Eagle’s Glory

"Find out the bottom of your opponents, my friends may be able to help you."

"Your friend?" After hearing this, Aigron finally became interested again. "who is it?"

"A very shrewd man, now a banker to be exact," replied Lucien Bonaparte.

"Banker?" Aegron was a little puzzled, so he looked at his uncle, waiting for his further explanation.

Lucien Bonaparte suddenly stopped, he looked at the wine glass in front of him, his eyes seemed to be full of emotion.

"Let me tell you a story—"

He picked up the glass, took a sip, and continued talking.

"As you all know, in 1799 I followed my brother in the Brumaire Coup and took France. In return, my brother appointed me Minister of the Interior, and I was in high spirits and just wanted to do something big. .But to do great things you have to have money, and I happen to be short of money - so I want to find a reliable agent that will save me the capital.

Fortunately, as long as there is power in hand, all these troubles will not be troubles after all, and soon many people in Paris will come to me, hoping to have a good relationship with me and my brother in exchange for economic benefits.

However, I despise these well-dressed guys. They are all hypocritical and cunning. Besides, these bankers have been in the market for so many years, and their relationship network is very complicated. I don't want my secrets to be in their hands. I want to find someone who is reliable and easy to control, and let him do this for me.

I'm French, but I'm also Corsican, so I kept all these calculations in mind, and then silently looked around, patiently looking for the right person..."

"Looks like you found it." Aegron probably understood what he meant.

"Yes, I found it, but the process was a little unexpected." Prince Lucien-Bonaparte nodded lightly, and then continued, "You know, as Minister of the Interior at that time, I had the right to appoint the French provinces. Senior officials also have the right to manage the roads and ports of the country, and they have to deal with petition letters from all over the country. One day I received a petition letter. The author is a silver-headed person in charge of a small place. He told us bitterly about the revolutionary era. The damage caused by chaotic financial and monetary policies to the local area, and begged my brother and I to reform as soon as possible in order to solve the chaos of the French economy and relieve the suffering of the people; in this petition he also listed many data, and Some advice, although I don't know much about finance, but I think what he said makes a lot of sense."

"So you conveyed these suggestions to my father?" Agron asked rhetorically.

"Yes, I conveyed this petition to him, and he was also very interested. At that time, there were also general calls in the financial industry, hoping that we, who had just seized power, would make appropriate decisions to stabilize the national economy." Lu Sian-Bonaparte replied in a low voice, "So it was not long before, after careful consideration, Napoleon complied with these appeals, created the Banque de France, and after that issued a new currency of francs, which finally made the chaos of finance and money The market has stabilized."

"This is also one of his major contributions to France." Aigron replied.

"That's true, but we're talking about something else—" Lucien Bonaparte smiled slightly, "I'm not only interested in this letter, I'm also interested in the person who wrote it. , I don't know finance but I'm a good speaker, so I also have the ability to read between the lines of a person's nature. I quickly saw that this person is cautious, intelligent, and quite professional, more importantly It is he who is from the province and has not been polluted and swallowed up by the complex interpersonal relationships in Paris..."

"So you turned him into your agent!" Teresa, who had been listening carefully, understood when she heard this.

"Teresa, you are such a beautiful and wise princess." Lucien Bonaparte nodded with a smile, admitting the conjecture, "After my brother decided to accept this proposal, I wrote a letter specially I gave this provincial treasurer and invited him to come to Paris for an interview with me. I can imagine that he must have been flattered. He arrived in Paris at night and met with me. In order not to waste your time, I will not Describe exactly what we were talking about - but after the meeting I was very pleased with him, he was not good at words and even seemed a little dumb, but he was really professional and every time he said something, it was enough to hit the nail on the head It's crucial, and very sensitive to numbers. I met him a little too late, and I even felt that so many rhetorical idiots were sitting in the National Assembly, while he could only stay in the provinces in obscurity, really It's a joke from God! It's a pity that this kind of joke has been happening every day since ancient times."

Then, he changed his words, "But this time, I want to change the joke of God. After seeing this, I decided to let him stay in Paris and make a greater contribution to me and France. So I asked him 'My friend, you are truly amazing, so why are you staying in the provinces instead of coming here to make your mark?'

He looked embarrassed, and then told me ashamedly that he did have a similar dream, but his father was infected with the fashion of the old times. They were all sold out. He managed to keep the silver number at home, and then used it to earn money to pay off his debts. The heavy debts weighed down on him, and he could not come to Paris.

I laughed when I heard it and told him that you are debt free from now on, go ahead with your ambitions in Paris.

I didn't tell him what he needed to do to repay my kindness, because smart people don't need anyone else to say more. "

"So you paid his debts for him, and in return he became your agent and developed a career in Paris." Agron summed up the incident before asking, "So what did you and him do next? Woolen cloth?"

"In fact, it's not unusual, you know how easy it is to make money in my position at the time - whenever there is important news to be announced by the government, I will always notify my agent in advance and let him buy it. Or sell the bonds, and then share the profits with him, we made a lot of money just by such a simple method." Lucien Bonaparte replied, "The money we earn is used for speculation, This guy has a good eye, and every time he speculates, he can make a lot of money. Even if he occasionally misses it, it doesn't hurt. In short, I got the capital I wanted, and he became a rich man.

By the way, we Corsicans are all about humanity. When he first arrived in Paris, his sister was getting married. He couldn't pay for the dowry. I paid for him, and I know he will always be grateful to me. , because he is indeed the kind of person who knows how to remember grace. "

When he said this, Prince Lucien-Bonaparte suddenly sighed again, and then took another sip of wine, "It's a pity that my most important goal has not been achieved - my ministerial career will soon come to an end. , in November 1800, the vile Fouche and some others sued me, got me into a big fight with my brother, I had to resign my ministerial post, and soon after the angry Napoleon He sent me to Spain to be an ambassador, I was going to save capital for my career, but my career was wiped out in an instant and was taken away by my brother!"

Although the past is like smoke, more than 20 years have passed, and Lucian finally forgave his brother, but when he talked about this, he couldn't help showing a bit of resentment.

After drinking a few more sips of wine, Lucien Bonaparte finally regained his energy, "Since the business is over, the so-called capital is no longer important, and the money I saved was spent on Paris and Paris. Ladies of Madrid, and my former agent stayed in Paris and continued his dream - although I could no longer offer him any help at this time, but even so, he still respected me very much, in When I'm in a hurry, I will give me a lot of gifts. In short, I am very fortunate that I have made this friend in my short ministerial career."

"And now you want to introduce this friend to help me, don't you?" Agron asked.

"Yes." Lucien Bonaparte nodded, "he is shrewd, and as someone who has been involved in the financial world in Paris for more than 20 years, he must know a lot, even better than you and me today. France."

"I admit that this may be the case." Aigron agreed with his uncle, and then asked again, "What is his name? And what is his current situation?"

"His name is Jean-Antoine Poncenet," replied Lucien Bonaparte. "In order not to implicate him, I have not had much contact with him over the years, but I have heard some news about him, He's quite prosperous now, already running a big bank, wealthy and well-known, paying on time and almost never making mistakes - I saw him back then."

"I see." Aegron lowered his head and thought silently, "According to you, this man is indeed very powerful, and if he is willing to help us, it will indeed be very useful to me - but you think he Will you be on my side?"

"As far as I know, although he may not entrust his life to you, in order to repay my kindness, he will be willing to help. As long as he can help a little, it is enough for you to benefit from it, right?" Lucian - Bonaparte asked back with a smile, "Besides, even if he doesn't get on your boat, what will you lose?"

"You're right." Aegron agreed with his uncle. "We can at least give it a try."

"Since you have agreed, then I can write a letter to him next, telling him your current situation and what I expect from him, and let him act at his own discretion." Lucien Bonaparte replied.

"Thank you very much, uncle." Agron stood up and thanked Lucien solemnly.

Uncle's behavior tonight did make him feel quite comfortable.

There is no doubt that he has neither power nor influence now, and the so-called "help" is just a try on the favor of the past, and there is not much assurance of success.

But even if he didn't help him, that "we are a family so I'm on your side" attitude, at least it has met Aegron's needs.

There was only so much he could ask of his uncles.

"So now the important thing is to find out the attitude of this guy, see how much he is willing to cooperate, and then judge how much to rely on him." Aegron whispered. "Of course, it would be best if he could be pulled into our camp. I think I can give him enough reward."

"My nephew, you don't sound like a young man." Lucien Bonaparte shook his head slightly. "Do you frown in thought all the time? You should be more cheerful. After all, people want both power and happiness!"

Aegron was stunned, "But aren't we discussing business now? Of course I have to be more serious?"

"What's the matter, it's nothing more than our uncle and nephew meeting. I'm just telling you stories from the past." Lucien-Bonaparte said with a smile, "You have learned to be calm in times of trouble, but you haven't learned to be calm, remember Stay, don't put too much expectations, and don't be disappointed too early, it's all just a breeze."

Then, he picked up the wine glass calmly, "Come on, let's drink to the story."

"Cheers." Aigron finally couldn't help laughing, then picked up the glass and had another drink with his uncle, "Actually, I also have time to calm down, but now that the time is tight, I can't help but be a little nervous."

"The more time is pressing, the more calm it is. How many people were still sleeping peacefully before being sent to the guillotine. If you don't despise life and death, you can't do things that ordinary people can't imagine." Lucien- Bonaparte disagreed.

Aigron smiled bitterly in his heart, his uncle has always been this way, he looks frivolous and detached, but in fact he is a bit ungrounded, no wonder he was finally defeated by Fu Xie and fell out of favor in front of Napoleon.

But even so, this uncle deserves respect, after all, he is doing his best to help.

"Okay, I will keep your teaching in mind." Aegron nodded, then calmly picked up the glass and toasted with his uncle.

"Do you have any other stories?" At this moment, Teresa couldn't help speaking again. She had just listened to Prince Lucien's story and was a little fascinated.

"Lovely girl, although I didn't achieve anything in the end, I have several boxes of stories on my back. If you like, I can even tell you all night." Prince Lucien-Bonaparte couldn't help but exclaim. Laughing, "For example, I can tell you the story of me and Madame Recamier..."

"Stop joking, uncle." Aegron interrupted helplessly.

Others don't know, but Aigron knows that since Lucien Bonaparte became Minister of the Interior, he has been trying to seduce a banker's wife, spending a lot of money and getting nothing. Such an affair is not suitable for Talk about it at a family dinner.

"Hey, yes, it's all so many years ago... I don't know how she is now." The prince smiled stiffly, then sighed again, and picked up the glass, "Come on, let's take care of that beautiful lady again. Mrs. toast!"

"cheers."

In the prince's heart, the lady who is no longer young is not so important. At this time, what he remembers is not the romantic affair, but the time he has lost and will not have in the future.