Flowers, Swords and France

In the afternoon, according to the previous agreement, Charles left Paris and visited Mr. Du Taai's secret country villa.

However, if an acquaintance was present, he might not be able to recognize him: he was wearing black clothes, a tie, slightly brown glasses to hide the color of his eyes, a brown wig on his head, and a stick on the corner of his mouth. With a mustache and a thin cane in his hand, he looked like a young university lecturer.

When the rented carriage stopped at the door of the villa, Charles knocked on the carriage three times with his stick as agreed. Then, the iron door was opened directly, and Charles instructed the driver to drive in immediately and stopped directly at the door of the house. After Charles got off the carriage, the carriage left directly. Before getting out of the car, Charles looked at his pocket watch and saw that the time was just right.

Monsieur du Taet, who looked rather simple because of his bald head and round face, was already waiting for Charles at the door. This face has deceived many people and left them bankrupt.

"Sir, you are finally here..." Mr. Du Taai touched his forehead nervously. "I was still worried about you just now... Well, recently I always feel that the wind is a bit tight, and I am always a little worried..."

"Don't worry, I've already looked around outside before coming here. It's relatively safe and no spies were found. Don't worry, I'm more concerned about my safety than you are." Charles replied slightly coldly, and then deliberately knocked A word from the other party. "In addition, I suggest that you don't show your nervousness too much. It will have no effect except making you look more suspicious. If you want to imitate Lafayette, you don't just need to have beautiful words. Please calm down, sir."

After hearing what Charles said, Du-Taai turned pale at first, then slowly relaxed a little and lowered his hands.

Yes, as a banker, Mr. Du Taai longed most in his life to learn from his predecessor Lafayette. For this reason, he chose to imitate this gentleman and became one of the behind-the-scenes patrons of the Bonapartists. Without the help of these patrons, it would be difficult for any political party in France to operate.

[Lafayette was a major French banker in France in the first half of the 19th century and served as president of the Bank of France. This person actively participated in politics after the end of Napoleon, tried his best to support the Orleanists, and funded their political activities with large sums of money. After the establishment of the July Monarchy, he served as Prime Minister of France in 1831, becoming the first French banker to reach the top of politics. He and the Marquis de Lafayette, who participated in the American War of Liberation and became the second founding father of the United States (the first was, of course, the poor beheaded king) and the Marquis de Lafayette, an active participant in the French Revolution, are two different people. 】

And today, the banquet hosted by Mr. Du Taai will make it possible for the Bonapartists to gain a few more patrons.

If Ciel does well.

Charles followed Mr. Du Taai into his mansion. The furnishings in the mansion were roughly as luxurious as those who desperately want to prove their taste after getting rich. Famous paintings were hung on the walls and it was decorated like a cafe. .

But it’s not the taste that counts, it’s the attendees.

It was already dark, and the curtains were deliberately closed. In the dim light, everyone couldn't see each other's full view, and could only make out a rough outline - both parties were very satisfied with this.

Charles turned his head and glanced at Du Taai. He nodded slightly, indicating that everyone was here.

Then Charles sat down on the seat that had been prepared for him - just to the right of the main seat.

Du Taai took his seat and introduced himself to those who were already seated. "This is the Mr. Friedland I told you about before."

"Hello everyone," Charles stood up, "To thank the host for his warm hospitality today, may I suggest you all have a drink?"

"cheers!"

"cheers!"

Several people responded quietly, and then everyone raised their glasses and drank together.

Everyone knew that "Mr. Friedland" was just a pseudonym, but no one bothered to explain it.

After drinking, Ciel stopped talking nonsense and went directly to the topic.

"I think you are all busy people with limited time, and you don't have time to talk in circles. Fortunately, we are also doers. I have been given the right to explain to you. You can ask me any questions you are interested in. "

Several people looked at each other, and after a while of silence, one person stood up and started the conversation. he asked cautiously.

"Mr. Friedland, I heard that you have been planning a big move recently?"

"Yes." Charles nodded, "We have studied it carefully and believe that the time has come. France is restless now, and its dissatisfaction with Mr. Orleans has reached the extreme. You all have to run your own business and contact There are a lot of people there, so they must have a deep understanding of it, right?”

If they had not experienced many times that the current regime was no longer stable, these people would not have come to have a secret meeting.

Several people nodded slightly.

After a moment of silence, a gentleman wearing glasses spoke.

"Sir, forgive me for being rude, what benefits will we get if we support your group? If it is an honorary title, we will not be short of it. If it is just a knighthood, although it is a bit attractive, it will not be enough. Let us take such a risk?"

"Of course we will keep your help in mind." Charles nodded, "However, we also need to see how much you have helped - for those who help more, we will naturally reward more, and For those who have little help...gentlemen, there is nothing we can do."

"I can be honest with you." Another participant spoke up, "Before you came, we had already discussed that if we decided to help your cause, we would not do it half-heartedly, but would go all out. You can trust us on this. However, you have to give us hope and let us know what we are going all out for, right?"

"I am very touched that you can have this consensus. Here, I would like to express my gratitude to you on behalf of all of us." Charles stood up and nodded again. "Similarly, if you can go all out, we will also go all out to repay you."

"For example?"

"In our time, things like titles, honors, fame or medals, although they look fancy, are not as useful and beautiful as real francs. Do you agree?" Charles kept calm and whetted their appetite first.

This was really in the hearts of these people.

"Yes!" Everyone nodded frequently.

Okay, it's time to say it.

Charles picked up the wine glass and quietly looked at the wine shaking inside. "We have come to the conclusion that after we seize power, we will greatly develop the railway and issue railway bonds. We will issue as many as we need, and we will also issue them when we don't need them. We will make a list of industrialists who help us, and we will give the construction orders to those industrialists, and we will let those financiers who help us issue these bonds and be responsible for financing!"

Everyone was silent and listened quietly.

"You are all practical people. Of course, you know how useful the railway is. It is a huge source of profit. As long as it is well operated, there is no need to worry about debt repayment ability. And how many business opportunities are hidden in it?" Charles slowly raised his voice, "Gentlemen, don't forget that we are not talking about 300 kilometers of railways, nor 3,000 kilometers of railways, but 30,000 kilometers, more and more, more and more!"

"Oh." The collective exclaimed in a low voice.

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

"How many tracks are needed for such a long railway? How many wagons are needed? How many stations are needed? How much financing is needed?! Gentlemen, we will not stop until every village in France is connected by railway!" Charles almost shouted. "One day, we will build railways to Baghdad, Delhi, and Beijing! (No typos~~~)"

Railway, yes, railway! This is one of the most important assets of a country.

In the original history, from the Bourbon Restoration in 1815 to the end of the July Monarchy in 1848, the two dynasties built less than 5,000 kilometers of railways in 33 years, while the Second French Empire built more than 20,000 kilometers in less than a year.

Why? Did the adults in the court at that time not know that railways were a good thing?

Not really.

This happened because the big and small landowners in France at that time did not like the railways passing through their own fields, nor did they like the distant agricultural products transported by railways to compete with the agricultural products in their own fields. The Bourbon dynasty and the July Monarchy, which was born out of the Bourbon dynasty, no matter how much they claimed to be enlightened, could not escape the shadow of the land aristocracy in essence.

The Bonapartists were different. They had never intended to survive by relying on the favor of the land aristocracy from the beginning. Their ruling pillars were industrialists and financiers, while the bourgeoisie valued the circulation of capital and materials, not land income. They needed railways to realize their own interests.

Because of this, the Bonaparte dynasty could implement a much more stringent land expropriation policy than the original dynasty, and was not particularly afraid of the emotional backlash of the old aristocracy. He used this to buy off the bourgeoisie.

Although Napoleon III made many mistakes, many of which were unforgivable for France. But the construction of a preliminary railway was one of the two immortal achievements he completed for France - the other was to renovate Paris and make it a real famous city.

Of course, it is not enough to have railways alone. The control of railways by the state and the government is also an important part of tapping the country's potential - especially during wartime.

Germany's railways have always been a national strategic asset. From the beginning, the planning of railways served military purposes. The Railway Bureau was directly under the jurisdiction of the General Staff, and officers were in charge of each important railway hub and node. The efficient transportation system also laid an excellent foundation for the excellent performance of the German army in the Franco-Prussian War and the two world wars.

However, France is quite different - the French railway department has never directly controlled the national railways, and there is no special government railway ministry. The French Railway Administration is only a subordinate department under the Ministry of Transport, and its real power is not great. It can only use administrative means to urge railway companies to indirectly implement transportation planning. It was not until 1938 (only two years before Germany invaded France again!) that France nationalized five major railway companies and established the French National Railway Group, finally realizing the state's control over strategic railways!

The tragedy of 1870 came from France's slowness in mobilizing armed forces and logistical resources, and the government's lack of strict control over railways was one of the important reasons for this slowness.

Because of this, Charles, from the very beginning of his entry into the Napoleonic Party, loudly called for the development of railways and the expansion of the government's control over railways. After several considerations and extensive discussions by the Bonapartists, his proposal finally received widespread approval. (Mainly considering the use of orders to bribe industrialists and construction financing to bribe financiers; and convenient transportation of troops to suppress potential rebellions in various places.)

Since the railway has such a great role, it is natural to set up a special railway department to manage it. Of course, their consideration is to put the opportunity to bribe others in their own hands.

After saying this, Charles stopped talking and let the participants whisper.

After a while, the participants lowered their voices, and it was obvious that they had reached a consensus.

The man with glasses who had just spoken asked again.

"Sir, what you said is indeed very attractive, but if it is just words..."

"Of course, our commitment is not limited to words." Charles smiled, then picked up the glass and drank it all. "I forgot to tell you. Once our plan succeeds, France will set up a railway ministry to be responsible for railway affairs. I will be the political secretary of the railway ministry, and the minister will be one of ours. In this case, you will not still believe in our ability to fulfill our promise, right?"

"Oh..."

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