Eagle’s Glory

In order to make the duchy be born as soon as possible, Aegron took the canonization celebration and the founding ceremony as the top priority, and has been urging his subordinates to step up to do it.

Of course, his subordinates did not dare to neglect, and concentrated all available human and material resources to handle this matter. After busy preparations, finally, on December 2, everything was ready.

Why was this day chosen for the celebration? Because Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the Empire on December 2, 1804, and on December 2, 1805, the anniversary of his coronation, he defeated the combined forces of the tsar and the Austrian emperor at Austerlitz and embarked on The pinnacle of life.

All loyal to the Bonaparte family will never forget this date, and Aigron deliberately chose this date to create the Duchy of Ioannina, just to declare that he too has embarked on the same glorious path.

In the early morning of this day, all the influential people in Ioannina City—whether they came with Aegron or the local upper class, rushed to the square in the city.

This small square was already surrounded by water at this time, waiting for the next ceremony.

Although it was cold and windy outside, at this time, because the square was crowded with people, it was relatively warm, and the airflow that people exhaled during breathing and conversation seemed to cover the square with a thin layer of air. of fog.

Around the square, Aigron's guards are responsible for maintaining order. These carefully selected guards have changed into winter clothes at this time. They stand at their respective posts and look straight ahead, like sculptures. The same, guarding the totem of the empire.

And the leader is Andre Davout. Not long ago, under the order of Aigron, Andre Davout left Nafpaktos, where he was staying, and went all the way north to Ioannina City. Returned to his command, and continued to serve as the captain of the guard.

This most trusted favorite of Aegron, his expression is solemn and solemn at this moment, only the look of his eyes flashing from time to time can make people see the excitement and excitement in his heart.

He watched the people around him with his eyes, not letting go of any tiny details, while waiting for the passage of time.

Until the time of the pocket watch was fixed at 8 o'clock in the morning, he made a gesture to his subordinates.

The guards, who were already ready, took out three flags, walked to the flagpole, and put them on the flagpole.

As the flag rose, the eagle flag of the empire, the flag of the Principality of Ioannina, and the flag of the Knights of Fontainebleau gradually spread out in the sight of everyone present.

Then, three flags fluttered in mid-air following the winter wind to declare their absolute presence in this land.

Watching the eagle flag fluttering and fluttering, Andre Davout suddenly burst into tears - God knows how long he's been looking forward to this moment?

It's a pity that it can only fly in the Principality of Ioannina now, but it doesn't matter, one day it will fly again in Paris, in Fontainebleau, no matter how much it costs - and at that time, it will be because of its own merits. And the name goes down in history and is praised and remembered by future generations.

Andre Davout, thinking about the future, managed to get his thoughts back to today's celebration.

He made another gesture, and then shouted the opening slogan of the celebration with his subordinates.

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Long live Grand Duchess Ioannina!"

"Long live the Duchy of Ioannina!"

Although there are not many of them, because they are all young and strong, the shouts echoed in the small square in the winter wind, causing constant echoes. Talk more, and don't even dare to make any more moves-because they all know that the young man is coming.

Although Agron has not been in Ioannina for a long time, after a series of hard and soft actions, he has established absolute authority in the eyes of everyone, and he has already been famous before, which is even more formidable.

The gun salute was continuous, like the roar of thunder, and it didn't come to an end until a few minutes later.

Soon, people in the square automatically gave way to a passage, and then a large ornately decorated carriage, surrounded by guards, slowly drove into the square, and then stopped beside the temporary wooden platform.

At this time, whether it was the guards or the crowd watching the ceremony, everyone cheered and their hands swung along with them—whether it was true or false, they must show this sincerity to congratulate the birth of the duchy.

Then, Aigron, Teresa and Heide got off the carriage, and then walked up the steps to the wooden platform under the attention of everyone, which means that the celebration has come to its most important part —

Not long after, a few more people walked out of the crowd, and they also walked up the steps.

They were all dressed as Orthodox priests—and the person at the head was Constantine Demopoulos, the Patriarch of the Duchy of Ioannina, who was canonized by Agron.

The Patriarch was as solemn and solemn as ever, with the demeanor of a clergyman.

After walking to the stage, he immediately made a cross and then saluted the three.

"Your Majesty, and Your Highness, God bless you!"

Then, he glanced at Aegron with a requesting look.

Agron nodded slightly.

There are two ceremonies to be held today, the first is the canonization ceremony of Haidai, and then the establishment of the duchy. Aegron canonized first, which means that Haidai is his vassal, and the legitimacy of the entire duchy is also transitioned from his hands-order The status is determined, and the status determines the political status, so it is absolutely not allowed to be sloppy.

Then, the priest picked up a small crown from the assistant's hand and handed it to Aegron.

This "crown" is actually made of leaves with a little dirt on it.

It stands to reason that, as the ruler of the duchy, Haidé should wear a luxurious crown in such a ceremony. The more expensive it is, the more it can reflect her status. How could he build a precious crown in such a hurry? And it's not appropriate to use the crown that Teresa gave her at the christening.

In the end, after thinking about it, since it can't be "precious" anyway, just use such a "crown" as a facade.

The leaves and soil represent this piece of land, and have always been used in the canonization ceremonies of kings. From this point of view, it can be justified.

Although this is a grievance to Haidai, there will be opportunities to make up for it in the future, and it will only be a trivial matter to give her a beautiful chat to apologize.

After Aigron took over the crown, Heide immediately knelt on the ground obediently, and then Aigron put the "crown" on her head.

"Haide, I give you this crown, and I give you the title of Grand Duchess Ioannina. This is a glorious moment. You have achieved what your grandfather dreamed of, and since then you have become the rightful ruler of this land. ...but it's not just glory that has been placed upon you at this moment, there are also many obligations that you owe, and you should strive to grow from now on, learn what will help you run this country, and take part in all the events that you must attend. Ritual, to inflict favor on all your subjects without distinction... I believe that you can do it, and you must do it."

Aegron's tone was also solemn and solemn, which complemented the ceremony.

However, these words sounded sincere, but of course they were just a few scenes - if Haidee really went to learn how to "govern the country" tirelessly, Aegron would not be happy either.

Haide has been kneeling on the ground, listening to Aegron's admonition honestly. After these hours of study, she has initially been able to understand Aegron's words and understand what he meant.

However, the innate intelligence of this little girl made her understand what this young man really wants to do - to honestly undertake the ceremonial work, put on the title of Grand Duchess, but not interfere with him and his assistants **** of the principality.

For this arrangement, Hai De has no opinion in her heart.

First of all, she still remembered that she was a forgotten little slave girl in the Sultan's harem not long ago. It was this young man who bought her and gave her the opportunity to change her life. She was unforgettable. Second, Teresa has always instilled in her the idea of ​​"obeying His Majesty", and she also regarded it as her duty to obey His Majesty's will.

Even if she becomes the Grand Duchess of Ioannina in the future, she will continue to obey and play the role he has assigned to herself.

With such a realization, Haidai knelt down on the ground motionless, letting the young man put a crown on herself.

"I can do it, Your Majesty." At last, she whispered. "I will keep your warning in mind, and be the Grand Duchess of Ioannina in the most noble way, and will never live up to the title you gave me."

Seeing Haidai being so "sensible", Aegron couldn't help but laugh.

He used Haidai as a puppet, but he personally had no opinion on Haidai, and even admired this little girl. In the future, as long as Haidai continued to obey and cooperate with him, he would also be happy to satisfy this little girl in terms of living conditions.

After putting on the crown, Haidee stood up cautiously, and looked at Aegron face to face.

At this time, the salute was fired again, celebrating the birth of Grand Duchess Ioannina.

In the midst of the gun salute, Patriarch Constantine Demopoulos walked up to Heide, and then made another cross on his chest.

Heidi immediately understood, took out from her neck the jeweled cross that the priest had given her at the last baptism, and kissed it carefully.

Because it has always been worn close to the body, the cross is still quite warm, reflecting the metallic glow in the gloomy light.

As for "converting to the Orthodox Church", Haidai has no resistance in her heart, religion means nothing to her - and strictly speaking, the person who killed her grandfather and all her relatives was the supreme ruler of the ysl religion, So she was very happy with "apostasy".

Since her sovereign wants her to survive as an Orthodox Christian in the future, she must - and she will become a devout Christian in order to make the Principality of Ioannina a Christian state.

Seeing Haide's reverent and devout appearance, Patriarch Constantine Demopoulos nodded with satisfaction.

Then he looked at Haidee seriously, and spoke.

"Almighty Lord, you handed this land to her along with your mercy, and you placed great hope in her, from now on she will be the shepherd of the lambs in this land, and you will be the most noble of all. Servant, she will forever remember your precepts and lead your people to live by your teachings!

From now on, one day, this land, the land that you have blessed, will become a pure country of supreme goodness! Amen! "

"Amen!" Agron and Teresa shouted in unison.

Then Patriarch Constantine Demopoulos placed a cross on Haidee as a way to confer God's blessing on her.

From today onwards, she is the earthly master of the Duchy of Ioannina—even if it is only in name, that is the monarch here.

Aegron watched all this with great interest.

He knew that Haidai had now become his first conferred monarch.

He also knew that with the canonization of Heide, the establishment of the Duchy of Ioannina became inevitable.

With the establishment of the duchy, he will carry out a large-scale merit-based reward. Based on the Duchy of Ioannina, he will allocate a part of the land as a fief to his subordinates and confer the titles of nobles on the meritorious ministers.

That is to say, the nobles he canonized now are finally no longer empty nobles, but will become nobles with actual fiefs-although these fiefs will not be too large, but at least they are in line with their names.

The Marquis of Lepanto, the Count of Monte Cristo, is the representative of these vassals.

This is just the beginning, there will be more in the future... He will get all this, and he will reward all of it, and in the end he only needs to achieve that one purpose.

With the cheers and shouts of everyone, the salute also roared, and this canonization ceremony and celebration also came to its peak.

As Aegron wished, Haidé officially became the Grand Duchess of Ioannina, and the Duchy of Ioannina was proclaimed.

Although the exact territory of this principality has not yet been defined, and the final border with Greece needs to be demarcated, for Aegron, this phased success is big enough.

So big that he was even a little flirtatious himself.

In a leisurely mood, Aegron wandered involuntarily, and then looked up at the sky in the distance.

Although it was cloudy due to the weather, he always seemed to feel that someone was watching him secretly.

Are you really looking at me? So, if you were really watching, what would you say about me now?

Maybe with your pride, you won't give too high praise, but please give me a chance, I'm still young, I still have too much time to complete the performance that you are also proud of... Yes, wait for me !

There are many things waiting for him to do.

He can't stay here for too long and enjoy the fruits of victory. Next, he will go south to Greece with Teresa. On the one hand, it is for the establishment of the Greek state, and on the other hand, it is preparing for their lifelong event.

He was already expecting this.