Make France Great Again-Chapter 759 - 750: Cavour’s Sugar-Coated Cannonball
"It is my honor to witness history with you!"
A look of gratitude appeared on Fuad’s face. Jerome Bonaparte’s invitation for him to attend the Century Exposition together undoubtedly gave them the opportunity to present themselves to all of Europe. As long as he could seize this opportunity, he could refresh the European countries’ inherent perceptions of the Ottoman Empire.
"It’s nothing!" Jerome Bonaparte said generously, then as if suddenly remembering something, he immediately asked, "By the way! Would you like me to reserve a section for your exhibits as well?"
"Your Majesty, there’s no need!" Fuad said awkwardly, as they indeed had nothing worth exhibiting.
"Very well then!" Jerome Bonaparte shrugged and replied to Fuad.
Subsequently, Fuad took his leave from Jerome Bonaparte, who then ordered Mokar to escort Fuad out of the Tuileries Palace.
After Mokar returned to the study, Jerome Bonaparte gave an order to invite Prime Minister Cavour to come over.
After receiving the order, Mokar left, and half an hour later, Cavour was brought into Jerome Bonaparte’s office.
"Your Majesty!" Cavour respectfully bowed to the uncrowned king of Europe before him.
Seeing Cavour’s humble demeanor, Jerome Bonaparte could not help but feel a twinge of guilt.
Under Prime Minister Cavour’s leadership, the Sardinian Kingdom had already reached the point of following France’s every command, yet he still had to continue "pressuring" the Sardinian Kingdom for France’s benefit.
On a personal level, Jerome Bonaparte’s actions were somewhat underhanded.
"Please sit!" Jerome Bonaparte said kindly to Cavour.
"Yes!"
Cavour, with his plump belly, jogged to the opposite side of Jerome Bonaparte and then sat on the chair.
The whole process had a somewhat comic feel to it, so Jerome Bonaparte could be sure that Cavour was doing it deliberately, with the aim of winning a smile from him and thus increasing his favor.
However, Jerome Bonaparte did not ridicule him for it; on the contrary, he had a slight respect for Cavour.
In any case, the fat man before him was indeed racking his brains to strengthen Sardinia.
Sitting opposite Jerome Bonaparte, Cavour looked at him with a solemn expression, feeling somewhat dejected.
He did not know when he could convince the monarch sitting opposite him to willingly help the Sardinian Kingdom achieve its unification.
Just as Cavour was sighing inwardly over the seemingly endless unification of the Sardinian Kingdom, Jerome Bonaparte’s voice reached Cavour’s ears, "Mr. Cavour, how are things in Sardinia?"
"Your Majesty, thanks to the grace of my lord, His Majesty Emmanuel, I am still able to serve as the Prime Minister of the Sardinian Kingdom!" Prime Minister Cavour replied to Jerome Bonaparte.
"That’s good!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and said straightforwardly to Cavour, "I know the purpose of your visit this time, so I am not prepared to interfere with any of your actions!
However, I still hope you can wait for an appropriate time. Europe has just embraced peace, and if any country wants to wage war again, it will inevitably face sanctions from all of Europe!"
"Your Majesty, please rest assured!" Cavour quickly assured Jerome Bonaparte, "I will definitely not cause you any trouble!"
Immediately, Cavour continued with a pleading tone, "However, I hope you can consider the fact that the Sardinian Kingdom fought alongside the French Empire in Crimea..."
Before Cavour could finish his sentence, Jerome Bonaparte raised his hand to interrupt, "Mr. Cavour, I understand your point, but we must approach it from the bigger picture! I can assure you that I will privately negotiate with the envoy from the Austrian Empire!
We will strive to obtain either Venice or the Lombardy region for you through peaceful means!"
"Your Majesty, if you can really take Lombardy and Venice from the Austrian Empire, we Sardinia will definitely hand over Savoy, Nice, and even Sardinia with both hands!" Prime Minister Cavour also assured Jerome Bonaparte.
Thus, the two unreliable fellows reached an unreliable verbal agreement.
After concluding matters on the Apennine Peninsula, Jerome Bonaparte also discussed with Cavour the invitation to attend the World Exposition together, to which Cavour, like Fuad, accepted Jerome Bonaparte’s invitation.
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Cavour!" Jerome Bonaparte politely issued a dismissal order to Prime Minister Cavour.
Prime Minister Cavour stood up, bowed to Jerome Bonaparte, and then left.
By evening, when Jerome Bonaparte met Vilnius again, he noticed a strange necklace hanging from Vilnius’s nose. Jerome Bonaparte did not recall giving her this necklace.
"Vilnius!" Jerome Bonaparte gently embraced Vilnius in the empty corridor.
"Your Majesty!" Vilnius, held by Jerome Bonaparte, rested her head against Jerome Bonaparte’s chest.
"This necklace suits you so well! Who is the sharp-eyed fellow that gifted it to you?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Vilnius with feigned surprise.
"Your Majesty, this was specially gifted to me by my cousin!" Vilnius replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "He also said this necklace suits me well, so he gave it to me!"
"So that’s how it is!" Jerome Bonaparte responded indifferently.
Noticing the indifference in Jerome Bonaparte’s words, Vilnius quickly took off the necklace and handed it to Jerome Bonaparte, saying, "Your Majesty, should I return it to him?"
"No need!" Jerome Bonaparte smiled, putting the necklace back around Vilnius’s neck, and complimented, "It looks even more beautiful than before!"
A hint of shyness appeared on Vilnius’s face as she gradually moved her lips towards Jerome Bonaparte’s lips.
Just as they were about to kiss, a door opened suddenly in a room down the corridor, startling Jerome Bonaparte and Vilnius to separate hurriedly.
"Ahem... ahem, Vilnius, go about your business!" Jerome Bonaparte cleared his throat and said to Vilnius.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Vilnius immediately turned and left.
Jerome Bonaparte also returned to the study to handle official duties, stopping only at eleven in the evening.
With fatigue written all over his face, Jerome Bonaparte slowly approached Empress Augusta’s bedroom, intending to enter when he realized that going in at this time might disturb his son’s rest.
If Friedrich were to fuss, there’d be no rest for him in the latter half of the night.
So, Jerome Bonaparte quietly left Empress Augusta’s room and returned to his own.
Upon opening his bedroom door, he found Empress Augusta lying there.
Jerome Bonaparte was stunned for a few seconds and then asked Empress Augusta why she was here.
Logically speaking, she should be in her own room sleeping with Friedrich.
"Friedrich has been settled by me!" Empress Augusta said to Jerome Bonaparte with a smile.
Jerome Bonaparte subconsciously swallowed, realizing Augusta’s intent as someone who had been through similar situations, but he was too exhausted to perform his conjugal duties.
"Ahem... ahem, I think it’s time to rest!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Empress Augusta, trying to muster his courage.
At this point, Jerome Bonaparte had no choice but to comply, saying to Empress Augusta, "Let me handle it!"
With that, he started removing Augusta’s clothes one by one.
Empress Augusta told him that the necklace was gifted by Princess Mathilde, who said it was entrusted to her by Cavour.
It seems that Cavour has thoroughly managed to sway my sister! Jerome Bonaparte couldn’t help but admire Cavour’s subtle bribery methods. Now, probably the largest Italian group in the entire French court was his own sister.
If he weren’t someone who traveled through history, he might have been genuinely moved by Cavour’s determination to help him achieve the unification of Northern Italy.
Because he came from the future, he knew once the Austrian Empire left the Apennine Peninsula, it would inevitably be unified by Sardinia.
No matter how Sardinia sugarcoated it, the Apennine Peninsula must not be unified.
Jerome Bonaparte didn’t want to create two enemies out of thin air (a unified Italy would certainly oppose France due to issues with Savoy and Nice, and the Austrian Empire would also turn hostile with France over Lombardy and Venice). 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"What’s wrong?" Empress Augusta noticed the change in Jerome Bonaparte’s expression and asked.
"N-nothing!" Jerome Bonaparte smiled and said to Empress Augusta.
Since Cavour likes to give gifts, let him give as many as he wants.
