The Palais Bourbon, on the left bank of the Seine, has been the seat of the French National Assembly (Chamber of Deputies) since 1830 and still remains so.

When Louise, Duchess of Bourbon, born to Louis XIV, the tyrannical Sun King, and her mistress, the Marquise de Montespone, built the building, it was never imagined that it would one day become a symbol of the burial of the Bourbon monarchy by the French.

At this moment, the Duke of Dalmatia, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of France, was standing on the podium in the middle of the lecture hall, expressionlessly facing the gaze transmitted from the seats on both sides. These eyes were inquiring, malice, or hatred, but he was unmoved. Nearly eighty years of life, the first half of his bloody life, has already made him no longer have violent fluctuations in feelings.

What is the scene in front of him, compared to the excited cheers of the people in front of the guillotine, compared to the magnificent Battle of Jena, and compared to the army led by him to conquer Spain?

Guns and swords, blood and fire, fluttering sabers, whistling cannonballs, spectacular marches, scene after scene slipped in front of the prime minister.

When a person begins to recall his life non-stop, will it already mean that he has entered the twilight of his life?

"Mr. Prime Minister, do you have anything to explain about the audit of the Ministry of Finance?" An untimely inquiry interrupted the prime minister's sudden nostalgia for his old career.

Unpleasant, very unpleasant.

The Prime Minister cleared his mind again, then raised his head slightly, and looked back at the malicious gaze in awe.

"The Ministry of Finance conducted a detailed review of the expenditures for the year 1842 and found that there were many problems with the army's military expenditures, which were seriously inconsistent with the expenditure items listed in the previous budget, so ...... "seemed to be intimidated by the Prime Minister's momentum, and his voice was much lower, but he still spoke fluently." As the Minister of War at the time, is there anything you can explain? ”

It's good, it has disrupted his position, and now he hurriedly jumped out to make trouble.

A cannonball was thrown, but it wasn't powerful enough. However, it is a bit surprising that he was able to win over his chancellor of the exchequer, and sure enough, he has made some progress over the years.

"I don't know what's wrong." The Prime Minister replied calmly. "Our spending is strictly executed according to the budget."

"Your answer doesn't answer my question." "Actually, from what I've learned so far, it's a very serious issue, and it's very likely that you're involved. ”

His eyes were on the old man again, but the old man who had become the focus was still surprisingly calm in the face of this obvious challenge.

"This is a clear slander, sir, and I think you have a lot more important things to do than to pursue such baseless vicious attacks."

"But ......," the congressman seemed to be about to say something.

"Do you have tangible evidence?" The Prime Minister interrupted him directly.

The chamber was in a commotion.

"Can we then organize a committee to investigate this matter?" The other, who seemed to be about to make a round, asked softly, "We will call witnesses if necessary, no one named will refuse to attend, and the Army's expenditure accounts at that time must be audited in detail." ”

It seems to be a round-up, but in fact, the policy of "must be investigated" has been confirmed.

The Prime Minister frowned slightly. It seems that he pulled a lot of people this time.

However, it still doesn't matter, there is time to slowly destroy all the evidence against the enemy, and even annihilate possible witnesses.

"Absolutely." He replied gently.

If any of the members of parliament were among his former Spanish officers, they would understand what this gentle "of course" meant.

The parliamentarians seemed to be discussing something, and they exchanged words frequently.

The Prime Minister still stood in front of the podium with a blank face, but he secretly sneered in his heart. How can it be left to four hundred and thirty headless flies to deal with the really important affairs of a country, when forty-three people are too many to discuss and decide? By the time they reached a consensus, Shijie would have been destroyed long ago. They had been instructed a long time ago, but they were still here pretending as if they were really deciding national affairs.

Not to mention, most of them are just puppets sent in by big tickets.

[At that time, the electoral system of the French Chamber of Deputies was a dual election system, and only those who paid more than 300 francs a year in direct taxes had the right to vote, and the total number of seats in the House of Representatives was 430. At each election, all eligible voters will first elect 60% of the seats (258 seats); The most tax-paying quartile, the most wealthy quarter, then form the electoral college and elect another 40 percent of the seats (172 seats).

Therefore, under this system, the richest quarter of the voters (no more than a few tens of thousands in all of France) can elect parliamentarians twice, and can directly control 40% of the seats, which is called the "big vote". The right to vote for ordinary people in France was achieved only during the era of the Second Empire, an authoritarian dictatorship.

The seats of the House of Nobles, on the other hand, were appointed by King Bixia one by one, as mentioned above. 】

However, while it is necessary to despise the enemy strategically, it is necessary to pay attention to the enemy tactically.

Since Kizo has been preparing for so long, it is impossible to be defeated easily, and all attention must be concentrated to defeat this former right-hand man.

As soon as he thought of this, he was faintly uneasy in his heart. No, he didn't have that much time, and even if he could find some problems with the previous embezzlement of military funds, it would not work in a short time, at least not until the protests of the British came, he would not have thought of it.

So it's definitely just a smoke bomb to hide his true purpose, what the hell is he trying to do?

What the hell was he thinking?

The old man subconsciously glanced left and right. Reason told him a moment later that the Foreign Secretary could not be here.

It doesn't matter, as long as you deal with it carefully, no matter what tricks he has, you don't have to be afraid at all. As soon as he thought of this, the old man's heart became firm again. No problem, no problem, no problem......

It seems to be rusty, and there is a feeling that the brain can't turn.

Routine inquiries continued, both domestic and diplomatic, but none of them were as stirring as the issue of military appropriation just now.

The Prime Minister seems to have fallen into some strange thought, and his answers to each question are extremely brief. It wasn't until the Speaker announced the end of today's questioning that he slowly left the podium.

As he walked, the old man suddenly gave up on his feet and almost fell to the ground, but fortunately he was able to muster up the strength to grab the chair next to him, so that the worst situation did not occur.

But that's enough, enough for enough people to see his embarrassment.

"Oh!"

"Oh my God!"

There were whispered exclamations from the seats on both sides again.

================================================

"Great!" The old Marquis of Tréville was so excited that he couldn't help but slap the table with the newspaper. "I really didn't expect him to be so old...... I can't even stand on my feet. ”

"Even so, he's still a tough rival." Charles reminded him. "We can't stop a person from being an enemy just because he's old enough."

"Yes, Charles, you're right, but even then he's a formidable enemy." The old marquis laughed again, "But, first you have to allow a man who has hated him for more than thirty years to give a small cheer. ”

Charles smiled slightly, and said no more. He understood the old man's agitation.

"It seems that soon, even if we don't do anything, time will quickly knock him down." After a moment of euphoria, the marquis regained his usual composure, "But, instead of waiting for the unpredictable time, it is better to take advantage of the situation and push him down, otherwise God knows how long he can rest on it?" ”

"That's what I thought too."

"Then we have to do it quickly." The Marquis tapped his fingers lightly on the table, obviously lost in thought, "Charlotte, you need to pay attention to it and cooperate closely. Whether we are enemies or not later, but at least now allies, we have a common goal. ”

"I'll take notice." Charles agreed.

The restaurant fell into a brief silence.

"I really didn't expect time to pass so quickly, thirty years, but it still seems like yesterday!" The old man let out a long sigh suddenly. "He's seventy-eight years old, and he's already like this. He's only eight years older than me! We cheer for his gaffe today, but how much better will I behave when I reach his age? ”

The old man suddenly lamented his twilight, which made Charles feel a little sad in his heart, and he didn't know what to say to comfort him.

"No, Charles, I'm not afraid of death." The old marquis suddenly laughed, then reached out and patted his grandson on the shoulder, "As long as I see that you can inherit and carry forward the surname Tréville, I will be able to rest in peace." ”

After a moment he continued, "However, I would like to remind you that after prosperity and wealth, you should never get carried away, and always remain calm and sober, knowing what you should do and what you need to do. ”

"I will." Charles bowed his head.

"We've never been a moral family, Charles, and you have to remember that. You've been looking more and more like a real Trever lately, yes, that's good, but it's not enough. The old man smiled suddenly, "Your ancestors once served beside the Sun King, and then took advantage of the king's abolition of the Edict of Nantes to ruin a dozen families and made a fortune; Your cousin and a group of people used the money of the national taxpayers and the treasury to compensate for the losses suffered by the Treyville family during the Revolution, and you have to learn from them, remember, learn from them! ”

[On October 18, 1685, King Louis XIV of France issued a decree to completely repeal the Edict of Nantes, which allowed Protestants to freely believe, and a large number of Protestants were persecuted to death, and all the Protestants' land and property were appropriated by the magnates, causing more than 250,000 Protestants to flee to England, Prussia, Holland and the Americas within a few years. 】

The old man looked at his grandson with encouragement and expectation in his eyes.

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