Chapter 35: Arrangements for the Brothers
Adhering to this principle, after that, Joseph adopted a policy with Mara's eccentric discussions, not only not opposing but even praising them.
However, anything is easier said than done. Deciding to follow the policy of "agree with him, encourage him, and cultivate him into a great know-it-all" is not difficult, but going against your own conscience to support a rather absurd perspective is truly uncomfortable. Joseph even remembered a joke he had heard in his previous life about the Republic-era poet Zhang Zongchang.
It was said that General Zhang compiled a collection of his own poems (such as the masterpiece that went, "Great Bright Lake, Bright Lake Great, On Great Bright Lake, there are lotus flowers, and on the lotus flowers, there are toads. Poke one, and it leaps."). He then sought out an old scholar to have him appraise it. This old man, unaware that Zhang Zongchang was the author, read the poems and blurted out, "Incomprehensible nonsense!"
General Zhang, upon hearing this, was furious: "Dare you call my poems 'incomprehensible nonsense'? I think you're looking for trouble! Guards, take this old man away and execute him!"
The old man, realizing he was in deep trouble, quickly knelt down and begged, "General, General, my eyesight is failing, I didn't see it clearly earlier... Let me take another look..."
Zhang Zongchang let the guards release the old man temporarily and, patting the small cannon at his waist, said, "Old man, you'd better look carefully this time!"
The old man carefully read Zhang's poetry collection twice and then sighed, put down the collection, and stood up, saying to Zhang Zongchang, "General, you should have me taken away and executed."
Now, Joseph couldn't help but think that he wanted to say something similar to Mara, who was spouting nonsense.
Fortunately, Danton seemed to have a rather dismissive attitude toward Mara, so he stepped forward to argue with him. This led Mara to spare Joseph, focusing his energy on debating with Danton.
Armand introduced Joseph to the others, explaining that Joseph was a rising star in science and had a keen eye for art. He mentioned that some of Joseph's suggestions had even influenced his unfinished work, "Spartacus."
Joseph brought up this problem partly as an excuse, and partly to bait the pseudo-scientific Mara. Usually, problems that sounded easy and could be solved with a spark of inspiration were the kind that pseudo-scientists loved.
As expected, Mara immediately became interested in the problem. "Is this problem difficult?"
"Yes, it's quite difficult. In my opinion, its difficulty is on par with cubing the cube, squaring the circle, and trisecting an angle. I've already presented this problem to the Academy of Sciences and suggested that if no one can prove it in a short time, we should make it a public problem and offer a reward."
Mara's eyes lit up with excitement. He took out a notebook and a pen and said, "Mr. Bonaparte, could you please repeat the problem?"
...
Using this excuse, Joseph could maintain a certain distance from these individuals. Besides, apart from Napoleon, both of his brothers were with him now, and he needed to focus more on their education.
Louis was still very young, not even ten, so it was too early to give him specialized training. However, Lucien had already begun to display some talent in public speaking and the arts. Joseph, not being a history enthusiast in his past life, didn't know that Lucien had once been the President of the "Five Hundred People Society" during the events leading to Napoleon's rise to power. But since Lucien had already shown promise in these areas, encouraging him in this direction seemed like a good idea.
"In the future, Napoleon will be devoted to the military. As for me, I'll ensure the family's good name and the overall direction of French development. The greatest advantage of time travelers lies in knowing the broad course of history, right? As for Lucien, if he has a talent for oratory and the arts, he can handle public relations and propaganda in the future. In a way, a rose is also a weapon of war."
Joseph didn't have much connection with the world of art, so he had to rely on Armand for many aspects of this plan. However, he was concerned about Armand's lifestyle. Lucien was at a critical stage in forming his values, and having him learn from Armand was... Well, Armand's company had improved somewhat recently after mingling with those radical elements, so that was a relief.
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