Flowers, Swords and France

April 16, 1848

As Louis Bonaparte had predicted, on this day, under the joint efforts of the leaders of various labor organizations, the poor people of Paris, who had recently suffered from the economic downturn, were disappointed with the republic they had so much expected. Choose to take to the streets to protest. .

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in various squares, wearing different clothes and shouting various slogans, but the noise spread throughout the city. In a daze, this scene seemed to bring people back to the situation two months ago. The only thing that can give people some comfort is that most of the people who took to the streets were just holding placards and shouting slogans, and they were not holding weapons.

“Down with exploitation!”

"Stop rising prices!"

"Reorganize the government!"

"Build a labor federation!"

Every time the leader of the parade shouted such a slogan, he received a huge burst of cheers. With the support of countless people, the sound soared into the sky.

…………

In a block not far from a square, there is a three-story building.

At this time, Charles was pacing slowly in the editing room on the third floor, looking at the people sitting in front of him with uncertain expressions from time to time. They were all dressed very formally, some were middle-aged and some were young.

"Gentlemen, I think you all know what is happening now?" While pacing, he listened to the fierce slogans coming from the distance, "Yes, I am your boss now. If so, Guaranteed replacement.”

Still no one spoke, everyone looked at their new boss with curious eyes.

"Don't worry. I bought this newspaper not to cause trouble for myself, nor to waste money in piles of money. I bought it to run it well. So, I hope everything goes well. Of course, to do this, I also need your continued help..."

After giving these people a reassurance, he suddenly raised his voice again. "But, I want to tell you clearly, now that I have bought this newspaper, there can only be one voice here, and that is mine! What I want it to say, it has to say. Because I am the boss , and you are not. I continue to hire you to better say what I want to say, not to let you speak for yourself! If anyone wants to object, now. You can resign... Don’t worry, I have always been magnanimous and will never miss out on severance pay.”

Then, he turned around and glanced around. Wherever his sight touched, everyone lowered their gaze slightly, and no one looked at him.

"Does anyone have an opinion?"

After a long silence. Still no one spoke.

"Very good, you are all media people with professional ethics." This is the situation. Jean Charles nodded with satisfaction, "Then I have nothing else to say. Let's talk about the recent business issues first."

Then, he also sat down.

"As everyone knows, the current economic environment is very sluggish, so I won't force you to achieve any sales breakthrough in the near future. I won't set unattainable tasks for you." Charles reassured these people first. .

After a pause, he continued, "However, you must find a way to complete the reasonable tasks I have set for you. I thought about it, and our policy recently should be to pursue the latest news hot spots and work hard to Make a name for yourself in the newspaper world, and find ways to make yourself as different as possible - not to mention France, there are hundreds of newspapers in Paris alone. If we are the same as others, then who will care about us? ?So we have to be different.”

Then he spoke his order.

"So, I need you to work hard recently. You have to follow and report the hottest news... Do you know which are the hottest news?" He raised his hand and pointed out the window, "Now! I want you to follow Covering the latest demonstrations and the upcoming election, these are things that are getting a lot of attention these days, you know?”

"Understood!" The others quickly responded obediently.

Although what Ciel said were just ordinary things, they all had serious expressions, as if Ciel had said some wise words.

"Very good," Charles nodded, his expression relaxed a lot, "Don't worry, as long as you work hard enough, I will give you the reward you deserve. At this point, I will never be stingy."

Having said this, Ciel also felt a little tired. He's not a big fan of red tape.

"Okay, I've finished what I have to say, and what's next is your actions. I hope you won't disappoint me." He made a gesture to dismiss the meeting, "Mr. Marchianz, please stay here first. I have something else to tell you.”

This Machianz was the original deputy editor of this newspaper. After Charles took over the newspaper, he fired the original editor-in-chief and then selected this one from two deputy editors as the new editor-in-chief. By the way, the other one has been driven away by the new editor-in-chief.

He has a serious expression and looks to be in his forties. His hair is somewhat gray and curly, and he wears thick glasses on his face. At first glance, he looks like the kind of intellectual who has been dealing with words for a long time. Under the thick lenses, his eyes are very smart, and he looks like a smart person at first glance - but since this guy can take the position of deputy editor in this newspaper, it is not surprising.

"Mr. Marchianz, do you have any other opinions on what I just said?" Charles asked straight to the point after everyone else left.

"Oh! Of course not, Mr. de Treville." Marchianz quickly replied, "In fact, my colleagues and I are very happy. We now have a wise boss..."

He is one of the very few people in the newspaper who knows the real name of the new boss.

"Then do you have anything else to ask?" Charles ignored the compliment and asked directly.

"That's true, sir." After a moment of silence. Marchianz answered quickly.

Then he looked at Ciel carefully.

"Sir, I agree very much with the focus of the report you just mentioned. In France today, these two things are indeed the most touching. However, there is still one thing that I am very unclear about..."

"What?"

"What kind of attitude and perspective do you want us to report from?" Marchianz glanced at Charles lightly and confirmed that his expression was relatively gentle, so he felt relieved a little, "You know. Regarding the people in the square, We can have several names for the same group of people. I can call them 'revolutionaries', or I can call them with a middle surname. 'Protesters', if you want. I can also call them 'rioters'... Each word means something different and requires a completely different approach. You just made it very clear. A newspaper can only produce the sound you want, so what kind of sound do you need? This is very important..."

"What do you think of the term 'brave malcontent'?" Charles interrupted suddenly.

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"'Brave Malcontent'..." Marchianz frowned slightly. Chewed the word carefully. Then he tried to figure out what Charles meant, "If I'm not wrong, do you want us to report today's demonstration with a slightly sympathetic stance? However, it seems that you don't want to fully express your support..."

"You are right, you are worthy of being a perennial writer." Charles smiled and nodded.

"Thank you for your compliment." The middle-aged man bowed slightly, "Now that I understand what you mean, everything will be easy to handle! Don't worry. I will personally review all the reports that will be published in the newspaper. I will definitely do it. Follow the tone you set!”

Marchianz's attitude is very determined. He has made up his mind to be more diligent recently in order to try to leave a good impression in front of the boss who promoted him.

"So," he continued, "what perspective do you want us to use to cover the election?"

"Try to be neutral and don't reveal your position too much." Charles immediately replied, and then he added, "Secretly, you can try to flatter the Bonaparte family without leaving a trace. Remember, there is no trace. "

The middle-aged man frowned, then nodded quickly without making any comment.

"Okay, I understand what you mean."

After a pause, he asked one last question.

"We can't only report on these two things on weekdays. How do you want us to set the tone in normal times?"

"This is very simple," Charles smiled slightly and explained his arrangement, "When you comment on the current situation, you can advocate the imperial era, such as the glorious history or heroes, and then denounce the traitors—— Well, I just mean those people who have been overthrown in the revolution and have lost power. The harder we scold the better, so that we can be famous and no one will be offended..."

"Oh! People always like the empire, who wouldn't like it?" Marchianz shrugged lightly, and then looked at Ciel carefully, "Sir, if I understand you correctly, you are They want to use leftist or populist ideas to package and promote the views of the right... even the views of the extreme right.”

Under Ciel's stern gaze, he quickly stopped and looked at Ciel with a sneer.

"Sir, you don't need to react so fiercely. I am a veteran for many years, and I have long learned to eliminate all my own opinions. I will say whatever you want me to say. But... I should first confirm what you want. What did I say? Don’t worry, there are only two of us here. No matter how straightforward I say it, only the two of us will know it and it will never reach other people’s ears..."

Ciel asked calmly.

"Even if that's the case, so what?"

"Of course! It doesn't matter! Didn't you say that? Just say what you want here." The middle-aged man replied with a smile.

"It's up to you." Charles shook his head indifferently, and then he added, "In addition, this newspaper needs to be renamed."

"What name?"

"It's called the Observer." )