Chapter 7: First Encounter with François
The steam train was not very fast, and Alfonso left early in the morning and arrived in Paris at about 10 a.m. the next day.
The "click, click" train gradually slowed down, and the steam "whining" sound that could be heard clearly even in the luxury carriage finally stopped.
Alfonso's injuries had completely healed, and when he walked out of the luxury car with two entourages, he instantly attracted the attention of the people around him.
Exquisitely dressed and handsome, at first glance, he is the young master of a great aristocratic family.
"Let's go to the Arc de Triomphe first, and then go to Napoleon." He turned to Dias and Domingo behind him.
The two of them were Diego's carefully selected guards, and even in the Guard, they were considered strong in martial arts, and most importantly, they were young, one was 22 and the other was 24.
Originally, according to Isabella's idea, he was going to arrange a large number of people for him, but he strongly refused.
The reason is that the king will arrange a maid, and his own force value is also super strong, so he can carry a bag with two guards, but Isabella reluctantly agrees.
Telegraph lines were already being laid on a large scale in this era, but the cable from Biarritz to Paris was under construction, so Napoleon did not know for the time being that they were coming.
Before he could take a few steps, Alfonso had to stand on his feet, because behind him, Dias was entangled in a newsboy.
"Sir, buy a copy, this Paris tourist brochure will surely help you! And this, the Paris Passionate Ladies Album, you see how enthusiastic they are, and new men in Paris can't help but have a copy! And this ......"
Díaz was already sweating profusely, and he also knew French, so he naturally understood that he had encountered a rogue salesman.
He pushed the newsboy several times but failed to push the other party away, and in the face of a child, he couldn't really do anything to the other party.
At this time, seeing that His Royal Highness the Prince had stopped to watch, his heart was even more embarrassed, and he finally had to compromise: "But I have neither francs nor raw dings (franc coins)." ”
Actually, he did, and they exchanged a lot of money in the small town of Biarritz.
Seeing that the goal was achieved, the newsboy smiled: "We also provide currency exchange services. ”
In Dias's stunned gaze, he beckoned into the distance, and a middle-aged man wearing a two-cornered hat and a black coat ran over.
The man bowed to everyone first, "Sorry, gentlemen, for the interruption. Then he opened his coat, which was full of sewn pockets.
Pockets are full of loose raw food and currencies from various countries.
"Peseta of Spain", "Shillings and Pennies of England", "Mark and Finney of Germany", Alfonso even saw one of the oceans from the United States.
At this time, Dias couldn't admit that he was lying, so he had to take out a few pesetas and exchange them with the other party.
Alfonso silently calculated in his heart, but the other party did not cheat people in this regard, and the official exchange rate was consistent.
"So what are you going to buy?" He became interested, came closer, and asked as he flipped through the stacks of albums and newspapers in the newsboy's arms.
Dias didn't hesitate any longer, pulled out the "Lady of Passion Album" and said, "I want this." ”
Alfonso smiled dumbly, no wonder Dias didn't resist too much, it is estimated that he himself is quite interested in this.
In his previous life, he knew from reading the history of entertainment that under Napoleon, the wandering warbler was legalized, and he had to undergo a physical examination every two weeks, but there was no danger.
"The main clients of these people are nobles, merchants, and lawyers, so you can take it easy." Alfonso couldn't help but say that the salary of the Guards is not low, but it is not a high-income group.
"Hmm... I'll pay attention, no, I'll just see. Dias blushed and whispered in defense.
Europeans are indeed more open to this aspect, but the 11-year-old boss is still a little stressed when he sees himself buying this kind of book.
Alfonso was noncommittal, and turned to stop the duo who were about to leave after finishing their business, "Don't go, I'll hire this newsboy for a day." ”
“?” The newspaper duo was full of doubts in their hearts, they knew that they were very annoying, and they had always sold a copy and left, but today someone actually took the initiative to stop them.
"All three of us are in Paris for the first time, so show us around and give me a copy of The Times." Alfonso said lightly.
The duo looked at each other, and the newsboy turned sideways and nodded to Alfonso.
"Yes, but this young master, I need a day... Well... 6 francs! He stuck out his finger and gestured with a "six", then waited a little apprehensively for Alfonso's reply.
Alfonso was happy in his heart, the other party was wronging him, in this era, an adult working in a carton factory for 14 hours was only 4 francs, and it had to be the highest-paid carton factory in Paris.
"No, 4 francs is a maximum, and I can tip you extra if you behave well." He shook his head, although he was rich, he didn't want to be slaughtered as a fool.
"Yes, sir, I belong to you for this day." When the newsboy saw Alfonso's counteroffer, he knew that the other party was not the kind of stupid son of the landlord's family, and he accepted it decisively without saying anything, knowing that his salary as a newsboy was much lower than that of the lowest worker, and that he had a fixed income of 15 centimes (0.15 francs) a day, and that the money from selling the newspaper was someone else's.
The newsboy gave everything else to the man, leaving only a newspaper for Alfonso.
Alfonso shook off the newspaper and read it as he and the three walked out of the station.
The Paris Times was mostly entertainment news, but he still saw a piece of news related to him in an inconspicuous place that deserved attention: "The Spanish cabinet is interested in finding a new king".
"Hah, these guys." Although Alfonso knew the direction of history, he was inevitably a little unhappy.
This was the trigger for the Franco-Prussian War, and next year, the Spanish cabinet plans to welcome Prince Leopold of the House of Hohenzollern as king.
France, of course, was not happy when it learned of this, and sternly warned William I of Prussia not to get his hands on the Spanish throne.
In 1866, when Prussia had beaten the mighty Austrian Empire and seized the leadership of Germany in just seven weeks, how could it listen to France?
The two fought without saying a word, and the results are known to everyone, Germany was established, the Second French Empire collapsed, Alsace Lorraine was lost, and European hegemony was lost forever.
"These stupid Frenchmen...... Oh no, I'm also French, but I really don't know what they think, they only warned but didn't mobilize in advance, and in the end the other side doubled the number of troops than themselves. Alfonso was speechless about his compatriots.
Although he knew the crux of the problem, he did not intend to remind him that an overly powerful France would not be good for Spain, and that Germany would need to help break British hegemony in the future.
After reading the news, he remembered that there was a newcomer next to him, turned his head and asked, "Sir, my name is Alfonso de Bourbon, what is your name?" ”
After hearing this name, the newsboy looked at Alfonso, who was younger than him and taller than him, he knew that the other party should be a noble young master, but he didn't expect to be so noble!
But he still tried to remain calm and replied:
"François, sir, François Blanger."