Flowers, Swords and France

Dozens of kilometers away from Paris, there is a huge forest. In the early morning, the surrounding mist has not yet dissipated, and it seems to be covered with a veil from a distance. The gentle morning light sprinkles on the forest, and the lush leaves have deep and shallow green marks. The hillside is also covered with fragrant grass, and clusters of unknown flowers are bathed in the sun. The dew on the petals flashes colorful light under the reflection of the morning light.

Birds flutter in this huge forest, chirping from time to time, so the quiet forest has a vibrant vitality. And at the edge of the forest, the Seine River flows quietly among the green grass, and the gray-green river water ripples slightly in the silence, reflecting the blurred brilliance.

On one side of the river bank, there are some buildings dotted among them. These buildings are square old-fashioned classical buildings. Although they occupy a large area, they are inexplicably harmonious with the surrounding environment. Although it is not as magnificent as the Palace of Versailles or as vast as the Louvre, it is elegant and generous, giving people a quiet and warm feeling.

This is the Palace of Fontainebleau. The gray-yellow palace is where the former kings of France once lived. Before the Palace of Versailles was completed, it was one of the main palaces of the kings of France. It followed the emperors of all dynasties and experienced more than 600 years of rise and fall.

After the construction of the Palace of Versailles was completed, the kings of France rarely came here, which made it somewhat dilapidated. At the critical moment of the Great Revolution, the National Assembly even sold the furnishings and building materials inside directly to raise military funds to deal with wars everywhere.

It was not until Napoleon took the throne that Fontainebleau ushered in its own revival. Napoleon took a fancy to the quiet environment here and regarded it as his own palace again. He spent a lot of effort to renovate and decorate it, turning this palace into one of the ruling centers of the empire.

He stayed here many times, and even at the last moment of the empire, he issued his abdication edict here.

After Emperor Napoleon I left the throne, the Palace of Fontainebleau fell into a state of no one caring about it again, and gradually declined again over the decades. However, history did not abandon this place. Decades after Emperor Napoleon abdicated, his nephew once again reigned in France and became the emperor of the empire.

In order to follow in his uncle's footsteps, he decided to rebuild the Palace of Fontainebleau, and also gave this task to his most reliable subordinates.

As the governor-general of the reconstruction of the Palace of Fontainebleau, Charles has attached great importance to it since he received this task. He personally visited the Palace of Fontainebleau to direct and supervise the progress of the project on the spot, and try to restore the palace to its former glory as soon as possible - and a large part of the funds for the renovation of the Palace of Fontainebleau were spent from the secret budget of his ministry.

Under such an arrangement, although he lost money and was not very happy, he also received some kind of emperor-like enjoyment and treatment - his bedroom here was once the Pope's bedroom (Pope Pius VII was imprisoned here by Emperor Napoleon between 1812 and 1814). After being renovated by Napoleon, it was very luxurious, and he moved in without hesitation and used it as his temporary office.

His subordinates often came to Fontainebleau to consult him on all issues and obey his orders, and his group of trusted followers also lived here with him, as if he had turned the Fontainebleau Palace into his new official residence.

This morning, bathed in the morning sun, Charles took a walk in the Diana Garden of the Fontainebleau Palace. There is a huge fountain in the garden, which has been playing cool music here for two and a half centuries. Listening to the gurgling sound of the water and smelling the fragrance of the green grass, Charles immediately felt a little relaxed and happy.

It must be said that this kind of imperial style is indeed very fascinating - especially when thinking of Napoleon strolling in this garden like him.

"Your Excellency, the recent progress of the project is very satisfactory." Just as he was immersed in this morning leisure, a middle-aged man in brown formal clothes next to him said to him respectfully, "I plan to clear the central axis from the bell tower courtyard to the garden, and then rebuild a tower to embellish this palace with a brand new design."

"Okay, give me the revised sketch later." Charles said to the middle-aged man with a pleasant face, "But I think I should have no objection to your design."

"I will do my best to repair this palace, Your Excellency." The middle-aged man was obviously happy and assured Charles again and again, "It won't be long before His Majesty will commend you greatly."

"If there is such a day, then I will not be the only one to be commended." Charles smiled and nodded. "You will also be favored by His Majesty and may be entrusted with important tasks."

"If there is such a day, I will be very grateful to you, sir." The middle-aged man was very smart and immediately expressed his loyalty to Charles, "And when that time comes, I will never forget your help to me."

This middle-aged man is Mr. Eugene Haussmann, the deputy appointed by His Majesty the Emperor to Charles. In the original history, he was promoted several times because he was valued by His Majesty the Emperor. In the end, he became the chief in charge of rebuilding the entire city of Paris and was named a baron. Judging from the current situation, he should also have a place in this new world.

So, since coming here, Charles has been very respectful to Mr. Eugene Haussmann, and has never put on the airs of a minister to him, and almost never opposes his opinions on construction. And he is also very respectful to Charles, and is obviously even a little flattered.

"Help? I didn't help you in any way. I just let everyone do their best. I don't understand architecture and have no similar experience, so I choose to rely on those talented people - even in my own department, I do this." Charles still smiled slightly, "Just because I like to trust and rely on others, so, overall, I do a good job."

"As a minister, isn't it the best choice to trust your subordinates? You are in a high position and you don't need to do it yourself. You just need to make those important decisions." Eugene Haussmann was still complimenting him, "You are still so young now, I believe you will be more successful in the future and make greater contributions to the country, It also allows more people to realize their ambitions. "

"To realize your ambitions, it is not enough to just have someone's favor." Charles suddenly picked up his cane and gently tapped the marble flowerbed next to him, "He still has to fight, he also has to have capital, and he has to do everything he can to get help and support from others... You see, isn't it because of the Emperor's support that I can become a minister at this age? How many young people are as good as me or even more outstanding than me, but they still have to crawl under the current situation and act as people who are ordered by us..."

"Your Excellency?" As if he saw what Charles meant, Eugene Haussmann looked at Charles in confusion.

"Let me explain it to you clearly, sir." Charles continued to tap the flowerbed in front with his cane, making a ding-dong sound as if he was playing music. "In fact, you can see some things clearly yourself, right? Although the ministers of the empire seem united and invincible, in fact, we are already at odds with each other - this is also very normal. Our enemies have retreated, so now the enemy can only be found among us. I am friends with one group of people and enemies with another group, and they may be enemies that must be fought fiercely."

"Really..." Eugene Haussmann was a little surprised and answered hoarsely.

It's not that he didn't know the fact that Charles said, but he was shocked that Charles told him this in person - this meant that he was officially asked to choose a side.

"That's right. A smart person like you can certainly see it." Charles shrugged. "Moreover, you should also know that in the struggle between factions, you may win or lose. When you win, we celebrate and enjoy the glory and wealth; when we lose, we endure and wait for the next round of opportunities. This can certainly be said to be a risk. But... the greater risk is being isolated and helpless, because no one likes people without a position, and no one will take care of them. What do you think?"

Under his sharp gaze, Eugene Haussmann subconsciously retreated a little, but he could not avoid it.

"I think... I think... right." Finally, he lowered his head slightly and agreed with Charles's statement.

"If you have friends, you will have a chance to rise again after failure. If you don't have friends, you will disappear forever if you are not careful... This is also the conclusion I have come to, so I like to make friends." Charles gently raised his cane, then swung it heavily and hit the railing next to him, completing this morning's morning exercise. "So Mr. Haussmann, do you want to make friends?"

"I... I want to." After hesitating for a long time, Eugene Haussmann nodded.

He is ambitious and thinks about making a fortune almost every moment. This ambition burns him and makes him restless. Now that a minister as powerful as Charles de Treville has personally expressed his intention to recruit him, this temptation is indeed hard to resist. As long as Minister de Treville and his friends help, I think the day when he will rise to prominence is just around the corner.

"Very good..." Charles smiled with satisfaction, "Mr. Haussmann, you will find that you have made the right decision. In addition, I have good news for you. Because I see that everyone has been very hard recently, I plan to issue a subsidy to compensate for everyone's hard work. As my deputy, you have made greater efforts, so... I want to start issuing subsidies from you. What do you think?"

"Okay, sir!" Seeing that the benefits came so quickly, Eugene Haussmann was also pleasantly surprised, and he immediately thanked Charles.

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

Everyone knows that Charles de Treville is in charge of the railway business of the empire and has a lot of money in his hands. Now that he is personally in charge of the reconstruction of the Fontainebleau Palace, people have seen his strong financial resources. Judging from Treville's previous personality and style of doing things, it is strange that he did not do anything with such a huge amount of funds.

……………………

After seeing Eugene Haussmann off from the garden, Charles continued to stroll leisurely in the garden of Fontainebleau Palace, admiring the greenery in front of him. The guards beside him were far away from him so as not to disturb the minister's interest.

When the morning sun finally fell into the garden, Charles's private secretary, the young Duke Gaston de Choiseul-Praslin, led another young man into the garden.

"Your Excellency, you are really living a luxurious life now!" I don't know whether it is a compliment or sarcasm, as soon as he saw Charles, he smiled and said. "This palace is really beautiful."

He is Alphonse de Rothschild, the eldest son of Baron James de Rothschild, and the heir of the French branch of the Rothschild family.

"I just renovated this palace for His Majesty. Even if it is magnificent, it is not mine, but His Majesty's." Charles answered very cautiously, but with a warm smile on his face, "And I think your mansion is not much inferior to this one, right?"

"How big can a mansion in Paris be? It is a noisy and crowded city. Even if it is magnificent, it can't be more magnificent than your mansion." Alphonse replied with a smile, "But in the south, our family has acquired many vineyards and manors in the south. If you are interested, I can invite you to play there. There are excellent wines there, which are definitely more authentic than those on the market now."

"If I have the chance, I will taste it, but unfortunately I am too busy now. It's a pity." Charles shrugged.

Since becoming a famous banker family in Europe and possessing a huge amount of wealth, how to keep this wealth and increase it has become a headache for this family. Some family members choose to hold wealth by purchasing land and manors, and red wine has become a by-product of these manors and has been carefully cultivated by them.

The red wine of the Rothschild family is very famous even in the 21st century of that world. Many series of red wines under its brand are sold all over the world and are expensive. Now he has the opportunity to become the person who is attentively entertained by this family, so he can take the opportunity to taste it.

However, Charles knew that Alphonse came to Fontainebleau to visit him today, and it would definitely not be just to talk about red wine.

"You will have a chance sooner or later, because the South cannot do without you." Alphonse walked closer, "Sir, we need your help."

"What kind of help?" Charles asked rather reservedly.

"We are about to get the right to build roads and operate special zones in northern Spain." Alphonse replied in a humble yet pretentious tone, "We ask for your help to send engineers and technical workers to connect it with the French railway system and one day unite it. I think this will be a great thing for us and the country." (~^~)