Flowers, Swords and France

Another beautiful morning.

The golden sunrise slowly rises from the sea level, like a golden apple placed on a dark blue tray.

The waves of the Mediterranean Sea are far less turbulent than those of the Atlantic Ocean. The slightly turbulent sea water fragments the golden sunlight scattered on the sea surface, like pieces of shining scales.

Along with the cool sea breeze in the summer morning, huge sailing ships tore apart pieces of golden scales and slowly moored into the port. As their journey reaches its end, the sails are slowly lowered from the towering masts, and the anchor is thrown from the ship, quickly embedded in the water.

Accompanied by loud or dull cheers, these ships ended their respective journeys and finally arrived at the Port of Marseille.

This is the largest port in France. After countless centuries of development, it has become a pearl along the entire Mediterranean coast. Every day, a large number of ships depart from all over the world and rush to this port; there are also countless Countless people set out from here and stepped into the unfathomable ocean. From then on, they were separated in the sky.

Among these ships of different sizes, there was an unspectacular passenger ship slowly moored beside the pier of the port.

This passenger ship sailed from Athens, Greece to Marseille. It was small in size, and its hull was slightly blackened from years of use.

When it stopped, two customs officers and several gendarmes also drove a quarantine ship towards the passenger ship, then boarded the ship and began to conduct routine inspections.

The crew gathered the passengers on the deck very cooperatively, and then asked them to submit their identity documents to the customs officers for inspection. Some people who did not understand French were accompanied by the crew.

The two customs officers began to walk past the passengers one by one in the order in which they were arranged, and picked up their passports for inspection. Those who had completed the procedures were allowed to enter, while some passengers with problems with their identity documents were detained. Come down.

When they came to a few well-dressed male travelers, they were a little surprised to find that what they handed to them was a French passport.

They looked through the passports carefully, and then looked at them with some confusion.

"French?"

"Yes, we traveled in Greece before and now we have just returned home." A slightly fat old man with white hair and glasses. Answer fluently in French.

His clothes are very elegant, his manners are quite gentle, and he has a modest and gentle smile on his face. He looks like a university professor. Or a very respected doctor. All in all, this look is very convincing.

And judging from the demeanor of several other people, he seemed to be very respected among this group of people.

The customs clerk looked at the passport again and looked at the old man and others.

"You can pass." After a moment, he returned the passports to these people. "Welcome home, gentlemen."

"Thank you." The old man smiled at him humbly.

……………………

Because they held French passports, these people did not face any difficulties and quickly left the port area and entered the city of Marseille.

As soon as they entered the city, the group of people became much more relaxed and started chatting and laughing with each other, as if they felt relieved.

Only the old man wearing glasses still frowned slightly, thoughtfully walking forward without talking to anyone else.

"What are you thinking about, sir?" A tall and thin middle-aged man came to him and asked.

"I feel something is wrong. But I can't explain why." The old man replied in a low voice, "I just felt that the customs people were acting too strangely. They looked at me several times... Could I have said something wrong?"

"I think you said nothing wrong." The tall and thin man smiled.

"That's right?" The old man still felt that something was wrong. "If what I said is correct, how could they be so surprised?"

"I think it's because the French we speak is too standard and there is no Western accent, but in our passports we are clearly from the West." The tall and thin man curled his lips regretfully, "In France, few people can Speak in such standard French."

The old man was stunned for a moment, and finally couldn't help laughing.

"I think you are right. I...it seems to me that I am still too nervous. Ha, I just ran away from the country, and this string is still too tight and has not been relaxed."

then. As if he was laughing at himself, or as if he was relieved of a heavy burden in his heart, he suddenly laughed indifferently. This laughter was not in line with his gentle manner, so it attracted the attention of people on the street.

But no one could understand what they were talking about. It seemed that they were not speaking French, but the language of another country.

"You must be very happy. You have come to France again, the place where you have lived for many years." A middle-aged man with a beard next to him asked with a smile.

"Yeah, it feels weird." The old man nodded, and then glanced around the streets with emotion, "When I left, Napoleon had just become emperor, and when I came back, his nephew was about to become emperor again - - It feels like nothing has happened here for decades! This feeling is so strange. My reason tells me that they have shed all their blood in the past fifty years, but my eyes tell me that nothing has happened. , this place is as prosperous as ever, I was just deceived by the newspapers..."

"After all, France has always been here." The tall and thin man replied meaningfully, "Napoleon laid a monument for her. After he left, it doesn't matter who stands on the monument. The monument itself is immortal."

"Yes, the Jacobins and the kings are gone, but France will last forever." The old man took a deep breath with emotion.

"So, after so many years, how do you feel about breathing the air of freedom again?" There was always some teasing in the middle-aged man's tone, "Is it better than Russia?"

"That's not the case." The old man shook his head and was not displeased by the other party's joke. "I have seen France at its freest time. At that time, the guillotine creaked every day, and the air was full of blood. It was not fun at all."

He was not exaggerating. He was sent to Paris when he was a child and lived there until he grew up. He had seen the most terrifying years in France when the Jacobins were in power, and he had also seen Napoleon return from Egypt and launch a coup, and become the most powerful ruler in Europe in one fell swoop.

"Perhaps it is precisely because the Russians do not have the courage to pay such a price." The bearded middle-aged man replied solemnly, "So there is no freedom in Russia."

"Freedom cannot be obtained simply by blood, I firmly believe this." The old man shook his head again. "Of course, I also know that sometimes bloodshed is necessary."

Then, before anyone could argue with him, he looked up at the sky and took out a gold pocket watch from his pocket.

"It's getting late, let's go for another meal? I'll treat you. After this meal, we will each go to our own destinations and meet in Paris in a month. I hope you can enjoy a pleasant journey."

"Okay, sir." The others also thanked him at the same time.

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

They did not wander around the street for too long, and soon found a large restaurant, then booked a private room and gathered around the table.

Because they finally ended their dangerous life of hiding and temporarily got safe, they were in high spirits, talking and laughing loudly while drinking - of course, their first glass was for the old man, thanking him for bringing them out of Russia.

"Sir, since you are here this time, why not have a good time in Paris for a while." After drinking a glass of wine, the tall and thin middle-aged man asked the old man sitting next to him, "I think you must have left a lot of good memories there, which are worth revisiting."

"I do plan to take a look there, but I won't stay in France for too long." The old man's expression was still quite calm, and he was not infected by the cheerful atmosphere in the room. "There are still many things in the country that I need to deal with. Besides, if I don't show up for a long time, there will be a lot of rumors in the outside world, which is not good for everyone."

"You have worked so hard." The middle-aged man sighed with admiration, and then raised his glass to him.

Then, he filled a glass of wine for himself and stood up.

"Gentlemen, let's have a drink for the great Russia!"

"Cheers!" Others also echoed him and raised their glasses at the same time.

At this moment, the door suddenly made a loud bang, and then was kicked open.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the door in unison.

Standing at the door was a woman with long chestnut hair, wearing a skirt and holding an umbrella.

She was smiling, as if she was a guest at the banquet.

Before anyone else could react, she walked in step by step with an umbrella, and then bowed slightly to the people inside.

"Gentlemen, why don't you drink to France? After all, she has taken you in with generosity..."

A person sitting next to him reacted at this time, stood up suddenly, and wanted to catch the uninvited guest.

However, he soon screamed.

The umbrella was swung heavily, hitting his shoulder, and then hit his abdomen. This tall and strong man actually covered his abdomen like a shrimp and sat down with his waist bent.

While he was crying out in pain, several men in black clothes and top hats also came in, led by a young man with a stern face.

They all held guns in their hands and looked at the people in the room with unfriendly expressions.

"You are all arrested. No one is allowed to resist, otherwise I can't guarantee your lives."

Kong Ze said to the group of people in his unique emotionless tone.

Then, he turned his eyes sideways and looked at Agnes with dissatisfaction, as if to say. "How can you treat my mission as a game?"

But Agnes turned a deaf ear and just looked around with a smile. (~^~)