France, near Paris, Château Ferrier. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

James Rothchild was lying in his chair as his son Alfonso read a letter to him.

“…… I am very satisfied that the price of Spanish government bonds is stable, because I see that the ministers are willing to resolve the incident peacefully, and I hope that things will return to normal. The king wants peace...... I knew that Bismarck wanted to act in such troubles, but the king was so adamant that he never spoke of the incident again; Even if Britain intervenes, there will still be no conflict, Spain's strength is still too weak to make any big waves, and France sees this before it dares to act with confidence. Whatever they say, everyone wants peace, and we are nervously awaiting news from Spain, where we have no idea what is going on. ”

"Now we can be a little more relieved, although everything seems to have calmed down again, but it's still hard to say how things will play out tonight, hopefully we can take a breather. The situation in Spain is not too bad. Dear Alfonso, I beg you to know at once if France decides to intervene in the affairs of Spain; Because such an action would cause chaos in the bond market, the military secretary told me yesterday that if such a situation happens, the situation will become very serious. Such an incident could have a series of serious consequences. ”

"Rumors of tensions between France and Prussia affected the entire stock market, and the market plummeted. I was with the 'old man' tonight, and he said: 'Who will trust France in the future, France is always capricious.' Then I went to visit Marshal Long, and he said to me: 'Rothschild, I believe that your brother has always been misled in Paris, for the king and his ministers never keep their promises, and they go back and forth and go back and forth. The letters from Austria and Russia were courteous and did not want the outbreak of war; The French, however, were inclined to wage war......

"They kept playing tricks until they were ready to declare war. I have always believed that peace is only possible unless these people bite each other at each other in their own countries, and each of them comes down from the throne of power and no longer has any influence. Unless France is willing to back down ......"

Alfonso finished reading the letter and glanced carefully at his old father in the chaise long.

"Is Meyer Carr crazy? ......," James muttered, "why do you have to go to war......

"We can't accept such a war." "Even if it costs us thousands of dollars, we should stop him." ”

"He hoped that the world should at least realize what a united Germany was...... "Rothchild Sr. sighed, "but he himself did not recognize what the unified Germany of Prussia was......"

"If war does break out, you will find that our family will sadly have to be placed in two hostile camps." "This will divide our family. We will be enemies with our brothers. ”

"It's a disaster...... "Tears welled up in James' dry, sunken eyes.

"I feel that you should write a letter to Meyer Carr with the necessary warning to him." Alfonso suggested.

The old man wept silently, looking so helpless for the first time, if an outsider was present to see this scene, he would hardly believe that this old man with tears was the famous James Rothschild, the only surviving figure of the second generation of Rothschild.

"We did everything we could to prevent the outbreak of the war in 1866, but we failed, and it was very costly. The war between France and Prussia was much more terrible than the war between Austria and Prussia. "It's going to have a hard time getting its consequences and impact, so we'd better keep it in the bud before it happens." ”

"You're right......" the old man nodded laboriously, "let me warn him......

Alfon asked for quills, letterhead, and ink, and James began to dictate the letter to Meyercar.

“…… I do not believe that France would ever consider provoking a war, which would be inconsistent with its interests. Nevertheless, I think that the pride of the French should be taken care of, so that they will not be tempted to take any military action, and thus the tensions within their own country and their differences with other countries should be settled once and for all. Would it not be a good idea to invite France to a conference aimed at resolving the Spanish question? …… If France were to become an integral part of the conference - it seems to me that the heads of its country would have declared to the people that France had once again been warmly accepted by the European community - and that they would no longer have any reason to expand their armies, and that the situation would remain at peace for a long time. ”

"Please convey my intention to the Prime Minister at the right time. If he had agreed with my proposal, he would probably have done so - and I am sure it would have yielded satisfactory results. ”

“…… How wise is the Prime Minister, how can he fail to see the situation? If you want me to say that if he proposes peace, he will be approved by the French. The people here did not want war, they did not want to squander the wealth of the country, but the situation might have been different if Prussia had taken a hard line and put pressure on France, which would have seen it as a deliberate provocation with terrible consequences. After all, the war is not over in a day or two, and perhaps even the emperor himself feels that he is more than capable of strength......"

"Anyway, just rest assured. In addition, please assure the Prime Minister on my behalf that I have explained to him everything that has happened here without concealment. Because I know very well that this is my responsibility......"

Old James's voice died out suddenly, and Alfonso noticed his father's head hanging down and his eyes closed, as if he had fallen asleep from sleepiness. Alfonso sensed that something was wrong and hurried forward, and when his hand was on his father's shoulder, his father's body suddenly deflected and fell on his arm.

The great James Rothchild had stopped breathing.

Alfonso stared blankly at his father, and for a moment tears welled up in tears, unable to cry.

On November 15, 1868, at the age of 76, the last of Mayer Rothchild's five sons died.

During his lifetime, James was plagued by illnesses from time to time - he complained most of "eye pain" - but until the last year of his life, he showed a rare vigour. In February 1867, he also spoke of "wanting to retire" and told his sons (in the same way as he regained his Napoleonic youthful energy): "If you want to retire from the battlefield, you must leave all the rights imaginable to the generals." "However, that never happened. In April 1868, his energy began to fail. In the letter, his nephew Ferdinand said: "Uncle James is in very bad health, he rarely goes to the company, and he spends most of the day at home in his chair. "But even in James' last days, he kept those younger relatives in awe." He always rebuked me very seriously, saying that I didn't write to him. Ferdinand added with trepidation: "But until now, I can proudly say that he has not been angry with me. "When the crisis came, James kept his situation informed his loved ones, which was very impressive." The excruciating pain made me feel terrible. In early October, he complained, "My eyesight is terrible, I'm very uncomfortable." However, until 31 October, despite being bedridden, he dictated a letter to his son Edmond about the Spanish loan. On Nov. 3, despite the fact that a "really unusual" number of gallstones had just been expelled, and when Alfonso had decided that "it was becoming increasingly difficult to talk to him seriously about business matters," James issued his last recorded directive: sell the Treasury bonds. Like his older brother Nathan Sr. - in fact, the two men were very similar in their merchant traits - James' life ended with a short sale.

For James' sons, their world was like a sudden loss of heart; For his nephews, the no longer seeing James' letter marked the end of an era that had lasted for a long time. Because they all have gained hard-won "autonomy" - the "baron" has always been the head of the family. "It's comforting to see all the people grieving – adults and children, the old and the young." Alfonso wrote, "There is no one more popular and qualified than our father, who is so extraordinary." He added joy and easy-going to the rarest and most precious spiritual qualities in all the social occasions in which he appeared, which won the hearts of all and bound them to him forever. He left us still full of ...... A vigorous spirit, enjoying the joy of his abilities, surrounded by respect, fraternity, and, I deeply believe, widespread praise. ”

James' funeral, scheduled for November 18, became in fact a major event in French public life and a watershed in the history of the Rothchild family. The members of the Rothchild family could not have imagined what the future would hold for them from this day on.

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