Flowers, Swords and France

Until he walked out of the Elysee Palace, Charles did not recover from the shock he received today.

Before putting forward his plan to Louis Bonaparte, Charles's most anticipated result was that the future emperor would be kind and allow Count Dilion to stay with him. However, he did not expect that it would be such a person. ending.

Louis Bonaparte accepted the retention of Count Dillion, and at the same time expressed that he would transfer Charles to the Ministry of War... There was no sense of any "irritation" or "punishment" in this.

On the contrary, it can be said that after Louis Bonaparte received Charles's suggestion, which was obviously going to anger his cousin, he was happy to see it happen and deliberately encouraged this situation to happen.

Is this a reward for taking a stand within the Bonaparte family? Or do you want to see your subordinates fighting against each other?

I'm afraid it's a bit of both.

As he walked through the corridor and walked out of the Elysee Palace, Charles kept thinking about the strategy he should adopt next.

Judging from the current situation, he has offended Joseph Bonaparte. He will get the news soon... He will definitely be very angry. He was chatting and laughing with himself just now, but he was kicked by him in the blink of an eye. Feet, what kind of expression should he have at that time?

When he thought of this, a malicious sneer suddenly appeared on Ciel's face.

Now that you've already done this, it's useless and pointless to go to him to try to patch up the relationship with him again.

If you have already been offended, then you are not afraid of being offended to the end.

As soon as I thought of this. Charles made up his mind.

"Go to Mr. Morny's house." Before getting on the carriage, he directly ordered the driver in front of him.

………………

"Mr. Treville?"

When he saw Charles in the reception room, Mr. Charles-Auguste Morny did not hide the surprise in his eyes at all.

certainly. Even though he was surprised, his face remained calm and indifferent, as if he would never be moved by external objects.

This middle-aged man has gone bald for a long time, with only the hair on both sides still wrapped around his ears. His smooth forehead makes his face look even colder, and coupled with his sharp eyes, it can even be said to be a bit cold. He is usually taciturn, making it difficult to see through his inner thoughts, but he acts as tenacious and decisive as his brother.

He was the illegitimate son of Louis Bonaparte's mother, Hortense de Beauharnais. He was the half-brother of Louis Bonaparte, and he was also recognized as the most conspirator among Bonaparte's associates.

At this time, Ciel was under his scrutiny.

He obviously felt a little uncomfortable, but he still didn't take it seriously. Look at each other with a smile.

"Mr. Morny. I have something I want to talk to you about."

Perhaps being infected by Charles's expression, Morny slowly put aside his initial doubts and looked at his young comrade seriously, "It seems to be quite important. Please sit down." , I have time to listen slowly.”

"OK, thanks."

After the servant brought the coffee, he sent him away, and soon they were the only two people left in the room.

"There is no one here now. I think it is absolutely safe." Morny glanced at Charles again, "Can you tell me what happened now?"

"Remember what you told me last time in the Elysee Palace?" Charles blew the steaming coffee gently, "Just after I talked with M. Bonaparte, you told me those words.”

"Oh?" Morny frowned slightly, noncommittal.

"Maybe you don't remember, but I still remember it clearly." Charles still smiled, "'Mr. Bonaparte is the president, and you should give priority to serving him.' You said to me at that time Say something like this?"

"That seems to be true." Morny was still very calm, "So, do you have any opinion on this sentence?"

"Of course I have no objection. In fact, I think it makes perfect sense..."

As soon as he heard this, Morny seemed to notice something, and glanced at Charles alertly.

"It seems like you had some kind of conflict with Joseph?"

This person was really powerful, and he noticed it at a glance, which made Ciel feel a little awe-inspiring.

However, at this point, he no longer wanted to be secretive. He looked directly at the other person and spoke out his current situation in one breath.

"You're right, I might... very possibly, make Joseph very unhappy."

"Really? Why?" Although he showed just the right amount of surprise and calmness, Charles still found a hint of joy in this man's eyes. "Did something big happen?"

Very good, that's good.

"I'm afraid you already know that the Prime Minister recommended to Mr. President that Joseph should replace Count Dilion as the Minister of Railways..." Charles deliberately prolonged his voice.

"I know this."

"However, I have invalidated this appointment and this rumor will not become true."

"What! What did you do!?"

Charles finally felt a slight loss of composure on this man's face. Although it only took a moment to return to the calmness of the ancient well, the future Duke de Morny was indeed not a difficult person to deal with.

"I didn't do anything. I just told the president about my concerns. After listening to me, the president thought about it and agreed with me. So Count Dillion will continue to stay in office, and Joseph's idea can only be ruined. What a pity..." Charles shook his head with regret, "Maybe he doesn't know it now, but tomorrow, or even tonight, he will definitely know it all. From what I know about him, I'm afraid he will be very angry about what I did."

Mr. Morny didn't speak, he just picked up the cup gently.

He effectively concealed his thoughts by picking up the coffee.

"So. In order to avoid anything really happening, I came to you." Charles shrugged regretfully, and then sighed. "You know, the reason why I said this is just out of public interest..."

After taking a sip of coffee, Morny slowly put the cup down. He had figured out the current situation and understood that he was in a superior position now.

"It's normal for young people to be a little impatient. There's nothing to be afraid of when there are conflicts occasionally. After all, we are all friends of the same party. What's there to be angry with each other? Especially now is an emergency, and we should all be united." He made a seemingly fair comment.

However, as if to appease Charles, he quickly changed the subject.

"Besides, since you are willing to speak out, we all know that you are speaking for the benefit of the country. Even if Joseph is angry, we have to understand. I believe he won't do anything to you for this." After a pause, he added, "Even if he really does, I believe that Louis and I will not let him do whatever he wants... Mr. Treville, don't worry. As long as you work hard for the country with us, no force can hurt you. I can guarantee this."

He didn't dislike this young man in the first place, and now that he had a falling out with Joseph, it was even more to his liking. Morny had no intention of pushing him away, so he was trying to appease him in his words, indicating that he would take on this mess himself.

There is only one condition, that is to make Charles his accomplice.

"Isn't the purpose of our party to serve the country? There is no doubt about this. No matter how many difficulties I face, I can overcome them..." Charles slowly picked up the cup and drank the coffee that was gradually cooling down. "However, Joseph is an important member of the Bonaparte family after all. I am afraid I can't really shut him out..."

Charles doesn't care whether he becomes Joseph's accomplice or Morny's accomplice. But no matter which side he joins, he must see the benefits and prospects. Although his capital for raising the price has been reduced a lot because of the relationship with Joseph Bonaparte, he is not to the extent that Morny will just say a word and surrender.

"Of course I can understand your concerns. It's nothing. I'm not asking you to break off contact with him. After all, we are still in the same party..." Morny smiled slightly, not knowing whether it was because of joy or anger. "But, as I said before, you should serve the President the most, not Joseph. The direction we should work towards is to rebuild the empire and then let Louis ascend the throne..." "Of course I know this." Charles nodded gently, and then looked at him in confusion, "But you can see that the President has no legal heir... Even if we rebuild the empire, if something unexpected happens to the President... We will have to make Prince Jerome or even Joseph himself the emperor, right? If that happens, wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to get too stiff with Joseph now?" As Charles guessed, after hearing Charles' words, Morny's originally calm face suddenly flashed a trace of ferocity, and the whole person seemed to be about to roar. This question was asked deliberately by Charles. As a time traveler, Charles certainly knew that Louis-Bonaparte married Eugenie and gave birth to a son as the crown prince of the empire. Although he didn't know whether Napoleon III would still follow the same marriage path after becoming emperor in this world line, one thing was very clear - even if he was nearly 50 years old after becoming emperor, Louis-Bonaparte was still fertile and could give birth to an heir for the empire, so there was no need to worry that the throne would really be transferred to Joseph.

But Morny didn't know, so he must be bothered by this problem now.

He looked down on Joseph, or he looked down on the Jerome branch of the Bonaparte family. Even in the imperial era, Prince Jerome didn't have much of a good reputation. His character was flamboyant, arrogant, extravagant, and lacked courage and responsibility, which was almost universally recognized. Although Prince Jerome's son was better than his father, his arrogance was exactly the same as his father's. He never looked down on Morny, who was born as an illegitimate child. Accordingly, Morny naturally never thought of making this person his monarch.

"Louis is still young, and it is not difficult for him to have a legitimate child. As long as he has a son, Joseph's delusion will automatically disappear, right?" After a long silence, Morny said bitterly, "Mr. Treville, you don't have to worry so much. It's unnecessary."

In an instant, Charles relied on this question to change the two people's positions. Originally, he wanted to become Morny's ally. After becoming Morny, he needed to persuade him to become his ally. This change of position made Charles extremely happy. So he couldn't help but take another sip of coffee.

"What if such speculation becomes a reality?" After drinking coffee, Charles said easily, "Sir, maybe I am just overly worried now. But what if Mr. President really does not get a legitimate child in the future? If so, shouldn’t we surrender to Joseph?”

"Being obedient to him? Don't even think about it!" Morny sneered and interrupted Charles directly, "Are we going to be obedient to people like Joseph? Mr. Treville, you are a smart man recognized by everyone. , a young man with a promising future, would you allow yourself to do this? Do you think he deserves such treatment?”

"If I really had no choice, I think I would do it." After pondering for a moment, Ciel replied implicitly. "After all. At that time, he was the heir to the Bonaparte family and even the empire..."

Read the original article in Liu#9@书/吧!

"At least we haven't reached the point where we have no choice yet. Isn't it? Believe me, the situation will not be that bad." Morny continued to sneer, "Besides, even if the situation is really unbearable, France still has a variety of choices, even if it is not among the Bonapartes... we still have enough choices.”

He was really not afraid of me talking too much, he actually said such words in front of me!

The huge shock even made Charles speechless for a moment.

What shocked him was not Morny's intention, but his attitude of not shying away from himself.

Yes, Morny never had any intention of surrendering to Joseph Bonaparte.

In the original history, when France was planning to go to war with Russia in 1853, Napoleon III, who had not yet given birth to a son at that time, asked him what would Morny and others do if he died unexpectedly. This man directly faced him The elder brother and monarch answered without hesitation.

"At that time we will first throw all the Jerome faction out of the window, and then do everything possible to reach an agreement with the Orleans Dynasty."

Yes, Morny was such a person. He would rather reach a reconciliation with the Orleans royal family and welcome the Orleans royal family back to France as emperor than let Jérôme or Joseph Bonaparte take over the throne. That's how much he hated Joseph Bonaparte.

It's just that Charles didn't expect that his thoughts would be so unscrupulous, and he would dare to speak them out in a private meeting with a young comrade in 1850.

What does he mean? Do you think I'm tight-lipped enough, or am I not afraid that my thoughts will leak out? Various thoughts occupied Charles's mind, leaving him speechless for a while.

The shock on Ciel's face made Morny a little happy. Of course, he didn't know what Ciel was surprised about, but he just felt that his words had shocked the young man.

"Don't worry, this is just a last resort. For now, you just need to listen to it as a joke." Morny's smile softened again, "I say this just to let you know the truth. That's all - that is, I have never planned to become Joseph's servant, and I have never thought about it at any time, so I will never give up any of my allies in order to please Joseph, and I will never give up this point, please be careful. Consider it."

Seeing Morny's smile, Charles was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Haha, is this the Bonaparte family? There was so much internal fighting at all times, and no one obeyed anyone at any time. They were all ambitious and arrogant. Even the genius Emperor Napoleon, his elder brother and younger brothers did not take him seriously at all times. They all wanted to poach him. God knows how much trouble those brothers brought to the emperor!

Now, even Louis Bonaparte's own brother doesn't take the so-called "Emperor of the Bonaparte Family" seriously, so what's the point of me caring so much? That's right, after all, he is just an illegitimate son, and there is no Bonaparte blood in his blood. There is no need to pay attention to whether the person on the throne is surnamed Bonaparte.

So... then, as someone who has no biological connections, should I care about this kind of thing? A rather dangerous idea suddenly flashed through Charles' mind.

No, this question is too dangerous. She shouldn't think about it now. Ciel quickly put an end to this idea and forced himself to return to the real world.

He regained his composure, then raised his head and looked at Morny seriously.

"Since you said so, I have understood your will, okay... Sir. I must admit that you have given me the courage to continue to persevere, and I now dare to stick to my point of view. Thank you for the courage you gave me . As for what you just said, don’t worry, I won’t mention it to anyone else.”

"I will bring you more than just courage, my friend." Morny also had a calm face. "As for what I just said to you. It doesn't matter. You don't need to take it too seriously... I would say this even in front of Louis, because this is what we think - We are loyal to Louis, but not to any other Bonaparte, unless it is his own child, and Louis already knew that.”

After a pause, he smiled again. "Of course, I'm telling you this. It's because I admire you very much. Don't think I'm just talking politely. I really admire you. When I was your age, I accomplished nothing, but you didn't. To have such an achievement requires not only luck, but also courage, wisdom, and even determination. I have seen all of these things in you. It is really precious to have such things at this age... So, for young people like you , I don’t want to be an enemy, it’s best to be a friend. To a certain extent, I think we are probably the same kind of people. We all have our own desires and we also want to make a way out of this cruel and ruthless world. Come on. Joseph will not treat anyone as a friend, because he thinks he is nobler than others. He thinks he can be an emperor. What's worse is that he shows this. He thinks that giving friendship to others is like a gift. Same, so..."

Morny stretched out his hand,

"So, I don't see any reason why we can't be friends?"

silence.

It seemed like a long time passed, and it seemed like only a moment passed. Ciel also stretched out his hand.

"You've convinced me. I think it's better to be friends with you." With a humble and gentle smile, Charles shook hands with the other person. "Please continue to take care of me in the future. I think I will too." I will do my best to help you as well.”

These hands were cold and smooth, just like his own, Ciel secretly sighed in his heart.

"You made a right choice." Morny smiled and nodded.

"I hope so."

"Speaking of which, I'm a little curious. Why do you suddenly want to displease Joseph?" Morny's face flashed with curiosity. "Normally, I think the relationship between you two is pretty good."

"Because this is the need of the national interest. In front of the country, I can only put public affairs before private affairs." Charles replied seriously.

"Oh." Morny responded softly, obviously not believing what he said at all.

After that, he will probably go back and forth with his brother, and then he will probably get the answer from Louis Bonaparte, "Probably for the count's daughter." Then his evaluation of me will be Will it decrease suddenly? Suddenly, Charles couldn't help but have such thoughts flash through his mind.

Well, it doesn't matter, as long as they think I like to listen to women, as long as they think I have a fatal weakness, then this will be an advantage to me... Charles thought to himself. People should always have weaknesses.

Therefore, he had no intention of refuting the other party's speculation.

"Don't worry, since we can be friends, I will not let my friends be harmed. I will go to the president to give you advice." Molny was obviously in a very good mood now, "I will go there tomorrow. "

"About this issue, I'm not particularly worried right now... because the president has already given me a solution." Charles glanced at the other party seemingly uneasily.

"oh?"

"He plans to transfer me from my current post so that I can take responsibility for what happened before..." Charles drawled his voice, "and then put me in the Army, probably."

In other words, there was no panic from the beginning to the end? And then you deliberately kept such a low profile in front of me?

The middle-aged man couldn't help but look at Ciel again.

This young man is really interesting.

It's really, really interesting...

"Ah ha ha ha ha"

He couldn't help but laugh.

"You will become my friend." (To be continued...)