After the rain, the long-lasting smell of coke has finally been washed away, and although the sky still seems to be covered with a curtain of ashes, the air is much fresher.

Workers in uniform as they walked around the factory area, and various trucks were also gliding through the factory tracks, silent and very efficient, and it was another busy day for them to enjoy the sky.

In the center of the factory, there is a cement building with several floors high, which is painted white, and it looks very contrasted with other places, and this is where the managers work, where they make work plans, where they set pay standards, and which is the heart of the factory.

Most of the rooms in this building are in the spirit of factory pragmatism, and the furnishings are very simple and not overly ornamented. Some of the rooms in the building are specially used by visitors from the outside world, but the furnishings inside are very elegant.

In one of the rooms, Charles sat upright on the couch, quietly looking at the guest in front of him.

He was dressed in a black suit and a black bow tie as usual, and his guests, who were also dressed in formal clothes, looked like a personable politician.

However, he was not a politician, but a businessman - although in reality, his work is not much different from that of a politician now.

His name is Eugène Schneider, and he is at the helm of the famous Schneider company.

And now he is running to be received by Charles, precisely because of Charles's request.

As for the beginning and the end, it's a long story.

Schneider was founded by two brothers, the elder brother is Adolf Schneider and the younger brother is Eugène Schneider. Schneider is actually a German surname, and the family ancestors immigrated to France from Prussia and then, like most German immigrants in France, ran the banking industry for generations. Over the years, the family has become French, does not speak German, but has always had good relations with the political and economic leaders in Paris.

Adolf Schneider was the eldest son, so he was destined to inherit the family business, and after inheriting it in the thirties, he was known in Paris as well as other good bankers. His greatest contribution was to finance the French government's war of conquest against Algeria, which made him a lucrative figure in the banking world.

However, unlike other older bankers, Adolf is a little more aggressive, and he does not look beyond the family business, but wants to expand elsewhere in order to expand his capital.

He had a very suitable helper by his side, and his younger brother Eugène had little interest in the winds and snows that the gentlemen of Paris were keen on, but he was very fond of machinery and inventions, and spent his days in various workshops and workshops mingling with the workers, and liked to pass the time by fiddling with all kinds of machinery.

Of course, this strange behavior is very incomprehensible to the rest of the young people in the social circles, but one of the great characteristics of the French is that they are not nosy, so although some people ridicule him for not knowing how to be elegant, no one will stop him.

However, Adolf cared very much for his younger brother, and not only did he stop his hobby, but also often spent money to fund his brother's research, not only because he loved his brother, but also because he found a new way to expand the family business through his brother's hobby, which was to invest in the burgeoning heavy industry.

As the Industrial Revolution unfolded in Britain, the European continent began to smell the steam age, with discerning political elites determined to take their countries into the wave of industrialization, and business elites to get a piece of the pie. The brothers Adolf and Eugène are also part of this business elite.

In 1835, after years of preparation, the two brothers of the Schneider family invested 1.85 million francs (undoubtedly a huge sum) to buy the ironworks in Le Quiso and officially entered the industrial revolution. The political environment was also very favourable for them, and the July Dynasty placed great emphasis on the development of industry and railways, invested heavily in it, and in 1841 achieved the operation of the first commercial railway in France.

To develop industry and railways, of course, a lot of steel, countless steel, so the Schneider family quickly reaped huge returns in this wave, and the profits almost rolled in. Of course, the ambitious Schneider brothers did not want to stop there, they wanted to go further into the manufacturing industry, so they began to manufacture locomotives and other accessories - of course, this was also a lucrative industry in the environment at the time, so the Schneider family's already rich fortune quickly accumulated as a result of this, becoming a French industrial giant, by the mid-forties, the family had become a nationally renowned industrialist, but the original banking industry had quietly faded away.

However, just when the family was in full swing, one blow after another began to come quietly, and in 1845, Adolf, the eldest brother of the Schneider family, died suddenly at the age of forty-three. His death not only left behind two minor daughters and a ten-year-old child, but also left Eugène with a big problem - from now on he had to abandon his position as an inventor who was indifferent to what was going on outside the window, and had to face the sword and sword of the political and business world.

He had little time left to study, and only three years later, the July Dynasty collapsed in the Revolution and France was transformed, with the Bonapartes replacing the Orleans as the rulers of France. This upheaval of the times brought about dramatic changes for many families in France, and if the Charles were so prosperous, the Schneider family was almost the opposite—because it is well known that the heavy industry magnates and the government were inextricably linked, and Adolf Schneider relied on his good relations with the dynastic government to lay a solid foundation for his family's business during his lifetime.

And now, in front of Eugène, is a new dynasty.

Originally, this was not a big problem for him, and his family was able to rely on money to get through the connections of the July Dynasty, and now it is natural that they can rely on money to get through the connections of the Bonaparte Dynasty - however, when such an attempt was made, Eugène was shocked to find that the situation was not so simple.

Because, every road he wants to set foot on, there seems to be someone in front of him in the end.

Charles de Treville.

With the help of an incredible and sudden turn in French politics over the course of a few years, the young man rose to prominence with the support of the Bonaparte family, and soon became one of France's leading figures in power, and some even considered him the chief brainchild of the Bonaparte cabal, the source of all evil.

Eugène-Schneider did not know how bad he was, but Eugène found that whenever he tried to contact the government departments to give him more orders for railways and other industries, the officials who approached him always gave him a smile that seemed both helpless and mocking, and said, "Go and ask Monsieur de Treville for advice, this matter cannot be approved without his nod." ”

If Mr. Tréville wanted to collect money, it was a trivial matter, and in his position, Eugène was willing to give it as much as he could, as long as he would give way. But...... He was not trying to collect money from himself, but rather wanted to cut the roots of the Schneider family - Eugène-Schneider discovered that this gentleman was actually starting a business himself and getting involved in industry.

A government magnate who put away his easy money and had to run to do business, Eugène couldn't think of a reason, but he knew very well that if the situation continued, then this news would be a major blow to him and his life's work.

Since the establishment of the Ministry of Railways, which claims to specialize in the national railway industry and expand the country's strength, the orders received by the Schneider family's factories have been getting worse and worse year by year, and the reason is of course clear - the Greville family's Giverny factory has been expanding its production capacity, gradually embezzling and squeezing out the share of the Schneider factory.

Although this is obviously a corrupt act of private giving and abusing power, Schneider knows that many things in the world cannot be measured by law, they have done it before, and now others are doing the same thing, and there is no point in complaining or even complaining.

Now that the Bonapartes' rule was becoming more and more entrenched, it seemed unlikely that it would collapse anytime soon, and that de Treville himself had risen to become the youngest Imperial vizier in history, Eugène found the situation increasingly dire.

The Giverny factory is now getting bigger and bigger, and it seems that the Le Queso factory, which is already larger than the Schneider family, may continue to occupy the space of the Schneider family in the future.

In such a dire situation, he has always wanted to establish a relationship with the Tréville family, and to give in to each other, so that he will want to ask to see Charles several times, even if he has to beg for the continuation of the family business, he is ready to do so.

However, despite his repeated pleas and increasingly respectful words over the years, he was never allowed to meet with the great man, which made him sad.

And only half a month ago, he finally received a letter that His Excellency Chancellor de Treville had decided to summon him in Giverny and invite him to attend the meeting.

Although he felt that it was a bit humiliating to ask to see the other party in this place of Giverny, Eugène also knew that he had no other choice now, so he embarked on the journey to Giverny with a hint of luck.

When he arrived at the factory area, he was quickly amazed by the scale and technology of the factory, and in his insider's observation, he found that the factory was even larger than he had originally imagined, and in some places even more advanced than the factory he had painstakingly run.

After the amazement, there is worry.

Giverny has been developed to this point by this big man, so what should his factory do after that? The most terrifying thing is that behind this factory there is a currently unshakable backer, who is determined to feed the factory by all means.

With this apprehension in mind, he came to this building with trepidation, and finally waited for the arrival of His Excellency the Chancellor. After greeting him with sincere fear, he finally got the opportunity to meet with His Excellency.

Different from what he imagined, when he saw the real person, he found that His Excellency the Minister was a very gentle person, very polite to everyone, and did not have much arrogance of a family.

However, what made him quite uncomfortable was that His Excellency the Minister did not come in alone, and there was a woman next to him.

The woman looked young and beautiful, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life. When she first came in, she smiled shyly at herself, a smile that almost made Eugène Schneider, who had reached middle age, forget her worries for a moment.

However, judging by her age, she could not be the manager of the factory.

I think it's a lover...... Oh, what a lovely man! However, after all, His Excellency the Minister is young, and it is not surprising that he has such a hobby, and who is not like this in the upper class.

But...... Inserting a vase in such a secret meeting always made Eugène feel very uncomfortable, and he didn't know whether to say a lot of things or not.

"Mr. Schneider, may I introduce you to you......" As Eugène hesitated, Charles suddenly smiled and introduced him, "This is my sister, Mademoiselle Fran de Treville. ”

"Huh?" Eugène didn't react for a moment.

"Hello, sir." Fran continued to look at him with a smile on her face, her azure eyes seemed to make people feel like a spring breeze, "It's a pleasure to meet you." (To be continued.) )