Flowers, Swords and France

After exhausting ingenuity and sincerity, and relying on the loyalty and dedication of two generations of his ancestors and grandchildren, Charles finally obtained Louis Bonaparte's promise to appoint him as a minister immediately after the restoration of the empire.

He did not waste time, and two days later he came to the house of his old boss, the current Minister of Railways, Count de Dillion.

Since the earl had received his notification a long time ago, he canceled all his travels that day and stayed at home.

When he came to the door, the count and his wife received him with smiles on their faces. They talked happily, as if everything was as usual. However, each of them actually knew Ciel's intention. After all, Charles had already proposed his idea to them through their daughter Matilda.

At that time, the earl rejected Charles's proposal, but this time Charles would not allow him to refuse again.

"Charles, since you went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you have never come to see us again. To be honest, this really makes us a little regretful." The Earl said with a smile as he led him to the living room of his home. , "When we stay with you, we can always find some good topics to talk about. No other young people can give us this kind of fun. Today's young people just want to eat, drink and have fun..."

"Actually, I have wanted to visit you for a long time, but I finally got out of the busy diplomatic affairs." Charles also smiled slightly, not showing the rift between the two people at all, "I just went After a trip to Austria, I have to attend various meetings and ceremonies, and I have to attend some obviously meaningless occasions. It’s so unreasonable! I’m so glad that I can finally find some time to learn from you again.”

"This is proof of status, don't feel annoyed!" The Earl walked into the living room, then found a desk and sat down. "You were attending the state funeral ceremony of the Grand Marshal two days ago, right? I'm so envious of you. Appear with the president in front of the entire army.”

Then, he suddenly stopped smiling, and then sighed sadly, "But speaking of it, the Generalissimo passed away like this, it really reminded me of those past events... What a majestic person he was at that time. Ah, you can’t imagine leaving us like this.”

A few years ago, he was a courtier in the court of King Louis-Philippe. Although he didn't have much contact with Soult, he was still able to catch a glimpse of the Generalissimo. Now when he thinks that he has passed away, and France has completely changed There was a look, which was indeed a bit emotional. In just a few years, France had already changed its political system, and would soon change again and become a monarchy.

"The death of the Generalissimo is indeed a great loss for us, and it is sad." Charles said calmly, "The President expressed his condolences to the entire army, and he also hopes to use more glorious military honors in the future. , to comfort his heroic spirit.”

"Of course the president is in mourning." The Count smiled slightly, with a hint of sarcasm unconsciously, "It is an incomparable honor for him to be buried in the Invalides and accompany His Majesty the Emperor. …”

"Of course it is an incomparable honor." Ciel seemed to agree with the other party seriously.

Then the two of them laughed tacitly at the same time.

Then, the waiter brought coffee to the two people, so they temporarily broke off the conversation.

Charles took his time and remained silent, tasting the coffee with a very focused expression, as if he had come just for this.

Compared with him, the earl was much more uneasy. While he lowered his head, he glanced at the young man in front of him from time to time, as if he was worried.

"When you left Paris for Austria, Matilda told me something..." After waiting for a while but not seeing Chartie, the count finally couldn't help it, "Some very ridiculous things. "

"Oh? What's going on?" Charles seemed to be awakened. He looked at the other person very curiously and then put down the cup.

"She said that as France becomes a monarchy again, His Majesty will definitely reorganize the cabinet according to his own wishes. At that time, there will be major adjustments in various ministers, and I...and I..." He paused, and finally She continued, "I am not His Majesty's confidant, and I have always occupied such a prominent position. I am afraid that I will be resented by others. Therefore, she suggested that I had better resign when the time comes, and then...then recommend you to succeed me. position."

"This sounds quite shocking." Although Ciel said this verbally, he actually did not look surprised. "So what do you think?"

"I think what she said is unreasonable and absurd." The Earl emphasized his opinion again, and then his expression became a little nervous, "Charles, I am not against giving you talents. But... you are now in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You are so proud that you have already achieved a great reputation. The whole of Europe is talking about you. This is a good time for you to shine. How could you be willing to return to the unknown ministry? My daughter seems to be overthinking it? ”

Under the count's nervous gaze, Charles took another sip of coffee without haste, then placed the cup on the saucer, and then looked at the other person with a smile on his face.

"No, sir, I don't think it's ridiculous, because the idea was what I told Matilda and your daughter was just relaying it."

Such a ruthless answer made the middle-aged man's face turn a little pale. Unexpectedly, this young man expressed his covetousness for his position in person, without even being tactful.

"Char... This is not good..." After a moment, he said with a slightly trembling tone, "Look, we have been partners in the past few years, how happy we were at that time... Even if you leave , I am also reusing those people you left behind. I have no objection to your plans, whether they are past or present. So... why do you need to abandon your own bright future? If it is not good, you have to Come and compete with your friend for this position?"

"I need to get the qualifications of a minister earlier for myself, and I also need to accumulate wealth for myself and my friends - you can get anything from diplomacy, but it is difficult to get money. This is indeed a pity." Ignoring the other party With an anxious expression, Charles replied calmly, "In addition, I must do my best to share the worries for my grandfather."

"What does this mean?" The count did not understand.

"Oh, it's just a gossip, don't worry about it. In short, what I want to tell you is that I need to become a minister, a minister, and the sooner the better." Charles smiled slightly, "Finally, I want to correct Please tell me, national public offices are not private things, everything is for the benefit of the country and the people, there is no question of grabbing or not grabbing."

"The people will definitely be very touched by your high moral integrity." Because Charles's last sentence was really ironic, the earl couldn't help but laugh angrily, "Charle, I really didn't expect you to treat us like this. , our family has always regarded you as our best friend..."

"I have always regarded your family as my best friends." Charles replied calmly.

"Friend...heh, friend, there are no friends who treat people like this, right?" The earl yelled dissatisfied, "We treat you so sincerely, but you are attacking us!"

"If I really had the knife, I wouldn't have come here today and talked to you like this, Your Excellency." Charles was not moved by the other party's angry look, "I just want to keep the friendship between our two families going. Keep it up, that’s why I sent the message through your daughter, and that’s why I came here to discuss it with you today.”

"Are you negotiating with me?" the Earl asked loudly, "You are not leaving any room for others!"

Under his glare, Ciel suddenly laughed again. He stared at the young man's self-absorbed smile. There was both ridicule and pity in this laughter.

"But do you think you still have room to speak up now, Your Excellency?" After laughing for a while, Charles finally spoke again, "Our future Majesty has already made up his mind. He wants to do this, and this cannot be violated. I think you should be able to understand the actual situation. I told you that this is a national position, and only the master of the country can decide who will be awarded it. All you can choose is to resign gracefully or be dismissed. Just drive away.”

When Charles said these words, the earl's face became even more ugly, turning white and red. Even though he was extremely dissatisfied, he also knew that if Bonaparte really made up his mind, he would not be able to resist this decision. Given the relationship between this young man and the Bonaparte family, he could indeed do this.

"Do you have to regard us as enemies?" He trembled and glared at the other party, "We...we don't need to get into this kind of trouble, Charles. As long as I stay in office, your interests will be fully protected. Why do you need to add enemies to yourself?”

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"How can you be my enemy now?" Charles asked. "What are you going to use against me."

This merciless rhetorical question made the middle-aged man seem to be choked. He couldn't say anything and could only wait for Charles.

"So, you see it clearly now, right? You can't do anything to me. So let's talk calmly, Your Excellency. Being angry is not good for anyone." Charles continued to look at each other calmly, with a confident look on his face, " Your mistake is that you still can't see the situation clearly, and you always live ten years ago. Before, your father was alive. He had made many friends and threatened many people over the years, so he had great influence... But everything is different now. He is dead, and you have no inheritance from him. Prestige, let alone inherit his power, although now you are. Minister, but you are just a minister, not the leader of a party or the spokesperson of a group, and you have no strong backer. Let me make it clear - you are now a political outcast, and the only thing you can use to maintain your power is What’s left is other people’s good intentions, and good intentions are always It won't last long and it won't be reliable. Even if I don't force you now, won't someone else force you in the future? Wouldn't you be in the same embarrassing situation as you are now? Oh no, it is. You will be even more embarrassed than you are now because others may not be willing to compensate you.”

The son of this aristocratic family was born into a wealthy family. His father has always been a high-ranking official. He also became a court minister when he started his career, and later became a cabinet minister. Although his father died and he had no backer, it seems that people who don't know what is going on are still powerful. , has been flattered and flattered by others. In such flattery, it is inevitable that one cannot see the reality clearly, or is unwilling to see the reality clearly.

Originally, it was his business to avoid reality, but now that the interests were related, Ciel had no choice but to wake him up himself.

"You... do you really think you are indestructible now and can do whatever you want?"

The Count was so angry that he couldn't speak clearly. It was because Charles was telling the truth that he was even more angry.

"Did I say anything wrong?" Charles had no intention of getting angry with him. "Sir, I just want you to face the reality today. Although this reality is hard to accept, it is reality. Your family is no longer a chess player. On the contrary, you are now on the chessboard and have to be a chess piece to be manipulated. But even if you are a chess piece, there is a difference. Some people will treat you as a pawn that can be discarded at will, but I am willing to treat you as a bishop and a horse, and will never let you suffer the disaster of being abandoned."

"In this case, I should thank you, Mr. Treville?" The Count's anger slowly disappeared, but his face was gloomy, and it can be seen that his anger has reached the extreme.

"No need to thank me, we just get what we need, I also need accomplices." Charles smiled and replied as if he didn't see the other party's mood, "If you must thank someone, thank Matilda, she makes me feel that she has the legacy of your father."

"How dare you mention my daughter!" The count finally exploded, "Matilda's relationship with you, I have always pretended not to see it, and you repay us like this... Sir, although our family is weak now, we also have dignity. If you are unwilling to give in, then I will never give in. Based on my duties as a parent, I will never tolerate her to associate with you again, never!"

"I don't understand what you are angry about. I have been in contact with her many times, and each time it was very satisfactory to both sides. Which one of the interactions are you referring to that made you unbearable?"

After saying this, the living room suddenly fell into silence. Not only did the count widen his eyes, but even Charles stopped talking.

Although he seemed to be justified on the surface, Charles was a little embarrassed when he blurted out this sentence. He himself felt that it was too shameless to say such words in front of a father. He just saw that the other party was too stubborn and threatened him with Matilda, so he couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

The earl was angry, Charles was embarrassed, and the living room fell into an awkward silence.

"I think we should call Matilda over. She should be able to help us get a satisfactory answer, sir." After a long silence, Charles suggested. (~^~)