Flowers, Swords and France

"Dear Mr. Treville:

I regret to inform that although everyone has been working hard recently, the matter that was previously entrusted to me may no longer be completed - Mr. Havas has already persuaded the Minister, and Mr. Tuch is now imposing pressure on others. pressure to immediately lease the operating rights of international telegraph lines to Havas News Agency.

You must understand that as a staff member under Mr. Minister, you must first act according to Mr. Minister’s considerations, so you are now incapable of meeting your requirements.

Sorry, due to time constraints, I can only write a letter to inform you. However, please rest assured that we have left a very deep and friendly impression on each other the last time we had dinner with you, and I believe that our friendship will surely bear fruitful results elsewhere in the near future..."\u003c, 1795-1858), French politician who served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the Cavaignac cabinet that began in June 1848 and is now Jean Calvert's immediate boss.

In the office of the French Press Agency, Charles gently read this letter, which was sent from Jean Calvert, director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.

As he read, the expression on his face did not change, but his hands became tighter and tighter.

Putting aside the meaningless rhetoric commonly used by officials, what these short few lines say is very simple: I can't do what you asked me to do, because my boss, Mr. Minister, It's putting pressure on me. I planned to hand over the management of the telegraph line to him, but I couldn't bear it, so I didn't plan to do it. I will help you in other places in the future.

After reading it, Charles grabbed it hard with his right hand and crumpled the letter into a ball of paper.

"So, is this guy going to give up? How can he appease me by writing such a nonsense letter? He can't help here, why should I need him in other places!" Charles raised his head to look. Looking at the expressionless Kong Ze in front of him, his eyes were full of anger, "Bah. Why can't I withstand the pressure? I still don't understand the methods of these officials? If you want to delay, there are a hundred ways! He just doesn't want to Just help us, this bastard!"

Charles was a confederate of Louis Bonaparte. If he went to ask the ministers under General Cavaignac to do something, he would definitely get no good results, so he had to go to those bureaucrats. The result was still unfulfilled. Someone got stuck.

"You're right, he just doesn't want to do it." Even in front of the angry boss, Kong Ze didn't feel uneasy at all, and his tone was always calm and indifferent, "I saw it last time, he was very unenthusiastic, and now It’s completely normal to want to retreat when you encounter a slight setback.”

"This bastard!" Charles couldn't help but cursed again. "What a wicked devil!"

"That's what they are. These bureaucratic civil servants only care about how to protect themselves. They receive salary and benefits while in office, and finally receive generous pensions. After achieving this great goal, they can do whatever they want. That's all they flatter. "

Kongze nodded, indicating that he completely agreed with Charles's view.

"They are scheming inside the ministry, and they are still scheming outside. I have seen it many times before, poor civil servants fighting against the declining nobles, and these poor sons of the nobles are trying their best to compete for a place on the salary book. In In this kind of environment, It is difficult for a capable person to make progress. He cannot kneel down and crawl in the muddy water where only a few prominent figures dominate; even if he climbs up, he will have to grow old before he can reach a high position. ...I have seen through them all!”

Due to his personal experience, Kong Ze cannot help but bring some personal opinions when he talks, but it is also easy to understand. A person who unfortunately falls out of the bureaucracy due to an accident will always be full of some kind of resentment. of emotions. Of course he wouldn't have said that if he was still in that system.

"That's right! Since the new century, all the loud debates and repeated weighings of gains and losses in this country have been conducted in writing. Although the result reports are beautifully written, France is on the verge of bankruptcy. People always sit and discuss, but they can't afford to leave. OK. Millions of reports are written in this country every year! The bureaucracy rules everything! Bundles and bundles of official documents are increasing, swelling, and becoming more and more beautiful. It seems that without these official documents, the country will collapse; without these circulars, the country will not be able to move forward! This bureaucracy takes advantage of the mutual distrust between revenue and expenditure to achieve its own goals. They are willing to slander the government to protect their reputation, as if the government forced them to do everything.

In short, our terrible bureaucracy has turned the country into a Lilliputian state, chaining the whole country to the chains of centralized power in the capital, as if nothing had ever been done in the country without these civil servants. They are like fungus parasitic on the pear tree, attached to public affairs, but completely indifferent to public affairs! "

Charles also cursed loudly, using this argument to vent his anger at the temporary setback in his career.

However, venting is all about venting, and the two of them knew very well that no matter how harsh they scolded, it would not help solve the problem, so the two of them quickly restrained their emotions.

"Then what should we do now?" Kong Ze glanced at Charles and asked in a low voice, "Should we give up or continue?"

"Why should I give up? It's just a small setback." Charles replied coldly, "I thought of the possibility of this happening beforehand, so it doesn't matter, I won't give up. I can bear this blow." , let alone give up because of this. If they want to rent it to Havas, let him rent it, and I will turn them upside down."

"Well, if you think about it this way..." Kong Ze was about to say a few words when suddenly there were several knocks at the door.

"Come in!" Charles shouted.

Then a clerk came in and whispered something softly into Ciel's ear.

"What?" Charles frowned. Then he immediately reacted, "Let him in, I'll see him now!"

After the staff took the order and left. Charles raised his head and looked at Kongze.

"Mr. Havas came here in person."

"What!" Kong Ze showed the same shock as Charles just now.

"Go out first. I'll come back after I finish talking to him. I want to see what he wants to do." Charles was completely calm now. Instead, he was a little curious and wanted to find out why the other party suddenly came to visit him. mean.

………………

When a well-dressed old man walked into Charles' office with a cane, Charles immediately stood up from his seat and extended his hand to the other person with a smile on his face. It was as if he wasn't the one who got angry just now.

"Mr. Havas, I am very honored to come here to give guidance to a junior like me today."

Although I met another important figure who can leave his name in the history of later generations. The founder of a future media giant, but he can no longer have any strange feelings - the emperor, king, labor and management have all seen it, so what does a (future) monopoly giant mean?

However, even though it is said that. But he still has to abide by the most basic social etiquette. After all, competition in business is one thing, and personal interactions are another.

The old man, whose hair and beard were already gray, quickly took Ciel's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Mr. de Treville is as young as they say. It's surprising."

His voice was calm, yet powerful.

During this handshake, the French business community also officially recognized Charles de Treville as a new player.

"It's because I'm young. That's why I need to learn more from other experienced people..." Charles still smiled happily, "He taught me a good lesson before. Solve our problems directly through Mr. Tuch." The problem of competition between countries...this is worth learning.”

"About this, Mr. de Treville, I am also very sorry." Havas smiled again, as if he was really sorry, and then he sat down opposite Charles, "To be honest, I am extremely reluctant. I have full admiration for the Treville family for turning the situation into what it is now, but... I think and understand that the right to operate the telegraph line is very important to us, so we can't just sit back and watch before they get ahead of us. I'm sorry. "

Although he said it politely, Ciel certainly understood his firm attitude.

"Oh, it doesn't matter. In shopping malls, we can't just be friendly..." He nodded repeatedly to express his understanding of the other party, "It doesn't matter... Since we have decided to join this industry, we can still bear this level of frustration... …”

"That would be great if you are not angry." Mr. Havas nodded again, and then glanced at Charles strangely, "Mr. Treville, since you have always said that you want to listen to the old man's words, then... I can Any advice?"

"Just say it, I will listen carefully." Charles replied quickly.

"Does the Treville family have to come here?" After Charles expressed his stance, Mr. Havas used a sincere tone and looked at Charles, "As far as I'm concerned, we really don't need to be so competitive... …”

"But……"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"The Treville family can show their talents in many aspects, so why come to this industry again? Is its profit as high as that of railroads and stocks? Is it as stable as the income from fields and national debts?" What did Charles want to say? Mr. Vass spoke again. His expression was very calm, as if a teacher was admonishing Charles to his students, "These are places where you can get satisfactory returns. There is really no need to go to these places to fight with us. It is totally worth the loss."

After hearing the warning and threat contained in the politeness, Ciel couldn't help but frown slightly.

Then, to Charles's expectation, Mr. Havas took out a promissory note from his pocket and put it on Charles' desk.

"I heard that I asked Mr. Calvert to do something before? Hey, this man is famous for being a slippery man. It's not worth the gain to go to him..." Mr. Havas sighed, as if he really felt sorry for Charles, "Now that He didn't get the job done, so there's no need to give him the money. Just take the money back, lest it go down the drain..."

There was comfort in his tone, but also the contempt for young boys that was unique to the elderly, which made Charles feel a flash of anger again.

However, to be honest, his words are not a disguise - in this day and age, not many people understand how terrible a business monopolizing information transmission is. Moreover, he is already 65 years old and really has no energy to fight with others. He just wants to run his own business quietly. In his opinion, Charles accepted the check and left with the Treville family in dignity. The game is the ideal ending, and the other side is better off either way.

He took a look at the promissory note on the table and found that the amount on it was much more than the amount he bribed Mr. Jean Calvert.

Do you just want to use this little money to send me away?

Bah, don't even think about it!

Ciel cursed in his mind.

But of course he would not show this anger. He just continued to smile, then picked up the page and respectfully returned it to Mr. Havas.

"I'm sorry, sir, your teachings are very useful to me, but I can't accept the money..." Charles replied with a smile, "We will not give up because of this setback. Since Treville has decided on the goal, then I won’t give up easily.”

After hearing his rejection, Mr. Havas did not look very angry, but just raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Oh? Really? Then there is no other way... Hey, I'm really sorry, in this case we can only follow the established procedures - Havas News Agency will soon obtain the operating rights of the Paris-Brussels telegraph line."

"You can do whatever you want." Charles still smiled.

He didn't hate Havas, and he didn't want to say stupid things like "Don't bully young people into poverty". They had already given him enough face today, but he just didn't accept it.

All this is just business talk and has nothing to do with personal likes and dislikes.

"Okay, then good luck, young man." Havas stood up gently, and then slowly put the check back into his pocket. Until then, he had not lost the demeanor of a future giant.

Then he picked up his cane again. At that moment, Ciel even had the illusion that a sword would suddenly appear in the stick... Of course, this was just an illusion.

"Young man, good luck." The old man nodded again, repeated it, and then planned to say goodbye.

"Good luck too, Mr. Havas." (To be continued...)

ps: The second update is here today.

With the new moon and the new atmosphere, I want to bid farewell to the previous decadence and live a more positive life... Please continue to support me, I will go to the end.

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