Flowers, Swords and France

Without much thought, Viscount Alex de Lautrec directly expressed his thoughts, without even showing any restraint to Charles. ≧,

But this is not surprising. For any ambitious young man, becoming the actual manager of the entire army is an irresistible temptation. He can only pounce on it as soon as possible, lest he miss this golden opportunity. .

He excitedly held Ciel's hand firmly and fully revealed his determination. "Mr. Treville, I have no objection to your arrangements. I will do my best to carry out my work and never disappoint you and the president's expectations!"

He was putting Charles before the President.

No matter what the reason was, at least this answer made Ciel very happy.

Although Viscount Lautrec has a bit of an eccentric temper, he was born in a political and military family. He almost naturally has a keen political sense, and he naturally knows how to say what others want to hear most.

This was one of the reasons why Charles chose him as his second-in-command in the reform of the army - although Lucien was loyal and diligent, he was too rigid after all and did not have the necessary flexibility. He is suitable to be a military commander, not a military and political officer.

"Oh, that's great if you think so." There were so many thoughts running through his mind, but Charles remained calm on the surface. He nodded, and then gently withdrew his hand, "Since If you have this kind of determination, then that's what we need! Only this kind of vigor that young people have can shoulder the heavy responsibilities that we must bear in the future, isn't it? Meet the president and let him see your determination and will."

"You are absolutely right. In an emergency, we must use our will to win. There can be no retreat." Perhaps because Charles's promise was too tempting, Viscount Lautrec's attitude No longer as stiff as before, he smiled friendly at Charles, "No matter what the future president and you ask of me and the Army, I will find a way to achieve it in the Army!"

"Hahahaha, my dear friend, you are quite good at talking when needed..." Seeing this young man being so polite, Charles couldn't help laughing. "However, there is no need to speak so eloquently, Alex, even if it is to please me, there is no need to do so. Although I like to listen to flattery, I will not ignore the reality. Don't worry, I will not let you bear more than If you don’t have any extra responsibilities, you just need to complete the tasks we give you.”

Seeing Charles say this, Viscount Lautrec could only smile bitterly.

That's right. He was just telling lies to please Ciel.

In any case, despite his superior family background and smooth career, Viscount Lautrec was still a young man after all, and he did not have convincing qualifications to command the entire army.

It was precisely because he knew Alex was not qualified enough. There is little prestige in the Army, which has serious seniority issues, so under the instruction of the President, Charles specially selected a senior Army person to serve as the director of this secretariat. And let Alex be mainly responsible for the behind-the-scenes work - he can't expect Alex to be able to do it alone, and to be honest. There is no need for him to be alone.

No matter from any aspect, he does not need subordinates or even allies with high prestige.

young. A quick brain, capable, not famous, and willing to make progress - can you ask for more from a subordinate?

"Your Excellency the Minister has agreed to my recommendation, so you start making preparations today to avoid being in a hurry later." After the atmosphere calmed down, Charles continued to explain, and then he emphasized his tone in a nonchalant manner, "This kind of Preparation is not just personal..."

"Besides personal preparation, what other preparations are needed?" the keen Alex asked immediately.

"We still need manpower. Of course, you can't have an official in vain but just be alone."

"Aren't you going to recruit from among the existing personnel in the ministry?" Alex became more and more alarmed.

"Yes." Charles nodded, "Alex, to be honest, I think the ministry is too angry... and there are too many people involved, so I thought about it carefully and we'd better start from Externally, recruit a group of officers from other troops to take on important tasks.”

Wanting a group of officers who didn't have many ties or backgrounds other than ambition - Alex immediately understood what he meant.

Are you really impatient? He felt a little cold.

However, there was no way out now, and he shook his head secretly in his heart.

The glory in front of him was so great that he could only move forward in dazzled manner without stopping for a moment.

"As I said, I need a group of energetic young people." Charles lowered his voice and explained, "To be precise, they are people who have enough ability and endurance to take on important responsibilities. Although I want to People can line up for miles to get a job from me, but this responsibility is so big that I have to hand it over to the right person."

"I understand." Alex nodded, and then he lowered his voice, "So, what kind of person do you think is the most suitable? I will follow your suggestions to make arrangements."

Sure enough, he is smart and knows that I should be the one to show mercy! Charles felt happy again.

"Well, when it comes to candidates..." Charles pondered for a moment, and then stated the selection criteria in his mind, "They must be young, motivated, not afraid of any stereotypes, and dare to carry out any orders."

In other words, be young, ambitious, and dare to commit any crime for the sake of power?

Viscount Lautrec immediately understood what Charles meant.

Although this standard is a bit high, but... this kind of people... are actually not difficult to find in the army.

Although Viscount Lautrec himself has made rapid progress in his official career and held important positions in the Ministry of War as soon as he came out, he also spent several years in the military academy, so he naturally knows the virtues in the army - among the current young generals , it can be said that there are many people who are seriously dissatisfied with the status quo, full of ambitions and just want to climb up, and are bold and have no scruples.

As long as they can get such an opportunity to rise to prominence, they will never take it seriously, let alone asking them to cooperate with the Bonapartists in a coup.

Although he doesn't like this kind of person who is too sharp, but now is not the time to talk about feelings. Since the minister and Charles need this kind of person, he must find this kind of person for them now.

Of course, it must come from those he knows and can control, so as not to threaten his own position.

"I understand..." He nodded slightly

"Okay. You can look around. If there is a qualified candidate, just tell me. Don't stick to origin and qualifications. I don't pay attention to this. I only value ability. As long as they can execute our will, that's fine. "Yes." Charles warned again, "This matter must be done secretly, don't let too much news out, do you understand?"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"I understand." Viscount Lautrec nodded immediately. "I'll go back and make preparations. I'll give you a list of candidates in a while. The decision is in your hands."

It’s convenient to talk to smart people.

Seeing that the other party was so polite, Ciel couldn't help but feel relieved.

At this point, everything that needs to be revealed has been revealed. He didn't intend to say more, so he directly made a gesture, and Alex also stood up with understanding, saluted to Ciel and then exited the room.

After he left, Charles also left the coffee table, returned to his desk, and began to process his official documents.

His explanation to Viscount Lautrec was actually incomplete.

The reason why we are planning to find a group of capable, ambitious, and unscrupulous people to fill this planned confidential department and let them cooperate in launching a coup is just one purpose, and the other bigger purpose is... This kind of person likes the most Fighting, and the least fear of fighting.

In the plans of Louis Bonaparte and Charles, it won't be long before France goes to war with Russia, so it is obviously necessary to start preparing for a rainy day. Not only must we prepare materially, but we must also make every effort to prepare militarily. .

After finding such a group of people, it will definitely be better for them to prepare for their planned war against Russia than those generals who have lost their energy due to old age. They will even perform at a higher level than Charles expected. enthusiasm and devoted themselves to the preparations for this war.

Of course, after finding this group of people, he had to face a side effect - they would not just want to fight the Russians, they and their descendants would definitely want to fight more battles in order to benefit themselves. Earn honor and higher status, just like those army generals during the Second Empire.

This is playing with fire.

After Louis Bonaparte established the empire, he would launch a major war every few years (fighting against Russia in 1854, fighting against Austria in 1859, an expedition against the Qing Dynasty with the British in 1860, an expedition against Mexico in 1862, and a military expedition into Mexico in 1870). The Franco-Prussian War (five major wars fought in 16 years)), although there are factors in this that he personally likes success, honors and conquests, but the ambition of these army generals is also a reason that cannot be ignored.

It was precisely under the promotion of Napoleon and these dizzy generals that the Second Empire finally entered the self-destruction of the empire, and the entire France lost its last hope for European hegemony.

However, at least for now, he doesn't have to worry about this kind of problem. The main thing is to seize national power.

Figuring out how to control the fierce horse of the Army will have to wait until later. What we should figure out now is how to obtain their obedience and cooperation.

He must get it. (To be continued...)