"Now, we have Mr. Victor Hugo, as the chairman, to address this conference!"

"Hugo!"

"Hugo"

After the host said the name, the audience burst into warm applause and cheers, and everyone shouted the name of the famous writer. Charles, dressed in a well-cut black coat, blended into the crowd and applauded enthusiastically.

Today, August 21, 1849, is the Second World Peace Congress, a gathering of pacifists from all over the world who are "liberal-minded." Unlike the others, Charles was invited by Victor Hugo.

In the midst of all the attention, Victor Hugo, who was also dressed very formally, walked onto the podium.

He stared at the crowd before speaking.

"Gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to have the honour of speaking on behalf of you from this glorious rostrum.

Since it is called the World Peace Conference, it is needless to say that it is a gathering place for a group of people who are worried about world peace.

Yes, we should be worried.

Because. Unfortunately, we still see little prospect of peace in Europe today. Europe is still in flames, the Sultan's artillery has just hit the Balkans, and the iron hooves of the Cossacks have made Eastern Europe groan. Led by a group of unscrupulous thugs, armies have destroyed the peaceful life of various ethnic groups and made peace unattainable.

However, such a fight. What is the meaning of the world other than ruining and destroying, other than to make the Grim Reaper harvest souls more joyfully? We were able to see. How unwise is it that under the fence of the state, various nations that have become brothers because they are brothers fight each other?

Yet, in spite of all these worries, I am convinced of the ultimate peace in the world, for I see you. We all come from the various countries of the Big 6. Some have even traveled as far away as the Americas, and they have come together for a common noble goal. And willing to contribute their own efforts to this goal. After seeing you, I can't help but feel full of confidence in the future of world peace.

Here, I have reason to believe that within a century. There will be a day. You France, you Russia, you Italy, you England, you Germany, every country on your Big 6, you will not lose your different qualities, you will not lose your glorious personality. And tightly form a higher unity, and you will form brothers and sisters in Europe.

The Europeans will join forces. Unite and work together for tomorrow, and create infinite wealth for the progress of mankind. And one day, you will see that on both sides of the Atlantic, there will be two giant organizations - the United States of America and the United States of Europe, who will join hands to maintain and defend world peace and justice, and they will make an indelible contribution to the prosperity and well-being of mankind!

As a member of the French National Assembly, I will continue to fight for the achievement of this goal. ”

There was another stormy cheer, and it was clear that Victor Hugo's words were very appetizing to the attendees.

"No, you are not right, sir. In a century, France and Germany fought three wars, and two all-out wars broke out in Europe, with tens of millions of dead and rivers of blood...... "Charles certainly did not utter such a terrible remark, he just applauded enthusiastically, as if he really agreed with the other party's opinion.

"Now, shall we give the floor to Monsieur de Treville, Secretary of State of the French Ministry of Railways?" Just when Charles was feeling a little bored, he suddenly heard this sentence from the podium.

He felt a little incredulous, and subconsciously looked towards the stage, but happened to meet Victor Hugo's gaze. The other man nodded at him with a smile, as if he was smug about the surprise he had given Charles.

Belch...... What does that mean?

"Who is this Trevier? Never heard of it. ”

"Secretary of State, that sounds amazing......"

Everyone exchanged heads and ears, apparently a little caught off guard by Hugo's sudden hand. Then, his eyes slowly focused on Charles, who Hugo was looking at.

"Monsieur de Treville, please take the stage and don't waste your time." Hugo urged again.

Well, it seems that there is no way to avoid it. He was going to ask me to talk about the scene and give the conference a strong momentum.

Charles left behind the embarrassment in his heart and slowly walked onto the podium.

Along the way, there were occasional exclamations, and it was clear that few people could believe that a secretary of state could be so young.

What the hell should I say? Charles ignored their gaze, pondering the question in his mind. Because of Hugo's sudden invitation, he didn't have time to prepare the manuscript in advance, and this "surprise" was a bit big......

"Hello everyone, I am Charles de Treville, currently Secretary of State at the Ministry of Railways. It is an honour for me to be invited by the President to speak from such an important forum. ”

Charles opened with this sentence.

Then, after a pause, he continued.

"As Mr. Hugo said, Europe today is not at peace, and there is turmoil everywhere. Of course, it is precisely because of this that everyone can feel the preciousness of peace even more.

However...... Obviously, at a time when European countries have close to 20,000 standing armies in normal times, if we want to achieve peace, we will need to make more arduous efforts than we imagined, and even take all kinds of terrible risks. ”

How can I continue to make them happy? Charles pondered this question secretly,

However, he couldn't think of an answer.

Forget it, according to what he thinks, he has a horizontal heart.

"Peace is a good word, especially in this country, after centuries of bloodshed, and each of us knows that it is not easy to come by." Charles didn't look at the people in the audience. Then he said to himself, "It is precisely because of so much bloody rain that we can understand." Peace can only come to the world if the forces of the European nations reach some equilibrium. And to break the balance means to break the peace, which is the same thing...... Yes, a reasonable system will bring peace, and we welcome it! ”

Victor Hugo's face grew ugly, but Charles didn't notice it at all. Instead, they continued to talk eloquently.

"A reasonable system can bring peace, but an unreasonable system certainly cannot. The current European system, we see with some unease. It was already crumbling, and it was becoming less and less able to maintain its balance.

Why? We have already seen that Austria is almost dying under the tide of revolution. And Russia crossed its borders. The power of the tsars was unscrupulously displayed throughout Eastern Europe. Under this form, can we call it balance? No, absolutely not! The balance has collapsed, so the peace is gone.

So, is this current system fair elsewhere? No, absolutely not. For a sad and outdated historical factor, our country is disproportionately low in this system. It's so low that it's almost unwilling to maintain the system. Is this situation reasonable? Shouldn't this powerful country, this prosperous nation, be in a position of superiority? Isn't she qualified to ask for a more reasonable system? I'm sure she does!

So, in my opinion. The path to peace in Europe is simple: put France in the privilege she deserves, and then let her help restore the crumbling system of the Big 6 in Europe, and bring balance and peace back to Europe! ”

Charles stopped, but there was no applause, and everyone looked at him as if they were watching a stranger descending from the sky.

Even Hugo looked at Charles with displeasure, as if he was very dissatisfied with his words.

"Do you mean that France will only be willing to help Europe achieve peace if she can dictate to her neighbors, as she has done in the past?" A cross-examination came from the audience.

Of course I mean that, Charles replied in his heart.

"Of course I didn't mean that," Charles shook his head slightly, "I'm just saying that peace requires a system, and the maintenance of the system requires enough effort from the great powers. France, as a great power, deserves a position that she deserves, and then it is up to her, and the other powers, to keep the peace......"

Charles ignored their gaze and continued to talk.

"Peace can only come from the power of order, and only when every big country maintains a balance in a system can small countries live in peace and maintain peace. Once the system is disrupted and the balance is lost, then the position of the small country will also be in jeopardy. So, in order to maintain peace, we should strive to maintain some kind of balance of power in Europe, and this principle is common in the world, and it is also true in Asia. At the same time, maintain the ability to quickly re-establish a new balance of power if the balance of power is unfortunately upset...... This will require the efforts of the major Powers and an effective international mechanism......"

"So you support the peace that the great powers do whatever they want in Europe and then they divide the spoils? A peace that keeps Europe at the risk of a war with a standing army of millions at any time? "The questioning voices from the audience are still unrelenting." A peace that has gone into the garbage heap with the Holy Alliance? ”

"Of course, every country is not equal, and where the big countries pass, the small countries should naturally be discouraged, is there anything wrong?" Charles replied as a matter of course, "The idea that a large country should have a greater obligation to maintain peace, but can only enjoy the same benefits as a small country, is obviously naïve and unworkable!" Even extremely dangerous! From this point of view, the Holy Alliance, while outdated, can retain some of its spirit, if it respects France sufficiently......"

Even the United Nations has given some countries the right of veto. Charles won't say that again.

As expected, there were bursts of boos from the audience.

"Bunch of gibberish!"

"It's unbelievable that such a person can give a speech on stage!"

"Let him come down!"

"This is just my personal opinion, of course you can disagree." Charles kept his composure in the midst of the noise. He smiled and bowed slightly, then stepped off the podium.

This is not surprising, among a crowd of people who shout such nice but meaningless slogans as "peace", "progress" and "prosperity". It is obviously not a wise move to preach such meaningful terms as "balance of power", "order", "balance" and "great power".

But Charles didn't bother to bother with that much. What can they do with themselves anyway?

There is only one thing to worry about......

"Charles, how can you say that? It's too aggressive, isn't it? In the lounge, Victor Hugo took a sip of his coffee and looked at Charles with great displeasure, "In this case, you are not in Parliament. It's not at a government meeting, how can it be said so aggressively? Moreover, you understand peace too narrowly. Peace is a cause that everyone should pursue seriously. And not the gift of some great powers in their spare time. ”

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just didn't have a draft ready in a hurry, so I just rambled." Charles whispered an apology. Then I drank a cup of coffee myself. "If you have time to prepare, or if you tell me beforehand, I might have a lot to say......"

"Forget it, I wouldn't have let you go on stage if I knew I wouldn't have let you go on stage." Hugo sighed and shook his head, finally revealing the matter. "I was going to make you show your face on such an occasion, but you messed up yourself, it's ......"

He was not particularly disgusted by the views that Charles had previously made - even Victor Hugo, a self-proclaimed cosmopolitan and humanist, was immune to the abuse of Chinese nationalism. Naturally, he also supported some of Charles's views, hating the current European order under the Vienna system, which was unfavorable to France.

"It's fine. I don't particularly care about this reputation. Charles shook his head.

"Even if you don't care, there's no need to be like this, right?" Hugo shook his head helplessly, a little dissatisfied with this junior's expression, "The atmosphere was so good, but it turned out that your call made the peace conference seem to be full of resentment and murderous, and those who don't know think like you think too!" ”

In that case, wouldn't it be nice not to let me say no in the first place? A hint of displeasure flashed through Charles's heart.

"Forget it, it's all in the past anyway, and there are naturally newspapers that criticize you, and I don't need to do it for you," Hugo took another sip of coffee. "So, what the hell are you looking for me?"

"There's nothing important either." Charles replied calmly, "I just wanted to discuss something with you." ”

"What's the matter?" Seeing that Charles's expression was so calm, Hugo asked casually.

"It's really nothing." Charles smiled slightly, then continued calmly. "Mr. Bonaparte is very dissatisfied with the work of Prime Minister Barrow, and he intends to remove His Excellency Prime Minister from his post soon after."

"Bang." Hugo's cup slammed down on the table, and he looked straight at Charles. Obviously, this matter was not intended to be as trivial as Charles had deliberately tried to understate.

Hugo paused for a moment before accepting the message, and then his eyes suddenly became rather uneasy.

"Did he really decide that?"

"Yes, and it's a decision that can't be changed." Charles nodded.

"Why?" Hugo couldn't keep his composure anymore and raised his voice slightly.

"Why can't you do that?" Charles replied slowly, "Don't you see? Mr. Barrow's Cabinet was not very efficient, and it was always disrespectful to the President, and it was not able to carry out the will of the National Assembly well......"

"So why did you have to make this decision so suddenly?" Hugo asked rhetorically, "The council doesn't know. ”

"The council has adjourned." Charles spread his hands helplessly, "When the parliament resumes, they will know the ...... of this news"

"I'm afraid that Monsieur Bonaparte deliberately wanted to take advantage of the adjournment of the Parliament to purge Mr. Barrow?" Hugo sneered, "Don't talk as if it's a coincidence. ”

While he was indeed dissatisfied with Prime Minister Barrow, he was even less sympathetic to Louis Bonaparte's self-directed approach.

"Well, you can say that." Charles nodded dryly, "Now that the Party of Order has a dominant position in the Parliament, who knows how long it will be to quarrel if it is resorted to the Parliament?" So it's just a matter of doing this......"

"Then after the adjournment, won't the orderists still be hysterical?" Hugo asked rhetorically.

"Not really," Charles shook his head slightly, "because Mr. President intends to continue to appoint a member of the Order Party as Prime Minister...... At that time, they are afraid that they will quarrel and have no time to pursue Mr. President. ”

Hugo frowned again, clearly still disagreeing with Louis Bonaparte's approach.

"I just want to ask you today if you can speak in parliament and support Mr. President's decision......

"I can't." Hugo directly rejected Charles's request, "Charles, I won't do this. ”

"Why?"

"Why? Does this need to be said? Hugo laughed, "Charles, aren't you there?" Louis Bonaparte was completely different from what he had previously appeared, and beneath the surface of kindness and generosity, this man had boundless ambition and a desire for power...... We can't let him do whatever he wants in this country, it's too dangerous. If we indulge his wayward nonsense, then sooner or later, the people of this country will have to bow down to this man and shout long live the emperor! Can you accept that? ”

"In other words, you are against this mention of mine?" Charles did not answer his question directly.

"Of course!" Hugo replied directly, and then he asked Charles, "So, are you going to submit unconditionally to this man?" Did I think highly of you before? Are you just willing to be a faithful servant? ”

His question led to a moment of silence.

It seemed that there was nothing more to say than that, and Charles sighed inwardly, feeling a little lost in his heart.

He only wanted to try this and try to avoid the break between Victor Hugo and Louis Bonaparte, and as a result, from now on, it was impossible - not even the lightest could be accepted, and the heavier one was simply impossible.

Victor Hugo had a vague sense of what Louis Bonaparte, whom he once supported, wanted, and he embarked on the path he seemed destined to take - an unwavering opposition to the future Emperor Napoleon III.

And Charles's efforts seem completely impossible to achieve.

Forget it, it's nothing. He thought to himself.

Everyone has their own personality and then faces their own destiny according to their own personality, and sometimes this cannot be changed by force.

There is no need to force changes, just let these things happen according to the original track.

"Well," he put aside his coffee and smiled again, "since you can't accept my advice, then I don't say anything, I'm just mentioning it casually, not respecting anyone's will, please don't take it too seriously." (To be continued......)

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