For the second edition of the Pakistan Fair, France built a railway from the Champ de Mars in the center of Paris to the Palais de Liberté. It was the world's first passenger railway, and it was an important step in Napoleon's inspiring and cult of personality.

At the last Pakistani fair, the Wonder Freedom Palace of course greatly shocked those foreigners, and the national pride of the little roosters almost exploded. But compared to the railway, the Freedom Palace is actually much less shocking. In a sense, trains, especially those that spew smoke and steam, are the most typical symbol of the industrial age, and even in the era of high-speed rail, the sense of indomitable power brought by old-fashioned steam locomotives is irreplaceable. So even in later generations, there are countless fans of steam locomotives, and some travel routes even choose to use old-fashioned steam locomotives.

Now that the railway has basically been laid, the Pakistan Fair will be officially held in a month's time. The brothers of the Bonaparte family gathered together to discuss how to put on a show efficiently.

Napoleon had originally planned to open the train at the official opening of the second Ba Fair, but his idea was severely ridiculed by Lucien.

"Napoleon, you idiot!" had the opportunity to sarcastically mock the second brother, which made Lucien very proud, "It's just like sentencing a criminal to flogging, stipulating twenty lashes, do you say that you should stop a little every two lashes, let that criminal catch his breath and fight again, or do you just beat those in one go?" ”

Napoleon was stunned for a moment, and then immediately understood what Lucien meant. If you give twenty lashes in one breath, generally speaking, the guy who is beaten will pass out when he gets three or four lashes, and then he will feel the whips from behind. When Lucien says this now, he obviously means that putting such a thing as the opening of the train together with the opening of the second Pakistan Fair will give the common people a little too much stimulation, and it is easy for them to become numb with excitement, and as a result, the good subject matter is wasted.

Napoleon knew in his heart that what Lucien said was indeed right in this matter, but looking at Lucien's triumphant appearance, Napoleon felt angry, so he wanted to test it with Lucien to see if there would be overstimulation if he hit twenty whips in a row.

Seeing that Napoleon's expression was wrong, Lucien immediately habitually and automatically distanced himself from Napoleon, and immediately said: "So, Napoleon, I think we should keep these things at a certain distance, so as not to make everyone numb." ”

Lucien's words worked, and Napoleon's attention was indeed diverted. Of course, it is also possible that Napoleon didn't really want to really go out of his way and let Joseph laugh at him for being "incompetent and furious".

"Lucien, of course there is some truth to this consideration of yours." Napoleon said, "But you have overlooked an important principle, which is that the best show must not be at the front." Because if the most exciting programs are placed at the front, then no one will watch the programs that appear later. ”

"You're right!" Lucien was the first to agree, "It's like in 'Moulin Rouge', where the reddest girl is always the last to appear. There is no doubt that the train is the most beautiful and popular girl in our fair this time, and if you let her play at the beginning, it is indeed easy to have problems that you are worried about. However, we at the Moulin Rouge sometimes have another way of dealing with it, like, well, have you seen our musical Cinderella? ”

"Nope." Napoleon replied, "I am not like you, who live and work in the Moulin Rouge. ”

So Lucien told Napoleon the general plot of their Cinderella.

"Ah, this story, I seem to have seen it, it seems to be the story of Charles Perrault, you have changed it a little." Napoleon said, "Well, to the point. ”

"Ah, the one who plays 'Cinderella' in our play is Nicole of the Moulin Rouge, and that's a big beauty. But she was the first to appear in the first act of the play, but because of the makeup and clothing handling, we made her not particularly outstanding at the beginning. It wasn't until the pumpkin carriage appeared, through the change of clothing and makeup, that we suddenly made Nicole shine and stabbed people almost without opening their eyes.

We can do the same about trains. First of all, we don't do any ceremonies, just use freight trains to run on this line. Of course, the freight train is also beautiful, but you can't get on the train, you can only watch from afar. However, just like that, it's enough to set off a wave of craze.

And then, we can slowly get out the news that we actually have passenger trains that can carry people, and we can speculate about them in various newspapers, discuss them, and stir up the heat. Well, we can also continue to push people's expectations of the train up through the sale of tickets, that is, the sale of tickets for the first passenger car. Then wait until ......"

"That's good, of course, but Lucien, how are you going to sell tickets?" Joseph, who had not spoken, but had just lowered his head and looked through the students' research reports, suddenly raised his head and asked.

"An auction, of course." Lucien said, "The first coach was full of the most luxurious carriages, and everything in it was the most luxurious, and a carriage was a small villa." Then, a ticket is sold for a carriage, and the ticket is sold by auction, and we arrange a childcare to raise the price and make a sky-high price to ensure that it can attract everyone's attention. ”

Joseph shook his head and said to Lucien: "Recently our newspaper has reported a lot about the strikes of the British workers, and the reports are very detailed. ”

"Of course, it is to let the people in the country know how happy they are living. Joseph, as you said, everyone is an insatiable Faust (the story of Faust and the devil's bet appeared very early and was not original to Goethe), and our people are no exception. So no matter how capable we are, we can't really satisfy them. And if they are not satisfied, they will seek change, which is obviously not good for us.

Joseph, you said again that happiness and unhappiness are comparative. By the way, you say, why are the most admired dramas in the world basically tragedies? That's because people are able to get a sense of satisfaction and happiness through tragedy, by seeing the fall and destruction of those who are significantly stronger than themselves. This sense of satisfaction and happiness has nothing to do with jealousy or hatred, but simply the satisfaction of feeling that you are in a good situation, at least better than those heroes.

We report on the miserable lives of the British workers, and with this contrast, our workers are more likely to be satisfied with their own state of life. This is conducive to domestic stability. Lucien replied.

Indeed, happiness, satisfaction, etc., are often compared. Just like a plague in later generations, at the beginning, the little rabbits of the Red Rabbit Country were not very satisfied with many of the country's responses, but as the plague spread to Europe and to the White Eagle family, seeing the various intelligent operations that Yi Duli and Ah Mei you saw, the little rabbits' satisfaction with the country almost exploded at once.

The same is true in France today. In fact, France at this time was not free of class oppression, and the life of the French people was not really very good. But when compared to the misery of the English people, the French workers naturally cherished the situation in France and were immensely grateful to Napoleon, the first consul.

"Isn't it a deliberate effort to highlight the gap between rich and poor in France when you are conducting such an auction and reporting such a report now? The pain is comparative, the rich spend a lot of money just to have a play, and the money they spend to play is enough to make the poor work hard for several lifetimes. This will make people realize that the gap between rich and poor has reached a desperate level. Despair produces resentment and reduces smiling faces. Therefore, what you do is completely making trouble for yourself. Joseph said unceremoniously.

If Napoleon had criticized himself like this, Lucien would probably have to find a way to refute it, even if it was a strong argument, then he would have to resist. But when Josephus said this, Lucien did not dare to say anything at all. It's strange to say, obviously now, Joseph won't touch an exam paper to embarrass him when he has nothing to do. However, I don't understand why, Lucien is still a little afraid of his big brother.

"And what do you say, Joseph?" Lucien asked sincerely. That sincerity made Napoleon very depressed—why had this boy never been so obedient to me?

"Of course it's - it's an auction." Joseph said.

"What? ......" Lucien said.

"We started by advertising that the proceeds from this auction would be used to build a charitable hospital in the Saint-Antoine district to help the poor in Paris. Call on those who have the money to give generously. And then, think again? ”

Lucien thought about it, then gave a thumbs up and said admiringly: "It's really worthy of Joseph, there is a way!" Well, on the one hand, the heat brought by bidding has arrived. On the other hand, the workers will not feel that people can enjoy it casually, and the money spent is something that we can't earn in a few lifetimes. They will even feel that our rich people in France are better than those in the UK, and they do not forget to give back to the society when they make money. Well, in this way, the heat is also there, the stability is also increased, and there are more smiling faces. This is really killing two birds with one stone, high! It's really high! ”