Make France Great Again-Chapter 842 - 833: New Year, New Signs – Human Trafficking
After returning to the Tuileries Palace, Jerome Bonaparte took a day of rest before taking over the work from the members of the Regency Council, including Rue and Mornay.
Although there was some discontent in the hearts of those whose power was reclaimed by Jerome Bonaparte, their faces did not show the slightest dissatisfaction.
Jerome Bonaparte smiled and patted their shoulders, offering some encouragement.
The power of the entire Empire returned to the hands of Jerome Bonaparte.
In the last two months leading up to the close of 1856, Jerome Bonaparte began continuously adjusting the economic strategy of the French Empire, gradually shifting the wartime controlled economy towards marketization.
Shipyards, steel mills, steam locomotive factories, canning factories... all military-related orders also began to gradually shift from domestic to foreign sources.
The previously "frozen" railway bonds also became active again on the Paris Stock Exchange, without any significant decline.
Meanwhile, under the orders of Jerome Bonaparte, the Bank of France and the Ministry of Internal Affairs jointly established a police organization specifically responsible for combating counterfeit Bank of France notes and maintaining the prosperity of the French market.
The person in charge of managing this organization was Wilson Edwards, the elder whom Jerome Bonaparte had met on a train a few months ago, a Swiss scholar who had worked with Thiers, Migne, Guizot, and others.
...
On the winter day of December 31, 1855.
At the invitation of the French Emperor Jerome Bonaparte, high-ranking officials, generals of the French Empire, as well as invited foreign envoys and outstanding scientific figures (Louis Pasteur, Old Mauser, Carl Heinrich von Siemens) braved the snow to arrive at the Tuileries Palace together to celebrate the New Year.
The party officially began at eight in the evening, and Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta mingled among the guests in the hall, smiling at every guest who braved the snow to attend.
After Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta made a round of the hall, he noticed that he did not seem to see Louis Pasteur and others.
"Strange, where did they go?" Jerome Bonaparte mumbled quietly.
"Your Majesty, who are you looking for?" Augusta, standing beside Jerome Bonaparte, asked quietly.
"Louis Pasteur!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Augusta, "I distinctly remember inviting them!"
"Your Majesty, why don’t you ask Chief Steward Bashirio? I think he should know where Professor Louis Pasteur is now!" Empress Augusta responded to Jerome Bonaparte.
"I almost forgot if you hadn’t mentioned it!" Jerome Bonaparte quickly realized, and hurriedly found Bashirio and asked, "Where is Mr. Louis Pasteur now?"
Upon hearing this, Bashirio contemplated for a moment and then replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, please follow me!"
Under Bashirio’s guidance, Jerome Bonaparte arrived at a hidden corner of the hall, where he saw Louis Pasteur, Old Mauser, Siemens, and other "national treasures."
When Louis Pasteur and others saw Jerome Bonaparte’s arrival, they all showed expressions of surprise, as if Jerome Bonaparte should not be there.
"You guys hiding here really made it difficult for me to find you!" Jerome Bonaparte complained teasingly.
"Your Majesty, my deepest apologies!" Louis Pasteur immediately responded to Jerome Bonaparte.
"I should be the one to apologize to you. You are guests I invited, yet you were neglected here! It’s my lack of hospitality!" Jerome Bonaparte apologized to this group of scientific figures in front of him.
Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte pretended to sternly criticize Bashirio: "Bashirio, what is going on! I asked you to invite them over, not to let them sit here doing nothing! Each of them is invaluable, how could others not realize it, yet you didn’t either!"
"Your Majesty, this is my mistake! Please punish me!" Bashirio promptly admitted his error to Jerome Bonaparte.
"No! Your Majesty, we chose to stay here voluntarily!" Louis Pasteur hurriedly defended Bashirio.
"Why?" Jerome Bonaparte asked puzzledly.
Louis Pasteur explained to Jerome Bonaparte that most of them were only skilled in scientific research and not adept at socializing, making it difficult to handle such a grand party.
Additionally, since most of the party guests were of wealth and status, they had no common language, so they had to quietly stay in their place.
After listening to Louis Pasteur’s explanation, Jerome Bonaparte realized his mistake and promptly apologized to Louis Pasteur and others: "This is my oversight, not taking your feelings into consideration! Please forgive me!"
"Your Majesty, it’s nothing!" Louis Pasteur shook his head and responded to Jerome Bonaparte.
Seeing Louis Pasteur and others were somewhat out of place with the party, Jerome Bonaparte had no choice but to ask Louis Pasteur if he would like to leave early.
"Your Majesty, would this cause you any impact!" Louis Pasteur asked Jerome Bonaparte.
"What impact could this have!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Louis Pasteur with a shake of his head, "If you wish, you can leave now! I’ll have Bashirio escort you out of the Tuileries Palace!"
Louis Pasteur, Old Mauser, Heinrich von Siemens, and others expressed their wishes to leave to Jerome Bonaparte in a tactful manner.
"Alright! I understand!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and said to them, "Please allow me to say a word to Bashirio, and then he’ll take you out of here!"
Jerome Bonaparte called Bashirio to the side and quietly instructed him to give each departing scientist a red envelope.
"Remember, each red envelope should contain 2000 francs! Just say it’s a New Year gift from me." Jerome Bonaparte specifically reminded Bashirio, "At that time, just come to me for reimbursement!"
"Your Majesty, there’s no need!" Bashirio said to Jerome Bonaparte, "This money should be advanced by me."
"Enough talk! Just come for reimbursement when the time comes!" Jerome Bonaparte decisively cut off the topic and ordered Bashirio to safely escort all the scientists out of the Tuileries Palace.
Once all the scientists had quietly left, Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta turned to rejoin the crowd.
At this moment, the French Ambassador to the Austrian Empire, Richard Metternich, appeared in front of Jerome Bonaparte.
"Happy New Year’s Eve, Your Majesty!" Richard Metternich bowed and said to Jerome Bonaparte.
"To you too, Richard!" Jerome Bonaparte responded with a smile to Richard Metternich.
After a brief chat, Richard Metternich asked Jerome Bonaparte if he could take some time for a private conversation.
Jerome Bonaparte glanced at Augusta beside him, who nodded to Jerome Bonaparte and then released his wrist.
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty the Empress!" Richard Metternich promptly expressed his gratitude to Augusta.
"Let’s go, Mr. Richard!" Jerome Bonaparte teased Richard Metternich: "Let’s find a room and enjoy our private world!"
Richard Metternich’s face showed an awkward expression, and Empress Augusta also teased, "Have a good time!"
Subsequently, Richard Metternich and Jerome Bonaparte left the hall and found a guest room to converse.
"Mr. Richard, what do you want to talk about?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Richard Metternich after entering the room.
"It’s like this, Your Majesty!" Richard Metternich told Jerome Bonaparte that he had received a telegram from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Austrian Empire, saying they had prepared 30,000 Croatian workers, just waiting for the French side to confirm the shipment, and they would send off the 30,000 Croatian workers.
However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs didn’t know where these 30,000 Croatian workers should be sent.
After listening to Richard Metternich’s description, Jerome Bonaparte expressed slight surprise to Richard Metternich: "If I recall correctly, we just signed a labor agreement last month, right!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Richard Metternich nodded and responded to Jerome Bonaparte.
"I’m very curious, what method did you use to gather 30,000 workers in just a month!" Jerome Bonaparte touched his chin, "We had agreed in advance not to accept any infirm workers!"
"Your Majesty, I can assure you all the workers are strong and healthy young men!" Richard Metternich hurriedly responded to Jerome Bonaparte, "As for the method we used, please forgive us for being unable to disclose it!"
"I understand!" Jerome Bonaparte showed an enlightened expression.
It doesn’t take much thought to know that the Austrian Empire must have used some dishonorable method.
These days, there aren’t so many people willing to live in Africa, even for those who are currently residing in the Alger Province, many were once exiled.
Those exiled people were forced to settle in Algeria for various reasons and gradually integrated into Alger.
Those Croatian workers were likely lured over as well.
"Out of the 30,000 workers, 20,000 will be directly sent to Algeria, where special personnel will be responsible for receiving them! The remaining 10,000 will first be sent to Marseille, and after completing military training, further plans will be made!"
