"The bell tower, the palace, the hall, the dazzling costumes, the indulgence in singing;

painted on the color window decoration, the arch stone relief outline;

Countless longing eyes were greedily clustered around him, just as the stars flattered the sun;

Who noticed that the poor man was trembling;

Only he knew that the heavy palace was weighing on the back of a beast of pack.

The burden of iniquity is shared with him;

Drunk and revelry, the stars of Ambilight and fluttering have forgotten everything;

He could hear the beast of burden wailing, roaring, tearing;

He desperately raised his arms, he wanted to hold on to the crumbling palace;

If they could, who would want to bear that moment?

But the day of destiny has finally come;

The earth cracked, magma rolled in, and the sky boiled and heated;

The roar of thunder overshadowed the wail, the sun went out, and the stars fell;

Until all things are gone, the living things are exhausted, and the blood finally quells the calamity;

And then, in ruins wrapped in silk and gold;

In the ruined tombs, saints and sinners sleep together.

Swallowed by magma and burned by thunder;

No one is saved, no one is forgiven. ”

In the gardens of the Château de Fontainebleau, His Majesty the Emperor, with his cane, strolled through the pavilions and admired the fountain under the columns, and after a long silence he spoke freely, and then without pausing to read out the new poem he had just hatched.

His voice, smooth and natural, with a little hoarseness, was clear and intoned because of the strict education he had endured over the years. It's just that his voice is mixed with inexplicable gloom, coupled with his restrained and sad expression, it sounds like he is reciting some eulogy.

After reading it, he let out a long breath, as if at this moment he had exhaled the long-standing depression in his chest.

The middle-aged man, thin and dressed in civilian clothes, with fair skin and brown hair, made him look even more gentle.

He was an emperor, but he was also a poet.

After a brief silence, applause began to ring out behind him.

"It's wonderful, Your Majesty!" The Comte de Dielion bent over and looked at his master with the utmost deference, "Your poetry is destined to illuminate all of France!" It is a rare honor for our country to have an excellent poet like you! ”

His Majesty the Emperor did not smile at the exaggerated compliments of his court clerk, his face turned slightly to the sidelines, his gaze swept over the Count, and he did not linger for a moment, and his wordless contempt made him disdain to even reprimand the other party.

His gaze wandered behind the Count, skimming over the faces he knew and didn't recognize, and slowly searched, until he finally settled on a young man.

This young man, dressed in the uniform of the Praetorian Guard, with shiny gold buttons making his face look extremely fair, riding boots and uniforms made him a little more heroic, but his face was still a little childish, obviously just the kind of aristocratic boy who held ceremonial duties in the court.

His bright blonde hair, neatly combed, revealing a broad forehead, and his blue eyes sparkled with the light of wisdom, made him show a different cleverness from the average boy.

What a beautiful blonde boy!

Poets always love beautiful things, and this time is no exception.

"Charles." The Emperor finally smiled slightly, picked up his cane and waved it gently at the young man, motioning for him to come. "What do you think?"

The boy immediately felt a jealous gaze cast from the side—not everyone had the opportunity to be called by His Majesty the Emperor to comment on his poetry.

Hmph, who told you that you don't have the ability to do this? The young man secretly sneered in his heart, and then walked up to His Majesty's side with a respectful face.

"Your Majesty, of course, your poems are as good as ever, full of charm, and with outstanding intentions, and the rhythm is natural...... according to custom, Charles first satisfied His Majesty's pride with a large compliment.

But it was not enough to do so, and the emperor had no shortage of praisers.

"But ......" So, Charles came up with a small twist at the end.

"But what?" His Majesty the Emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, but did not show any anger.

"Isn't the tone too ...... Something gloomy? Charles lowered his voice, "Your Majesty...... If I'm not mistaken, you're worried about rebellion in the poem, are you? You think that the ministers and nobles are drunk and dying, and that you are the only one who is worried, trying in vain to fight these rebels...... Of course, maybe I misunderstood it ... ”

"And then?" His Majesty the Emperor was noncommittal.

"I don't think it's advisable for you to have such a negative attitude, though...... Well, while it may be true that some of your subordinates or officials are not worthy of the honor and trust you give, most of them are still dedicated to serving you and the Empire. Xia Er looked at His Majesty the Emperor with sincerity, "People like us will faithfully defend you, even if the sky collapses, it will definitely stand in front of you, if there is really any disaster that makes you unable to return to the sky, at least I will not live to see it!" ”

"Boy, you're pretty good at talking." The Emperor was still noncommittal, but smiled slightly, then waved his cane, and turned and walked towards the gazebo. "Play chess with me for a while."

Charles de Treville, the only grandson and heir of Marshal Treville, received strict instruction from his grandfather from an early age, and was later sent to the court by his grandfather to serve as a guard officer along with some other nobles of the empire.

If you want to have power, then you must first get close to power, and the old man's idea is so simple and direct, and it is so effective.

Under the influence of his grandfather, this seemingly beautiful young man has a desire for power beyond ordinary people, and he tries to climb himself to the top of the huge machine of the empire, even if he does not hesitate to slap the horse.

And as a time-traveler with lofty ambitions and natural conditions, he has his own arrogance and principles - he doesn't shoot sycophants, he slaps high-end sycophants.

They are all the descendants of a group of old and rough people, and they are naturally very capable of riding horses and guns to attract bees and butterflies, and it would be too difficult for them to help His Majesty the Emperor comment on poetry, and they can't do this job - so Charles stood out from this group of people.

The former emperor liked to fight, and now His Majesty likes poetry and literature, and a group of fortunate ministers who are also good at dancing and writing have gathered around him, and Charles is barely half of them.

Being able to get the high opinion of His Majesty the Emperor is of course a good thing that cannot be sought, but because of this, Charles is doubly careful, after all, His Majesty the Emperor is not such a foolish person.

So he kept looking for opportunities to show his loyalty to His Majesty and to please him—fortunately, there was a precedent for his grandfather, and he had some credibility in saying these things, and no one would be surprised that the blood of a young man usually leads to blind loyalty.

Charles followed in the footsteps of His Majesty the Emperor and walked into the pavilion, where the water was flowing in the fountain next to him, bringing a touch of coolness, and further isolating the noisy sound next to him, no one followed, and there were only the two of them in the pavilion.

It's enough for them to play chess with peace of mind.

Inside the pavilion is a stone table with a checkerboard painted in black and white, on which crystal pieces are placed, waiting for another round of fighting.

In addition to his busy state activities, His Majesty the Emperor often played chess as a pastime, and Charles, who had been fond of this since he was a child and had a high level, became the object of his practice from time to time.

Not surprisingly, Charles often loses to His Majesty the Emperor, but he is able to make the process twists and turns and entertain His Majesty in the midst of tension - it is these skills that make Charles stand out from the crowd of the second and third generations of the Empire's patriarchs, and always get His Majesty's attention.

As soon as he sat down, His Majesty the Emperor reached out and picked up the horse on his right and jumped to the sideline.

According to the experience that Charles has been summing up, every time His Majesty makes such a move, it means that his mind is not on the chessboard, so he picks the most skillful move, and he arches a pawn in the middle.

The most important thing about his chess game with His Majesty is to seize the center, use troops to control the center, and can spread the formation as quickly as possible, and then control the situation - and then win if you want to win, and lose if you want to lose.

In this way, the two of you took a few steps back and forth, completing the initial layout stage.

Because there are more times, the start is relatively fixed, and it is over quickly.

"I heard that Prince Murat had tea with your grandfather two days ago?" As soon as the layout was finished, His Majesty the Emperor suddenly asked.

Charles, who was immersed in the chessboard, was slightly stunned, and then immediately reacted.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Did you say anything interesting?" His Majesty slowly and leisurely picked up his queen and walked diagonally to the sideline, "Did your grandfather mention anything interesting to you?" ”

"Actually, there isn't much." Charles muttered for a moment, then looked around out of the corner of his eye to make sure no one could hear him before he whispered in reply.

His Royal Highness thinks...... Marshal Malcev is not worthy of the honor you give him, and he said to the Duke of Dalmatia...... Say that you intend to have him come and replace the duke. ”

"Oh." His Majesty took the crystal chess piece in his hand, his expression was calm and thoughtful, "It's not surprising." ”

Charles held his breath, paying attention to the Emperor's every subtle movement, as it might represent something that could tear the heavens apart.

That's right, he is informing, and with the tacit consent of his grandfather.

The reason why he did this was also because this old and sophisticated aristocratic general smelled some ominous smell in the cloudy center of the empire, so he was bent on seeking the best interests for himself and his grandson.

After the death of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, because his son was too young, his Empress Louisa was regent, and this woman from Austria certainly would not convince the princes and heroes of the family, so from the beginning, the wrestling between the two sides was very fierce.

In order to stabilize her son's throne and maintain her power, Her Majesty the Queen Mother had to try her best to win over her subordinates, and it was not easy to stabilize the situation, and in this series of compromises, her authority was also greatly weakened, and the phenomenon of the elders and generals becoming self-contained was almost impossible to stop.

When His Majesty the Emperor grew up in power, he began to control the imperial power of the empire, and this inevitably went to the opposite side of the patriarchal system.

However, this Majesty has a calm personality and has always sought to be safe, preferring to weaken the authority of the senators little by little, after all, he is very young and time is on his side.

With the passage of time, he had reigned for more than twenty years, and during this time most of the patriarchs had been taken away by death due to old age, and the situation did evolve in the direction he expected.

The only regret is that his biggest and most feared person is still alive.

As one of the most courageous generals of the Napoleonic era, Prince Murat, who married Napoleon's sister Caterina, was the only person who had both royal status and marshal status, and could be said to be the most powerful senator of the empire.

He was close to eighty years old, but his spirit was still vigorous, and although he retired from active service when His Majesty the Emperor was in power, he was still full of energy, and often traveled from place to place, keeping in touch with old subordinates and old friends, and maintaining his influence—this old man had a childish face and a strong spirit, and almost made people believe that he could live a long life.

The prince, who was old and immortal, and liked to make trouble everywhere, made His Majesty tired and jealous, and even hated, though he never made it explicit.

Theoretically, as a veteran general of the Napoleonic Emperor's era, Marshal Trevier should be regarded as a member of the Senate faction, but after staying by His Majesty's side for so long, Marshal Trevier could also feel His Majesty's jealousy of these old people who affected his authority, so he decided to do what this family has been accustomed to doing for many years-

He was close to the other veterans of the empire, but he also greeted His Majesty, allowing himself to be left and right, while constantly watching the situation and speculating who would have the last laugh.

Although the patriarchs and military leaders all have a high position and great power, after all, His Majesty is young, so the old marquis himself is still more inclined to the emperor, so he pays great attention to letting his grandson get close to the emperor, and often reports to His Majesty on the movements in the army.

"Your Majesty...... In fact, you don't have to care too much, His Royal Highness is sometimes just open-mouthed, he is a straightforward person, and when he is old, he has no constraints, so sometimes he doesn't speak properly, you don't have to take it to heart. Seeing that the emperor was a little unhappy, Charles hurriedly said good things for the prince.

Of course, this was not because he liked Murat or anything else, but mainly because he wanted to establish himself as loyal and impartial in front of the emperor.

"Angry? Why be angry? Something to be expected. His Majesty the Emperor showed a slight sneer, then reached out and put it on the chessboard again, pinching the chess pieces, "Charles, I am the master of the chessboard, as long as a person plays this game of chess according to the rules on the chessboard, then I am the winner, and I will always be the winner." There is only one kind of person...... A talent deserves to make people angry. ”

With a flick of his right hand, large pieces of chess pieces fell to the ground one by one.

The crystal chess pieces crackled and shattered, and a pile of shards lay at Charles's feet, shining with a blurry brilliance.

"That is, the person who does not play chess, but directly overturns the chessboard. This kind of person is particularly terrible and must be eradicated as soon as possible. His Majesty the Emperor's cold voice sounded in the young man's ears.

The young man's face suddenly turned pale.

"Your Majesty......"

"For the sake of making me so happy today, I'll give you a good job, Charles." His Majesty the Emperor raised his head to look at him, and suddenly said thoughtlessly.

"Command, Your Majesty." Charles froze.

Since he is assigned a task, he must accept it as "good" regardless of whether it is good or not.

"We have a guest in Paris, ready to have a good time, his identity is mysterious, but it doesn't matter to us, we know that he is now called the Count of Monte Cristo." His Majesty the Emperor smiled calmly, "Go and help him get acquainted with the city, and make him happy, after all, he is working for me now." ”

"......" Charles suddenly didn't know what His Majesty the Emperor was thinking.

"He's rich, very rich, and he's generous, he's willing to give money to anyone — as long as that person pleases him." The emperor's smile deepened, "Charles, you are still young, I can't let you be a high-ranking official, but as long as you are next to this person for a year, if you are lucky, you can earn enough income for three or five years as a high-ranking official, and no one will sue you for this, I have decided to give you this rare fat shortage." ”

"So...... What else do I need to do? Charles asked immediately.

"Clever boy." The Emperor nodded approvingly. "Monitor him, and if you find that he is acting against France or leaking information about France or about me, report it immediately, if necessary...... You can be summarily executed first, understand? ”

"Understood." Charles took a deep breath.

"Good." His Majesty the Emperor smiled gently, "Copy the poem I just wrote, I'm going to polish it in the evening." ”

Although he was a poet, he was first and foremost an emperor.