"Find out the background of your opponents. My friends may be able to give you some help."
"Your friend?" Upon hearing this, Aigron finally became interested again. "who is it?"
"A very shrewd and capable man, now a banker to be precise," Lucien Bonaparte replied.
"Banker?" Aigron was a little confused, 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 of wine, and then continued.
"You all know that in 1799, I followed my brother in launching the Coup of Brumaire and captured France. As a due reward, my brother appointed me Minister of the Interior. At that time, I was really high-spirited and only wanted to do something big. . But if you want to do big things, you have to have money, and I happen to be short of money - so I want to find a reliable agent who can save enough capital for me.
Fortunately, as long as we have power, all these troubles will not be troubles after all. Soon, many people in Paris came to me, hoping to have a good relationship with me and my brother in exchange for financial benefits.
However, I look down on these well-dressed guys. They are all hypocritical and cunning. Moreover, 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 take care of this for me.
I am French, but I am also a Corsican, so I keep these calculations in my heart, and then I silently observe the surroundings and patiently look for the right candidate..."
"It looks like you found it." Aigron probably understood what he meant.
"Yes, I found it, but the process was a bit unexpected." Prince Lucien Bonaparte nodded slightly, and then continued, "You know, as the Minister of the Interior at the time, I had the power to appoint ministers from all French provinces. Senior officials also have the power to manage the country's roads and ports, and they also have to deal with petitions from all over the country. One day I received a petition. The author was a bank manager in a small place. He told us painfully about the revolutionary era. Chaotic financial and monetary policies have caused harm to the local area, and begged my brother and I to make reforms 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 suggestions, although I don’t know much about finance, but I think what he said makes sense.”
"So you conveyed these suggestions to my father?" Aigron asked.
"Yes, I conveyed this petition to him, and he was very interested. At that time, there was also a general voice in the financial community, 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 soon after, after careful consideration, Napoleon complied with these calls, created the Bank of France, and later issued a new franc currency, finally putting an end to the financial and monetary chaos. The market has stabilized."
"This is also one of his major contributions to France." Aiglon replied.
"Indeed, but we are going to talk about another aspect -" Lucien Bonaparte smiled slightly, "I am not only interested in this letter, I am also interested in the person who wrote it. , I don’t understand finance but I am a good speaker, so I also have the ability to read a person’s nature from between the lines. I quickly saw that this person is cautious, smart, and quite professional, and more importantly It's because he is a provincial and has not been contaminated and swallowed up by the complicated interpersonal relationships in Paris..."
"So you turned him into your agent!" Theresa, who had been listening carefully, understood when she heard this.
"Teresa, you are really a beautiful and smart princess." Lucien Bonaparte smiled and nodded, admitting this conjecture, "After my brother decided to adopt this suggestion, I wrote a letter specifically I gave it to this provincial shopkeeper and invited him to come to Paris to have an interview with me. You can imagine how flattered he must be. He rushed to Paris all night and night, and then met with me. In order not to waste your time, I will not Describe specifically what we talked about - but after the meeting I was very satisfied with him. Although he was not good at words and even looked a little dull, he was indeed very professional and every time he spoke, he was meaningful and enough to hit the target. Key point, and very keen on numbers. I soon met him a bit late. I even felt that so many bombastic fools sat on the seats of the National Assembly, but he could only stay in obscurity in the provinces. In fact, It’s a joke God made on the world! It’s a pity that this kind of joke has happened every day since ancient times.”
Then, he changed the subject, "But this time, I wanted to change God's joke. I only saw this one side and decided to let him stay in Paris and make greater contributions to me and France. So I asked him 'My friend, you are truly amazingly talented, so why do you stay in the provinces instead of coming here to show your talents?'
He looked embarrassed, and then told me with shame that he had indeed had a similar dream, but his father was infected with the customs of the old times and was a prodigal son who drank, drank, whored and gambled, which caused the family to owe a lot of debt and the ancestral fields were also destroyed. They were all sold out, and he finally managed to keep his family's bank account, and then used it to earn money to pay off his debts. The heavy debt weighed him down and he couldn't come to Paris.
I laughed loudly after hearing this, and then told him that from now on you will be debt-free and feel free to pursue your ambitions in Paris.
I didn't tell him what he needed to do to repay my kindness, because smart people don't need to be told. "
"So you paid off his debts, and in return he became your agent, and then developed his career in Paris." Aigron summarized this past incident, and then asked, "Then what did you and him do next? Woolen cloth?"
"Actually, it's not that surprising. You know how easy it is to make money in the position I was in - whenever the government has major news to be announced, I will always notify my agent in advance and ask him to purchase it. Or sell public bonds and share the profits with him. By such a simple method we made a lot of money." Lucien Bonaparte replied, "We used the money we earned to speculate. This guy has a very accurate vision, and every time he speculates, he can gain a lot. Even if he misses occasionally, it doesn't hurt. In short, I got the capital I wanted, and he also became a rich man.
By the way, we Corsicans are all about favors. When he first arrived in Paris, his sister was getting married and he couldn’t afford the dowry. I paid for him, and I know he will be forever grateful to me. , because he is indeed the kind of person who knows how to remember gratitude. "
When he said this, Prince Lucien Bonaparte suddenly sighed again, and then took another sip of wine. "Unfortunately, my most important goal was not achieved - my ministerial career will soon come to an end." , in November, 1800, that despicable Fouche and others brought a complaint against me, which caused a great quarrel between me and my brother, and I was obliged to resign my ministerial post, and soon afterwards Napoleon became furious. So they sent me to Spain as ambassador. I originally wanted to save capital for my career, but my career suddenly disappeared and was taken away by my brother!"
Although the past is like smoke, more than twenty years have passed, and Lucien finally forgave his brother, but when talking about this, he still couldn't help showing a bit of resentment.
After taking a few more sips of wine, Lucien Bonaparte finally regained his energy, "Now that my career is over, the so-called capital is no longer important. The money I saved was spent on Paris and France. Ladies in Madrid, my former agent stayed in Paris and continued his dream-although I could no longer provide him with any help at this time, but even so, he still respected me very much. When I was short of money, he would give me a lot of gifts. In short, I am very lucky that I was able to make this friend during my short career as a minister."
"And you want to introduce this friend to me for help now, right?" Aigron asked.
"Yes." Lucien Bonaparte nodded, "He has a shrewd mind, and as a person who has been involved in the Paris financial world for more than twenty years, he must know a lot of things, even better than you and me. France.”
"I admit that this may indeed be the case." Aiglon also agreed with his uncle's opinion, and then asked again, "Then what is his name? And what is his specific situation now?"
"His name is Jean-Antoine Poncenet." Lucien Bonaparte replied. "In order not to intrude on him, I have not had much contact with him over the years, but I still heard some news about him. He is quite prosperous now, already running a large bank, rich and well-known, making prompt payments and almost never making mistakes - I could see that he had this ability back then."
"I understand." Aigron lowered his head and thought silently, "According to you, this person is indeed very powerful. If he is willing to help us, he will indeed be very useful to me - but do you think he is very powerful?" Will you stand by me?"
"As far as I know, although he may not entrust his life and property to you, in order to repay my kindness, he will be willing to do something. As long as he can help a little, it will be enough for you to benefit from it, right?" Lucien - Bonaparte asked with a smile, "Besides, even if he doesn't get on your ship, what will you lose?"
"You are right." Aigron agreed with his uncle. "We can at least give it a try."
"Since you agree, I can write him a letter next, telling him your current situation and my expectations for him, and let him make his own decisions." Lucien Bonaparte replied.
"Thank you very much, uncle." Aiglon stood up and solemnly thanked Lucien.
What his uncle did tonight really made him feel quite comfortable.
There is no doubt that he has neither power nor influence now. The so-called "help" is just a try based on past favors, and there is not much guarantee of success.
But even if he didn't help with this favor, the attitude of "we are a family, so I stand with you" has at least satisfied Aigron's needs.
This was all he asked of his uncles.
"So the important thing now is to find out this guy's attitude, see how far he is willing to cooperate, and then judge how much to rely on him." Aigron said in a low voice. "Of course, it would be best if we could bring him into our camp. I think I can promise him a sufficient reward."
"My nephew, you really don't sound like a young man when you speak." Lucien Bonaparte shook his head slightly, "Do you have to frown and think in thought all the time? You should be more cheerful. , after all, people want both power and happiness!"
Aigron was stunned, "But aren't we discussing business now? Of course I have to be more serious?"
"What's serious is that our uncle and nephew met and I told you stories about the past." Lucien Bonaparte said with a smile, "You have learned to be calm in situations, but you have not yet learned to be calm. Remember Stay here, don’t place too much expectations, and don’t be disappointed too early, it’s all just a breeze blowing in your face.”
Then, he calmly picked up the wine glass and said, "Come, let's drink to the story."
"Cheers." Aigron finally couldn't help but smile, then picked up the wine glass and drank another drink with his uncle. "Actually, I have calm moments, but now that time is running out, I can't help but feel a little nervous."
"The more time is pressed, the more leisurely we should be. How many people slept peacefully before being sent to the guillotine? If we don't despise life and death, success or failure, we can't be detached and do things that ordinary people can't imagine." Lucien - Bonaparte disagreed.
Aigron smiled bitterly in his heart. His uncle had always been like this. He looked frivolous and detached, but in fact he was a bit ungrounded. No wonder he was defeated by Fouché in the end and fell out of favor in front of Napoleon.
But even so, this uncle still deserves respect. After all, he is doing his best to help.
"Okay, I will keep your instructions in mind." Aigron nodded, and then calmly picked up the wine glass to toast with his uncle.
"Do you have any other stories?" At this moment, Teresa couldn't help but speak again. She had just been fascinated by Prince Lucien's story.
"My lovely girl, although I accomplished nothing in the end, I carry several boxes of stories with me. If you are willing, I can even tell you all night." Prince Lucien Bonaparte couldn't help but laugh. He laughed and said, "For example, I can tell you a story about me and Madame Récamier..."
"Stop joking, uncle." Aiglon interrupted him helplessly.
Others didn't know it, but Aigron knew that after Lucien Bonaparte became Minister of the Interior, he had been trying to seduce a banker's wife, spending a lot of money but getting nothing. This kind of affair was not suitable for people in the country. Talk about it during family dinners.
"Hey, that's right. It happened so many years ago... I don't know how she is doing now." The prince's smile froze, then he sighed and picked up the wine glass, "Come, let's go to that beautiful woman again." Let’s have a drink, madam!”
"cheers."
In the heart of the prince, the lady who was no longer young was not that important. At this time, what he missed was not the romantic affair, but the time he had lost and would never have again in the future.
