When Charles arrived in the hall of the club with his friends and assistants, the people who were still whispering were silenced, and all eyes were focused on him, and they saluted the Imperial Chancellor.

In contrast to its shabby appearance, the club's hall is resplendent with ornaments and jewels. As there is still a banquet today, the tables in the corners of the hall are lined with gold and silver cutlery, and crystal towers made of glasses, in which the fine champagne faithfully reflects the light of the chandelier, which has no real function and no taste, only the pure ostentation of the extravagant spirit - but very popular with the merchants, and this way can really highlight the main theme of the era.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Charles waved slightly, and then found a seat for himself.

The seats here are all set up in the form of a round table according to the club's constitution, and there is no priority or subordination, but the difference in power and class will certainly not change because of the form of the seats, and he is still the core of everyone.

After taking his seat, he didn't rush to speak, but looked around to make sure that everything was normal.

There were not many guests, old and young, but they sat upright one by one, with serious expressions, and their expressions were almost like they had been pulled out of a mold, and even their manners were different, as if, yes, the same smell could be smelled from them—the smell of money.

In the first few months, people often bring one or more female companions. It made the atmosphere very lively, but today because of Charles's special instructions, they did not bring any female companions.

Yet there is still a female presence here.

Under Charles' gaze. Lola Imada, who has always been dressed in fine clothes, is no exception, she wears the most fashionable dress, and has a cashmere cashmere shawl on her shoulders, which is a high-end goods brought back from Kashmir, India, thousands of miles away from the British Empire, and the gold buttons inlaid with sapphires on the skirt make her face more and more cold.

Although she seemed to notice that Charles was observing her, she seemed to be indifferent, just staring at the pile of papers in front of her.

"I'm sorry to keep you busy here." Charles also duly closed his gaze, and then continued to say in that unwavering tone, "At the same time. I would also like to ask for your forgiveness for the importance of today's meeting, so I think we must cut out all unnecessary entertainment, and I hope you will understand what I am solemnly about. ”

"Of course we can understand you. Excellency. An old man with a gray goatee replied. In fact, I'd like you to save yourself the hassle of hosting. Save what little time I have left as an old man. ”

He looked to be about seventy years old, but perhaps because of the good maintenance, his face could not help but have few wrinkles, and he looked very healthy with white and red.

His name is Josdão Cappafiler, a director of the Banque de France and a close friend of the current president of the Banque de France, Count Argoo, and can be called one of the important figures in the world of business. Maybe it's because of the privilege and wealth. He attaches great importance to health preservation, and can almost be said to regard life extension as the first major event in his life, starting from middle age. He has always followed the doctor's fixed diet, eating all kinds of food that is beneficial to health every week, and living in a simple place, rarely participating in the common drinking and feasting and other extravagant and lascivious activities in the upper class, which can be said to be an outlier in the upper class, but because of this, he has a much healthier body than his peers.

Albert was not impressed by his way of life, and said privately, "I would rather die early because of excessive pleasure like my ancestors, than live to the age of ninety like him." ”

"Yes, Your Excellency, I think we should have gotten to the chaser sooner." At this time, another young man about the same age as Charles took over, "I am glad that you have been able to construct such a perfect private place for us, so that we can meet in peace without worrying about any attacks and rumors in the newspaper tomorrow, it would be a pity to just have fun." ”

"If you want to have fun, I think your house is the first choice, and I don't have any desire to compete with your family." Charles laughed and made a joke, and then all the visitors, except Lola, laughed knowingly.

There is no need to be so detailed about him, his name is Alphonse de Rotheschild, the eldest son of Baron James de Rothehilde and the future successor to the French branch of the famous Rothchild family.

Like Shire, he was born in 1827 and is now 25 years old. Because his father is 60 years old and his energy is beginning to decline, so with the help of his father, he has begun to get involved in the family business, and has left a little fame in the social world. His father had brought him in the club to help his son develop a network and expand the family business.

Baron James de Rothchild was made a baron by the then Austrian Emperor Franz I (that is, the uncle of Emperor Napoleon, who was only one year older than the emperor) because of his previous achievements in issuing Austrian national bonds in France and raising a large amount of money for Austria, and officially stepped into the ranks of the nobility from a businessman.

If the stiff-headed German aristocracy did not like the nouveau riche banker in Vienna, where the feudal tradition was deeply rooted, Paris, which had long since recognized only the power of gold, fell early at the feet of the great banker, who was known for his penchant for holding large banquets and entertaining guests, so his mansion became a famous gathering place for high society.

"Well, since you're all busy people, I'll start with it." After laughing for a while, Charles regained his seriousness, "As you all know, although I only became a minister a few months ago, I served in the Ministry of Railways for nearly two years when it was first established. So I'm kind of familiar with the road, and many of the construction plans and plans were even established by me personally before I left. ”

Everyone knows these facts, so no one interjects. Waiting for him to get to the point.

"However, when I returned to where I had worked, I basically reversed all of my plans." Charles continued, "There's only one reason, these plans seemed right at the time, but now they're hard to keep up, folks. I can tell you without hesitation that in the near future, maybe in a year or two. The situation in Europe would change drastically and radically, and it would pose unprecedented challenges to the empire. ”

Seeing that he said so seriously, the faces of the other people present changed slightly.

Charles de Treville was notoriously unscrupulous and ruthless, and he wasn't just a lie.

"Excuse me. What are the challenges you are referring to? A moment later. Alphonse de Rothschild asked carefully.

"As you all know, before I became a minister, I served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a short time, and although I did not achieve much success, I also visited several countries and met with dignitaries from various countries to some extent." Charles's expression had become very serious, "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to tell you about a state secret here. And that's why I try to keep it a secret...... This secret is still little known in China. But it has become a definite consensus in His Majesty and his cabinet. ”

He suddenly turned his head to look at Gaston, who had been bowing his head in silence to record, "Gaston, don't record this paragraph!" Also, anything I have mentioned to His Majesty is not allowed to be recorded. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency!" Gaston hurriedly drew a few lines in his notebook and deleted a paragraph from him.

"I think that all of you or the people you represent are indispensable and important figures in our country's economic circles, so this secret should be informed to you in advance, but please keep it confidential." Then, Charles continued to turn his head to look at the group, "Yes, we have reached an agreement with the British that we will form a coalition against Russia next, and it will be soon, maybe even next year." ”

Sure enough, as he had expected, the faces of these people in the economic circles changed, and they were obviously shocked.

In everyone's mind, Britain and Russia were the first powers of Europe, and because of the two invasions of Paris during the Napoleonic Wars, Russia and her army had formed a kind of shadow among the French, and they were not mentally prepared to hear the news suddenly, and everyone was naturally shocked.

"Great Britain...... Is Britain firm? After a long silence, Jostang Cappafil asked in a low voice, his fingers unconsciously pinched together, looking a little nervous, "Could this be a ploy by them to stir up discord and manipulate us?" Will they intend to trick us into going up against the Russians and then do nothing and laugh behind our backs as the two countries fight? ”

"No, sir, though you do say something like the English temperament, I can say for sure this time that they won't." Charles shook his head, "The British have made up their minds to use absolute determination and will to do their best to break the Russians' expansion into Europe and defend their national interests. When I went to England, both the Prime Minister himself, the Foreign Minister Palmerston, and even Her Majesty the Queen herself, assured us that they would use all their forces by land and sea to contain the Russians, and even made clear in the secret treaty that the two countries would not back down, and that they would not make such jokes with the credibility of Britain. ”

"Is there already a secret agreement?" Alphonse was taken aback again.

He never imagined that the Bonapartists, who seemed to be bent only on seizing power at home, had secretly planned to such an extent, and that this group of people had immediately thought of fighting a war, and a big battle, as soon as they had just gained a foothold—what a group of mad gamblers!

"Yes, there is already a secret agreement, and it was signed by me, on behalf of His Majesty." Charles said, glancing to the side without a trace.

Gaston obeyed his order, and crossed out the sentence after he mentioned His Majesty. It's really a buildable material.

There was no doubt that it was a state secret, but even knowing that Jostang would tell the president of the Banque de France when he returned, that Alphonse would tell his father, Baron Rothschild, and that he might even secretly inform the Austrian emperor himself, Charles did not hesitate to reveal the secret to the group because he needed to create an atmosphere in which "everything is under control" and highlight his "needs".

"Now that you all know the Empire's intentions, there is one thing I think you all understand." Charles looked around again, but this time it was much more grim, "In order to complete the planned preparations, so that our army can quickly maneuver to the predetermined battlefield, and be able to get the maximum supply after the start of the war, in order to win the final victory, we must build an efficient and orderly transportation network of unprecedented scale, whether it is rail or sea, it needs to be improved like it has been before, and in order to achieve this, we have no shortage of intelligent engineers and no shortage of laborers, We just need money -- a lot of money, more than we can count, to be precise. And I believe that if you want to raise money quickly, it is most appropriate to turn to you for help. ”

After hearing Charles's request, the visitors looked at each other and observed each other, but none of them spoke first, and the sudden silence suddenly made the atmosphere a little strange.

"Do you have any comments? If so, just mention it. After waiting for a moment, Charles asked, "I think the facts of the past few years have proved to you the return on investment in the railway, right?" ”

"Of course, the return on investing in railways is huge, but ...... Your Excellency, this may not be the case once military purposes are added, and the railroad may not be profitable without a huge passenger flow to ensure it. Josdown-Cappafil spoke with a careful measure, and his seniority and age were so tacitly taken as a co-spokesman of some degree, "Your Excellency, I am by no means doubting the wisdom of Your Majesty, but pointing out the fact that we love our country as much as you do, but that a businessman invests for profit, and cannot invest money that others have given us out of trust where it will be lost. ”

"I understand your thoughts, capital is an animal that multiplies, and you are the owners of animals, and you don't want to see your pets get hurt in vain." Charles nodded, "However, of course, Your Majesty and I will not let you suffer losses for this, and we will compensate you with sufficient recompense - if Your Majesty orders that whoever invests for us will be responsible for the issuance of war bonds after the war begins, what will you think?" (To be continued.) )

PS: It looks like it's the sixth volume, but were your eyes foggy last night...... Changed