"How's it going, Charles? I think you'll be able to understand what we're thinking. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Seeing that Charles still didn't say anything, the Admiralty Chancellor couldn't hold back, "It's not for our own selfish interests, it's for the entire empire!" If you think about it, the army needs a certain amount of containment after all, doesn't it? There are so many generals, all arrogant and arrogant, they have long been accustomed to doing their own thing, and how many dynasties have they watched with a bang? The Empire must subdue those soldiers in order to truly become a civilized nation! ”

As he spoke, he patted Charles on the shoulder again, eagerness and sincerity.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency." Charles had already calmed down by this time, he picked up the wine glass on the table that had just been filled by the Admiral, and gently brought it to his lips, "Actually, I admit that you do have a point, but sometimes...... We can't do things in a hurry. ”

"More than that makes sense? It just doesn't make more sense! Emperor Napoleon was finally abandoned by the generals, what about these generals? They are still high-ranking officials, and who knows if others will do the same in the future? His Excellency raised his hand as if he were making a speech, "For the sake of the future of the Empire, we must do this!" Moreover, you are the best person to do this, you have the trust of your majesty, your grandfather was a field marshal, and now he has great prestige in the army, and only you can make everyone speechless...... Don't you think that this is also the right thing to do with Your Majesty's wishes? ”

This was not a mere compliment, for with Charles' status and current situation, if he offered his support, it would be difficult for anyone to oppose the Navy's plan from being realized.

And the last question is quite reasonable.

Since coming to power, Emperor Louis Bonaparte has tried to co-opt the generals of the army to his service, but Emperor Louis Bonaparte has also spared no effort to strengthen his control over the army. He rebuilt the Praetorian Guard by drawing the elite from the various units, and gave them the most favorable treatment in order to control a close force, and he had been trying to promote and reuse some young officers in order to increase his control.

So, he should and does like the navy to increase its independence, as long as the navy proves to be absolutely loyal to himself and to the Imperial Family.

In other words, Charles' support will be seen as a sign of loyalty, without risking offending His Majesty the Emperor.

Charles thought about it, and found that he had to take a small risk, but what he got was much more unexpected, and he could get a great favor within the navy.

In that case, why not do it?

"I hope this doesn't lead to a confrontation between the army and the navy," after a long silence, Charles finally laughed again, "no matter what, we must maintain unity and not affect the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Force." ”

"That's why I say, Charles, it's up to you!" His Excellency the Lord Chancellor of the Admiralty let out a sigh of relief, apparently pleased that Charles had finally agreed. "As long as this matter is done as soon as possible, then everyone will soon calm down, and no one will run out of bad things in order to upset you and Your Majesty, and you are the best person to be able to do this."

"I'm glad you think so highly of me." Charles finally nodded, then picked up his glass.

"Cheers!" The minister also picked up the glass from the side and touched it with Charles, then turned to look at the musician behind him, twisted his fingers and snapped his fingers. "Play the song of victory!"

Amid the melodious music and the warm sea breeze, the two ministers happily finished their lunch.

When Charles returned to shore, he left Toulon with his entourage and took the train to the port of Marseille, which was already evening.

The port of Marseille is the largest port in the south and one of the largest commercial ports in France, with a large number of merchant ships passing through here every year to various ports on the Mediterranean coast, connecting the country with the rest of the world. Compared to Toulon, which is a military port, of course, there is a bit more prosperous atmosphere here, even if the empire has entered a state of war, it still looks prosperous and messy, and there is no tension at all during the war.

His Excellency Chancellor Tréville had no intention of having fun here, and as soon as he stepped off the train, he was surrounded by a crowd of officials and soldiers, and then rushed to the hotel where he had been staying.

Unlike in the port of Toulon, he was greeted by people headed by him, including his distant relative, Count Henri de La Tourche-Treville, his main collaborator in the port of Marseille, and a group of merchants who ran the shipping business, and among them, a group of even more special people, the most close and close to His Excellency Chancellor Treville, his cousin Philippe, and his sister Madame de Treville.

This is already the home of the Charles, and everyone everywhere they go respects him, and the Charles is in a very good mood because of his conversation with His Excellency the Admiralty today, and rarely greets almost everyone.

"Sir." And just then, Fran cautiously walked to Charles's side. "Grandpa...... How is he? ”

"Marshal Tréville is fine now." Charles replied in a very official tone, "He has set out on the expedition without fatigue under my watch, and he seems to be in good shape, and we wish him all the best." ”

Under Charles's subtle reminder, Fran also knew that she was not dignified enough because she cared too much about her grandfather, so she immediately changed her taste, "Really? That is great, and we sincerely hope that Marshal Tréville will return victoriously soon. ”

"Hope is not enough." Charles smiled again, glad she was able to react so quickly, "We're going to do it for him." ”

"I'll do my best for that." Fran replied excitedly.

Charles smiled and turned his gaze to Philip.

"I'll do my best." Philip quickly straightened his waist and made a reassurance.

Under Charles's arrangement, she recently left other affairs behind, assisting her cousin Philip to supervise the domestic munitions production, Philip knew that he was only brought over by his brother-in-law to make a signboard, and the person who really trusted and valued him the most was his own sister, although he was a little resentful about this, but he didn't dare to go against Charles's will, so he had to swallow his anger and be a puppet who was called by others, fortunately, Fran was humble, and he was not disrespectful to him because of this, so he was finally able to endure it, took the high salary offered by Charles to serve as an envoy for his cousin.

After the previous setbacks, he has accepted the lesson, knowing that this world does not allow people to be empty and do everything his own way, although the pride in his bones is still there, but he already knows to make compromises with the world, especially knowing that the most important thing for the future is to be a backer, so even if Charles is occasionally scolded as a subordinate and called as a puppet, he can endure it.

Of course, he still wants to behave better and win the trust of his brother-in-law so that he can take on more important tasks and be rewarded more in the future.

After greeting a few of his relatives, Charles wasted no more time and gathered all the people present and began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have just come from Toulon today, and I have witnessed the emperor's * team sailing to the front line thousands of miles away." Because he had been accustomed to speaking to his subordinates for many years, Charles had become familiar with the road, and his tone was both gentle and full of unquestionable courage, "You may think that fighting a war is the business of the army, just throw a group of young people in blue clothes and red pants to that hellish battlefield, and they will do everything for us...... But I will tell you that this is a completely wrong idea, times are no longer the same, and now that the great powers have almost inexhaustible national strength, it is impossible to choose to surrender on the knee after one or two defeats, and the great powers will fight to the end until they can no longer fight! Therefore, our war with the Russians will be a war for the whole people, and this is not just a matter of the army, and there is no distinction between the front and the rear! ”

People sat or stood and watched the minister's lecture respectfully, but the vast majority of them did not pay attention to it, and most of the government officials were like this, and they were already used to it, and they did not care, but only pretended to be enlightened.

Fran, however, listened attentively, and kept her eyes on her brother as if she wanted to memorize every word of this seemingly boring admonition.

"I can tell you that the army we send out today is only an advance force, and only a small part, and in the future, in order to bring down the Russians and make them bow to the Empire, we will continue to mobilize our troops, and we will eventually have an army of more than 100,000 men there, and their military supplies, no doubt, we will not be satisfied in Turkey, and we must exhaust our domestic forces to produce enough military supplies for their use, In particular, the munitions so that they can fight continuously, and then transport these munitions to the front line, which places extremely high demands on our rear. There is also no doubt that compared to the warriors on the front, we in the rear are fortunate that we do not have to face artillery fire and do not have to fear that we will be killed by the Grim Reaper, but because of this, we should serve the front with full enthusiasm and repay the young people who defend us. Therefore, as I have repeatedly emphasized before, the most important thing for me is the supply and transportation of military supplies, which is the responsibility entrusted to me by the Empire, and I will do my best to do so! ”

After Charles said the last words, these people present understood, and hurriedly raised their hands to applaud, and the applause was endless, but there may not be a few people who listened to it, but Charles didn't care, the most important thing in his precepts was to reflect authority, and by the way, he just informed everyone of the minister's ideas. If you want to force these people to serve the empire and him, you can't just pay lip service.

"I'm sure many people already know him, sir, right?" After the applause gradually subsided, Charles raised his hand and pointed at his cousin Philip, "This is my cousin, of course, more importantly, he is a staff member of my department, and now he is responsible for supervising the operation of munitions in the rear, you must cooperate with him so that the munitions can be transported smoothly to the front line, otherwise, I will have to punish everyone responsible according to the authority given to me by the imperial government, please remember." ”

"Please cooperate with me." When being stared at, Philip hurriedly spoke, "I will resolutely carry out the orders of His Excellency the Minister, if anyone delays my work, then I will report to the government mercilessly, and there will be a law to hold everyone responsible accountable, please keep it in mind!" ”

Compared with the mild-mannered Charles, the accustomed and domineering Philip was a little more frightening, and when he spoke, people could finally intuitively feel the pressure of the imperial government.

Compared to the previous government, this imperial government really dared to exile political prisoners on a large scale, and even dared to kill political opponents, and the empire could do almost anything when it was ruthless.

"So far, the government has built a number of warehouses near Marseille, which have been classified to store all forms of munitions and munitions." On the specific business issues, Philip was not very clear, and at this time, Fran, one of the main handlers, personally stood up and began to explain to the shipping merchants, "In order to improve the efficiency of transportation, the government wants each shipping company to be responsible for the transportation of munitions, and then use a special wharf for shipment. For specific arrangements, you can refer to the current preliminary draft, and if you have any comments, please put them forward as soon as possible, so that we can revise them immediately. ”

As she spoke, the merchants were presented with a number of pre-prepared manuscripts, beautifully papered, clear and not garish, with the scent of freshly baked ink.

In the eyes of the merchants, the arrangement of the manuscript was very delicate, it seemed that it had been specially investigated and studied, the specific volume of shipping and the corresponding transportation capacity of each enterprise, and even the arrangement of the use of the wharf was very reasonable, and it was not like the work of a so-so bureaucracy.

After the initial consternation, they were relieved that the government would lose a lot if it was arbitrary.

Because the arrangements were well established, they were able to offer very few opinions, except for a few minor details that needed to be adjusted, and they soon assisted the government in finalizing the manuscript, which would continue as a wartime transportation system.

Until the end, they assured the Imperial Government that they would do their best to complete the government's arrangements and would never slack off.

"To tell you the truth, my cousins called me here today, of course, mainly so that I could meet with you, but in fact, it was also so that I could bear witness and see the promises you have made to the government." After they had reached the agreement, Charles solemnly stated to them, "The government is trustworthy, and the money it has promised you will be given to you without delay; But it also has the right to ask others to do the same, so when I am free, I will also conduct similar inspections, once I find out who has broken his promise and affected the supply of munitions, then I am sorry, I will definitely do my best to sanction him, please understand the responsibility on your shoulders! ”

The applause rang out again, but this time it was much more sparse, and the threat from the words of an Imperial minister, who was trusted by His Majesty the Emperor, was not reassuring.

After being given an opportune lecture and a harsh threat, Charles had no intention of leaving the merchants behind, and let them go, while several of his cronies remained.

"You've done a great job, and you can see that you're putting a lot of effort into it." Charles complimented his cousin and sister.

"It's all thanks to her, I ...... I just helped a little. Philip knew that he hadn't done much work, so he quickly praised his cousin, "Fran is so powerful, she can do things so well at a young age, fortunately she is helping, otherwise we wouldn't have done it so quickly." ”

"Fortunately, with the help of Henry, who has been in Marseille for so long, is familiar with the situation and knows a lot about shipping, otherwise we would not have come up with a plan so quickly." Fran was very happy to be praised by her brother like this, she smiled and narrowed her eyes, and explained to the other party softly.

"Henry, you've really helped me a lot." Charles also nodded indifferently to his distant relative, "I will repay you, the Navy has a good relationship with me now, I think, if I operate it, I can make you like a fish in water......"

Next, he relayed to Henry what His Excellency the Lord of the Admiralty had said today and in his private meeting.

"Oh!" Henry was immediately surprised and delighted when he heard such a big news, because he knew what Charles told him would mean.

"Henry, you are familiar with maritime affairs and are within the navy, and you know so many people, this matter has to be done by you, the Minister of the Navy is very clear, he wants us to help them build the navy together, I don't think there is anything bad about this." Sure enough, just as Henry had expected, Charles immediately said the reward for the other party. "Go and choose some men to serve us, but only if they are faithful and know how to serve us......"

"With your words, I can find hundreds of heroes in Marseille to serve you, Your Excellency!" Surprised, Henry immediately assured Charles. "They will obey you!"

"We don't need that much just yet." Charles smiled, then shrugged.

Until it was late at night, Henry still did not come out of the surprise, he was already imagining the future.

There is no doubt that he is a subordinate of His Excellency the Chancellor, a pawn of the Tréville family, but with this opportunity, he can slowly build up his influence and become a prince, and at that time, he feels that he will shine on the lintel and become the most accomplished man in his family for generations.

While he was still fluttering, a fragrant breeze suddenly reached his nose, and he looked up to his astonishment to find Miss Tréville standing before him, as if looking at him with interest.

"Miss......" He straightened up in a panic, and then immediately nodded to the other party, "What are you looking for me?" ”

"We're in trouble with you, sir." Fran chuckled and apologized to Henry, the words seemed to be fine, but the tone was a little subtle, as if it meant something. "I'm here to thank you."

The young Count Henri de La Tourche-Treville was shocked, as if he had been electrocuted, and managed to regain his composure from his panic. "It's not a hassle at all, really, it's an incredible honor to be able to serve you, miss."

Although after a long time of not seeing each other, this young lady has become more and more beautiful and amazing, but Henry, unlike others, has long since had no thoughts about this already famous beauty in the capital, on the contrary, he is a little afraid of the other party.

He had seen this distant relative shoot a young man with a gun without mercy, she was so calm that she was almost indifferent, and the young man next to him lay in a pool of blood, such a shocking image that still stayed in his mind and was unforgettable.

He believed that if he also angered this young lady one day, perhaps she would let the Grim Reaper take him away with a more indifferent attitude, and in order not to let this fear become a reality, he could only be doubly more deferential to the capital family, and at the same time use any means to curry favor with this young lady, he felt that this seemingly gentle and considerate young lady seemed to be more deadly than His Excellency, and he had to deal with it more carefully.

So before, he assisted her work with unprecedented enthusiasm, and brought a group of local experts to cooperate with her to make this rear transportation plan, and also made a contribution to himself.

"Looks like you're ...... me There are certain misunderstandings. Seeing the other party's sincere and frightened appearance, Fran couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Actually, there are some things that we should forget." ”

"I've forgotten, I promise you!" Henry hurriedly replied attentively, "I have already dealt with the person who handled the matter, and there will never be any rumors to spread outside." ”

"Haven't you forgotten?" Fran couldn't help but laugh.

The smile was so cute, but it made Henry shudder, and just as he was about to apologize, Fran became serious again.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you remember it or not, I just want you to remember where your glory and wealth come from." She was as cold as she had been that day, "We can give you what we have given, and we can take it back." ”

When she saw the other party so fluttering, she felt that she needed to give this distant relative some beatings, lest he be overconfident and do something stupid, this kind of thing is inconvenient for her brother to do, of course she should take the initiative to do it.

"I understand perfectly, miss, and rest assured that I am extremely loyal to Your Excellency!" Henry replied busily. "No matter where I am, I will absolutely do what he commands."

"I hope so." Fran nodded, and finally walked away.

She doesn't believe much in promises, but she believes that fear is sometimes a good thing.