Make France Great Again-Chapter 833 - 824: Completely Different Treatment
After returning from Prague Castle to the Bohemian Military Command, Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph received an invitation from Mayor Laine of Prague to attend a ball.
"Your Majesties, this is a ball we specially arranged in advance to welcome your arrival! We hope you can grace us with your presence!" Laine said with extreme humility to Franz Joseph and Jerome Bonaparte, fearing that the two monarchs might not attend.
It is known that to prepare for this ball, Laine had already released news that the two emperors would attend, prompting a group of nobles residing in Bohemia to scramble for the privilege of attending. Through this ball, Laine had already garnered plenty of connections and money.
If he could persuade the two monarchs to attend, the future planning for Prague could be seen as imminent.
"Who will attend the ball?" Franz Joseph casually inquired.
Laine quickly listed some names of attendees at the ball, and Franz Joseph’s expression gradually became sullen as he heard the names.
Because among the names reported by Laine, a large portion consisted of barons of the Empire, most of whom were new nobles, or bourgeoisie aristocrats.
For Franz Joseph, a member of the Habsburg Royal Family, attending a banquet full of barons really made him lose face.
The Austrian Empire harbored a love-hate attitude toward the new nobles; they loved the money in the hands of the new nobles but hated why the new nobles could have so much money.
Thus, the treatment most new nobles received in the Austrian Empire was much lower than in France, and many of them couldn’t even meet the Emperor in their lifetime. (Except for the Rothschild Clan, due to their direct lending to the Imperial Government, barely anyone dared to offend them, including Franz Joseph, who had to maintain superficial respect.)
That’s why Franz Joseph refused Laine’s invitation.
"But..." Mayor Laine wanted Franz Joseph to hear his difficulties, believing that His Majesty would surely help after knowing his plight.
"No buts!" Franz Joseph replied sternly to Mayor Laine, "Since you are a member of the Imperial Government, you should know the rules of the Imperial Family! This matter I cannot agree to!"
After speaking, Franz Joseph issued an order for Mayor Laine to leave.
Mayor Laine dejectedly left, and Jerome Bonaparte spoke to persuade Franz Joseph to give face to Mayor Laine, to meet the new nobles of Bohemia.
Franz Joseph shook his head and told Jerome Bonaparte that it wasn’t that he was unwilling to meet the new nobles, but rather due to helplessness.
The Imperial Government was based on a strong alliance between the old nobility and civil servants; within this system, only a few new nobles held power, while most new nobles were still at a stage of having status but no power, hence their eagerness to gain authority.
However, the Emperor, as a beneficiary of this system, could not satisfy them, because once this fragile system was disrupted, the consequences would be unpredictable.
Historically, it was the defeat in the Franco-Austrian War that broke the alliance between old nobles and civil servants, causing the new nobles and former opposition to unite and pressure the Imperial Government, which shifted the power structure of the Empire.
Now, Franz Joseph only needed to focus on maintaining the stability of the Empire to be sufficient.
...
Early the next morning, Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph set off for the second stop, Krakow.
Count von Winpfin escorted Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph onto the train heading towards the border region of Austria and the Kingdom of Poland.
The train quickly departed and arrived in the city closest to the border region of the Kingdom of Poland on the same day, from which they transferred to carriages toward Krakow.
After nearly three days of intermittent resting, Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph finally arrived in Krakow.
They were greeted by Viereid, secretary to Grand Duke Maximilian and son of Prince Czartoryski.
Viereid, waiting quietly for a period in Krakow, rapidly deployed his Polish troops upon hearing of the arrival of Emperor Jerome Bonaparte and Emperor Franz Joseph, and then appeared before them.
"Your Majesties!" Viereid bowed to Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph.
Jerome Bonaparte opened the car door, curiously looking at Viereid, asking, "Are you here specifically to welcome us?"
"I have been ordered by His Majesty Grand Duke Maximilian to specially welcome your Majesties!" Viereid responded solemnly to Jerome Bonaparte.
"How is Maximilian’s preparation going?" Jerome Bonaparte questioned Viereid again.
"Are you referring to the coronation ceremony?" Viereid asked Jerome Bonaparte again.
"Besides the coronation ceremony, I can hardly think of any other event!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Viereid, shrugging.
"The coronation ceremony has been prepared for a long time, and now everything is ready!" Viereid replied to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Good!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and then ordered Viereid, "Then let’s set off now!"
Faced with Jerome Bonaparte’s order, Viereid hesitated for a few seconds, tentatively asking Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesties, I have an inconvenient request!"
"What is the request?" Jerome Bonaparte immediately asked Viereid.
"Could you both stay in Krakow for one more day? Just one day!" Viereid pleaded with Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph.
Jerome Bonaparte asked seriously, "Viereid, what do you want us to do?"
Viereid told Jerome Bonaparte that even before they arrived in Krakow, he had promised Krakow’s nobility that the two monarchs would meet with them before leaving.
Hence, Viereid hoped Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph could stay in Krakow for at least one day before leaving.
"Viereid, you are making decisions for us!" Jerome Bonaparte coldly said to Viereid.
Standing nearby, Franz Joseph also showed an expression of disgust, as he personally disliked others making decisions on his behalf.
"I dare not!" Viereid quickly bowed his head and pleaded to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, the entire Kingdom of Poland is eagerly hoping to meet you!
To them, you, His Majesty Emperor Napoleon, and His Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph are the fathers of Poland!"
Viereid’s sincere speech made the expressions of Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph gradually lose their coldness.
Then Jerome Bonaparte remembered Prince Czartoryski far away in Paris and decided to save face for Prince Czartoryski by appeasing Franz Joseph for Viereid.
Jerome Bonaparte sternly pointed into the distance and ordered Viereid, "Just get over there! I’ll discuss with Franz and give you an answer!"
"Yes!" Viereid moved away from Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph.
"Why not stay one more night?" Jerome Bonaparte suggested to Franz Joseph, "This will give face to the newly formed Kingdom of Poland, and besides, the citizens of Krakow don’t harbor any ill-will towards us!"
After thinking for a moment, Franz Joseph replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "Alright!"
Viereid was called over by Jerome Bonaparte and informed of the temporary decision to stay one more night.
"Your Majesties, on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Krakow compatriots, I thank you!" Viereid responded excitedly to the two.
Under Viereid’s guidance, Franz Joseph and Jerome Bonaparte arrived at the Krakow City Hall.
The officials of Krakow City Hall eagerly shook hands with the two monarchs.
That evening, a grand banquet was held in Krakow City Hall, where Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph respectively gave speeches celebrating the soon-to-be formally established Kingdom of Poland.
After finishing their speeches, Krakow’s nobles surrounded Jerome Bonaparte, politely inquiring about the French Empire’s intention to invest in Galicia.
Yet Jerome Bonaparte only smiled faintly and deflected with a couple of remarks, "France will consider."
Because, for France, Galicia holds no investment value.
A country with a self-sufficiency rate of over 100% (currently French agriculture is regionally organized without a unified market institution) would not be interested in an area that can only produce agricultural goods.
Seeing that they couldn’t persuade Jerome Bonaparte, the nobles turned to their old master Franz Joseph, hoping he would invest in Galicia as he did previously.
However, at that time, the Austrian Empire was relying on huge investments from the French Empire for industrialization, so there was hardly any spare capacity to invest in Galicia.
Although the grain in Galicia is good, within the Austrian Empire, there is still the Hungarian Plain, which is also a grain-producing area. Hence, Franz Joseph wasn’t interested in Galicia either.
The Polish nobles had to give up, and the banquet ended by 11 PM.
Early the next morning, led by Viereid, Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph took a carriage with soldier escorts and headed north. After spending a few days with stops along the way, they finally arrived near Warsaw.
