Flowers, Swords and France

After some genuine or false pleading, Charlotte finally temporarily forgot her anger towards Ciel and agreed to Ciel's request, which made him feel relieved.

To be honest, when he came to ask Charlotte for this matter, it was not because he was interested in her dowry - if he just wanted to build a factory, what better place could there be than that? He did this to find a better reason, so that Charlotte could temporarily put aside those positions, political opinions and other troubles, and reconcile with Charles, and even more so that he could erase the hatred for Charlotte in his heart. Guilt.

It seems that although he lied to Charlotte a lot, he was serious this time and he really planned to marry Charlotte when the time came.

Under the setting sun, in a small garden filled with the fragrance of flowers, the shadows of two young people stood closely together.

"What are you still holding me for!" After a while, the ashamed Charlotte finally scolded Charles in a low voice, "I'm going back! Aren't you going to ask my father for advice? Wait for dinner. Just go ask him!"

Although she still pretended to be angry, Ciel could feel the joy on her face. One can imagine how much this sudden promise means to Charlotte.

However, although he looked equally intoxicated, Ciel was very calm deep down.

Looking at this girl whose eyes were filled with excitement, he once again confirmed a fact in his heart. I don't love her as much as she loves me.

No matter how stubborn and arrogant your character is, or how many stereotypes you have in your worldview. But Charles must admit that Charlotte has always been full of love for him, even to the point of obsession.

Although he couldn't reciprocate the same passionate feelings. However, his cousin was right - after all, how many people in this world get married purely for love and passion? It is an unspeakable honor to be recognized by such a girl since she was a child that she can place her life's happiness on her.

"I will definitely make her happy." He muttered silently in his heart. "If someone who loves me like this still suffers after following me, then my whole life will be in vain!"

Then he laughed again.

"Yeah. Okay, let's go quickly, don't keep the old man waiting."

………………

In the dining room of the Duke's palace. Charles formally stated his requests, and then the young Duke Treville casually dismissed it with "That manor is our dowry to Charlotte, you can do with it how you like." Obviously. They also acquiesced to the agreement that the two of them would get married.

then. Tonight's dinner at the Duke of Treville's house was a rare occasion of joy, and the somewhat depressing atmosphere of late had disappeared in the midst of this great joyous event.

It was not until late at night that Charles said goodbye to his relatives and returned to his home in a carriage.

As soon as he returned home, he went directly to the bedroom of Marquis Treville, where the old man was also sitting on the bed.

"Char, you came back sooner than I thought." With a smile full of teasing. The old Marquis looked at his grandson, "How is it? Everything goes well, right?"

"Well, thank you, everything went smoothly." Ciel nodded, "Charlotte agreed to my proposal."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"Great!" After hearing the good news, the old man couldn't help but smile and clenched his fists, "Boy, you are so good! Finally you didn't let me and my brother down! We have been looking forward to you and Charlotte for a long time We can finally get married!”

Of course, Charles could understand the excitement of the elderly when they saw their juniors getting ready to start a family, so he didn't say much and just laughed along with them.

After laughing for a while, the old man's expression returned to seriousness.

"Charle, now that you have made this decision, you must take on a lot of responsibilities. Family is more than just a word to us. It is a responsibility, a belief, and As important as God! I know that you are a smart person, so I don’t want to say more. You must know more about these big principles than an old man like me. But you have to understand that there are some things that you must bear. It's an obligation, not an excuse that can be fooled around, do you understand?" A trace of affection flashed on the old man's face.

"Now, watching your career take off, I'm happy and excited. I know you can do more than just this. And, I really hope to live to see my great-grandson born. That day... I just realized this dream. Don’t worry, I won’t let God take me away.”

After hearing these words, Charles couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed and speechless.

"Okay, okay... I understand what you are thinking now. Who hasn't been young?" Seeing his grandson's embarrassed look, Marquis Treville stopped talking about this and changed the subject with a smile, "Charles , you are ready to do something big, and your grandfather is not ready to be idle. I have been in the relationship recently, and it seems to be very promising. As long as Mr. Bonaparte can come to the stage as soon as possible. If I go, I can be re-recruited by the army and become a general again. You know how Bonaparte hopes to get the support of the army now, so he must be eager to have another general among his supporters. You must be secretly happy, right? Hahahaha, I never thought I would be able to lead the army again! God has finally wiped away all our bad luck!

Upon hearing this, Charles had mixed feelings. Of course he understood what his grandfather's words meant.

"Young man, don't look so sad. Aren't you supposed to be happy for me?" He still smiled, and the white hair on his temples trembled, looking very high-spirited. "How much does it cost to be able to lead a large military country on an expedition?" It’s a childhood dream, how many people dream of getting this opportunity? If I really achieve it, you should be excited about my luck!”

Speaking of this, he patted Ciel hard on the shoulder.

From this heavy shot, Charles completely felt how determined the old man's will and wish were. However, he had already anticipated this outcome, so he had no intention of persuading him from the beginning. Not only did he not intend to dissuade him, he also wanted to do his best to contribute to his grandfather's future journey - and at the same time, he also wanted to benefit from it.

"Grandpa, having said that, I just have one more request I want to make." Charles raised his head and looked at the old Marquis seriously.

"What? Just say it." Although the old Marquis was a little surprised, he immediately nodded in agreement.

"Have you ever heard of telegrams?" Charles asked in a low voice.

"Telegram?" The old man frowned, but he quickly found the impression of the word in his mind, "Is it the kind of thing that uses wires to transmit messages?"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Yes, it's that kind of thing." Charles knew that there was no need to explain in detail, as long as the other party had a general idea.

"What do you want to do with it?" The Marquis was even more surprised.

In this day and age, telegraph lines are no longer unheard of, but not many people have a clear understanding of its significance.

"Grandpa, you also know how fashionable the telegraph is now. I think sooner or later it will spread across the entire European continent and become the first choice for governments and businesses to transmit news." Charles looked at the old Marquis solemnly, "Look, It has already been rolled out to Brussels, what next? London, Berlin, Vienna, even Moscow and Byzantium, these places will be connected by telegraph lines..."

[The French government built an experimental telegraph line in the spring of 1845, connecting its two most important cities, Paris and Lyon. Soon after (1848), a telegraph line was opened between Paris and Brussels (then the financial center of Belgium), becoming France's first international line. Although the construction of telegraph lines was delayed after the storms of February and June, overall the construction of telegraph lines in France and continental Europe was still very fast.

In 1850, the first submarine cable crossed the English Channel, connecting the United Kingdom to mainland Europe. The UK was also officially connected to Europe's telecommunications network. At the end of the same year, the Paris-Berlin telegraph line was also opened.

After a pause, Charles continued, "Think about it, how convenient it will be for the army with this thing! News can be sent back to France from the front line instantly, no matter what it is about. For example, if we really go to war with the Russians near the Black Sea in the future , Without this thing, how many days would it take for us to send messages back and forth? And with this, if our troops are short of certain supplies, food, uniforms, or even artillery shells, no matter what it is, it only takes a few hours for us to reach home. Collect supplies and send them to the army quickly..."

After hearing Charles's narration, the old Marquis frowned tightly, apparently lost in thought.

"Sounds reasonable, so, what do you want to do?"

"What I want to do is very simple." Ciel's voice lowered, "We can monopolize information through these lines... Think about it, as long as our people have exclusive use of this information, we can be one step ahead. We can quickly get the situation on the battlefield, and then... we can use this information to make a lot of money. As long as we know the victory or defeat a few hours before others, we can be invincible in the exchange!"

After hearing his grandson's explanation, the old Marquis finally understood what he meant.

"As expected of my grandson, he thinks so clearly!" He suddenly sighed.

I'm just picking up people's wits, Ciel said with shame in his heart.

"This matter not only relies on forward thinking, but also relies on power to protect it." Charles smiled, "If you can find a way to let me exclusive information about the army after joining the army, grandpa, as long as this Once things are done, we can accomplish anything..."

"I understand." After a moment of silence, the old man nodded heavily. (To be continued...)