Flowers, Swords and France

The late autumn wind was quite chilly, and the two young men drunkenly supported each other and walked slowly forward on the street, as if they had just walked out of a banquet. Since it was not too late, there were still many pedestrians on the street, but no one paid more attention to the two of them because it was so common for young people to come home drunk.

"Charles, I said before, I can help you do it, how about it?" Albert's tone was full of pride and excitement.

Of course Ciel knew what he was excited about.

"Albert, thank you, don't worry, you will definitely be paid as I said."

"Thank you, Charles." Albert patted Charles heavily on the shoulder.

"However, I advise you to keep some money for yourself..." Charles sighed, "The way you are living now, no matter how much money you have, you won't be able to afford it."

"No need to persuade me anymore, I like to live like this..." Albert still answered the same as before, "Besides, maybe it's more affordable to live like this."

"More affordable?"

"At least I enjoy life, don't I? Like my father, who spends the whole day huddled in the manor and counting his one or two sons, and may not be able to keep the family business for long. In the end, won't it be tormented and bankrupt? Such an example makes me I've seen so many things that I can't even count them..." Albert suddenly laughed, "What was that boy talking about just now? What's going on? 'According to my father's way of living, my family may be ruined one day, so my friend, there is only one truth in this world: having fun in time is the most important thing.' This really suits my taste. , instead of going bankrupt like other people and enjoying nothing, it’s better to think of ways to squander it yourself..."

Charles was silent.

This is probably the deepest thought in Albert's heart.

The period from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century was a time of great change in every sense of the word.

It was an era in which capital defeated the aristocracy. It was an era in which the bourgeoisie finally replaced the aristocracy as the rulers of the country. It was an era of great bankruptcy in which landowners still feel guilty and fearful.

In Britain, with the abolition of the Corn Laws and a significant increase in food imports, the original landed aristocracy began to slowly go bankrupt, and finally struggled to survive with capitalists and foreigners; in France, the Great Revolution and several dynasty changes completed the work ; In the United States, farmers went bankrupt one after another due to exploitation by railroad companies and banks and the economic crisis; in Russia, aristocratic landowners also gradually tended to go bankrupt due to changes in the current situation and poor management.

Writers who were loyal to reality wrote works one after another to record and reveal that era. The Frenchman Balzac wrote "The Showcase of Antiquities", the Russian Chekhov wrote "The Cherry Orchard", and the American Steinbeck wrote "The Grapes of Wrath", these works truthfully reflect the changes of the times - in the face of the emerging calm, pragmatic and greedy and powerful bourgeoisie, the landowners have no ability to resist and can only go bankrupt, and the measurement unit of wealth has changed. Next, the criterion is the amount of land, but also the abundance of intangible capital.

Hidden under Albert's daily optimistic and indulgent appearance is a soul that views the world pessimistically and a mind that is at a loss. He almost saw through the world, but felt powerless, and even didn't want to contribute at all, and he didn't want to establish any goal for himself, so he simply chose to play in the world and numb himself with alcohol and indulgence. The philosophy of carpe diem has been deeply imprinted on his bones. They have long dismissed some of the things that people value and fear, and they don't even care about their own situation.

He helped Ciel do those things not because he agreed with Ciel's ideas, but because he just thought it was fun, that's all. As for whether he broke the law or not, he didn't care at all. This kind of thinking is not uncommon among today's aristocratic young people, and it can even be said to be a popular attitude towards life.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Can't tell. But Ciel would never allow himself to do this.

"Okay, you decide your own way of life." Charles sighed slightly, "But, my friend, we are friends after all. If one day you are in trouble, I will never If you are sitting on the sidelines, just come to me!"

"Me too."

The two young men, who had been friends since their youth, stumbled forward on the street, supporting each other, and walked a long way.

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"Grandpa, please take a rest first." Charlotte held a cup of coffee and carefully placed it on Grandpa's desk. "You have been sitting for a long time."

"I'm fine, don't worry." Duke Treville sat in his seat, his expression unchanged.

Then he gently picked up the coffee cup and took a small sip.

"Well, not bad, Charlotte, you've improved a lot compared to before."

Although it was a compliment, his tone was still very indifferent. But even so, Charlotte was still very happy. After all, her grandfather seldom praised others.

"Grandpa, I have something to report to you."

Perhaps feeling that Charlotte's expression was surprisingly exciting, the Duke suddenly raised his head and looked at Charlotte with some suspicion. "Charlotte, what's wrong with you today?"

"It's nothing, it's just news from Baron Bowen." Charlotte tried hard to suppress the joy in her heart, pretending to be a little regretful, "There was a problem with his recent mining project, and he was temporarily stuck in the situation. It was at a standstill... So, he decided to stop the project first and pay us back the investment we had made. "

Contrary to Charlotte's expectations, the Duke neither looked shocked nor regretful, but nodded calmly.

"Is that so? That's really a pity. Are you sure the money has been returned?"

"Yes." Charlotte nodded, "I received the promissory note signed by Baron Beauvain himself, and then I went directly to his bank account to cash the promissory note. Now the money has been transferred back to our account. superior."

It was only after she was sure that she was back that Charlotte had the courage to mention this matter to her grandfather.

"Really? That's good." The Duke nodded calmly, "Is there anything else you want to report?"

"No more." Charlotte shook her head, "If you have no other opinions, I will go and take out all the money right now."

"Okay." The Duke agreed with Charlotte.

Then he continued to look at the documents on the table.

Is this the end? Very good! Thank God!

A big stone finally fell to the ground in Charlotte's heart, and her whole body almost relaxed at this moment. God knows how nervous she had been these days!

Fortunately, the nightmare is finally over.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"You'd better pay more attention to your health and don't be too tired." Before preparing to leave, Charlotte said something special.

"Oh, rest? How can I have time to rest?" The Duke suddenly laughed bitterly, "Nowadays, no matter how rich the nobles are, they have to learn to manage the house by themselves, but who of you can manage this house well? I have worked so hard to manage Treville My family has risen from a state of nothing, but I don’t want to fall back again because of you.”

In the old dynasty, the ancestors of the Duke of Treville's family used the favor they gained in the court and various means of plunder to persevere in seeking to expand their family property. After hundreds of years of business, the Treville family has long become a famous large landowner in France. Unfortunately, after the impact of the Great Revolution, many "hard-earned" properties were eventually confiscated by the government in accordance with the law, and then auctioned off as public property.

[During the Revolution, the government stipulated that once a noble fled, their assets and properties would be confiscated as public property and then auctioned at a low price. Therefore, after the two Dukes of Treville fled France, their family properties would be confiscated and auctioned. . 】

After the Marquis of Treville returned to France, Emperor Napoleon returned the property that originally belonged to the Treville family from the public property. However, over the years, in order to cope with expenses (especially the squandering in the early years), the old Marquis had already transferred these property Sold everything.

And his brother, the Duke of Treville, was much more powerful. After he returned to France with Louis XVIII, he used his high position to make a lot of money, and then made a lot of money from the "Nobles Compensation Act", plus from public property. He recovered some old properties, and relied on these means to rebuild the Treville family's property in the past few decades - although it was completely incomparable to the property accumulated by his ancestors, he finally restored a little bit of the old days. meteorological.

However, this can only be the limit.

Nowadays, let alone expansion, even maintaining this family business is a very troublesome thing.

To maintain the family's status, money is essential, and nowadays the money that can be earned from the industry is getting less and less.

Yes, relying on the advancement of transportation methods such as railways, roads, and waterways, agricultural products have to be transported farther and farther during their shelf life, and the transportation cost is getting lower and lower. As a result, competition in European agricultural products has become increasingly fierce, prices have continued to fall, and therefore farm income has become lower and lower - in the long run, this trend will become more obvious.

Because Duke Treville has long been planning to undergo an industrial transformation and find some new ways to make money for his family in order to cope with this new situation. Investing in Baron Beauvain's project is only a small part of this plan. I just didn't expect that as soon as I tried to take the first step, I encountered a tragic failure.

Grandpa's words made Charlotte a little confused. What did he mean?

While Charlotte was still thinking about what her grandfather meant, Duke Treville raised his head again and looked at his granddaughter.

His granddaughter was now wearing a cap with floral decorations on her head, and her golden hair was tied up. Her blue eyes seemed to be filled with light, and her face was slightly flushed due to excitement.

Beautiful indeed.

A daughter of the Treville family should be this beautiful.

"The coffee was made well. Let's find a chance to make some for Charles later." The Duke sighed, and then resumed working on his documents. "You should always thank him, right?"

After a brief period of confusion, Charlotte finally reacted, and then she slowly lowered her head, with an extremely complicated expression on her face.

"Okay, I will." (To be continued.)