The sun shines through the French classicist style building of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, sprinkled with solemn and ancient cornices, pilasters, mountain flowers, and reliefs, like golden strings plucking the melody of time.

From the moment he entered the Institut Française, which brings together the best minds in France's various fields, Arthur noticed the distinctive architectural style of the place. It has a bit of Baroque charm, but it strictly follows the five classical columns of ancient Rome, whether it is Doric, Roman Ionic column, Roman Corinthian column, Tuscan column or mixed column, you can find exemplary samples here.

Its solemn form and grand scale everywhere demonstrate the national strength, religious authority and social hierarchy of France as the hegemonic power of the European continent, and express the social values of the French people in pursuit of reason, order and unity.

Although Descartes is no longer alive, his rationalism still reminds visitors through architecture that art should be rational and completely independent of experience, feelings, habits and tastes. What is important in art is that the structure is as clear and logical as mathematics.

Ironically, the founder of rationalism, the philosopher and scientific giant who proposed that 'I think, therefore I am', was never widely recognized by French society during his lifetime. Due to the church's obstruction, when he died, only a few friends even mourned him.

His works were included in the banned list by the French government and the Vatican, and it was not until 1740 that France announced the lifting of restrictions on the publication of Descartes' works.

Even if Newton's things were right, they were inspired by Descartes. The wisdom of the French nation is absolutely superior to that of the shadowy longbowmen on the other side of the channel, who can only sneak up on the attack.

Arthur looked up and quickly spotted the guy that Liu Weir had described.

Although in the 19th century, due to the nutritional level, everyone's height was generally not very high, but no matter how short the average height was, a man in his thirties was only 1.5 meters and was still very eye-catching in the pile.

Liu Weil nodded: "Before the fall of the Bourbon dynasty, Talleyrand was very disgusted with Chateaubriand, a romantic poet, occupying his position as foreign minister, and even more opposed to the war of intervention provoked by Chateaubriand against the Spanish Revolution. At that time, there were many people who opposed the war of intervention, such as Talleyrand, but the only journalist who dared to cross the Pyrenees to Spain was Monsieur Thiers.

Of course, the most valuable thing about Thiers is not his ability in literary creation, but that as the son of a merchant sailor, he was able to make a name for himself in the political arena in the hierarchical French society.

Of course he had read The History of the French Revolution, and he had read it long before he was at the University of London, so he knew very well who this Monsieur Thiers was. However, compared with Thiers's ups and downs in life and "History of the French Revolution", Arthur's most impressive work is "The History of the Reign of the Consuls and the History of the French Empire".

You say that it is possible for me to be elected as a member of the Academy of Sciences in the future? Yes! I thank you for your best wishes, but for me this goal is too far away. You know, even Mr. Cauchy and Mr. Poisson have not yet been elected to the ranks of academicians, and after them, there are still people in the Academy of Sciences who cannot be counted on two hands.

It's always pleasant to hear people compliment one's country, not to mention that this person is actually a Briton with status and status.

He sent back home reports on what he had seen and heard in Spain, and the horrific battlefield news and bloody war accounts made everyone aware of the cruelty of the intervention war, and Monsieur Thiers intensified his efforts to bombard the Bourbon government and the foreign minister, Chateaubriand, thus fueling the opposition.

Levier soon treats Arthur as a friend, and when he discovers that Arthur is curious about the various anecdotes of the French Society, he knows everything he knows.

The reason why the Académie is so special is that since the founding of the Académie by Cardinal Richelieu, it has given it a unique historical mission, and the members of the Académie have to work for the standardization and clarity of the French language, and to make it the common wealth of all French people and all those who speak French. So it is only natural that in the current era, the most outstanding people in their fields can be elected as members of the Academy of Sciences.

As soon as Arthur heard the name, the corners of his eyes twitched.

Thiers spoke: "First of all, your Fracquet dress is the most popular style in London at the moment, with a pale complexion, a tall figure, large eyes, but a lighter color of the pupils, and a face shape that is very different from that of the French, which are all important characteristics of the English. Secondly, I have received news from the Academy that a knight from England is preparing to award Mr. Poisson the Copley Medal of the Royal Society today. Finally, I have heard from the niece of His Excellency Talleyrand that Sir Arthur Hastings, an old friend of her uncle, who has a scar in the corner of his eye, has left for Paris, and that his old friend is my friend, and that I am here today to await your visit. ”

The reason for the lifting of the ban is even more ironic, not because the French government suddenly accepted Descartes's ideas, but because they wanted to use Descartes' theories to fight against the world system established by Isaac Newton that was in vogue in France at the time.

"It's simple."

Speaking of this, Liu Wei suddenly stopped, he tugged at Arthur's sleeve slightly, and lowered his voice at him, "Sir, do you see the short gentleman in the tuxedo in front of you?" ”

Yes, you guessed it, all the scientists who have been elected to the Academy of Sciences are the best of our Academy of Sciences, like Laplace and Fourier. The same is true of the Académie Française, the Académie des Arts and the Académie des Humanities, where the academies were among the top performers, such as Gaurneille, Racine, Voltaire and Montesquieu.

However, it was this goal that even Hugo did not accomplish, but Thiers did it.

"Ah......" Arthur's tone suddenly became playful, "so you are also a friend of Mr. Talleyrand?" ”

"Yes, that's right, only the most eminent scholars can be elected to the Académie Française. However, they are not the highest-ranking people in the entire French Academy, and among the five academies of the French Society, the highest status is actually a member of the French Academy, and each member of the Academy of Sciences can enjoy the same treatment as a member of the royal family. In France, it is widely accepted that being elected a member of the French Academy is the highest honor a person can receive.

In that book, Monsieur Thiers portrayed Napoleon's god of war and the unstoppable French army.

Moreover, for the country of France, knowledgeable people know that most of the French dwarfs are not good stubble.

For this reason, he was even willing to reluctantly admit the superiority of the French nation.

Liu Wei said in a deep voice: "I remember you said that you studied history at the University of London, so you must have read the History of the French Revolution, right?" This short gentleman was Louis-Adolphe Thiers, author of the History of the French Revolution and the current president of the French Senate. He is currently one of the most highly ranked candidates for membership of the French Academy of Sciences. ”

Liu Wei was slightly relieved when he saw Thiers walking away.

When he looked up, the short Thiers had already come to him, and the little gentleman with a lively personality took off his hat and greeted him politely: "You must be Sir Arthur Hastings?" ”

Arthur nodded slightly, "Is this gentleman a big man?" ”

"I still have to go to the dean's office of the college. So, I'll see you later when it's time to present the awards, and I hope you have a nice day. ”

And that's just for the Academy of Sciences, if you count the geniuses of the Humanities, the Arts, and the Arts, then this queue can literally line up from the Pont des Arts to the Louvre, where will this kind of thing get me? By the way, I almost forgot about the politicians, and there are not a few of them who want to become 'immortals'......"

He almost tattooed the three sentences 'I love France from the bottom of my heart, our France is so good, my France is amazing'.

Thiers received Arthur's affirmative reply, smiled and exchanged a few words with him, and then hurriedly said goodbye.

So it was natural for Talleyrand to notice Mr. Thiers, who was still a journalist at the time, and Talleyrand's niece...... Uh-huh, it's also very ...... Well, appreciate Monsieur Thiers. He is indeed a lucky man in every way. In addition, after Monsieur Thiers's "History of the French Revolution" became an instant hit in Paris, the public opinion that made him a member of the French Academy of Sciences was also very loud, so his weight in Talleyrand's faction was naturally heavier.

Of course, most importantly, he clearly underestimated the sinister intentions and dark nature of the English longbowmen.

Thiers said modestly: "I dare not say that I am friends with His Excellency Talleyrand, but I am indeed one of the young men who have been promoted by him. Do you have time later today? Or you can have time at any time these days, and I, as the host, need to do my best to be a landlord. ”

Although Descartes was very unpopular with the government, he had been dead for almost 100 years, so at least he would not come up with something new that would not be tolerated by the government.

For solemn meetings and ceremonies, they wore the famous 'green uniform' and sleeveless robes, two-cornered hats, and held unique swords of their own design, showing the spirit and majesty of the academicians, a rule established by Napoleon during his tenure as First Consul, and which has not changed to this day.

However, although Liu Wei was praised by Arthur, as if he was stepping on the top of the clouds, he obviously didn't understand what it meant to be an assistant police commissioner at Scotland Yard at the age of 23, let alone why this thief was suddenly stabbed by Whitehall Street to Hanover, and he didn't know what the second secretary in charge of cultural exchanges at the British Foreign Office was doing.

Although people like Hugo once swore that 'Chateaubriand will be or nothing', it is not so easy to go from a romantic literati to a political powerhouse like Chateaubriand.

When Arthur heard this, he took the opportunity to inquire, "Is Monsieur Thiers very close to Talleyrand?" ”

Or at least recognize their national superiority in the field of mathematics.

No amount of sunshine in Paris could cure Sir Arthur Hastings from an 'old rheumatism' he had contracted in London.

Second, academicians of the Academy of Sciences only need to make breakthroughs in the study of natural philosophy to be elected, and most of those who are elected as academicians of the Academy of Sciences cannot be elected as academicians of the Academy of Sciences, but natural philosophers who are elected as academicians of the Academy of Sciences will definitely be elected as academicians of the Academy of Sciences.

Because he seems to have stumbled upon some kind of secret to quickly getting along with foreigners, this wealth code is as good as it is 200 years ago or 200 years later.

Arthur was surprised, "You know me? ”

Therefore, in the eyes of the government, the living Descartes was definitely an out-and-out thief, but the dead Descartes was a great man of the entire French nation, ten thousand times better than the cautious Isaac Newton across the Channel.

Liu Wei was flattered by the praise of the British knight. And for Arthur, he didn't get nothing either.

And Thiers's attention to Arthur also made the assistant professor of the Academy of Sciences evaluate Arthur to a higher level, he exclaimed: "I didn't think you knew Talleyrand, no wonder Monsieur Thiers would want to have a banquet for you?" ”

However, perhaps because of Mr. Thiers' ordinary military knowledge and professional disposition as a journalist, when he wrote history, he also brought in the stinking error of exaggeration, so that he often made the distinction between a cavalry squadron and a company, and even made the famous scene in the Battle of Eylau in which Murat led a charge of 10,000 cavalry to save the whole army from danger at a critical moment.

That's because on the way to the lecture hall, the shadowy longbowman from across the strait had done everything he could to prevent Liu Wei from taking out the carefully prepared paper on transcendental functions.

Arthur was thinking about these things, but before he could come to his senses, he heard a sound of footsteps in his ears.

The French government decided that instead of getting the people to accept the British system from across the Channel, it would be better to pick up the stuff of the fanatic Descartes from the pile of old papers.

Seeing that Arthur did not deny it, Thiers replied with a smug smile: "I don't know you, but I guess you are." ”

What is the difference between the members of the French Academy and the Academy of Sciences, you ask? Hehe, first of all, the number is different, there are 40 academicians of the Academy of Sciences, they are all tenured, and only one who dies can be elected by the academicians of the Academy to add one. Because of this rule, many very well-known figures have not been awarded the title of academician of the Academy of Sciences in their lifetimes. Because of this, all academicians have a special title - immortal.

But these minor flaws aside, at least Mr. Thiers's writing is quite good, and the story is very wonderful. From a historical writer's point of view, he was definitely a success.

Arthur nodded and said, "Of course, I am honored to be invited by you. ”

As a detective, Arthur was interested in asking, "Why did you guess so accurately?" ”

You ask me, why did Arthur know these things?

Liu Wei only thinks that this English lord is really an interesting person, he is not only well-informed, but also has a wide range of interests, and this lord's love for Paris and France seems to come from his bones.

Not only that, but General Lafayette also valued him very much, and even paid for him to run a newspaper. After the outbreak of the July Revolution, Monsieur Thiers was the first to run to Louis Philippe, who was then Duke of Orleans, and it was under his persuasion that Louis Philippe made up his mind to return to Paris and finally ascend to the throne. Because of this, he became the secretary general of the Ministry of Finance immediately after the July Revolution, and now he is the president of the Senate. ”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but think of what Talleyrand had said to him, and he couldn't help but smile: "I thought that what Mr. Talleyrand said was only for London, but now it seems that even Paris has been turned upside down. The Yorkshire swineherd became a diplomat, and the sailor's son became the president of the Senate, and it was indeed a new era. ”

(End of chapter)