Although Paris is the legislative capital of the European Federation, the European Federal Assembly is not in Paris, but in Versailles, the Palace of Versailles, to be precise.

The Palace of Versailles was built by the "Sun King", the longest-reigning king in French history, Louis XIV, and has a history of more than 300 years. With a total area of 1.1 million square meters, this imposing palace witnessed the rise and fall of the Bourbon dynasty. It was here that Louis XVI, who died in the Revolution, was taken away by the Parisians and guillotined. It was also the birthplace of the Second German Reich, where King Wilhelm I of Prussia was crowned Emperor of the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War. The Palace of Versailles was also the site of the end of the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles, which marked the official end of the First World War.

During the Great Tribulation, the Palace of Versailles was badly damaged.

Fortunately, immediately after the intruders retreated, the French government sent an army into the town of Versailles and forbade civilians from entering the palace.

After several months of restoration and restoration, the Palace of Versailles was largely restored to its pre-cataclysmic appearance.

While traces of the catastrophe can still be seen everywhere, Versailles is more tranquil and serene than Paris.

The House of Lords of the European Federal Parliament is located in the famous Hall of Mirrors.

This is a controversial arrangement. It is important to know that after winning the Franco-Prussian War, Wilhelm I was crowned Emperor of the Second German Empire here. Forty-eight years later, Germany, having lost World War I, signed the Treaty of Versailles. The location of the Bundestag here has made many Germans unhappy, and even the German Chancellor has expressed opposition, believing that the Peace Hall should be chosen, or a special hall should be built nearby. The French authorities, citing the fact that the European Confederation had not yet been formally established and that social production had not yet been restored, did not consider it necessary to build a large construction project immediately, but that the Parliament should decide whether or not to build a special synagogue after the establishment of the Confederation.

"Hall of Mirrors" is also just a name.

During the cataclysm, hundreds of mirrors and all the windows in the Hall of Mirrors were damaged by the earthquake, and the twenty-four Bohemian crystal chandeliers were not spared. In addition, in accordance with the requirements of the Parliament, a rostrum was set up, a semi-circular seating area around the rostrum, and two passages separating the seats. All that has survived is the painting of Le Blan, on the ceiling, which was lovingly restored by dozens of artists after the cataclysm.

The synagogue has been built, but the Upper House of Lords has not yet been officially proclaimed.

After visiting the synagogue, Chu Tianjiang followed the reception staff of the French authorities to his temporary residence here.

Before the Great Catastrophe, Versailles was a small town with fewer than 100,000 permanent residents, but now it is an empty city, and all private estates on the outskirts have been nationalized. Because so many people died in the cataclysm, most of the properties in France were nationalized after the cataclysm. The survivors of the inhabitants of Versailles have all moved to Paris, and now live here, except for the "elected senators" from other countries, only the military and police units responsible for guarding the Palace of Versailles, and the service personnel and secret service personnel assigned to the senators.

Chu Tianjiang's residence is about five kilometers from the Palace of Versailles, and it is an inconspicuous manor.

The estate has been renovated with two diesel generators that are backing up to each other, a pressure well and a 50 cubic meter LNG tank, a firewood warehouse full of dry firewood with enough grain in the cellar, a cold storage capable of storing tons of food, and a large wine cellar with only a few rows of empty shelves and a few equally empty oak barrels. According to the receptionists, the Federation only provided food, and other living necessities for enjoyment had to be purchased by the senators themselves.

Fortunately, money is not an issue.

Cullen had a small amount of money, a credit card with the largest overdraft limit in each of the three major federal banks, the Banque de France, Deutsche Bank and the Banque de Roma, and a deposit of 50 million euros in the Banque de France. If he needed more money, Chu Tianjiang could ask Zhang Xiaogang to find a way, or sell the diamonds. In Europe, large diamonds are still valuable.

The main building is a three-storey villa facing north and south. Although it is not very high, it covers an area of thousands of square meters. In the center of the first floor is a full-height rotunda with a glass dome of nearly 500 square meters, a dining room with an area of more than 100 square meters and a kitchen connected to it on the east side, and a tea room with an area of nearly 100 square meters and several servants' bedrooms on the west side. On the east side of the second floor are functional rooms such as recreation rooms, gymnasiums, and screening halls, and on the west side are more than a dozen guest rooms. On the east side of the third floor is the master's bedroom, two cloakrooms separated by wooden walls and a private garden on the terrace, a heated swimming pool, and a sunny tea room, while on the west side is a large study and a separate lounge.

In front of the villa is a large garden divided into two parts by the main road, there is a large fish pond on the east side, a neatly manicured lawn nearby, and a glass greenhouse on the west side, with a variety of exotic flowers planted in the carefully arranged flower stands, and some benches and hanging chairs are placed on the flower path. Behind the villa is a three-meter-high fence with a row of tall pines and cypresses, a five-lane full-length swimming pool as the core of the back garden, a five-meter diameter circular hot spring pool, a Western-style pavilion built of grape trellises, and several marble-paved open spaces.

The layout inside and outside the villa made Chu Tianjiang believe that the people who lived here before were either rich or expensive, and there was a large family with many members.

took Chu Tianjiang to tour the entire villa, and Amandina, who was in charge of reception, took him to the rotunda.

"Elder Karen, if you have any needs, you can order the servants here, or contact me, and I will be at your disposal at any time."

Chu Tianjiang knew that this was very authentic, and the young and beautiful female receptionist must have been sent by the French authorities to spy on him, and among the servants who had already lived in, at least a few of them were intelligence officers of the French intelligence agency, maybe all of them.

"Armandina, may I call you that?"

"Of course, Elder Karen."

Chu Tianjiang smiled and nodded, looking very polite and personable. "I have a question for you."

"What's wrong with the patriarch?"

"Although the servants on the manor are very professional and dedicated, and I don't want them to lose their jobs, I think they are not very familiar with my daily habits, and I want to replace them with some servants who know me better, that is, my servants in Scotland.

"This ......"

"If you do this, I am willing to bear all the losses caused to your government or to them."

"When will they arrive?"

"Tonight, my private jet has gone back to pick them up." Zhang Xiaogang had already inquired clearly that the senators could arrange their own servants in the temporary residence of the Federal Assembly, and the senators who had arrived before had all brought their own servants and did not use the servants arranged by the French authorities. If this is done alone, it will be necessary to compensate the French authorities for three months' salaries already paid to these servants, as well as liquidated damages.

"In that case, I'll let them leave early tomorrow morning."

"Tonight." Chu Tianjiang smiled and said, "It's best to follow you later." Don't worry, I brought three secretaries and they can do a lot. ”

Amandina nodded, not dwelling on the issue. "Elder Karen, if nothing else......"

"Also, I'll have to ask you for a little favor."

"It's my duty to serve Elder Karen."

Chu Tianjiang took out the credit card of the Banque de France. "I need some drinks and fresh food, especially fresh fruit, preferably good, can you help me do that?"

"No problem, this is on me, but I don't know how much the Dao Elder needs?"

"Fill the cold storage and wine cellar."

"It's ......," Amandina looked surprised.

"From tomorrow onwards, there will be a lot of people here to eat, and I can't let the servants work hungry, can I? Of course, God knows how long I'm going to stay here, right? ”

"In that case, you don't have to rush to buy too much food, right?"

"Do you have any good suggestions?"

"Wine can be stored for a long time, but fresh food cannot be stored for a long time, so I recommend buying it in batches."

"That's fine, just do what you want, buy a week's worth of fresh food at a time."

"Elder Karen, how many servants do you have?"

"One hundred, maybe two hundred, I don't know how many people are needed. Also, if I'm going to have a banquet here, I'll need more fresh food. ”

"You can buy these after you decide to hold a banquet."

"Then according to the volume of 200 people, buy fresh food for a week first."

"Okay, I know what to do."

"That's right."

Amandina seemed a little annoyed, but she couldn't show it well.

"Don't forget, take a tip for yourself at 10% of the total purchase price, don't treat yourself badly, and don't let me take advantage."

Amandina was stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement, and her face became much better-looking.

Chu Tianjiang had already asked Zhang Xiaogang that if he entrusted the reception staff to purchase materials, he would generally give a tip of five percent of the total purchase price. Chu Tianjiang did not follow the usual practice, but increased it to ten percent. Even if Amandina was a French agent, she must have cared a lot about this extra income.

After taking Chu Tianjiang's benefits, Amandina was extremely serious about her work.

Because she had to take all the servants with her, and she had to draw up a list of supplies, Amandina was not in a hurry to leave. In order to let her leave early, Chu Tianjiang didn't pester her anymore, but took the three personal secretaries, namely Nichol, Rachel and Maya, to the back garden.

When he first came to the back garden, Chu Tianjiang knew that Clara would definitely like it very much because of the hot spring pool.