Flowers, Swords and France

In the midsummer of 1847, on an ordinary evening, Paris was as sultry as usual. This is one of the largest cities in Europe. At this time, it has gathered a huge population, so every summer, there will be a suffocating feeling of heat.

The rich and powerful aristocrats and bourgeoisie chose to spend their summers in country villas and on the coast of Calais; the less wealthy lower class had no choice but to hang out in the Bois de Boulogne area - at this time, Paris was still Before the large-scale renovations presided over by Baron Eugène Haussmann during the Second Empire, there were surprisingly few places for people to enjoy and cool off.

However, at this time, which was never a good time for gatherings, there was still a group of people gathered around a table in a dark room.

Are they chatting? If an onlooker had been able to walk up to the table, he would have come to the exact opposite conclusion - there was a pile of chips and francs in cash on the table.

In the face of such obvious evidence, onlookers could easily come to the conclusion that these people were participating in an underground gambling game.

"It's really hot here." Even though he had taken off his coat and was only wearing a shirt, Charles de Treville still felt extremely hot and complained as he wiped the sweat with his hands. "Can't we move somewhere else?"

"Oh, my friend, bear with me, I also want to go to Frascati." A young man said next to him, "But I have to be able to go."

His joke elicited a dull chuckle.

Casino Frascadi was once the most outstanding and luxurious casino in Paris and even in Europe. Big gamblers from all over Europe once flocked there. However, at the end of 1837, in order to "save the French people from being addicted to despair" "Among the evil habits of medicine," the respectable French government issued a decree banning all casinos in Paris and throughout the country. As a result, Richelieu Street, which was usually bustling with traffic and lined with casinos, has become a lot deserted. Now everyone can only recall those big spenders through word of mouth. .

However, like all the other idealistic laws of the Government, this law was completely ineffective - the people's desire to pervert is usually unstoppable - and only spawned underground casinos all over Paris. Most of these casinos do not have good facilities, and fires, thefts, murders and other evil cases often occur - well, in fact, from the perspective of the French government, this is nothing, it is just the high taxes that the original government could get from the casinos. It is quite heartbreaking that the money was wasted in this way.

This is what people always get when idealistic laws are enforced.

"So what, we're not really gambling anyway," Charles replied impatiently, "Okay, let's get to the point. Let's finish it as soon as possible. Staying in this damn place for any longer will make people feel uncomfortable." point."

After he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became serious, and everyone sat upright, waiting for the main show to come.

Yes, these people are not actually gambling.

Seeing the passionate and eager eyes of several young people, a middle-aged man sitting in the middle couldn't help but smile. His face has sharp edges and corners, and although time has carved a few marks on it, it has not completely wiped away the essence inside. He has a strong build and looks powerful and resolute. Judging from his upright sitting posture, he must have had military experience.

"Well, our young people really can't wait. Well, I won't waste any more time..." Then he took out a piece of paper from his pocket. "This is the news from Mr. Rouet..."

Everyone was refreshed, and the sultry heat that had previously made people irritated seemed to have completely disappeared. In the dim candlelight, these people's faces had a strange brilliance.

Eugene-Rouher, a die-hard Bonapartist supporter, was the unwavering spiritual leader of the Bonapartists in France.

Then the real purpose of this gathering can be easily revealed - the Bonapartists are secretly connecting in the name of gambling. As for whether this is a righteous secret meeting or an evil conspiracy, everyone will have different opinions based on their different positions. .

"The measures taken by the current French government are becoming increasingly unpopular. The citizens of Paris are opposed to it, and those who originally supported it are becoming more and more discouraged and disappointed. Based on the current situation, we judge that Louis-Philippe's rule has reached a point of crumbling. All it takes is one more push, and his ridiculous dynasty will collapse..." The young man chanted slowly with the help of dim candlelight, "And this time point is just in the recent period. There are various signs that the cause we have been working hard for will soon be completed... and for If this day can come as soon as possible, I implore you to follow the temporary arrangements of the letter holder, Mr. Carrion..."

After reading this, he stopped and handed the letter to the person next to him. After being circulated around, the confidential document returned to his hands.

A beautiful statement, but it makes no sense.

"Mr. Marie, what are the specific measures? We can't achieve anything with just a few nice words, right?" a participant asked with doubts.

The middle-aged man calmly burned the confidential documents with candlelight before speaking.

"Of course the specific measures will not be written in writing. You just need to follow my instructions."

Of course, the less people know about the conspiracy, the better. Others are only responsible for performing their own tasks, so that even if it fails or is exposed, the entire plan will not be ruined.

The other attendees looked at each other for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay, please assign the task."

"Mr. Serreon, you continue to be in charge of the newspaper office, continue to incite the people, and be prepared. If necessary, we need to print a large number of leaflets." The middle-aged man began to assign tasks.

"Okay." One of the participants responded.

"Mr. Perrault." The middle-aged man called his name again.

One participant nodded.

"How many men can you get in the Paris garrison?"

The attendees pondered for a moment. "I can only guarantee the loyalty of some of my subordinates."

"Then you should work harder." The middle-aged man replied. "Time waits for no one."

Then the middle-aged Marie named them one by one to assign tasks, and other participants also agreed one after another.

"Mr. Treville." Carrion said another name.

"Monsieur de Treville." The young man who had been joking with Charles suddenly interrupted and called out Charles' entire surname, which once again caused a dull chuckle.

Charles de Treville did not take offense to this embarrassment and smiled easily, "Okay, please tell me." \u003creville), it can be seen from the suffix "de" that he is a French aristocrat. , and the surname Treville is more famous, and its ancestors can be traced back to the Valois dynasty before the beginning of the Bourbon dynasty.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

It stands to reason that this kind of background should be from the reactionary and decadent class, a standard villain, and the inherent evil executioner of the revolutionaries. However, at this moment, Charles was openly participating in the conspiracy of the Bonapartists - this was not so much a strange arrangement of fate as a vicious joke often played by France's mysterious history.

"Mr. de Treville." The middle-aged Marie corrected her title in an obedient manner, "The task given to you is very simple. We only need your grandfather to stand up after receiving our message at the critical moment. Of course, it would be better if he could bring his brother over."

"You can rest assured about my grandfather. Without him, I wouldn't be able to sit in the same room with you," Charles replied calmly. "But my cousin, the Duke of Treville, I don't think we need to send too much." Hopefully, as you know, he is very close to the Duke of Dalmatia and the Duke of Broglie, and he is probably more interested in sending us to the prison of the Great Sesame."

The current French Prime Minister, the Duke of Dalmatia, was Field Marshal Soult in the former imperial era. Although Emperor Napoleon bestowed upon him the rank of marshal, the title of duke, and wealth, after the fall of this former supreme leader, he became easily Songland surrendered to the restored Bourbon royal family and escaped the Bourbon dynasty's liquidation of the old empire's dignitaries. And by the time of the July Revolution in 1830, he easily sided with the Duke of Orleans, rose through the ranks and finally became the Prime Minister of France, who is now the die-hard enemy of the Bonapartists - it must be said, This is another of the vicious jokes that France's mysterious history often plays.

The Duke of Victor de Broglie, who served as the Prime Minister of France in 1835, is even more serious. His father, Charles-Louis de Broglie, was guillotined during the Revolution. Although he later Emperor Napoleon bowed his head in order to return to France, but after the Restoration he continued to resent the Bonapartists.

The Dazhamai Prison, built in 1837 to house death row prisoners and hard labor prisoners, was even more of a target of conspirators.

"Okay, in that case we will proceed as planned." Marie responded quickly. It seemed that he did not have any expectations for winning over Duke Treville.

Then, he continued to dictate the instructions to several others. After he finished speaking, the conspirators returned to the slightly casual atmosphere just now, whispering to each other constantly.

"Everyone, since we all understand what we are going to do, let's proceed without further ado..." Seeing that what he wanted to convey had been finished, Mr. Marie, who was presiding over the secret meeting, was about to declare the meeting to be adjourned.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

Suddenly several gunshots were heard in the room.

"Is someone coming?!"

Everyone in the room was instantly shocked, and almost everyone put their hands into their arms at the same time, including Ciel.

Only Mariel remained calm. He listened to the sound of gunfire, and then slowly raised his hand to stop the panicked people. "The gunfire is getting farther and farther away from us. It doesn't seem to be aimed at us. Gentlemen, calm down."

The panic slowly subsided, people regained their composure, and stretched out their hands from their arms again.

"Okay, I declare the meeting to be adjourned!" He put his hand down again.

Following his words, the conspirators slipped away from the secret passage and then dispersed, and the room returned to its normal silence.