Make France Great Again-Chapter 188: Distinctive Capitalism

"But what? If there are difficulties, you can speak up; there’s nothing one cannot express!"

Jerome Bonaparte encouraged Achille Fuld to express his concerns so that they could reach a consensus more quickly.

After hesitating for a moment, Achille Fuld asked Minister of Foreign Affairs De Luyis, "Mr. Luyis, how long do we need to reach a consensus with the Kingdom of Britain?"

"At least half a month!" Luyis immediately replied to Achille Fuld, then explained to Jerome Bonaparte and Achille Fuld, "I once discussed with Minister Palmerston. Palmerston told me that his colleagues have not been prepared to go to war with the Russian Empire. Hastily signing an alliance with France would not only provoke opposition from the Cabinet Minister but might also agitate the Russian Empire."

Based on his understanding of Palmerston, the war maniac, Jerome Bonaparte believed he was certainly plotting against the Russian Empire. However, the peace-loving Prime Minister Russell and the Cabinet Minister were unwilling to engage in conflict with the Russian Empire without preparation.

As a 19th-century world empire, Britain had garrisons worldwide, leading to a home garrison of less than 50,000 troops. Such a force was clearly insufficient to engage in a war with the Russian Empire. Moreover, the escalating situations in India and Afghanistan forced Britain to increase garrisons in India to prevent rebellion and send troops to Afghanistan to suppress the uprising.

However, the action in Afghanistan failed; thousands of British forces deep inland were slaughtered by Afghan tribal armies, leaving only a few survivors. Soldiers continued to be dispatched to the Indian region to prevent unrest.

Convincing the British ministers to get involved required waiting until the Russian Empire became relentlessly demanding.

However, Jerome Bonaparte clearly did not wish to wait for years; he intended to leverage the power of the Bank of England to show Rothschild the power of a president.

"First, engage in dialogue with Palmerston, striving for limited cooperation with Britain!" Jerome Bonaparte ordered De Luyis.

"Yes!" De Luyis nodded in reply.

Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte turned his gaze to Minister of the Navy Dico, who had been appointed by Audelon Barrojan and entrusted by Jerome Bonaparte. The Minister of the Navy was anxiously awaiting Jerome Bonaparte’s inquiry.

"Minister Dico!" Jerome Bonaparte called Dico’s name in a gentle tone.

"Mr. President!" Minister Dico responded immediately.

"How is our fleet in the Mediterranean now?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Dico with a smile, "Do they have any difficulties that need addressing?"

"Report to Mr. President! Our Mediterranean Fleet is patrolling near the Dardanelles Strait and experiencing no difficulties!" Dico answered readily.

Dico understood that the President’s sudden concern for the Mediterranean Fleet was not a spur-of-the-moment interest; something significant was about to unfold next.

Thinking of this, Dico couldn’t help but swallow.

"The Mediterranean Fleet must always be ready for combat! We must protect the rights of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, and if necessary, the Fleet Commander can have the authority to act independently!" Jerome Bonaparte hinted openly to Dico.

Dico, of course, understood Jerome Bonaparte’s implication. The so-called independent authority meant that the Mediterranean Fleet could take action against the Russian Empire when deemed necessary.

If the Russian Empire clashed with the French Republic, Palmerston would certainly incite the cabinet members to chastise the Russian Empire, forming a France-Britain alliance with ease.

Of course, these maneuvers test not only the flexible diplomatic skills of the diplomats but also the fleet commander’s capability to withdraw in advantageous situations.

At present, the French Republic also was not ready for war with the Russian Empire. The maps of the Near East were still under production in the Secretariat, not to mention the logistics and Minie rifles had yet to be organized or equipped.

Rashly starting a war would only lead to the same scenario as in history, or worse, since the diplomatic environment had not prepared Jerome Bonaparte for battle with the European Great Powers.

What Jerome Bonaparte needed was an overwhelming victory, not one that bore no significant difference from history.

"By the way! You must grasp the proper measure!" Jerome Bonaparte reminded Dico.

"Yes!" Dico nodded again to show he understood.

Jerome Bonaparte turned his gaze to Achille Fould and said, "Minister Fuld, do you have any other questions?"

"Your Majesty, half a month is like half a century for the stock exchange; we don’t have that much time to wait!" Achille Fould said tactfully, "Furthermore, what if Britain is unwilling to form an alliance with us? The market would likely become even more pessimistic, and the government’s credit might face bankruptcy!"

"Mr. Fuld, I have mentioned before that when necessary, appropriate measures should be taken! Parisians panicked because they have no confidence in the French Government. As long as we can give them enough confidence, they certainly will not abandon their bonds. The people are the easiest to deceive and also the hardest to deceive!" Jerome Bonaparte’s lips curved into a slight smile as he said to Achille Fould, "The stock exchange should establish a circuit breaker mechanism at crucial times! Once the circuit breaker is triggered, the exchange will be forced to close temporarily!"

The circuit breaker mechanism Jerome Bonaparte referred to was specifically established by the United States after World War II to prevent a situation similar to Black Monday. It aimed to prevent stock market crashes from inciting panic, leading market participants to blindly sell off bonds and preventing irrational large fluctuations in the market or any product, particularly to stop significant market declines or potential stock market crashes to maintain market stability.

"Your Majesty, this is using administrative measures to forcefully interfere with the financial market!" Self-proclaimed Saint-Simonist Achille Fould protested against Jerome Bonaparte’s approach of replacing the financial market with administrative orders: "Temporary market closures cannot save the market!"

"No!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and said to Achille Fould, "Using coercive measures to calm investors, preventing panic from spreading, is the best approach. Moreover, if Rothschild Bank intends to conduct a large-scale bond sell-off, your Ministry of Finance should quickly dispatch personnel to Rothschild Bank to assist Rothschild in restructuring finance and prevent panic from spreading. Similarly, the French Government must also post announcements to explain the situation! The person responsible for taking over Rothschild should also try to find some bureaucrats from the Outer Province, as many people in the Ministry of Finance have ties with Rothschild, which is not conducive to our work!"

Jerome Bonaparte, having learned from the lessons of the future Paris Commune, naturally would not give Rothschild any chance for capital outflow, appointing government personnel to station in Rothschild Bank was the best method.

Of course, all this is to prevent Paris from stabilizing the financial market in Paris.

Unable to resist Jerome Bonaparte’s request and also wanting to teach James Rothschild a lesson, Achille Fould half-heartedly agreed to Jerome Bonaparte’s request.

[Achille Fould and James Rothschild have always been in a competitive state, and Achille Fould has always taken a gloating attitude towards James Rothschild being suppressed by the President.]

More importantly, Achille Fould did not forget that he is both a banker and the Minister of Finance.

The most important role of the Minister of Finance is to maintain the stability of the French financial market.

Although he did not approve of the President’s full-scale action against Rothschild, since action has already been taken, he had to do everything possible to maintain the stability of the financial market.

Otherwise, if the French financial market collapses, he, as the Minister of Finance, would also be buried under the financial building!

"I hope you can work together sincerely to prevent this impending financial crisis!" Jerome Bonaparte said solemnly to the Minister of Finance, Minister of the Navy, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"Yes!" The three responded in unison.

After the three ministers left, Jerome Bonaparte summoned Minister of War General Reniao, Brigadier General Conrobel of the Paris Second Brigade, and Commander Shangjia Ren of the Paris Garrison to the Elysee Palace.

"Minister Reniao, Commander Shangjia Ren, I plan to mobilize the Second Brigade to conduct a sweep against gangs in Paris! I wonder if the Ministry of War and the Paris Garrison Command can sign this order?" Jerome Bonaparte said bluntly to Minister Reniao and Commander Shangjia Ren.

Minister Reniao looked at Jerome Bonaparte in surprise; he had heard of using the army to suppress workers, but never to suppress gangs. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Since it was the President personally issuing the order, how could General Reniao and Commander Shangjia Ren refuse to comply?

Since the Paris First Division and the suburban garrison heard of the President’s action against bankers for their sake, Jerome Bonaparte’s prestige in the army had risen significantly.

Most soldiers and junior officers have affectionately referred to Jerome Bonaparte as "Our Majesty," and Commander Shangjia Ren, who sided with Jerome Bonaparte, was equally pleased with the development.

"However, Brigadier General Conrobel’s position does not seem to allow him to oversee Paris affairs!" Jerome Bonaparte turned to Commander Shangjia Ren and said, "General Shangjia Ren, could you..."

To more closely unite around Jerome Bonaparte, Commander Shangjia Ren once again compromised, transferring one of the deputy commanders responsible for helping him manage the National Guard to the position of deputy commander of the Pyrenees Army, while Conrobel was appointed by Minister Reniao as the deputy commander of the Seine Province (Paris) Garrison Forces, concurrently serving as the commander of the Paris Second Brigade.

With the title of the Seine Province Garrison Forces, Brigadier General Conrobel naturally also qualified to intervene in Paris affairs.

The date for Brigadier General Conrobel’s advance was set for December 15, a week later.

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