In the middle of the night, most of the guests invited by Mademoiselle de Périette were dispersed, except for a few guests who were of this lady's liking, who were left behind, and then walked together to her delicate little drawing-room. In a sense, this is when the whole salon really begins.

Louis Bonaparte took his leave contentedly after the momentum had almost achieved its effect, he still had a lot of important things to do, and had little interest in accompanying these literati to talk about the world, while Charles and Victor Hugo were kept by their enthusiastic hosts.

The servants served delicate snacks and fruits and vegetables at the right time, and everyone was in a state of physical exhaustion after they had eaten and drunk enough. And it is this physical burnout that brings spiritual clarity, and at this time everyone is quick and witty, and naturally can get that kind of spiritual pleasure.

"Young man, you should introduce yourself this time." Victor Hugo looked at Charles carefully and asked with a smile, "I have been hiding from you and Mademoiselle de Périette for a long time, so it's time to tell me the truth?" ”

"You don't blame me about this, sir." Miss Blue Stockings replied with a smile, "He specifically asked me to hide his identity, I can't be untrustworthy, right?" ”

"So, there's no need to keep it hidden, right? Mr? Victor Hugo continued to look at Charles.

Seeing that he could no longer be perfunctory, Charles stood up, and then solemnly bowed to the other party.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I did hide something from you, but given my situation. Of course you will understand my painstaking efforts. He paused, then lowered his voice, "My name is Charles de Treville." He was the grandson of the Marquis de Treville. ”

As soon as he heard this, Hugo was as he expected, and was greatly moved. However, he soon regained his composure.

"I didn't expect you to be a member of the de Treville family! No wonder you were so unconcerned about my previous proposal! Yes, if you want to be motivated, you can naturally find someone who is much more powerful than me as a helper. ”

Victor Hugo, sitting on the sofa, looked at Charles. let out a sigh of surprise or regret. "But I really didn't expect that you were a supporter of the Bonapartes! But, yes. The Marquis de Treville has always been a supporter of the Bonaparte family, and it is only natural that you choose to follow the political position of your elders...... Hey, it seems that you really have no interest in developing in the literary world, which is a pity. ”

Charles just smiled. Then he replied very seriously. "I support Monsieur Bonaparte, not just because I follow my elders, but because I share his political ideas. I believe that under his leadership, France will prosper. ”

"I don't see that you are still so concerned with the affairs of state," nodded Victor Hugo, "but from the ideas that Monsieur Louis Bonaparte has just mentioned. He's a lot more talented than I thought, so I hope his dream comes true......"

"His dream will definitely come true. To save the country, we must help him succeed. Charles replied in a firm tone.

It's just that the dreams of the future Napoleon III are certainly not those imagined by Hugo and others. It was not until they were exiled by Louis Bonaparte that they woke up from their dreams, but by then it was too late.

"It's just that there are a lot of difficulties ahead of us right now......" Charles sighed softly, as if with a little melancholy, "although we can certainly overcome these difficulties, they can cause us a lot of trouble. ”

"What do you mean?" Victor Hugo asked quietly.

"You must know the truth, don't you? General Kafenjak, and his allies, are planning to put forward a bill recently......" Charles said, casually staring at the other man's expression, "They want to cancel the popular suffrage in a future presidential election so that they can be elected president." ”

After hearing this, Victor Hugo really frowned.

"Have you even heard? There is indeed this rumor. After a moment of silence, he nodded, indicating that he also knew the news.

Then, he looked at Charles with a determined gaze, "However, I am firmly against this proposal. The French Republic, of course, should say goodbye to its past, which was full of carnage and blood sacrifices, and its head of state, should also be elected by all his eligible citizens, otherwise would the republic still have any meaning to us? Hugo replied with an unquestionable firmness, "I am categorically opposed to any attempt to take back universal suffrage from the people." That brutal general Kafenjak, who bloodily suppressed the workers, of course he was too weak to compete fairly with the others in the national elections, he wanted to play tricks, but we will not let him succeed! ”

Hearing Victor Hugo's firm answer, Charles and Mademoiselle d'Périette exchanged a secret look, and the corners of the young lady's mouth turned up slightly, and a smile was formed, but it quickly disappeared.

Charles knew that Hugo would of course answer like this, and at this moment, he would never have imagined that the person who ascended to the presidency through the first popular election in the history of France would be a careerist who wanted to restore the imperial system by any means, what a great irony in history!

After receiving Hugo's assurance, Monsieur Louis-Bonaparte should have been reassured, Charles thought to himself. As long as it was a popular election, Louis Bonaparte, who was clean and liked by all classes, was absolutely certain that he would be able to win the election – and indeed it has been historical.

After getting the desired result, Charles and the others stopped talking about these political topics, and began to chat again.

"The British made a big mistake by choosing to knock on the door of the Qing country by forcibly knocking on the door with guns, which would make a proud and highly civilized people forever indignant," after a long talk. Victor Hugo sighed quietly, "And this mistake, the French should not have made." We should deal with them in a peaceful and equal manner. We should help the countries of the East to civilize, and let them likewise embark on the path of modernity, and once they are on the track of civilization, their thirst for industry and capital will be unique in the history of mankind, and their needs will not only benefit themselves, but will also be of great benefit to the industrial and commercial development of our country itself, and we can benefit from their evolving needs. ”

"Sir...... Pardon me. Your words are very reasonable, but they are difficult. Charles retorted softly.

"Huh?"

"Your proposal looks beautiful, but it's hard to get a response. You feel that it is in everyone's interest to develop industrial commerce. While this is true, the rulers of that country do not think so. Charles calmly recounted his opinion, "Who are the rulers of that country?" As you may know, they are the descendants of a group of conquerors whose ancestors conquered this vast land and its people two hundred years ago. So. Their interest lies in maintaining the rule of their own minority group. Instead of developing national power, they feared that their rule would be overthrown by the majority of the ruled nation after its strength had developed. ”

"In addition, this ancient civilization is more conservative than you can imagine. Their social and cultural elites did not consider industry to be good for them, but only wanted everything to remain the old and static agrarian society, to bind their country with outdated order and cumbersome rituals, and preferably nothing to change...... Two thousand years ago, an old man's tireless moral maxim was put on the altar by them, but the really important things were thrown aside. It's as if moral maxims can be turned into guns. Despite the astonishing industriousness of this nation, there were countless amazing inventions and creations in ancient times. But now their superstructure is rotten and useless. ”

China's first commercial railway, the Wusong Railway, was built by the British in 1874 (at that time the Western industrial powers already owned tens of thousands of kilometers of railways). However, because of the high opposition, it was bought by the Manchu government at that time for 285,000 taels of silver, and then directly dismantled, and the rails were thrown into the sea.

"Therefore, if we don't find a way to smash the Tatar clique and the old system and ideas that have become obsolete, the Qing Kingdom will not change anything at all, and there will be no way to talk about the development of industry and commerce." Finally, Charles made his conclusion, and then thoughtfully repeated again, "Yes, those things must be destroyed for this civilization to be reborn." ”

"Ha, I really didn't expect you, do you know so much about the East?" After thinking for a moment, Victor Hugo felt that there was some truth in what Charles had said, and at the same time he was amazed at the breadth of the young man's knowledge, "It's unimaginable! ”

"It's just a personal opinion." Charles smiled humbly.

………………

Before you know it, it's late at night.

"So, what do you plan to do in the future?" Hugo continued to look at Charles, his eyes full of curiosity. "Do you want to do business?"

"You're mistaking him." After hearing the words of Monsieur Victor Hugo, a former member of the French House of Nobles, Mademoiselle de Périette, who had been listening quietly beside her, replied with a smile, still holding a fan in her hand and playing with it gently, looking at Charles with a slightly narrow smile on her face. "This young man of ours is very ambitious! He is really not interested in being famous in the literary world, but he is extremely eager to get ahead......"

"Miss, you're exaggerating, it's not as serious as you say." Charles picked up a cup of coffee and took a sip gently. "However, I do think I should serve the country somewhere else, not on paper."

"Serving the country?" After hearing this, Victor Hugo was not surprised, "Do you also think about the development of politics?" Or is it business? ”

"Maybe it's both." Charles replied with a smile in the same way. "Who knows what the future holds?"

"No wonder, no wonder." Hugo nodded slightly, as if he understood something, "I finally understand what you behaved when I saw you that day...... What an interesting young man, Mr. Treville. ”

Then, he pulled out his pocket watch, "Oh, it's all this time......"

Then he pulled one of his business cards out of his pocket and handed it to Charles, "I'm sorry, Mr. Treville, it's late in the day, and I can't continue to talk to you." Let's talk another day, this is my business card, you can always come and sit with me when you have time in the future......"

Then, he suddenly smiled.

"Young man, I have a feeling that you will have a bright future in the future. I very much look forward to working with you under the leadership of President Louis-Bonaparte, and I hope that I will be able to give you some help then. ”

"Thank you for your compliment." Charles also quickly stood up and took his business card.

Although he was destined for exile, he remained, at least, a valued ally of Louis Bonaparte. (To be continued......)