The inquiry from Prince Monfort forced Jerome Bonaparte, who originally wanted to gloss over the event and then go back to rest, to recount the entire incident to Prince Monfort.

"Originally, this was just a small group event, but who would have thought that because our police hadn’t seen such a scene for several years, they lacked experience in handling it. Moreover, with many respectable people joining midway, the police became even more hesitant to suppress them!"

At this point, a mocking expression appeared on Jerome Bonaparte’s face, and his tone turned sarcastic, "However, those police also knew that if they did nothing, the Empire would inevitably punish them harshly afterward. So, these officers tightly followed behind them, ’escorting’ them all the way to Bastille Square!"

Although this sudden gathering did not cause substantive harm to the imperial regime, Jerome Bonaparte was very dissatisfied with the police forces’ response measures when faced with sudden problems.

This also indirectly reflected that during peaceful times, the business capabilities of the Empire’s police were far inferior to before.

If the current police were replaced with those from eleven years ago (that is, in 1848), the gathering would not have reached this point at all.

Having experienced the "storms" of February and June, the police had already trained themselves to be agile (as a joke, during the February Revolution and June bloodshed, police who weren’t agile were already killed by the workers) and possess keen insight. They could spontaneously control the gathering workers at the first opportunity to prevent further expansion.

As long as the workers present were controlled, identifying the hidden "bad" and "left" elements among them would be easy.

If it weren’t for these "bad" and "left" elements funded by foreign forces, the workers of France would now be happily enjoying the blessings of 696 [1] as designated by Jerome Bonaparte in the Yellow Guild.

"What on earth is Pellissier doing! How is his Minister of Internal Affairs performing, and also Police Minister Pierrette!" As a member of the ruling class, Prince Monfort perfectly fitted his role and couldn’t help but curse the two useless ministers.

Then, Prince Monfort turned his criticism towards the workers, saying with exasperation, "And those workers attending the rally, can’t they understand the Empire’s current situation?

What good would the Empire’s collapse do for them! Won’t they face unemployment too!"

Prince Monfort paused deliberately and muttered to himself, "No, by then, it won’t just be them. More people will be at risk of unemployment!

These people are simply a bunch of hopeless bastards, scum of society!"

Jerome Bonaparte stared in shock at his hysterical father, baffled by why Prince Monfort was more emotional about the labor movement than he was.

Clearly, he was the one directly involved in the entire incident!

Is this a case of interests governing thoughts?

With this thought, Jerome Bonaparte couldn’t help but quip internally, then he responded to Prince Monfort with a serious face, "Actually, you can’t entirely blame those workers. Since 1857, the Empire’s economic growth has begun to decline!"

"The decline in economic growth is not an issue for France alone. Which country in Europe hasn’t faced a downturn!" Prince Monfort said, full of resentment.

He recalled the scene in 1857 when he secretly invested in American railroad bonds behind Jerome Bonaparte and Mathilde’s backs. Just a week earlier, American railroad bonds were still on an upward trend.

Who would have thought that the second week would bring news of massive bankruptcies in the United States’ railway companies (it usually took over a week to relay messages between the United States and the European Continent), causing the bonds in Prince Monfort’s hands to immediately devalue.

If it weren’t for some bankers trying to please the Emperor by relieving Prince Monfort’s worries, the bonds in his hands would have become cheaper than waste paper.

"Although the declining trend isn’t unique to France, but a widespread issue throughout Europe, Parisian workers couldn’t care less about international circumstances. Their focus is limited to Paris, only concerned about whether today’s wages can support their families!" Jerome Bonaparte shrugged and replied to Prince Monfort, "Discussing international situations with them is like talking about whether bread prices in a particular district are rising!

They might even be able to tell you the bread prices in every district of Paris!"

In the 19th century, information transmission wasn’t as rapid as in the 21st century, making the cost of obtaining information especially high. For ordinary people, the information they could access was limited to newspapers.

However, even with such a simple way of obtaining information, one needed to spend a significant sum annually on subscriptions.

Expecting 19th-century workers to pay for information was like a pipe dream.

Not to mention, some insider information wasn’t even available through newspapers, requiring even higher costs.

Prince Monfort was left speechless, and Jerome Bonaparte continued, "Actually, the economic downturn has some connection to us as well!"

"Why do you say that?" Prince Monfort curiously asked Jerome Bonaparte.

"The market is like a cake; if you take an extra bite, someone else inevitably gets less!

The economic and revolutionary crisis of 1848, while severely damaging France, also cleared some obstacles for France.

The collapse of small and medium banks in various places paved the way for the Bank of France to expand throughout France.

A portion of Britain’s capital was also cleared by that crisis, allowing domestic capital to flourish under trade protection barriers!" Jerome Bonaparte explained leisurely to Prince Monfort. "However, this prosperity is not endless!

When the domestic market approaches saturation, factory owners and bankers wanting to continue expanding production inevitably start looking outward for expansion.

Yet, apart from France and Britain, the consumer markets and investment markets in other European countries are extremely fragile.

Just a slight move from British and French capital reaches the limits of what other countries can bear.

At that time, a production capacity crisis also emerges. Due to market saturation, factory owners cannot convert their products into actual money, and factories lacking financial support are forced to cut staff and reduce production just to maintain basic survival!

Once the factory owners release a large number of flexible employment people into the market, the entire city of Paris will inevitably face conflict!"

The advent of trains, spinning machines, and paddle steamers certainly elevated humanity’s level of productivity to heights never reached in a millennium. Yet, beneath this prosperous productivity lies a crisis unseen in the past thousand years.

If any dynasty does not seriously address this crisis, it will inevitably suffer retaliation from the crisis.

Moreover, Paris itself is an unruly city.

The rulers of this city, if slightly careless, would face the risk of regime change.

"Is there no proper solution to this crisis?"

Unwittingly, Prince Monfort deviated from the initial topic and asked about economic laws.

Jerome Bonaparte spread his hands and replied to Prince Monfort, "Economic crisis is an inevitable crisis in the development of capitalism. It reflects the development laws of all things and does not shift according to the will of the ruling class!

Although I have consulted many economic experts, none of them have a good solution!

We can only grit our teeth and forge ahead through difficulties to overcome the current crisis!

The economy has lows and highs; only by enduring the lows can we welcome the next wave!

Whoever can better handle the economic downturn will surely establish an absolute dominant position in the next economic wave!

A country that cannot cope with the economic lows can only drift along, praying for the downturn to pass quickly!"

"Then... when will the next wave occur?" Prince Monfort probed further.

"This I do not know!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and said to Prince Monfort, "It could be in the next moment, next year, or even ten years later!

If someone can open a new path beyond the steam engine, I believe a new era will begin soon!"

"A new path?" Prince Monfort asked, bewildered, not understanding what could be more convenient than the steam engine.

"A whole new system different from the steam engine; its emergence will completely change the world, like trains!"

If the invention of the steam engine was a groundbreaking industrial revolution, I am willing to call it the ’Second Industrial Revolution’!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded confidently at Prince Monfort.

After hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s words, Prince Monfort asked immediately, "Judging by your tone, you seem to have already grasped the key to unlocking it!"

Jerome Bonaparte stroked his short chin, not directly responding to Prince Monfort.

However, judging by his expression, he indeed has some confidence.

[1] The reason it is a 6-day work week rather than 7 days is not because factory owners are benevolent, but because the Empire and Catholicism have an agreement, reserving one day each week for workers to worship, which aids Catholicism in spreading among the labor force and also benefits the Empire’s rule.

The real loss in the agreement is borne by some small and medium enterprise owners.

Thus, many small and medium enterprise owners can’t help but secretly bless the Emperor’s family with health and prosperity whenever they think of this treaty.

Nonetheless, although France explicitly stipulates a seven-day holiday, some small factories in remote areas do not take the Empire’s laws seriously.

They collude with local priests, exacerbating the exploitation of workers.