Flowers, Swords and France

"Spain?" Charles was a little surprised at first, but quickly regained his composure. "Where have you expanded your business?"

With the wealth and connections of the Rothschild family, it is not surprising that they would expand their business to Spain.

"We need some places to use the funds that have been accumulated, and Spain is just one of them." Alphonse de Rothschild was humble on the surface, but his proud arrogance was beyond words, "France There are signs of overinvestment now, which I am afraid that the profit rate of railway investment has also begun to slowly decrease. This can be attributed to your Excellency, Minister. But... it is different in other countries. Their railway industry is only in its infancy and there is still a lot of room for development, while ours is. The funding is there to fill those spaces.”

"It sounds like you already have a plan in mind?" Charles looked at him curiously, then picked up his cane and waved it forward, gesturing for him to follow him.

They walked along the path of the Diana Garden of Fontainebleau Palace, bathing in the morning air with the fragrance of plants, feeling the cool breeze, and then came to a pavilion deep in the garden, sitting on a marble stool. I sat down and listened to the light music of the water flowing in the large fountain next to me. I felt relaxed and happy for a while.

"Anyway, it's so nice to be a king." Just after he sat down, Alphonse de Rothschild stretched and sighed loudly, "I can be free in such a palace. Walking through it, you can do whatever you want, and you can rest whenever you want.”

"I think kings are not as free as you said. They are also troubled by many things." Charles somewhat disagreed with him. "Look, among our recent kings and emperors, which one is there?" How about a relaxing life?”

"You are quite right about this." Alphonse smiled, "In France, we have not seen a king who can die peacefully on the throne for a long time! I don't know if the current one can. ?”

Ciel felt that his smile was a little strange. The words are also very strange.

"Of course the empire can continue forever, because we represent the aspirations of the entire French people. The people need glory, and the empire has glory." He answered in that serious tone.

"Yes, yes, the empire has glory." Alphonse shrugged, obviously not wanting to argue with him about how many years the empire could live. "And we are the ones who pass on this glory. As for you, Sir, do you only want glory?"

"What do you mean?" Charles asked.

"Let's speak frankly, Your Excellency." Alphonse raised his head and looked at Ciel, "The empire has been established now, but God knows how long it can last. And you, now the minister, have great power, but what about the future? How long can this kind of power last? I’m afraid God only knows?”

Ciel's face became a little ugly, not because the other party's words were unpleasant, but because he didn't understand why this person actually came to him in person to say such unpleasant things.

"If it weren't because we trust you and hope that you can continue to maintain the status that we have worked hard to obtain, we would not tell you such a thing at all." Seeing Ciel's mood, Alphonse quickly said with a smile, "But I think that a smart person like you should be able to see through these truths yourself, and maybe more clearly than us. After all, you can see the essence of the empire's internal operations more clearly than we can, right? "

"I don't think it's appropriate for us to discuss this issue." Charles said rather coldly. "Weren't we just talking about Spain?"

"No, this is exactly the issue we should discuss." Alphonse showed no intention of flinching, but continued with the same leisurely smile on his face, "In fact, the two issues are essentially the same. . You are now a minister and have great power, but you don’t know your How long can power be used? If this is the case, why don't you simply let power bring you a stable position as soon as possible, and then rely on this position to avoid all possible storms? I’m afraid it’s very simple to do this, right?”

After he finished speaking, he waved gently towards the looming palace in the distance, "Don't you want this feeling to continue?"

Charles didn't answer any more, just narrowed his eyes slightly.

He said it nicely, and seemed to be thinking about Ciel, but in the final analysis it just meant "the right does not expire and becomes invalid". He advised Ciel to take advantage of the fact that the empire is still prospering, and first replace the power in his hands with resources. In case something really goes wrong with the empire, you won't have the chance to change it even if you want to.

Judging from the historical fact that France has seen a revolution almost every ten or twenty years in the past century, what he said does make some sense.

"Of course I hope this feeling lasts forever, is there anyone who doesn't think so?" he said quietly.

There is really no point in singing a high-key tune at this time.

"I don't think you have any other opinions." Seeing Charles become more honest, Alphonse's smile deepened, "The storms in France in this century have proved one thing - although power is important, but It is not reliable and may disappear without a trace due to thunderstorms at any time, but the gold bars hidden in the cellar will never abandon you and bring you a real sense of wealth. It allows you to withstand all wind and rain, so that you no longer have to worry about losing everything in the wind and rain, but can more or less retain your status. Isn't this the case with the Duke of Treville? He lost his position as minister in the revolution, but he still has great influence because he has wealth in his hands, and you can do the same now. "

"Then what exactly do you want me to do?" Charles asked.

"It's very simple, cooperate with us." Alphonse replied immediately, "We have money, plenty of money, and we will spread extremely huge businesses everywhere. Among these businesses, as long as you cooperate with us, then you will also You can get countless resources, which can stabilize your position and keep you safe in all storms, right?"

"Such as Spain?" Charles remained calm.

"It's not just Spain, it's the same in other places." Alphonse smiled, "But everything can start from Spain. Anyway, there will be opportunities in the future."

"So how do you plan to start?" Charles continued to ask, "You just said that you will soon obtain the right to build roads in northern Spain. Is this true?"

"Of course it's true, we won't waste your precious time with boring news." Alphonse nodded, "In order to build their own country, the Spanish government hopes to build more railways, but they don't have the funds. So they want to rely on others to help them build it - and we can give them that help, so they will soon hand over the road construction and operation rights to us and let us help them build it."

"This sounds like a good thing." Charles replied calmly, without expressing any opinion, "So you want me to give you some help in the construction?"

"That's right, I hope you can provide us with some help. Sir, you see, in our planning, these railways will be connected to French railway lines in the future, and this requires your consent." Alvon Si nodded.

"Of course I will agree. This is a good thing for France. It can establish closer economic and trade ties with Spain." Charles nodded, "If you really get the rights and interests you expected, I will let the ministry The engineers here helped you build it, so it won’t be a problem.”

"Thank you, Your Excellency. In addition, the help we need is not only technical, but also other aspects - we cannot fully fund the construction of these railways ourselves, so we will build companies to build them. These companies Financing will need to be brought to the market..." continued Alphonse. "However, Spain is a poor country after all, and they cannot raise these funds."

"And without my approval, this bond would not have been issued." Charles pointed out this fact in a tone that was not boastful. "So you also need my convenience on this point?"

"Yes, we need your help... If you are willing to help, some of the funds we raise will be used to thank you..." Alphonse's tone suddenly became much lighter. "But this isn't the only thing we need your help with."

"What else?" Charles continued.

"Let me tell you straight, this is a bubble, a huge bubble. The Spanish cannot afford these railways because they are a poor country and many things are luxuries for them." Alphonse He burst out laughing, "These railways probably won't be able to repay their capital in the long run. They are just a toy of the Spanish government, so... the company will probably be in operating difficulties soon."

"You mean, you are now planning to create a business that is destined to lose money?" If it weren't for the seriousness of the other party's words, Charles almost suspected that the other party was joking.

"Yes, that is what we plan to do, Your Excellency." Alphonse nodded, "But this does not mean that we want to lose money. After we raised a large amount of funds, we built these railways, and at that time we will It needs to be shaken off… and it needs your help.”

"Then the French government will liquidate and acquire these companies?" Charles finally understood what the other party meant.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Yes, Your Excellency, that's what I think." Alphonse nodded, not feeling embarrassed at all, "In effect, the Spanish government got the railway it wanted, and we got the funds, and The French government, or rather you, were given the opportunity to take control of the Spanish railways ——For us, everyone gets what they need, right? The empire needs to penetrate and control neighboring countries to a certain extent. Since force cannot be used now, isn’t it appropriate for the empire to use economic means? Glory should come from intervening in other countries, I firmly believe that.”

"You make it sound like no one will be harmed by this." Ciel suddenly laughed.

"At most, some investors suffered losses, but what does it matter?" Alphonse shrugged, "They are serving the country. Aren't there many people who claim that they would not even die for the country? Now they have the opportunity to serve the country. The country only wants their money and not their lives. They should be happy!"

Charles laughed.

These Jews, every word and action is really interesting.

However, their thoughts don't matter. It doesn't matter whether they are good or bad. What matters is that their proposals are indeed very beneficial to themselves and the imperial government.

"I think your proposal is indeed attractive... But I heard that the Spanish court and government are not very stable now... Doesn't it matter?" Charles suddenly asked a rhetorical question. "Don't forget... They are from the Bourbon family, and their impression of the empire may not be good."

As he said, the current political situation in Spain is not stable.

Since the end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1712, the Duke of Anjou, the grandson of Louis XIV, became the King of Spain, and the Bourbon dynasty began to rule in Spain. Because they belonged to the same family, the two countries had a good relationship during the monarchy.

After the Great Revolution, because of the fear of the French revolutionary virus, Spain began to be hostile to France and fought with France many times. However, after Napoleon became emperor, Spain was intimidated by the strength of the empire and began to make friends with the empire and became a loyal servant of the empire.

But Napoleon was not satisfied with this. He wanted to turn the Spanish throne into a family industry, so he took advantage of the internal struggle of the Bourbon royal family to forcibly depose the then King Charles IV and led his army to attack Spain. As a result, he fought for several years, consumed a lot of national strength, and brought hatred between the two countries.

Today, the empire has been rebuilt again, and Spain’s historical grievances against the empire may not be so easy to dispel.

Moreover, since the death of the previous King Ferdinand VII, his daughter Isabella succeeded to the throne, but Ferdinand's brother Carlos firmly opposed the female king's accession to the throne on the grounds that it was not in accordance with the law of inheritance. With the help of his supporters, he launched rebellions in various places, which eventually turned into civil wars and finally subsided.

Now the queen has begun to rule the country, but she is extravagant and arrogant, so she is not respected by the people. In addition, because the remnants of the rebels still exist and even have military support, the political situation in Spain is still turbulent and new unrest may break out at any time. Charles, who has worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is naturally very clear about this.

"The Spanish government will not let its perception of the empire affect its own interests, sir." Alphonse was very sure, "And I think, for France, the more chaotic the neighboring countries are, the better, sir. If unrest really breaks out, the European powers will not sit idly by, right? At that time, they will give France the freedom to act. Didn't France do this decades ago?"

In 1823, due to dissatisfaction with the rule of King Ferdinand VII, a revolution broke out in Spain and the country fell into unrest. At that time, the Bourbon dynasty had been restored in France. In order to assist this king of the same clan, after obtaining the understanding of European powers, the French army entered Spain and suppressed the rebellion. Alphonse was implying that if similar revolutionary unrest really occurred in Spain in the future, France could use force to gain benefits from it.

"That makes sense." Charles nodded, "Then, let's do as you say."

In this quiet palace garden, with these few words, the two of them casually decided the fate of countless people. It must be said that this feeling is really intoxicating.

"Happy cooperation, sir." Seeing that everything is going well, Alphonse de Rothschild stretched out his hand to Charles, "It's a pity that there is no good wine here. I invite you again to visit our winery in the south when you have time. You will never regret it."

"I will go if I have time." Charles still had a reserved smile, and then stretched out his hand and shook hands with the other party. (~^~)