Shortly after this conversation, Armand handed over to Joseph two plays—Shakespeare's Timon of Athens and Milton's Samson of the Force—plus a number of other poems.

"These are some of the things that I have backlogged here in the past two years, and they have been backlogged for almost half a year...... You know, where do I have so much time to do that? It's already delayed anyway, so you don't have to rush, take your time, there's no rush over there anyway. Armand said this to Joseph, who had just taken a leave of absence and was about to return to Corsica, after handing them over.

"Joseph, I hope your father is okay and you can come back soon." Another classmate named Rafa also said, "You can always give us a lot of inspiration in our discussions. You're gone, and the parties in our club have gone dark. ”

"Rafa is right, we can't live without you in our club." Another small man named Honoré does, who, like Joseph, is completely dependent on scholarships, so emotionally, he and Joseph are more intimate.

The club that Rafa refers to is a small group called "Friends of Youth". It is composed of a group of young people who have completely different lifestyles and attitudes, but they are all dissatisfied with reality and full of all kinds of naïve imaginations about the future. In fact, there are quite a few such young people in France's schools today.

Joseph knew that many of these young people, who now seemed very naïve and ridiculously naïve, later became prominent figures in the Revolution; And theirs, which seem to people today, are nothing more than a small circle of children who gather together to laugh at themselves, and they have become political parties later. For example, the famous Jacobins started out as a club.

The "Friends of Youth" was in fact the prototype of such a party, although its members ranged from good to good nobles like Xiang Armand, to squeezed aristocrats like Joseph, to the children of merchants like Rafa, and to poor families like Aureno. Although the personalities of its members are also different: Armand is outgoing and pompous; Rafa is sophisticated and easy-going; And Aureno usually doesn't talk much, but he is resolute and decisive in doing things. But on one thing, they all agree that the French system is very unfair and must be changed. It's just that on the question of how to change, there is not yet a complete consensus on how to change.

The influence of Voltaire can be clearly seen in Armand's body. Like Voltaire, he liked to satirize the church in harsh language, but in terms of political system, he preferred the British, constitutional monarchy, and always liked to talk about the "Glorious Revolution" and the "Bill of Rights" when discussing political issues.

Aurenor, on the other hand, was opposed to any monarchy, and one of his uncles had followed General Lafayette in fighting the British in North America. From him, Oreno heard countless things about the United States. So he became a staunch supporter of the republic. He was opposed to any monarch and firmly believed that France should become a republic.

As for Rafa, he felt that, in theory, a republic was of course the best, the most in line with the principle of equality for all. This is in fact consistent with the teachings of Christ. "The prophet Moses was against the monarchy." That's what Lucien said. But on the other hand, he argued: "The monarchy is a French tradition, and the common people are accustomed to being ruled by the king, so we cannot completely ignore the French tradition and the habits of the common people." Therefore, a constitutional monarchy is not an unacceptable compromise. ”

As for Joseph, he does not show to be particularly concerned with the form of government, but more concerned with the rights of the individual:

"I don't care who rules the country, whether he is king or president, my main concern is that his power must be restrained and he cannot interfere with my freedom and rights at will. In the North American Declaration of Independence, there is one point that I very much agree with, and that is that the people have the right to overthrow tyranny. Only a power that is recognized by the whole people is a legitimate power. In this regard, I respect any choice made by the French people. ”

It's actually quite slick, especially the last one. However, the young people of this era did not experience the influence of the black words of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a certain country in later generations, but felt that what Joseph said was also very reasonable. But it ignores the most crucial point in this sentence, that is, who is the people and who represents the people.

After all, Joseph came through time, and he has seen a lot of the practices of various political systems in later generations, and he has the experience of being a keyboard warrior in the Tieba forum before, so he can tell one, two, three about the advantages and disadvantages of various political systems, and it can also make others feel that it makes some sense.

In fact, compared to the well-informed guys of later generations, the young people in the "Friends of Youth" club are much simpler and easier to deceive. So although there are still some political differences between these people, Joseph has managed to turn his views into a common program for the whole club. And he himself has become the spiritual leader of this club. Now he is leaving Paris for a while. Several classmates took leave and came to the station to see him off.

"Joseph, don't worry too much about financial problems." "It's much easier to find an opportunity to make money in Paris than in the provinces. Come back to Paris as soon as the family business is over. There's always a way for all of us together. Well, Joseph, if you are short of money now, I can get you a little money from my father, it won't be too much, but two or three hundred francs will not be a problem. And it's interest-free. ”

"Rafa, didn't you say that your father was stingy?" Oreno asked.

"That's right. But my father was willing to spend money when he really needed it. Rafa shook his head and said, "You don't know, he will strictly control every copper in me, and I can't drink more beer than I want to eat my stomach." Because, according to the old man, drinking beer is not as effective at filling your stomach as brown bread.

But on the other hand, when the old man was sending me to school, he said to me: 'Rafa, you know that Louis the Great is one of the best schools, and that there are only two kinds of people who can study here. One is a person whose family is very rich or has a lot of status, and the other is a very talented person. Rafa, you know I'm frugal, and I also think thrift is a virtue. But do you really think that I can get rich because I am more frugal than everyone else? No, it's not, it's because I know where to spend it most efficiently. I spent money to send you to the Louis the Great School for two purposes.

First, you can learn a lot of skills here, and there are many skills that I can't teach you. Second, you will be able to meet and befriend a lot of capable people there, which will be more convenient for you to do anything in the future. So I've never been stingy in this kind of thing. ’”

"Rafa," cried Armand, "your father is a marvelous fellow! Maybe I should introduce my uncle to your father. They will surely become friends. ”

"Ah, Armand, if you could arrange for my father to meet Master Lavoisier, he would be willing to pay for us all to drink champagne. But you'd better think about it, because my father will probably take advantage of this to make more money. Lucien replied, "Besides, my father will certainly not be friends with your uncle, and his only friend is Kim Louis." ”

"Rafa, are you sure your father will think I'm a talented man worth investing in?" Joseph asked again.

"Of course, because I think so, and my father thinks: first, my loyalty to him is not in question. Second, I am certainly one of the few people he knows who are both loyal and capable of discerning whether a person is gifted or not, and who is promising. Besides, my father said, 'If you don't do business, you will definitely make money, and you will definitely lose.' Taking risks is part of doing business. Rafa replied, "I think, though I am not sure, but you may be a man of great fame in the future, Joseph." ”

"Ah, Rafa, I'll go down in history. You can also give me a little investment. Armand exclaimed with a smile.

Lucien looked at Armand, laughed and said, "Armand, I believe that you may one day go down in history. But my father once said, 'A poet, even a poet who has gone down in history, is not a good investment.' At least, not while he was alive. ’”

"Hell, that's so similar to what my uncle said." Armand said with a look of annoyance.

"Joseph, you must come back." Oreno took his hand and said.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, if possible." Joseph replied.

With that, he raised his hat to the men, then turned and got into the stagecoach.

……

Carlo's condition progressed rapidly. By the time Joseph returned to Corsica, he was in a dying state. For most of the day, he was in a coma, and the time he was able to wake up was no more than two hours a day. The doctor was completely helpless at this point.

In this era, doctors in Europe basically had only one way to go for more serious diseases. And stomach cancer, even in later generations, if it is not detected in time, it will kill people. And in this day and age, there is neither the technical ability to detect it in advance, nor the technical ability to treat it after detection. So at this point, the doctor simply told everyone: "What Mr. Carlo needs now is not a doctor, but a priest." ”

Napoleon also returned, arriving a day earlier than Joseph. When Joseph returned, the whole family was there. In the evening, Carlo was once again temporarily awake, and the priest began to say his last prayers for him, his wife took him by the hand, and the children gathered around him. His eyes shifted from his wife, to his children, and finally to Joseph.

"Joseph......" Carlo said in a faint voice.

"Father, I'm here." Joseph said.

"Take care of the family......" were Carlo's last words to Joseph.