readx; As soon as he heard Charles's request, His Excellency, who was originally impassioned, suddenly turned a cold face, saying that he was very embarrassed by this request. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

If he was just an ordinary man, I'm afraid he wouldn't feel embarrassed, he was just a captain, and it was more important to befriend the Tréville family. But he is not this kind of person, although he is a person favored by His Majesty the Emperor, chasing fame and fortune, but he is also a minister who sincerely wants to develop the empire's navy and regard it as his career goal, and it is precisely because he is such a person that he is unwilling to disrupt the normal personnel order of the navy in private and affect the unity within the navy.

It is precisely because of this that as soon as he heard Charles's request, he immediately chose to decline politely.

However, his refusal did not exceed Charles' expectations, and Charles did not intend to stop there.

"What do you think is not the right place? As far as I know, Eugène is a very hard-working young man, who has devoted all his enthusiasm and energy to the Imperial Navy, and I think he is worthy of your promotion......" Charles continued to persuade His Excellency.

Seeing that the refusal could no longer be hidden, His Excellency the Minister had to sigh.

"Charles, you're right, Eugène is a good young man, and many people have told me, and I can see that he works really hard, and he suffers, and he doesn't have that dandy style - and I can tell you that I do want to promote him in the future...... But...... in order to take care of Charles's emotions, he first foreshadowed it, "but it is one thing to admire him, and it is another thing to make him a captain now, he is still young, how long has he served?" If I promote him in a hurry, what will others think of him? I'm afraid it's hard for him to convince the crowd himself, right? ”

After a pause, he accentuated his tone, "Moreover, in the navy, there are really a lot of young and promising people who are willing to endure hardships, and I can't make others uncomfortable just because I take care of one person, which will destroy the unity and competition within the navy...... Well, you can tell Eugène that I already know what he thinks, and ask him to continue to work hard and stay in the Navy for a few more years, and I will definitely promote him when the time comes. ”

In fact, in the past era, the navies of European countries have always been the territory of the aristocracy, and the officers were basically filled by the children of the nobility from the upper class, whether it was Britain or France.

These aristocratic officers rose through the ranks quickly, while those sailors and gunners were largely unknown as their subordinates for the rest of their lives, and it can be said that the class barriers of the navy were no worse than those in other corners of society.

For example, Charles's distant relative, the famous French admiral of the Revolution, Count Louis de Lagerche-Treville, joined the navy at the age of 13, then served with his uncle who was an admiral, became a captain in his early 20s, and became a naval admiral in his early 30s - and it is for this reason that it is normal for Eugène, a member of the Tréville family, to want to become a captain at this age.

However, this rule is not so good in the hands of the current Minister of the Navy, who is not a nobleman himself, and does not attach so much importance to his background, on the contrary, he is ambitious and has always wanted to revive the prestige of the French Navy, so he attaches great importance to the selection of people based on quantity, that is, in the past few years, many incompetent aristocratic officers have been idle or even forcibly retired by him, and many civilian officers who have been depressed have been promoted-this is one of the reasons why His Excellency has a high reputation within the Navy.

Against this background, His Excellency did not want to arbitrarily promote Eugène de Treville, who was from a privileged family, to spoil the atmosphere within the Navy and affect the enthusiasm of others because of his own personal problems.

The minister said this, which essentially meant no, but Charles still did not give up.

"Let me tell you, Your Excellency, Eugène is not actually asking for me, but for my wife, and you know that my sister usually loves my brother, and if I go back without finding anything, how should I face Charlotte?" He looked at the minister very eagerly, "Charlotte usually talks to you so happily, you are a friend on whom she depends a lot, although this favor makes you a little embarrassed, but I still ask you to be accommodating for Charlotte's sake......"

Charlotte has always liked to be lively, after marrying Charles, she likes to expand her influence for her husband by entertaining guests, and by the way to show off her status, and because of her good relationship with Charles, as well as Eugène's affairs, His Excellency the Admiral has also become Charlotte's deliberate target, and he has been invited to banquets several times, and the minister is also very interesting and very fond of Charlotte's scene, so the relationship between the two sides has become more harmonious.

With Charles's status, this is indeed a bit low, not to mention that he has moved out of his wife, so His Excellency the Admiral Diko does not dare to speak too bluntly, so he hesitated and groaned for a while, and finally shook his head.

"I'm really sorry, Charles, but it's really not a matter of me saying a word or two, we still have to follow the rules, and besides, I set the rules myself, how can I break them without permission? I am indeed very grateful for my wife's affection, and I am willing to help her wife, but it is better for the ladies not to interfere in the affairs of the army......"

He usually has a sharp style, and it is already a rare good voice to say so tactfully to Charles, and he thinks to himself that the Tréville family will never hold on to it again.

Still, he underestimated Charles' will and determination.

"Can't you really do anything?" Charles asked again.

The minister did not answer, but looked at Charles very suspiciously, because according to the rules of the political circle, since he has reached this point, the other party should know that there is nothing to say about the matter, if the topic is changed, then everyone can save face, but now he still has to ask, this is not the dignity of the minister.

Looking at the puzzled minister, Charles's smile intensified.

"Even if I do something for you in exchange?"

"Huh?" Because of some surprise, the minister couldn't help but widen his eyes.

But soon he regained his composure, looked around, and finally turned back.

In addition to being a minister, he is also a politician after all, and even if he wants to refuse, he wants to find out what the other party's conditions are.

"And what are you going to do?" He asked in a low voice.

"Actually...... You're struggling with something right now, aren't you? Charles asked the other unhurriedly, "Like the production of ships?" For example, transportation security? Like worker labor? ”

As soon as Charles said this, the minister's face immediately changed slightly.

"These things do have some troublesome people, you ...... Would you like to help me out? ”

Since coming to power, the Chancellor has been professing to expand the navy and build a powerful fleet for the Empire, and he has worked hard for a long time to secure an unprecedentedly large budget.

However, if you want to expand the fleet, not only money is enough, but also enough workers and engineers to build warships, considering the future war, transport ships to support logistics are also very important, and all the problems are tangled, which also bothers the minister for a long time.

He was originally the owner of the ships in Bordeaux, and after he came to power, in addition to continuing to work on the state-run battleship docks, he also scattered a large number of orders to his own shipyards and those of his relatives and friends, but even if they were at full capacity, it was still difficult to meet the needs of the navy.

However, since the establishment of the empire, various constructions have been in full swing, and the labor force has suddenly become tight, and there is no way to expand production in large quantities at once, and what makes the minister even more annoying is that because of Shire, the minister of transportation, the shipyards and shipping companies in various places have set up a shipping association, and it is difficult for him to intervene in it, and he cannot use the resources in the hands of these people to contribute to his naval plan, so he can only do it in a hurry.

Privately, His Excellency the Chancellor had thought several times about bringing these people under his control through some means, but because of Charles's power, he did not dare to speak out, so he had to let the status quo continue.

But when Charles said this, he saw some light at the end of the tunnel.

"What do you mean ......"

"I'll be honest with you, the construction of the railroad has been slowed down for a short time recently due to the Empire's financial problems and war preparations. And during this time, a large number of labourers and engineers will be idle, and I am now wondering how to find a place for them to earn a living - in view of the coming war, the national arsenal and the private munitions factories will be replenished as a matter of priority, but ...... It seems that the interests of the Navy cannot be ignored either. Charles said unhurriedly. If you need it, then I will find a way to meet your requirements. ”

Although Charles's tone was flat, the minister sounded like a gospel sermon.

"Of course we need to! If so, great! ”

"It seems that you really need it, well, I know, I will let someone arrange it, now the placement of workers is already on the agenda of our ministry, if I have my instructions, I believe that the preliminary plan will be reached soon." Seeing that His Excellency the Admiralty was as excited as expected, Charles couldn't help but laugh, "Time waits for no one now, we have to do it as soon as possible." ”

"Yes, it's as soon as possible, preferably right away!" The Admiralty Minister immediately chimed in, "Thank you, Charles! ”

Originally, one of the main reasons for the labor shortage was that the construction of railways in various places absorbed a large number of laborers, and if the Imperial Minister of Communications was willing to relent, then these laborers would be able to meet the needs of the navy very well - although their previous industry was not the same as shipbuilding, but these people were experienced workers, and after a short period of training, they should soon be able to put into the order production of the navy, which greatly accelerated his plan.

Obviously, the movement of these laborers was within the power of the minister, and whether he could help or not was only a whim, and if he really wanted to do so, then it would seem that even if he agreed to his quid pro quo, it would not be a loss.

No, it's not just that you don't lose, you just make a lot of money.

However, the Admiralty Minister did not expect that the preferential conditions of the Charles were more than that, "and there is one more thing...... Considering the next war, the combat mission and transportation mission of the Imperial Navy are very important, and this requires the cooperation of the business community, so I personally think that the Shipping Federation can be supervised and managed by the Navy during this time, what do you think? ”

The Minister of the Navy didn't expect this young man to make so many discounts at once, and he was a little stunned all of a sudden.

He knew the details, the shipping federation that Charles engaged in was the same as the railway union, they were both money bags that managed the entire industry, and the members of it spoke to each other and were very closely connected, he didn't expect that the other party would be willing to take it all out at once.

"Charles......" he couldn't help but sigh. You don't have to do that much......"

"So, do I assume that you've decided to make Eugène the captain?" Charles asked with a smile.

"Of course, you expected that before you told me." The minister shrugged his shoulders, and then couldn't help but laugh, "I still think your requirements are too low!" Hand over so many things, just so that my cousin can be born and die......"

"Eugène asked to take the risk himself, and I could only promise him." Charles smiled and shook his head, "Of course, both of these things are temporary, sooner or later the railroad will have to restart in full swing, and the navy can't always be in charge of a commercial organization, right?" ”

"Well, temporarily, I know, that's enough." The minister nodded dryly, then extended his hand to Charles, "That's it, Charles." ”

Charles also reached out and shook his hand.

The reason why he made such a simple concession was not just to make his cousin and his wife happy, but because he thought that it was really necessary to do so now, and it was necessary to fully cooperate with the actions of the navy.

And, in a way, he admired His Excellency the Lord of the Admiralty.

Although he is also greedy, he also drills camps, and he also seeks power, but he also has goals, ambitions, and is willing to fight for the cause he has chosen, and he really persists. Unlike some of his colleagues, he sees power as a tool and a means to his ambitions rather than an end in itself—in a sense, he is who Charles thinks he is.

It was precisely because of this secret sympathy that he had made so many concessions to the Admiralty Chancellor - even if it had not been for Eugène's affairs, he would have been prepared to do these things a long time ago, and Eugène's affairs were only incidental.

In addition, he was not completely without other arrangements.

"By the way, Your Excellency, I have to introduce someone to you today, please take care of him a little more."

"Who else?" Although he was a little surprised, His Excellency the Minister was in a good mood now, "Let him come out." ”

"He's right here." Charles gestured to Philip, who was standing nearby. "Allow me to tell you a little bit about his ......" (to be continued.) )