Make France Great Again

In the following days, Jerome Bonaparte seized every moment to wrap up affairs, calling one general after another to his side, awarding them medals and titles.

Among them, Conrobel and Bo Ke Si were both awarded the title of Imperial Marshal of the French Empire, and Marshal Renio was delighted to receive Jerome Bonaparte’s approval to inherit the honor of his biological father’s title of Count, while General Troche, the youngest of the five divisions, due to his outstanding military achievements, was granted the highest-ranking Legion of Honor by Jerome Bonaparte.

After completing all this, Jerome Bonaparte gathered the generals again in Sevastopol and, in front of all the generals, handed over the supreme command of the French Expeditionary Army to Marshal Pellissier, instructing him to ensure all soldiers were safely returned to France.

At the same time, for those soldiers who had already fallen in Crimea: the remains should be collected and brought back if possible, and for those whose remains could not be collected (often those blown apart by artillery), a tombstone should be erected for them, so that the already deceased spirits would not lose their way home.

Marshal Pellissier quickly assured Jerome Bonaparte that he would definitely obey Jerome Bonaparte’s arrangements.

In the final two days before returning to France, Jerome Bonaparte once again exceptionally exercised the authority of supreme commander of the Allied Command, with the commanders of England, Italy, and Turkey appearing before him to inquire what instructions Jerome Bonaparte had for summoning them.

Jerome Bonaparte told them that he hoped to give a final farewell to the spirits fallen on the Crimean Peninsula before his departure.

Therefore, Jerome Bonaparte asked for the cooperation of England, Turkey, and Russia to jointly commemorate the deceased generals.

In the face of Jerome Bonaparte’s request, both the Duke of Cambridge and Omar Pasha expressed their agreement.

Thus, on the day before Jerome Bonaparte left the Crimean Peninsula, a grand commemoration was held at Inkman Mountain and Joya River outside Sevastopol, Bakhchisaray, Saki, and near the Guard Village!

Led by Jerome Bonaparte, the commanders of England, Turkey, Russia, and France started from Inkman Mountain outside Sevastopol, traveled north to Joya River and Saki, then southwest to the Guard Village, and finally reached Bakhchisaray.

By the time Jerome Bonaparte and others arrived in Bakhchisaray, the sky had completely darkened, and the howling cold wind ruthlessly slapped everyone’s face.

Under the guidance of Jerome Bonaparte, the crowd holding torches paid homage to the small mounds outside Bakhchisaray, which contained the spirits who perished in Bakhchisaray.

Then a marble tombstone was placed on one of the mounds, with the inscription: "Your names are unknown, but your deeds will last forever!"

Perhaps it was coincidence, or perhaps some invisible will.

As the soldiers placed the tombstone, the howling cold wind gradually subsided, and the moon, previously shrouded by dark clouds, peeked out, its bright light illuminating the bluish-black marble tombstone, giving it an especially profound air.

Cherish you, spirits of Crimea! If you truly love France, please bless her with smooth sailing on her future paths!

Jerome Bonaparte silently prayed in his heart, then raised his head and shouted, "Salute!"

Everyone simultaneously raised their right hands in salute to the tombstone, as dense gunfire and cannon fire erupted near the tombstone, as if sending off these departed spirits.

Once everything concluded, Jerome Bonaparte and the others hurried back to Sevastopol overnight.

The next morning, just before dawn, Jerome Bonaparte opened his eyes early.

Then he gently patted Vilnius, who was resting on him, and softly said, "It’s time to get up!"

"Leaving so early?" Vilnius lazily opened his eyes and murmured.

"I don’t like making the ship wait for us!" Jerome Bonaparte’s lips curled into a mischievous smile as he tickled Vilnius’s ticklish spot.

"Hahaha!" Vilnius burst into giggles and gently scolded, "Stop it!"

"Are you getting up or not?" Jerome Bonaparte turned a deaf ear and continued his playful assault on Vilnius.

"I’ll get up! I’ll get up, okay?" Vilnius hurriedly pleaded.

Under Jerome Bonaparte’s supervision, Vilnius quickly crawled out of bed.

Having gotten up, Jerome Bonaparte and Vilnius glanced at the time; it was now 6 AM, nearly four hours before the departure time.

"It’s all your fault!" Vilnius softly complained.

"How was I to know it’s just 6 o’clock!" Jerome Bonaparte shrugged, a helpless expression on his face.

Nonetheless, since they were both already up, lying back down might mean not getting up again anytime soon. Jerome Bonaparte and Vilnius walked out of the room hand in hand.

Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte and Vilnius strolled within the Sevastopol Fortress, and everyone they encountered there would immediately salute and greet Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte also smiled and shook hands with them, offering them encouragement.

The prolonged time was quickly consumed by their leisurely walk. After simply enjoying some salted meat porridge and black bread, Jerome Bonaparte and Vilnius, accompanied by Marshal Pellissier, departed from Sevastopol and arrived at Kamish Port at nine in the morning.

At this moment, Kamish Port was bustling with activity, where you could see the military flags and uniforms of nearly every unit within the Allies.

Outside of Kashmi Port, fleets were neatly lined up in a straight formation, resembling soldiers awaiting inspection.

Jerome Bonaparte looked on in surprise at this farewell military formation before him, and immediately sought out Pellissier to inquire what it was all about.

Pellissier first apologized to Jerome Bonaparte, then explained that what he saw was a farewell troop spontaneously organized by the Allies.

"Why didn’t you tell me earlier!" Jerome Bonaparte quietly reproached Marshal Pellissier.

"Your Majesty, if I had told you, would you have agreed to this action?" Marshal Pellissier retorted.

Jerome Bonaparte paused for a few seconds, then shook his head with a wry smile.

Pellissier was right; if he had known in advance, he definitely would not have agreed to Marshal Pellissier’s action.

"Forget it! Let it not happen again!" Jerome Bonaparte responded lightly.

"Yes!" Marshal Pellissier’s face broke into a smile as he lightly raised his hand, and the military band quickly began to play the "Song of Departure".

Accompanying the resounding military music were the distant sounds of gunfire, as the soldiers responsible for the farewell bid farewell to the highest commander in such a manner.

Jerome Bonaparte and his entourage stepped forward towards the "Friendship" Ironclad they boarded upon arrival. This ironclad had carried Jerome Bonaparte from Toulon, sailing through the seas to the Crimea Peninsula. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It had witnessed Jerome Bonaparte’s one victory after another on the Crimean Peninsula (ascribing to others’ achievements and being utterly shameless), and now it would carry this highest commander back to the French Empire.

There, Jerome Bonaparte would finally meet his true glory and brilliance.

When Jerome Bonaparte entered the Friendship Ironclad, the captain led a group of ironclad officers and soldiers to stand before him.

"We meet again!" Jerome Bonaparte said with a smile, enthusiastically patting the captain on the shoulder and introducing to Vilnius, "Vilnius, I tell you, this fellow almost kicked me off the ship back then!"

"Your Majesty!" The captain, embarrassed, bowed his head to Jerome Bonaparte and said, "I’m very sorry, back then..."

Before the captain could finish his sentence, Jerome Bonaparte immediately interrupted, "What’s in the past is in the past! Now your task is to safely take us to Toulon Port, understand?"

"Yes!" The captain responded with a resounding tone.

Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte stood at the edge of the ironclad’s deck to wave farewell to the people at Kashmi Port.

Seeing this, Marshal Pellissier at Kashmi Port immediately shouted to the soldiers around him, "Salute!"

All the soldiers simultaneously raised their rifles and fired into the air, while the British and French Navy gathered near Kashmi Port fired their cannons in the direction away from the port upon hearing the gunfire.

The loud roar and the splashes made the sea near Kamish Port visibly sway.

The captain of the Friendship Ironclad, upon hearing the farewell salutes from the fleet, also shouted to the neatly lined-up soldiers on deck, "Depart!"

Upon hearing the captain’s command, all the soldiers swiftly took action. After a while, the steam engine began to operate, the white sails slowly opened, and the ironclad ship gradually moved forward.

With the slow start of the Friendship Ironclad, the transport ships, steam gunships, and escort ships deployed around it also began to move, and the fleet, carrying tens of thousands of French Army troops and numerous supplies, closely followed the ironclad, leaving the Crimea Peninsula.

When this fleet reached the vicinity of Constantinople, a ship quietly approached the ship on which Jerome Bonaparte was aboard.

Jerome Bonaparte commanded the flag signal soldiers on the ironclad to inquire about the intentions of the approaching ship. The opposite side stated that they were invited by order of Abdul-Sultan to invite Emperor Jerome Bonaparte to Constantinople, as Abdul-Sultan wished to express his gratitude to Jerome Bonaparte personally!

"Tell him that I am currently entangled in mundane affairs, making it inconvenient for me to go! However, I will await Abdul’s esteemed presence in Paris!"