After receiving a relatively satisfactory reply, the friends called by Du Taai did not wait long and took their leave—although they would certainly reconsider it when they returned, Charles believed that it would be fine to enlist the support of most of them.

The Charles, on the other hand, were left behind by their masters.

"Quite a persuasive speech, my friend." Du Taai raised his glass and complimented Charles.

Charles also raised his glass and replied with a smile. "I'm afraid it's not my speech that's convincing, it's the current situation and the glittering franc. If the situation was stable now, surely these friends of yours would not have come to listen, right? And we can only wait for the right time. ”

"That's right." The speculator and banker had his standard, professional, honest smile. "In my opinion, we have been waiting for many years now, and it is time for some results to come out after all."

"However, while the situation seems to be favorable, we must also be cautious...... Charles calmly reminded the other.

"Of course, I have carefully observed several friends I invited today, and they all have the courage and scheming and ambition to fight for a big fight and win his vote - I will invite them when I see it clearly." Du Taai replied with a smile, "Don't forget, the most important thing for a person who does my job is to learn to be cautious, even if it is better to be timid than to be brave." ”

"Good." Charles smiled reservedly, too.

Then the two complimented each other.

After years of sponsorship and correspondence, Du Taai has already become a member of the organization, and if it succeeds in the future, it will definitely be indispensable to his benefits, and Charles will naturally spend a little effort to befriend him.

After a little chatter, the banker suddenly changed the subject.

"Sir, to tell you the truth, as far as I can see, you are a rare young talent in all of France." He made a gesture to stop Charles from saying something humble, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this to please you, but it seems to me that a man in his early twenties who has done so much is worthy of being called a young talent." ”

Charles did not speak.

"For a young talent like you, the realization of the ideal of a partisan seizure of power is not the end, is it? A secretarial position is certainly not satisfying, what are your plans? Du-Taai asked casually. What exactly do you want to be rewarded? ”

"What do you mean?"

"If our plan really succeeds, you should have a bright future, and you are so young......" Du Taai's expression was quite serious at the moment, and the superficial honesty was swept away, "Sometimes I am really curious, what are you going to do when you become a figure who can lead France - this is inevitable - what are you going to do?" ”

"The future is changing rapidly, and I certainly can't predict what will happen next." Charles gave a formulaic answer.

"However, for people like you, you must have a goal, whether it is good or bad, there is always it, and it will certainly not be small. The future is just a process to your goals, and it doesn't matter what means you use. "I don't have much merit as a person, but I can see people quite accurately, so I've gone from a penniless young man to where I am today." ”

"I admire you, too." Charles took another sip, "Well, let's be honest, I just want France to fulfill the Emperor's unfinished business under my leadership." ”

Du Taai burst out laughing. "Everybody thinks so, even when I was younger."

"I believe that France must expand outward, and cannot be tightly bound to this corner by foreign bayonets. France had to live up to its glory, not only in the colonies, but also in Europe. Charles replied.

"It sounds great, but it means war." Du Taai replied calmly.

"Yes, there must be a war, and there is a high probability that there will be more than one war. No one but the French themselves liked French expansion and had to bring down the enemy before intervention came. For this reason, I think that France needs to prepare a large army, a large army, and also to form an effective support system so that the army can act and engage effectively. ”

"And then we're at war with all of Europe, as we were back then?" Du-Tar's tone took on a hint of sarcasm.

"Of course not, this expansion must be measured, and we must definitely keep in mind the emperor's lesson, the more the territory, the more haode." Charles replied patiently.

"For example?" Du-Taai asked with interest.

"We don't want Spain, leave that barren place to the fanatics, Belgium can't do it now, the treaty of 1839 is too binding on us, Britain is too strong to provoke us, and I'm afraid we won't go to war with them for decades." Our key is to ......"

[Refers to the treaty signed in London on April 19, 1839.] The treaty confirmed the separation of Belgium and the Netherlands, the European powers jointly recognized and guaranteed the independence and neutrality of Belgium, the western half of Luxembourg was given to Belgium, and Belgium became a permanent neutral state. 】

"Where?"

"Saarland, Luxembourg-Saarland to be precise." Charles replied simply and clearly. "For the sake of the coal mines there, for the future and survival of France, there must be attributed to France."

"Oh......" the questioner replied approvingly, then nodded, "Makes sense." ”

After 1870, the balance of power between France and Germany changed dramatically. This change is not only seen in terms of population, but also in terms of industrial scale, especially in the all-important production of steel. In 1913, when the Shijie War was about to break out, France produced 4.6 million tons of steel, compared to 18 million tons in Germany, and France was only a quarter of Germany's. This disparity is even more desperate and insolvable than the demographic gap between France and Germany.

This is happening precisely because of the problem of resources.

Iron ore is needed for steelmaking, coke is needed for iron ore extraction, and coal is needed to burn coke, and it is extremely large quantities of coal.

France has no shortage of iron ore, even if it loses Alsace-Lorraine - it still has the iron-rich Longvi-Brie basin (which the Germans have always coveted, and during the First Shijie War, along with Belgium, as a "must annex area"), enough for France to use for many years. However, France was desperately short of coal, and the coal mines of Normandy and parts of the south were simply not enough to meet industrial needs.

Without coal, there is a shortage of coke and therefore it must be imported from foreign countries, such as England or Germany, which increases the cost of manufacturers and makes the cost of French steel higher than that of other countries. The price of steel is higher than that of other countries, and other industrial products can be imagined. Therefore, French industry is obviously not weaker than Germany at the level of jishu, but the market competitiveness is far inferior to Germany, Germany is slowly growing in profitable foreign trade, cultivating a monster that can shake shijie, France has no way, and French capitalists can only maintain profits through the operation of capital and the financial industry.

In the early to mid-19th century, because the wave of industrialization of Shijie had not yet begun, this congenital deficiency in France had not yet manifested, and in the mid-to-late 19th century, when large-scale industrialization began, this congenital deficiency was clearly manifested. Coal is the food of industry, steel is the backbone of industry, because of the lack of food and underdevelopment, because of the lack of development can not achieve a sound life, this is the dilemma that France later faced.

Later generations called France usurious imperialism, which is certainly a compliment, but it is also a bitter mockery. Didn't France know the role of steel and guns? Didn't France know that industrial capacity was the ultimate expression of national power?

Successive generations of France's ruling elite have not ignored this problem and have been looking for a solution, but the changing situation has made it difficult for people to help.

The coal-rich Luxembourg-Saar region, which was occupied by France during the Napoleonic Empire, sought to annex Luxembourg during the Napoleonic III era, occupied the Saar after the First Shijie War in 1919, and occupied it again after the Second Shijie War in 1946, but each effort failed or was forced to withdraw due to foreign pressure.

This painful coal problem was not solved until 1951, when the Henry-Kayaer government led West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries to form a European coal and steel pool, but at what cost? It is to force oneself to forget, to forget the hatred brought about by the three massacres of the Germans in a hundred years. It is to forget the young people who died fighting to resist the German invasion, to forget the civilians who were slaughtered by the Germans, and to say "Let's be good friends, I forgive ......you" to the man who beat you many times.

The price is a bit too high, isn't it?

However, at that time, France could only accept this outcome, and history had made it necessary for France to do so.

Is this result predestined by God? Is that the case? Is France destined to go this way?

The staunch atheist Shire, who grew up with a materialist upbringing, did not believe in this.

"But now that place belongs to Prussia, and will other nations sit idly by and watch us get there?" Du-Taai asked again. "If you interfere......"

"We are good students of the Emperor, and he has always been quick to solve problems." Charles replied with some cryptic feelings.

Of course, the sophisticated banker could hear Charles's answer. "Is this your opinion alone?"

"Yes at the moment." Charles nodded slightly regretfully, "And I rarely mention it to anyone. ”

Du-Taai looked at Charles with some surprise.

"Does a man really think so much about things at the age of twenty?"

"If he had actually lived forty-five years, he would." Charles replied suddenly in a whisper.

"What?" Du Taai didn't hear what Charles had just said.

"Oh nothing, I was just kidding." Charles smiled again. "Cheers."

"Cheers."