After Mokar returned to the room, Empress Augusta asked Mokar if the guests from the Bank of France had arrived.

Mokar showed a hint of astonishment on his face, then nodded and told Empress Augusta that Count Bemini, the President of the Bank of France, had been waiting a long time at the Tuileries Palace. He is currently arranged in a room at the Tuileries Palace. Your Majesty, would you like to meet him?

"Then please bring President Bemini here!" Empress Augusta replied to Mokar.

"As you command!" Mokar bowed to Empress Augusta and then left the room.

Alone in her room, Empress Augusta yawned and muttered to herself, "I never expected a small Luxembourg Bank to affect so many people!"

After a while, Count Bemini, the President of the Bank of France, and Mokar appeared in the room.

"Count Bemini, please excuse me for not standing to greet you," said Empress Augusta, sitting on the sofa, pointing to her stomach.

"Your Majesty, I am already deeply honored to have the opportunity to meet with you!" Count Bemini hurriedly bowed and saluted Empress Augusta.

Upon Empress Augusta’s invitation, Count Bemini sat on the sofa opposite Augusta.

Empress Augusta feigned ignorance and asked Count Bemini if there was an intractable problem at the Bank of France that he couldn’t handle, prompting him, a busy man, to make time to come to the Tuileries Palace.

"Thanks to the benevolence of both Your Majesties, I am entrusted with the management of the Bank of France! Currently, the Bank of France is precisely controlling the issuance of banknotes under the guidance of His Majesty Emperor Jerome Bonaparte, ensuring that each banknote can circulate in the market... Although there were some minor setbacks during the issuance of banknotes, overall, it has been relatively stable!" Count Bemini responded to Empress Augusta in a standard official tone.

"Since there is no major issue with the Bank of France, Mr. Bemini, what is the purpose of your sudden visit to the Tuileries Palace today?" Empress Augusta asked calmly.

"Your Majesty, my purpose this time is for the Luxembourg Bank!" Count Bemini responded to Empress Augusta with a serious expression.

"The Luxembourg Bank?" Empress Augusta pretended not to understand Count Bemini’s implication: "What’s wrong with the Luxembourg Bank? Could it be that it has a business dispute with the Bank of France?"

Empress Augusta’s evasion in her remarks made Count Bemini sense danger. He recalled Chief Steward Mokar secretly telling him that Empress Augusta was having a discussion with the Pereire Brothers.

Could it be that the Pereire Brothers have already succeeded?

Thinking of this, Count Bemini became nervous.

If the Pereire Brothers really take over the Luxembourg Bank, then the Bank of France is likely to face a powerful enemy.

Don’t be deceived by the fact that the Pereire Brothers are also currently part of the Bank of France’s board of directors and a member of the interest group, but the members of an interest group are not necessarily united. There might be two banks sitting on the Bank of France’s board that are sworn enemies outside the Bank of France, not to mention the positions among the members are vastly different.

The Pereire Brothers’ position at the Bank of France is just a bit higher than that of ordinary board members, far from being comparable to people like Fuld.

Once the Pereire Brothers take over the Luxembourg Bank, they can completely leave the Bank of France to operate independently. The reason the Bank of France can dominate many banks is that it inherently holds the monopoly rights to issue banknotes and redeem them throughout France.

If it loses these two monopoly rights, the Bank of France would just be a slightly larger bank.

Even worse, if the Pereire Brothers really take over the Luxembourg Bank, it will undoubtedly cause a split within the Bank of France.

A portion of bankers with only voting rights will surely rally behind the Pereire Brothers, cheerleading for the Luxembourg Bank.

By then, it would be challenging to manage the entire Bank of France’s team.

For Count Bemini, who assumed the presidency of the Bank of France less than a year ago, this would be unquestionably terrible news.

After briefly weighing the pros and cons, Count Bemini decided to speak candidly with Her Majesty the Empress. With a solemn expression, he asked, "Your Majesty, please forgive my boldness! If the problem with the Luxembourg Bank isn’t handled properly, it could cause turmoil in the entire financial sector of France!"

"Mr. Bemini, are you threatening me?" Empress Augusta also revealed an unusually serious face, coldly asking Count Bemini.

"Your Majesty, I am not threatening you! If you wish, you can dismiss me from the position of President of the Bank of France at any time!" Facing Augusta’s hostility, Count Bemini remained calm and said to Empress Augusta, "But I urge you not to let the Luxembourg Bank become the culprit of splitting the Bank of France!"

"Mr. Bemini, the Luxembourg Bank is just a bank worth a few hundred thousand francs! I am very curious how it can split the colossal Bank of France!" Empress Augusta said to Count Bemini.

"Your Majesty, although the Luxembourg Bank is relatively small in scale, it possesses all the functions that the Bank of France has! In other words, the Luxembourg Bank itself is a miniature Bank of France! What the Luxembourg Bank lacks is just a large-scale capital injection, but capital is not a problem for France at present!" Count Bemini explained to Empress Augusta.

"So, what should the Luxembourg Bank do to tear apart the Bank of France?" Empress Augusta asked Count Beimini.

"The Luxembourg Bank doesn’t need to do anything; it just needs to open a branch in Paris and then find some larger banks to endorse its credit! In this way, those large banks can do things through the Luxembourg Bank that they want to do but cannot!" Beimini said to Empress Augusta, "The Luxembourg Bank can issue banknotes independently and also has the right to redeem discounted bills! Numerous banks can bypass the Bank of France to issue banknotes.

Two banks, two different banknotes, will inevitably cause chaos in the entire French financial market. Those bankers who originally only had voting rights on the board will flock to the Luxembourg Bank!

At that time, the entire French financial community will be torn into two parts.

Once the French financial system is shaken, then the entire France..."

At this, Beimini stopped speaking.

After all, the reason His Majesty the Emperor was able to ascend to this position was due to large-scale financial turmoil at the time.

Now that the Emperor is seated on this issue, he will absolutely not allow financial problems like those in the past to occur again.

Sure enough, after Count Beimini explained the harm brought by the Luxembourg Bank, Empress Augusta’s face turned slightly pale.

"Mr. Beimini, I will tell His Majesty everything you’ve said exactly as you put it! All situations are left to His Majesty to decide!" Empress Augusta replied to Count Beimini.

"Yes!" Count Beimini immediately left the Tuileries Palace.

Shortly after Count Beimini left, Empress Augusta once again ordered Mokar to immediately go to the French Academy of Sciences to find a few academicians specializing in economics.

After receiving the order, Mokar quickly found several academicians for Empress Augusta, who asked them some questions about banking and finance, as well as whether the issuance of two kinds of banknotes would affect society.

Although the academicians had different answers, their core view was that two kinds of banknotes would not cause a significant impact, but the over-issuance of two kinds of banknotes would have a great impact, as it would lead to rapid depreciation of banknotes and cause inflation.

This would also cause large-scale turmoil in France’s finances.

After hearing the academicians’ explanations, Augusta had some ideas, then she thanked them and ordered Mokar to escort them back safely.

...

Meanwhile, at the French Military District Hospital in Constantinople, thousands of miles away from Paris.

Since Vilnius led a medical team to Sevastopol to jointly establish the Sevastopol Military District Hospital with Nightingale.

The number of patients admitted to the Constantinople Military District Hospital has been decreasing, except for a few patients with rather severe conditions (mainly psychological issues needing a change of scenery in Constantinople), the vast majority of patients received direct treatment in Sevastopol.

Gradually, the Constantinople Military District Hospital, originally tasked with medical treatment, became a "Psychological Rehabilitation Center for Middle and Senior Officers" (in jest), and many medical staff were also transferred to the Sevastopol hospital.

The entire medical staff of the Constantinople Military District Hospital reduced from the original peak of 600–700 people to now over 100 people.

However, even though the number of staff at the Constantinople Military District Hospital was significantly reduced, its basic functions were still not much changed.

Because in this hospital, there was still a critically ill person.

He was Imperial Marshal of the French Empire and Count of Sevastopol, Marshal Saint Arno.

At this time, he had long been tortured beyond recognition by illness, with a bloated and hot body, a haggard face, and dull, sunken eyes... The once impressive Commander-in-Chief had disappeared, leaving only a patient so weak that a gust of wind could topple him.

The reason he was still holding on here was to witness the final victory with his own eyes and to accept it as the Commander-in-Chief.

However, now he was obviously no longer able to hold on, the abdominal pain had shattered his entire will, and now he no longer wanted to support himself.

So tired! Let it be! Just take a rest! Leave the rest to His Majesty!

Marshal Saint Arno gradually closed his eyes.