Chapter 555： "The Will of the People"

If the battle of Silistra and Arma were likened to the wood that rekindled the flame of war between the British and French people, then the capture of Sevastopol undoubtedly put a barrel of purified oil into the hearts of the British and French people. On the fire of enthusiasm, the British and French people have firmer confidence in defeating the Russian Empire.

Especially in France, the original doubts about the Crimean War were completely drowned out by the fanatical national pride. Under the strong promotion of the imperial government, major newspapers began to report the French army in the Crimean War. The heroic and fearless performance, some tabloids even shouted the slogan of "hit Moscow, hang Nikolai".

Here are some excerpts from newspapers in Paris:

It was a victory for the Empire, and at the same time for 30 million French. Forty-two years ago at this time, the tyrant Alexander used despicable means to repel the French Empire under the leadership of the late emperor. Forty-two years later, under the leadership of the great Emperor Jerome Bonaparte, all the French people have successfully washed away the humiliation branded on France.

History has proved that only by adhering to the imperial system and firmly in the leadership of Bonaparte can France win a new tomorrow!

—Excerpt from Le Bonaparte

Only by adhering to the principle of one country, one nation, and one leader... uniting the broad masses of the French people, and carrying forward the policy of concentrating the strength of the majority to do major affairs, can France be able to stand up again in the international community... France in the past was really too much Freedom, so that all our strength is concentrated on the partisan struggle, thus ignoring the development of France... From now on, we should unite closely in the imperial government with the emperor at the core, and make France great again...

—Excerpt from the Daily Truth

…Although our newspaper does not agree with the ideas of His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte, we have to admit that this time the French army was able to capture Sevastopol thanks to His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte…

—Excerpt from "The National" (Republican newspaper)

…

Whether it is left (or republican), centrist, or right (orthodox, catholic), after the news of the Sevastopol fortress was released, they all chose to temporarily unite around the government of Jerome Bonaparte.

Because only in this way, they will not be overwhelmed by the turbulent public opinion and become one of the "non-nationals".

The authority of the imperial government was strengthened like never before under the blessing of "Sevastopol".

In a short period of time, there will be no more voices that go against the will of the Empire.

As a future steel father said, the victor can be without any blame, questioning, and even allow the people to temporarily forget the pain they are facing now.

The French people under the grand narrative view only see that the coalition forces have won one victory after another, but they selectively forget that there are thousands of deaths behind every victory.

Victory-obsessed people even forget that the soldiers who fought **** battles in Crimea were the same people, not just a bunch of numbers.

Of course, this time the coalition forces paid a much easier price for victory than in history.

From the Battle of Arma to the capture of Sevastopol, the death toll of the coalition forces was only about 6,500, of which the British army itself contributed 3,000.

This is less than the historical death toll at the Battle of Incermann, which was followed by a series of wars.

Coalition forces (mainly the British army) still endured unfavorable factors such as lack of food and clothing, and the harsh environment to launch an attack on Sevastopol.

The British and French coalition forces in this time and space are many times better than the British and French coalition forces on the historical line.

As the biggest beneficiary of this war, Jérôme Bonaparte has already sat in the carriage to the Bourbon Palace. He wants to take advantage of the current frenetic atmosphere to deliver his speech to the representatives of the Legislative Corps of the Bourbon Palace. .

Although the power of the current Legislative Council has been weakened by Jerome Bonaparte to the point where it only has the function of voting, it can still represent the will of all the French people, especially those peasants who turn their backs to the loess and face the sky.

This seemingly illusory will is precisely an important tool that can suppress careerists and military leaders.

Leaders who rely on the military to take power are afraid of being imitated by latecomers, so they do everything possible to dress their actions as the will of the whole people.

Jerome Bonaparte is also using this method to curb the rise of careerists, making the military leaders have concerns.

After all, no military leader in France can win the favor of 70% of the French peasants like Jerome Bonaparte.

When the costs paid were not proportional to the benefits, most of the military leaders naturally thought of obeying the will of Paris.

Not to mention, the current Jérôme Bonaparte holds the central theater and the eastern theater, and at the same time exercises infiltration control over the northern and southern theaters.

Those fearless French generals could only choose to obey Jerome Bonaparte who was blessed by the public opinion.

When Jerome Bonaparte's frame arrived at the Bourbon Palace, the pro-government representatives who had been waiting at the gate of the Bourbon Palace for a long time rushed forward to greet him.

Jérôme Bonaparte, who got down from the carriage, shook hands with each delegate with a smile on his face, and said to them, "Thank you."

The representative who was shaken by Jerome Bonaparte responded with a trembling voice to Jerome Bonaparte and said, "It's not hard, that's what they should do"

Just when the pro-government representatives thought that Jerome Bonaparte would enter the Palais Bourbon after shaking hands with them, Jerome Bonaparte's next move surprised them.

I saw Jerome Bonaparte came to the front of the only representatives of the opposition, and stretched out his hand with a smile: "You are also working hard!"

The opposition representative, Favre, was stunned when he saw Jerome Bonaparte stretch out his hand.

"Mr. Favre, do you mean that you, a tough guy who is not afraid of death, is afraid to shake hands with me?" said Jerome Bonaparte in a calm tone.

Favre had no choice but to stretch out his hand and take it with Jérôme Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte repeated to Favre in a low voice: "Representative of Favre, thank you for your hard work!"

Favre responded in a low voice to Jerome Bonaparte with a stern face: "Your Majesty, congratulations on winning the favor of the French people! You temporarily won a game! It's just that the French people don't know it yet, they are cheering now. The price of victory!"

"Mr. Representative, you're right! I only beat you temporarily!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded, then shrugged his shoulders and said, "As for the price you mentioned, it's not too much. A lot! All the costs need to be divided by 30 million, and they will become insignificant values!"

"Your Majesty, you want to pull everyone into your chariot!" Favre said with a hint of anger.

"If you think so, then I have nothing to say! Look! I will make France great again!" Jerome Bonaparte let go of Favre's hand, and with the remaining few Opposition representatives shook hands in turn.

Surrounded by pro-government representatives and under Favre's resentful eyes, Jerome Bonaparte entered the right corridor of the Chamber of the Bourbon Palace, waiting for the pro-government representatives and the opposition representatives to sit in the parliamentary hall.

After all the delegates were seated, Jérôme Bonaparte in a suit took firm steps to the central podium in the same conference hall.

In an instant, the entire parliament hall burst into warm applause, and all the representatives in the Bourbon Palace stood up at the same time to show respect to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte came to the podium with warm applause, and the applause continued for a long time after he came to the podium, until he raised his hand to signal that the delegates could stop, the delegates stopped and applauded again. Back in the seat.

Jerome Bonaparte, who was standing on the podium, looked at the delegates in the audience and said confidently: "Members, I am very happy to be able to share with you in this hall that represents the will of the 30 million people of France. meet."

"Hypocrisy!" Favre muttered in disdain.

"You come from all regions of France, and are trusted by the people in your region. They voted for you with their precious votes, and they just want to express their attitude to me through your mouth, so I hope you can exercise caution in your own way. Rights, don’t betray their trust in you!” Jerome Bonaparte, as usual, reiterated the right to act as a representative of the Legislative Council.

Then after a pause, he entered the topic and said: "Members of the Congress, everyone in the audience must have heard the news! Yes! The loyal and heroic French soldiers defeated the entrenched in Serbia in the Crimea Peninsula. The defenders of Vastopol occupied Sevastopol! In this war, we defeated a total of 30,000 Russian soldiers and shattered the Russian Empire's strategy of relying on Sevastopol to conduct a defensive war! Now let's applaud our French lads!"

The deputies in the audience applauded, and the pro-government representatives stood up and shouted: "Long live the Empire!"

Even representatives of die-hard opposition like Favre had to stand up with pro-government victorious officials in this atmosphere and shout "Long live the Empire!"

The applause and shouts came to an abrupt end under the signal of Jerome Bonaparte, who spoke again: "In the Crimea battlefield, we not only thank the French youth for their hard work and progress, but also I would also like to pay tribute to the commanders headed by Marshal St. Arnault and General Pelissier. It is because of their command that the French army can firmly grasp victory in their hands.”

…

As Jerome Bonaparte became more and more involved in his speech, he gradually began to break away from the speech and described the victory of Sevastopol in a passionate manner.

The emotions of the delegates in the audience were aroused by Jerome Bonaparte. From time to time, some delegates shouted slogans such as "Long Live the Empire" and "Long Live the Emperor", so much so that Jerome. Bonaparte's speeches were often interrupted by sudden shouts.

At this time, Jérôme Bonaparte would always stop and let the deputies finish shouting before speaking again.

At the end of the speech, Jérôme Bonaparte hoped that the Legislative Council could make an additional payment for the French army's actions in Crimea with a tragic tone.

"We can't let our brave and fearless soldiers fight the aggressive Russians with a burning stick!"

The audience's speeches agreed with Jerome Bonaparte's proposal, and the additional military expenditure of 200 million francs was unanimously approved.

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