Make France Great Again-Chapter 953 - 944: Calm Before the Storm
"Mr. Percy, I will never forget your help!"
These were Mokar’s last words before leaving, and also the only words Percy remembered from the conversation.
After Mokar left, Percy eagerly picked up the note on the table, his eyes filled with greed, and he muttered to himself, "That guy Mokar, how much did he talk about in that position!"
It should be known that as the Minister of Internal Affairs, he had only accumulated about 3 million francs over the seven years of his career.
The vast majority of the money was obtained through stock speculation and liquidation, while Mokar immediately offered 200,000 francs and promised to give him 500,000 francs upon completion, along with a piece of land.
From this, it seems that Mokar should be about the same as him during his tenure as Chief Steward of the Tuileries Palace.
"No wonder Your Majesty wanted to replace him from the position of Chief Steward of the Tuileries Palace!" Percy muttered again, then a mocking smile appeared on his lips, "That poor fellow still keeps wanting to return to the Tuileries Palace!
Does he really not realize the current situation?"
As he spoke, Percy gently stroked the note in his hand, his eyes full of joy.
After a while, Percy sighed and said to himself, "Ah! I still have to hand this note to Your Majesty! I don’t want to end up in the same situation as him!"
After speaking, Percy stood up and placed the note worth 200,000 francs into the drawer, planning to hand it over during his next meeting with the Emperor.
Just as Percy returned the red wine and crystal glass to their original positions, a knocking sound came again, and Percy responded to the voice outside, "Come in!"
The door of the office opened and Secretary of State Victor appeared in Percy’s office, "Mr. Percy, I have informed the Chief of the Paris Police of all matters!"
"Victor, you’ve done a great job!" Percy nodded in approval.
"Sir, what should we do next?" Victor asked Percy.
Percy shook his head in response to Victor, "We don’t need to do anything!
Leave the rest to the National Intelligence Bureau!"
"But won’t this make us look very..." Victor hesitated.
"Look very what? Very incompetent? Very weak?" Percy said indifferently.
"Minister, that’s not what I mean!" Victor hurriedly gestured with his hand to Percy.
"It’s nothing! Victor!" Percy continued to smile, "The Ministry of Internal Affairs has indeed become somewhat incompetent in its current state!
However, the main responsibility of our Ministry of Internal Affairs is not to compete for power and profit!
But to maintain the security of Paris as best we can, achieving this is already a success.
Capturing and interrogating spies is the business of the National Intelligence Bureau!"
"But they used to be ours!" Victor said grudgingly.
"You know that was in the past!" Percy tapped his fingers rhythmically on the desk, "As our government functions become more complex, each department must engage in fine management!
The National Intelligence Bureau must separate from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, even if Marcel Yale is no longer here, a new director of the Intelligence Bureau will emerge!
Our Ministry of Internal Affairs will never return to its previous state!"
Percy sighed again, and after hearing that, Victor no longer spoke.
"Alright, let’s not talk about these things! Let’s just quietly wait for the show to start!"
Percy’s voice revealed a sense of schadenfreude.
...
On the other hand, after attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the "Workers’ House," Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta, accompanied by the Municipal Committee of the Seine Province, toured the types of housing in the "Workers’ House."
The rental types in the Workers’ House are divided into three categories: one-bedroom with an area of about 30 square meters, two-bedroom with an area of 43 square meters, and three-bedroom with an area of 54 square meters.
Among them, both the one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments lack toilets, and those wishing to use the toilet must go to the sole toilet at the end of each floor.
The three-bedroom is relatively well-equipped, and the rent is slightly more expensive.
Overall, however, the rent is still affordable for Parisian workers (here the workers refer to skilled trades like masons and carpenters, which carry a bit more skill compared to ordinary workers, earning slightly higher wages).
For Parisian workers, being able to live in a house like a one-bedroom is already quite good.
Not to mention, a one-bedroom does not necessarily accommodate a single person, with 33 square meters of space.
If desired, it can completely house a family of three or four.
Oh, and let me say, "Workers’ House" has a hidden policy.
Any worker with two children moving in gets a rent reduction to 90%.
Workers with three children get a rent reduction to 80%.
This continues until the reduction stops at 50%.
This means that if they have 5 children, they could afford to live in a two-bedroom.
The two-bedroom in "Workers’ House" is better than a middle-class house (as Victor says).
In this era, children are not a family’s burden but the "dividend" of a poor family.
Any impoverished family only needs to raise their child until they are old enough to work as child laborers, and they can then earn money for the family.
Although child laborers earn relatively little, it can at least help offset the expenses of the family.
Most importantly, a larger population allows France to mobilize more soldiers.
To ensure that the future of France is not too far behind Germany, Jerome Bonaparte has been fervently advocating for early and multiple childbirths, while also trying various ways to reduce the infant mortality rate.
As of now, this method has indeed shown some effectiveness.
However, to determine its specific effectiveness, a population census will have to be conducted.
The census is planned for the year 1859.
Getting back on topic, having finished inspecting the housing types, Jerome Bonaparte nodded to Georges Ossman, a member of the Municipal Committee, saying, "Your coordination with the Seine Province Government has been excellent!"
"Your Majesty, this is what we ought to do!" Georges Ossman humbly responded to Jerome Bonaparte.
Following this, Georges Ossman informed Jerome Bonaparte.
To express the admiration and respect the "Workers’ House" holds for the Emperor, they plan to name this type of building "Bonaparte Building."
After hearing Georges Ossman’s words, Jerome Bonaparte’s mouth twitched slightly; this name reminded him of a leader of a Red Empire a hundred years later, known as the Corn King, Khrushchev, whose allocated buildings were called "Khrushchev Buildings."
The fate of the Corn King was to be overthrown in one swift stroke.
Jerome Bonaparte definitely did not want to be associated with such an ominous title, so he quickly declined: "No need! I think since this building was designed and built by workers, it should rightfully retain the name ’Workers’ House’!"
Upon hearing this, Georges Ossman enthusiastically praised Jerome Bonaparte’s "wisdom."
Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte shook hands with several workers who were about to move in, and they took pictures together (during the photo session, both Jerome Bonaparte and the workers were quite uncomfortable as they had to hold a pose for a long time). He then walked away from the "Workers’ House" with Empress Augusta, passing through a "human wall" formed by the Guard Army.
During this time, the bold Jerome Bonaparte extended his hand to shake hands with citizens outside the human wall, and every citizen who shook hands with Jerome Bonaparte looked visibly excited.
At noon, Jerome Bonaparte and Empress Augusta returned to the Tuileries Palace, intending to have lunch there before heading to the Charitable Hospital and Welfare Institute.
Just as Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta arrived at the Tuileries Palace, Marcel Yale arrived right after.
"Go ahead and have your meal first!" Jerome Bonaparte let go of Empress Augusta’s hand and said to her.
"Okay!" Empress Augusta nodded and replied to Jerome Bonaparte, then proceeded to the dining room alone.
Jerome Bonaparte and Marcel Yale went directly to a room in the Tuileries Palace to converse!
"How are the preparations going?" As soon as they entered, Jerome Bonaparte straightforwardly asked Marcel Yale.
"Your Majesty, Orsini has completely fallen into the trap!" Marcel Yale replied to Jerome Bonaparte, and then added, "However, I still suggest we arrest them now!"
"We can’t apprehend them so soon!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and told Marcel Yale, "If we capture them this early, wouldn’t our plan be for naught!"
"But, Your Majesty, it is not worth you risking yourself!" Marcel Yale advised Jerome Bonaparte.
"It is worth it!" Jerome Bonaparte retorted firmly to Marcel Yale, emphasizing, "I must take this risk; otherwise, it’s hard to find another opportunity!"
"Only by proving Orsini’s regicide can we justifiably turn the Apennine upside down!" Jerome Bonaparte stressed to Marcel Yale, "Otherwise, we would be restricted by the rules we set!"
After the Crimean War, Jerome Bonaparte established the Paris System, led by France, to replace the nearly collapsing Vienna System.
As the founding nation of the entire system, France’s primary task is to ensure the stable operation of this system, and secondly, to pursue France’s interests to the greatest extent through it.
What is the Paris System? Simply put, the Paris System is like the 2.0 version of the European balance of power.
In version 2.0, although the Russian Empire suffered an epic weakening, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sweden were moderately strengthened.
With one increase and one decrease, the balance in Europe was not disrupted by the Crimean War. The adjustments in the Paris System merely changed where meetings previously held in Vienna now take place in Paris, and the prominence of Russia was changed to that of France compared to the Vienna System.
At first glance, this result doesn’t seem to change much, but in reality, France’s situation has significantly improved.
France no longer faces the hostility of all Europe as before. Jerome Bonaparte has also gained acceptance as a legitimate monarch.
However, although the Paris System freed France from the constraints of the Vienna System, it also limited some of France’s expansion activities.
Because France cannot destroy the system it painstakingly built by itself.
A system takes years to build and gain others’ recognition.
However, breaking this system can take less than a day.
Jerome Bonaparte does not wish for the system he established to be destroyed, so he can only take the ’passive’ route of action.
At that time, he thought of Orsini, who historically attempted to assassinate his cousin!
If someone like Orsini were to attempt an assassination on him, Jerome Bonaparte would have a pretext to intervene in the Apennine.
Thus, Jerome Bonaparte secretly ordered vigilance on "foreign friends" favoring the Republic in the Paris Region, while keeping a close eye on revolutionaries expelled in the Kingdom of Britain.
Jerome Bonaparte believed there should be a connection between the extreme factions in France and Italy when it came to him.
Otherwise, Orsini in history would not have been able to figure out Napoleon III’s route so quickly. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Unexpectedly, through the line of the extreme Republican faction led by Bernard, Orsini was indeed found.
