Seeing Edmond Dantès looking so heartbroken, Aigron couldn't help but feel a little pity.
So, he also slowed down his tone, "Edmund, I'm not telling you this to expose your old scars, but to let you see the reality clearly that your fiancée no longer belongs to you, but is married to someone else."
Now, she has her family and her future. And what about you? As I just said, you have become a great big shot now, and you will become an even bigger big shot in the future. The whole of Paris will tremble for you.
, you don’t need to think about that former fishing village girl anymore..."
It was very rude of him to do this, and it was extremely rare, which clearly showed that his sanity had begun to loosen at this moment.
"I beg you...I beg you please don't say that again, okay?" He begged Aigron with a trembling voice, "I know everything you said is right, you are as insightful as ever.
, rationally speaking, I should leave the past behind and embrace the future you gave me. But...but...I really can't forget it! Her childhood sweetheart and I have already engraved each other's appearance in our souls.
Whether I was on a merchant ship in the Mediterranean or in a dark prison, I never forgot for a moment the happy times we had and the regret that we almost got married. No! It should be said that it is precisely because of this
Only with a combination of happiness and regret can I support myself mentally and prevent myself from dying. I can't forget it, I really can't forget it... And I believe she hasn't forgotten it either. I don't blame her for marrying Fernand, because
She is already desperate... In that case, what else can you blame her for?"
As he spoke, this tough guy who had killed countless people actually had tears rolling down his cheeks. "If she had known at that time that I was not dead yet and there was still hope of getting out of prison, she would never have married Fernand.
."
Seeing this situation, Aigron had no choice but to do anything. He knew that nothing he could say could change the other person's mind. In a sense, his idea was actually correct. In the original work, Mercedes was indeed
After many efforts to seek help for Edmond Dantès, he finally married Fernand, who is now Count Morcerf. In that difficult time, a lonely and helpless woman, in that
No one could blame her for making such a helpless compromise.
That's right, he is such a man who attaches great importance to love and justice. If he could easily forget Mercedes now, he would not be who he is.
"Then what are you going to do?" After a moment of silence, Aigron asked again in a low voice, "Do you still want revenge?"
"I think about it every day!" Edmond Dantès wiped away his tears and replied in a chilling tone, "I want revenge, and I want to end the lives of my enemies with my own hands."
"Then this means you have to kill her husband and the father of her child." Aigron said calmly, "Do you have to do it even so?"
"Even so, I must do it!" Edmond Dantès replied loudly. "He almost ruined my life and let my old father die of hunger. If I don't kill him with my own hands, I won't be worthy of being a human being."
"Very good, indeed." Aigron nodded in agreement, and then changed the topic, "Then, if one day you kill her husband Fernan, what are you going to do with her and her children?"
Edmond Dantès was a little stunned, obviously he had not thought much about this issue.
After a moment of silence, he replied.
"I want to rediscover the happiness that belongs to both of us with her. If...if she is still willing to forgive me, I will marry her. As for her child...I will raise it properly, even though he is Fernand's.
She is a child, but she is also Mercedes’ child. I have complaints and complaints, but I cannot implicate the next generation."
Sure enough...Aigron thought.
Even the son of the enemy can be forgiven, just because he has half the blood of his lover.
"It's really admirable love." Although he didn't particularly agree, he finally nodded. "Okay, Edmund, if you are willing to do this, then I can only support you."
Everyone has their own values, and he has no interest in imposing his own values on others. If Edmond Dantes feels that doing so is the way to his happiness, then he can only acquiesce.
"But I have something to say first. Suppose all this comes true, and you kill your enemy and then marry her, then I will only recognize the flesh and blood of you and your wife as your heirs. Even if Count Morcerf's son is adopted by you
, and you are not qualified to inherit anything I gave you." He expressed his final opinion, joking by the way. "You and her are already not young, and I'm afraid they will be even older when the day you realize your wish.
So I suggest that you seize the time when the time comes, lest everything I give you is wasted... I cannot bear to see my favorite lose his heir, and the title Count of Monte Cristo should be passed down in my empire."
"Okay, Your Majesty." Edmond Dantes was slightly embarrassed, but he immediately agreed to the agreement.
"It's really too early for us to talk about this now. Count Morcerf is thriving in Paris, and we can only kill him by returning to France." Aigron raised his head and looked at the stars in the sky.
, "But I believe that that day is not far away... We are on the road to victory. Sooner or later, everything in France will change according to our wishes."
Then, he stretched out his hand and patted Edmond Dantès gently on the shoulder.
This is understanding, encouragement, expectation, and the pride of fighting side by side. Thousands of words are integrated into this gentle pat.
Then Aigron waved his hand and made a gesture to signal the other party to leave.
Edmond Dantès bowed to salute his benefactor, then turned and left. Then he took a boat and rowed to the shore of the lake, returning to his residence.
Next, everyone's focus shifted to preparing for the canonization ceremony and founding celebration of the Grand Duchess of Ioannina.
Under Aiglon's order, his main officers took their men to wipe out the remnants of the Turks and gangs everywhere. With the deepening of the ruling power, the frightened upper-class people everywhere also turned to Ali.
The pasha's heirs paid tribute, and a steady stream of supplies poured into the city of Ioannina, enriching the city's strength.
After the principality was established, the city of Ioannina was naturally the capital of the principality and his home base here. He must run it well.
According to the plan beforehand, he cleared out a group of priests and landowners around the city of Ioannina on charges of "Turkish remnants", "bandit leaders", etc., looted their land and property, and then distributed them to his men to break away.
People in the army, relying on this group of people, he will establish a stable core of rule.
As for the remaining upper-class people, he publicly stated that he would never embarrass them and allow them to perform their duties and manage their property normally so as not to provoke their resistance.
However, at this time, he also deliberately played the trick of divide and rule. When selecting local officials, he deliberately selected Orthodox Christians first in order to instigate conflicts and opposition between the two sects. Of course, under his shock, the two sects
They also did not dare to engage in armed conflict, and could only bury each other's grievances in their hearts, which actually cut off their ability to unite against the principality.
Under Aigron's planning, the future structure of the Principality of Ioannina can be seen as several layers of concentric circles, with himself and Haidee as the core, and then the members of the Knights who followed him to occupy Ioannina.
As the highest ruling class, the most important military and political positions are only held by them, and Father Faria became the prime minister, using his brainpower to assist Aiglon in controlling this top level.
The second layer is the soldiers who stayed in the army after disarmament. They are Bonaparte supporters who volunteered to come to Greece to join Aigron. They are also the core force in his hands at the moment, and they are the ones he will take to France in his future plan to take over.
The backbone of political power.
The third level is the Greeks who surrendered to Aiglon and then went north together. They were allocated land around the city of Ioannina by Aiglon and became yeoman farmers with arable land. However, they also shouldered the responsibility of accepting Aigron's call to defend the principality.
Duty, they are the most loyal defenders of the principality, because if the principality is destroyed, everything they finally obtained will be in vain.
The fourth level is the Orthodox priests and landowners in the principality. They are at a disadvantage in terms of population, but they are deliberately supported by Aigron, let them serve as officials, and win them over as supporters. They are also very happy to see the principality being converted to Orthodox Christianity.
The rule of Dai also very much hopes that the Knights of Fontainebleau will continue to protect their interests.
On the fifth floor are the MSL priests and landowners. They originally occupied a dominant position in the local upper class, but were suppressed by Aiglon, so they will definitely feel dissatisfied.
However, Aigron also used the method of killing chickens to scare monkeys to scare them. Although sporadic riots occurred in some places, overall they did not dare to resist.
Moreover, the Ioannina area had been plunged into continuous wars for years. The Greeks, Albanians and Turks were fighting here endlessly. Even the upper class felt that their future was precarious. However, after Aiglon settled in, it provided a relatively stable place.
The ruling order, at least the safety of their property and lives has been ensured, they are temporarily satisfied and welcome the establishment of the principality.
The sixth level, which is the lowest level, is the vast number of farmers and craftsmen in the principality. They provide the main productivity, bear taxes, and are politically powerless. However, in this troubled times, they have no influence on "
The expectations of the "government" have been reduced to an extremely low level. As long as they have a safe life and food to fill their stomachs, most of them welcome the establishment of the principality, as long as it can provide security.
"Security" and "prosperity" are the pie that Egeron can draw for everyone. Even those who are excluded from the ruling system can reluctantly accept this new order as long as they can get rid of the war.
Of course, there is no doubt that this layer-by-layer isolation system cannot be maintained for several generations, but he originally did not expect to maintain it for thousands of generations, as long as nothing happens in the foreseeable future.
He is not interested in ruling a small principality all the time. This is just a stopover on his way. The only stage in his eyes is Paris, which is the place destined to belong to him.
Under the deliberations of Aigron and Father Faria and other close confidants, decrees were promulgated from the city of Ioannina and spread throughout the region. With their efforts, a new order seemed to have slowly spread in this city.
It was established in a war-torn area, and it has a vague sense of the country's atmosphere.
Eggron knew that as a new country, the Principality of Ioannina needed to establish an intuitive "impression" in people's minds as soon as possible.
When they marched all the way north, he and Haidee often appeared in front of the crowd, just to create the impression in people's subconscious that "we have a ruler". Then he also had people design the flag and national emblem of the principality, and even
They also had people rush to make the seal of the Grand Duchess Ioannina (of course, the Prime Minister of the Principality kept it on her behalf). Although it was not perfect due to the rush of time, it was enough to set up a shelf.
In order to strengthen people's "impression" of the principality, Aiglon even authorized the establishment of a temporary Supreme Court, allowing this court to accept lawsuits from land and property disputes.
Generally speaking, the people who would cause such disputes were upper-class people, and Aigron wanted to make people accustomed to and remember the existence of "principal authority" by adjudicating their lawsuits, and to obey this authority.
He also deliberately arranged for Haidee to attend such court proceedings every day. Although she was ordered not to say a word or make any ruling, her sitting there alone was enough to reflect the rule of the Grand Duchess.
Whether it is politics, military, or justice, work can be said to be complicated and complicated, even more than Aigron imagined. However, for him, it is not boring, and he even regards it as a kind of advance preparation.
After all, the country he dreamed of was a hundred times bigger than Ioannina.
During this period of busy work, winter also came to the Balkan Peninsula.
Although the local climate is warm, winter is winter after all. Aigron put on a winter coat and had people distribute cold-proof clothes and food inside and outside Ioannina. After all, if someone would die of cold and hunger just after arriving here,
It’s too ugly in appearance.
As for the surrounding remote areas, he didn't care about them for the time being, as long as he kept them out of sight.
And just as the winter wind was blowing, the canonization ceremony of the Grand Duchess of the Principality of Ioannina and the founding celebration of the Principality were also well prepared.
He wanted to personally use this to put an end to his staged victory.