Flowers, Swords and France

It was almost late at night, and Charles had just returned home after finishing his work for the day. Before he could wash off his tired body, the close servant of the Marquis of Treville, who was wearing gray clothes, came to Charles' room.

"Master, the master is waiting for you. He wants you to come over later." His face was very respectful, and his eyes were only on the ground.

"Grandpa is back?" Charles was a little surprised. The old marquis had just gone out for a long time before, and he didn't expect to come back today. Then he smiled kindly at the old servant.

This old servant was brought by grandpa since he was still fighting in the past. He has served him carefully for decades, so Charles also respects him very much. This time when the old marquis went out, he was the only one who stayed by his side.

"It's OK, Master." The old servant still bowed his head and thanked him softly. Although there was no smile on his old and stiff face, his words were full of concern. "Although you are still young, you should also pay more attention to your health. It is not good for you to be busy until now."

"Okay, I see." Charles nodded, "Go and tell him that I'm back, I'll come over later."

"Yes." The old servant nodded, and then reminded Charles, "However, please go as soon as possible. The master has been traveling far away recently and is very tired. If you can go to bed early, you should try to go to bed early."

"Got it, thank you for your reminder." Facing the old servant's tireless reminder, Charles did not think it was nagging, but was a little moved, "You have worked hard, too. After notifying Grandpa, you should go to bed early."

The old servant said no more, but bowed deeply to Charles, and then left Charles' room.

Following the instructions, Charles quickly tidied himself, then sat down at his desk and recorded everything he had done today with hidden pen and codewords.

After Matilda visited again, Charles was somewhat shocked to find that his career seemed to have entered a new situation, an unprecedented new situation.

To be honest, after listening to what Matilda said, Charles himself was a little emotional. Now even the great figures of the current dynasty, such as the Minister of Seals, are planning to bet on several sides to protect the family's wealth, so how long can this dynasty last?

However, despite the emotion, what should be done must be done meticulously.

Obviously, such a big thing is not something that Charles can agree to by himself. Only when the top people nod and the bid and selling price are negotiated, can the cooperation be truly implemented. All Charles can do is to act as a mouthpiece - and it is obvious that the other side expects him to do so.

After Matilda left, he quickly wrote a letter on the same day, clearly stating the details and marking it as urgent. Then he ran to a special place and left the letter. It is estimated that the person there will respond after a while.

I hope it will be as soon as possible, Charles thought to himself.

After recording, Charles locked the notes in the drawer and walked towards the old marquis's room.

When he pushed the door, he found that the door was not closed and he went in easily. The old marquis was sitting at the head of the bed waiting for Charles.

"You are finally here?" When he saw Charles coming in, he asked directly, and there seemed to be a little dissatisfaction in his words.

After Charles confirmed that there was no one outside, he carefully closed the door and looked at his grandfather with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, grandpa, I have some important things to do today, so I didn't come back until now..."

"There is no need to explain to me. It's a good thing that you can concentrate on your career. I am very relieved." The old marquis shook his head.

Charles finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the old marquis's next question made him stop laughing.

"Charles, how much money do you have now?"

After hearing this question, Charles' eyes widened. He did not answer directly, but asked, "How much do you need? Where do you plan to use it?"

To be honest, he did not have much money, but if he planned to cash in his connections, Charles believed that he could still make a sum of money. The key was where the Marquis planned to use it and when he planned to ask for it.

The old Marquis frowned slightly, and seemed a little hesitant, but in the end he still said it.

"I want to make an investment."

"Investment?" Charles was surprised, and then hurriedly asked, "Where?"

"In Lorraine Province, it's an iron mine." The old Marquis said slowly, "A friend of mine introduced this project to me and thought it was worth investing. As long as the project progresses smoothly, it will start operating in a few months, and it will be recovered within one or two years, and then you can enjoy the benefits."

Charles couldn't help frowning.

"Is the introducer reliable? Is the project guaranteed?"

"The introducer is very reliable, there is no problem in this regard." The old marquis answered simply, "And where do you think he has been these days? He didn't even have time to see his granddaughter's famous painting exhibition!"

Charles understood.

"You...you went to Lorraine?"

"Yes, to be assured, I went to investigate on the spot and found that this project is indeed good." The old marquis seemed to be a little proud, "It is large in scale and of good quality. If it starts operating, the income may be higher than expected..."

After hearing these words, Charles finally felt relieved. He knew that his grandfather was definitely not a person who would mess around.

"Since you have seen it with your own eyes, I feel relieved. So... how much do you plan to invest?"

"This project is divided into several shares. It is not a piecemeal fund raising. I plan to claim one share..." The old Marquis immediately replied, "One share is one million francs."

"One million!" After hearing this number, even though he was usually calm, Charles couldn't help but take a breath.

Not for anything else, just for this huge amount - after conversion, this is close to 3 tons (although the unit of metric tons did not exist at the time) of gold!

"Do you need so much?" As if he was afraid that he heard wrongly, Charles quickly asked again, "Did you say one million?"

"To be precise, it's seven hundred thousand." The Marquis replied with a smile, as if he was very satisfied with the results of his efforts. "I'm going to invest all my savings in it. You just need to collect the remaining seventy thousand." Ten thousand francs will do. Charles, this is a great opportunity, hurry up and do it! As long as you succeed, I can leave you and Fran a large sum of money that you can enjoy for life. "

"But..." Charles was a little nervous, but didn't know what to say, "But...but this..."

"This is nothing. I have already assessed the risk. It is not very big. How can a big mine run there? It will only be a matter of time to earn back the investment. This is a sum that will not be lost." business.”

"The mines will not run away, but the people who manage the mines will run away, and the banks that lend money to the mines will also run away." Perhaps because of the seriousness of the matter, Charles didn't know where he got the courage to refute his grandfather directly, rarely. “Shouldn’t these unpredictable risks be considered?”

"No, you are thinking too much," the old Marquis interrupted him, with a confident expression on his face, "This project was initiated by Baron de Beauvain, and he also invested money in it. , will there be any problem?"

Read the original article in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Baron de Beauvin?" Charles was surprised again.

That old fox? Ciel instinctively felt something was wrong. .

However, if we can get the full endorsement of this big banker, there should be no problem.

should?

"I think you still have to be careful with such a large investment." After thinking about it, Charles carefully advised the Marquis.

The Marquis shook his head.

"It's right to be careful, Ciel, but being too careful is timid. Sometimes we need to be bold."

"But……"

"There is nothing more. People must face choices and fears when they live in the world. It is extremely naive and stupid to want to win everything without giving anything. Your generation is already lucky. The choices you have made , the fear that needs to be faced compared with the simplicity of the past It's so insignificant! Back then, we dealt with the God of Death every day, and we didn't know how many mountains of corpses and seas of blood we had seen! During the Battle of Wagram, I led my men to charge through artillery fire and rain of bullets. During the charge, I felt that the God of Death was in my ears. Whistling! Did I ever think about life and death? Of course I was afraid, but fear will not make you stronger. You can only continue to rush forward. Then I succeeded. My team broke through the Austrian artillery positions and cut down countless Austrians. The emperor won this battle and made great contributions, so after the war I was named a general by the emperor. Charles, you see, my merits and positions are not earned by blood, but by my dedication and courage. I admire the emperor, but I don't owe him anything. It’s just a matter of making another choice, and the risk is much lower than it was then!”

Ciel was speechless for a moment.

Seeing that his grandson was "speechless," the Marquis finally relaxed.

"Okay, Charles, tell me how much money you can afford now."

Seeing that there was no hope of convincing the old Marquis anymore, Charles bit his lips and lowered his head. He carefully took stock of his current assets.

"I can probably use half a million francs now."

"Then there are still two hundred thousand left," the old Marquis nodded. "Although this amount is not small, you can raise it quickly as long as you find a way."

"No, there is still half a million left." Charles looked at the Marquis, "I said, your savings belong to Fran, you should not take any risks with them, I will find a way to raise the remaining money myself. Yes, how much more time will it take?”

The old Marquis looked at Charles in surprise and was speechless for a moment. Finally, he sighed softly.

"Hey, you are such a person! Well, preferably within a week."

"Within a week, it's more than enough." Charles replied directly, with a generous and powerful tone. "I beg you, don't tell anyone about this matter during this period, and don't borrow money from anyone else. I will take care of everything. ”

The old Marquis continued to look at Charles.

"You've really grown up."

"You must grow up." Ciel nodded.

Then Charles asked the old Marquis a few more detailed questions, and the old Marquis answered them one by one.

After asking almost all the questions, and seeing that it was almost early in the morning, Charles stopped talking and stood up to leave.

Although he knew that this project should be very attractive, and although he had promised his grandfather to raise funds as soon as possible, he still felt a little uneasy in his heart.

I must check this out. He made up his mind. (To be continued.)