World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 86 Unlimited Credit (2)
After Mr. Baron finished speaking, the whole audience was shocked, and he himself was so excited that his nostrils dilated.He bid farewell to the guests and came to the living room.This living room is painted with gold on a white background, which has attracted a lot of discussion in the area of ​​Ang Tan Road.He specially ordered the guests to be led into this living room, and they were amazed at the splendor from the moment they got off the car.The count was standing in the drawing-room looking at several reproductions of Albana and Fatoian, but the banker bought them as authentic.Also because it is a fake, it does not match the various golden chicory carvings on the ceiling.The count turned around when he heard the sound of Tangra coming in.Tangra nodded slightly, and motioned for the count to sit on a gilded wooden chair with embroidered gold and white forging cushions.The count sat down.

"It was M. Monte Cristo that I had the honor to see?"

"I have the honor to see it," replied the count, "and it is Mr. Baron Tanglar, Member of the House of Representatives, Legion of Honor?" Monte Cristo counted all the titles that could be found on the baronet's card.

Tangra bit his lips when he heard the teasing. "Excuse me, sir," he said, "I failed to address you by the title you announced at the beginning of our meeting, but you know that the current government is a civilian government, and I am the representative of the interests of the civilian population."

"Therefore," said Monte Cristo, "the custom of calling you baron remains, but the custom of addressing you as count is abandoned."

"Ah! I don't pay attention to these things myself, sir," Tangla said nonchalantly, "I was made a baron and received an honorary honor because of some of my contributions, but..."

"However, like Monsieur Montmorency and Lafitte French statesman (1757-1834), former Marquis, representative of the liberal aristocracy, who advocated the reconciliation of the royal family with the bourgeois revolution. Monsieur, you have abandoned your various Title? That's a good example to follow, sir."

"Not all give up," Tangla said awkwardly, "For outsiders, you know..."

"Yes, to your servants you are a lord; to the journalists you are sir; and to your employers you are a citizen, and this distinction is apt in constitutional government. I know The mystery inside this."

Tangra bit his lip. Seeing that he was no match for Monte Cristo in this aspect, he wanted to turn the topic to a topic he was comfortable with. "Mr. Earl," he bowed and said, "I have received the notification from Thomson & French."

"That's great, Mr. Baron. Please allow me to call you like your subordinates. This is a bad custom in some countries, but because these countries are no longer knighted, there are still many people called Barons. I said I am very happy. Glad, I don't have to introduce myself, which is always embarrassing. You just said that you have received the notification letter?"

"Yes," Tangla said, "but to be honest, I didn't fully understand what was said in the letter."

"really?"

"So, I had the honor to go to the mansion, and I wanted to hear your explanation."

"Since I am here, please speak, sir, and I will listen to you."

"This letter," said Tangra, "I think I still have it on me." He touched his pocket, "oh, here, this letter opens an account for the Count of Monte Cristo with our bank with unlimited credit. "

"Oh, Monsieur Baron, what's so incomprehensible about that?"

"No, sir, just the word 'infinity' . . . "

"Well, aren't those two words written in French? . . . They were written by those Anglo-Saxons, you know."

"Oh, it's in French, sir, and there's really nothing in the letter that's objectionable in terms of wording, but not so much in terms of bookkeeping."

"Does it mean," asked Monte Cristo, with as much bluntness as possible, "that, in your opinion, Thomson & French is not very reliable, Monsieur Baronet? No, that would put me in trouble. Because I There are some sums of money deposited with them."

"Oh, absolutely sure," Tangra replied with a mocking smile on his face, "From a financial point of view, the meaning of the word 'unlimited' is ambiguous..."

"Because it's unlimited, isn't it?" said Monte Cristo.

"That's right, sir, that's exactly what I want to say. And ambiguity is doubt. The sage said that it is better to wait in doubt."

"That is to say," continued Monte Cristo, "that while Thomson & French may be daring, Tanglars is by no means an example of it."

"What do you mean by that, Monsieur Count?"

"It is clear that Mr. Thomson's and Mr. French's business is unlimited, but Mr. Tanglar's is limited. He is wise to protect himself, as he himself has just stated."

"Sir," said the banker haughtily, "no one has ever counted my cash-box."

"Then," said Monte Cristo coldly, "I seem to have begun."

"Why?"

"As you ask me to explain, sir, it's a lot like timidity."

Tang La bit his lip, this was the second time he was defeated by this person, and this time he was defeated on his own territory.He was polite, but he was sarcastically speaking, which was completely pretending, and he pretended to the extreme, almost speaking rudely.On the contrary, Monte Cristo always wore an extremely elegant smile on his face, and he looked as if he wanted to, always in the upper hand.

"Anyway, sir," Tangla said after a moment of silence, "I want to be understood by others, but at the same time, please calculate exactly how much money you want to extract from me."

"But, monsieur," continued Monte Cristo, determined not to lose an inch of ground in this war of words, "the reason why I open an unlimited credit account with you is precisely because I don't know exactly how much money I need to spend. .”

The banker, feeling that his time had come to gain the upper hand, leaned back in his chair with a vulgar and haughty smile on his face. "Ah, sir," he said, "you can rest assured that if you have any requirements, you can believe that the total funds of Tangla Trading Company, no matter how limited, can always meet the huge withdrawal requirements, even if you want 100 million... "

"How much?" said Monte Cristo.

"I said 100 million." Tangra blurted out a very stupid remark.

"What's a million for me?" said the Earl. "My God, sir, if I only wanted a million, I wouldn't open a credit account for this small amount. A million? I have it in my wallet or in my bag I always have a million in my wallet." Monte Cristo took out two treasury bills payable at sight with a face value of 100 each from the notepad with his business card.For a person like Tang Gela, you can't just stab him, but suffocate him.The blow to the head was so well-placed that the banker almost fell over in a daze, and stared at Monte Cristo in a panic, the pupils of which were terribly dilated.

"Come, tell me the truth," said Monte Cristo, "that you are wary of Thomson & French. My God, it is obvious, and I expected it. I don't know much about business. Yes, but be on guard. Here are two more letters of the same nature as those addressed to you, one from Asten & Escriles, Vienna, addressed to Mr. Baron Rothschild, the other The letter is from Barings, London, to Mr. Laffert. One word from you, sir, and I will relieve you of all worries, for I can find one of the other two firms at will."

The contest was a foregone conclusion, and Tang La was defeated.It could be seen that he was already trembling. He opened the two letters from Vienna and London that Monte Cristo held between his fingers, and checked the signatures on the letters. An insult to Monte Cristo, fortunately Monte Cristo knew that the banker was at this moment in a panic.

"Oh, sir, these three signatures are worth millions," said Tangra, standing up, as if paying tribute to the man in front of him who embodies the power of money. Credit account! Excuse me, Monsieur Earl, the vigilance is gone, but I can't help being surprised."

"Oh, a firm like yours won't be surprised," said Monte Cristo politely; "then you can give me some money, won't you?"

"Speak, Monsieur Count, at my own discretion."

"Very good!" Monte Cristo continued, "Now we can talk to each other because we understand each other, don't we?" Tangra nodded in agreement. "Have you no longer any doubts?" continued Monte Cristo.

"Oh, Monsieur Count," cried the banker, "I never doubted it."

"You have no doubts, but want a proof, that's all. Well," said the count, "now that we know each other, and since you have no doubts, we can set a frame for the first year if you agree. Count, let’s say 600 million.”

"600 million, agree!" Tang La said, and could not help but gasp again.

"If I think it's not enough," Monte Cristo continued calmly, "we will add more, but I plan to live in France for a year at most, and I don't think it will exceed this number within a year... Anyway, let's see later... First of all, please give me 50 francs tomorrow, I will be at the apartment until twelve o'clock at noon, and if I am away, I will leave the receipt to my housekeeper."

"Tomorrow at 10 o'clock in the morning, the money will definitely be delivered to the house, Mr. Earl," Tangra replied, "Do you want gold coins, cash, or silver coins?"

"Gold coins and cash are half and half, is that okay?" At this moment, the count stood up.

"There is one thing I have to tell you honestly, Mr. Earl," Tangra said, "I thought I had an account with all the rich men in Europe, but your property, I think it is quite considerable, but I To tell the truth, I know nothing of it. Is your property a recent one?"

"No, sir," replied Monte Cristo, "on the contrary, my property dates back to a very remote age. The principal has tripled, and the prohibition period specified by the testator only expired in the past few years, so it is only in the past few years that I have been able to enjoy it. It is only natural that you don’t know, and you will understand more clearly in the near future.” As the count spoke these words, the smile which had so frightened Franz d'Epinet appeared on his pale face.

"According to your taste and wishes, sir," Tangla said, "you will surely serve jade food in our capital, and we poor little millionaires will be ashamed of ourselves. But, I think you are a collector of art, Because when I came in, you were looking at the paintings in my collection. Like Meng Yuyun, I would like to invite you to take a look at my collections, which are all ancient works, and they are all authentic works of famous masters who have been screened. I don’t like contemporary ones. thing."

"It makes sense, sir, because contemporary things all have a big shortcoming, that is, they don't last long enough to become antiquities."

"I want to show you a few statues, which are Torvaldsan (Danish sculptor (1770-1844).), Bartoloni Italian sculptor (1777-1850). and Canova Italian sculptor (1757-1822) ). These are all foreign artists, and I don’t appreciate French artists.”

"You have a right to judge them as you please, sir, because they are your countrymen."

"But let's talk about it later when we get to know each other better. Today, if you agree, I will first introduce you to Baroness Tangla. Please forgive me for being so hasty, Mr. Earl, but a customer like you should feel at home , as close as family."

Monte Cristo bowed and accepted the financier's offer.So Tanglar rang the rope bell, and a servant in a splendid livery came into the living room.

"Is the Baroness at home?" Tangra asked.

"At home, Monsieur Baronet," answered the servant.

"Is there no visitor?"

"Ma'am has a guest."

"You don't mind having other guests, do you, Monsieur Count? You don't intend to remain anonymous, do you?"

"No, Monsieur Baron," said Monte Cristo, smiling, "I think I have no right."

"Who is Madame's guest? Mr. Debray, isn't it?" Tangra asked in a daze, and Monte Cristo couldn't help but secretly laughed when he saw it. He had already grasped the faintly hidden secret in the financier's heart.

"Mr. Debray, it is he, Monsieur Baronet," answered the servant.

Tangra nodded, then turned to Monte Cristo and said: "Mr. Lucien de Bray is our old friend, he is the private secretary of the Minister of the Interior. My wife married me because she was wronged. Her natal family has a long history. She is The daughter of the Servière family, her husband is the Marquis of Nargona, a colonel in the army."

"I have not yet had the good fortune to know Madame Tangra, but I have met M. Lucien de Bray."

"Oh!" Tangra said, "Where did you see it?"

"At Mr. Mocerf's."

"Ah, you know that young Viscount?" Tangra said.

"We were all in Rome during Carnival."

"Ah, I remembered," Tangla said, "I heard a strange story about robbers and thieves in the ruins, and he was miraculously rescued. I think it was him. Telling these stories to my wife and daughter after returning from Italy."

"The baroness has invited two gentlemen." The servant returned to the living room and said.

"I will guide you in front." Tangra said after bowing.

"Go first," said Monte Cristo.

(End of this chapter)