secretly surprised by his answer and felt that he might have underestimated this libertine.
So, his eyes darkened slightly and he changed his tone, "Okay, let's be honest. I know what you want to do."