Flowers, Swords and France

Under everyone's gaze, Mary directly revealed Fran's name without any hesitation and declared that she could fully represent her brother.

Although most people already knew who the lady present today was, after Mary emphasized it specifically, people still couldn't help but feel a shiver in their hearts. They all knew that since this was specially stated by the Minister, then it cannot be Let’s look at Miss Treville from a normal perspective.

After Mary sat down, the conference room fell into silence. Fran looked around, scanning everyone's faces, and then stood up.

"Nice to meet you all." Like Mary, her attitude became very serious. She just nodded slightly to everyone and immediately got to the point. "First of all, I want to explain that I am here today just to give you a message. I am just acting as an assistant for you, and I am very happy that I can serve you... I hope that I can rely on my own efforts to create enough satisfactory benefits for you gentlemen. "

Her posture was very low, and she kept saying that she was just an assistant, but the more she acted like this, the more people dared not neglect her - after all, who dares to regard the minister, your own sister, who feeds and feeds your parents, as an assistant?

"As you can see, I am very young and don't have much experience, so I must have a lot of things that I don't understand..." Fran smiled slightly, "If I say something wrong or make a mistake, I have wrong conclusions. Please correct me sincerely... This will be of great help to me, thank you!"

These people are all industrialists, and most of them are engaged in railway-related production industries, so to be honest, they all rely on orders from the Ministry of Transport. Because of this, of course they dare not offend the minister's sister. No one Point out any mistakes and as soon as she finished, people applauded and praised the woman's humility.

As time went by, the afternoon sunlight began to shine through the curtains onto the conference room tables, leaving longer and longer shadows and making many people semi-dark. These lights and shadows made the whole room dim. It seems a little far away from the world.

It has begun to cool down outside, but because there are many people gathering in the conference room, it is actually warmer.

"Actually, the first thing to call everyone here is to give everyone a chance to communicate with each other. After all, we are actually from different places and different industries, so we don't have many opportunities to communicate on weekdays. It should be a good thing to get together now. Fran said unhurriedly, "If you can establish a good personal relationship, then I think it will be a great good thing for you, the empire, and the people."

After saying these opening remarks, Fran's expression became more calm. The experience of being treated so seriously by a group of rich and powerful celebrities was indeed quite new and interesting to her. Because of this, all her previous nervousness and uneasiness had disappeared, and she became more interested.

Although these opening remarks do not make much sense, they are necessary to show her dominant position and to establish herself as a "helper".

Of course, the next words won't be so pleasant.

"Today, there is actually a very important matter. I want to explain to you on behalf of Your Excellency the Minister -" Fran looked around everyone, and there was no uneasiness in her blue eyes. "Based on the current situation, Your Excellency the Minister has judged In the next period of time, the empire's railway construction will temporarily enter a low ebb stage. No new projects will be built, and no new orders will be issued, so please make some preparations in advance..."

Her voice was very soft, but it immediately caused a stir in the conference room.

"What? What's going on?" Many people exclaimed and then looked at each other in confusion.

They can't help but be surprised. What manufacturing companies like them fear most is the sudden disappearance of orders, especially large customers. As companies related to the railway industry, government orders were previously the most profitable and important for them. Those with the largest order volume, and some even specialize in government orders. They originally thought that this was the most stable source of revenue. Who would have thought that the steady flow of revenue would suddenly stop.

Along with the shock was confusion. Everyone did not understand why such a move was suddenly required when the empire's railway industry was becoming increasingly prosperous and in the ascendant. Everyone knows that Your Excellency the Minister is most obsessed with the railway industry. It can be said that he single-handedly laid the foundation of the current imperial railway industry and is also the person who is most actively involved in railway construction. It is really incomprehensible that such a person would announce the suspension of work without warning. .

"Please don't panic." Seeing some commotion in the conference room, Fran immediately reminded them, "I'm here to inform you today just to inform you of this situation so that everyone can prepare accordingly as soon as possible."

"But what is all this for? Miss Treville?" Everyone still didn't quite understand, and some were ready to ask.

"Hey... this is an accident that cannot be changed objectively." Fran sighed, looking very regretful, "This is His Majesty's will. And His Majesty made this decision out of necessity... because not long after, France may be about to engage in an unprecedented struggle. The government must concentrate all the financial resources it can use, so it has to temporarily suspend railway construction and no longer build new projects.”

"This..." People were speechless.

They could certainly hear what "unprecedented struggle" meant, and in the face of such war needs, there was really not much reason to talk about it. Besides, even if there were still opinions, who could openly question His Majesty the Emperor? They could only hide their anxiety and anger in their hearts.

Some people wanted to ask which country the Empire was going to fight with in an "unprecedented struggle", but they all knew that this was a secret of the Empire and they would definitely not get an answer, so they finally remained silent.

"In the position of the Minister, he would be more heartbroken than you, but there is no way... His Majesty the Emperor's will is above all else, we can only obey his orders, and we must do it well." Because the atmosphere in the room suddenly became heavy, Fran also seemed a little depressed, "Now what we can do now is just to try to save the situation and prevent everything from getting too bad because of such an emergency..."

It's amazing.

Mary, who had been watching Fran from the side, couldn't help but secretly shocked in her heart.

In her opinion, Fran was calm and composed after the meeting began, and she always controlled the direction of the meeting, just like the calmness she witnessed when Charles and the financiers were together, forcing people to act at their own pace.

Although the participants today were not financiers, but businessmen from manufacturing companies, and in order to allow Fran to control the situation smoothly enough, those wealthy people who were powerful enough to influence the government were not invited, but her performance can still be called excellent, which can be said to be worthy of the minister's painstaking efforts.

Does this family have this talent for oppressing people? Mary thought to herself.

"It's bad enough, ma'am." At this time, a businessman smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty's decision has given me an unbearable blow... I don't know if my business can continue to operate now, I can only hope that this storm will pass soon."

The businessman's words quickly triggered a wave of echoes, and it was obvious that many participants thought the same as him.

Unlike the financial sector, industrial manufacturing companies must use various raw materials and semi-finished products to complete orders. The more complex the finished product, the more stable the supply of materials is needed. In order to successfully complete the government's orders, they had prepared enough raw materials. They originally thought that they could get stable income from the government, but who could have thought that they would face such a disaster next?

Unable to wait for the orders that they thought would definitely come, the next thing is the accumulation of raw materials, the poor flow of funds, and even the possibility of a funding break. You can imagine how they feel.

Although according to Fran's description, he can only attribute his resentment to His Majesty the Emperor and no longer blame the Treville family, but this kind of resentment and worry cannot be resolved.

"I'm really sorry, for the sake of suddenness, we have to notify you at this time..." Fran stood up and apologized to everyone.

Her beauty, coupled with her pitiful appearance, was enough to touch anyone's heart, but the pain of merchants facing losses was enough to make them ignore her beauty.

"Even if it's for the sake of suddenness, there's no need to toss us like this..." Many people still complained.

"Miss Treville, forgive me for being blunt, this is a disaster..." Someone even expressed anger directly and excitedly, "We understand that the will of His Majesty the Emperor cannot be changed, and the needs of the Empire are above all else. If the Empire needs it, we are willing to give every Su to the Empire, but if our business can't run because of this, what will happen? Many people will lose their jobs, and it will cause an economic disaster! Is this good for the country?"

The original text is available on Liu # 9 @shu/bar!

"Yes!" "Yes!" His words resonated with others, and everyone echoed.

Although the crowd was already angry at this time, Fran was not in a hurry.

"You are right... that is indeed the case. Even the Minister thinks so. He believes that now that the Empire has just stabilized and the economy is booming again, we should carefully protect this prosperity and not let the country face the dilemma of large-scale unemployment, because large-scale unemployment means economic crisis, and economic crisis means that people's confidence is frustrated and they have no food or clothing... and all this means that revolution may break out at any time! Didn't the previous dynasty collapse because of the revolution? Can we witness such a situation happen again in the Empire? No, no!"

Flan's sudden words shocked everyone. They had to keep silent because they were originally indignant. They didn't expect that she, who was supposed to be firmly defending the Empire, would appear to be more radical than these businessmen themselves, and even went so far as to say that "large-scale unemployment may trigger a terrible revolution."

However, after coming to their senses, they all felt that this was too much for their own thoughts.

In any case, it is always right to scare the Imperial Government.

"Yes, you are right!" They all agreed. "We can't let the empire risk revolution again."

"Haven't you seen the violence of revolution before?" Fran asked again, "Do you still want to see revolution?"

"We don't want to." Eugene Schneider, a big businessman sitting in the middle of the group, stood up and echoed Fran's words, "So, Miss Treville, please appeal to the Minister. We don't oppose any decision of the imperial government. We just want the imperial government to consider the risks that this sudden measure may face..."

"Plead, ma'am!" The others echoed again.

Eugene Schneider, because he surrendered to the Treville family early and had a good relationship with Miss Treville, he knew the inside story a long time ago. Therefore, he actually started preparing a long time ago. He didn't need to be too shocked. The reason why he stood up at this time was to cooperate with this lady.

After years of operation, the Schneider family's company has become one of the largest manufacturing companies in France. They have also established a very high prestige and status in the industry. He stood up and expressed his position, which naturally guided the emotions of others and let the meeting go in the direction Fran wanted.

Of course, everyone knows that the companies affiliated with the Treville family are also giants in the industry, but no one dares to mention it in such a place.

Amid the noisy voices, Fran sat quietly, as if she was listening carefully to everyone's opinions.

"Don't worry, I understand your feelings very well, and I will definitely convey your concerns to the Minister." After a moment, she said slowly, "And please rest assured, after all these years of cooperation, he is very grateful for your contribution to the empire's railway industry. In this crisis, he will never sit idly by and watch your business fall into trouble, and he will never be willing to see your workers fall into unemployment and fall into a situation of food and clothing..."

As soon as she said this, people immediately quieted down, and then looked at this lady, as if the Minister himself was here.

Because of this sudden blow, the Minister has now become their life-saving straw. When she said that the Minister could provide help, others were naturally very happy.

"At this critical moment, the Minister believes that mutual assistance among the industry is imperative." Under the gaze of everyone, Fran continued, "He is also willing to invest funds to provide due assistance to help you overcome difficulties and maintain operations." (~^~)