Make France Great Again-Chapter 764 - 755 Parade in Front of Mars Square
Jerome Bonaparte and his entourage, under the eager gaze of the public, set off southward from Concorde Square at 1 p.m., crossing the Concorde Bridge to reach Quai d’Orsay Street. Amid the cheers of citizens lining both sides of the street, they continued southward, soon arriving as scheduled near Mars Square close to the Military Glory Hall.
By this time, it was already 2 p.m. The sky was a clear blue with just a few clouds, and the sun was conveniently hidden behind these few floating clouds.
Golden sunlight filtered through the clouds and shone upon the copper statue of Emperor Napoleon crossing the Alps in Mars Square, adding a sense of sanctity to the statue of the great man, as if the victory of the Crimean War was fated by the heavens.
As Jerome Bonaparte passed by the statue, he deliberately paused for a moment, raised his head, and silently gazed at the bronze-colored figure. Then, he drew the sword hanging at his waist and saluted the statue before him.
The golden sunlight reflected off Jerome Bonaparte’s sword, causing each of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs following him to instinctively close their eyes.
Having completed this ritual, Jerome Bonaparte sheathed his sword once more and proceeded to the site for observing the military parade.
As soon as Jerome Bonaparte stood on the viewing platform for the parade, he immediately heard the sound of ceremonial gunfire coming from the distance.
The location of the cannon fire was in the neighboring Military Glory Hall, and as each salute sounded, the crowd surrounding Mars Square also erupted into deafening cheers.
"Long live the Empire, long live Bonaparte!"
The shouts of tens of thousands of people quickly drowned out the thunderous gunfire. Amidst these cheers, a joyful smile appeared on Jerome Bonaparte’s face.
Nothing delighted Jerome Bonaparte more than these cheers, as each shout represented the affirmation of the Imperial Government by the people of Paris.
As long as he could continue to hear these cheers, the empire he built would never face downfall.
Conversely, if no one in Paris cheered anymore, the demise of the Empire would begin its countdown.
After the cannon fire ceased, Jerome Bonaparte stood on the stage and gestured downwards twice, indicating that they could stop.
Within ten seconds, the cheering came to an immediate halt.
Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte addressed the gathered citizens and foreign friends solemnly: "Citizens of France, international friends, I am very pleased that you could gather here with me and with France to celebrate the upcoming peace conference in Victory Square.
... Reflecting on the past year, we have gone through much, the most significant event being our war along with Britain, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, Sardinia, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Prussia (a slight dissatisfaction flashed across the Prussian Minister of Foreign Affairs’ face) against the Russian Empire alongside most European nations.
Since 1815, we have never experienced a war like this. In this war, we lost nearly more than 100,000 brothers and sisters (France’s casualty figures were about 30,000, with the majority of the casualties contributed by Britain and the Ottoman Empire), while our adversary, the Russian Empire, also suffered nearly 200,000 casualties.
Now let us, regardless of nationality, observe a moment of silence for the soldiers who died in the Near East!"
As he spoke, Jerome Bonaparte closed his eyes and clasped his hands together in a gesture of mourning.
Following Jerome Bonaparte’s actions, the generals and Ministers of Foreign Affairs behind him imitated him, closing their eyes to mourn as well.
The crowd near Mars Square was unexpectedly moved by the atmosphere and began praying for the fallen soldiers.
The troops stationed at Mars Square, following the officers’ orders, raised their rifles and fired into the sky, with the dense gunfire offering solace to the departed spirits.
After nearly a minute of prayer, Jerome Bonaparte opened his eyes and continued, in a loud voice, to convey to those present the relationship between war and peace, emphasizing that no one likes war. Hence, the purpose of this peace conference was to eliminate war as much as possible, allowing all parties to consult and help each other within a more stable framework!
At the end of his speech, Jerome Bonaparte specifically emphasized, "I believe peace will soon be fully realized in the near future!"
Once Jerome Bonaparte concluded his speech, enthusiastic applause erupted all around.
Immediately afterward, the entire Victory Square also resonated with fervent applause.
"Thank you very much, everyone, for listening to my ramblings!" Jerome Bonaparte said in a relatable tone to those present, "I hereby declare the military parade officially begins!"
With Jerome Bonaparte’s announcement, platoons of soldiers began to march uniformly towards the viewing platform. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
The members of various national delegations standing behind Jerome Bonaparte also began to whisper among themselves.
The first group to approach Jerome Bonaparte consisted of select soldiers from the Third Division, led by Pellissier and Trocch. As the French Guard Army, they played the main role on the Crimean battlefield.
In battles with heavy casualties, it was generally the Third Division that bore the brunt.
As the Third Division’s contingent neared the viewing platform, Marshal Pellissier immediately drew his command saber from his waist and loudly shouted, "Salute!"
The soldiers in formation, upon hearing Marshal Pellissier’s call, performed a coordinated saber salute and directed their fierce gaze towards the "guests" on the viewing platform,
A part of the "guests" nearly stumbled under the watchful eyes of the soldiers from the Third Division. Some members of the mission, who had military experience, couldn’t help but marvel in their hearts that the military strength of France was still so formidable.
Just the sight of these soldiers was enough to strike fear into one’s heart.
Jerome Bonaparte, standing at the forefront, was evidently unfazed by the formation of the Third Division. He smiled and waved at the soldiers of the Third Division.
After the Third Division passed by the reviewing stand, the soldiers of the Second Division followed closely behind. Known for meritorious contributions in the Battle of Alma, the Second Division can be said to be second only to the Third Division in the entire Crimean War, on par with the First Division.
Had Jerome Bonaparte not later assigned the most arduous tasks to the Third Division, the Second Division would have certainly matched the Third on the Crimean battlefield.
Becoming Marshal, Bocelli’s position was partially influenced by Jerome Bonaparte’s compensatory considerations for the Second Division.
Upon reaching the reviewing stand, Marshal Bocelli also performed a bayonet display, akin to Marshal Pelissier’s, with the gleaming bayonets reflecting the sunlight.
Subsequently, the soldiers of the First, Fourth, Fifth divisions and the Zuav Team successively passed by the reviewing stand.
...
By the time all the troops had marched past once, it was already around 5 o’clock in the afternoon, and the sound of salutes rang out again.
Jerome Bonaparte descended from the reviewing stand and entered the formation of soldiers, warmly shaking hands with the formation’s various level commanders.
Later, Jerome Bonaparte returned to the reviewing stand and solemnly declared the official conclusion of the parade ceremony.
Under the guidance of their commanders, the phalanxes of soldiers began to leave Victory Square, and the crowd surrounding Victory Square also began to disperse under the direction of the police and gendarmerie.
Jerome Bonaparte and others, escorted by the troops led by General Vayan, walked back to the Tuileries Palace.
By the time Jerome Bonaparte and his entourage arrived at the Tuileries Palace, it was already around 6:30 in the evening, leaving less than half an hour before the official start of the banquet.
Jerome Bonaparte took advantage of the moment before others reacted, secretly slipped away to rest on the second floor.
The nearly four-hour-long parade ceremony had indeed exhausted him quite considerably.
Half-reclining on the sofa, he removed his coat and closed his eyes.
However, not even ten minutes had passed before a knock on the door resonated.
Jerome Bonaparte quickly put his coat back on and responded, "Who is it?"
"Your Majesty, the Russian Empire’s envoy Gorchakov requests an audience with you!" Mokar’s voice reached Jerome Bonaparte’s ears.
"Gorchakov?" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head to himself, knowing full well that Gorchakov was certainly here to "demand an explanation."
"There’s still some time before the banquet, let him in!" Jerome Bonaparte replied mildly.
"Yes, indeed!" Mokar immediately responded to Jerome Bonaparte.
After a while, Gorchakov entered through the door.
"Your Majesty!" Entering the room, Gorchakov bowed and addressed Jerome Bonaparte.
"Mr. Gorchakov, please have a seat!" Jerome Bonaparte extended his hand towards the envoy Gorchakov and added, "You only have ten minutes!"
"Your Majesty, I am here merely to ask you one question!" Envoy Gorchakov said solemnly to Jerome Bonaparte.
"What question?" Jerome Bonaparte asked with a puzzled expression.
"Are the participants in this round of the peace conference again those traitors from St. Petersburg?" Envoy Gorchakov inquired of Jerome Bonaparte.
"Mr. Gorchakov, we sincerely invite all countries and governments involved in the Crimean War to participate in this conference, with the aim of maintaining current peace!" Jerome Bonaparte appeared to respond with words unrelated to the question, yet in fact, he had already provided his answer to Gorchakov.
"Your Majesty, did you not promise us not to invite them over?" Gorchakov said with slight indignation.
"Mr. Envoy, you must have remembered wrongly! When did I promise you we wouldn’t invite them to the conference? At that time, I merely reminded you all to come over properly!"
