Under Wilson’s guidance, Jerome Bonaparte spent more than half an hour touring the Old Royal Palace of Savoy, and then Wilson led Jerome Bonaparte back to the main hall of the old palace.

"Not bad! Not bad! Though small, it has everything!" Jerome Bonaparte stroked his chin, pointing at the chandelier of gilded water and the patterns on the ceiling, said, "It shows you’ve put a lot of thought into this palace!"

Although the palace before him was the old palace of the Savoy Clan, at the end of the day, it was merely a product of the 11th century.

(The Savoy Palace was established in the 11th century and completed in 1466.)

Since the Savoy Royal Family moved the capital from Chambéry to Turin after the Duchy in 1563, this palace was basically left in neglect.

After the French Army entered Savoy at the end of the 18th century, the palace was further damaged by the French Army.

When the French Army, led by Emperor Napoleon, stormed into this palace, most of the valuables inside were replaced by Napoleon with military expenses for the Italian Army.

After the Napoleonic Wars ended, only a few collections returned to this palace; most collections were kept in the private collections of generals from England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia.

For this reason, the Old Savoy Palace was completely abandoned by the Savoy Clan; otherwise, Wilson would never have acquired this palace.

Wilson practically renovated the entire palace from scratch.

"Your Majesty, you flatter me!" Wilson humbly responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"By the way! Mr. Wilson, I’m curious why you would purchase this castle! I imagine the cost to renovate this antique should not be cheaper than buying a brand new castle!" Jerome Bonaparte questioned again.

"Your Majesty, actually, I have a special fondness for old antique buildings, so I chose to buy this castle!" Wilson responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Ah, I see!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded slowly at Wilson, "Spending money for one’s own hobby is worth it!"

Wilson smiled slightly and nodded his head.

Then, Jerome Bonaparte turned his gaze to Camilo Valne and said, "Mr. Valne, I am very grateful for you finding us such a suitable place to stay! We can finally avoid sleeping on the street tonight!"

Camilo Valne waved his hand in reply to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, actually, it was Mr. Wilson who volunteered to suggest inviting you here!

All I did was ensure your safe arrival here, nothing else is noteworthy!"

"Mr. Valne, you are too modest!" Jerome Bonaparte also replied.

As Jerome Bonaparte and Camilo Varna exchanged compliments, a butler dressed in a black suit appeared beside Wilson, leaned over, and whispered in his ear.

Wilson nodded slightly, instructed the butler to leave, then turned his attention to Jerome Bonaparte and others, lowered his stance and asked Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, may I say something?"

"Of course you can!" Jerome Bonaparte responded cheerfully, "You, as the owner of this palace, naturally have the right to speak!"

Thus, Wilson loudly said to Jerome Bonaparte and others, "Your Majesty, Chief of Staff, and fellow generals, my butler just informed me that dinner is ready for you all! Would you be willing to dine together?"

"Certainly!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Wilson immediately.

Upon hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s response, the others also expressed their willingness to follow Jerome Bonaparte.

Under Wilson’s guidance, Jerome Bonaparte and others entered the dining room.

"Your Majesty, please have a seat!" Wilson hurriedly invited Jerome Bonaparte to sit at the head seat.

"That doesn’t seem right!" Jerome Bonaparte waved his hand to Wilson, "We are all guests, and you are the host!

You should sit above, and we can sit below!"

"Your Majesty, no one else is more suitable to sit above!" Wilson sincerely replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "If you don’t sit above, then none of us present dare to sit down!"

"Indeed, Your Majesty!" Camilo Varna chimed in, "If you don’t sit above, who would dare to sit down!"

Under Wilson’s persistent invitation, Jerome Bonaparte "reluctantly" took the head seat.

Subsequently, the servant who entered the dining room carrying a glass vessel with wine approached Jerome Bonaparte and poured the red wine from the vessel.

After everyone had a glass of red wine in front of them, Jerome Bonaparte raised his glass and said to those present, "Ladies and gentlemen, let us toast to the friendship between the French Empire and the Sardinian Kingdom!"

Under Jerome Bonaparte’s call, everyone raised their glasses and loudly said, "To the friendship between France and Sardinia, cheers!"

After a glass of wine, the servant ran again to Jerome Bonaparte and others to pour another glass of wine.

The second glass of wine was opened by Nie’er, who, as the Chief of Staff, raised his glass and proposed a toast to "His Majesty Emperor Jerome Bonaparte’s health."

Everyone at the table, except for Jerome Bonaparte, agreed to Nie’er’s suggestion and raised their glasses to drink together again.

After two glasses of wine, a slight flush appeared on many faces present, and Jerome Bonaparte took the knife and fork placed beside him and cut a small piece of foie gras from the plate and chewed it.

Those present also began to formally dine with Jerome Bonaparte... The entire banquet lasted for more than two hours before it ended. During this time, Jerome Bonaparte inquired Camilo Valne about many issues concerning Chambéry, which Camilo Valne answered one by one.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they left the dining room, and Camilo Valne took leave from Jerome Bonaparte.

After Camilo Valson left, Jerome Bonaparte put away his smile, looked solemnly at Wilson, and said word by word, "Mr. Wilson, do you know Emile Pereire and Isaac Pereire?"

Facing the sudden inquiry, Wilson’s pupils contracted slightly, and then he hurriedly replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, who in all of Paris doesn’t know about the Pereire Brothers’ Paris Industrial Bank?"

Jerome Bonaparte sighed and said to Wilson, "Mr. Wilson, I need you to honestly tell me! Is Wilson Bank truly backed by the Industrial Bank?"

Wilson smiled wryly and responded to Jerome Bonaparte, "I really can’t hide anything from you, Your Majesty! Yes, the Wilson Bank is indeed backed by the Industrial Bank!"

"So, your purpose in coming to Savoy probably isn’t just for investment!" Jerome Bonaparte continued to speculate, "I guess your bank holds a significant stake in Sava Bank!"

Wilson looked at Jerome Bonaparte in shock. He had never told Jerome Bonaparte that Wilson Bank held shares and bonds of Savoy Bank.

Unless Jerome Bonaparte had investigated himself, but judging from His Majesty the Emperor’s attitude just now, he shouldn’t be aware of Wilson Bank’s specific business.

"Your Majesty, how did you know?" Wilson asked Jerome Bonaparte with a wry smile.

Nonsense! In the past life, the Pereire Brothers valued the right of Sava Bank to freely redeem drafts and issue banknotes! Since they valued Sava Bank back then, your Industrial Bank, as their shell company, would naturally want to act on Sava Bank in accordance with their wishes!

Jerome Bonaparte thought silently.

Of course, he couldn’t say these words to Wilson.

"This!" Jerome Bonaparte’s lips curved slightly, and a mysterious smile appeared on his face as he said, "I guessed!"

"Your Majesty, your guess is spot on!" Wilson replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "Wilson Bank has indeed acquired a part of Savoy Bank’s shares, but we haven’t completely taken over Savoy Bank yet."

"Once you take full control, what do you plan to do?" Jerome Bonaparte asked with a feigned innocent expression.

"Your Majesty, to be honest, the headquarters may want to use Savoy Bank to guarantee Paris Industrial Bank!" Wilson explained to Jerome Bonaparte.

"From now on, Wilson Bank must stop this operation!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Wilson, frowning.

"Why?" Wilson asked in confusion.

"It won’t take long for Savoy Bank to become French territory!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Wilson, "By then, Savoy Bank’s function of privately issuing banknotes will be completely abolished!

In all of France, only the Bank of France will have this right!"

Hearing this from Jerome Bonaparte, a look of dejection appeared on Wilson’s face. Nearly 50 million francs in capital investment, would it really go down the drain just like that?

"Your Majesty, when does the French Empire plan to annex Savoy?" Wilson asked with a hint of reluctance, hoping to sell off his shares in Savoy Bank during this period.

In this way, he could recoup some losses.

"It might take about one to two months to complete, but that’s just an estimate. I’m not sure when exactly the annexation will occur; it all depends on when the Sardinian crisis can be resolved!" Jerome Bonaparte naturally understood Wilson’s intention and immediately said to Wilson.