Flowers, Swords and France

After the rain, the lingering smell of coke in the Giverny factory was finally washed away. Although the sky was still covered with a gray curtain, the air was much fresher.

The workers were walking around the factory in uniforms, and various trucks were sliding on the tracks in the factory. They were silent and efficient. Today was another busy day for them, and they could not enjoy the sky.

In the center of the factory, there stood a cement building several stories high. The building was painted white, which looked very different from other places. This was where the managers worked. They made work plans and salary standards here. It was the heart of the factory.

Most of the rooms in this building adhered to the pragmatic spirit of the factory. The layout was very simple and there was no excessive decoration. Some rooms in the building were specially for outside visitors, and the furnishings inside were very sophisticated.

In one of the rooms, Charles was sitting on the sofa, quietly looking at the guests in front of him.

Today, he was wearing a black suit and a black bow tie, just like usual. His guest, who also had a parted hair, was also wearing a suit, and looked like a graceful politician.

However, he was not a politician, but a businessman - although in fact, his work was not much different from that of a politician.

His name was Eugene Schneider, and he was the helmsman of the famous Schneider Company.

And he came to accept Charles's reception because he had something to ask of Charles.

As for the whole story, it was a long story.

Schneider Company was co-founded by two brothers, the elder brother was Adolf Schneider and the younger brother was Eugene Schneider. Schneider is actually a German surname. The ancestors of this family immigrated to France from Prussia, and then, like most German immigrants in France, they ran the banking industry for generations. After several generations of reproduction, this family has become French, and they can't speak German very well, but they have always had good relationships with the top political and economic leaders in Paris.

Adolf Schneider was the eldest son, so he was destined to inherit the family business. After inheriting the family business in the 1930s, he was as successful as other outstanding bankers in Paris and was praised by people. His biggest move was to provide financial support for the French government's war of conquest of Algeria at that time, and he made huge profits from it, which also made him a talent in the Paris banking industry.

However, unlike other older bankers, Adolf seemed to be more aggressive. His vision was not limited to the family business, but he wanted to expand in other places in order to expand his capital.

He had a very suitable helper around him. His younger brother Eugene had not been very interested in the romantic life that the dandies in Paris were keen on since he was a child, but he loved machinery and inventions very much. He spent all day in various workshops and workshops and mixed with workers, and liked to spend time fiddling with various machines.

This strange behavior certainly made other young people in the social circle very confused, but one of the characteristics of the French is that they don't like to meddle in other people's affairs, so although some people ridiculed him for not understanding elegance, no one stopped him.

However, Adolf was very caring for his younger brother. Not only did he not stop his hobby, but he often spent money to support his brother's research. He did this not only because he loved his brother, but through his brother's hobby, he discovered a new way to expand the family business-investing in the emerging heavy industry.

With the rapid development of the British Industrial Revolution, the European continent also began to smell the smell of the steam age. Visionary political elites were determined to lead their countries into the tide of industrialization, and business elites also invested in it, hoping to get a share of it. Brothers Adolf and Eugene were also part of this group of business elites.

After years of preparation, in 1835, the two brothers of the Schneider family invested 1.85 million francs (no doubt a huge sum of money) to buy the ironworks of Le Queso, and officially invested in the tide of the industrial revolution. At this time, the political environment was also very favorable to them. The July Monarchy at that time attached great importance to the development of industry and railways, invested huge amounts of money, and realized the operation of the first commercial railway in France in 1841.

To develop industry and railways, of course, a large amount of steel is needed, countless steel, so the Schneider family soon reaped huge returns in this wave, and the profits were almost rolling in. Of course, the ambitious Schneider brothers naturally refused to stop there. They wanted to go further into the manufacturing industry, so they began to manufacture locomotives and other accessories and facilities-this was of course a very profitable industry in the environment at that time, so the Schneider family's original rich wealth was also accumulated rapidly, becoming a French industrial giant. By the mid-1940s, the family had become a nationally renowned industrialist, but the original banking industry had quietly faded out.

However, just when this family was in its heyday, one blow after another began to come quietly. In 1845, Adolf, the eldest brother of the Schneider family, died suddenly at the age of only 43. His death not only left behind two underage daughters and a ten-year-old child, but also left Eugene with a big problem - from now on he had to abandon the inventor's position of being indifferent to what was happening outside the window, and face the swordplay in the political and business circles.

He didn't have much time to study. Just three years later, the July Monarchy collapsed in the revolution, and France changed. The Bonaparte family replaced the Orleans family and became the master of France. This dramatic change in the situation brought dramatic changes to many families in France. If Charles became successful because of this, the Schneider family was almost the opposite. Because it is well known that heavy industry giants and the government are inextricably linked and inseparable from each other. When Adolf Schneider was alive, he relied on his good relationship with the dynasty government to lay a solid foundation for his family's business.

And now, in front of Eugene is a new dynasty.

Originally, this was not a big problem for him. His family could rely on money to open up the July Monarchy's connections, and now they can naturally rely on money to open up the Bonaparte Dynasty's connections. However, after making such an attempt, Eugene was shocked to find that the situation was not that simple.

Because every road he wanted to take seemed to have someone blocking him in the end.

Charles de Treville.

With the help of the incredible sudden change in the French political situation in a few years, this young man relied on the support of the Bonaparte family to rise at an incredible speed, and soon became one of the most powerful people in France. Some people even thought that he was the chief think tank of the Bonaparte conspiracy group and the source of all evil.

Eugene Schneider didn't know how bad he was, but Eugene found that whenever he wanted to contact government departments to ask them to give him more railway and other industrial orders, the officials who contacted him always showed him a smile that seemed both helpless and sarcastic, and then said, "You go and ask Mr. de Treville. This matter cannot be approved without his nod."

If Mr. Treville wanted to take money, it would be a small matter. With his status, as long as he was willing to give way, Eugene would be willing to give it to him no matter how much money he had. But... he was not trying to take money from him now, but instead wanted to dig up the foundation of the Schneider family-Eugene Schneider found that this gentleman was actually starting a business and getting involved in the industrial world.

Eugene couldn't think of a reason why a government dignitary would refuse to take the easy money and go into business, but he knew clearly that if the situation continued, this news would be a major blow to him and his life's work.

Since the establishment of the Ministry of Railways, which claimed to specialize in the national railway business and expand the country's strength, the orders received by the Schneider family's factory have been getting worse and worse, and the reason is of course very clear-the Giverny factory of the Treville family has been expanding its production capacity and encroaching on the share of the Schneider factory step by step.

Although this is obviously a corruption of private transfer and abuse of power, Schneider knows that many things in the world cannot be measured by law. They have done it before, and now others are doing the same thing. Complaining or even suing is meaningless.

Seeing that the rule of the Bonaparte family is becoming more and more solid, it seems unlikely to collapse in the short term, and de Treville himself has also risen to the top and officially became the youngest imperial minister in history. Eugene found that the situation is becoming more and more serious.

The Giverny factory is getting bigger and bigger now. It is about to surpass the Le Queso factory of the Schneider family. It is likely that it will continue to occupy the space of the Schneider family in the future.

In such a severe situation, he has always wanted to establish a relationship with the Treville family and surrender to them so that he can meet Charles several times. For the continuation of the family business, he is ready to do so even if he has to beg them.

However, although he has repeatedly pleaded for several years and his words have become more and more respectful, he has never been allowed to meet this big man, which makes him very worried.

And just half a month ago, he finally received a letter. Minister de Treville decided to summon him to Giverny and asked him to attend the meeting.

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

Although he felt that it was a bit humiliating to ask for an audience in Giverny, Eugene also knew that he had no other choice now, so he embarked on the journey to Giverny with a little bit of luck.

After arriving at the factory area, he was soon amazed at the scale and technology of the factory. In his observation as an expert, he found that the factory was larger than he had originally imagined, and some places were even more advanced than the factory he had worked hard to run.

After being amazed, he was worried.

Giverny has been developed to this point by this big man, so what should his factory do in the future? The most terrifying thing is that there is a backer who cannot be shaken at present behind this factory, and this backer is determined to use all means to feed this factory.

With this worry, he came to the building uneasily, and finally waited for the arrival of the Minister. After greeting him with trepidation, he finally got the opportunity to meet with the Minister.

Unlike what he imagined, when he saw the real person, he found that the Minister was a very gentle person, very polite in dealing with people, and did not have much arrogance of a son of a noble family.

However, what made him uncomfortable was that the Minister did not come in alone, and there was a woman next to him.

This woman looked very young and very beautiful. She could even be said to be one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life. When she first came in, she smiled shyly at him. This smile almost made Eugene Schneider, who was already middle-aged, forget his worries for a moment.

However, judging from her age, she couldn't be a factory manager.

She should be a lover... Oh, what a lovely person! However, the Minister is young after all, so it's not surprising that he has such a hobby. Who in the upper class doesn't have this kind of hobby?

However... inserting a vase in such a secret meeting always makes Eugene feel very uncomfortable, and he doesn't know whether he should say a lot of things.

"Mr. Schneider, let me introduce you..." Just when Eugene was still hesitating, Charles suddenly smiled and introduced him, "This is my sister, Miss Fran de Treville."

"Ah?" Eugene didn't react for a while.

"Hello, sir." Fran continued to look at him with a smile, and her blue eyes seemed to make people feel like spring breeze, "Nice to meet you." (~^~)