Fox of France

Soon after this conversation, Amon gave Josephus the two scripts-Shakespeare's "Tim of Athens" and Milton's "Samson of the Lux", plus many other poems. .

"These are the things I have accumulated over the past two years. It has been overstocked for almost half a year... You know, where do I have so much time to do this? Anyway, it has been delayed, so you don’t have to worry about it. Come, anyway, there is no rush." ​​After handing these things to Joseph, who had just requested a leave and was about to return to Corsica, Amon said to him.

"Joseph, I hope your father is okay and you can come back as soon as possible." Another student named Rafa Chuan also said, "In our discussions, you can always give us a lot of inspiration. You are gone, our club parties are all It has become bleak."

　　 "Rafa is right, our club can't live without you." Another small man named Honoré said. Like Joseph, he is completely dependent on scholarships, so emotionally, he and Joseph are closer.

　　The club mentioned by Rafa is a small group called "Friends of Youth". It consists of a group of young people who have completely different lifestyles and attitudes, but are dissatisfied with reality and full of naive imaginations about the future. In fact, there are many such young people in various schools in France today. Joseph knew that this kind of youth who looked naive nowadays with ridiculously naive ideas, later many became influential figures in the Great Revolution; and those of them seem to today’s people as nothing more than children gathering together. The small circle of Hi has also become a later political party. For example, the famous Jacobin faction was just a club from the beginning.

The "Friends of Youth" is actually the embryonic form of such a political party. Although its members are diverse, there are nobles like Xiang Amon, nobles like Joseph, and others like Rafa. The children of such a good business man, as well as the children of poor families like Oreno. Although its members have different personalities: Amon is extroverted and exaggerated; Rafa is sophisticated and easy-going; and Oréno usually doesn't talk much, but he does things resolutely. But on one thing, they all agreed that the current system in France is very unfair and must be changed. It's just that everyone's views have not been fully unified on the issue of how to change.

　　 Voltaire's influence can be clearly seen in Amon's body. Like Voltaire, he likes to use harsh language to satirize the church, but in terms of government, he prefers the British-style, constitutional monarchy system. When discussing political issues, he always likes to talk about the "Glorious Revolution" and the "Bill of Rights". "On the lips.

　　 While Oreno is opposed to any monarchy. One of his uncles followed General Lafayette and fought the British in North America. From him, Oreno heard countless things about the United States. So he became a staunch supporter of the republic. He opposed any monarch and firmly believed that France should become a republic.

　　 As for Rafah, he thinks that, in theory, the republic is of course the best and most in line with the principle of equality for all. This point is in fact consistent with the teachings of Christ. "The Prophet Moses opposed the monarchy." Lucien said. But on the other hand, he also believes: "The monarchy is a French tradition, and the people are accustomed to being ruled by the king, so we cannot completely ignore the French tradition and the habits of the people. Therefore, constitutional monarchy is not an unacceptable compromise."

　　 As for Joseph, he did not appear to be particularly concerned about the regime, he was more concerned about personal rights:

"I don't care who is ruling the country, whether he is the king or the president. What I care most about is that his power must be restrained and cannot arbitrarily interfere with my freedom and rights. There is a point in the North American Declaration of Independence that I very much agree with. , That is, the people have the right to overthrow the tyranny. Only the power recognized by the whole people is the legal power. From this point of view, I respect any choice of the French people."

　　 This sentence is actually very smooth, especially the last sentence. However, the young people of this era have not been influenced by the black words of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a certain country in later generations, but instead feel that what Joseph said is also reasonable. However, the most critical point in this sentence is ignored, that is, who is the people and who represents the people.

After all, Joseph came here. He has seen a lot of the practice of various political systems in later generations. He also has previous experience as a keyboard man in the Tieba forum, so he can tell the pros and cons of various political systems. , And it also makes other people feel very reasonable. In fact, compared to the well-informed guys of later generations, the young people in the "Friends of Youth" club are much simpler and easier to deceive. So although these people still have some political differences, Joseph has successfully turned his views into the common program of the entire club. And he himself became the spiritual leader of this club. Now he is leaving Paris temporarily. Several classmates took leave and came to the station to see him off.

"Joseph, don't worry too much because of financial problems." Rafa added, "In Paris, it is much easier to find an opportunity to make money than in other provinces. Come back to Paris as soon as possible after the family affairs are over. We are all together. There is always a way. Well, Joseph, if you are very short of money now, I can get you a little money from my father, not too much, but two or three hundred francs is not a problem. And it is interest-free ."

　　 "Rafa, didn't you say that your father was stingy?" Oreno asked.

"That's right. But my father is willing to spend money when he really needs to spend money." Rafa shook his head, "You don't know, he will strictly control each of my coppers, in addition to filling his stomach. , I don’t want to drink more beer. According to the old man, beer is not as effective as brown bread filling my stomach. But on the other hand, the old man said to me when he sent me to school:' Rafah, you know that the Louis the Great School is one of the best schools. There are only two types of people who can study here. One is people with wealth or status at home, and the other is very talented. People. Rafa, you know that I am frugal, and I also think that frugality is a virtue. But do you really think that I can get rich because I am frugal than others? No, no, because I know where money is most efficient . I spend money to walk you to the Louis the Great School for two purposes. First, you can learn a lot of skills here, and a lot of skills I can’t teach you; second, you can meet many capable people there. People, become friends with them, it will be more convenient for you to do what you do in the future. So I have never been stingy with this kind of thing.'"

　　 "Rafa," Amon shouted, "Your father is such an amazing guy! Maybe I should introduce my uncle to your father. They will definitely become friends."

"Ah, Amon, if you can arrange for my father to meet Master Lavoisier, he will definitely pay for this and invite us all to drink champagne. But you'd better think about it, because my father will probably use this to earn money More money." Lucien replied, "In addition, my father will definitely not be friends with your uncle. His only friend is Golden Louis."

　　 "Rafa, are you sure that your father would consider me a talented person worth investing in?" Joseph asked again.

"Of course, because I think so, and my father thinks: First, my loyalty to him need not be questioned. Second, among the people he knows, he is both loyal and capable of identifying whether a person is gifted or not. There are only a few promising ones, and I am definitely one of them. Besides, my father once said: “If you do business, you will definitely make a profit, you will definitely lose. Taking risks is originally part of doing business.” Rafa replied, "I think, although not sure, Joseph, you may be a man of history in the future."

　　 "Ah, Rafa, I will go down in history too. You can also invest me a little." Amang shouted with a smile.

Lucien looked at Amang and laughed loudly: "Classmate Amang, I believe you might be famous in history one day. But my father said: "A poet, even a poet who is famous in history, is not a good one. Investment target. UU reading www.uukanshu.com at least, not when he was alive.'"

　　 "Damn, this is so similar to what my uncle said." Amang said with an annoyed expression.

　　 "Joseph, must come back." Oreno said, holding his hand.

　　 "If possible, I will be back as soon as possible." Joseph replied.

　　 After saying this, he raised his hat to several people, and then turned to the post car.

　　……

　　 Carlo's condition progressed very quickly. When Joseph returned to Corsica, he had already entered a state of dying. He was in a coma for most of the day, and the time he was able to wake up was no more than two hours. The doctor was completely helpless at this time. In this era, European doctors basically only have bloodletting for more serious diseases. Gastric cancer, even in later generations, is fatal if it is not discovered in time. In this era, there is neither technical ability to discover in advance, nor to treat after discovery. So by this time, the doctor simply told everyone: "What Mr. Carlo needs now is not a doctor, but a priest."

　　 Napoleon also returned, he arrived a day earlier than Joseph. When Joseph came back, the whole family was there. By the evening of the day, Carlo was temporarily awake again. The priest was beside him and began to pray the last prayer for him. His wife was holding his hand, and the children were all around him. His eyes shifted from his wife to the children, and finally fell on Joseph.

　　 "Joseph..." Carlo said in a faint voice.

　　 "Father, here I am." Joseph said.

　　 "Take care of the family..." This was the last word Carlo said to Joseph.