Peace and Business (3)
After more than a month of traveling around France, Sean, the representative of the Ireland resistance, finally met a big shot in Madame Loisel's salon: Lucien Bonaparte, a member of the France National Assembly.
At that moment, the beautiful Madame Fraser made him wait at the ballroom entrance, while she walked through the brightly lit ballroom to a row of sofas placed to the side, and said to one of the young men sitting there:
"Lucien, do you remember Sean from Ireland whom I mentioned to you last time? The one with so many stories, and so many stories that broke my heart," Madame Frysday said, giving Lucien a flirtatious wink. "I really want to help him. I think that of all my friends, only you are both strong, kind, and compassionate enough to be willing to help those poor Ireland people, so I brought him here. Would you like to meet him?"
Lucien knew that it was unlikely that Madame Frysday was speaking up for an Ireland out of genuine compassion; most likely... His gaze fell on Madame Frysday's slender, swan-like neck, where a uniquely styled necklace, unlike any he had ever seen before, dangled from its base a ruby almost the size of a pigeon's egg. If this was truly a gift from those impoverished Ireland who couldn't even afford food, then they had certainly gone to great lengths.
"Hmm, may I have him come over?" Mrs. Fraser asked with a charming smile.
"Of course, my darling!" Lucien raised his glass slightly toward Madame de Fraser. "But in a moment, you will sit beside me so I can properly admire your new necklace."
"What's the problem?" Madame Fraser smiled and leaned closer, reaching out to hug Lucien's arm. She even paused to bring the two mountains closer to Lucien, making it easier for him to see the gem in the valley.
"A very unique design, beautiful gemstones, and a perfect match for you, my darling." Lucien leaned closer, whispering into Madame de Frysger's earlobe, his lips almost touching it.
"Hmm, have you seen enough?" Mrs. Fraser lowered her head.
"No, how could I possibly see enough in such a short time? I want to look at it more carefully later," Lucien said gently, nibbling on Madame de Fraser's earlobe. "But my dear, you can let your friend come over now."
Madame de la Frye, having received Lucien's permission, straightened up and waved to Sean, who was standing in the doorway.
Sean quickly jogged over. Madame de Frysfield frowned slightly and said to Lucien, "Lucien, this is Mr. Sean from Ireland —Mr. Sean, this is the rising star of France politics I mentioned to you, Mr. Lucien Bonaparte."
"Hello, Mr. Bonaparte ..." Sean said quickly. Clearly, the luxurious yet ambiguous atmosphere of the France salon made the mostly unsophisticated Ireland feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Hello, Mr. Sean," Lucien gestured to an empty seat next to him, "You may sit down, and we can talk."
Seeing that Sean had sat down, Lucien continued, "Also, let me introduce you to the friend sitting next to me. This is Alain, Alain Duson. He is my best friend, my partner, one of the wealthiest bankers in Paris, a very reputable and completely trustworthy person. You don't need to hide anything from him."
"Hello, Mr. Juniper." Sean quickly stood up again.
In this dimly lit corner, Lucien and Sean talked for quite some time. Later, when Sean recalled this period of history, he said:
"Monsieur Lucien Bonaparte, as Madame de Frysday said, is a very compassionate man. After learning of the suffering of the Ireland, he felt great sympathy for our plight. He promised me that he would help me secure an opportunity to appeal to those distinguished members of parliament in the National Assembly."
However, I wasn't good at public speaking, and my French had a heavy accent. Mr. Bonaparte even found me a teacher to train my public speaking skills. He even personally guided me in drafting my speech amidst his busy schedule. And the most famous part of that speech was:
'We Ireland have nothing but blood, lives, and an irreconcilable enemy— England. But isn't this enemy also the enemy of France, and indeed all those who love freedom and justice throughout the world? Shouldn't we unite and fight together against this common enemy? I can assure you, we Ireland will not hesitate to shed blood and give our lives; I can assure you, gentlemen, that for every bullet you give us, one less drop of blood will be shed by the young men of France in the future!' This was actually written by Mr. Bonaparte. And behind the scenes, Mr. Bonaparte made even more unseen efforts for the independence of the Ireland people..."
Thanks to Lucien's efforts, the National Assembly passed the "Relations with Ireland Act," declaring an unbreakable alliance with the Ireland against the great enemy of mankind England. Parliament also urged the Directory to take immediate and concrete action, allocating special funds to support the Ireland people's just struggle.
The Directory, having received funds from the "Military-Industrial Consortium," acted swiftly, quickly approving a special fund to support the Ireland revolution. Of course, the Directory's treasury didn't have that much money, so the public-spirited Mr. Alain Duson provided financing services to the Directory.
The money was quickly transferred to the "Military-Industrial Consortium's" accounts to fund two programs: weapons support and personnel training. In short, the whole thing progressed with exceptional efficiency. It's rare to see the France government act so swiftly since the Thermidor Reaction. Of course, there are also rumors that at least a third of these funds never left Paris, but were simply used as a lubricant for government operations.
The efficiency of the "Military-Industrial Complex" was indeed high. On the very day the funds arrived, Sean received news that the "France Military-Industrial Complex" could complete the production and loading of the first batch of weapons, which were to be provided as grants to their Ireland brothers, within half a month. He was now required to contact the Ireland people immediately so that these valuable weapons could be delivered to their Ireland brothers who needed them most.
A month later, the clipper ship "Flying" arrived, carrying a full load of various weapons, along with Sean and another Ireland named Liam.
The reason it was delayed for a month was not because the France were slow, but because the Ireland took longer to arrange things like receiving the ship.
"Gentlemen, are you not seasick?" Captain Dyke Sean this question as soon as he boarded the ship.
"No, we're not dizzy," Sean replied.
"That's good. Also, can you swim?" Captain Dyke asked again.
"Yes, is there a problem?" Sean had a vague feeling that something was amiss.
"You know, our ship is going to risk breaking through the Britain fleet's blockade. So everything about this ship is designed for one goal: higher speed. All other performance aspects can be sacrificed for this, including safety. So... do you understand what I mean?"
Sean nodded. Smuggling is inherently a high-risk business.
"We understand."
Sean thought he understood the dangers of the ship, but once at sea, he realized he had underestimated them. The ship was rocking violently; Sean and Liam, who never got seasick, vomited bile. And at this point, the waves weren't too big. This showed just how dangerous the ship would be in much rougher conditions— the France people risked their lives to support their Ireland brothers.
In reality, although clipper ships are extremely turbulent, their ability to withstand wind and waves is not bad, and safety is not their weakness. Captain Dyke said this simply to convince the Ireland that a lot of things had "drifted away" during the delivery of weapons to them.
A few days later, one night, the "Flying" arrived at the sea near Ireland. At this time, looking out to sea from the land, it was completely dark and nothing could be seen.
However, the view from the sea towards the land is quite different. Below a cliff overlooking the sea, two fires are lit—this is the communication signal between the Ireland on land and the ships at sea. Because of the cliff, the fires are completely invisible from the land.
In response, the "Flying" ship hung two lights. Soon after, the one on the left disappeared from the firelight on the shore, and two more fires lit up a little further to the right—this was the agreed-upon signal that everything was safe on the shore.
In the darkness, the sailors lowered a small boat, and then they placed boxes tied together with ropes and inflated leather pontoons into the water. Two hours later, all the boxes were in the water. The sailors, along with Sean and Liam, boarded the small boat, rowed, and dragged the boxes slowly toward the shore.
As dawn approached, the sailors rowed back to the Flying Ship. The Flying Ship retrieved its smaller boats, immediately unfurled its sails, and left the dangerous waters. Meanwhile, below the cliffs, whose outlines were beginning to emerge, a group of people, including Sean and Liam, were busy counting the weapons that had been delivered.