Fox of France

"The people ruled by him don't even notice his existence? How is this possible?" Napoleon was taken aback. "Then how can he issue orders? How can he manage and rule a country?"

Joseph asked with a smile: "Let's make a hypothesis, assuming that we replace Lucien with Fouché and you with Ballas, can our family still exert influence on French politics?"

"Of course, the army is still in my hands, and the money and factories are still in your hands. Although it is not convenient for us to manage directly, we still have the ability to influence the overall situation of French politics." Napoleon replied after thinking for a while.

"You see, in the state we assume, in the eyes of ordinary people, we are completely hidden. Many people at the lower level can't even see our existence. Isn't this because the people don't know about it? ?” Joseph replied with a smile.

"However, doing so will reduce our control over the regime, and it is easy for things beyond our control to occur." Napoleon said with a frown.

Joseph smiled. He knew that his younger brother liked to show off in front of the people and people cheered for him, so he would definitely not be willing to be an old silver coin hiding behind. So he instinctively resented this way of hiding behind the scenes.

"It is true that this has such disadvantages, but it also has an advantage, that is, the resentment of the people will not be concentrated on us. The people... are always greedy and dissatisfied. When bread is eaten, you make them work hard to have black bread. At first they will be satisfied, but after a long time, they will feel dissatisfied, and they will ask you to say: 'We have Brown bread enough to fill us up.’ Then they’ll ask for white bread that’s filling, then milk with the bread, butter on the bread, foie gras in the bread, And then...and when we don't satisfy them, they get resentful.

Of course, this is also human nature, in fact, we do - we are like this, or even worse. In this way, when they are dissatisfied, we will change a person standing at the front, or an agent, and then those people will be satisfied, and they will feel that their votes have worked, and face their wishes If the facts are not fulfilled, they will not be too angry. At this time, the government on stage actually has the same effect as the pressure relief valve on our steam engine.

Of course, our foundations are not strong enough now, and all three of us are still there, especially if the people still worship you, Napoleon. So we don't need to hide behind the scenes now, after all, as you said, it will reduce efficiency. And now is the time when we need high-efficiency expansion, and behaviors that reduce efficiency must not be tolerated. And this rapid expansion would solve many problems in itself, so the general resentment against us is not so easy to arise. So now we don't need to hide behind the scenes.

But anything can be successful only if you are prepared first. If there is no preparation at all, and you have to deal with it hastily until it comes to an end, then it's no wonder you don't fail. Therefore, even when we are expanding at a high speed, we must make the best preparations for retreat in advance. "

"This is indeed your style, Joseph." Napoleon couldn't help interjecting.

"It's not a matter of style, but the way things should be done." Joseph shook his head and said, "Well, what did I say just now?"

"You said that we should prepare in advance," said Lucien.

"Very good. Then I will continue." Joseph said, "We must now prepare how to control the situation behind the scenes. For example, the government officials and parliamentarians of the Republic should all come from elections. We must adopt an appropriate method, Raise the cost of elections and make elections a game for the rich, even the super rich.

We make laws that political power is not hereditary—that is the defense of democracy; we make laws that make private property sacrosanct—that is the defense of liberty. And this means that wealth can be hereditary. Then we figured out how the wealth could be used to control political power. Elections are the best way.

Napoleon, do you know what is the most important thing in an election? Not the final vote, but the initial election rules. For example, we stipulate that if the number of voters in the first ruling election is less than 70% of the citizens, it will be invalid, and the caretaker government will maintain order until the next round of elections, when the total number of voters reaches the standard.

In this way, the votes of the French peasantry became very important. And Napoleon, do you know what that means? "

"This means that candidates must please the peasants?" Napoleon replied hesitantly.

"Idiot!" Lucien immediately shouted, "Napoleon, you are an idiot! This obviously means that the poor will never get votes. Because even if they want to please the peasants, they can't let the peasants know! Think about it , France is so big, and the peasants live so scatteredly, how much manpower and material resources will it take for a village to promote, even if it’s just a name? How can those poor people do it? "

Obviously, being able to find an opportunity to satirize Napoleon aboveboard made Lucien extremely proud.

Napoleon glared at Lucien, but in the end he decided not to be as knowledgeable as this villain for the time being. Because, it seems that what this guy said is really unexpected, and it makes sense.

"Lucien, you have done a good job in the parliament and the Ministry of Truth, where high-level lying is most needed, and you have made great progress!" Napoleon finally praised him sincerely.

"Napoleon, the ex-soldiers organization you organized is a very good organization. Using it, we can extend our tentacles into the countryside. And if we increase the level of elections in the countryside, the bottom will use small constituencies. A village If it’s just a constituency, then political opinions will have less influence on the election results, and those who speak well in the village will almost certainly win the votes of the whole village. And your veterans organization, almost It can perfectly control the votes at the grassroots level in rural areas, it can be done completely, and we can let them vote for whoever we need them to vote for.”

"That's right, even if we want a donkey to come out to elect the first ruler, we can still make it elected." Lucien seized the opportunity again and satirized Napoleon.

"Hehe..." Napoleon said. At the same time, Napoleon was already thinking that he must find an opportunity to dismiss Joseph, and then repair Lucien properly.

"Lucien, pay attention to your words and deeds." Joseph spoke instead.

Lucien then fell silent.

"We don't need such tricks yet. But Napoleon, you must pay attention to the construction of such an institution." Joseph continued.

"I know." Napoleon replied very briefly.

"In addition, the funds for the veterans' organization are allocated directly from the country's military expenditures, right?" Joseph continued, "It's not good, Napoleon. It's better not to let the country pay the money, but ours." The "military-industrial complex" came out. Let it completely become a "civil society". In the long run, whoever controls the financial power of an organization will control the organization. In this way, our descendants will no longer He is the commander-in-chief of the army, and he no longer has your appeal in the army, and even the soldiers don’t even know his name, but he can still use this system to control votes in the countryside.”

"But if we pay for it ourselves, it will be a lot of money." Napoleon said, and at the same time, he wondered whether he should give full play to his strengths and find someone to give generously.

"This matter is very simple. If you pass a law to encourage charitable behavior, and then provide tax incentives for some corporate donations, wouldn't that be enough?" Joseph replied disapprovingly.

"Hey, there is such an operation, it's shameful, I didn't even think of it!" Napoleon began to suspect that he was not in the right state today.

"Lucien, we have spent so much energy on publicity, investing and controlling so many newspapers." Joseph turned to Lucien again, "This is also to ensure that in the future, when our generation grows old, the new generation can continue to The key to firmly controlling the regime behind the scenes. You have to find a way to crush other newspapers. Do you know how to do it?"

"I know." Lucien said, "Isn't it enough to find some reasons and seal up theirs? Simple!"

"Stupid! How can you be so simple and rude?" Joseph shook his head, "First of all, in the news, our newspapers have an innate advantage. Use the resources in your hands to let our opponents continue to appear real news reports. deviation, and then... don't say seized, don't be so simple and rude, and then their credibility will decline. On the other hand, our own newspapers can help our own companies to advertise, and can also accept other companies' advertisements .This is the real source of income for the newspaper. With this, our newspaper can be sold at a price well below the cost price, and still make money. Our newspaper has a larger layout, more reliable content, and more in-depth reports. The information is sharper, and the price is cheaper. If so, you still use those simple and crude methods that will make people believe, then you are too stupid!"

"I understand." Lucien also nodded.

"This is indeed a good method. Alas..." Napoleon sighed, "I have to say, Joseph, your method is more beneficial to the family than mine. Unfortunately..."

"What a pity?" Joseph said, "I didn't say you couldn't be emperor."