"My dignity does not allow me to agree to your proposal, sir, I'm sorry."

Under the warm clear sky, Agron replied in a calm but extremely firm tone.

Mr. Phoenix-Gordon looked at him in a daze, and the two men looked at each other like that.

There was no room for compromise - just looking at the other person's expression and look, Mr. Gordon made this judgment.

The middle-aged man didn't expect that the teenager in front of him was still so young, and he already had such a decisive willpower and the self-confidence that he was right.

Although he was much softer and more handsome than his father, his gaze reminded him of that man.

Is this the fate that France cannot get rid of? There will always be these monsters that can deceive people's hearts to make her live and die!

He couldn't help but let out a lament.

"O poor people...... Whatever she did wrong, God told her to doom! ”

Phoenix-Gordon, as a man who has not left the French political scene since his youth, has witnessed almost everything that has happened in France in the past thirty years.

As a young man, he was influenced by the Enlightenment and was a staunch supporter of the revolution, and at the height of the revolution he took part in the activities of the republicans.

But with the bloody killings of the Revolution and the fratricidal rivalry of the leaders of the National Assembly, he began to doubt everything he had believed before, and then went from being a republican to a supporter of a constitutional monarchy.

Although he began to be active in the political arena during the imperial era, and was cordially received by His Majesty the Emperor because of his outstanding ability, and he also admired the Emperor Napoleon very much, but in his heart he was very disgusted with the recklessness of the imperial army, and believed that the war that had lasted for many years should be ended sooner. And the destruction of the empire just confirmed his judgment.

Since then, he has firmly believed that France can no longer follow the old path of royal supremacy and the drunken dreams and profligacy of princes and nobles; But he also believed that a radical revolution, and a greedy, expansive, militaristic empire, would never give France a future.

He longed to take a path of moderation, which was not so glamorous, but it could also put an end to the bloody counteroffensives, bring peace and stability to people, and heal the wounds of the nation.

It was for this purpose that he did not pledge allegiance to the restored Bourbons, but chose to join the Duke of Orleans.

It is true that the House of Orléans has many stains, they have repeatedly betrayed the royal family and the revolution, and most of the nobles will never forget the vote of the previous duke in the death sentence of Louis XVI, and the majority of the republicans will not forget that they fled from France at a critical moment for the nation.

However, he believed that the Duke of Orleans himself was the most suitable person to lead France down the course of moderation.

He was a branch of the French royal family, one of the highest nobles, but his habits were very common, his life was simple, he did not like extravagant pomp, he was approachable, he did not like pomp and show, he did not even linger in flowers, and he was very loyal to his family. He did not have the arrogance and profligacy of the royal family, the bloodthirsty madness of the revolutionaries, and the great joy of Napoleon, and if he ascended to the throne of France, then France would usher in an era of incomparably rare peace.

Calm! That's all he thinks France needs.

[Historically, after the Duke of Orleans successfully usurped the throne in 1830, he once spoke in parliament and said bluntly, "We are taking the middle course."] 】

To this end, he threw himself into the command of the Duke of Orleans, and he did everything he could to increase his prestige and influence, and to seek the favor and acquiescence of the European powers, and he did a great deal of success in this regard, even if he was not a man of pride, for whom he was sometimes complacent.

This time he had been assigned by the Duke to the capital of Austria on a mission that had been successfully accomplished, but before he could go back he had the whimsical idea that it would be all the more worthwhile to persuade the leader of the Bonapartists, the Napoleonic heir who had been left behind at Schönbrunn Palace, to accept national reconciliation and renounce his status as a pretender to the throne, and even to persuade him to support the House of Orleans.

If he did, it would not only be a great feat for the Duke of Orleans, but also an indelible contribution to the prosperity and peace of the nation.

However, after just a few words, he knew that he had completely failed, and he was defeated. His own ideas did not get any response from the teenager, and the other party did not even bother to bargain with those negotiation conditions that he carefully considered, and could only be reduced to ridiculous wishful thinking.

What else can be said? What else can be done?

He bowed his head.

"I beg you to think twice about my proposal, Your Highness." He wanted to make a last, desperate effort. "Is it in your interest to continue this hopeless insistence?"

"Sir, I have made it very clear, and you will make me repeat it ten more times - I will not give up my right." "Maybe you're right, it's destined to be just a hopeless insistence, or even a rhetoric out of touch with reality, but even so, I won't forget that I was born to rule this country, and you can watch me drown in this dream!" ”

So, there is no hope. Phoenix Gordon could only sigh.

His chagrin, frustration, depression, and even pain, these negative emotions swirled in his mind, and finally turned into anger, a powerless heartache.

"What does it mean to be born destined to rule? Have you forgotten that your ancestors were just islanders? A few decades ago, the Bonapartes were not even French! Didn't your father take advantage of the revolution to destroy the country and steal it in a coup? Who is he to pass on France to you as a private property? Anger and heartache made him no longer as polite as he was just now, "Is it ...... Would the Bonapartes not let go of this poor country? She's bled enough! ”

"You are right, I do not deny it, but, may I ask you, is it only the responsibility of the Bonapartes? You're thinking too highly of us. Aiglon didn't get angry, but sneered, "That's right, the Bonaparte family was only an archipelago decades ago, and it was only thanks to the grace of His Majesty Louis XV that they became French, but the Bonaparte family has no crystal ball and no magic, it can't hypnotize 30 million people and make them kneel on the throne and dedicate it to themselves, isn't all this chosen by the French themselves?" The war began in the era of the Republic, and the guillotine was carried forward by the revolutionary party, so what can be blamed on Bonaparte? ”

As he spoke, the smile on his face deepened, "So, it was the French themselves who chose to shed their blood, and then enshrined the one who could best lead them to bleed. If the French love bloodshed, then what can you blame the Bonapartes? Everything is their own choice, we must respect the choice of the nation, you are self-righteous to show the way for a nation, right? Mr. ”

"You...... You ......" Aglon's words left Mr. Gordon speechless for a moment.

"Am I saying something wrong? I now live in seclusion in Austria, without a single soldier or a few coppers, and if the French had abandoned me on their own initiative, I would not have been able to make any more splashes, nor would I have been able to cause any more trouble to anyone, and even if I said that I was the son of God, it would have been a joke, and there would be no need for you to fear me or to entrap me. Aglon continued unhurriedly.

"As you can see, all I can rely on is the choice of the French themselves, and if the French people themselves want to choose Bonaparte, and want to regain the glory they once dreamed of, how can you stand in the way of the choice of the nation? I suggest that you stop making unnecessary efforts to convince me, and just wait for God's verdict, for God has condemned me to die as an obscure pawn by France, and you can save the Duke of Orleans six million a year, isn't it ideal? ”

What a cold and unforgiving declaration! Mr. Gordon couldn't help but gasp.

He had seen too many more heartless words in the National Assembly back then, but he never imagined that he would hear such a declaration of contempt and no responsibility for a nation from the lips of a teenager.

His eloquence was so good that it was difficult to refute it, but the more he did, the more he felt his indifference to the French, as Napoleon used to do.

It is indeed an heir, and it has not changed at all.

The more handsome the smile of the young man on the other side was, the more hideous and terrifying it seemed to him at this moment.

It's time for it to end.

"Okay, I see what you mean, Your Highness." He bowed again and ended the conversation between the two of them, "I really appreciate you taking the time to receive me, although the two of us don't agree at all, but it's probably a good thing to exchange opinions with each other." ”

"I'm glad to meet you, sir, too." Aiglon replied with a smile, "It's always nice to see people who are different from your usual life. ”

The two of them were speechless and said goodbye silently.

============================================

By the time Aglon walked back to his original position, Phoenix-Gordon had already left with Mr. Gentz.

He continued with Chanel and resumed the walk that had been interrupted.

"Your Highness, what did that guy just tell you? You don't seem to look very pleasant......" Chanel asked with courage.

"Ah, he begs me to renounce the imperial throne and to be loyal to the French government, for which he may pay me a large sum of money." Aiglon replied casually.

Chanel's expression was suddenly overshadowed by horror and terror, and she looked at Aglon with wide eyes.

"Your Highness, you ...... You're not going to say yes, are you? ”

"No, I didn't." Aiglon shook his head, "I told him I would rather die trapped for the rest of my life than bow to the traitors. ”

"Great!" Chanel breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest happily, "I knew that Your Highness, you would never give up......"

"So you see, if the French themselves are willing to shed blood, what can they blame us?" Aglon shrugged his shoulders and muttered, "I don't comply, they don't." ”

"Your Highness, what are you talking about?" Chanel didn't hear clearly, so he asked again.

"Nothing, Chanel, thank you." Agron smiled and looked at her again, "Without your encouragement, I wouldn't have gotten better so quickly. ”

"It's just what I'm supposed to do." Chanel blushed slightly and lowered her gaze.