"Dear Mr. Tremville,

I regret to inform you that, in spite of the recent efforts I have made to secure for you, the matter which you have entrusted to me may no longer be completed—Mr. Hawass has already moved Mr. Minister, and Mr. Tuch is now pressuring me to immediately lease the operation of the international telegraph line to Hawas.

You must understand that, as an employee of the Minister, I must first act in accordance with the Minister's considerations, and I am therefore powerless to meet your requests.

I'm sorry for the time constraints, so I can only write to inform you. However, please rest assured that we have made an extremely strong and friendly impression on each other the last time we had dinner with you, and we are confident that our friendship will bear fruit elsewhere in the near future............"

[This "Monsieur Tuch" refers to Charles-Gilbert-Tourret (1795-1858), a French politician who served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the Kafenjac Cabinet beginning June 28, 1848, and is now Jean Calvert's immediate superior.] 】

In his office at the French press agency, Charles read softly the letter, which had been sent from Jean-Calvert, the director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.

As he read it, the expression on his face did not change, but his hands clenched tighter and tighter.

Putting aside the meaningless rhetoric that officials are accustomed to, the simple thing to say in these few lines is that I can't do anything you want to ask me to do, because my boss, the minister himself, is putting pressure on me. I was going to hand over the management of the telegraph line to him, but I couldn't bear it, so I didn't plan to do it. I'll help you somewhere else later.

When he had finished reading it, Charles grabbed the letter with his right hand and crumpled the letter into a ball of paper.

"So, is this guy just going to quit? Think writing such a bullshit letter will soothe me? He can't help this place, what else do I want him to do elsewhere! Charles raised his head to look at the expressionless Kong Ze in front of him, his eyes were full of anger, "Phew." What can't withstand the pressure, I still don't understand the methods of these officials? If you want to drag, there are a hundred ways! He just doesn't want to help us. This bastard! ”

Charles was a fellow party of Louis Bonaparte, and if he went to ask the ministers of General Kafenjac, there would be no good fruit to eat, so he had to go to the bureaucrats. The result is still unfulfilled. Someone got stuck.

"You're right, he just doesn't want to do it." Even in front of the angry boss, Kong Ze did not feel the slightest uneasiness, and his tone was still calm and indifferent, "I saw it last time, he was very unenthusiastic, and now he wants to retreat when he encounters a little setback, which is really normal." ”

"This bastard!" Charles couldn't help but curse again. "What a ghost of immorality!"

"That's how they are, these civil servants are only concerned about how to protect themselves. When he was in office, he received a salary to reap the benefits, and finally received a generous pension. To achieve this great goal, they think they can do whatever they want. Just for this, they flatter, sloppy and slap horses do everything! ”

Kong Ze nodded, indicating that he completely agreed with Shire's opinion.

"They're intriguing in the ministry, and they're still intriguing outside. I used to see a lot of poor civil servants fighting with the declining aristocracy, and these broken sons of the aristocracy tried their best to sharpen their heads to fight for a place on the payroll. In such an environment, it is difficult for a capable person to move forward, and he cannot grovel and crawl in the muddy waters where only a few prominent figures are powerful; What about even the people who climb up? In order to climb to a high position, he also had to grow old and decay...... I've seen them all! ”

Because of his personal experience, Kong Ze can't help but bring some personal opinions when he speaks, but it is also easy to understand that a person who unfortunately fell off by accident in the bureaucratic system will always be filled with some kind of indignation. If he was still in that system, he certainly wouldn't have said that.

"That's right! Since the beginning of the new century, all the loud arguments and the repeated weighing of gains and losses in this country have been carried out in writing. As a result, despite the beautifully written report, France was on the verge of bankruptcy. People sit and talk about it, but they don't do it. This country writes millions of reports every year! The bureaucracy rules everything! Bundles of archives, files, and documents of all kinds have increased, swelled, and become increasingly beautified. It seems that without these official documents, the country would have collapsed; Without these circulars, the country would not be able to move an inch! This bureaucracy exploits the mistrust between income and expenditure to its own advantage, and they do not hesitate to slander the government to protect their reputation, as if the government forced them to do everything.

In short, our terrible bureaucracy has turned the country into a Lilliputian, chaining the whole country to a centralized chain in the capital, as if nothing had been done when the country did without these civil servants. Like the mushrooms parasitic on the pear tree, they are attached to public affairs and are completely indifferent to public affairs! ”

Charles also scolded loudly, using such a comment to vent his anger at the temporary setback of his career.

However, venting is venting, and the two of them are still very clear in their hearts - no matter how hard they scold, it will not help solve the problem, so both of them quickly restrained their emotions.

"So what should we do now?" Kong Ze glanced at Xia Er and asked in a low voice, "Do you give up or continue?" ”

"Why give up? It's just a minor setback. Charles replied coldly, "I thought that this kind of thing might happen beforehand, so, it's okay, I won't give up, I can bear this blow, and I won't give up because of it." Since they want to rent it to Hawass now, let him rent it, and I'll turn them upside down. ”

"Well, since you think so......" Kong Ze was just about to say a few words, when suddenly there were several knocks at the door.

"Come in!" Charles shouted.

Then a clerk walked in and whispered a few words in Charles' ear.

"What?" Charles frowned. Then he immediately reacted, "Let him in, I'll see him now!" ”

After the clerk was ordered to leave. Charles looked up at Kong Ze.

"Mr. Hawass himself has come here."

"What!" Kong Ze showed the same shock as Charles had just now.

"You go out first, and I'll come back when I'm done talking to him, and I'll see what he wants to do." Charles was now completely calm, but he was a little curious, trying to figure out what the other party meant by the sudden running over to visit him.

………………

When a well-dressed old man walked into Charles' office with a cane, Charles immediately stood up from his seat and held out his hand to the other man with a smile on his face. As if the person who was furious just now was not him.

"Mr. Hawass, I am very honored that you can come here today to guide me, a junior."

Although I saw a big man who could leave a name in the history of later generations. The founder of a future media giant, but he can no longer afford to have any strange feelings - the emperor and the king have seen it, what can a monopoly giant (in the future) be worth?

That being said, though. But he still has to abide by the most basic social etiquette. After all, competition in business is one thing, and private interaction is another.

The old man, whose hair and beard had turned gray, quickly took Charles's hand and clenched it hard. "It's surprising that you're as young as they say you are, Monsieur de Treville."

His voice was calm, but it was also powerful.

And in between this handshake, the French business community officially recognized Charles de Treville as a new player.

"It's because I'm young. That's why I need to learn more from you and other experienced people......" Charles was still smiling heartily, "you've taught me a good lesson before. Solve the competitive dilemma between us directly through Mr. Tuch...... This is something we can learn from. ”

"On that note, Monsieur de Treville, I am sorry too," Havas smiled again, as if he were really apologetic, and then sat down across from Charles, "to be sure, I am extremely reluctant to turn things into the way they are, and I have great respect for the Trevilles, but...... I think you also understand that the right to operate the telegraph line is very important to us, so we can't sit back and let you get ahead of us, I'm sorry. ”

Although he said it politely, Charles certainly understood his resoluteness.

"Oh, it's okay, the mall, you can't just talk about it......," he nodded again and again to show his understanding of the other party, "It's okay...... Now that we've decided to devote ourselves to the industry, we can afford this level of frustration......"

"It would be great if you weren't angry." Mr. Hawass nodded again, then glanced at Charles rather strangely, "Mr. Treville, since you have always said that you want to hear from the old man, then...... Can I give you a few words of advice? ”

"Just say it, I'll listen to it." Charles hurriedly replied.

"Do the Trévilles have to come here?" After Charles's statement, Mr. Hawass looked at Charles in a sincere tone, "In my opinion, there is really no need for us to compete so much......

"But ......"

"The Tréville family can play a big role in many ways, so why bother to come to this industry again, is it as profitable as a railroad or a stock? Is there such a stable income from land and national debt? Charles was about to say something, but Mr. Hawass spoke again. His demeanor was very calm, as if a teacher had advised Charles like a student, "These places can give you a satisfactory return, you really don't need to go to these places to fight us, it will be completely worth the loss." ”

After hearing the warnings and threats contained in the politeness, Charles couldn't help but frown slightly.

Then, to Charles's surprise, Mr. Hawass pulled a promissory note out of his pocket and placed it on Charles's desk.

"I heard you asked Mr. Calvert for an errand? Hey, this man is notoriously slippery, and you just don't have more to gain than you lose by looking for him......" Mr. Hawass sighed, as if he really felt sorry for Charles, "since he hasn't done it now, then you don't need to give him the money, you can take it back, lest it be wasted......"

There was both reassurance in his tone and the kind of contempt for hairy boys peculiar to old people, which made Charles's heart flash with anger.

But, to be honest, he's not saying this as a disguise – not many people in this day and age understand what a terrible business a monopoly on messaging is. Moreover, he was 65 years old, and he really didn't have the energy to fight with others, and only wanted to run his business quietly—in his opinion, Charles took the check and left with the Tréville family in dignity was the ideal ending, and the other side would be better.

Glancing at the promissory note on the table, he saw that it was much more than the amount he had bribed to Mr. Jean-Calvert.

Do you want to use this money to get me out of here?

Phew, don't you think!

Charles cursed inwardly.

Of course, he didn't show his anger, he just continued to smile, and then picked up the page, and respectfully returned it to Mr. Hawas.

"I'm sorry, sir, your teachings have been very useful to me, but I can't take your money......," Charles replied with a smile, "We won't give up because of this setback, and since Treville has decided on a goal, he won't give up easily." ”

Hearing his refusal, Mr. Hawass did not appear to be angry, but only raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Oh? Is it? Then there is no way...... Well, I'm sorry, but we'll have to follow the established procedure – Havass will soon be granted the right to operate the Paris-Brussels telegraph line. ”

"Feel free to do your own thing." Charles was still smiling.

He doesn't hate Hawas, and he doesn't want to say anything stupid like "don't bully young people to be poor", people have already given him enough face today, but he just doesn't accept it.

All of this is just business, and it has nothing to do with personal likes and dislikes.

"Well, good luck then, young man." Havas stood up softly, then slowly withdrew the check into his pocket. Until this time, he had not lost the demeanor of a future giant.

Then he picked up his cane again. At that moment, Charles even had the illusion that a sword would suddenly appear in the staff...... Of course, this is just an illusion.

"Good luck, young man." The old man nodded again, repeated, and then planned to say goodbye.

"Good luck, Mr. Hawass, too." (To be continued......)

PS: Today's second update will be served.

With a new moon and a new atmosphere, I want to say goodbye to the previous decadence and live more actively...... Please continue to support me, I will go all the way to the end.

Continue to ask for recommendations, monthly passes, and rewards~~~