Chapter 152 Restoring Contact
Ernst is generally satisfied with the work of the Marseille Hechingen Consortium branch, and can rate it at least eight points.
However, after praising and rewarding some outstanding employees, some deficiencies here have been adjusted.
Aside from the company's business conditions, there was nothing Ernst particularly wanted to see in Marseille.
After briefly visiting some unique sights in the city of Marseille the next day, Ernst and his party left.
Following the railway north, Ernst first arrived in Lyon, a textile city in France, and then transferred from here to Paris.
October 18, 1868.
Paris, France.
In this era, it is completely impossible to find a city in Europe that can compare with Paris in size and quality. Of course, this is just Ernst's personal opinion.
The black chimneys and rivers flowing with black water in London during the same period were suffocating.
Although the environments in Vienna and Berlin are good, they are not outstanding in terms of scale.
St. Petersburg is full of depression and depression.
Napoleon III carried out a large-scale renovation and reconstruction of the old town of Paris, making the city full of vitality and showing artistic value.
Of course, the citizens of Paris at this time were not interested in this new city. The French were very critical of this new city, which probably meant that it had destroyed the original unique flavor of old Paris.
Ernst still appreciated Paris from the perspective of his previous life, so naturally he could not understand the thinking of these people.
Of course, this did not prevent the Paris citizens of this era from hating the new city, and there were many elites among the critics, including writers and artists.
In the end, forced by the pressure of public opinion, Haussmann, the designer of Napoleon III, resigned to calm the incident, but the transformation of Paris continued.
Later, Paris also built the Eiffel Tower, which was hated and complained by Paris citizens at that time.
The transformation of Paris by the Napoleon III government basically established the urban form of Paris. There were more green plants on both sides of the new streets, and city parks can be seen everywhere.
Ernst's motorcade drove slowly through the streets of Paris, passing through the sea of people, heading towards the places where the rich and nobles of Paris lived.
...
A manor in Paris.
Under the guidance of his entourage, Ernst came to a living room.
“Oh, I didn’t expect little Constantine’s son to be so old!” A white-haired French old man said while sitting on the sofa and looking at the visitors.
This is Grandpa Ernst’s former comrade-in-arms, the French Count Jacob Medina (fictional).
"Jaime Medina, come and meet me. This is the grandson of my old friend. I didn't expect that after so many years, that little guy Constantine has such a young son. He must be sixty or seventy now!" Jacob Medina said to his son.
Jacob Medina’s son is estimated to be sixty or seventy years old this year, and is the same generation as Prince Constantine.
"Hello, I am Baron Jaime Medina. Welcome to Paris." Jaime Medina said to Ernst politely. "Baron Jaime Medina is pleased to meet you, and the old count wishes you good health." Ernst said to the father and son.
"Today, the little guys at home are not here, otherwise it would be nice to let you meet them." Jacob Medina said.
The little guys refer to Jacob Medina’s three grandchildren.
Jacob Medina's family is obviously more prosperous than the royal family of Hechingen. He has several brothers, two sons and three grandsons.
"It's a pity that the commander settled in Bavaria and never came back. Otherwise, the remnants of our old era might still be able to get together, and now I'm the only one left, an old guy." Jacob Medina sighed.
The commander Jacob Medina was talking about was Ernst’s grandfather, the former Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s stepson and adjutant. However, after Napoleon’s restoration, Eugène de Beauharnais De Beauharnais did not return to France to support Napoleon, but remained in Bavaria on the advice of his father-in-law, who was then King of Bavaria.
"Back then, your grandfather and I fought together under the commander's banner. Although we later became our own masters, our friendship will never be forgotten. At that time, the swords were shining..." The old Jacob Bu Medina recalled the past in a low and slow tone.
Ernst and Jaime Medina listened quietly as Jacob Medina recounted his experiences as a young man.
"What is your main purpose for coming to Paris this time? Little Ernst." After recalling the past, Jacob Medina began to ask Ernst about the purpose of his trip.
Ernst said respectfully: "Your Excellency, my father's instructions this time are to visit my father and grandfather's old friends. I have no other purpose."
Jacob · Medina nodded: "It's difficult! There are still people who remember us old guys. When you go back, you must say hello to your father for me."
"I am happy to oblige." Ernst said.
"I'm afraid we old guys don't have much time, so you young people still need to move around more, have more friends, more roads, especially communication between nobles..." Jacob Medina said to the young people.
......
Ernst stayed in Paris for three days and visited all the former partners of the Hechingen royal family. Because of their age, many of them had already No more.
However, the Hechingen royal family has re-established its relationship network in France. As long as the two parties have more exchanges in the future, they can at least support each other in public opinion.
In addition, Ernst also visited other great nobles in Paris, including various factions, including the Bonaparte family.
As for the past events between the Hechingen royal family and the Bonaparte family, they are nothing in European history. Enemies can also become friends for the sake of profit,
The Hechingen royal family and the Bonaparte family are obviously It has not reached the level of an enemy, that is, Constantine has rarely gone abroad as he has grown older in recent years, so his contacts with these forces have decreased.
Like the neighboring Sigmaringen and the Prussian royal family, they are still in constant contact. For example, Carol I was able to serve as Emperor of Romania because of the operation of Napoleon III.
But history proved that this investment failed, and Carol I finally favored his family and sided with Prussia.
Where there is cooperation, there is also stabbing, just like the current dispute between the two sides about Leopold and the Spanish throne.
Therefore, in the aristocratic world, people do not take joy in things or feel sad about themselves. Everything is based on practical interests.
When Ernst came to Paris, he did not necessarily need to gain the support of these people. The most important thing was to reconstruct the contact network. Intelligence was an important bargaining chip for communication between nobles. As a local snake, they had control over The information can better enable the Hechingen royal family to avoid risks.
(End of this chapter)