Flowers, Swords and France

On the night of June 20, 1861, the air still carried a hint of the heat of the day, and the breeze mixed with a little heat made everyone feel a little uncomfortable in the streets of Paris.

In the crowded theater, this heat was even more concentrated and even more unbearable. Many well-dressed audiences were already sweating because of this heat.

However, few people paid attention to this discomfort, because everyone's attention was already on the play being performed on the stage.

This is the work of a new playwright who has recently become famous. The plot is indeed very attractive. When the performance reached the ** period, when the male protagonist and the enemy drew their swords and confronted each other on the stage, some people were even so nervous that they shed tears.

Amid the majestic trumpet music, the male protagonist fought fiercely with the enemy. This carefully selected male actor, with his light and chic movements, performed like a dance, which almost made everyone intoxicated.

Until he defeated the enemies one by one in an amazing manner, the curtain was slowly pulled up amid the cheers of relief from the audience, and the scene finally ended.

A very wonderful performance.

The audience applauded and cheered, and was excited that they could see such a wonderful performance.

Until the curtain completely covered the stage, the audience who had been fully immersed in the performance came back to their senses, teasing each other and their friends about each other's gaffes, and secretly looking forward to the next scene to be more exciting.

And for many of the audience, the current performance was not completely over. As if they had made an appointment, they suddenly turned their heads. Cast their eyes on the box facing the stage.

And under their gaze, a lady dressed in a gorgeous dress put away the small gold-carved telescope in her hand.

The lady had a very beautiful face. And obviously after careful grooming, her blue eyes were always watching the performance on the stage. She looked both charming as a young woman and naughty and cute as a girl, and her age was almost unrecognizable. She wore a hat decorated with flowers on her head, and her golden hair was surprisingly smooth on her temples. She wore a diamond brooch on her chest, which looked as brilliant as the lights around her.

This was a woman who was favored by God and had both wealth and beauty - everyone who had seen such a dress could not help but come to this conclusion at the same time.

In front of this dazzling charm, men's eyes were full of admiration, and women's eyes were inevitably mixed with a little jealousy in their admiration. But she seemed to be unaware, just looking at the stage motionlessly.

At this moment, a middle-aged man slowly walked onto the stage.

This was not the environment for the performance, but no one was surprised by his behavior.

Because... he was the author of the play that was performed this time, a talented playwright who finally had the honor to stand out from his hard life.

The playwright obviously had not yet adapted to his now successful life. He was still dressed very simply, his expression was restrained and somewhat sad, and his face was full of marks brought by a hard life. He was another playwright who was originally frustrated, but now he was able to blossom his talent with the help of this lady.

Between the two acts, in front of all the audience, he bowed down and bowed deeply to the lady in the opposite box. He wanted to express his most sincere gratitude to her in this way.

Just as the playwright saluted, thunderous applause also rang out at the same time.

This enthusiastic applause filled the entire theater. It was tantamount to everyone paying tribute to her at the same time.

In this respectful and enthusiastic atmosphere, the lady opened her eyes wide in surprise. After a moment, a humble smile appeared on her face, as if she was embarrassed to receive such an unexpected honor.

She smiled and nodded to the playwright on the stage. Then he stepped back slightly and hid in the shadow of the box to avoid this sudden embarrassment.

The patron goddess of the French literary and artistic world, the ever-kind and benevolent Ms. de Treville, the unparalleled lord of glory in the civilized world... How can you not deserve such respect!

…………………………

"You seem to be in a good mood today?" After she retreated into the shadow, a voice suddenly sounded from behind her.

If there were other people present, he would definitely be able to recognize that the man who spoke was the then Minister of Finance and Minister of the Interior, Charles de Treville, Duke of Kerson.

He was dressed in casual clothes today, but he still looked arrogant and had a radiant face, looking smart and decisive.

This middle-aged man, who is already in his thirties but still maintains a handsome appearance, seems to have reached the pinnacle of his life. He holds two extremely important ministerial positions at the same time and can execute his will almost without any obstacles within the borders of the empire, so that people openly declare that he is the vice-emperor.

He opened railways, expanded the telegraph industry, reformed the army system, expanded the empire's military industry, formulated and implemented foreign policies... Although he is still young and has not been in politics for a long time, the Duke has already made great achievements. Even his opponents have to publicly admit that he is indeed talented.

And the achievement that brought him to the pinnacle of his reputation was precisely his feat of calming down the economic crisis that had swept the entire empire.

Not long ago, the entire French Second Empire fell into a horrific financial crisis and industrial crisis. In the turbulent economic environment, a large number of companies and factories went bankrupt and closed, workers became unemployed and farmers went bankrupt, and the entire financial system fell into a serious crisis. Refugees began to gather in various cities, and news of unemployed suicides continued to be heard. Everyone was strongly dissatisfied with the government. The rule of the empire seemed to be in turmoil. Any impartial observer would admit that a new revolution had begun. On the verge of breaking out.

In this worrying and even frightening environment, the monarchs and ministers used various methods. After trying his best to save the situation, the Emperor finally suppressed his distrust of Duke Kirson. The Duke himself was called back from his post as ambassador to Austria, and at the strong request of the Duke himself. He was reluctantly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary, giving him the power to impose economic policies according to his own will and maintain imperial rule.

The Duke did not live up to his expectations and used all his strength to finally calm down the terrifying crisis soon after. It is precisely because of this that the Duke has gained great popularity in the country, and many people have even called for the Duke to be deposed as the official Prime Minister to safeguard the country.

However, whether this call comes from a public spirit for the country or a selfish desire for profit. It's a matter of opinion...

"It's rare that you come to me, how can I not be happy?" Ms. Treville replied with a smile.

Then, she walked up to her brother, then reached out and gently adjusted his collar and tie.

"Even if you want to hide it from others, you can't be so slovenly, right? This is not good." While sorting it out, she seemed to complain to her brother.

"Hey...there have been so many things going on recently that it has given me a headache. How can I still have time to pay attention to such small things?" The Duke frowned and then sighed. "Okay, let's not talk about it anymore. I think today's performance was pretty good... You really have a good eye for recognizing people..."

"This is a good work, but I guess he will never write another good work. But this is normal. Most playwrights can only write one or two good works in their lifetime. Once they get rid of poverty, they will run out of ideas. "Yes." The lady looked back at the playwright who was still bowing to her on the stage. Then he left a rather harsh comment, "Moreover, most of these artists have no conscience... They always turn their backs and deny themselves after they no longer need to rely on others. To deny that they are relying on the help of others is to Only then can I stand out..."

"Ah! If he hears your comment, I'm afraid he will be very angry!" After hearing his sister's comment, the Duke couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"I'm just telling the truth. This is exactly the experience I have gained in the past few years!" The lady carefully retied the Duke's tie, and then patted it easily and naturally. "I don't see how this guy would be any different."

Feeling the gentle touch on his chest, Ciel didn't know what to say for a moment.

Yes, his sister was indeed so different in front of others and behind others.

Probably no one would have thought that Ms. Treville, who enjoys such a high reputation, would have such a kind heart under her compassionate and benevolent appearance...

"Okay, don't talk about this. You came to me specifically like this today. You must have something very important to explain, right? Say it quickly, sir..." The lady looked at the Duke face to face, with great concern in her eyes.

"Hey, isn't it because of the poor financial situation of our country?" When he said this, the Duke couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect that it would be so troublesome to clean up the troubles I caused! If I had known I would beat His Majesty at that time You should be gentle when you slap, but now you have to slap yourself honestly..."

"The greater the trouble, the more the country needs you to clean up the mess, right...?" Seeing her brother's embarrassment, the lady couldn't help but smile again. "One thing can be guaranteed. In the face of this storm, His Majesty will be more anxious and anxious than you, because he needs to pay attention to the safety of his dynasty."

"Yeah, that's true. If you say that, I can feel calm." The Duke shrugged.

"We have achieved our goal, which explains everything..." The lady buried her head in the Duke's arms, her tone full of joy, "Brother, congratulations to you, your plan finally succeeded... No matter the situation No matter how difficult it is, I never doubted you... That’s great!”

Yes, except for a very few people, no one can know that Duke Curzon is one of the initiators of this unbearable economic crisis - at least the main driver of this economic crisis.

After the economic crisis began to show some signs, it was the Duke who, for his own selfish purposes, secretly ordered his assistants and subordinates whom he had cultivated in the industrial and economic circles to undermine the normal operation of the economy in various ways. He even secretly Issue counterfeit banknotes and use the banking system controlled by your own gang members to distribute them on the market in large quantities!

It is precisely because of the covert fanning and fueling of the crisis by the Duke and his key campaign partners that this economic crisis has lasted so long. The harm was so severe that so many people lost all their savings. Ushered in a painful life.

As his sister and one of his main assistants, Ms. de Treville was praised and admired by everyone. It happens to also bear the heavy responsibility of creating this crisis.

There is no doubt that the brother and sister share a huge sin.

However... there is absolutely no regret or apology for this in the hearts of these brothers and sisters.

Because the sins they share are already too many, and they don't care or can care about more.

Everything is acceptable as long as it serves its purpose.

No matter how evil this plan is, as long as it can achieve its goal, it is reasonable to them.

In effect, it is precisely because the crisis is so terrible. His Majesty the Emperor had to retrieve the Duke, whom he had sent to Austria as ambassador, and entrust him with almost all-powerful authority.

As long as the goal can be achieved, isn't everything reasonable?

That's exactly what they thought, and that's what they always did.

"Because it was so successful, I have to find a way to brake, otherwise this storm can swallow me up - after all, what I want is not a ruin!" The Duke stretched out his hand and gently hugged the lady. back. "I stepped the empire into the mud before, now I will do my best to bring her back."

"Just tell me what you want me to do. I will do it for you." The lady immediately promised.

"Actually, it's nothing. It's very simple - I want to extract money, that's all." The Duke whispered in the lady's ear, "And I can't increase taxes anymore. The burden on the people is already heavy enough. If we continue to increase taxes, Taxes only make me complain and I don’t get much money.”

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Under the government's charter, railway companies in various places have to issue more than 200 million francs of stock every year..." Duke Curzon frowned slightly, obviously worried about something. "Yet the government gets too little out of this."

"Isn't this caused by your own efforts?" Ms. Treville looked at the Duke with some irony. "When you were the Minister of Transport at the time, you could have asked the country to reduce its constraints on railway construction."

"But now I am the Chancellor of the Exchequer!" the Duke replied seemingly matter-of-factly, not feeling any discomfort at all about his sudden change of position. "The railways are good, and we need more railways, but our financial situation requires the government to expand Financial resources, only in this way can the situation be stabilized. If the government is shaky, then what is the point of having a longer railway? "

"So... you want me to come forward to suppress these companies and make them willing to serve the country?" The lady immediately responded, "Including our own?"

"Yes, that's it." The Duke nodded, "I want to create a situation, a situation that is very beneficial to us, so that the people feel that I can bring them a better life - even if it has a slight impact. No matter the future, after all, people don’t want to see ten years from now. What they want to care about is today’s bread! They cursed the recent Anglo-French trade agreement, so I want to curse it. They want to postpone future investment for the sake of bread. I must first comply with public opinion. … Government can’t just do the right thing, period.”

[In early 1860, in order to overcome France's economic difficulties and promote the development of industry and commerce, Louis Bonaparte, after a long period of hesitation and negotiation, finally signed a trade agreement with the United Kingdom aimed at abolishing excessive tariffs.

Starting in July 1861, France gradually abolished import taxes on British cotton and wool, twine and linen. Duties were then reduced on imports of British coal and coke and machinery. And starting from October, all other import bans will be abolished.

This treaty almost abolished the high-tariff trade protection system that France had pursued for centuries. It caused a great shock in the French economic circles at that time. Some of the injured industrial and commercial owners even openly declared that this was the "second coup". There were strong calls to boycott the treaty.

In the long run, this treaty greatly reduced the cost of raw material imports for French industry, which was extremely beneficial to the development of industry; but from the initial effect, this agreement touched and hit some old business forces, causing It aroused great public dissatisfaction and became an important cause of the wave of national opposition in the middle of the imperial era. 】

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Duke Curzon mentally supported this major economic move by the emperor. It can even be said that he is one of the important promoters of this agreement, but... this does not prevent him from using the public resentment caused by this agreement to damage the reputation of His Majesty the Emperor.

No matter how involved he was in the making of this agreement. Since His Majesty the Emperor signed this agreement, he had already been sent to Austria. He could easily claim his innocence in the face of the people's anger - and he needed people to be dissatisfied with the emperor.

"I understand... So that's it..." The lady nodded, "Okay, I will go with Mary to tell them next. If they refuse, we will convince them!"

"As long as you understand, there are some things I can't come forward for. Both the railway and the industry need my support. I can't let them feel cold." The Duke replied. "I think this matter can only be handled properly if I leave it to you..."

"I will do this for you. No matter what method..." As if greatly encouraged by her brother's words, the lady answered with her eyes closed, and a charming smile slowly appeared on her face. "No one can stop you."

Few people know what this intoxicated smile means.

Then, as if she suddenly thought of something, the lady suddenly raised her head again.

"But, sir, why are you so anxious recently? Many things can be done slowly, why are you so anxious? Could it be... did something unexpected happen?"

"Yes. Time is no longer on our side, I must race against time." The Duke nodded.

The lady opened her eyes wide.

"You mean... His Majesty?"

"Yes, he has been more friendly to me recently, and he keeps telling others how much he relies on me. How the empire cannot do without me... From what I know about him, this is proof that he is ready to kick me out, at least he has decided to weaken my power. I understand his thoughts. After all... my power is indeed too great, and any monarch would be unable to sleep well in this position..." After calmly narrating, the Duke made his own judgment. "I am very indignant that his performance is so mediocre. He seems to think that I am still the kid who knew nothing ten years ago."

Although the Duke's tone was very calm. But his words caused an extremely intense reaction in the lady.

She clenched her fists, and her face flushed with anger.

"This... this bastard! So ungrateful, so shameless!" She gritted her teeth and cursed, without any of her usual elegance and easy-going. The harm suffered by her brother aroused more anger in her heart than her brother himself.

She panted heavily, her eyes full of resentment, "We will never give in again this time! Times have changed, and everything is different now. If he still thinks he can treat us like he did two years ago, then... I swear, I will make him regret it!"

"Yes, I will make him regret it." The Duke nodded calmly, "This time, I must win!"

With such a strong determination, the lady regained her composure.

"Okay, great! Brother... I will definitely stay with you. Please leave that bastard to me. I will make him know the price of treating us like this!"

"Silly child, how can you take risks yourself?" The Duke smiled and pinched her nose, "I will take care of this kind of thing. You just need to complete the tasks I have assigned to you."

Under her brother's teasing, the lady said no more, and secretly decided to make her promise come true.

"I will definitely do what you have assigned to me, sir..." she promised in a low voice. "No matter how much trust you place in me, I will never let you down... It has always been like this."

"Yes, I absolutely believe in you..." Charles sighed. "I can't ask for more from you... As long as you are here, what do we have to worry about? Victory... will definitely belong to us!"

Encouraged by the Duke, the lady was also full of confidence.

Then, she suddenly felt a mood that didn't seem to belong to her age.

"You always say some lies so naturally, I won't believe it." She frowned slightly, as if complaining, or as if she was acting coquettish, "I really don't know how many people you would say this to!"

"..." Charles didn't answer.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Because she was worried that her complaint would make her brother angry, Fran glanced at her brother with some worry. "I just said it casually, you don't have to take it to heart..."

"Oh... nothing." Charles woke up from a dream and answered quickly.

Charles was stunned for a moment by his sister's slightly girlish expression. He stared at her, at this beautiful face that he never tired of looking at.

At this age, which is getting closer and closer to 30, she can still maintain this youthful charm, which really makes him feel a little surprised.

What is even more shocking is that under this beautiful face, there is such a shocking and even terrifying soul. How could he believe that there was a person who was as determined and decisive as himself hidden beside him?

All kinds of contrasts intertwined in her, making her exude the kind of charm that he could not resist.

This person has everything he admires, but she only has him in her eyes. I... am I lucky or unlucky?

There is no time to think about this question anymore.

Before Fran could react, the excited Duke suddenly lowered his head and kissed her lips.

Although she was very surprised by Charles' sudden action at first, Fran quickly regained her composure. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm feeling from his chest and lips.

The passionate music on the stage sounded again, and it seemed that a new scene was about to begin.

Who could have imagined that a pair of siblings were kissing passionately above their heads?

It was not until a long time later that the two people's lips parted again.

The Duke looked calm, but he seemed to be still savoring the warm feeling just now.

The corners of Ms. Treville's mouth also slightly curled up, revealing a satisfied smile.

"Well... uh..." The Duke seemed to suddenly remember a question and asked awkwardly, "How is Alice recently?"

"Not good, the weather has been hot and cold recently, she has difficulty adapting, and she had a fever two days ago, which scared me to death..." When talking about this problem, the lady was no longer as calm as before, and her face was full of sorrow, "Her body has always been so weak, and you are unwilling to come to see her more..."

"Oh, sorry, sorry..." The Duke, who was full of regret, apologized repeatedly, "Sorry, there are too many things recently, I will definitely go to see her, I will go in the next two days."

"This is what you said, you must remember!" There was some threat in the lady's eyes.

"Okay, there will be no problem." The Duke immediately promised.

"Great... I will prepare it and wait for you!" The lady was full of joy.

Then, she raised her head and looked at her brother.

"You didn't leave me after all..."

"Yes, you can never leave me again." Charles replied in a low voice.

Accompanied by the exciting music, the two siblings hugged each other tightly again, and did not separate for a long time. (To be continued...)

ps: I wish you all a happy Dragon Boat Festival!