Hugo's father was a warlike general under Napoleon, and his mother was the eldest lady of the ancient gate lord family.

It's just that the union of the two took place during the special period of the French Revolution, a republican general and a traditional nobleman, and the two sides collided fiercely

"The republic is the future of France!"

"The Bourbons are the orthodoxy of France!"

"You are feudal and backward!"

"You are savage and brutal!"

"You are ignorant!"

"You're ridiculous!"

(Barbarism refers to the extreme rule of the Jacobins, and ridiculously refers to Napoleon's restoration of the monarchy.) ）

In the end, Hugo's parents chose to go their separate ways, and then became a royalist under the guidance of his mother. As soon as the Bourbon dynasty was restored, Hugo published a number of articles extolling the imperial system.

In the eyes of the unrelated Bourbon royal family, Hugo was simply the light of France, and he was immediately named a "prodigy" at such a young age.

However, as Hugo grew older, he became liberal again, and in the July Revolution of 1830, he enthusiastically sang the praises of revolutionaries and hoped for a republic.

This was seen by Louis Philippe of Orleans as a great rebellion, and he tried to marginalize it.

Later, Hugo wrote "Notre-Dame de Paris", which satirized the church and feudal kingship, and was thrown into Arkham prison by the angry church and the king, and became a cellmate of Louis Bonaparte.

(Not in this history, but history changed, and Louis Philippe's confidence was once swelled as France took Texas and suppressed the uprising in Lyon.) ）

However, Hugo was of aristocratic origin after all, and had an amazing talent for literature. So Louis Philippe turned to a policy of co-optation.

Hugo became a member of the French Academy of Sciences, then a hereditary nobleman, and not long ago, a member of the noble House of Lords.

Louis Philippe was more than willing to portray himself as a king close to the people, so he chose to talk to the young man who had been sarcastic about him like an old friend.

Paris, France.

Louis Philippe took Hugo's arm in the Tuileries Palace and led him into the antechamber to formally introduce the genius at the King's ball.

Everyone in the audience knew very well that this was Louis Philippe's means to win people's hearts, but no one exposed it.

But for Victor Hugo, who had been nurtured by the royal party since childhood, at that moment he really hoped that Louis Philippe could rebuild the glory of France as he said.

In the following communicative time, Louis Philippe told the Orleanists about his ideas:

"I thought it was a mistake to occupy Tahiti, I thought the people would support it, but in reality no one cared about this.

People only care about what to eat at night and what the price of potatoes is. What is the use of a desolate place far away in France? Maybe it's time to make a break."

This, of course, won a round of applause from the Orleanists, who had long had an opinion about such a territory of negative returns.

If they could, they wished Louis Philippe would have given up Central America, since years of guerrilla warfare in El Salva were depleting France.

The wars in Algeria and Morocco at this time were also a meaningless waste for them, and all efforts should be made to develop the North American colonies and turn them into excellent lands like Texas and the Serombo.

It's just that any French person with a little dream would not choose to do this, Hugo did not applaud but stood up and said.

"Your Majesty, forgive me for my presumptuousness. Isn't it our duty to spread the light of French civilization all over the world? ”

Louis Philippe was very embarrassed by Hugo's words, but fortunately someone immediately rose up to refute the former.

"Monsieur Hugo! What is the use of the great France as an island nation like a handful of smudges? ”

"Dear Monsieur Clarence, before the seventh century A.D. there were people who spoke of Venice, of the sixteenth century of Holland, of eighteenth century England."

Clarence: "So what? ”

Victor Hugo: "It is not ignorance that hinders France's progress, but arrogance!" ”

Hugo, who was thrown out of the Tuileries Palace, felt that he was not wrong, so he planned to visit the most conservative, feudal and backward country in the world.

After a two-month journey, Hugo finally arrived at the port of Toulon, where Napoleon's dream began.

The moment he stepped on the clipper, he felt the feeling of flying, and the whirring wind reflected the speed of France.

"How wonderful! If only France could have such fast ships at the time of the Battle of Trafalgar! ”

The sailor on the side couldn't help but interject.

"Monsieur Hugo, this ship can't fight."

"What? Why? ”

"Everything about clippers is designed to increase speed, and the hull is too slender and the hull height is too low, which is not conducive to the installation of artillery."

"But we can use the high maneuverability of the clippers to break through the British blockade and transport all the warriors of France to the other side, can't we?"

The sailor scratched his head, not knowing what to say, when the captain knocked the former on the head with his pipe.

"Monsieur Hugo is an academician of the French Academy of Sciences, isn't it as good as you? Don't let it affect people's moods. ”

The sailors had no choice but to leave, not knowing Hugo, but as fine men from Paris who did not know the world.

The captain was a descendant of the Tropez family, a hero of France, who had also been to Paris, so he knew Hugo's name.

"Mr. Hugo, my name is Aufe de Trupez. It's my pleasure to have you on my boat. ”

"You're so gracious, Mr. Tropez. I'm going to the Austrian Empire next door, what do you think of it? ”

Aufe de Trupez immediately frowned, as if recalling something bad.

At this time the French fleet returned, and the Grand Eastern Fleet, the main naval force of which France was proud, consisted of 25 sail battleships.

Looking at the behemoths of more than 2,000 tons passing by on both sides of the ship, the sails that covered the sky and the sun, Hugo suddenly wanted to write a poem with pride in his chest.

It's just that Captain Trupez never answered his question, but Hugo didn't care, after all, it really felt good to stand in the bow of the ship and blow the sea breeze.

Looking at the endless sea always stimulates a man's desire to explore. Take on the legendary Kraken, the giant monster of the North Sea, or like the Odyssey

However, while crossing the Strait of Otranto, Hugo encountered a scene that he will never forget.

The steam ships emitting black smoke were like black iron cities rising from the ground, and even the mere flow of water could disturb the stability of the ships under his feet.

At this time, Friedrich was looking down on the crowd of people under his feet in the captain's room on the top floor of the ship, and happened to meet Hugo's eyes, and both sides subconsciously waved their hands.

When Hugo arrived in the port of Venice, his legs were limp, and a feeling of suffocation in his chest could not be dissipated for a long time.

(End of chapter)