Fontana's estimate was correct. For an old aristocrat like Count Adrian Petrescu, land was his lifeblood. To take his land was to take his life.
Moreover, this old count has always thought highly of himself, looking down on the nouveau riche and looking down on the small nobles whose family background is not deep enough. For him, tradition is everything and he will never allow anyone to interfere or blaspheme, not even the French!
"So what about the French!" The old count slammed the table angrily. "After they sent the king to the guillotine fifty years ago, it meant that the real nobility had become extinct in France. Where can there be nobility who murder their own monarch? They
He has forgotten the honor and sacred mission of the nobility, and has become as lowly as those despicable untouchables!"
"These shameless and despicable French guys have not only made their country a mess, but they have the nerve to come to Wallachia to complain! They just want to bring the plague to us and destroy us.
The most precious thing!"
"My old friends, the situation is extremely serious. These damn French guys actually want to take advantage of our industry and are ready to destroy our most fertile farmland to build those smoky industries. We must react and must be strong.
If the ground opposes it, they must know who is in charge of Wallachia!"
Adrian Petrescu's old friends are naturally old antiques like him. This group of people covers the most conservative group of old aristocrats in Prahova County who also have the largest amount of real estate. They rely on the land to survive and are firmly entrenched in the land.
It controls the most extensive and lush land in the county.
For example, most of the land in the Prahova Valley is in their hands. Without their approval, Li Xiao's plan to develop oil fields or refineries is almost a fantasy.
Of course, not everyone in this group of people is as tough as Adrian Petrescu, because with the rise of the new aristocracy, these parasites who rely on the land for survival are getting worse from generation to generation.
Especially with the establishment of the Provisional Republic of Wallachia, these conservatives are basically too conservative and dare not and are unwilling to participate in anti-Russian actions, so now their voice in the government is quite low. This is also the senior official of the provisional government.
The reason why they were ready to give the Prahova Valley to Li Xiao without any psychological burden: After all, it’s not ours, so we don’t feel bad.
"Count, what you said is true, but you must also see that the French are coming now, and the brats in the provisional government don't take us seriously at all. They only want to please them... Those brats originally
I was full of resentment towards us for watching us indifferently. If we confront them again, I'm worried..."
Adrian Petrescu didn't like hearing this, and he immediately said angrily: "What's there to be afraid of! You are afraid of those little bastards, but I am not! My land was earned by my ancestors through their merits.
Yes, there is no reason to give your hands to others."
"That's not what you said! Count, please calm down. The situation is not clear yet. They didn't say they were going to rob it by force, right? They only said they were preparing to open an oil field in the Prahova Valley, and they didn't make any other moves. This
It would be easier for you to just shout and kill..."
Adrian Petrescu frowned and asked, "What's easy?"
"It's easy to mess things up. What if someone spends money to redeem it? Even if you want to get mad, you have to wait until someone makes an offer before rejecting it, right?"
Adrian Petrescu was furious and said: "Stupid! Even if he wants to buy it, he has to see if I want to sell it! My land will never be sold, no matter how much money I pay! Gentlemen, I have the money.
You can spend whatever you want, but land is different. Land is an inheritance that lasts for generations. With land, our future generations are protected. Without land, how long can we squander the money? What will happen once the money is squandered?"
These words go straight to the depths of the soul. In a sense, Adrian Petrescu makes sense. The money can be spent, but as long as the land is still in his hands, there will be some income every year. One is
If you buy and sell at one time, no matter how much you make, even the gold mountain will be empty sometimes. Although the other one may not seem to make much income every year, it will be harvested as long as the earth is still there, right?
For traditional old landowners, the latter is more marketable. Although they also like money, they prefer land. After getting rich, their first choice is not consumption but trying to obtain more land.
To put it bluntly, they are truly parasites. They will not contribute to the enhancement of social wealth. On the contrary, they will only limit the progress of productivity. After all, their land requires a large number of hired workers or serfs. And in order to ensure their own profits, they will do everything they can to survive.
Exploiting the poor people who depend on them for survival.
Of course, this is a matter of course for Adrian Petrescu. He is not ashamed and even plausibly lectures those who oppose him:
"And by the time they start to take action, it will be too late for us to resist, because the signs are already obvious. Haven't you seen that they have already started to take action behind your back!"
"What tricks are you using?"
"What did the Frenchman do?"
"Earl, please tell me quickly and stop being so pretentious!"
Facing his "old friends" who gathered around and looked at him anxiously, Adrian Petrescu felt a little proud and happy. He hadn't had this feeling of being in the spotlight for many years.
The last time seemed to be forty years ago when his grandfather and his family used their family property to support the anti-Turkish movement. At that time, their family responded to the call and became prosperous.
It's a pity that there has been no such grand occasion since then. Turkey was beaten away, the Russians came, and then life became the same. As grandfather and father died one after another, Wallachia and Praho
Val has forgotten the great contributions of the Petrescu family.
"The interim government has already discussed with the City of Bucharest and is preparing to force us to sell the land at a low price or even for free... That mayor's assistant, Baron Kosoy, is running around and taking things by force. Many small nobles cannot bear it.
Threaten to hand over the land!”
"This is just the first step. After they finish dealing with those little nobles and small landowners, the next step will definitely be our turn! We must unite and resolutely resist the misbehavior of these bastards! Otherwise, our land and our family will be completely destroyed!
"
Adrian Petrescu caused a sensation. The nobles were panicked and feared that their property would be robbed. In order to protect their own interests, they knelt together.
"Count, you have your say! What are you going to do and what do you want us to do? Let's advance and retreat together!"