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Chapter 4 - Don Quixote and Sancho

Mr. Fuwa's body recovered very quickly, which is normal, just seasickness. This kind of illness is not good without a good night's sleep. So the next morning they went on their way, and after a long day of bouncing around in a four-wheeled carriage, the group finally arrived in Marseilles, a major town in southern France.

The two Joseph brothers were enrolled in an aristocratic high school in Marseille, the Lycée d'Or, to learn French. This was an aristocratic school, and naturally, the students were all aristocrats, though only "provincial aristocrats". However, even if they are "provincial aristocrats", they are far more "aristocratic" than "Corsican aristocrats". Other than that, the way of life alone is almost like crushing these two poor boys from Corsica.

At first, when they found out that two poor Corsican aristocrats were coming to their school, the students were generally very interested and welcoming. This is not because they are hospitable, but because the school has two dirtbags, which is a very interesting thing in the eyes of the noble students. Just like the ladies in the Grand View Garden, although none of them looked up to the poor Liu Lou Lou, they all looked forward to her visit. The sons and daughters of the "provincial nobility" at the school also needed some "Lau Lau" to make fun of to enrich their empty and boring after-school lives. Although they would be considered "country bumpkins" if they were to go to Paris among the great aristocrats themselves.

When the two of them first arrived at Arden High School, their image was very much in line with the expectations of the aristocratic students at the school. The two were raised on the sea, and are wild and thick, so their faces are black and red, their skin is far less delicate than those of their classmates, and they are full of the characteristics of inferior people at first glance. In addition, the height difference between the two men was obvious, Joseph was tall and thin, while Napoleon was short and dun, if placed in China, the height difference between the two brothers might be reminiscent of Wu Da and Wu Er in "The Outlaws of the Marsh", and here, the students immediately gave them each a nickname: one was called Don Quixote and the other was called Sancho. Many years later, when Joseph wrote to Napoleon, he would sometimes jokingly refer to Napoleon as "my dear Sancho" and write "Don Quixote de la Mancha" in the closing line. When Napoleon wrote back, he would call himself "Don Quixote" and Joseph "Sancho". He felt that, in terms of character, he was closer to the knight fighting the windmill, while the sensible Joseph was closer to Sancho.

The two men do have many things that bring joy to the students of this school. First of all, the accent when speaking. The aristocratic students of the school, though all provincial, could speak French with a touch of Parisian flavor, while the brother's Joseph, the older brother Joseph, was a little better, his French was, at least, French, though he also had a serious accent problem. But the younger brother Napoleon was different, his French, not only with a serious Corsican accent, and even mixed with a lot of Corsican words, almost can not be considered French. So one of the things that the bored students in the class liked to do was to imitate the accent of the brothers and their actions, which looked very corny to the aristocratic children.

Generally speaking, the more shallow and incompetent a person is, the more he or she likes to laugh at the defects of others and enjoys doing so, especially if the person is clearly superior to him or herself in terms of ability.

Napoleon was not a good French speaker, but he and Joseph were both outstanding in their studies, and Joseph, needless to say, was a twenty-first-century traveler with knowledge far beyond his time, and it was not difficult for him to pretend to be a student in a noble school. The most important thing for him to do is to hide his knowledge that is too much beyond his time, and that is what gives him a headache. Basically, except for art and other subjects, he could easily beat everyone in the school in terms of academic performance.

As for Napoleon, although he did not have those cheating gadgets in Joseph's brain, he was naturally smart, and after learning from Joseph about the importance of knowledge, especially in mathematics, geography, history, and physics, to war, he took his studies very seriously, especially in these subjects closely related to war. His natural intelligence, combined with his seriousness, made Napoleon excel in these subjects, and the "provincial aristocrats" were far inferior to Napoleon in these subjects, and to Josephus in almost all subjects except spoken language.

After being intellectually overpowered by the brothers, the noble students became more and more inclined to maliciously imitate the brothers' spoken language. At first, they targeted Joseph. This is natural, Joseph is very tall, although currently thin, looking a bit like a bamboo pole, but this is a byproduct of the rapid growth of teenage height, young people who do not want to grow a little taller, a little taller? And Joseph's looks are also good, although their face is slightly darker. The company's main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.

However, the noble students soon gave up on Joseph as a target because whenever they deliberately provoked him in front of them, imitating his accent or whatever, they never got the feedback they were hoping for. They wanted to see Joseph panic or anger in the face of these actions, either of which would give them the opportunity to appreciate and bring them endless joy.

However, Joseph's reaction was completely unexpected. When they played their game in front of Joseph, Joseph did not show fear or anger, but smiled and enjoyed their performance, looking at them as if they were monkeys in a circus.

Such a reaction naturally could not bring them happiness, so they turned their target more to Napoleon. Compared to Josephus, Napoleon's weaknesses were obviously more. Napoleon was shorter, had a heavier accent, and had more black spots. More importantly, Napoleon's reaction was a little more fun. For whenever they provoked Napoleon in this way, they could easily appreciate his anger.

But they soon realized that it was no longer fun to provoke Napoleon. Unlike stimulating Joseph, stimulating Joseph, although not happy, but at least not dangerous. But once Napoleon felt offended, he would not hesitate to fight back, and in the most inferior way to fight back, that is, using violence, punching, kicking, and even biting with his teeth.

The young lords in the school were taller than Napoleon, but they lacked training in this type of fighting. Fighting skills were also mandatory for the nobility, but that meant fighting with swords. {At that time, dueling was still popular, and the skill of fighting with the Swift Sword became a compulsory skill for the nobles. Of course, the high school students at Orton High School were not old enough to control a weapon like the Swift Sword, so they learned more about small sword techniques.} As for the unarmed, with fists, nails, and teeth to fight the savage fighting style, they do not know. So once they fight, they are always at a disadvantage. And Napoleon hit very Yin, hitting people very painful, but will not leave any too obvious marks. And once the teacher came, Napoleon always behaved more miserable than the beaten one and more aggrieved.

As a result, everyone found out that the Joseph brothers were not so fun, and not only not fun, but also made them uncomfortable in various ways. So fewer people came to mess with the brothers, but on the other hand, the brothers were also isolated from their classmates. But both Joseph and Napoleon did not care about this isolation.

"This is a group of people who are destined to be discarded by history. It is not worth tóuzhù even a little bit of energy on them. I was visiting Toulon, thinking that such guys would become the upper echelon of France in the future. The anxiety generated by the sight of those warships disappeared. What's more, you know that I won't stay in this school for too long. Mr. Lefevre, who teaches mathematics, told me that the school could recommend a student this year to go to the Brienne Military Academy, a publicly funded military academy, where I could learn all kinds of military skills. If Joseph didn't compete with me, Joseph, who was so ambitious, was so eager to go to those schools in Paris and the University of Paris that he didn't even think about how old he was. Besides, how could my family afford to pay for a school like the University of Paris? I felt sure that I would be able to get the place because the other pampered, feminine aristocrats were not going to study there. But I think this is the best school for me. This is what Napoleon wrote to his father in the letters of Napoleon the Great, which were attacked many years later, about his classmates at Alton High School.

As the letter says, Napoleon would not be able to continue his studies at Alton High School for much longer. Perhaps at the end of spring, he would be transferred to the Brienne Military Academy. As for his brother Joseph, he was, as Napoleon said, thinking about the Louis the Great School in Paris. This school was the best high school in France, and more importantly, it had the highest scholarships in France for students who excelled in their studies. These scholarships can fully support a student's normal study and living expenses in Paris. For example, Robespierre, who would become one of the most powerful men in the world, received a scholarship of 600 francs when he graduated from the Louis the Great School.