Flowers, Swords and France

"Please tell me..."

After hearing what Charles said, the Marquis waved his hand gracefully, and then replied with a smile, "I think we still have plenty of time today, so there is no need to be in a hurry."

Then, he suddenly opened his drawer gently and took out a box of cigars.

"Ciel, would you like some?"

"I don't particularly like smoking." Charles was stunned for a moment, and then gave a rather tactful answer.

"Oh? Why?" The Marquis raised his eyebrows, as if he was surprised that a young nobleman like Charles didn't like smoking. "Charles, this is a hobby that gentlemen must have!"

"There's no reason, I just don't like it." Charles replied with a smile, and then he suddenly reached out and took a cigar from the minister's cigarette case, "However, since you are so kind, I am embarrassed to refuse. …”

Then, the two men took cigar cutters, cut the tip of the cigar, and lit the cigar.

The minister did not speak at first, but held the cigar in his mouth, took a deep breath full of intoxication, and then puffed out a puff of smoke.

Then he raised his head and looked at Charles, and said half-jokingly, "Charle, if you want to do diplomacy, you can't do it without smoking - the smoking room is a good place to talk about important things. You have to know that in diplomacy, which is full of informants and leaks, It’s really hard to find such a place in the world. Don’t worry about the rumors about health effects! Young people, don’t believe those nonsense. I am already sixty-five years old and have been smoking cigars for forty years. Is it good?”

Finished. He took another deep drag on the cigar, then let out another long breath. "Look! What a rare enjoyment this is in life!"

Looking at the Marquis, he behaved like a drug addict. Ciel just smiled slightly, "I think. There is always a place where you can communicate honestly, and it doesn't have to be smoking."

It's not because I'm worried about harming my body or anything, it's just because I don't like it.

Seeing that the minister wanted to say something more, Charles waved his hand calmly and drew an elegant arc with his cigar.

“If I meet someone in the diplomatic community who feels uncomfortable with what I do, I would say that now they have to learn to do things at the pace of Charles de Treville.”

Ciel's expression implied displeasure. The minister's face suddenly stiffened slightly.

Soon he understood what Charles meant - if you ask me to smoke, I will do it for you, but don't think you can order me around at will, let alone show off your qualifications to me.

However, although Ciel's attitude was so tough, the minister did not scold or express any disgust at all.

Because this Treville is the president's most die-hard supporter and the most trusted by him; and this Marquis of Turgot was only loyal to the old Bourbon aristocracy and only changed his family a few years ago.

The Marquis knew very well the gap between the two people - even if it seemed that his official position was higher than the other's, it was just an illusion. Today, when the president has established an absolute dictatorial system, everyone's power and status only depend on who has more weight in the president's heart.

"Hahahaha!" After a moment, the Marquis laughed. "Char, you are really... okay. After all, young people are very energetic, which is understandable."

After all, he was a sophisticated nobleman, and he hid his embarrassment with a smile. This small conflict suddenly vanished into thin air.

Then he reached to the ashtray. Then he flicked the cigarette ashes twice.

"Okay, let's get down to business." His expression returned to seriousness. "According to the news from the ambassador from London, Mr. Russell will receive you personally the day after you arrive in London."

"What?" Charles was surprised at first, then regained his composure, "It seems like this is happy news."

Mr. Russell refers to Russell, the current British Prime Minister.

"It is indeed good news." The minister took another puff of his cigar. "This shows that the British are very interested in improving relations with France, more actively than we would like to imagine. But... Charles, the more this happens, the more we The more we need to stay calm, we must not get carried away because of this. The British are very cunning and we absolutely cannot trust them. In addition, how can we deal with the Prime Minister appropriately without appearing too attentive or making him feel neglected? , this is also a big problem..."

"So what do you mean?" Charles looked at the minister tentatively. "Please tell me directly. You are the minister and I will obey your instructions."

In order to avoid offending Charles, the minister deliberately spoke in a tactful way, but the meaning was obvious - he was afraid that Charles was a newcomer who would not be able to cope with the British Prime Minister because he was young and energetic and did not know how to advance or retreat.

Although this feeling of being worried is uncomfortable, Ciel can also understand the minister's motives, so he expresses his willingness to obey orders very considerately - of course, if you want to make yourself secret, then there is no need to talk about it. .

"Actually, it's nothing. I just want you to listen to the opinions of the embassy staff. If necessary, you can bring one or two trustworthy embassy staff to attend the meeting in the name of translators - after all, they have always been in the UK. British affairs are much more understood than you and I, which can prevent you from being manipulated by the British." Perhaps because he was very satisfied with Charles's sudden change of attitude, the Marquis smiled and nodded, "Xia. Hey, do you know English?”

"Yes, I know some." Ciel nodded.

"Then just pretend you don't understand." The minister put out his cigarette butt and put it in the ashtray. "From my experience, it's a good idea to pretend not to understand the other party's language during a meeting. The trick, because you'll have plenty of time to buffer your thoughts while your attaché translates - and if you're lucky, You can also hear their whispers, which are much more valuable than what they say to you openly... Of course, you don't have to do this with the Queen and Prince. You can communicate with them freely in German. It would be great for us if you could win their favor."

To put it bluntly, I am still worried that a young boy like me does not know how to advance or retreat. He must have bumped into the British Prime Minister... Ciel smiled bitterly in his heart.

"Okay, thank you." Charles agreed to the minister after some thought. "I'll pretend I don't understand English."

In the past century or two, the upper class in Britain would all speak French, but now, the world is very different, and the arrogant British gentlemen do not have much enthusiasm for learning French. However, English has not reached the status of an international language in the 21st century, so it is not surprising that Ciel cannot understand it.

"I'm so happy that you can be so reasonable." The minister looked relieved. "Then I wish you a pleasant trip to the UK and that you can come back with some good news for us."

"I hope so too." Charles bowed slightly, then put the cigar in his hand into the ashtray and extinguished it.

"By the way, there is one more thing, another piece of good news." The minister suddenly smiled and waved his hand to Charles, "The news came from the UK at the same time, the Duke of Wellington has agreed to receive you."

"Oh! That's great!" Ciel blurted out.

Out of a desire to meet one of the few remaining superstars from the Napoleonic era, Charles made a special request to the British government through the French Embassy to meet the Iron Duke when he was planning his visit to England. Today, he finally received feedback from the Duke himself that he agreed to meet him, which indeed made him very happy.

"You seem to have high regard for him? Are you asking to see him specifically?" The Marquis asked in a low voice, seemingly surprised by Charles's beaming expression.

His tone was a little strange.

As an old French aristocrat, he had mixed views on the Duke of Wellington - this very Duke. The final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo allowed the Bourbon dynasty to be restored; however, it was this Duke who dealt the heaviest blow to France's military glory.

so. He had a hard time understanding why Ciel was acting so excited.

"Oh, I just want to talk to him. After all, he is a strong man, and I hope to get some teachings from him." After a moment. Charles regained his composure and could not let anyone see that he had such high regard for Napoleon's mortal enemy.

"Okay, it's up to you." The minister nodded, obviously not wanting to delve into this issue.

"Your Excellency, Minister, after I come back from the UK, you should arrange formal duties for me, right?" Charles suddenly raised a question.

"Huh?" The minister was surprised.

These days, he has been saying that Ciel needs to study, and has not assigned him too many tasks. Unexpectedly, he still came today... ugh.

"What do you want?"

While he reluctantly answered, he secretly prayed that the other party would not take away too many things from him.

"I am more interested in Eastern affairs, and I would like to ask you to leave them to me." Charles replied in a low voice. "I'm very interested in both the Near East and the Far East."

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Oh?" The minister's tone was filled with confusion and a hint of amusement. "East?"

"Yes, I understand that you still have doubts about my experience, and I am not very familiar with the problems of European countries, so I think I'd better start from the East... Whether it's Turkey, Iran, or even the Qing Dynasty, I'm sure you won't be troubled by leaving the foreign affairs of these countries to me, right? These countries are not strong enough. Even if there is any trouble, I think you can easily suppress it... As for the affairs of European countries, you I should continue to lead, I just need to participate and learn first.”

In other words, European affairs should also be involved, but not dominant... God knows whether it is credible or not.

The Marquis secretly felt a pain in his heart.

He looked up and found that the young man was looking at him confidently, as if he was not worried at all that he would disagree.

Although the requirements are very high and harsh, but even so, it is better than forcing yourself to stand up now, right?

The minister thought for a moment.

"Well, you have the right to handle the affairs. I didn't bother you because you just got married." The Marquis was still smiling, and his emotions were unrecognizable. "Then do as you say! I'll do it when you come back. As you said, even if you cause any trouble in these places, we can still suppress it - it's different in Europe."

I still need you now, but sooner or later I will take over Europe too, Charles answered secretly in his heart. But there was no abnormality on his face. "Of course. Precisely because European issues are so important, we absolutely cannot miss your experience... Your Excellency. On the issues of European countries, I only hope to work with you. And learn your methods and style of handling diplomatic affairs."

"I have nothing to teach you, sir." The Marquis seemed to compliment Charles from the bottom of his heart, "You are a rare young talent in our country, and sooner or later you will make more contributions to the country in the future. Although it is only the East now, sooner or later you will take over the baton of our diplomacy, I firmly believe so. It's a pity that I am now nearly 70 years old and it won't be long before retirement. Maybe I can only see you maneuvering for our country in the Holy Father..."

Charles could hear the hint of the Marquis. His words were both compliments and requests for mercy - he was begging. He said that he would retire in a few years, and he only asked Charles not to completely bypass himself as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during this period, and to have fun with the Eastern issues first.

At this moment, he didn't know that Louis-Bonaparte and this young man had already secretly decided what to do in the next few years.

"You will get what you want," Charles also hinted in an ambiguous way.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he looked at the Marquis with a little curiosity, as if he was joking, "By the way, sir. I didn't expect you to agree to my request so readily. I thought you got a special interest in the East from your great-uncle!"

After hearing what Charles said, the Marquis smiled awkwardly, "You actually know this? Oh... My great-uncle does have some ridiculous interests. He admires the Qing Dynasty very much, but, of course. I have no interest in the Qing Dynasty, and we don't have much interest there..."

His tone was lazy and casual. It was like a parent who was going to throw some toys to his children to play with.

However, the great-uncle of the Marquis of Turgau was not as lightly described as he said, but a great figure in history.

Anne Robert Jacques de Turgau (later Baron Launay) was one of the most famous representatives of the doctrine during the period when French physiocracy was popular. He served as the Minister of Finance during the reign of Louis XVI. In 1776, he wrote a book, "An Examination of the Formation and Distribution of Wealth", based on questions he asked two Chinese students who were about to return to China. This book caused a huge response in France at that time.

This book compares many situations in the Qing Dynasty with those in France at that time, and then summarizes many institutional shortcomings of France, requiring the king's government to learn and improve - of course, this "superiority of the Qing Dynasty system" is largely due to the conjecture of him and his colleagues.

In the era of the booming Enlightenment, in order to obtain ideological weapons to attack reality, this school of thought unrestrictedly beautified China, which was at its peak under the rule of the Qing Dynasty at that time. At that time, it advocated learning from China and building France into a country "based on agriculture, emphasizing moral systems and implementing enlightened politics like China".

There is no doubt that their efforts were fruitless. At that time, Europe, which had already been modernized, was certainly unable to embark on the ideal agricultural society and return to the pastoral era imagined by these scholars.

As exchanges between China and Europe became more frequent, the essence of the Qing Dynasty, which was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and decadent and decaying, became increasingly exposed to the French. The fantasy of China that had originally circulated among scholars gradually shattered, and no one thought of learning from the Qing Dynasty anymore.

At least, the nephew standing in front of Charles had absolutely no good feelings towards the Qing Dynasty or any other Eastern country.

"It seems that you don't care about Qing."

"There is no need to care. It has no effect on us." The minister's answer was very concise. "Although Qing is large and populous, their rulers are ignorant and incompetent, the government is very corrupt, and the military is very weak, so they can't have any impact on us. I don't need to pay special attention to them."

As if he remembered something, he took out a report from the folder next to him, "By the way, I received a report a while ago saying that a large-scale rebellion broke out in the south of Qing. It is said that the leader of the rebels is a Christian. The rebellion quickly spread to several provinces and it seems that it will not be easily quelled. From this, we can judge that in the foreseeable future, Qing's status in the world will become increasingly insignificant."

Charles knew what this was talking about without reading the report.

On January 11, 1851, the 38th birthday of Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the God Worshipping Society, he and his subordinates held a grand birthday celebration. Thousands of people gathered at Rhinoceros Ridge, vowed to revolt, declared war on the Qing Dynasty, and then established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

With the clarion call of the Jintian Uprising, a vigorous and lasting turmoil for more than ten years will unfold simultaneously in all parts of the Qing Dynasty, putting the Qing Dynasty in a dying situation.

Because of the blockage of information flow between China and Europe, this news did not reach France until soon. At the same time, due to the lack of understanding and consultation channels about China, Marquis Turgot was unable to make an accurate judgment and only regarded it as a local rebellion. In addition, his energy was involved in most other European affairs, so he was even less interested in paying attention to it-although Hong Xiuquan should be a Christian in theory, this was not enough to arouse the interest of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"Okay, since it is insignificant and will not have any impact on Europe..." Charles bowed slightly to the minister, "Then just let me handle it, just as a practice. Thank you, sir." (To be continued..)