Flowers, Swords and France

After getting a relatively satisfactory answer, the friends called by Du Taai did not stay long and left one after another - although they would definitely consider it again after returning, but Charles believed that he would win over most of them. Human support should be no problem.

Ciel was left behind by his master.

"A very convincing speech, my friend." Du Taai raised his glass and complimented Charles.

Ciel also raised his glass and answered with a smile. "I'm afraid it's not my speech that's persuasive, but the current situation and the shining franc. If the current situation is stable, of course your friends won't come to listen, right? And we can only stay in peace and quiet bide your time.”

"That's right." The speculator and banker showed his standard professional and honest smile. "In my opinion, the results we have been waiting for for many years are finally coming to fruition."

"However, although the situation seems to be more favorable, we must also be cautious..." Ciel calmly reminded the other party.

"Of course, I have invited several friends today who I have carefully observed for a long time. They all have courage, plans, and ambitions. They want to take a big shot and earn their votes - I am I will invite them only after seeing it clearly." Du Taai replied with a smile, "Don't forget, the most important thing for a person in my profession is to learn to be cautious, even if it is timid, it is better to be brave."

"Very good." Charles also smiled reservedly.

Then the two complimented each other.

After years of sponsorship and dealings, Du Taai has now become a member of the organization. If anything happens in the future, his benefits will definitely be indispensable, and Ciel will naturally spend some time to make friends with him.

After chatting for a while, the banker suddenly changed the subject.

"Sir, to tell you the truth, as far as I'm concerned, you are one of the few young talents in France." He made a gesture to stop Charles from saying something self-effacing. "Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to please you. Huan Xin just said that. In my opinion, a person who has done so many things in his early twenties is qualified to be called a young talent. "

Ciel said nothing.

"For a young talent like you, realizing your party's ideal of seizing power is not the end, right? A secretary position will definitely not satisfy you. What are your plans?" Du Taai asked pretending to be casual. "What exactly do you want to be paid for?"

"What do you mean?"

"If our plan is really successful, a talent like yours should have unlimited future, plus you are so young..." Du-Taai's expression at this moment was quite serious, and the superficial simplicity was gone. Sora, "Sometimes I'm really curious. One day, after you become a person who can lead France - this is inevitable - what are you going to do?"

"The future is changing rapidly, and of course I cannot predict what will happen next." Charles gave a formulaic answer.

"However, for a person like you, you definitely have a goal. No matter whether the goal is good or bad, it is there, and it will definitely not be small. For you, the future is just a process of achieving your goal. "I'm sure it doesn't matter what method you use." Du-Taai raised his glass again, "I don't have many advantages, but I'm pretty good at judging people. That's why I came from a penniless boy to where I am today."

"I admire you very much." Charles followed suit and took another sip. "Well, to be honest, I just want France to complete the unfinished work of the emperor under my leadership."

Du-Taai burst into laughter. "Everyone thought that, even me when I was younger."

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

"That sounds good, but it means war." Du Taai replied calmly.

"Yes, a war must be fought, and it is very likely that there will be more than one war. Except for the French themselves, no one likes French expansion, and the enemy must be defeated before intervention comes. For this reason, I think France must prepare a large army, a A large army must also form an effective support system so that the army can act and fight effectively. "

"Then we go to war with the whole of Europe like we did back then?" Du-Tar's tone was a little sarcastic.

"Of course not. This kind of expansion must be moderate. We must definitely keep in mind the emperor's lesson. More territory is not always better." Charles replied patiently.

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

"We don't need Spain. Let those barren places be left to those fanatical believers. Belgium can't be wanted now. The 1839 treaty restricts us too much. Britain is too powerful now and we can't provoke it. I'm afraid it will be in a few decades." We will not go to war with them. 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 Belgium's readability and neutrality. The western half of Luxembourg was given to Belgium, and Belgium became a permanently neutral country. 】

"where?"

"Saar, to be precise, the Luxembourg-Saar region." Charles answered simply and clearly. "For the sake of the coal mines there, for the future and survival of France, it must belong to France."

"Oh..." the questioner agreed and nodded, "That makes sense."

After 1870, the power comparison between France and Germany, the two arch-enemies, changed dramatically. This change was not only reflected in population, but also in industrial scale, especially the most important steel production. When the World War was about to break out in 1913, France's steel production was 4.6 million tons, while Germany's was 18 million tons, and France was only a quarter of Germany's. This gap is even more desperate and unsolvable than the population gap between France and Germany.

The reason for this situation is precisely because of resource issues.

Iron ore is needed to make steel, and coke is needed to extract iron ore. To burn coke, coal is needed, and a huge amount of coal.

France is not short of iron ore, even if it loses Alsace-Lorraine, it is not short of it - it still has the iron-rich Longwy-Brie Basin (the Germans have always coveted this place, and during the First World War, this area and Belgium were always regarded as "areas that must be annexed"), which is enough for France to use for many years. However, France is extremely short of coal, and the coal mines in Normandy and some parts of the south are not enough to meet industrial needs.

Without coal, there is a lack of coke, so it must be imported from foreign countries, such as Britain or Germany. Importing from foreign countries will increase the cost of manufacturers, making the cost of French steel higher than that of other countries. The price of steel is higher than that of other countries, so other industrial products can be imagined. Therefore, the French industry is obviously not inferior to Germany in terms of technical level, but its market competitiveness is far less than that of Germany. Germany has slowly grown in profitable foreign trade and cultivated a monster that can shake the world, but France has no way to do it. French capitalists can only maintain profits through capital operations and the financial industry.

In the early and middle 19th century, because the world's industrialization wave had not yet begun, this congenital deficiency of France had not yet manifested itself, and in the mid-to-late 19th century, when the era of large-scale industrialization began, this congenital deficiency was clearly manifested. Coal is the food of industry, and steel is the backbone of industry. Because of insufficient food, it is underdeveloped, and because of underdevelopment, it is impossible to achieve a healthy life. This is the dilemma that France faced later.

Later generations called France a usurious imperialist, which is certainly a compliment, but it is also a bitter irony. Doesn't France know the role of steel and guns? Doesn't France know that industrial capacity is the ultimate manifestation of national strength?

The ruling elites of France have not ignored this problem and have been seeking solutions, but the changing world situation makes people helpless.

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

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

This painful coal problem was barely solved until the Henri-Keye government led West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries to establish the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, but at what cost? It is to force yourself to forget, to forget the hatred brought by the three German massacres in the past hundred years. It is to forget the young people who died on the battlefield to resist the German invasion, to forget the civilians who were massacred by the Germans, and to say to the person who beat you up many times, "Let's be good friends, I forgive you..."

The price is really too high, isn't it?

However, France at that time could only accept this outcome sadly, and history had made France have to do so.

Is this result destined by God? Is it the time? Is France destined to go this way?

Charles, a staunch atheist who grew up with materialistic education, does not believe this.

"But that place now belongs to Prussia, and will other countries sit back and watch us take it?" Du-Taye asked again. "If we interfere..."

"We are good students of the emperor, and he always fights quickly and decisively." Charles answered a little obscurely.

The sophisticated banker certainly heard Charles' answer. "Is this your personal opinion?"

"Yes, for now." Charles nodded with a little regret, "and I rarely mention it to anyone."

Du-Taye looked at Charles with some surprise.

"Does a person really think about so many things when he is twenty years old?"

"If he has actually lived for forty-five years, he will." Charles suddenly answered in a low voice.

"What?" Du-Taye did not hear clearly what Charles said just now.

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

"Cheers."

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