Flowers, Swords and France

"Territory?" Charles thought of something.

He originally wanted to question Prince Jerome again, but he found that a group of people had almost arrived, and everyone was looking at himself who was chatting and laughing with Prince Jerome. It was really not a good time to say too much now. opportunity.

Seeing this, Charles wisely chose to remain silent and let Prince Jerome and others greet him happily.

I have to say that this romantic, willful and bohemian Prince is indeed very approachable. Although the atmosphere here is already very serious, he is still able to talk and laugh with everyone, making the atmosphere a little more lively. stand up.

Because today is an informal gathering, everyone is sitting scattered today. It looks similar to an ordinary social gathering. However, even though this group of well-dressed dignitaries are chatting and laughing with the prince, in the bottom of their hearts everyone is still He is very calm and speaks polite words that will not offend anyone or be taken advantage of by anyone.

When he realized that everyone had arrived, His Royal Highness Prince Jérôme glanced at everyone, and then spoke with a smile.

"Oh, if today's gathering was not held here, others would think that we were preparing to hold a royal meeting, right? However, today we are certainly not preparing for a royal meeting, and I don't have the authority to do so. Yes, so if someone gossips in front of His Majesty in the future, you will have to tell me what to do?"

He was obviously joking, and everyone including Ciel laughed appropriately. To be honest, this sentence was indeed a bit disrespectful, but as the emperor's uncle, of course he could do so within the empire. Say whatever you want.

"We are here today. Actually, there is nothing particularly formal. We are just letting everyone keep in touch..." Prince Jérôme continued, "Hey, to be honest, you are all very busy people now. They are all high-ranking and important people. I usually have very few opportunities to meet you. To be honest, I want to take some opportunities. I will come to see you all again. You also know that once people get older, they like to be lively, so I think you can understand me, right? Especially now that everyone has important responsibilities, and there is no need for each other. How about communicating frequently? So I think we should get together from time to time, what do you think?”

Of course, no one dared to say that they did not want to waste time meeting His Highness the Prince. Everyone smiled and nodded in agreement.

However, in their hearts, others may not agree so unanimously.

Charles was not sure whether Prince Jérôme wanted to join in the fun, or whether he was paving the way for his son and increasing the influence of Prince Joseph Bonaparte.

But it is obvious that if it is true, as he said, that he and others gather at the Pallet-Leyard Palace from time to time to exchange feelings, no matter what the name is, wouldn't it be "setting up a new central government" and creating a second A royal meeting? Doesn't His Majesty the Emperor care?

And even if His Majesty the Emperor doesn't care, judging from his position, he won't be willing to support Prince Joseph Bonaparte, so now that he agrees, he is just perfunctory with the old prince - there are also many people present who agree. He has the same view.

Under the constant echo, Prince Jérôme Bonaparte smiled even more cheerfully, his gray beard trembling, like a contented retired old shopkeeper.

"In addition, Alexander will soon be appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom. This is a rare promotion for him, and it is also good news for me. At my age, I especially hope to see juniors They grow up and watch them become men little by little, especially when he is still my brother... ..." When Jérôme said this, he suddenly blinked, obviously realizing that some things could not be said publicly, so he immediately stopped talking, "So I am very happy about the news. Although Alexander does not like to be high-profile, but I think it’s still necessary for everyone to congratulate him privately, right?”

After finishing speaking, he picked up the wine glass again, and then turned to Count Alexander Kolona Valewski, who was sitting low-key on the sofa in the corner of the hall. The well-dressed middle-aged man suddenly found himself the center of attention, so he smiled sheepishly and picked up the wine glass.

Count Walewski is the almost publicly recognized illegitimate son of Emperor Napoleon. Although he cannot use the surname Bonaparte due to legal rules, he has always been regarded as a member of the family by the Bonaparte family, so he likes to support him. His close confidant, His Majesty Emperor Napoleon III, did not forget to support him.

There were rumors before that His Majesty the Emperor wanted him to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Now Prince Jerome has personally said that he will go to London as ambassador. It seems that the day when the rumors come true is very close - Britain is a major European country and is stationed in London. The ambassador is one of the most important diplomatic positions. In the current political atmosphere, it can even be said to be the most important position. Since he is going to be the ambassador now, it is obviously paving the way for him to become the foreign minister.

For a while, people raised their glasses to congratulate Count Walewski. In the midst of the toasts, they congratulated the middle-aged man who was destined to become a powerful figure in the empire and finally walked directly to the front desk.

Although he did not always pursue a career in diplomacy, Count Walewski was indeed a diplomat. He was calm and humble, thanking everyone, especially when Charles congratulated him, and he also directly addressed Charles said, "Mr. Treville, you have served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before. You also have some unique insights into the diplomatic situation of the empire, and you are also influential in various European countries, especially the United Kingdom. Her Majesty the Queen and his wife admire you very much. So I hope you can help me get familiar with my new job as soon as possible.”

"Of course, it's my honor." Charles agreed immediately, and then clinked glasses with the earl.

This joyful atmosphere seemed to make Prince Jerome even happier, and his face became more and more rosy.

"I have no doubt that Alexander has the ability to do his new job well, and he must have the ability to maintain the due coordination between the empire and the British, but..." He cleared his throat and emphatically prompted the next question. He said, "Diplomacy is a very important and expensive job. He also needs to have a reliable life guarantee in order to promote the interests of the empire, right?"

His words caused some small commotion, and everyone stopped whispering to each other, and then looked at His Royal Highness with slight doubts.

Count Walewski originally owned a large amount of land and property in Poland because of his mother. However, he later fell out with the Tsarist government and fled Poland. He lived in France for more than ten years, so the property left in Poland was He suffered a lot of losses, so it can be said that his life was quite tense before the empire was rebuilt.

There is no doubt that in this era, being a diplomat means spending a lot of money. Even a high salary cannot make up for it. Only nobles with a rich family can afford such expenses. But His Majesty the Emperor has plenty of money. He could support his cousin, who could not be acknowledged publicly. Since he planned to support the earl, it was naturally a small matter to give him some financial support.

So His Highness the Prince must have some other deep meaning when he mentioned this, so when he said this, everyone else suddenly became quiet.

This silence did not affect His Royal Highness Prince Jérôme's mood. He picked up the wine glass and took another sip, then let out a long breath.

"Young people, in fact, everyone now knows that each of you occupies an important position - some of your names are already scary, and some of them are not prominent but they also have a lot of resources, so you all have your own territory, or kingdom. In your respective kingdoms, you are all sacred and inviolable. You can move the budget at will, scold your subordinates, and do whatever you want." His Royal Highness Prince Jérôme said with a smile in the midst of a confused gaze. He continued, "Friends, I am not This is not an accusation. The empire belongs to your Majesty, and of course it belongs to everyone who is loyal to your Majesty. You lived and died for Bonaparte, and you should have such a status. However, I think, in order to maintain this kind of status that we have worked hard to obtain. power and interests, we We should be aggressive and unite, right? We shouldn't just stay with our cronies and subordinates, indulging in our own kingdom, but we should cooperate with each other - let the empire prosper and let us continue. Keep the emotion and energy you had before.”

His words were very emotional, but everyone's face looked a little ugly.

Indulging in one's own power, arbitrarily mobilizing resources, ordering subordinates, and building an independent kingdom - this is already a very serious accusation. It is equivalent to saying that everyone is building their own mountains and exercising their own power at will.

Even if they are not in front of His Majesty the Emperor, no one dares to admit that they are doing this kind of thing, although everyone does have this tendency more or less, including Ciel himself.

Only now did Charles understand what Prince Jerome meant by the territory he just said.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Since the empire was rebuilt, in order to reward their merits and control the empire, a large group of former party members were appointed to important positions by His Majesty the Emperor. Because of their merits, Charles became the Minister of Transportation of the empire, leading the transportation industry of the entire empire.

However, this kind of reward seems to have also led to uneven distribution of resources, so His Royal Highness, or Bonaparte's royal family, wants to hold a conference to redistribute the spoils.

Although through this opportunity, everyone gained power from the empire and received huge benefits, after all, benefits and resources are divided into superior and inferior ones. As the saying goes, we should not worry about the scarcity but the inequality. I guess some people are also worried about this kind of situation. I feel a little dissatisfied with the gradually formed distribution pattern.

Heck…am I the one with the biggest budget and money? If the spoils are redistributed, doesn’t that mean the equalization will come from me?

Ciel suddenly came to his senses, and then became a little angry. Prince Jérôme was tantamount to making a surprise attack on him, hoping to make him spit out the benefits to satisfy the selfish desires of them.

But after the initial anger, he suppressed the urge to refute His Royal Highness Prince Jérôme on the spot. He also knew that he was so popular now that he must be a little envious in the hearts of his comrades. Didn't His Majesty the Emperor just let him do the reconstruction work before? Will you pay for the visit to the Palace of Fontainebleau?

If he directly opposes now, he will probably become a person who is only interested in personal gain and unwilling to help his colleagues among the ministers - although he is indeed unwilling to help these colleagues, he cannot show it openly, and he still needs to unite his comrades.

He also doesn't want this spoils-sharing meeting to become a criticism meeting against him alone, which is not fun.

So, even if some people have been secretly observing his reaction, he still remains calm, as if he has heard nothing.

But he has made up his mind in his heart that he will never let himself be forced to give in again this time.

Your Majesty, I can't fight you, but I am not afraid of you at all.

Looking at Prince Jerome and Prince Joseph Bonaparte, father and son, Charles thought secretly. (~^~)