Eagle’s Glory

[After several deletions, the original blocked 148 has been released. If you haven’t seen it, you can check it out...]

After a stop-and-go journey, Aigron and his party arrived in the city of Lille.

Like other places, the city of Lille also prepared a grand welcome ceremony for the visiting Roman king.

After this period of fermentation of public opinion, "The King of Rome's nationwide tour" has become the top news, and has also become a rare spice in the busy and boring lives of many people. With the high attention of the public, many newspapers have Reporters were sent to follow the end of the parade, making special reports in detail, and published the warm welcome received by the King of Rome, as well as his every word and deed, in the newspaper.

Because of the high level of public attention, local officials began to quietly "compare" in the places Aiglon passed, vying to receive the country's future monarch with the highest courtesy in order to win the favor of His Majesty. Leave a good impression in front of you.

Naturally, the same is true for the city of Lille. When Aigron and his team appeared on the outskirts of the city, the citizens who were already waiting to watch the excitement roared with cheers like a tsunami.

And Aigron and his team did not disappoint them. In addition to the young and handsome King of Rome, this entire team was full of vigor and well-organized lineup, making people feel the afterimage of the not-so-distant imperial era.

Of course, what attracts the most attention is the retro knight parade. When Agnes appeared at the end of the procession carrying a tricolor flag, the people who were already full of expectations let out excited shouts. In an instant, flowers, handkerchiefs and even coins were , sprinkled on both sides of the road like raindrops, and some people brought paintbrushes and excitedly painted the scene they saw on sketchbooks or canvases.

It’s no wonder people are so excited. After all, loving beautiful girls is a common instinct of all human beings, and their poor spiritual life makes it difficult for them to control themselves when they come into contact with “idols”—even in the 21st century, many people have gone for “idols” It's so fascinating, not to mention this age where there is no immunity at all?

During this period of time, with the reports of the news media, "Miss Chevalier who played Joan of Arc" has become an almost household name, and even reported on her in as many pages as Egeron himself.

Thanks to the hard work of journalists, people easily learned Agnes's name and origin. Moreover, these reporters who wrote brilliantly also intentionally or unintentionally hinted at this beautiful and heroic lady in their writing. Miss, the relationship with the King of Rome is "extraordinary" - there is no need to explain it very clearly, the French people naturally have enough imagination to guess the content, and they will never guess wrong.

Just as Aigron expected, the relationship with the Roman King's lover did not affect Aigron or her reputation at all.

Everyone accepted this fact, and no one thought it was strange or inappropriate. Everything was so natural, as if it should be like this - Miss Agnes is beautiful and so charming. Isn't it natural that His Majesty likes her? Of?

As for the fact that His Majesty already has a wife, it is just a trivial matter and no one cares about it.

Moreover, in the minds of many people, as the son of a Corsican and an Austrian, and married to an Austrian wife, the "legal content" of the King of Rome seemed to be far lower than the "authentic content", and Miss Agnes A pure Frenchman with an impeccable family background. It is a great thing for His Majesty to have such a lover by his side. At least it proves that he has indeed integrated into this country. Moreover, compared to the princess from Austria, Miss Agnes can represent France better. people's public opinion.

Agnes was naturally unaware of all the thoughts of the outside world. In fact, since she and Agron were "married", out of shame, she had almost actively cut off contact with the outside world and did not respond much to information from the outside world. , let alone being interviewed by reporters.

She doesn't care about the fame and attention she currently receives, and would rather shrink herself into a small space for activities.

Of course Agnes understood what Agnes was thinking, so in addition to the knight parade, he paid great attention to letting Agnes participate in other public activities as little as possible along the way. He only allowed Agnes to accompany her alone when he was free, and the two of them As a result, Agnes's feelings became more and more intense, and Agnes gradually became accustomed to getting along closely with this young man.

Since there was the first time, there was no psychological barrier for the second or third time. After leaving Strasbourg, every time he stopped for a break, Agron spent the night with Agnes, almost as if they were real. couples travel together.

Amid the cheers of the people, Aigron and his party were welcomed into the city hall of Lille, and local officials, wealthy businessmen and celebrities were all summoned here to welcome the arrival of the King of Rome.

According to the ancient ceremony, the mayor took a "golden key" and presented it to Aigron, symbolizing that the entire city belonged to him. After Aigron received the golden key, he solemnly thanked the mayor.

Then, he turned his head and looked around at the people around him.

As soon as they saw the appearance of the King of Rome, these officials and celebrities naturally knew that he was going to give an impromptu speech, so they stopped talking to each other, and instead pretended to hold their breath and wait for the young Roman. Wang's speech.

"Dear friends, I am honored by the warm expectations I have received." Under the gaze of everyone, Aigron spoke calmly, "Lille is a prosperous city. For centuries, it has produced supplies. The textiles worn by the people have also contributed a steady stream of taxes to the country. I believe that many of you here have made a fortune in this industry. I would like to thank each of you for your contribution to the country. Contribute! Next, I will rely on you as always, because the success of entrepreneurs means the success of the country, and only if we work together can this city, and even the entire country, continue to prosper!"

As soon as he finished his words, there was warm applause from all around.

Of course, this kind of applause is more of a courtesy, because to the ears of those present, these words are commonplace words, and these wealthy businessmen and officials have long been accustomed to hearing them.

But what Aigron said next made them feel refreshed.

"I believe that many of you think that as a pretender to the throne, I should study how to ascend the throne and how to rule a government every day. Yes, I admit that this is something I must learn. But, I I have to defend myself a few words. Thanks to my grandfather, in addition to the education I received since childhood, there is also a lot of knowledge. This knowledge has broadened my horizons and allowed me to think about other things. Something, something seemingly insignificant but vital.”

He did not whet everyone's appetite, and immediately explained his words, "The education I received tells me that if you want a country to prosper, you need a healthy and competitive economy, and this is inseparable from To develop a prosperous industry, Lille's textile industry is an indispensable and important part of our country's economy. However, a country cannot rest on its laurels and cling to the old things. Likewise, as an important city, Lille The same is true for Lille. At this time, I saw the dawn of Lille's future, although this dawn did not come from the east, but from the west..."

When he said this, some people screamed subconsciously, not understanding what Aigron was referring to.

"Yes, to the west of us is England, a powerful and wealthy country." Under the gaze of everyone, Aigron continued to talk, "It is undeniable that there have been many conflicts between the two countries in the history, but This does not prevent us from exploring the advantages of the Anglo-Saxons. They are as hard-working and enterprising as us, and their unremitting investment and efforts in science and technology have temporarily put them in an advantageous position in industrial competition. One thing is undeniable and something we must learn!”

Aigron's words made everyone present secretly nod their heads.

Although the French and the British were still hostile to each other in this era, and the war that lasted for more than 20 years had just ended, the people present were all realists, and many of them were businessmen in the textile industry. They understood the so-called British better than Aigron. "Industrial advantages".

The Spinning Jenny was an epoch-making invention that gave the British textile industry a huge cost advantage. This was obvious to all these businessmen. In the 1830s, the British were vigorously promoting the application of steam power to textile mills. Among them, and it has achieved great success, this has made businessmen feel unprecedented pressure.

In the era when Emperor Napoleon was at the height of his power, the emperor forced the entire European continent to implement a continental blockade against the British, but it did not crush the British textile industry. Even the French themselves were secretly smuggling British textile products. Its advantage had reached reached an unattainable height.

And this is just the beginning. Next, the British will continue to take the lead in the Industrial Revolution, and eventually become an empire that rules the world and creates the most glorious era.

At this time, because Aigron spoke extremely "pragmatically", he gradually attracted the attention of everyone present. This attention was no longer due to his power position, but because he had become a businessman in the eyes of the businessmen. I found a person who was not just polite, but insightful.

"It is not shameful to learn from our opponents. On the contrary, it is really shameful to be complacent and unwilling to admit the reality. The education I have received has enabled me to face the reality soberly and face the reality of our country's backwardness in industrial competition." As the crowd became more and more concentrated. With his attention, Aigron became even more enthusiastic, "Of course, we don't need to be discouraged blindly. We also have our advantages. We have 30 million hard-working citizens, complete and advanced industries, and With a strong accumulation of knowledge, we now have more mathematicians than the British and are better, and we can also cultivate our inventors! As long as we can integrate the resources we have and unite to use our intelligence If our talents are used to promote economic prosperity, we will have no reason to fear that we will fall behind! Yes, we have arrived at the gate of an era of unprecedented prosperity. All that is lacking are reasonable and clear goals and industrial policies, and these , just what we can do as quickly as possible!”

Industrial policy?

This unfamiliar phrase made everyone present look at each other.

In this era, of course, "industrial policy" is still a brand-new term, and the government will consciously guide and support key industrial industries, at least twenty or thirty years from now.

However, Aiglon can come and do it in advance.

"Yes, industrial policy is very important to us. Only it can prosper the economy, expand employment, and enhance the strength of the country." Aigron deliberately raised his voice to explain what he meant to everyone, "Now we want to look west , humbly learn all the wisdom and technological achievements that the British have and use it to develop our own economy, which is beneficial to everyone, because our prosperous economy also means that we can import more goods from the UK .In this process, Lille, as our country’s window to the UK, has an irreplaceable and important position. We will develop steel smelting and rail, train and other industries here. I will try my best to provide services for those who are interested in this. The industrialists provide financing and all tax benefits. I believe you can work hard like me. Let us make this great city more dazzling together. It will also be in the next century. Be remembered by the world!”

"Long live!"

After Agron laid out his initial vision, he received thunderous applause in response.

Although it is impossible to explain everything clearly in just a few sentences, the so-called "industrial policy" is more recognized by the people present than any rhetoric.

Because at this time, Lille itself was gradually absorbing the technology and capital flowing out of the UK, and unknowingly started its own industrialization process. He was complying with the historical trend and doing his best to promote it.

Businessmen are ready to start new industries, but Aigron's public statement that he can provide priority financing for key industries speaks to their hearts.

At this time, they finally decided that this too young Roman king was still much stronger than the Bourbon king they had served before - he was on their side.

The thunderous applause also strengthened Aigron's confidence. He believed that he could indeed achieve everything he hoped for.

And at this time, he will not forget the ambush he planned in advance.

“Everyone, I have a deep understanding of Lille’s economy and culture. I believe that it is essentially inseparable from Flanders. From the city of Lille, you can overlook Belgium. Lille’s future prosperity also depends on its connection with that region. The land, which thrives with us, will also decline with us. I regret to see that at this time, the Belgian people are crying under the rule of tyranny... I have deep sympathy for them, and I want to remind everyone "We must not lose sight of the fate of the Belgian people, because they determine the future of Lille and the entire country."

Then, Aigron raised his head and shouted the slogan he had prepared long ago.

"Long live the free Belgian people!"