Shadow of great britain

Either obey or conquer.

——Balzac's "Petro Goriot"

The door of Procop Café opened and the wind chime made a tinkling sound.

Arthur and Louis walked side by side out of the cafe. The bustling crowds and carriages on the street were intertwined, and the faint sound of street performers could be heard.

The pocket watch chain on Arthur's chest shone with golden light in the sunset. He took out his pocket watch and looked down.

At this time, it was still a while before the time he agreed with the royalists.

He glanced at the landscape on both sides of the road. Although he knew that the French government valued Louis, it was really annoying to send three or four carriages to follow him every day.

If we don't get rid of this group of people, it will be impossible to talk about meeting the royalists.

He thought about it for a while, and finally decided to lead Louis out of the back door of the cafe.

During the time he came to Paris, Arthur would come to this cafe to eat every now and then, and his after-dinner snacking activity was to circle around this cafe. For an old policeman, a dozen meals are enough for him to map out the roads in front and behind the cafe.

Going out from the back door of the cafe is a deep alley, its exit facing the Champs Elysées. But if you don't take the main road, but go over the wall, you can branch into two alleys, one of which can lead directly to the Place de la Concorde and the Madeleine Church, and the other can branch to the Invalides.

Arthur stood outside the door and smoked the remaining tobacco leaves in his pipe. He immediately winked at Louis. The cooperating police secretary naturally understood the meaning of Arthur's expression - the action began.

The two were about to return to the cafe when suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind them: "Sir Arthur Hastings, oh, the distinguished Lord Bonaparte is here too?"

They looked back and saw a short but elegant middle-aged man walking towards them. That was Adolphe Thiers, who had recently been announced as France's Minister of the Interior.

Thiers' clothes today look very special. His Nanjing cloth dress jacket is decorated with gold embroidery, his gorgeous calfskin belt is inlaid with an eye-catching silver button, and his dark trousers and boots are He stood out as if he was 1.6 meters tall. Next to his white scarf, there were several medals of honor he had been awarded.

Thiers took off his top hat, with a friendly smile on his face, and even his tone of voice showed a hint of joy: "What a coincidence, I meet you here."

Arthur took a look at Thiers' attire and asked, "Did you just finish a cabinet meeting?"

Thiers neither confirmed nor denied, but just smiled and said: "How do I look?"

"It's very beautiful." Arthur commented pertinently: "At least it is more beautiful than the British cabinet uniforms. Although our ministers' uniforms have a long history, they look too old and not as fashionable as yours."

When Louis saw it, he couldn't help but muttered: "If we just list the beauty of the uniforms, I still think the uniforms from the imperial period are the most beautiful. The bicorn hat and feathers, pure white gloves, blue and white color and slim fit Nothing exudes masculinity more than jodhpurs.”

Thiers did not refute this. He responded with a smile: "I think so in private. Napoleon had very good taste in clothes, especially the generalissimo uniform, which is simply a representative of Paris fashion."

Thiers, talking about Parisian fashions, joined Arthur and Louis as if they were familiar.

He didn't care whether Arthur and Louis had finished their meal or not. He took the initiative to push them down on their seats in the restaurant and casually ordered: "First a bottle of good Burgundy red wine, and the appetizer will be served with fig jam." Foie gras, butter-baked escargot. For the main course...seared duck breast, Provence ragout, French baked escargot, grilled lamb chops and grilled seabass with salad, and berry chocolate mousse for dessert.”

The waiter wrote down the dishes on the order list and asked, "What kind of soup would you like?"

“What kind of cheese do you use in the onion soup here?”

“It’s Gruyère cheese, we don’t mess with it.”

"Okay, then I'll have French classic onion soup."

Thiers finished ordering and returned the menu to the waiter. Looking back, he suddenly noticed that Louis' expression was a little strange: "Sir, are you feeling unwell?"

"Well..." Louis said, "I just think there are too many dishes."

"Is it a lot?" Thiers tied his napkin smartly: "For three young and strong gentlemen, these dishes are not much at all."

Arthur stretched out his hand and patted Louis' leg, telling him to calm down, and then said with a smile: "Although there isn't much food, Louis doesn't have a good appetite today. He is encountering something annoying."

"What's bothering you?" Thiers picked up the wine glass and took a sip: "Are you worried about welcoming the coffin back? If it's about that, don't worry. We will arrange the itinerary, personnel, and procedures. Your Excellency, you Just go with us. Even though the road is bumpy, you don’t have to think of this journey as a mission. Just think of it as a trip overseas. Wouldn’t that make you happier?”

Louis took over the conversation and continued what Arthur had said before: "As a member of the Bonaparte family, in order to let my uncle return to his hometown, I can't stand this little bump. What worries me is my mother's Bian arranged the marriage for me.”

"marriage?"

Thiers couldn't help but put down his wine glass, and his eyes drifted out of the window: "Oh, it seems I should congratulate you? I didn't expect that I was lucky enough to marry you in the same year. To be favored by Madame Hortense The girl must be an extraordinary woman. Is she a celebrity in the social circle, or does she have a lot of property and land to inherit, or does she have other advantages? "

Louis complained half-seriously: "Let me tell you this, Mr. Thiers. The women chosen by my mother, whether they are nobles or bourgeois, have no soul anyway and will always be a model of selfishness."

When Thiers heard this, his eyes that had drifted out of the window came back. He couldn't help but laugh and said: "Why do you say this? Doesn't Madame Hortense have a way of looking at people?"

"No, it's precisely because my mother is very good at seeing people, but her standards for seeing people are different from mine."

When Louis said this, he expressed his bitterness: "As you said, the woman my mother chose for me was a woman who had a large fortune and was also popular in the social circle. However, I hate this kind of woman. Woman. Let me tell you why."

Thiers frowned and said, "Really? But women like this are generally very popular in Paris."

Arthur shook his finger when he heard this and said: "Mr. Thiers, it seems that you have different opinions from us."

"Oh? You don't like this kind of woman either?"

Arthur nodded slightly and said: "This has nothing to do with whether you like it or not. What matters is what you want to pursue. In my opinion, Louis's engagement in such a marriage is not necessarily a bad thing, because when I was thinking about it for my friend, The starting point is not love.”

Thiers was very interested: "Really? It seems that you have a lot of insights into women?"

"I can't speak of insights, but I do have some observations that can't be called superb."

Arthur suddenly remembered the person in front of him who seemed to have had an affair with Clara in the past, so he used the power of wine to summarize the 'Thiers' famous sayings' that Clara told him.

"According to my opinion, a woman with a noble mind, pure tastes, gentle temperament, rich emotions, and a simple life has absolutely no chance of becoming popular in society. I dare to make this conclusion: a popular woman and a powerful person Men are all of the same type, with only slight differences between them.

The strengths that enable a man to climb higher than others can contribute to his greatness and glory. However, it is a terrible bad habit for a woman who is admired by many stars to use this kind of skills in social circles. In order to hide her true nature, she can only become vicious and sinister. In order to scheming in social circles, one must develop a body as strong as iron and steel under the delicate appearance.

Such a fashionable lady has no emotions and only knows how to have fun intoxicatedly. Only a crowded place like the social circle can find some warmth for her cold nature. She needs stimulation and enjoyment. Because she had more ideas than feelings, she sacrificed her friends and true love for her own popularity.

This is like a general who would not hesitate to put his most loyal confidants into the line of fire in order to win a battle. A popular woman cannot be considered a woman, neither a mother, nor a wife, nor a lover. When she needs you, she can be affectionate with you like a cat. But when she doesn't need you, you can't even get a note from her.

Therefore, when getting along with such a woman, it is best to put away your love thoughts and act according to the rules of the political circle. The wife of a person who does political work must be a political machine, and must know how to flatter and bow. In her body, the attribute of a wife is very weak, and more importantly, she is a tool, the most loyal tool of careerists.

I will take the chestnuts from the fire for you without hurting you, or even hurting your friend. It doesn't matter if you deny her casually. A statesman's wife must be as resourceful as Figaro. The kind of passionate, simple wife that Louis liked could not help him at all, but a popular lady could give him everything he wanted.

In many cases, it is difficult for a man to overcome certain problems. At this time, the social circle of wives is the diamond that breaks all the glass and can open all the windows for their husbands. The virtue of being lawful and self-reliant is suitable for ordinary citizens, but if you want to be a politician and hang out in this circle, you will naturally do some sinful things. But unfortunately, my friend Louis would not listen to my advice. "

Thiers held the wine glass in one hand and drew circles on the table with the nails of the other hand. The smile on his face was relaxed and freehand, but Arthur could read some bitter meanings in it.

"When I was his age, I couldn't listen to any advice. At that time, I also fantasized about pure love, to be the most decent person, and to get ahead through my own efforts. I remember that I had just entered college at that time. , my father and mother separated when I was very young. My mother and sister lived frugally and saved my living expenses of 1,200 francs a year.

Therefore, the fact that I study hard is not because I naturally like reading, but because my family is poor and I have to study hard. I have known how to plan my own future since I was very young, inspecting the future trends of society, and then choosing the direction of my studies so that I can be the first to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.

Before going to university and coming to Paris, I was full of longing for society. But after coming here, I discovered that coming to Paris does not mean you have really entered Paris. Academic excellence and ability are not the only criteria by which Paris judges you. Even they rarely use these things to evaluate you.

Just like you said, you have to be able to mix in the circle. Only when you are in the circle, you will have the opportunity to show your ability to Paris. At that time, I really hoped that I could have a popular wife to help me enter the field that rarely accepts outsiders. But unfortunately, I don’t have a mother like Mrs. Hortense, so no one will arrange blind dates for me. I have to rely on myself.

If you want to mix in this circle by yourself, you must either be rich or famous. But if you can’t mix in the circle, it’s hard for you to be rich or famous. It’s like a dead circle, a completely unsolvable problem. "

Louis, who was born in the Palace of Versailles, probably found it difficult to understand Thiers' feelings, but as a person with a lower starting point than Thiers, Arthur understood what Thiers meant.

This is just like his rise to fame. On the surface, he was promoted to police inspector by Sir Peel because of his court speech that moved the citizens of London, but in fact, he was completely lucky and happened to run into the Catholic Emancipation Act to set an example.

And his experience of breaking into the London social circle was because when he was investigating the maritime slave trade case, he pulled out the diplomatic incident of Fred kidnapping the French wanted criminal Dumas. Because of this, this small case alarmed the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and finally sent the Channel Fleet to give Fred's gang a fatal blow.

And the Channel Fleet Commander General Codrington happened to be a member of the Royal Society, and the Blue Stocking Club where Mrs. Codrington belonged was also very interested in the latest progress of electromagnetism. Therefore, Arthur was able to come to the banquet as an electromagnetic researcher to give lectures to these upper-class ladies who had no chance to meet these ordinary citizens.

Arthur was lucky all the way, and with the help of the devil behind him, he was able to get here step by step.

Although Thiers's background was better than Arthur's, he became a member of the cabinet entirely by his own efforts. Putting aside the shady means used in it, if you only look at his experience, it is also an incredible feat that makes people marvel.

Arthur asked: "Then how did you solve this dead loop problem in the end?"

Thiers did not say it, he just winked at Arthur playfully: "Sir, you have analyzed women so thoroughly, do you still need me to explain how to solve the problem? There are many beautiful people involved in this, and the first one was pure-minded and willing to go through fire and water for love. And later on, they are the ones who need me and can help me more. ”

Arthur smiled: "Can't you explain it more clearly?"

Thiers took a sip of wine, staring at the clear red wine in his hand and said: "If you must ask me, well, my final answer to you is: how you got here is the same way I got here."