Fox of France

In the Palace of Bliss, Lucien is receiving his newly grown general, Victor Treville.

"Victor." Lucien said, "I heard that you have an older brother who is now with the Count of Provence."

"Yes, Your Excellency." Victor replied frankly, "I have reported these matters to the disciplinary inspection department in accordance with the discipline very early on. Moreover, my political views have always been different from his. of."

"I know all of this, Victor, I think your brother is just disgusted with Robespierre and the others, not really opposed to the republic system. In addition, as far as I know, the Earl of Provence may be leaving England for North America. I feel that this is almost the end of the power of Bourbon. Do you think I am right?"

"You are right, Mr. Minister," Victor replied.

"Bourbon is worthless. When the Earl of Provence decided to leave England and go to North America, he had already admitted his failure-he and Bourbon had no future. Therefore, many people under him need For the sake of our own future. On the other hand, after the status of the Republic is more consolidated, we can also behave more leniently. I think, you should understand what I mean?"

"I understand that only the strong are qualified to be tolerant." Victor replied.

"Among the former nobles in France, there were many outstanding and rebellious figures. It is too wasteful for them to withdraw from the stage of history with the Bourbon dynasty. In fact, many people of noble origin have also made outstanding contributions to the Republic. Contributions, the Republic does not discriminate against them, and is willing to give him the rewards he deserves.

For example, your uncle, Admiral Treville, was of noble birth. Because of his victory in North Africa, he will soon be promoted to "Admiral of the Navy", and will be awarded the title of Roman nobleman and senator of the Senate; and he will also get a mine in Tripoli as a reward, in addition. The Sultan of Turkey will also reward him with an estate rich in olive oil. My friend, France is already a republic, and there are no nobles; but Rome is an empire, and there are nobility. And it is a noble that can be passed down from generation to generation.

Victor, since the founding of the Consulate, France has rectified its internal order and initially established a republic where the people rule by the people and the people enjoy it; it is victorious in all external battles, and the glory of France has illuminated the whole of Europe. Today, France has stood on top of the world and won unprecedented glory. Even the best days of Bourbon are not to France today what fireflies are to a full moon in the sky.

Recently, the Republic is about to issue another amnesty. For various reasons, the nobles who have taken the wrong path in the past, and the nobles who have stood on the opposite side of history, as long as they change their minds and come back with sincerity, with their talents and abilities, don’t you worry that they can’t? Find a place to cast it? I think after the amnesty order is issued, you can contact your brother. Talented people should not waste their talents on things that are not worth it. Understand? "

"I understand." Victor replied quickly.

"In addition, you have performed well before and completed a lot of important work. Therefore, as the tribune of the Roman Empire, I have proposed to the Imperial Senate to admit you as a citizen of the Roman Empire. Do you have any opinions on this?"

"I am very grateful for your recommendation. It is my honor to be a citizen of the great Roman Empire." Victor said hurriedly.

"Very good. In addition, your son's painting skills are very good." Lucien suddenly laughed, "After Jacques-Louis David saw his paintings last time, he was praised for his talent. He even proposed that he hope I can be your son's painting teacher. I think he will become a good painter in the future."

"Thank you for your concern, Minister." Victor said.

"Well, finally, we have one more thing for you to take a long trip. I know, you just came back from a long trip. Want to stay at home and spend more time with your wife and children. But, Victor, we Why do these people have to work so hard outside, isn't it so that they can live a stable life at home in the future?" Lucien said.

"Minister, where am I going this time?" Victor asked.

"North Africa. To be precise, it's Tripoli." Lucien replied, "You go with Pastor Peter of the Holy See. You go there, determine the land allocated to the freed slaves, organize these people, and establish a A militia that can fight.

In addition, we must keep an eye on the people of the Holy See. Although they are temporarily with us on this matter, the organization must be controlled by us. Victor, do you know what to do? "

"Understood." Victor nodded.

"Tell me what you think." Lucien asked.

Victor thought for a while before answering: "The organizational connection based on economic integration is the most stable connection. Therefore, the most important thing is to organize those Christian farmers into a commercial production department and let them all produce olive oil. , or other things that can make money, and then buy and sell them in a unified way, just like what the Veterans Association does in the countryside. Moreover, because the place in North Africa is not necessarily suitable for growing food, once such a structure is formed, they The dependence on us is even deeper. Of course, this is just the overall idea, the specific method, and I need to learn more before it can take shape."

"Very good!" Lucien slapped his hands, "Victor, I did not misunderstand you, you are indeed a person with vision, ability, and worth cultivating! Go out to find Mr. Ferrero in a while, he should have prepared the relevant materials Okay. This week, you can read these things every day in the small reading room of the Palace of Bliss, but you can’t take the materials away, understand? After a week, give me your complete plan. If No problem, we can arrange for you to go to North Africa."

Victor came out of Lucien's office, went to the secretariat, and found Lucien's real secretary, Ferrero.

Ferrero is a thin, middle-aged man. He always wears a black formal suit, which seems particularly inconsistent with the atmosphere of the entire Palace of Bliss. After hearing Victor's explanation of his purpose, he carefully checked all kinds of Victor's documents—even though he had just come out of the minister's office. After he confirmed that the person in front of him was not a counterfeit, he nodded and said: "Mr. Treville, the relevant materials have been prepared for you, please come with me."

Victor followed the little man to a small reading room. Ferrero opened the door and said to Victor: "Mr. Treville, please wait here for a while. I will send you the information right away."

Victor just walked in, sat down at the desk, and looked around at the furnishings of the reading room. Unlike other rooms in the Palace of Bliss, this reading room is extraordinarily simple. The large desk was just varnished, flat and without any decoration. It's just a little button a little to the right. On the right side of the table, there is an up-to-date typewriter. The chair is just a general style, without any carvings. Even the lamp above the head is a very ordinary lamp. However, because this reading room has large floor-to-ceiling windows, the lighting is very good, so the room is quite bright.

Victor was watching when he saw Ferrero enter with a servant pushing a cart. The trolley is naturally full of various books and materials. The servant pushed the cart in and turned around to go out. Ferrero said to Victor: "Mr. Treville, this is the information that the minister asked me to prepare for you. You can browse here, but you cannot record or take the information out. If you need food and tea, or you want to If you leave, you can press that button, and the servant is next door."

After saying this, he nodded slightly to Victor, and then left the reading room.

Victor walked to the car and read the documents.

Obviously, the information Ferrero found for Victor is quite complete, and the classification is very detailed, including information on local history, geography, culture, climate, products, etc., as well as the latest local information. Victor first picked up the latest information, sat down at the desk, and read it carefully.

A week later, Victor handed over a stack of typed manuscripts to Lucien. After looking at it carefully, Lucien said to Victor: "Very good, Victor! You go home and rest for two days, get ready, and we will arrange for you to go to Tripoli soon."

Almost at the same time, in the Holy See, the Pope was also explaining things to a bishop named Torres. Since presiding over Napoleon's coronation, the old Pope's body has been getting worse day by day. He knows that the day when he is called by the Lord is not far away.

Regardless of whether the Pope really believed in God or not, at this time, when he recalled his life, he couldn't help but think of his predecessor, Pope Urban VIII's evaluation of Cardinal Richelieu: "If God If it really exists, then our brother will have an explanation when he gets there; if God does not exist, then his life is really wonderful."

Regarding the question of whether God exists, um, you have to ask His Majesty the Pope, of course His Majesty said that He exists. Especially now, when this point can be verified soon, he also unknowingly remembered the question of "how to explain to God". Under his leadership, the status of the Holy See has gone from bad to worse, which is really hard to explain.

So His Majesty the Pope felt that he had to seize this last chance and do something big, no, it was something that could really please God. So he gasped and said, "Torres, my brother, you know those lambs in North Africa have been out of the church for a long time...we must find a way to lead them to the right path, so that we can live up to God's entrustment. In North Africa, we must Relying on the strength of the French, we must also be on our guard against them, and we must not let their things contaminate...contaminate the lamb...do you understand?"