His Excellency the Count of Grandet

When Charles arrived at Rivoli Street by car, it was not too late, but there were already several carriages parked outside the fence.

This place is the outskirts of the Louvre and Tuileries.Passing the guarded entrance is the square between the two palaces.

In the first 30 to [-] years, because of the Great Revolution and Napoleon, the Louvre changed from a royal palace to a museum open to the outside world, displaying art treasures from various European countries.The king and queen live in the Tuileries Palace in the west. The most important buildings in the square in the middle are the cavalry triumphal arch left by Napoleon and the wooden pyramid erected on the guillotine site.

The guillotine sounds a bit unlucky, doesn't it?But Louis XVIII had no better choice—the Palace of Versailles, where the Bourbon royal family lived before, has been recognized as a symbol of the royal family's extravagance. If he continues to stay, the throne will not be secure.

We'd say that's the last thing His Majesty wants to see.

Thinking of those two sentences that are widely circulated and rumored to be said by Queen Mary-"People have no bread? Then why don't they eat cake?"-Charles can understand this matter very well.

No one would have the guts to set themselves up as a target for others to hit!But then again, the king's compromise also shows from one aspect that it is impossible for the king or the nobles to return to their previous power status.

As the time for the banquet approached, more and more carriages stopped at the intersection.Fortunately, today is the day before Christmas, and the vast majority of citizens are waiting to celebrate the holiday at home, otherwise traffic jams will be caused.

At this time, it is a good choice to enter the palace with someone you know.Charles originally wanted to wait for the Duke of Orleans or the Duke of Chartres - after all, he accepted the invitation of this faction in name - to go in together, but before he met these two people, Michel found him first .

"Dear Charles," Michelle said with a smile, "Long time no see!"

Seeing that smile, Charles had a bad feeling.He wasn't afraid of Michelle, but he always felt that something would be wrong if Victor knew about it—you know, this is Paris, not Bordeaux, where the emperor is far away!

But in any case, Michelle must not be left alone at this time. "I should be the one who said that," he returned with the same smile, "I just thought, I can see you again in this salon!" I just didn't expect it to be so early.

The smile on Michelle's face deepened a little. "If it's not for His Majesty's face, I'm afraid I won't be able to see this side of you..." He said this, his tone was not complaining but regretful, and he quickly changed the subject: "Is this your first time here? It's almost there, why don't you go in with me?"

Anyway, it will be a matter of time to deal with Michelle, and Charles feels that he has no reason to refuse. "Then I must first thank you for your kindness."

There has just been a heavy snowfall in Paris, but the squares and main roads in the palace are very clean. It can be seen that they have just been cleaned, but the air still has the cold smell of snow.

The two walked in among the crowds of people in twos and threes, and they did not forget to say hello to the people they knew while exchanging greetings.When they passed under the Cavalry Arc de Triomphe, they officially entered the gate of the Tuileries Palace, and Michelle finally found the time: "What do you think of the things I mentioned to you last time?" He asked in a low voice.

This is a tactful statement, only asking for opinions, not talking about positions.Ciel silently gave Michelle a thumbs-up in his heart, and then replied literally: "I said it before, you made a good deal; I still think so."

Michelle smiled back, not too surprised.Everyone is not stupid and knows what is best for them.The movement of Grandet's family in recent months does not show any tendency to be biased towards him, and he is already prepared.But that doesn't mean he will give up easily. "From your body, I can't see this sentence." He laughed, "Are you trying to coax me with polite words?"

"Your joke is not appropriate to tell at this time." Charles deliberately teased, and at the same time quietly brought the topic to another topic: "But at the same time, I also want to ask for your forgiveness-I have too many things recently, and I have not yet Can find a qualified candidate for you."

The point of these words sounds like a candidate, but in fact there are many things.

Sure enough, Michelle caught the end of the story accurately. "You have this kind of heart, I already appreciate it very much. But I also heard that you showed your talents in Eperna and Chalon; I don't exaggerate, if you make such a big move in Paris, now People who take the initiative to greet you have to line up, and they will definitely squeeze me to the Revolution Square (now the Concorde Square)!"

"I figured it out," Charles laughed, "You're here today, waiting to run on me, aren't you?"

"Of course not, it's a compliment." Michelle answered quickly.After all, he is not a conservative aristocrat, and he deeply believes in the principle that business is not righteous—of course, this treatment is limited to opponents with sufficient qualifications, and smart people are not suitable to be enemies.And although Charles didn't agree to him, he didn't let him get off the stage, and even took the initiative to show his favor in another way.

At this time, those who do not climb along the pole are fools!

There is just too much to say about industry topics.After all, industries such as textile mills are envied by everyone; but France is not Britain, and technology and machinery are both problems.As long as these two things can be solved, and then the funds are invested, isn't it the rhythm of everyone being a factory owner?

As a qualified investment businessman and own business, Michelle is very interested in all kinds of details.In this regard, it is impossible for Charles to ask three questions, and it is impossible to tell the whole story honestly. He only talks about it and keeps the key technology secret.They are still opponents in name, and of course they can't reveal all their cards in the first round.

So, when Victor and his father walked through the promenade of the Tuileries Palace and entered the banquet hall, this is what he noticed-Charles was standing with someone who he hated when he heard his name. It looked like they had a good conversation.

As for being so impulsive, he was just a little bit late!

Victor groaned.But he didn't rush up directly—there was a large group of people around—but he exchanged pleasantries with a few nearby people, and then walked up to the Duke of Orleans. "They're clearly robbing people under our noses." He whispered without any fluctuations in his tone.

"I saw it," His Excellency the Duke replied, "but Michel is none other than a banker. We all know that businessmen and bankers always have something to talk about."

Victor rolled his eyes inwardly.Of course he knew this, otherwise Count Artois would not have let Michel come forward to do this.But for him, if it weren't for Michelle, he wouldn't worry about it!

Ferdinand stood beside the Duke of Orleans, listening to their conversation. "Charles says he hasn't had a problem he can't solve," he asserted. "I trust him on that, especially after the first thing."

The Duke of Orleans and Victor both looked at Ferdinand more because of this.What happened at the beginning was that Shire got back the excess wine with obviously insufficient capital turnover, and the three of them were well aware of this kind of embarrassment.

"I don't think Michel will succeed," the Duke of Orleans finally concluded the matter, "otherwise we can wait and see." He turned his eyes back and turned to Victor again: "Is your father here today?" Their identities are too conspicuous, and they are not suitable for long-term small-scale conversations at this kind of gathering.

"Yes." Victor knew the duke's concerns, and said kindly: "But I must remind you responsibly: Father has recently become obsessed with gardening, and I'm afraid he is sharing his experience with a certain lady at this time!"

The Duke of Orleans looked around and quickly spotted the target.As Victor said, old Mr. Lafitte was having a hot fight with a group of ladies--a spectacle in a venue where men and women were separated. "Francois is really in the mood." He shook his head helplessly. "I'm afraid he is the most relaxed person in this salon?"

"Who says it's not?" Victor was more helpless than the Duke of Orleans, "Since he retired, things have become more and more..." He didn't continue, but spread his hands.

At this time, the conversation between Charles and Michelle had reached a deeper stage.

"The machine is really a problem," Michelle said researchingly, "Could it be possible to smuggle some back?" It's impossible for him to get a patent as easily as Shire!

"You must be joking with me." Charles heard that the other party was not serious. "How could a decent gentleman like you do such a thing?"

Michelle smiled, not saying that he had really considered this way. "Too conspicuous," he said of the real reason for his abandonment. "The Brits will come after us."

Charles looked around, then leaned closer to Michelle's head: "It's just now; for at most three years, I guarantee that the British will take the initiative to revoke their machine export ban-I have only told you this .”

"...Do you have a news channel?" After the shock, Michelle wanted to confirm whether it was true.If it is true, why hasn't he heard a little bit of wind?

"British factories are highly efficient, of course you know. You must also know how big the British market is, right?" Charles reminded, "Do you think they will be willing to only make domestic money?"

"This means..." Michelle understood almost instantly.

The domestic market in the UK is limited, and it can only expand its business abroad after it is saturated.Wanting to monopolize technology and want to make money in other countries is not such a good thing at all!

Combined with this, it is easy to understand what Charles said about three years—according to what he just knew, Grandet’s factory is quite large, and Charles does not prevent others from entering the same field as him, and even welcomes it.In this way, the British will soon find out that the later they open the ban, the less benefits they can get invisibly——

Because someone else is already selling something just like them, or even better and cheaper!

"You deserve to be the Minister of Commerce." Michelle swore that this was definitely not a compliment, he was absolutely sincere.

"Thank you for being so respectful of me, but we just talked to the Minister of Commerce about the weather!" Charles thanked him insensitively.But Michelle is really sharp enough, his plan is still feasible!

At this moment, the crowd that had been scattered around gathered together, and the voice of conversation also dropped down—the king and queen were walking down from the second floor, and the banquet officially began.