NOVEL NEXT Chapter 968 Monaco
It is very difficult for an ordinary person to enter the upper class, but Liang En and Joan of Arc are not ordinary people. At least for them, these classes can be easily crossed.
Therefore, in order to reduce hidden dangers in the future, Liang En and the others decided that it would be better to start from scratch. As for the title, it is indeed a very good ticket, but if you want to join it, the ticket alone is obviously not enough.
Therefore, apart from the Golden Dawn gathering, Liang En and the others only attended two gatherings, both of which were related to academics and business, and did not participate in many ineffective social interactions. When all the socializing was over they headed to Paris
"It's really troublesome for you to accompany me on such a trip." When the plane landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Joan of Arc said a little embarrassed. “After all, Christmas is a time for the whole family to come together.”
"It's actually nothing. After all, my parents don't celebrate Christmas." Liang En smiled and said, "What's more important is that home is not a house, but a family."
After arriving in Paris, they did not leave the airport. Instead, they chose to take the nearest flight to Nice, and then took the train to Monaco. This is because for Mr. Dulis, the wet and cold Paris in winter is no longer suitable for living.
So now he lives in sunny Monaco and enjoys the warm winter in the Mediterranean region, and the place where Liang En and the others meet Mr. Dulis this time is also in this small city-state.
Monaco, the full name of the Principality of Monaco, is a Southern European city-state located in southwest Europe. It is surrounded by France on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea to the south.
As a pocket country, the Principality of Monaco covers an area of 2.08 square kilometers, of which 0.5 square kilometers are reclaimed from the sea. The climate is Mediterranean.
Because the country is very small, the entire country has one municipal unit and 4 districts. The capital is actually the entire country. A few years ago, the national population was only 38,682.
However, unlike what everyone imagines, this small country has a very long history. It was successively inhabited by the Ligurians, Phoenicians and Carthaginians. Among them, the Phoenicians built the Monaco Castle, which was also the beginning of the city's construction.
In 1297, the Grimaldi family began its 700-year intermittent rule over Monaco. This country formed the prototype of a principality in the 14th century and successively became a protectorate of Spain and France.
Unlike some large countries, for such small countries, independence is often an unnecessary luxury. It is definitely a common practice to be a vassal of other countries in order to survive.
However, this approach may not be able to protect the country. For example, when the German Empire was established, a small group of states also lost their independence.
The same is true for Monaco. In 1861, the Principality of Monaco signed an agreement with France to give up its ownership of the two major towns of Menton and Roquebrune, and the territory was reduced from 20 square kilometers to the current area.
In 1911, Monaco promulgated its first constitution and became a dualist constitutional monarchy. In 1918, Monaco signed a treaty with France. Monaco promised to exercise its sovereignty on the premise of fully respecting France's political, economic, navigation and military interests. France was responsible for ensuring Monaco's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In 1919, Monaco even signed a treaty with France that stipulated that once the head of state dies without a male descendant, Monaco will be incorporated into France.
Fortunately, Monaco and France established a new treaty in 2002. When the head of state of Monaco has no successor, Monaco remains an independent country and France continues to provide defense.
Because the country is too small, it has not left many traces in history. One of the most famous events in modern times is the marriage of the 27th Oscar-winning actress Grace Kelly to the head of state Rainier III in 1956. Prince.
Although the publicity generally describes this incident as a story of a prince and Cinderella, it is actually just a story of powerful alliances.
This is because after World War II, Monaco's economy was in trouble, and in order to solve its financial problems, Onassis, the country's largest investor at the time, came up with a creative solution.
He proposed turning Monaco into a "playground", a place that would attract tourists from all over the world. There, wealthy patrons could mingle with movie stars and Hollywood's elite.
So at this time, it is obviously a very good idea to find a Hollywood actress as the country's future princess. For Americans, marrying an old European aristocrat is also a good way to improve their status.
Therefore, the two parties hit it off immediately, and the $2 million dowry brought by Grace Kelly before the marriage also solved the problem of national bankruptcy faced by this small country at that time.
After that, the country began to transform into a paradise for the rich. No personal income tax was levied, and a profit tax of 33.33% was levied on enterprises, which attracted a large number of wealthy people and enterprises.
Mr. Dulis is naturally no exception. Although those traditional industries are still located in France, many emerging industries and a large amount of movable property have been transferred here.
After all, taxes in France are notoriously high, so for most wealthy people, converting their wealth abroad as much as possible, or even changing nationality, is a routine operation.
However, unlike the upstarts who buy land here, the Dulis family has owned real estate here for more than 300 years and can fully say that they are the aborigines of this country.
Of course, the Dulis family's investment in this country was also related to some exchanges within the aristocratic family. They never thought that this place would become so prosperous.
I think when the Dulis family came here, it was just a very ordinary countryside, so the earliest small farm was just a small piece of barren land reclaimed from a wasteland.
After all, this is a barren mountainous area by the sea, so if you simply farm, you can barely make a living. Fortunately, with the development of the second smallest country in the world, that small piece of land has now become a high-end community.
The entire community consists of four 16-story apartment residential buildings. It is considered to be the most popular high-end residential area for the new rich. Standing on the top of the building, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the entire country.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that the entire country is too small, but no matter what, this kind of good place with a broad view will definitely be welcomed by everyone.
The destination Liang En is heading to now is the 15th and 16th floors of one of the apartment buildings, which are the rooms reserved for him by the Dulis family.
This is also a characteristic of the Dulis family. They will leave themselves a room in every real estate for themselves to live in, but most of the time it is just empty.
From a certain point of view, this can be regarded as a special habit of the rich. After all, for most people, having a house is already very good, and it is impossible to have an empty house. Spare this kind of thing.
"The hotel-style apartment does seem to meet the requirements of the nouveau riche." After entering, Liang En said looking at the very modern interior. "At least that's true in terms of decoration."