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For the second Paris Fair, France built a railway from the Champ de Mars in the center of Paris to the Free Palace. This was the world's first passenger railway, and it was also an important step for Napoleon to boost morale and promote his personality cult.

At the last Pakistan International Trade Fair, the magnificent Free Palace certainly impressed the foreigners, almost overwhelming their national pride. However, compared to the railway, the Free Palace's impact was considerably less. In a sense, trains, especially steam trains belching smoke and steam, are the most typical symbol of the industrial age. Even in the era of high-speed rail, the sense of unstoppable power emanating from old-fashioned steam locomotives remains irreplaceable. Therefore, even in later generations, there are countless fans of steam locomotives, and some travel routes even specifically choose to use old-fashioned steam locomotives.

The railway is now basically completed, and the trade fair will officially open in a month. The Bonaparte Family brothers gathered to discuss how to put on a show efficiently.

Napoleon originally planned to launch the train when the second Paris Trade Fair officially opened, but his idea was ridiculed by Lucien.

"Napoleon, you idiot!" Lucien was very pleased to have the opportunity to mock his second brother. "It's like sentencing a criminal to flogging, with a rule of twenty lashes. Do you think it's better to pause every two lashes to let the criminal catch his breath, or to just give him the whole thing in one go?"

Napoleon paused for a moment, then immediately understood Lucien's meaning. If one were to receive twenty lashes in a row, generally speaking, the person being lashed would faint after three or four lashes, and wouldn't feel the subsequent lashes. Lucien's statement clearly implied that coinciding the opening of the train line with the opening of the second trade fair was too much of a shock to the public, easily numbing them with excitement and wasting a good opportunity.

Napoleon knew that Lucien was right in this matter, but seeing Lucien's smug look made Napoleon furious. He wanted to test Lucien on whether lashing him twenty times would cause excessive stimulation.

Seeing Napoleon's unusual expression, Lucien immediately and instinctively distanced himself from Napoleon, saying, "Therefore, Napoleon, I think we should distance ourselves from these matters to avoid creating a situation where everyone becomes desensitized."

Lucien's words had an effect, and Napoleon's attention was indeed diverted. Of course, the actual situation might also be that Napoleon didn't really want to fly into a rage and then have Joseph mock him for his "impotent fury."

"Lucien, your consideration certainly has some merit," Napoleon said, "But you've overlooked an important principle: the most exciting act must never be performed first. Because if the most exciting act is put first, then no one will watch the acts that follow."

"You're right!" Lucien was the first to agree. "It's like in 'Moulin Rouge,' where the most popular girl always appears last. Undoubtedly, the train is the most beautiful and popular girl at this trade fair. If we put her on stage right from the start, it would easily lead to the problems you're worried about. However, we at 'Moulin Rouge' sometimes have another way of handling things. For example, um, have you seen our musical 'Cinderella'?"

"No," Napoleon replied. "I'm not like you, living and working at the Moulin Rouge."

So Lucien told Napoleon the general plot of their Cinderella story.

"Ah, this story... I think I've seen it before. It seems to be about Charles Perrault, with slight modifications," Napoleon said. "Well, get to the point."

"Ah, the actress playing 'Cinderella' in our play is Nicole from the Moulin Rouge, and she's a real beauty. But she's the first to appear in the first act, though because of the makeup and costume, we make sure she doesn't stand out too much at first. It's only when the pumpkin carriage appears that, through the changes in her clothing and makeup, we suddenly make Nicole radiant, almost blindingly so."

We can do the same with trains. First, we won't have any ceremony; we'll just have freight trains running on this line. Freight trains are certainly beautiful, but you can't get on them; you can only look at them from afar. Even so, that's enough to create a buzz.

Then, we can slowly release information that we actually have passenger trains capable of carrying passengers, and speculate and discuss them in various newspapers, building up the buzz. We can also further increase people's anticipation for the trains through ticket sales, specifically the sales of tickets for the first train. Then, wait until..."

"That's certainly good, but Lucien, how do you plan to sell the tickets?" Joseph, who had been silent all along, only looking down at his students' research reports, suddenly looked up and asked.

"Of course it'll be an auction," Lucien said. "The first train will have the most luxurious carriages, everything inside will be the most extravagant, each carriage is like a small villa. Then, we'll sell one ticket per carriage, and these tickets will be auctioned off. We'll also arrange for a shill to drive the price up, to an astronomical price, to guarantee that it will attract everyone's attention."

Joseph shook his head and said to Lucien, "Recently our newspapers have been reporting on Britain workers' strikes in great detail. Hmm, Lucien, tell me, what is the purpose of such reporting?"

"Of course, it's to let the people at home know how happy they are. Joseph, you said that everyone is a Faust who is never satisfied (the story of Faust betting with the devil appeared very early on, it wasn't Goethe's original creation), and our people are no exception. So no matter how capable we are, we can never truly satisfy them. And if they are not satisfied, they will seek change, which is obviously disadvantageous to us."

Joseph, you also said that happiness is relative. By the way, you said that the most admired dramas in the world are mostly tragedies? That's because people can gain a sense of satisfaction and happiness from tragedies, from seeing the downfall and destruction of those who are clearly stronger than themselves. This sense of satisfaction and happiness has nothing to do with jealousy or hatred, but simply the satisfaction of feeling that one's own situation is actually not bad, at least better than those heroes.

"By reporting on the miserable lives of Britain workers in dire straits, our workers will find it easier to be content with their own living conditions. This is conducive to domestic stability," Lucien replied.

Indeed, feelings of happiness and satisfaction are often relative. For example, during a certain plague in later years, the little rabbits of the Red Hare Kingdom were initially dissatisfied with many of the country's responses. However, as the plague spread to Europe and to the White Eagle, seeing the various idiotic actions United States, the little rabbits' satisfaction with the country almost instantly skyrocketed.

The situation in France today is similar. In fact, France at this time is not without class oppression, and the lives of the France people are not particularly good. However, compared with the suffering people of Britain, the France workers naturally cherish the situation in France and are extremely grateful to Napoleon, the First Consul.

"By conducting this auction and reporting on it, aren't you intentionally highlighting the wealth gap in France? Pain is relative. The rich spend lavishly just for fun, while the money they spend on that fun is enough for the poor to work for several lifetimes. This makes people realize that the gap between the rich and the poor has reached a despairing level. Despair breeds resentment and reduces smiles. So, your actions are completely self-destructive," Joseph said bluntly.

If Napoleon had criticized him like that, Lucien would most likely have tried to refute it, even if it was just sophistry, he would still have to put up a fight. But when Joseph spoke to him like that, Lucien didn't dare to utter a word. It's strange, considering that Joseph no longer pulls out exam papers to make things difficult for him for no reason. But, for some reason, Lucien was still a little afraid of his elder brother.

"Then what do you suggest, Joseph?" Lucien asked sincerely. His sincerity annoyed Napoleon —why was this boy never so obedient to me?

"Of course it's an auction," Joseph said.

"Huh?..." Lucien said.

"We'll first publicize that the proceeds from the auction will be used to build a charitable hospital in the Saint-Antoine District to help the poor in Paris. We'll appeal to wealthy people to donate generously. Then, you can think about it?"

Lucien thought for a moment, then gave a thumbs up and said admiringly, "Joseph truly knows how to do things! On one hand, the bidding generates buzz. On the other hand, the workers won't feel that others are just indulging in a little pleasure, spending money that we couldn't earn in several lifetimes. They might even think that wealthy France people are better than the Britain, not forgetting to give back to society after making money. So, we have buzz, stability, and more smiles. It's killing two birds with one stone! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"