On the day of the funeral, members of the mourning groups from Frankfurt, London, Vienna and Rome were all shocked by the scene of their uncle's funeral. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

The Paris Times reported: "The whole of Paris has come to pay their respects. The courtyard was full of people, both known and unrecognized, all slowly passing in front of this house. After the funeral ceremony began, the entire street was filled with onlookers...... It was a public funeral, and James Rothchild earned him this honor with his greatness and charisma, and the sympathy that it evoked benefited all the relatives of the Rothchild family. …… Never before had people seen this morning, so many people gathered on Lafayette Street,...... About 4,000 people walked through the studio, more than 6,000 were in the courtyard, and there were five long rows of bicycles on both sides of the road from Lafayette Avenue to Doupe La Chase (cemetery......"

The correspondent of the Paris Times was deeply moved by the scene: "By 10 o'clock, the rue Lafayette was already full of people from all over Paris, who had come to express their condolences to James's family. I have never seen anything like it in my memory, and the road leading from the corner of the street to the port of Saint-Denis was so crowded that it took a lot of effort on the part of many policemen to maintain a small passage. The funeral was attended by diplomatic envoys from various countries (including Ambassador Metternich of Austria), leaders of the Jewish community (including the three general rabbis), as well as representatives from the Banque de France, the Bourse and the Northern Company. In addition, there was a smaller group of bankers, such as Gerson Braischroeder and Sigman Warburg, who had travelled to Paris to pay their last respects to the "power of the great powers". Although the Rothchild family refused the opportunity to enjoy a military funeral because they did not want to receive the "Grand Cross of the Medal of Honor of the Cavalry Regiment", and although James's tombstone was only a simple inscription - the simple letter "R", James's funeral still made many people feel that "this is not an ordinary person's funeral, but more like the emperor's funeral".

The French Emperor Napoleon III did not attend James' funeral, but sent his chief of protocol, the not-so-famous Duke de Cambars. Other than that, no senior politicians have been seen. In addition, among the heads of state who sent messages of condolences were Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria; Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, and even the exiled royal family of Orleans (whose dynasty was usurped by Napoleon III), did so in order not to be forgotten by their contemporaries. As a cleverly worded obituary published in Controversy magazine put it, James represents "the kingship of the financial world." In the face of political kingship, the opposite is true, and he is always forced to find a way out of the whirlpool of recurring political strife and maintain prudent neutrality. Although no one can blame him for not always being very punctual in "paying Caesar what he deserves," he is "a citizen of the world, not just a specific country." There was a sarcasm to cover up under Bonaparte's regime - and it was close to the truth: James's attitude towards the Second Reich was indeed contradictory, if not hostile, until the end, which explains the incredible absence of politicians at his funeral.

James' death in many ways marked the end of an era. He was the last of the generation of the family to be born in the Frankfurt ghetto. Having succeeded his brother Nathan in 1836, he successfully steered his family company through the worst turmoil in its history in 1848, and he exerted influence on French foreign policy and European international relations in general for nearly 40 years. Although he accepted the Rothschild family's demand for greater autonomy over the London Bank, he largely stopped the divisions within the family due to impetuosity and conflicting interests.

But after this day in 1868, everything became unpredictable.

After the funeral, members of the Rothchild family from all over the country gathered at Ferryère Manor, and they all knew that it was a rare gathering - albeit informal, it would decide a lot of important things.

Sarah, who followed her father Nathan Jr. into the hall, quickly sensed the hostile gazes of the members of the German family, and couldn't help but be secretly vigilant in her heart.

From the moment she received the news of James's grandfather's death, she knew that an invisible war had begun.

Soon, at the round table in the hall, the heads of the various families were seated, while Sara and other female family members and other young juniors had no seats at all, so they could only stand at a distance and listen.

Sara saw her aunt Charlotte (James's daughter) and Helen (James's granddaughter) who were wiping her tears and gently comforting her, so she hurried to them, and when she saw Sara coming, Charlotte smiled at her and greeted her warmly.

"Long time no see, Sarah." Helen opened her arms and hugged her affectionately, "I miss you so much." She looked at Sara with tears in her blue eyes.

"Me too, dear Helen." Sara looked at her, caressing her red hair, and the corners of her eyes moistened.

She remembered the days when she was forced to be estranged from her good sisters since she married Chen Hong, and her heart was sour.

"I'm so happy for you when I heard you gave birth, hehe." Helen glanced around, noticed the strange stares of some people, sighed, and whispered in Sarah's ear, "Stay a minute, I hope they can say something to make us happy......

"Unlikely." Charlotte glanced at the family members from Germany and Italy and said to them both, "I only hope that no one will bring up a duel at my father's funeral." ”

Sara knew that her French aunt had felt the strong smell of gunpowder that permeated the hall.

"Dear Sarah, what about your Chinese husband? He didn't come with you? Charlotte leaned in close to Sara and asked softly, although there was no expression on her face (pretending to be for others to see), as if she was saying a routine polite word, but the concern in her voice made Sara feel a little warm.

After all, blood is thicker than water, and although Sara has done something that seems to be a big rebellion in the eyes of many family members, as women in the family, they have instinctive sympathy and understanding for Sarah's actions.

The political marriage of the big family has ruined the happiness of many female members of the family, and they are deeply aware of it as direct victims.

"He came with me, but at a moment like this, I think it's better for him not to show up." Sara sighed and said.

"You're doing the right thing." Charlotte nodded, her gaze falling on the floor, "I really admire you, Sarah. Did you see the people from Frankfurt, the look on their faces when they saw you, I guess someone will be looking for trouble for you in a while. ”

"Come on." Sara smiled.

At this time, James's son Alfonso began to read James's will, and the hall fell silent for a moment, except for Alfonso's grief-stricken and hoarse voice echoing in the hall.

“…… Never forget the mutual trust and fraternal harmony, which is the supreme relationship between my dear brothers and me, the source of happiness in those good times we had, and the spiritual refuge we have in difficult times. Brotherly solidarity, combined with our love for our work and hard work, has always been the source of our prosperity and public reputation. And the solidarity of brothers is the last wish of my most beloved and incomparable father, and it has always been the spiritual strength that sustains us and the protective shield that keeps us from harm. I hope that this wish will be restated by me here, so that each and every one of my children will be reverently engraved in their hearts as the most precious legacy of my loving love as a father......"

“…… Togetherness is secure, and I hope that each of my children will have enough wealth to run their own businesses and not have to go into dangerous business. I ask them not to leave their names in any matter that is offered to them so that their names can always be respected as they are now. I ask them not to put all their wealth on paper and to have as much liquid assets as possible so that they can be cashed out in a very short period of time......"

“…… Never abandon the sacred traditions of our forefathers, the most precious legacy I have left to you and that you have passed on to your children and grandchildren. God's will has given mankind faith in his lifetime. It is our first duty to obey this precept of destiny, and it is a sin to renounce faith. The God who loves your fathers, and serves him with your sincerity: may I throw myself into his bosom and watch over you from the heavens above, as I watched over you on earth. ”

Alfonso finished reading his father's last words, and tears flowed again.

"These last words are the most precious thing left to us by this venerable great man." Meyerkar von Rothschild stood up and said, "We will follow his guidance and move on." ”

Sara stared at Meyerkar, and she noticed that the way he spoke and the way he dressed was already faintly Prussian aristocratic style.

――――Dividing Line――――

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