Flowers, Swords and France

After a noisy and unforgettable night, the Marquis of Treville left the Duke's Palace with his grandson and granddaughter the next morning.

Charlotte was left here and continued to participate in the Duke's funeral arrangements - even if a person of the Duke's status passed away, it was not a trivial matter, and there had to be a funeral of sufficient scale to reflect it, so it was still There are several days to prepare.

And because Charles and the old Marquis were both busy people, they had no choice but to retire and prepare to attend the funeral on the day of the funeral.

The old Marquis' expression was very solemn along the way, and his whole body exuded indescribable grief, so Charles did not dare to say anything and just accompanied him back home, for fear that something would happen to him.

Since his wedding to Charlotte, he moved to a new mansion and has not been back home for a long time. When I came back today and saw those familiar furnishings, I felt very emotional.

The old Marquis didn't say much until lunch, when he asked Charles to report to him everything that happened last night.

Charles answered truthfully, and the old man listened quietly. He didn't speak slowly and suddenly until Charles finished speaking.

"So, you have already settled the relationship between father and son by yourself?"

"Yes, there should be no problem." Charles nodded first, and then added meaningfully, "At least there is no problem now."

"It's okay now. Who can expect them to be sincerely convinced for the rest of their lives!" The old man sighed, "At least I can let my brother bury him in peace. We can't let him not find a safe place!"

There was unspeakable sadness in this long sigh, which made the atmosphere even more depressing.

"Grandpa, please don't sigh and trust me. Yesterday, he convinced all those people by himself! But you didn't see that those people were scared of him at that time!" Fran smiled in order to comfort her grandfather. He praised his brother, "Don't worry, as long as we are here, everything can be solved. Even if they have any dissatisfaction in the future, it will be too late by then."

"That's not bad... I originally thought I might need to take action personally, but I didn't expect you to solve it all by yourself. You can convince them all by yourself now, and you will definitely be able to do it in the future." The old Marquis was quite approving. He nodded.

Although he expressed approval, there was no joy in his expression.

Both Ciel and Fran could understand the old man's mood at this moment, so they looked at each other and decided to change the topic.

"Grandpa, please relax, don't think about so many troubles." Charles looked at his grandfather very sincerely, "You have become a marshal, what else can't you let go of? We, our children and grandchildren, are not useless. , if there are any problems in the future, we can solve them ourselves.”

"You're right." The old man nodded, finally looking a little more excited.

"But... you are too ridiculous!" He suddenly raised his head, "Do you think I will never recover after suffering such a blow? Do you think I will become an old fool at this age? No, you are wrong. I’m not moldy yet, I’m still awake! I can still do a lot of great things, it’s not your turn to pity me!”

Seeing the old man like this, the brother and sister breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at each other.

"How did you talk with the British when you got there? I think you were confused in your letter." The old Marquis put a glass of wine into his mouth, "Has the matter with the Russians been confirmed? "

Ciel hesitated.

"I'm going to take a rest first. There are still a lot of things to do." Fran stood up knowingly.

Then, she walked to her grandfather's side and kissed his cheek, "Grandpa. You can go to bed early later."

"Thank you." The old man patted his granddaughter on the head and watched her leave with a smile.

After she left and the door of the dining room was closed again, the old Marquis became serious again.

"Tell me now, Charles. How did the British react to your idea?"

"The response has been very good." Charles said no more. "They seemed very happy that we were so active, and... they obviously didn't want to miss this opportunity and wanted to do something big."

"A big fight..." The old man's hands trembled slightly, "Yes, a big fight! Now I only have one wish left. That is to beat the Russians! Only after completing this cause , I can close my eyes."

Although he knew his grandfather's thoughts, Charles still felt a little uncomfortable after hearing these words.

So unlucky.

However, now that things have happened, it is meaningless to persuade him to reconsider. The only thing he should do is to help the old man realize his wish with his heart.

"Diplomatic preparations are not a problem. The British are more proactive than I thought beforehand. I also tested the Austrians and found that they..." Charles pondered for a moment, "I found that they also have the same feelings for the Russians. Dissatisfaction - although they dare not express it openly, they do not accept the Russians' self-proclaimed savior status. Therefore... the Russians are now in a state of unconscious isolation."

"What about the Prussians? They have always been pro-Russian." the old man asked in a low voice.

"The Prussians don't have the guts to be enemies of Britain and France at the same time, let alone add a covetous Austria." Charles immediately replied, "They can only be neutral. At most, they will be more friendly to the Russians, and they will not be interested in the overall situation." What a difference it makes.”

It would be better if they were not neutral, in which case they could use the power of the British to defeat Russia and Prussia in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, the Prussians still have brains and would not do such a stupid thing.

"I made an appointment with the Russian minister and asked him to come to my house for a private meeting tomorrow."

"Huh?" The old Marquis looked at Charles curiously, as if he didn't understand why he did this. "Private appointment with the Russian minister?"

"Yes, even if we have decided to give them a big deal in the near future, at least now I have to make them feel that I still have some good intentions." Charles smiled slightly, "The day before the declaration of war, the Russians and I were still good friends. friend."

"Then what are you going to do with these Russians?" The old man was a little confused. "Are you trying to stabilize them?"

"No, they don't have good intentions towards us, so no matter what kind words I say, it may not be useful. On the contrary, I want to scare them with the British and let them understand that it is not only the French who are disgusted with them." Charles Seemingly confident, he replied, "I don't expect them to like France. But at least I can make them hate all countries equally."

After a pause, he explained, "Of course, I won't let them feel that war is imminent. I just want to give them the impression that they are isolated and surrounded. Once they have this impression, Their attitude towards me and France will be much better, which will also help us advance our own diplomatic policy before the war - instead of just following the British pace."

"So that's it." The old man frowned and finally understood what he meant. "Then you can measure the specific scale yourself. In short, just don't disturb the Russians in advance. We cannot take risks with this attack, otherwise it will be a disaster for the Bonaparte family and our family. "

"I know this, don't worry." Charles poured himself a glass of wine leisurely, "What about you? How are the preparations in the army?"

"I am preparing every moment, lest I slow down the pace of death." The old man replied with a gloomy face, as if he was complaining. "The army's pace is too slow! It lacks ammunition, lacks uniforms, and even lacks officers! Now I can't wait to chase after them. I also need to prepare the army. No matter what, I will step up my preparations from tomorrow on. If anyone If it interferes with my business, I will prevent him from getting off the stage!”

He is indeed qualified to say that

There are still several marshals alive in France, but most of them are careless, such as Prince Jérôme and general marshals like Soult. They can only lie in bed and linger on, so in fact they are particularly The Marquis of Reville has become one of the highest-ranking and senior people in the French army. Such people are in an army that pays attention to class and self-order. Naturally, he has some qualifications to say the same thing.

"Some things can't be too urgent. You can only take your time. Don't be too anxious." Charles couldn't help but comfort him, "As far as I can see, the army organization is now much more capable than before, at least it's better." Someone to help you implement your plan.”

"That's right." The old Marquis breathed a sigh of relief again, "Having said that, I would also like to thank you. The reforms you carried out in the War Department are quite useful, especially that boy De Lautrec is very talented. He knows everything about the Army and gets things done quickly and well."

"He is indeed very useful." Charles agreed with his grandfather, "But there are too many things pressing on him now, and he cannot cover everything. It is difficult enough for him to be responsible for personnel and organizational matters. Logistical issues often make it difficult for him to track the entire process.”

"Hey, it would be great if you could still stay in the army!" The old Marquis sighed, "If I leave many things to you, I will definitely be able to handle them."

The grandfather and grandson suddenly fell silent, because when they talked about this, they would inevitably be suspected of resenting Louis Bonaparte, and it was not appropriate to continue talking.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Actually, it would be good for me to work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It will allow me to absorb enough experience." After a long time, Charles whispered, "And it will allow me to quickly establish a reputation throughout Europe."

"It would be great if you were a minister, but you are not, so what if you have established a reputation? For you, the most important thing is real power. Now even if you have achievements, people will not attribute them to Only a handful of foreigners know about your strength, which is of no use to you." The old Marquis shook his head, obviously disapproving of his words. , "Moreover, diplomacy is a thankless job. If you do too much, people will only think that you are betraying the country, because you can't shout and kill like them every day. You are not radical enough! Look at Talleyrand. , he saved France in Vienna, and everyone threw stones at him. Charles, you have to be careful and don't let yourself be embarrassed."

"The situation is not as serious as you said. Most French people still respect our diplomacy..." Charles couldn't help but smile, "However, I will find a way to become a minister as soon as possible."

"Can you be the foreign minister?" The old Marquis was a little surprised.

"It shouldn't be possible to be the Foreign Secretary. I don't have enough qualifications and prestige. They won't agree. Besides, I don't want to do these thankless things so early." Charles shook his head. , "But if I work hard enough, I can become a new minister."

"The newly created minister?" The old man was still a little confused. He had not heard any similar rumors. "You mean...will the president take any action in the near future?"

"Yes. Since His Majesty is about to transform from president to emperor, the empire should be a little different from the republic, right?" Charles smiled meaningfully, "Since Mr. President wants to proclaim himself emperor, then he will not He likes a legislature that can check him, so he will limit our parliament, and it is better to turn it into an advisory and purely responsible for applause, and Instead of holding the power of the budget, he would need to expand the power of the government agencies. After my persuasion, he would consolidate all departments responsible for transportation-roads and railways-in order to cope with the coming war. , canal, shipping, all brought together into a unified government department, and I... I will seek the position of minister."

The old man blinked. "You...can you really do it? I'm not talking about your talent, but he...he doesn't know if he is willing to agree yet."

Although this department was new, it was obvious that it would be powerful. He was worried that Louis Bonaparte would not hand it over to Charles. In the end, Charles would leave the army. Wasn't it the situation he had created by himself?

"It is indeed a bit difficult. After all, serving as a minister at my age will cause some impact on the outside world. However, I will do my best to make this position fall into my hands." Compared to the old man's hesitation, Xia But Er was very ambitious, as if he already had some plan in mind, "Just think about it, I was working in the Ministry of Railways, and no one knows these issues better than me. So far, Isn’t it my plan to build these railway lines? The other modes of transportation are just changes in form, and there is not much difference in essence. I think as long as I have enough capable assistants, I can do it more easily than anyone else. Promote this work. So...as long as I create a situation that is favorable to me, I believe that Mr. Bonaparte will happily hand over this position to me."

"That would be great!" The old man cheered a little, obviously happy for his grandson's future. "If you can be a minister while I am alive, then I...then what else can't I be satisfied with? What about?”

"Not just for myself, even for you. I have to get this position..." Charles looked at his grandfather affectionately, "If there is a war, we have to fight with Russia thousands of miles away." A fight between men and women, I will fight against you and the law There is no doubt about the bravery of the Chinese soldiers, then the victory or defeat depends on the logistics, so I can't rest assured if this position is given to others! Grandpa, I will let you command this expedition without any worries, fight me. His life must be fulfilled.”

The old man looked at his grandson, whose emotions were rarely shown, and couldn't help blinking, feeling quite moved.

"Okay, great. When the time comes, I will come to the front, and you will come to the rear... We, our grandparents, will complete what Napoleon failed to accomplish, and we will complete an expedition to conquer Slavia! At that time, I will be able to close my eyes. …”

He raised his hand and rejected Ciel's safety, "However, Ciel, I will not only care about myself. I will use my position to leave a group of people for you. Even if I die, you will also You can use them to maintain your position. Louis Bonaparte is more afraid of his subordinates than Napoleon. Even Napoleon is afraid of Fouche and Talleyrand! I have to leave you with some tools to protect yourself."

Because this topic was too scary, Ciel had no excuse and just nodded lightly.

Now, he is no longer the young man with nothing back then, and it is really time to consider how to maintain the power of his family in the future.

As if it was a tacit understanding, after the grandfather and grandson exchanged their opinions, they stopped talking and continued to enjoy their lunch.

When he was about to finish eating, the old Marquis raised his head and looked at Charles again.

"By the way, I heard Fran say that you met Edgar in England?"

"Uh, yes." After a moment of silence, Ciel nodded.

"Is Agnes still chasing him?" After a moment of silence, the old man sighed again.

"Yes, he may...may be in danger." Charles agreed again.

At this time, the old man stopped talking, and just looked at the ceiling in concentration, as if he was remembering something.

Only then did Charles understand a truth - never underestimate an old man's love for his only son, no matter how bad the son is and how many mistakes he made.

"Forget it, even if it's dangerous, he found it himself. Can we hide away and see if he's lucky or not? What else can we do!" It wasn't until a long time later that the old Marquis finally sighed again and put down the tableware gloomily. .

Ciel could see that his brother's death still caused an indescribable blow to his heart, and it took a lot of force to keep him from collapsing.

At this time, especially he cannot be allowed to continue thinking about such things.

If Edgar succeeds in escaping, that’s fine. But if Agnes really killed his father, she must hide it from him. Otherwise… God knows if he can still bear this kind of blow… Charles thought. (~^~)