His Excellency the Count of Grandet

In this way, Charles and Rothschild naturally couldn't talk.

On the other hand, the domestic financial crisis has become a powerful propeller, prompting most of the British cabinet ministers to make the same decision as the prime minister, and to pass a draft framework for transnational cooperation.

Anyway, those folks at the Textile and Steel Federation are also obsessed with technology that can dramatically increase profits, right?Even if the scope of cooperation is limited to domestic production and domestic sales, it is worth a try!

Other details are negotiable, but Shire's bottom line is as mentioned above, and the scope of cooperation is limited to the UK.In the eyes of some people, this seems to be gradual, and in the eyes of others, it is a rainy day——

If you think about it with your toes, a factory like Shire will make money everywhere!Those potential markets, of course, need to be considered!

The idea of ​​James and Nathan is of course the latter.Even they had to admit that they wouldn't nod to cooperate when put in Shire's place.Just like what Ciel told them at the end, the biggest difference between them is——

"My name is Grandet."

The Rothschilds believe in family business and the joint efforts of brothers, and they insist on using only their own family members in the appointment of positions.From the point of view of later generations, it is called nepotism, and it will definitely not go far (in fact, it has indeed declined); but it is indeed a great improvement at present-because most people are so intriguing that their brothers cannot be trusted.

Then, as an outsider, Charles would naturally be excluded from this community of interests.If there is no way to resolve this fundamental gap, then there is no way for them to cooperate.

Charles knows this question, and it is even more impossible for James and Nathan not to know.It can only be said that they are completely for their own sake, yes; but it is absolutely impossible for Charles to cooperate with such a person, because he does not need to borrow the strength of the other party, and he will only suffer invisible losses.

It has to be said that compared to Michel rejecting Rothschild with a few letters in his hand, Charles has more confidence, I don't know how many times.If Michel refuses, the Rothschilds can think of other ways; but if Charles refuses, this matter can only go to waste.

Whether it is James or Nathan, they have done a lot of speculative business, and naturally experienced a lot of suspense.It stands to reason that Charles rejected them clearly, and didn't hang them at all; but they felt threatened, and it was a huge threat that was calm but made people's hairs stand on end—

A business empire with iron walls and iron walls is just emerging under the nose. How can they not pay attention to it?

So after the British and French parties finally signed the contract, the two brothers took the steamer to Dover as soon as possible.Whether they wanted to admit it or not, the Rothschilds had little to no chance of expanding their power in France.In this case, it is better to tell their father as soon as possible and make a decision as soon as possible.

And if you want to say that the people who are most happy to finally reach the cooperation between Britain and France are undoubtedly the cabinet heads and ministers on both sides.

The Prime Minister, the Earl of Liverpool, finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he had at least begun to solve the mess left by his predecessor and his predecessor, and other cabinet members also felt that the burden on their shoulders was lighter.

For the French, the Duke of Richelieu felt that France's closer union with the United Kingdom would at least allow him to straighten his waist against Austria.The Duke of Decaz is even happier because he is still young; as long as he plays a large enough guiding role this time, he has greater hopes of returning to the French political arena!

All in all, the wind is blowing and blowing, and it is obviously more and more inclined to the middle class.The royalist faction is gone, and they have been blown away all the way.And Victor's secret recruitment work is undoubtedly getting smoother and smoother, because everyone is not a fool and knows that they should make choices that are beneficial to themselves.

The son is busy, and the father is not idle either.

It was early June when the British mission returned to Paris, and it was mid-to-late June when they left, and Charles’ birthday happened to be next.Francois saw the right moment, and two days before that, he visited Grandet's house with a well-prepared gift.

Guillaume had known Francois earlier, so he naturally received his new friend very warmly.This newness is relative to the time of acquaintance, and it does not mean that they are not familiar with each other—because the two elderly fathers met each other very late, and they were good friends when they went to Bordeaux and Épernay. The ground is mixed together, and the relationship is already quite close.

So when Charles came home, what he saw was his father and Victor's father crowded around the table drinking.Both of their cheeks were flushed, and the table was covered with opened wine bottles, which seemed to have opened at least half of the treasures he had collected in Bordeaux many times.

so drinkable?

Charles twitched his eyebrows slightly, and called out, "Father, Mr. Lafitte?"

"Oh, dear Charles, you are finally back!" Francois smiled when he saw Charles, and waved him over again and again, "You have a good eye! These, these, and these," he said with a small smile Waving his arms, he pointed at a large number of wine bottles with simple labels, "The taste is amazing!"

Guillaume didn't drink very fast, so he didn't get on top at the moment, and he barely remembered that his son collected these wines for a serious purpose, and he couldn't drink them all. "Because your birthday is coming up, Francois brought a few bottles of good vintage wine in advance. So I also took out some of our cellars to let him know what is really good wine!"

"Don't make it seem to me that your wine is not good, my dear Guillaume!" corrected François.Under the stimulation of alcohol, his tongue seemed to be less flexible, and his pronunciation was a little fuzzy, but his eyes were still bright. "What I mean is, your Shire is really capable! Do you know what Victor will do? His good wine will be hidden, and he will never let me let go and drink it!"

If drinking to your heart's content is to become drunk, then the elderly should still exercise some restraint, right?Charles thought silently.He vaguely knew that Francois was adopting a curve-saving strategy, but he didn't mind too much.

"Of course, reciprocity is a must, dear father." He answered Guillaume in this way, and then turned to Francois, "Thank you for the gift you carefully prepared, I like it very much."

François looked directly at Charles, as if a flower had suddenly bloomed in Charles' face. "Really, Guillaume, my dear brother, you are more fortunate than I am! If my Victor was like your Charles—no, only half of it—I would be happy to donate a church. The pure gold statue has fulfilled its wish! Orphanages are fine too!"

Guillaume responded vaguely, he is now relaxed and not particularly responsive.As for Charles, the back of his head was full of black lines when he heard it——Dear, did you come here today to give me a birthday present, and then stepped on your son several times by the way?

Thinking of this, he looked at the wine bottles lined up on the table again, and couldn't help but feel a headache. "Father, are you tired?" He persuaded in a roundabout way, "Why don't you take Mr. Lafitte to experience the newly built bathing pool in our house? I'll send someone to find a masseuse for you?"

"Bath pool? Like Baden Hot Springs?" Francois was suddenly interested.

Guillaume was also distracted. "Yeah," he didn't realize that he was puffing out his chest slightly, because he was proud, "Charles said, more baths are good for my legs and feet. You also know that once a person gets old, the wind blows Rain, when the weather is cold, I feel uncomfortable here and there!"

"And Baden Hot Springs is too far away, it will always take more time and energy to go back and forth!" Francois helped him fill in the last words, slightly surprised, "I really can't tell..." Charles usually looked at He didn't spend much money at all, but he was very willing to take care of his father!

Charles smiled. "Since you're here this time, enjoy yourself, okay?"

Of course, François couldn't refuse, so Charles successfully dragged the two old people back from the brink of getting drunk, and then turned around and called Victor when he called the masseur——Francois Would Wat come to his house for no reason?Even with the pretext of giving a birthday present, there must be other reasons!

When Victor arrived, the first thing he focused on was the table.But the rest of the wine, Shire, had already been put away, so he only saw the clean table. "Father, did he drink a lot?" He asked Xia Er, his expressionless face was now quite serious.

"Maybe, but at least you can understand what I'm saying, and the answers are fairly fluent."

Victor breathed a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, it's not too much." Although drinking a little wine is good for your health, but according to his father François' nature, he is in poor health and addicted to alcohol—"Drink too much as soon as you don't watch it!" He said said angrily.

Charles rarely saw such a reaction from Victor, so he couldn't help laughing.The two of them have a lot in common in this regard - Victor's mother died young, and only his father; and his mother also passed away, and the only person of filial piety is Guillaume.In this way, they are more concerned about their father than ordinary people.

"It's okay, I've ordered them to have a late-night snack after taking a bath, and then send them to rest." Charles turned his head and looked at Victor, "I think your father probably meant that? Same as you?" Just want to stay at his house?

"The purpose is indeed the same, but the reasons for departure are definitely different." Victor admitted without hesitation.

Guillaume had been thinking about letting Charles marry a noble lady, although he hadn't mentioned it recently, but he had to plan ahead!His father was worried that he would encounter pressure from his father-in-law!

As for himself, the purpose is of course more obvious - the opportunity to sleep on the same bed with Charles must not be missed!

Charles couldn't help but rolled his eyes at Victor's frank admission of his own intentions, but immediately laughed again. "You've always had a thick skin," he said pointedly, "This is probably the only thing that hasn't changed since I met you!"

"Thank you for the compliment." Victor blushed without heartbeat.There was no one around, he boldly grabbed Charles' hand and rubbed it carefully.

"If you say that, you really believe in your father's ability?" Charles asked again, raising his eyebrows. "You don't need to tell my father, you go to settle it first?"

"Of course." Victor was absolutely sure, "You forgot that we agreed not to get married together? Of course I won't let you have a chance to regret it!"

"Should I praise you for using Lafitte's exhaustive strategies on me?" Charles asked with a smile.But no matter what, someone is making every step of the way for the future of the two of them, so he won't find it annoying... Thinking of this, he held Victor's arm with his backhand, and kissed it.