Flowers, Swords and France

The private conversation between the Marquis de Treville and the Marquis de Léoland was, if not shocking, at least immoral. Of course, Charles could not have known anything about it at this time.

At this moment, he is sitting in a conference room in the Ministry of War, faithfully fulfilling his obligations to the country.

Because the meeting hadn't started yet, the conference room was very noisy, but Charles's mind was very calm. He put his hand on the table and supported his chin, looking thoughtful.

A large group of people gathered around the long conference table, with different expressions. They sat in their seats according to strict hierarchical order, and sometimes talked in low voices with the people next to them, speculating that the person in front of them would call them today. Come here, what is the purpose?

And how to deal with this young man without being rude.

After letting the noise continue for a while, Charles finally raised his head, and in the sight of everyone, he took out his pocket watch and looked at it. At this time, the whispers in the conference room stopped instantly.

It’s almost time for [ten thousand][book][bar] .nsb. Ciel murmured in his mind.

Then, he moved his eyes without leaving a trace, glanced around at the officials sitting at attention, and memorized their faces and attitudes one by one. Today is an effort and attempt he made to promote his plan to introduce miniguns in the army - he will appoint Mr. De Triveau, the director of the department responsible for armaments and weapons management, and his subordinate responsible for weapons procurement. The director of the matter, Baron de Hilleau, and a large group of officials under them were called over. Prepare for a special meeting.

"Everyone, let's start the meeting now." Seeing that the atmosphere was brewing, he nodded to the officials.

In complete silence. Ciel continued.

"First of all, let me express my gratitude to you all. It is precisely because of everyone's hard work that our military exercises in Le Mans were able to go so smoothly." Charles's tone was calm but also contained a little passion, which was just right. He expressed his respect for these people, "Yes, the exercise went very smoothly, and the performance of the soldiers participating in the exercise was very eye-catching. It left a deep impression on the officers who were observing."

After hearing what Charles said, everyone couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief when they saw his posture being so low-key and so pleasant. Only Mr. de Treveau, who was sitting next to Charles, still maintained his serious attitude.

This Mr. de Treveaux is probably about fifty years old. He has a large, tall nose, slightly curved, which seems to cover less than half of his face. He was pale, his cheeks shriveled and wrinkled. He doesn't look like a soldier who has been trained on the battlefield for a long time. Instead, he looks like an old politician. However, as if to contradict this first impression, he wore a very bright uniform, with copper buttons shining in the light, as if he wanted to use this dress to get back for himself the things he never had. majesty.

"Mr. de Treville, we just did some things within our duties. Besides, the main preparation work was not done by us." Maybe it was because he was used to bossing around his subordinates, looking at Charles's face when. Charles always felt that this look was a bit sharp, at least not too kind, "If you want to thank, it's best to thank those people who worked overtime to prepare a schedule and enough food for your exercise plan..."

After hearing this rather cold answer, Charles frowned slightly.

This Mr. de Treveau is a branch member of the famous Marquis de Treveau family. Although he is not a biological brother to the Marquis himself, his relationship has always been very close, so he is not as fearful of Charles as others. On the contrary, there was a hint of antagonism - perhaps this was because Ciel had obtained such an enviable high position at such an extremely young age.

Of course, although this attitude was not friendly, Charles had already become accustomed to this attitude over the past few days, so he did not feel dissatisfied and just smiled slightly.

"Of course, I will also thank them, and I have already thanked them, sir. But... this does not negate your hard work, does it?"

"It's really an honor for you to be so considerate of us." After Charles responded in this implicit way, Mr. de Triveau could only smile.

The inadvertent and implicit exchange between the two officials was also noticed by every official. They did not dare to speak now. They just looked at each other and secretly watched the two bosses' jokes - however, from then on. Judging from their true intentions, they probably support Mr. de Triver more.

Ciel no longer looked at the other party, but regained his gaze and continued.

"Of course, like many things, we should not only see the achievements, but also the shortcomings... At least, from this exercise, I, and many people, have seen some of the problems currently plaguing the Army. ”

These words made the officials who had already relaxed become tense again in an instant.

"I wonder what you mean by this?" Mr. Trevor looked at Charles in confusion. "Is this why you called us here today?"

"Oh, you don't have to take it so seriously," Charles smiled and waved his hand. "This is just a meeting to exchange opinions. I'm not asking everyone to accuse you. I'm just saying that we have discovered some military operations. deficiencies, and then we can discuss how to solve these problems.”

"I wonder what the flaws are?"

"You will know after reading it." Charles gestured, and then his secretary distributed the stacks of documents to several highest-ranking officials.

This is a summary of the exercise written by Lucien and his colleagues after returning to Paris at the invitation of Charles - which naturally includes content about weapons written under Charles's instruction.

This report is very long and of course no one will be able to read it in a short time, but that is not a problem. Because there are not many paragraphs about the theme of this meeting, and they have already been highlighted by Charles.

"...Although there is no doubt about the courage and tactical discipline of the soldiers, the standard weapons used by army soldiers are quite outdated. They cannot adapt to the development of weapons in the new era. Unfortunately, the bravery of our soldiers has been greatly compromised. And it makes people worry about the future ability and strength of the army to resist pressure..." Mr. de Trival read the circled content, then raised his head and looked at Charles suspiciously, as if he understood something. "Mr. Treville, what you are saying is that you are not satisfied with the standard weapons used by our soldiers now?"

"This is not my opinion, it is the opinion of the officers participating in the exercise." Charles replied with a smile.

"The reports in the hands of officials always reflect the opinions of officials. Otherwise, it would not be published at all, right?" Mr. Trevor asked with a sneer, as if to say, 'They are all working in the government, don't think about it. You're fooling us...' like. "So. I want to ask. What is your opinion on this report?"

"Well... after a period of investigation, I agree with this opinion in principle." Ciel nodded seriously, as if this opinion was really put forward by someone else and then he considered it carefully.

His words quickly caused a commotion in the conference room, and the eyes that greeted him were not so friendly.

"The rifles currently used by the army were only finalized and produced a few years ago. I think it is still an advanced weapon. The problems reflected in this report are ridiculous." Baron de Hilleau, director of the department responsible for weapons procurement, immediately He opened his mouth and said, "Sir, you should not listen to such baseless hearsay."…

As the latest standard rifle adopted by army soldiers, the mle1842 smoothbore rifle is indeed not old equipment. It has been mass-produced since its inception. Now it has basically spread to all units of the army. And, to be fair, it is indeed a pretty good musket.

But unfortunately, even so, it is still a work that should be eliminated.

"In today's era, the development of science and civilization is enough to make a few years represent the past centuries." Charles looked at the baron firmly, "Yes, it did not come out for a few years, but there is no doubt that What is wrong is that it is outdated, and we should replace it with better and more epoch-making weapons in order to effectively improve the combat effectiveness of the army. Or, sir, are you opposed to the army using more advanced weapons?"

The baron was speechless. No one could afford this hat. He glanced furtively at Mr. de Triveau, hoping that his superior would stop the mad young man.

"Of course we are not opposed to the upgrading of army equipment, but this must be completed under the leadership of capable and experienced people..." Living up to his expectations, Mr. de Triver stood up at the right time, "And this We cannot let laymen make easy judgments or decisions on such important matters. He does not have the corresponding knowledge and therefore does not have the corresponding qualifications.”

"Each of us has the obligation to serve the country when needed, sir." Charles looked at the other party rather unkindly, "Military power is the most important pillar supporting our country, and it deserves more attention than any other issue. Therefore, even people who have nothing to do with it should do something that is beneficial to our country’s military strength within their ability. Don’t you think I’m right?”

This unabashedly tough attitude made Mr. de Triveau couldn't help but feel slightly startled.

Before he could think of how to refute Ciel's high-sounding words, Ciel continued.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"That is to say, you don't think what I said is wrong, right?" Charles sneered, "I have the right and should fulfill my citizen's responsibilities, not to mention that I am not an irrelevant person now, so, I Please consider my proposal in more detail, sir."

After a moment of silence, as if he felt that Charles's determination could not be changed, Mr. de Trival sighed helplessly.

"Okay, let's not say whether this accusation can be established. Even if it is established, how do you plan to solve it? Instruct the military industry department to develop a new type of rifle as soon as possible?"

"No need to go to such trouble, we now have a good choice..." Seeing that the topic finally came to this, Charles couldn't help but smile, "In France, there is now such a rifle, which can make our Soldiers get several times the range advantage over the previous one, and this is an epoch-making weapon.”

"How...how is this possible? Are you kidding?" Mr. de Triveaux looked at each other with his subordinates.

"Of course I won't talk nonsense in such an important meeting." Charles replied calmly, "If you want to verify it, it's actually very simple. I have the drawings of this new rifle and even the real thing. I hope you can arrange a comparative experiment as soon as possible so that we can analyze the advantages and disadvantages..."

"This is a rude interference in our work! You have no right to do this!" Baron de-Hillot's face has turned red, and he glared at Charles without even saying politely, "Sir, it is our responsibility to equip the French army with what kind of weapons, not yours. You can't interfere in our affairs because of your own preferences!"

"This kind of talk is completely unreasonable. Have you found a better way? Weapons, I don't even have the right to recommend them to you?" Charles frowned slightly, "The problem is very simple. I don't want to force you to accept my opinion. I just say that I can recommend you a better weapon. From a practical point of view, it can bring revolutionary changes to the soldiers' rifles and greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of the army. "...

"Even so, it is not your job." De-Trevo looked at Charles coldly, "Everyone should do their own job. This is the correct rule for an organization to keep running well."

"In other words, you are not willing to even try it? Even if I can put the real thing in front of you?" Charles tried to suppress his anger and asked in a deep voice.

"No, sir, you can keep it to yourself. We have our own way of working and don't need anyone to tell us what to do." De-Trevo answered immediately.

Charles was silent. He glanced at every official present, but did not find any supporters among them. Instead, it seemed that everyone was united in hatred and wanted to resist his rude interference.

It seems that this issue cannot be discussed today.

Although he was very angry, he could not lose his temper, so he remained calm.

"Then, let's adjourn today and reconsider it."

"Goodbye, sir." De-Trevo stood up immediately, nodded coldly, and then led the way out of the meeting room.

Soon, Charles was the only one left in the meeting room.

Charles remained silent and sat in the meeting room with a blank expression.

He encountered a strange setback, which made his already very bad mood fall to a new low.

However, he did not intend to bow to this setback.

Wasn't he mentally prepared?

You can't stop me.