Flowers, Swords and France

After Louis-Bonaparte proposed that Charles attend the future wedding of the British princess as a representative of France, Charles fell into a long period of contemplation.

He tried to think about the hidden meaning of Louis-Bonaparte's words, and then judge his next actions based on it.

"Will Her Majesty be happy with my presence..." In order to have more time to think, Charles deliberately raised an insignificant hesitation, "After all, I am still too young, and it may not be appropriate to attend such an occasion..."

"How could that be? Charles, your family background and demeanor are enough for you to appear in front of the Queen without causing criticism. If the others of us went there, I would not be at ease..." Not knowing whether it was a joke or a serious one, Louis-Bonaparte replied with a smile, "Besides, didn't you just say it? After all, there is some kinship between you, and it is completely legitimate for you to perform this task..."

"I don't know if Her Majesty will recognize such a relative..." Charles also smiled and replied, "However, since you trust me so much, then I have no reason to refuse the task you assigned. I will do my best to strive to win the favor of Her Majesty."

"It is not enough to just get the favor of Her Majesty." Louis-Bonaparte suddenly waved his hand gently at this time, with some strange looks in his eyes, "You still have to find a way to get the favor of the British government."

Sure enough.

Charles gradually understood.

"You mean, let me take this opportunity to contact the British government - in a less official situation?"

"Yes, Charles... that's right. We want to contact the British in a 'less official' way." Louis Bonaparte nodded repeatedly, seeming to be very happy with Charles's understanding. "Today, in Europe, the capitals of various countries are full of foreign spies. If you go through official channels, the whole of Europe will be full of rumors before you can come up with anything! So, we need an unofficial start."

Then, he lowered his voice and continued to explain to Charles, "We have discussed with the British government, and you will be arranged to meet with Prime Minister Russell several times here. Several important politicians will also meet with you..."

"And I will be your plenipotentiary representative and exchange political opinions between the two countries with them in secret?" Charles also asked in a low voice.

Neither he nor Louis-Bonaparte had any interest in who the British princess would marry, or rather, they were not happy about her marrying a Prussian. However, this did not prevent them from taking advantage of this opportunity to conduct some political activities under the table.

Meeting the Queen was only a small part of his mission, and not the most important one. His biggest mission in the future was to communicate with the powerful people in the British government under the pretext of attending the wedding and visiting Britain.

This was probably the beginning of the coordination of positions between the two major powers and preparations for war.

After all, it was not as simple as it sounds to form an alliance to fight a war together. A lot of coordination work must be done in advance. Charles just didn't expect that in this world line. The person who took the lead in starting this coordination and finally triggered the Crimean War would be himself.

However...isn't this proof that he has become an important figure?

Charles was secretly delighted.

"Yes, Charles. That's it." Louis-Bonaparte nodded again, indicating that Charles's guess was completely in line with the facts. "You know, we both intend to make a great cause in Eastern Europe, but this desire has not yet been matched. We need a harmonious environment... At the same time, for various reasons, we will not announce this alliance, so the work in secret is even more important."

"I will never fail the task you gave me." Charles bowed slightly, "The two great countries will come together to jointly shoulder the heavy responsibility of fighting against the barbaric people's invasion of Europe! For us, this has even more important significance. Where the empire fell, it will eventually get up there. This is the mission given to you by God! And after completing this mission, you will create unattainable achievements, and the empire will also receive infinite glory..."

"Very good, Charles, you are becoming more and more talented as a diplomat," Louis-Bonaparte laughed happily, "It seems that I really didn't find the wrong person."

Then, as if he thought of something, Charles' expression suddenly became a little hesitant, as if he had something to say but didn't dare to say it.

"Charles, just say what you want to say."

"Okay, sir, I just want to say..." Charles glanced at Louis Bonaparte lightly, "Staying with the British, no matter how warm you are, you will suddenly face the risk of parting ways, because this is a nation that is naturally cold and ruthless..."

"What do you mean?" The smile on Louis Bonaparte's face slowly disappeared.

"I mean, although I will try my best to win the favor of the British, we should not take the British's favor towards us too seriously." Charles bravely advised Louis Bonaparte, who was obviously very happy, "I am afraid you know better than me that the British have always only talked about interests and not morality, so we can't invest too much emotion in this friendly relationship. In my opinion, they will abandon us, perhaps as fast as they approached us today..."

"Of course I understand, Charles... The British are warm to us now only because they think we can be used. If one day they think we are useless, they will kick us away without hesitation, or even make us their enemy, just as they spent sixteen years dealing with my uncle." Louis-Bonaparte looked up at the throne, his tone was so cold that Charles could hear that he had no good feelings towards Britain. "But we all know that the world does not run on good feelings... They need us, and we just need them, so why can't we pretend to be friendly and shake hands? Let's talk about the future in the future, you don't have to worry that I will be blinded by the so-called good feelings."

Louis-Bonaparte's implicit words suddenly made Charles feel a little admiration. Such a frank revelation of the essence of the British-French hand in hand. It shows that at least at this moment, his mind and judgment are still worthy of admiration. He has not been overwhelmed by the glorious victory.

"I deeply admire your wisdom." Charles bowed again, "and I will unswervingly carry out your will."

"Well, good luck to you, Charles." Louis-Bonaparte raised his hand and made a gesture to stop the explanation.

Just as Charles was about to leave, as if he remembered something, Louis-Bonaparte suddenly spoke again.

"When you go to England, remember to interact with Mr. Disraeli more often. It will be very beneficial for us to have a good relationship with him."

Oh, Disraeli!

It is indeed very important. Charles answered in his heart.

At this time, since 1848. This gentleman has become the leader of the Conservative Party and reorganized this party that has gradually fallen into chaos.

In the original historical line, since the late 1850s, this gentleman has served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer for three terms and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice. By the time he left office, he was generally regarded as one of the most outstanding politicians in Britain in the Victorian era.

More importantly, he had a great influence on the Queen and was almost regarded as one of the most important political advisers by the Queen. Very trusted and relied on.

Although he was in opposition at this time, he was indeed one of the important figures that had to be taken seriously.

"This Mr. Disraeli, although he has not yet entered the cabinet, let alone become prime minister. But no one can doubt his influence on the Queen. So, in addition to negotiating with the British government, you have to find a way to communicate with this gentleman. Let him have a good impression of us, which will definitely be of great help to us." At this time, Louis-Bonaparte's words also reached Charles' ears.

"I will, sir." Charles buried everything he heard and thought deeply in his heart, and then said goodbye to Louis-Bonaparte. Left the Tuileries Palace.

Shortly after getting married, he went to England with his wife to meet the Queen. Isn't this a honeymoon trip at public expense?

When he left, he suddenly had an idea that was almost a cold joke in his heart.

…………………………

Just when Charles was still preparing for the actions after usurping state power with Louis-Bonaparte, he had no idea that a conspiracy against him was brewing nervously.

At the call of Baron de Bovan, Laura came to her father's study with a somewhat uneasy mood.

When she walked into the middle of the study, she found that her father was sitting at the desk, carefully reviewing the documents and reports on the table.

"Dad, what's the matter with you calling me here?" After trying to suppress the uneasiness in her heart, Laura asked her father in a low voice.

However, what surprised her was that her father was different from usual. He ignored her at all, but continued to look at the documents on the table. Until a moment later, he picked up a pen and wrote a comment under the document, and then threw the document aside.

Only then did he raise his head and look at his daughter calmly.

Laura felt a little numb in her heart because of this gaze, but she still took the courage to squeeze out a smile as calmly as possible.

"Dad? When do you need..."

The baron raised his hand and interrupted Laura.

"I just received a report that you want to withdraw the financing of Mr. Treville. Why?"

It was discovered so quickly!

The original text is available at # 9 @Book/Bar!

Laura was shocked.

She had rarely heard her father's blunt tone since she was a child. Obviously, he was not satisfied with her action.

This was terrible. What should she do? Laura's anxiety grew stronger.

Since accepting Miss Treville's request - or perhaps it should be said that she ordered - she had tried to test her father's corruption several times and found that, as she expected, her father did not support the proposal to withdraw the financing to the Treville family.

After several setbacks, she saw that her father began to have some doubts, so she no longer dared to make such a suggestion. Then, she wanted to hide it from her father and use secret means to create a fait accompli first, and then find a way to make up for it later.

But... this order was only issued today, and her father knew it immediately, and then called her over.

Laura originally wanted to play with time. But she didn't expect that although her father stayed at home and was in such a bad mood. But his ability to control the bank was still intact.

It can also be seen from this that although I assisted my father in managing bank affairs during this period. However, he did not establish reliable prestige between the bank and his subordinates, so major business activities could not bypass his father.

"Is this your decision? Or was it someone's decision made without authorization?" Before Laura could free herself from her thoughts, her father's questioning followed.

"It's me...it's my decision, father." Laura reluctantly composed herself, and then replied in a low voice. "I made this decision after careful judgment. I admit that Mr. Treville will become more and more powerful in the future, but you can also see that his squandering now is too shameless. That's ridiculous. Not to mention that he usually spends money randomly, but he actually spent a lot of money to buy real estate recently... This has to make me doubt his ability to repay, so I think we should stop for now. Regarding his financing, we will wait until later to find better cooperation opportunities..."

The baron listened quietly to his daughter's explanation, and then frowned slightly.

"Have you forgotten everything I taught you? Power is money, and people in power can definitely squeeze money out of power. There is no better customer than a person in power! Spending money... What is this? He is a nobleman. How can a nobleman not spend money? According to your statement, we cannot give loans to noblemen? What's the reason? Besides, he will become one of the most important people in power. Even if he owes us money, he still owes us a favor. You know how much a favor will be worth in time. Money? How can you worry about such a small amount of money? This is how you run a bank!"

After her father's storm of accusations, Laura could only shrink her head. Don't dare to make any defense.

Like a child being taught by a teacher, he did not dare to show any resistance at all. It's completely different from his usual arrogant look.

She knew in her heart that her father's accusation was absolutely correct, and there was no room for replying.

Moreover, her heart was shaking violently, and her courage was rapidly draining from her body.

Precisely because she has been watching her father's methods since she was a child, Laura not only worships her father in her heart, but also has unspeakable fear. If it weren't for being forced to this desperation by that hateful bastard, she would definitely I dare not question my father's will any longer.

However, at this moment, she could only bite the bullet and keep trying.

"Dad...I still think we can..."

"No more buts! I don't need you to question my business strategy, and you don't have the ability to question it!" The baron waved his hand angrily, telling his daughter to shut up immediately, "Do you think our family should be handed over to Are you here to run it, Miss de Bovan?"

Her father's name made Laura even more frightened. She understood that it was impossible to ask her father to change his mind.

In her heart, her father was more terrifying than anyone else, and she was unable to resist.

"I know I was wrong, father... please forgive me for my mistakes..." She apologized to her father in a hurry, almost incoherently, "Of course, you are the one who decides everything, and I definitely did not question you. mean……"

Seeing that his daughter finally admitted her mistake, the baron's attitude improved slightly.

"It's good that you know." He frowned slightly, and then pointed to the document he signed just now, "I have just approved your order, everything is invalid, and the financing for Mr. Treville will continue. Go ahead without any delay. Okay, I'm done telling you, go back."

"Okay, father..." Laura turned pale and bowed to her father.

After coming out of her father's study, Laura felt like everything was in a trance.

What to do, what to do, what to do?

On one side was a behemoth that was unable to resist, and on the other side was an ogre with a smile. She just felt like she was being pulled into the bottomless darkness.

There is not much time left for herself. She must find a way as soon as possible to get out of this terrible predicament.

And all this is to blame on that person...

"Bitch, wait, I must make you look good..." She gasped violently and cursed fiercely in her heart. "If I have a chance to turn over, I will definitely make you look good!" (To be continued...)