"Ladies and gentlemen! Here, have another drink! ”

Lieutenant Tulai raised his glass again.

"Cheers!"

The others responded to his call and raised their glasses as well, and everyone drank them all.

They had been drinking for a long time, and the table was a mess, with some bottles of wine lying on it, and the people in different uniforms sitting around the round table were all red-faced, some laughing loudly, and some silently continued to pour themselves wine, as if they were really.

Lucien was like the others, drinking and chatting quietly with the people next to him.

On the same day, Lucien and the members of the small group of officers to which he belonged gathered again and drank wine around the old place where they had gathered, the house of Lieutenant Tourley.

To be sure, at first he was only perfunctory with these people, but the more he came to feel that he was really like-minded with them, that he thought and hoped almost exactly the same, and that everyone here was very upright and loyal, so he became more in harmony with the others.

Others probably thought the same way, so they got together for three days and two to drink, and today's feast was only the latest of their last time.

As usual, these young officers, who trusted each other, would open their minds when they had drunk enough to mock the stupid superiors, the incompetent government, and the French supreme.

The officers came from all over France, so when they chatted, they inevitably talked about their hometowns. As he spoke, he couldn't help but talk about the chaos and famine in various places now, until Zuihou, everyone could only sigh. Then he drank with a wry smile.

They were not of high origins, so they resonated with the suffering of the people. Some people are even in financial difficulties at home, and when they say it, they empathize with others. And the resentment of their soldiers has long been unreservedly transmitted to their ears and remained in their hearts.

The economic predicament, the difficulty of promotion, and the troubles that can only be suppressed are completely volatilized under the influence of alcohol, which makes them more and more excited. Some zuihou even cried out in pain.

"According to me, I'm afraid this dynasty is coming to an end!" One of the officers cried a few times, and then suddenly roared. "It won't last long, just wait and see!"

His words seemed to be opened, and everyone was moved for a while. It was as if he shouted out the words hidden in his heart. Not a single person contradicted him, not even hesitant.

"That's a good thing, I dare say I'll treat the whole group to a guest for this." After only a moment of silence, one of the officers next to him sneered, then whistled, "Remember that!" ”

The officers whose brains had been paralyzed by alcohol were heckling, but none of them recognized the danger - or rather, none of them paid attention to it.

"Even if this dynasty is over. What can we do? Those who only thought of kneeling and flattering France to the Tsar would remain on the stage and enjoy their glory and riches. "After a while. One of the officers sighed suddenly.

"What else do we have now? What is left of France now? Lieutenant Tourlay also couldn't help but sigh quietly, "We have nothing left but to quietly watch the Motherland fall into such a situation......"

"Our motherland still has honor and dignity, although it has been destroyed, but we can still hold on to it."

"Come on, how many people are left who were willing to be born and die for the country? Honor? Glorious? Dignity? How many French people are still paying attention to this? The French mock everything, abandon everything, the glory of our ancestors, this generation can keep very little, the next generation will have less, one day it will disappear completely! A young officer scoffed fiercely, with a wry smile on his face, and his tone was full of resentment at the current state of affairs, "I'll wait!" Our country is in a mess, and no one cares about her anymore. It seems to me that one day we ridiculous French will take the Russian Tsar to the throne, just as we cheered for Louis-Philippe. ”

"Even the Russian Tsar is better than the current one," one officer continued, "at least the Russian Tsar will not let his country fear anyone." ”

"It's the same horizontally and vertically, it's all stupid donkeys." Lieutenant Touré muttered quietly, then abruptly poured himself a sip of wine, "Don't mention this, it's uncomfortable." ”

The Europeans of this age spoke of the Russian Tsar as the Greeks spoke of the three-headed dog guarding the gates of hell, and they were both disgusting and terrible, and everyone was afraid of his Cossacks and the rolling army, and of the lawless schemes which he often played in secret - although in many cases the so-called "Russian conspiracy" was in fact only a conjecture of people to frighten themselves.

This visceral disgust does not originate entirely from the Russian form of government, nor from the alien culture of Russia, but only from the strength of Russia. It is so big that as long as Russia is united, and it is big and strong, it will inevitably meet with the disgust of the Europeans anyway, and it will only get the "friendliness" it wants when it hits rock bottom and can no longer turn over.

However, this disgust is rarely expressed explicitly, and Europeans will continue to laugh at Russia's inferior culture, the authoritarian government, and the unfreedom of the people, as if they really care about how the Russians live.

Some Russians have always had the naïve idea that if their homeland becomes more like a European country, they will be recognized by Europe and accepted into the European family. They experimented with this several times, but unfortunately it always didn't work well.

Either way, however, today's Tsarist Russia is indeed a notorious and barbaric autocratic state. It openly practiced serfdom, its politics was dark and rotten, and a handful of nobles monopolized the high positions of government, indifferent to the suffering of the people, and bent on spending their days and drinking. The government's rule is inefficient, brutal, and unpopular, and disgusting at the very first mention of it.

With Lieutenant Tulai's words, the expressions of everyone at the banquet slowly changed from excitement to disappointment, and everyone's expressions were gloomy and silent. Some people quietly continued to pour themselves wine, and there was a great deal of bitterness between their brows.

"You're right, my friend." One of the officers raised his glass lightly to Lieutenant Tourlay, "We can't do anything but sit here and drink a drink, come, let's have another drink." ”

"Come!" The lieutenant raised his glass again. "Another toast to the stuffy wine!"

Most of them also raised their glasses and brought themselves another glass.

The previous relaxation was swept away, and the atmosphere was very oppressive and heavy.

With no way out, no goal, and the original allegiance object could not be recognized by himself at all, so that he willingly wanted to sit back and watch its demise. This kind of great depression is unbearable, but I have to endure it, so I have to use alcohol to kill my sorrows.

Lucien's mood also fell to the bottom with the words of these friends.

He wanted to say something, but as soon as the words slipped into his mouth, he hesitated a little.

Is it really okay for me to treat my friends like this?

He remembered what his wife had told him several times, and he remembered the advice of his good friend Charles, and in the end, he made up his mind.

I'm not cheating, I'm just helping them, and I'm not going to hurt them.

"It's not like we're helpless, we just have to watch." He finally spoke, a little nervous, but the words were clear enough to reach everyone's ears.

Many suspicious glances converged on Lucien in an instant, making the young man even more nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"I have a friend, he is a Bonapartist," said Lucien after a moment's hesitation, "a good friend of mine." ”

The gazes that converged on him instantly became a little nervous, and even a little frightened.

Now that the matter has come to this, what are you afraid of? Lucien regained his former bravery.

"He was a supporter of the Bonaparte family, and he felt that the Bonaparte family could regain the lost glory of France, like the dead emperor Bixia......" he said unhurriedly.

A burst of exclamations instantly enveloped the room, followed by whispers.

"The Bonapartes?"

"How could it be ......?"

"But ......"

Everyone was talking to each other, and for a moment the room was in chaos.

However, the organizer, Lieutenant Tulai, kept his head down and remained silent.

It was a few minutes before he looked up again, and then whispered, "Leflair is right. Since we have decided not to serve this dynasty, shouldn't we find someone who is enough for us to find honor? ”

Then he looked at the others.

"If you don't agree with Lucien's words, I won't say anything more. But if any of you dare to betray your brother and run to denounce it, then don't blame my men for being ruthless! Even if I run to the ends of the earth, I'll find it, if you don't believe me, just try it! Don't forget the case of the four sergeants! ”

[During the Bourbon Restoration, there was a lot of resentment within the army, and in 1822, four sergeants (Boly, Gupban, Poumière, and Raou) of the La Rochelle barracks in the Charent-de-Maritimes were arrested for their involvement in the rebellion, and Zuihou was taken to Paris, where they were executed together on September 20 of that year. This was the sensational case of the "Four Sergeants" at that time, after which the Bourbon dynasty monitored the army and suppressed dissent in the army more severely. In 1825, the whistleblower of the Four Sergeant case was murdered after going out, and the murderer was never caught. 】

Under the fierce gaze of the lieutenant, the others lowered their heads one after another.

"Come on, Tulai, do you still need to say it? Who among us would do such a thing? "I don't know who said this. (To be continued......)