Make France Great Again-Chapter 867 - 858: The Army Enters the City!
Jerome Patterson’s sudden command left Mira Bo Pulekovic feeling somewhat at a loss; he didn’t understand the purpose behind the Governor’s sudden order to lead troops into the city of Libreville.
Jerome Patterson didn’t give Mira Bo Pulekovic time to think. He urged him in a firm tone, "What are you waiting for? Execute the order!"
"Yes, sir!" Mira Bo Pulekovic saluted Jerome Patterson and quickly went to organize the personnel.
About 20 minutes later, a fully armed infantry battalion formed into formations and gathered in the open space outside the camp.
Mira Bo Pulekovic appeared again before Jerome Patterson and reported, "The entire battalion is assembled; please give your instructions!"
Jerome Patterson followed Mira Bo Pulekovic out of the camp, looked at the full battalion of 960 men outside, smiled with satisfaction, nodded, and ordered Mira Bo Pulekovic, "March!"
"March!" Mira Bo Pulekovic turned and ran to the front of the formation, shouting.
Upon hearing Mira Bo Pulekovic’s order, the formations quickly rearranged. They moved into two rows and marched toward Libreville, with Jerome Patterson and Mira Bo Pulekovic riding slowly at the back of the line.
So the entire unit marched for about half an hour, reaching the city of Libreville.
At this time, the city of Libreville also received news of Governor Jerome Patterson leading the army outside the city into the city center. Local merchants entrenched in Libreville and residents were obviously bewildered by Jerome Patterson’s sudden troop mobilization; they also didn’t understand why Governor Jerome Patterson was dispatching troops into Libreville.
Unable to obtain accurate and useful information, rumors began to spread throughout Libreville.
Some rumors claimed that Jerome Patterson was bringing troops into Libreville to eliminate local forces.
Others said Governor Jerome Patterson aimed to better exploit Libreville.
In any case, with Jerome Patterson’s every step closer, Libreville became increasingly fearful.
However, when the vanguard reached Libreville, all rumors seemed to be forcibly paused, coming to an abrupt stop.
Foreign Legion soldiers who entered the city began occupying Libreville’s streets under their officer’s orders, centering around the Governor’s Mansion.
Each street was guarded by two soldiers, and the fully manned battalion of 960 quickly occupied a third of Libreville’s city center.
During the army’s occupation of Libreville’s streets, no one dared resist the operation.
Those drunkards who usually boasted about being the strongest adventurers in the taverns trembled in fear at the sight of live ammunition.
Having done all this, Mira Bo Pulekovic once again came before Jerome Patterson, reporting, "Governor, our troops are all in position!"
"Thank you for your hard work!" Jerome Patterson patted Mira Bo Pulekovic on the shoulder and said.
"Governor, do you need us to do anything else?" Mira Bo Pulekovic inquired further.
"No need, just have the troops stand by." Jerome Patterson replied with a confident smile to Mira Bo Pulekovic.
"Yes, sir!" Mira Bo Pulekovic complied with Jerome Patterson’s order, instructing the occupying troops to stand by.
More than an hour later, Jerome Patterson, sitting in the Governor’s office, received a report from Rastigne.
Rastigne informed Jerome Patterson that the merchants residing in Libreville wished to speak with the Governor.
"Have they finally come?" Jerome Patterson muttered softly, then turned to Rastigne and replied, "Let them come over!"
"Yes, sir!" Rastigne turned and left. After a while, under Rastigne’s lead, several merchants came to Jerome Patterson.
Jerome Patterson quickly stood up, feigning ignorance, and said in surprise to the merchants, "Why are you all here? Is there something?"
Over ten merchants, hearing Jerome Patterson’s words, showed a forced smile on their faces.
"What do your smiles mean?" Jerome Patterson pretended to be annoyed, frowned, and said to the merchants, "Do you have any issues or not? If not, leave immediately! If you do, speak up!"
The merchants, seeing that Jerome Patterson was unhappy, hurriedly said they had matters to discuss.
"Listen!" Jerome Patterson paused the conversation and then scolded the merchants present, "Your disorderly manner of speaking makes it difficult for me to understand what you want.
"I’m giving you five minutes to choose someone who can speak for all of you to negotiate with me!"
Five minutes later, the merchants finally elected a representative, the same gentleman who previously donated his mansion to Jerome Patterson to serve as the Governor’s Mansion.
"Speak! What is it?" Jerome Patterson asked the gentleman with a smile.
"Your Excellency, the Governor, why have you dispatched so many troops into Libreville!" the gentleman asked Jerome Patterson in a low and submissive tone.
"Are you suggesting that I don’t have the right to send troops into Libreville?" Jerome Patterson responded with a hint of displeasure in his tone.
"No... no!" The gentleman shuddered inwardly and hurriedly replied to Jerome Patterson, "No matter the time, Your Excellency, you always have the right to deploy troops to this city! We warmly welcome Your Excellency, the Governor, for bringing in troops to guide us in Libreville!
Don’t you all agree?"
The merchants behind the gentleman, upon hearing his words, echoed similar platitudes to Jerome Patterson, saying things like "That’s right, indeed."
Seeing through the weakness of Libreville’s merchants, Jerome Patterson’s eyes showed a trace of contempt. He spoke to those present in a stern tone, "The reason I am deploying troops into the city is to prevent any unforeseen incidents!"
"Unforeseen incidents?!!!" The merchants present couldn’t help but freeze in fear, worried that Jerome Patterson might act violently towards the city.
"That’s right! I will soon introduce a ’Colonial Safety and Hygiene Regulations’ ordinance! I hope that by then, the entire city will comply with the regulations!" Jerome Patterson explained to the merchants present.
Upon hearing that only a document was being issued, the merchants couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
However, Jerome Patterson’s next words once again choked the merchants, "I know that those behind Libreville are discussing me, saying that we are merely a passing governor, and you are the real power holders of Libreville!"
"We wouldn’t dare!" The gentleman replied to Jerome Patterson with his head lowered, not daring to say that the Bonaparte Clan was just a passing governor, "We are merely..."
Before the gentleman could finish speaking, Jerome Patterson interrupted forcefully, "Listen to me finish!"
The gentleman immediately fell silent and stood quietly in place.
Jerome Patterson spoke again, "But this passing governor wants to achieve some real political results; that’s the only way to rise up! Do you understand what I mean?"
The gentleman nodded to show his understanding.
Jerome Patterson continued speaking to the gentleman, "Therefore, I must increase this city’s fiscal revenue, expand our territory, and bring the surrounding lands under our control.
Simultaneously, I want to lower the overall mortality rate of the city and make it a benchmark... Do you understand what I mean?"
"Understood!" The gentleman immediately responded to Jerome Patterson, "We will definitely cooperate actively with your policies!"
"Good! I’m glad you understand!" Jerome Patterson was pleased with their pragmatic attitude, "In a few days, my safety and hygiene regulations will be issued! When the time comes, I hope you will support me."
"Rest assured, we will definitely actively comply with your actions!" the gentleman hastily assured Jerome Patterson.
"Good then!" Jerome Patterson patted the gentleman on the shoulder, "I look forward to your performance!"
Thus, the powers in Libreville reached an agreement with Jerome Patterson. As the merchants turned to leave, Jerome Patterson again addressed them, "By the way! The taxes you owe the government, when you have the time, please settle them! I am not a person who likes to remind repeatedly!"
"Yes, yes!" The merchants all agreed to settle their debts as soon as possible.
In the following days, Jerome Patterson and Dean Oster continued discussions focused on the Colonial Safety and Hygiene Regulations, and those who owed taxes also paid their overdue taxes punctually.
A week later, the first version of the ’Colonial Safety and Hygiene Regulations’ was released. The main content was how to prevent malaria, cholera, and other common West African diseases, while also encouraging colonial residents to develop habits of bathing frequently, drinking hot water, and killing mosquitoes.
When Jerome Patterson showed them the content, the merchants all wore troubled expressions.
The regulations set by Jerome Patterson were indeed correct, but there were quite a few of them.
"Your Excellency, the Governor, could you possibly reduce some of these regulations a bit?" the merchants suggested.
"No! This is already the simplest version!" Jerome Patterson firmly refused.
The merchants had no choice but to abandon the idea of arguing with Jerome Patterson.
