Chapter 23: The Aristocratic Way

Zhou Ming had a pleasant lunch with Princess Caitlin and Princess Louise. Although the lunch lasted more than an hour, the time after they reached an agreement was basically nonsense. After this lunch, Zhou Ming realised that talking nonsense is a necessary skill for many occasions, both at home and abroad. Princess Louise, for example, is quite accomplished in this area.

After lunch, they returned to Harrogate. By this time, many other family members had also finished lunch, or perhaps they had simply been waiting here in advance just to say hello to Ming and Caitlin with a smile.

This seems quite unnecessary, but this is the heart of aristocratic politics. Eggs should not be placed in one basket. Previously, Caitlin had no chance against Andre, so naturally didn't care. They even targeted Caitlin in order to win Andre's favour. But now that Caitlin has the capital to compete with Andre, the situation is completely different.

Now they are not talking about switching sides and investing in Caitlyn right now, but at least they have to get to know her so that she doesn't dislike them. After all, you can become friends with powerful people without befriending them, but you can't become enemies without at least being on bad terms!

It is a kind of opportunistic hypocrisy, but it is also the most effective philosophy that the aristocrats have summed up over the centuries. It takes talent and luck to become rich and powerful and become one of the elite. However, this kind of aristocratic politics can allow you to stay out of trouble and become an elite class that is above thousands of people.

Back in the castle hall, the meeting that was supposed to start at 2 o'clock didn't start until 3 o'clock, and Andre was barely present, with a very gloomy expression on his face, as if he had been affected by the shares of the Fugger Bank.

Everyone in the hall knew it in their hearts, because during lunch they had all frantically called back home to check the stock market situation. After all, information was the most important tool for mastering the future. They could not participate, but they had to at least find out what was going on. In the end, the facts were indeed the same as the radio news broadcast by Zhou Ming that morning: Quantum Fund's George Soros had a run on hundreds of billions of francs, and the Fugue Bank had suffered a major blow.

It was also because of this confirmed news that when Zhou Ming and Caitlin returned to the castle in the afternoon, their attitude completely changed.

'I'm very sorry, due to some personal matters that have delayed the meeting for an hour, I need to apologise to everyone here.'

André walked up to the podium and said that he was in a low mood, obviously depressed by the events at Voog Bank, and that his apology was very sincere.

In response, Ifman took the lead in saying that he understood, and believed that with Andre's abilities, he would be able to handle those matters well. And with Ifman taking the lead, the others also followed suit, saying that they didn't care as long as Andre came back, and that it was enough to think that this meeting was important.

Caitlin despised these people's words: 'These damned bastards, they are like the grass on the wall, they go wherever the wind blows!'

Zhou Ming can understand this: 'There's nothing we can do about it. After all, Andre has been in business for so many years. We can't expect these guys to swear allegiance to us just because we slapped him in the face once. That's unrealistic.'

Caitlin sighed, 'Of course I understand this reasoning, but their faces still make me sick!'

Zhou Ming patted her little hand, 'Compared to these ugly faces, I'm more looking forward to how your aunt, the princess, will behave.'

Louise over there seemed to sense Zhou Ming's thoughts. As soon as André had finished his opening remarks, Louise immediately picked up her microphone and said, 'I'm very sorry, Count André, but I wonder if I could say a few words of my own at such an important meeting?'

André frowned in displeasure, but gave a gesture of invitation: 'Of course, this is an important meeting about the future of the Harburg family. I will respect and listen to the opinions of every family member.'

Louise thanked him with a slight bow, and then said, 'In fact, I want to tell a story that we all know. More than seven hundred years ago, the throne of the Holy Roman Empire became vacant. Europe's nobles and major royal families were eyeing the throne, and they even went to war to swear their legitimacy for succession.

'The final result, I believe everyone knows, is that among all the nobles, the House of Harburg won and inherited the throne,' Louise Louise continued, 'I know there is nothing new about this story. Even though he is the pride of our House of Harburg, I just want to illustrate a point through this story: the heir must always find the most suitable one.'

'One Like the House of Harburg seven hundred years ago, Rome made the Harburg throne possible, and the House of Harburg made Rome glorious!

Louise Louise paused here: 'But if you are familiar with the family history, you will know that it was no coincidence that the nobles of Europe chose the House of Harburg . At least my ancestor, after seeing that the throne of the Holy Roman Empire was vacant, did not wait for the papacy to send him the crown of the king, but spent his fortune buying the throne succession rights of another family in the country and declared war on the Kingdom of Bohemia.'

'Please please note,' emphasises Louise, 'that our ancestor wasn't just messing around when he did this. He was preparing for his succession to the throne.'

'Buying the right to succeed was, needless to say, an oath that he had a legal basis to succeed to the throne of Rome, even if it was bought. And the another war with Bohemia was an olive branch extended to other nobles, because the Bohemian king was at the time the most powerful opponent in Europe,' said Louise. 'What I'm talking about is the wisdom of competition.'

What What a load of competitive wisdom, it's simply the worst joke in the world!

Andre Andre cursed inwardly. How could he, as a sophisticated aristocrat, not hear the undertone of Louise's words? The princess was clearly making a historical reference to emphasise the legal basis for Caitlin's inheritance, while she herself would be the defeated Bohemian king!

However as a nobleman, she still had the basic skills of keeping her temper under control. So, although Andre had already scolded Louise in his heart, he still maintained a smile on his face and asked, 'So, Your Highness, what are your thoughts on this family meeting?'

'My Please don't misunderstand anything, my lord. I'm just saying what everyone is thinking. I hope, like you, that we can elect the most suitable successor to lead the family's revival,' said Louise.

'So So you don't think I'm the one to inherit the family, do you?' Andre asked with a gloomy face, obviously no longer interested in beating around the bush with Louise.

Louise smiled: 'I just said that. Please don't misunderstand, Count. I'm not targeting you. I'm just speaking the mind of all the Harburg family members, including you. That's all.'

Bullshit!

Andre Andre raged inside, and he couldn't help but curse. After all, what kind of bullshit heartfelt thoughts and leading the family to prosperity were just a set of high-sounding rhetoric. Whoever believed it was stupid! If he really had such noble thoughts, he would not have driven his predecessor, Archduke Ferdinand, to a melancholy death, and his funeral would not have been so shabby. He did so much just to inherit the family!

As an old noblewoman like Louise could not possibly not understand what she was thinking. By saying that now, she was deliberately trying to embarrass herself by pointing an accusing finger at someone else.

However, although Andre had already cursed in his heart, Zhou Ming still shook his head unsatisfied.

Caitlin was puzzled because it seemed to her that Louise had responded and that there was nothing wrong with what she had said.

Zhou Ming told her, 'Your aunt's words are fine, and her way of expressing herself is indeed typical of your family or Western aristocratic sarcasm. This is also the most common approach in this circle, but it is still too light-hearted for me or for the current the situation is still too light-hearted. What is needed now is the most direct approach, the fastest way to pull Andre down from his pedestal and tear off all his face-saving excuses. This kind of subtle sarcasm is too subtle and upsetting.'

Caitlin Lin finally understood: 'No way, she's used to it, and habitually maintains her aristocratic reserve, so they're no match for you in any way.'

Only by being willing to sacrifice oneself can one bring down the emperor. Is there any courage in kings, princes, and generals? This is the difference between Eastern and Western concepts.

Zhou Ming sighs inwardly. This is not about who is better or worse, but at least by understanding their way of thinking, things can proceed better for them.

At this time Louise turned the conversation back to Zhou Ming and said, 'Historically, the children of the previous archduke were the most powerful heirs. So, Caitlin, what do you think?'

Caitlin first looked at Ming Zhou, who smiled and told her to speak her mind.

Caitlin then spoke elegantly, 'I completely agree with what Aunt Louise said. Since we are selecting an heir, we naturally need to choose the most suitable person. Although my inheritance priority is the highest, I will also consider the overall situation of the family's revival.'

At the end of Finally, Caitlyn looked at Andre and asked, 'I believe you can do the same, Count, can't you?'

Faced with this sudden question, Andre had no choice but to nod: 'Of course. Since I was able to rush this meeting, it would be meaningless if I couldn't bring the best successor to the family.'

'This is truly delightful news!' Louise said, 'Then I think we can start discussing the rules for electing the heir now. Once elected, whoever it is must obey and support the heir as much as possible, and not build a castle within a castle by holding the most bank shares or wealth.'

Listening to Louise's words made André's face turn redder and redder, because Louise's final words were directed at him. What about holding the most bank shares and wealth and building a castle within a castle? Wasn't this about him? Apart from who else in the Harusburg family has the wealth and influence to influence the heir?

However Zhou Ming then added, 'So, Mr. André, as a sign of good faith, shouldn't you hand over some shares of Fuge Bank? Since Fuge Bank is in such a bad shape, it would be best if everyone could get involved and come up with more plans!'

André was about to vomit blood. It was only after hearing Zhou Ming's words that he understood that Louise's words were as gentle as an angel's.

But it was impossible to promise, not in this lifetime. Benefits were like the sweetest cake in the world; once you ate them, you would never want to spit them out.

Andre Andre finally said in a low voice, 'This matter is not as simple as it seems. If someone is finally elected as the successor, I will of course be happy to hand over the family wealth that I have been temporarily taking care of, but not now!'

Emphasising . Andre then added: 'Besides, choosing the successor is the most important thing for Harburg right now, so I think we should be more cautious. Rushing things will only exacerbate the decline of the family. My opinion is that we should suspend the meeting for five days, and everyone should go home and think about it. What rules should be set for choosing the successor?'

Finally André said, 'This time I am not negotiating, but exercising my power as the meeting leader to make a unilateral decision!'

André then turned and walked off the stage, ignoring the uproar that broke out in the hall.