Flowers, Swords and France

As expected, after leaving the battlefield, a torrential rain fell on the sea almost immediately. The strong wind with the roar of thunder blew up the high waves, and quickly swept away the traces of the war.

The Princess Charlotte, which had just escaped from the Russian warship, began to fight with nature again. It trembled and floated on the undulating sea surface, trying to sail according to the original route, like a fallen leaf in the wind.

As the captain, Eugene still stayed on the deck, shouting loudly, ordering his sailors to work up and down, stabilize the sails in the wind and rain, and drain the accumulated water in the boat.

The smell of gunpowder on the tip of the nose has not disappeared yet, and the rain carrying the fishy and salty sea water swept the entire deck, making Eugene's military uniform wet. However, even so, Eugene was still in a good mood. The joy of victory echoed in his heart, and his blood was as surging as the sea in front of him.

Such wind and rain would have greatly affected the sailing of the warship, but fortunately his new warship had a brand-new steam power, so it could overcome the constraints of nature to some extent. After a period of hard work, they finally left the storm-ravaged area and approached the mainland according to the scheduled route, preparing to cross the Bolshaya Strait again and return to the fleet's home port in Turkey.

The crew, who had been drifting on the sea for several days, couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief when they saw the mainland in sight, and then they cheered uncontrollably. Even Captain Eugene felt relieved for a moment.

At this time, it was already approaching night. Looking around, the glorious city was clearly visible. The lights lit up everywhere in the city were as dense as the stars in the sky. The capital of the empire was like a magnet, attracting the resources of the entire empire, and making it one of the most prosperous places in the world.

In order to defend the imperial capital of Istanbul, Turkey has deployed a large number of artillery batteries along the strait. These fortifications have been daunting for Russia for many years, and its painstakingly built fleet can only serve as an inland fleet in the Black Sea, unable to enter the Mediterranean Sea they dream of, and participate in the naval hegemony with European countries.

However, today, these artillery batteries did not become an obstacle for Eugene and his warships. After seeing this warship flying the French naval flag, the artillery batteries did not fire a single shot and allowed the Princess Charlotte to pass through the narrow strait and enter the Sea of ​​Marmara surrounded by two straits.

Because of the arrival of the French Navy, a large number of warships have been moored here. Along the way, Eugene always encountered warships of his own country or Turkey and other ships busy in the dark. Princess Charlotte passed through them and came all the way to the port where they were moored.

Under the lights of the night, two huge iron anchors weighing several tons, driven by the capstan, slowly slid down from the thick anchor cables, then fell into the water, and then sank to the bottom of the sea at a very fast speed, and then pierced into the seabed, providing stable support for the warship. As the anchors were lowered, the voyage finally ended.

Sailing for several consecutive days was not a very hard thing for these marine officers and soldiers who had been on the sea for a long time, but being able to return to their own port safely after a fierce battle and enjoy the joy of victory always made everyone feel relieved.

Under Eugene's order, the best part of the food left on the ship was taken out to provide the sailors with extra meals to celebrate today's victory. Although this victory was not big, it was a victory for the Princess Charlotte since it entered the battle - it might even be the first victory of the French Navy after the first battle with the Russian Navy.

After hearing the captain's order, the sailors on the ship cheered and then had a delicious meal. Some of them even got drunk and fell unconscious on the deck. Eugene was much calmer. After finishing dinner with his subordinates, he returned to his captain's room and wrote down today's battle and his psychological changes in his diary with the help of candlelight.

Since he came to serve on the warship, Eugene would write a diary every day to record his actions and mood of the day for future reference. Today's battle will undoubtedly have a strong and colorful stroke in his logbook, and he personally wants to write a diary for himself to record today's excitement and excitement, so that he can read it in the future, and maybe even use it as a capital to brag about the past to his children in the distant future-if he is lucky enough to have a family, wife and children in the future.

With excitement, Eugene finished writing today's long diary, and then carefully kept the diary in his suitcase, and it was already midnight. Only after all this was done did Eugene lie back in his hammock, ending this long and passionate day.

He fell asleep very late that night.

He woke up leisurely at noon the next day, and then he received an order from the headquarters on the shore. Marshal Treville, the commander of the expeditionary force, heard about his heroic performance yesterday and was going to personally summon him to commend him.

As a cruiser captain, he should not have the qualifications to meet the commander-in-chief directly. Needless to say, Marshal Treville did this for some personal reasons. However, he is the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, so he is right here. The supreme leader of the French Navy, so no one would stop him from doing so. Besides, the victory achieved by Eugene was one of the first victories won by the French Navy, so a heavy reward was not too out of the ordinary.

With excitement and some anxiety, Ou Ren immediately left his beloved battleship after receiving the order, came to the ground where he had not seen it for a long time, and then walked to the camp on land under the leadership of the commander-in-chief's herald. .

This place was originally a wasteland, but after it was occupied by the landing force of the French Expeditionary Force, through the efforts of French soldiers and a large number of recruited civilians, a large number of temporary buildings were built here in a short period of time. These rapid constructions Although the buildings built are crude in appearance, they can finally provide a shelter for these expeditionary officers and soldiers. However, as the subsequent expedition officers and soldiers were still arriving in a steady stream, even the temporary camp buildings were in short supply. A large number of officers and soldiers had to use field tents to build another camp around the temporary camp. Looking from a distance , these tents are surrounded by stars and the moon, wrapping the expeditionary force headquarters in the middle.

Along the way, they passed through many checkpoints and finally arrived at the headquarters camp.

Since it is the expeditionary force headquarters, it is naturally a busy place. When Eugene came here, he found a large group of officers of all ranks coming in and out of the small building, as busy as a lively market. .

Ou Ren knew that his status was low, so he honestly waited aside, waiting to be summoned by the marshal.

However, to his joy, he did not wait long. A young adjutant who was on duty beside the marshal came over and invited him to the marshal's reception room.

Not only Eugene himself was surprised, but other senior officers waiting to see the marshal were also very surprised. They all whispered and asked what the background of this naval lieutenant commander was. When being watched by these people, Eugene, who had always been fearless, felt a little on pins and needles this time. Fortunately, the adjutant took him away immediately, so that he did not have to endure such embarrassment anymore.

After passing through the narrow corridor, he finally came to a slightly spacious hall. The wooden building was well ventilated, so after he got rid of the crowd, he felt much cooler all over.

At this time, he found that his great-uncle, Marshal de Treville, was wearing a marshal's military uniform, sitting on a seat at the side of the room, talking to a group of naval officers next to him - these officers were from the Navy. The staff officer next to the commander-in-chief is Eugene's immediate boss.

Ou Ren quickly came to the center of the room and saluted the group of people.

"Boy, we're finally here!" The marshal laughed as soon as he saw Ou Ren, "Looking at it now, he looks like a man!"

Eugene's face turned a little red and he didn't know what to say. He could only stand upright and listen to the marshal's instructions.

"You did a good job yesterday. You beat up the Russians and achieved military exploits. Everyone in the navy is very satisfied with you, so I want to award you a medal," the old man said to his grandnephew concisely. "Remember, I am not You were awarded the medal as your uncle, but as the Commander-in-Chief! You have performed well enough to be awarded the medal, and these naval officers all think you should be awarded the medal."

"I...I'm just doing my duty..." Eugene, who has never been very good at words, didn't know what to say at this time, "My subordinates are braver than me."

He knew in his heart that although he had indeed made military exploits, the reason why these naval officers spoke so well of him to the Commander-in-Chief must be to please the Commander-in-Chief. Because he knew this, he felt even more embarrassed. .

"Silly boy, without good command, bravery is useless! Humility is a good thing, but don't be too humble, because it will look like you are proud." Marshal Treville scolded Eugene with a smile and waved his hand hard. Wave.

An adjutant immediately brought over a tray, and on the velvet cushion of the tray, a medal lay quietly on it, shining with a metallic luster.

The marshal stood up and picked up the medal from the tray.

A surge of blood surged up from Ou Ren's heart. He held his breath and straightened his waist.

"I hope you can continue to serve the empire with the same bravery in the future and do not disgrace this medal." With a pleased smile, Marshal Treville pinned the medal to Eugene's chest.

"Yes!" Ou Ren saluted again.

The naval officers nearby also applauded and congratulated the young captain on receiving such an honor.

"Okay, young man, now that the official business has been done, let me talk to you about personal matters." The marshal took Eugene to his original seat, "Now I am no longer the commander-in-chief. ”

Seeing what the marshal said, these officers all left with great knowledge, leaving the two members of the Treville family alone.

The marshal sat back in his seat, and then looked at his grandnephew quietly. At this time, his serious and businesslike expression had disappeared, leaving only relief and incomparable emotion.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Hey..." After a long time, he sighed, "If only Philip could see his grandson being so promising!"

"Grandpa must also be watching me in heaven." Ou Ren replied.

"Yes...he must be watching us from the sky." The marshal was startled for a moment, then nodded immediately, "How could he not look at us? Fortunately, we are worthy of him..."

Then, he sighed again, "You are probably the child in the family who is most like me. You crave adventure and excitement, and you are even more pure than me. Phillip and I fought hard to revive the family business, and you... ...You are born and died just for the sake of adventure, how precious and arrogant you are! Just like our ancestors a few centuries ago, the Sun King placed all the great nobles in Versailles, using the most powerful means in the world. Luxurious enjoyment comes to support them, and they are willing to live and die for the king and France... Can you imagine that time? Our ancestor and his friends came out of the palace happily and ran to the front line, a teenager. The children can be the leader, and they will not make anyone jealous at all, because they have to be at the front every time they launch an attack, just like the king's biological brother...ah, how dazzling we were back then!"

Eugene listened quietly to the old man's narration. However, although he was a little moved in his heart, he had no resonance. The old man who had experienced the Versailles era and the young man who had been rewashed by sixty years of wind and rain, even if they belonged to the same family, had different thoughts. It is impossible not to create some barriers.

"God really loves to play tricks on people. My grandson is most like Philip, and Philip's grandson is most like me, but...this is not bad, because His arrangement made me understand what Philip did more, and what we two brothers How intimate." The old man raised his hand and gently stroked Eugene's golden hair, as if he were stroking another person. "God testifies, I have never done anything in my life. I am sure that he has never done anything to let me down. When we escaped from France, my father told us to share weal and woe. At least we have not disobeyed him... With this kind of unity, we have overcome more than half a century of troubles and regained everything we have today. Eugene, remember, our generations of Trevilles have done all kinds of evil, but we have never abandoned our families!"

Ou Ren listened in silence, and he vaguely felt something from the old man's words.

Even if he keeps saying that he is most like him, the person he loves most in his heart is still his grandson, Ou Ren thought.

"I will obey the orders of my sister and Ciel. I remember it very clearly. Without them, I would not be where I am today." After a moment, he nodded. "You are right, we must unite, only in this way can we withstand all storms."

"Smart boy." The old man smiled, and then patted him on the shoulder, "With this intelligence, what big things can't be accomplished! When I see you, I think of myself fifty years ago... …We said goodbye in Germany at that time, and I took my wife and children back to France to serve Napoleon. At that time, I was as high-spirited as you... It’s great to be young!”

"Take care of yourself, Your Majesty Marshal." Seeing the old man's expression of infinite emotion, Ou Ren couldn't help but feel a little inexplicable in his heart, "You are the commander-in-chief of the entire army, and we hope very much to dedicate victory to you..."

"Victory is dedicated to His Majesty." The old man smiled again, "And we can only pursue things other than victory."

Before Ou Ren could react, another figure appeared in the hall.

This man looked to be less than thirty years old, but his face was rigid and old-fashioned, giving him a depressing feeling.

"Let me introduce you to him. He is a right-hand man in our family. His surname is Kongze." The old marshal introduced him to the stunned Eugene, "He has now accepted Charles's assignment and is here to serve us. To serve the interests of the family, and now...it’s time to need you.”

"What...?" Ou Ren asked a little strangely.

"Let me tell you first, it won't be long before the navy will fully enter the Black Sea and then go to bombard Odessa." Treville told him calmly.

At this time, he was calm, and no longer had the infinite emotion just now, as if he had returned to the role of marshal again, "There is no doubt that as the jewel in the hand of the Tsar, Odessa must be beaten hard by us, but... … Our family also has many business contacts in Odessa, and we cannot sit back and watch our friends suffer losses in such fire.”

"To a certain extent, if artillery fire can attack the warehouses, docks and warehouses of our commercial opponents but spare our partners, that should be the best result." Kong Ze, who still had a straight face, said coldly Say, "We should work on this."

Ou Ren finally understood.

"The navy's action has been approved by me. Because of the military exploits you just made, I decided to put you in charge of the bombardment of Odessa... and what you have to do is to cooperate with this Mr. Kongze and let us The interests of the family will not be harmed." Marshal Treville explained to Eugene in a calm manner, "My child, you are fortunate to serve the family. May God bless you."

In front of his uncle's earnest eyes, Eugene, who had calmed down, found that he could not express any objection.

"I will do my best not to disappoint you, Marshal." Finally, he answered decisively.