"Yes, no...... I must know what's going on. ”

Baron Tangral's expression was very grim, not the excitement of a big customer coming to the door, on the contrary, it was full of nervousness.

A mysterious rich man who suddenly appeared in front of him, with a million cash in his wallet and unlimited guarantees from two prestigious foreign institutions, and whom he knew nothing about before - was enough to prove that this was a situation beyond his control.

He had dealt with the two foreign banks for many years, and he knew that the powerful and cautious people on the other side were by no means easy enough to issue an unlimited guarantee, and if they dared to do this, it could only be because the Count of Monte Cristo had deposited one or two million or more deposits and assets in their bank, and only then would they issue this kind of unlimited guarantee, which was almost like a joke.

In other words, the Count of Monte Cristo, even in these two banks, has a total of thirty or forty million assets.

Thirty or forty million!

It is impossible for a person to have so much money and be unknown at the same time, Baron Tangral was originally so convinced, but this belief is now shattered by reality.

He didn't feel irritated, he just felt a little panicked.

What's the matter with this person, a ghost that suddenly emerges from under the ground? Or even worse.

When facing the Count, he instinctively felt a little panicked.

The most important thing for those who can climb to his position is not boldness, but prudence, there are many bold bankers, and there are many who get rich overnight by guts, but they cannot always be lucky, let alone climb to the top of the financial world like the baron, and become one of the most influential people in the Banque de France.

Over the years, he had relied on his prudence to avoid the tides, and had made his career grow day by day, until his present position, where the bloody wind and rain had exercised his instincts and sense of smell, and he had an instinct that the Count was a very dangerous man, despite the kindness of his smile.

It was safest for him to refuse the Count's request for a loan, but for the sake of the reputation of the Tangral Bank, he could not do so, as the Count had just made it clear that if the Tangral Bank refused his request, he would go to the Rothhilde family, or the De Beauvang family's bank, with a letter of guarantee, which would raise doubts about the strength of the Tangral, and even make him a laughing stock in Parisian financial circles under the malicious exaggeration of these rivals.

Under this consideration, even if he felt that it was not right, he could only bear it and handle the loan request of the Count of Monte Cristo.

Fortunately, at the beginning, the Earl only needed to withdraw a million, which was an astronomical amount for many people, but it was not a big problem for him, and he was anxious about the future - who was this Earl who suddenly appeared, and what did he want to do?

He had to figure it out, otherwise it would be impossible to calm down.

And this must rely on the young man in front of him.

After thinking for a long time, Tangral squeezed out a shriveled smile that made people unhappy, and looked at Charles with an inquiring gaze.

"Mr. Treville, I am grateful for introducing such a large customer to me, although you may not know it, but in our case, there is a commission for introducing a large customer loan." He squinted his eyes slightly, and said to Charles in a soft voice, "You are so lucky to have found a rich man with huge assets as a friend, and he borrows five million a year from me, and it is fully guaranteed, which means that you can lie down and take the commission - the interest of five million a year is 400,000, and you can take 40,000 from it." ”

"Thank you for your generosity." Charles greeted each other with a smile on his face.

The Emperor said that in order to repay Charles' loyalty to him, he was ready to let Charles make a fortune on this count, and Charles faithfully fulfilled His Majesty's instructions.

Of course, this was only the first wave of his slaughter with the Count of Monte Cristo. The charr was not at all complacent.

Forty thousand francs, an astronomical amount for many families, was not enough for the appetite of the boy and the Treville family, not even a drizzle.

The aristocracy scraped the land, and it could only be a knife to the bone, and he pulled up such a big rich man, and only scraped him 40,000 a year, I am afraid that he will become the laughing stock of the entire upper class society......

He could see that the baron was a little nervous, and he was also waiting for the other party's next question, waiting for the space to scrape the bones

"How much do you really know about him?" Sure enough, Baron Tangral immediately returned to the polity, "Although it is not our professional practice to be suspicious of customers, please understand that for the safety of my funds, I need to make this person clearer." ”

"Actually, I don't know much about him, but as far as I know, I'm afraid he's the leader of a large foreign criminal syndicate." Charles immediately replied, "You know, in some places, as long as the knife is sharp enough and the attack is hard enough, the money comes quite quickly. My grandfather had commissioned an investigation and said that this gentleman had been bought the title of earl, and that his real identity was that of an adventurer who had wandered from place to place, who had done great business in the East, in Africa, in Turkey, and even in Italy, and that he had a gang of outlaws under his command, and that I had seen the slaves he brought with him today. ”

"He's a robber? An adventurer? Or is it a slave trader? It wouldn't be so strange if that were the case......" The baron frowned slightly, "to be honest I don't care where his money came from, but such people are so unsafe that they could die at any moment." ”

"You don't have to worry too much about that...... Charles turned his head to make sure that no one could hear him before lowering his voice and continuing, "At present, the Imperial Government can use him, don't forget, the government also has a lot of things to do in foreign countries, and some things are inconvenient for themselves, so they can use this kind of people." ”

Then, he quickly spread his hands again and smiled innocently, "Of course, sir, this is just my guess, you can listen to it, don't take it seriously......"

"I can't see the light......," muttered the baron, and then his eyes suddenly lit up, "I see, I see!" ”

He also thought of what Marshal Tréville had in mind.

The leader of a gang of adventurers, who had amassed a huge sum of money in a foreign country, now felt that he had made enough money, so he was ready to seek refuge in the French government and transfer his money to France through legal and illegal channels—his frenzied ostentatious spending, partly because he was accustomed to luxury, and on the other hand, to make it easier to transfer assets and dispel suspicions of others.

This is the conclusion that Tréville's grandparents have reached based on the information available so far.

I am afraid that it is also the most logical conclusion.

It is precisely because he is an adventurer who kills people and sells goods that this earl has been obscure, so he can accumulate such a huge amount of assets.

And his other actions can also be fully explained - in order to leave a way back for himself, he wants to make friends with rulers everywhere, buy himself a noble title, he not only wants to launder himself, but also wants to launder his own money, so he defects to the imperial government, is willing to serve the empire, he wants to use the empire, transfer his assets to the relative safety of France, and then enjoy the rest of his life in luxury, get rid of the fate of being replaced by other adventurers.

The capital accumulated by killing people and selling goods, no matter how much blood is stained on it, as long as it is washed, no one will care. He will be the Count of Monte Cristo, a wealthy nobleman.

Baron Tangral didn't care, as a banker, his sense of morality was much weaker than that of ordinary people, and he had done this kind of thing many times to help people launder money, and he was not afraid of another time.

For example, he had previously helped Marshal Tréville wash.

Charles did not tell the Count the truth, pretending that his family had nothing to do with Baron Tangral, but although it was true that the two families did not interact much on the surface, in fact there was a private collusion.

During the reign of Emperor Napoleon, he has always used troops abroad, and in order to maintain the soldiers' enthusiasm for war, in addition to brainwashing with honor, the emperor also has a more direct means, that is, to indulge in the robbery of his troops.

From beginning to end of that era, the French Imperial Army was the largest robbery group in Europe. And Marshal Trevier led the army for many years, and accumulated a very considerable amount of trophies - of course, it could not be compared with those old marshals.

And these spoils of war need to be converted into cash through certain channels for the marshal to retire in his old age.

Baron Tangral, one of the main channels for Marshal Treville to digest the spoils of war (or to put it bluntly, sell the stolen goods), with the help of this banker, a large number of gems, paintings, securities, and even real estate that the marshal grabbed in his hands flowed into the market, and finally converted into clean cash, which flowed into the bank accounts of the Tréville family.

And, in order to build a good relationship with the Tréville family, the bankers also deliberately charged very low fees - almost every powerful family in the empire took similar benefits from Tangral Bank, and it is precisely because of this that Tangral Bank rose rapidly in the imperial era and rose all the way until it became a giant in the banking world.

Of course, this kind of thing is not visible, so the two families are secret, and almost never communicate with each other on the surface, and Charles has always pretended not to know the baron.

So, out of the relationship between the two families, when the baron asked the Count of Monte Cristo, Charles told the baron about his and his grandfather's speculation, as for the part of His Majesty the Emperor, of course, Charles could not say it explicitly, but could only give him a hint, but this was enough for the baron.

After figuring out what happened, Baron Tangral's nervousness suddenly disappeared, and he returned to his usual composure. As long as everything makes sense, there's nothing to be afraid of.

"So, the Count of Monte Cristo wants to splurge in Paris? I'm looking forward to seeing what new tricks he can do for his money, and I'm happy to deal with him. ”

"I'm looking forward to it, too." Charles nodded, "But I want to warn you, since he is an adventurer, then he is definitely not the kind of person who can be easily manipulated, you have to watch out for him, although this is France he does not dare to make a mistake, but who knows what such a person will do." ”

"I know, you don't have to worry, in fact, I've been dealing with this kind of person all my life, and I have a lot of experience dealing with him." The baron waved his hand nonchalantly, then stood up, "All right, Charles, by this time, my lady has already prepared lunch for us, I don't think you should mind eating with her, right?" ”

"It's an honor." Charles also stood up.

The two of them chatted as they walked into the dining room of the mansion.

At this time, there were already two people sitting at the table.

On the throne was a woman of beautiful countenance, Baroness Emina de Tangral. Although she is in her thirties, she lives up to her youth and beauty, but her well-maintained skin and well-maintained figure still make her exude mature charm, and she is a little more delicate when she talks to others with a smile, and she is indeed a beauty.

And sitting next to her and talking to her cordially was a tall and handsome young man, about twenty-six or seventeen years old, two people who had an intimate conversation, and in a trance people seemed to have a feeling that they were the hosts of the lunch.

This young man was Lucien de Bre, and he was of considerable origin, secretary to Prince Jérôme Bonaparte, Secretary of State for the Interior, and was also recognized as a promising star in the Government.

The two of them talked very happily, even if the man came over, there was no pause, obviously the relationship between the two of them was not ordinary.

Almost everyone knows that this young and promising secretary to the cabinet minister is the lover of Mrs. Tangral, and even the banker himself knows about it, but social circles are like this, as long as everyone pretends not to know, then no one knows.

When Charles walked into the dining room, the Baroness interrupted the conversation and looked at Charles with an exaggerated smile.

"Oh! You see, my friend, our young man is prettier again than last time! ”

This baroness was born in an aristocratic family, but because of her family's downfall, she finally had to marry a nouveau riche banker like Tangral, to be honest, in the upper class of the empire, she was not particularly popular, and it was for this reason that she was happy to have a good relationship with famous nobles, so her attitude changed when she saw Charles, and she was not as indifferent to her husband as she was.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Treville." Debray also looked at Charles kindly, as if he were an old friend, "It looks like you and the Baron have made some big deals?" Such a spring breeze. ”

"What business can be my turn? My grandfather couldn't have left things to me. Charles shrugged his shoulders in a dashing manner, dodging the question, and sat down in his seat. At my age, I can only run errands for everyone......"

At this time, Baron Tangral also took his place, the servants began to serve, and lunch officially began.

As a wealthy banker family, this lunch was of course very rich, but none of the four people present put their minds into the dishes, but each had their own thoughts.

"Charles, you've always been in the palace, and now you finally have a chance to come out and breathe, so let's have some fun." After eating for a while, the Baroness looked at Charles with a smile, "Now that spring is here, the city is full of balls and horse races, and we will also hold our own banquets, but everyone is waiting for you to come!" ”

"Cheer or something, you're going too far, in fact, I'm grateful that you're willing to give me an invitation." After taking a sip of wine, Charles calmly replied to the other party, "Please rest assured, I finally have a holiday this time, I will definitely breathe well, as long as there is any opportunity to have fun, I will not miss ......"

"That's great, we're waiting for you." The Baroness seemed very pleased, and then turned to look at her lover Lucien Debrey, "Lucien, you seem to be relatively leisurely during this time, why don't you take some time to spend with Charles and let him enjoy this holiday?" ”

"Of course I'd love to." Sven's young man immediately replied, "But I'm afraid I can't be the accompaniment worker, don't look at my age, but when it comes to eating, drinking, and having fun, I'm afraid Charles is better than me...... These noble children have also played since childhood. ”

"What's the point of ordinary entertainment?" At this time, Baron Tangral, who had not spoken, suddenly interjected, "If there are any interesting and interesting things, I'm afraid the police know best, after all, they deal with these things every day." ”

"Sir, although I am the secretary of the Secretary of State for the Home Minister, I do not have many opportunities to deal directly with the police, and I cannot control them." Debray replied to the banker unceremoniously, "I can only take charge of the day-to-day affairs of His Excellency the Chancellor...... So even if you do have any hobbies, I'm afraid I can't give much advice. ”

"I don't have any hobbies, I just want to socialize in a normal way." Charles hurriedly defended himself, "However, in my opinion, since His Excellency the Home Secretary is in charge of the police, then you, as his henchman, can naturally manage them, right?" ”

"I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy for us." Debray's smile seemed to have some bitterness in it, but it was fleeting, "I'm the secretary of His Royal Highness, that's all, don't think too much of me." Besides, His Royal Highness usually hates others using his name for personal gain, and I can't do that. ”

Charles didn't believe it.

His Excellency Prince Jérôme Bonaparte, the present Minister of the Interior, is the youngest brother of the Emperor Napoleon and the uncle of His Majesty the present Emperor.

At the height of his empire's glory, he was appointed King of Westphalia by Emperor Napoleon, but as a result, he managed the country with no success, only a sense of fun, and a bad reputation.

Later, when the empire was defeated in the war and the kingdom of Westphalia fell, he had to flee back to Paris and continue to be his own prince.

It stands to reason that such a person should not be entrusted with important tasks, but in order to maintain the status of the family and the rule of the empire, after the death of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, the regent queen mother can only continue to use these royal families, and Prince Jérôme-Bonaparte has also held important positions again and again, and now he has become the interior minister of the empire.

Although he is old, the prince's personality has not changed, he still likes to spend time drinking and recreational life, he almost doesn't care about the daily work of the ministry, and finally leaves it all to his henchmen to deal with, so as his secretary, Mr. Debrey's influence is not limited to a secretary position.

Not to mention abusing power for personal gain, even if his subordinates violate the law and discipline, this prince basically doesn't care.

It is for this reason that the great banker, Baron Tangral, has let his wife and Debray cheat, and he needs more friends.

As the lunch passed minute by minute in the midst of casual conversation, it was clear that Lucien Debray was deliberately trying to hold the charre, while his lover had been cooperating, and as for Baron Tangral, he seemed to be unaware of the situation, so he just let it go and basically did not interject.

A well-fed Charles prepares to leave, but just as he reaches the vestibule, Debray finally catches up with him.

"My friend." He whispered to Charles.

"Is there anything wrong with you?" Charles asked.

"Actually, I came here on purpose today, and I've been waiting for you for a long time," Debray's expression was a little nervous, "His Royal Highness has something he wants to know. ”

"Your Royal Highness wants to ask me?" Charles looked a little surprised, "I thought the Home Secretary should know everything. ”

"Outside the court, he can do that." Debray replied coldly, "It's different in the palace - my friend, let's be honest and honest, what do you need?" ”

"What do you need?" Charles asked rhetorically, his expression becoming serious.

If he sells the news of the court, then he needs to get the due remuneration, and he can't lose a penny.

Although this young man is not very old, he has a sophisticated mind, and he has always been able to weigh his own value, and he will never let himself suffer in trading.

"I heard that His Majesty is going to bring back the two families in Italy?" After a moment's hesitation, Debray asked in a seemingly nonchalant manner.

This is another secret that involves the Empire.

During the reign of Emperor Napoleon, his family also ascended to heaven and wore various crowns.

His eldest brother Joseph became king of Spain, his fourth brother Louis became king of the Netherlands, his younger brother Jérôme became king of Westphalia, and even his brother-in-law Murat became king of Naples.

However, none of these brothers gave him peace of mind, and they opposed him everywhere, especially Louis, after becoming the king of the Netherlands, actually directly opposed the emperor's continental blockade policy and devoted himself to doing business with England.

After a quarrel, the enraged emperor removed Louis from the king, and the prince was sent to Florence, Italy, where he was never forgiven even after the empire was rebuilt.

And he also had a younger brother, Lucien, who was the most capable and made great contributions when he seized power, but this Lucien opposed his brother's accession to the throne and became emperor, and at the same time rejected the title of prince.

After some arguments, the younger brother left the empire and went to live in Rome, Italy.

However, in 1815, Lucien ran back to France to regain support for his brother and help the emperor finally stabilize the empire.

It is for this reason that the emperor made a special will at the time of his death to let Lucien continue to assist his son and maintain the empire.

In the first few years of Napoleon II's accession to the throne, he served as the Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of the Empire, almost controlling the political power of the Empire, and competing with the Queen Regent.

As time passed, the rule of the empire became solidified, and this is when the prince's menace became apparent.

When Her Majesty the Emperor was about to get married, Her Majesty the Queen Mother used her last power to forcibly depose the powerful minister of the imperial family, and then forced the prince to leave France.

The prince eventually returned to Rome, where he settled with his children, where he died in 1840.

That is, at this moment, there are two branches of the Napoleonic family in Italy.

And now, His Majesty the Emperor intends to forgive the two princes for their past mistakes and bring them back.

When he did this, some people were naturally happy and some were worried.

Using the imperial family as a cover for centralizing power, and by the way, striking at the royal family that had gained power before, His Majesty the Emperor can be regarded as well-intentioned.

But it was Prince Jérôme's faction that suffered the most.

They had always considered themselves to be the most powerful members of the royal family, but if the descendants of these two princes returned to France, they would be greatly affected - and perhaps that was the purpose of His Majesty the Emperor.

With this in mind, the anxiety of the prince and his secretary is understandable.