His Excellency the Count of Grandet

After being confused by this incident, Charles was a little absent-minded during the following banquet and late-night Eucharist blessing ceremony.Of course, this kind of absent-mindedness can't be seen by others except himself.Especially with James' status, it is absolutely impossible to participate in such ceremonies; the person who is most likely to regard him as a thorn in the flesh is not there, so there is no need to worry too much.

But obviously, this "others" does not include Victor.

"Have you been on your mind all night?" Victor asked Ciel before they went back to their respective rooms.

Because most of the people who participated in religious ceremonies with the king were relatives of the emperor, they either lived close to each other or had a fixed room. It was cheaper for the two of them, and they could live in a side room next to the living room.The design of the palace is not a hotel, and more attention is paid to the space for enjoying the scenery and enjoyment, so only two people can live in a large area.

Charles didn't answer directly, but walked to the window of the living room, and slightly opened the heavy and gorgeous curtains.The church bells have passed, the stars are hard to see on a winter night, and it is dark outside, and the silence can almost swallow people.

"It's getting dark." He said without a word.

Victor walked over after him.There were two royal servants waiting at the door of the living room, ready to put them to sleep; but fortunately, the distance was far enough that it was possible to whisper something private. "You are in a bad mood." He asked with concern, "What did Count Artois say?"

"What do you think he can say?" Charles let out a small sneer. "Few people think they have too much money, and more people want to get something for nothing."

Victor understood immediately.

The ethos of the upper class in Paris--the love of comparison and enjoyment--he was not ignorant of it.People care about the decoration on the carriage, the fashion of the bow tie, the texture of the clothes, but they don't care about how much bread is left at home and what future generations will eat.

Because of this, there are many nobles who sit on the mountain and slowly go bankrupt without being famous.It's almost impossible to get them to make money on their own: one, they can't; two, they're too lazy.

To be fair, in comparison, it is not unreasonable for free farmers or craftsmen to make a fortune, climb up from the bottom, and then surpass the nobles—because they are at least much more industrious and willing to enjoy what they want And struggle.

As the Earl of Artois, whose good qualities can't be found and whose bad qualities are all over his body, he is simply the best of them.

"He wants your money?" Victor asked, his tone lowered. "Or, to be more precise, he thinks you should pay him the money you earn?"

"Not directly, but I think that's the way it is," replied Charles, almost dismissively.Even Michel broke up with the royalist faction, why do those people still think that he will honestly offer gold?

But objectively speaking, Count Artois's almost fantasy idea is basically a true portrayal of the past feudal era.

When all the land belonged to the lord, that is, before the Great Revolution, farmers had to pay part of the harvest they got from working on the land to the lord as rent.He then takes the crops to market and sells them, first handing over a portion to the owner of the market, usually the local lord.

After selling out, there is a little left over for my own rations. It seems that there is no need to pay rent, right?

Not also!

Grinding wheat into flour still requires a mill, and the mill is still owned by the lord—to emphasize, the mill is a monopoly industry.If you want to bake a large batch of bread at one time for the winter, congratulations, the bakery still needs to pay rent.

Then, assuming that the farmer has some money in his hand and wants to buy an extra piece of land to plant, he has to pay the lord a transaction tax.As for other tax rates that are similar to the road tax that you have to pay when you go to the market, let alone.

When this system was first implemented, the noble lords were usually not only responsible for collecting taxes, but also responsible for matters such as judicial arbitration and public security management, so the peasants did not think this was a big problem.

That is to say, the nobility is the government.

But slowly, that changed.The aristocrats are becoming increasingly corrupt and profligate; instead of producing all day long, they just wait to collect taxes, eat, drink and have fun.

——Of course the farmers would think: Why should I hand over the wheat to a man who obviously did nothing?Didn't I watch them sprout and grow to fruit?

Regarding the same thing, the views of the old aristocrats are: Our privileges are bestowed by God, and it is an obligation for the common people at the bottom to support our rich life!

Comparing the two compartments, it's no wonder if you don't pinch!

What the Count of Artois wants to do and is doing is the ultimate expression of the above-mentioned aristocratic ideas.In his eyes, is it the king's land in the whole world, is it the king's subjects on the coast of the land, as long as they are in France, as long as they are French, they should bow their heads obediently to him and honestly offer everything they have!

So it was obvious why Count Artois thought Victor was smelly and hard.With the background of the Lafitte family, it is impossible to achieve the level that Count Artois wanted.François might even bother with it, and Victor wouldn't dump him at all.

Of course, neither can Shire; he just looks easy to talk on the surface, and it is easy for others to mistake him for a soft bun that is easy to knead!

"He really won't learn his lesson." Victor commented on the king's brother's intentions, uncontrollably disgusted, "Does he really think he can go back to the past?"

People are all thinking of themselves; after getting benefits, where is it possible to go backwards?No matter how many French nobles there are, can they still match the number of civilians?To describe Earl Artois innocently, he would think it was a waste of saliva!

"Of course not." Charles said softly, his tone was firm on the contrary. "It's a good thing that I finally earned enough gold for him to look at. However, even if I throw the gold into the water, I will never throw it to him!"

Just kidding, throwing money into the water can still make a sound, but you have to worry about being bitten back when you throw it to the white-eyed wolf, because it may think that you haven't thrown enough!From this point of view, Count Artois is simply better than his famous uncle!

"No doubt." Victor affirmed, and then thought of something else. "But now that he's done something, it's time for us to do it too."

"Why?" Charles asked sensitively, he could smell the coming rain.

Victor shrugged slightly. "Do you remember why I came to you in the morning?"

"Because the situation is not good, you want to transfer the property of the Lafitte family first." Charles replied reflexively. "And you're not the one who said that the wind is the rain." That's what the situation forced!

"Things haven't been easy in the past few years." Victor admitted, "For me, I think it is absolutely necessary, even too light, for His Majesty the King to reward you! Because it's not just bonds—the wave of domestic investment industries has greatly increased The strength of our side, the pressure from all parties before has been virtually reduced." He stared at Shire, "You must know how much this has an impact on finance!"

"At that time, you were ready to sink the boat and fight the battle." Charles read out the sense of urgency of "I've never had a good time". "So when you say you want to take action now, you want to use all the means you prepared at that time?"

Victor nodded, took a half step sideways, and turned his back to the entrance of the living room, which also happened to block Charles, so as to ensure that what they said would not be heard by others. "That's right," he said in a low voice, "besides what should be done on the surface, I still have two plans. One is, as you know, to preserve the property of the Lafitte family to the greatest extent. Then, in case of failure, we There is also the capital to make a comeback. The second is to guide public opinion. I have a few people under my command, the one who takes the lead is Thiers, who is keen to write articles exposing the corruption of nobles, and it may be distributed again..."

This matter is obvious.Now that freedom of speech is restricted, it is illegal to run a tabloid, let alone a tabloid that intends to spread unfavorable news about some powerful people.If one fails, it may be life-threatening.

Charles wanted to ask about the progress of this matter, whether the sealing work was done, and what would happen if it got involved, but what he vomited out was: "Then you just gave me the money order at that time?" He Originally thought it was a manifestation of machismo, but in fact Victor has prepared for the worst?

"Isn't that a very simple idea?" Victor said indifferently, "Didn't you just say that you would rather throw the money in the water than give it to Count Artois? I just exchanged the water for you."

Even so, would Victor just find someone to throw nearly 3000 million francs over?Even if Victor did find that he had a good character, he was definitely not the only one with a good character!

Charles thought he could speak well, but for a brief moment, he felt terribly choked.

Why didn't you say it sooner?

Why do you have to act carelessly?

Why can't he think more about the hidden meaning in it?

But there is no reason for the fact that has happened, so Shire didn't ask these words in the end. "I see." He thought for a while and said, "Good night, I love you." After finishing speaking, he walked to his room.

"Good night...wait?" Victor was so surprised that Ann's voice was raised unconsciously, and then quickly suppressed, "What did you just say?" He followed quickly, trying to hold Charles.

"I said good night, you obviously heard me." Charles dodged sideways and dodged through the door. "Don't talk about it, there are still people watching."

As if to prove what Shire said, two attendants walked towards them with trays.

"You...I..." Victor was annoyed.He chose to say such things at such a time, and he didn't play with him like this!According to Shire's personality, any sweet words are precious, let alone such straightforward ones?

If Charles had briefly had some worries about their future due to religious issues, it had completely disappeared at this time.

The past cannot be admonished, but the coming can still be pursued.No matter what happens in the future, he can always grasp the present!

As for the worst-case scenario... well, is he, or they, really going to hang on to this future?Since it is a potentially huge danger, try to make it less dangerous!