Upon learning of the Emperor’s location, Cavour wasted no time and quickly left the embassy, heading towards the train station as he needed to catch the next available train.

This scene was observed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ surveillance personnel stationed around the Sardinia Embassy. They followed Cavour from a distance and, after he had purchased his train ticket and left, they discreetly showed their credentials to the ticket seller and inquired about the train Cavour had booked.

Upon seeing the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ insignia, the ticket seller was visibly startled and stammered out the information.

After learning which train Cavour would be taking, the Ministry’s personnel quickly left the ticket counter, but not before threatening the ticket seller to keep it confidential.

The ticket seller nodded repeatedly in fear and then watched them leave.

Subsequently, they returned to the Ministry and reported the news to Minister Percy.

Upon hearing the report, Percy was momentarily surprised, then smiled warmly and said to them, "You’ve worked hard!"

"Not at all, not at all!" the surveillance personnel responded ingratiatingly.

After giving them a verbal commendation, Percy gently issued a dismissal order.

Once the surveillance personnel left, Percy called for his secretary again and instructed him to immediately send a telegram to the closest telegraph office to Jerome Bonaparte’s location.

"Understood!" the secretary replied and promptly headed to the Ministry’s telegraph bureau.

After a short while, the secretary returned to Percy’s office to report the completion of the task.

...

The telegram, transmitted from Paris to a telegraph office near the Loire Valley Region, reached its destination near Jerome Bonaparte after about ten minutes by express messenger.

At this moment, Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta were in the Central France Region, accompanied by the Governor of Loire-Cher Province (hereinafter referred to as Cher Province), visiting an agricultural "university" (in reality, more like a vocational college) established by the provincial government in Blois.

Upon entering the campus, Jerome Bonaparte observed the students moving around and couldn’t help but smile.

Then, he casually summoned a student and asked about his family, field of study, and why he chose agriculture.

The student, somewhat hesitantly, answered Jerome Bonaparte’s questions, explaining that he had chosen the agriculture major because his family could no longer afford to send him to Paris to study.

It happened that the Blois Province had opened an agricultural college, and the local government offered him reduced tuition, hence his pursuit of agriculture.

Jerome Bonaparte then asked if he would be willing to continue working in agriculture after graduation.

The student seemed notably hesitant in his response to this question.

Jerome Bonaparte immediately encouraged him, "There’s nothing to hide! Even if you say your goal is to laze around, I can understand!

Back in my day, that was my goal too!"

Upon hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s response, the student gathered the courage to express that his primary goal was to pass the exam to enter the imperial system and become an Imperial Tax Officer. His lesser goal was to seek opportunities in a big city.

If neither worked out, he might consider returning home to engage in agriculture.

After hearing the student’s reply, Jerome Bonaparte’s eyes dimmed slightly.

Whether in the 21st century or now, agricultural students are rarely willing to return to farming.

However, Jerome Bonaparte could understand their choice. In this era of change, returning to the countryside to farm undoubtedly seemed the worst option.

Even the locally born and raised Junker nobility next door are racking their brains to reinvest the profits from agricultural production to double their assets.

Therefore, Jerome Bonaparte did not wish to overly demand that they must return to farming.

"It seems you’ve made plans for yourself!" Jerome Bonaparte gently patted his shoulder and earnestly said, "The future of the Empire is ours, but it’s also yours!

I’m looking forward to you accomplishing great things!"

Having said that, Jerome Bonaparte ordered Lucien Murat, who was by his side, to hand a beautifully packaged gift to the student standing before them.

The student, upon receiving the gift, was somewhat at a loss, and Jerome Bonaparte smiled and said to him, "Consider this an early graduation gift from me!"

"You should thank His Majesty!" the Governor of Cher Province hastily urged.

"Thank..." The student began to speak, but Jerome Bonaparte stopped him, "No need to thank me!"

The student swallowed his words of gratitude, then stood tensely, waiting quietly for Jerome Bonaparte’s instructions.

"Now, you may leave!" Jerome Bonaparte waved his hand in response to the students,

After the students had left, the governor of Cher Province ran up to Jerome Bonaparte and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, actually many students still wish to return to their hometowns and engage in agriculture!"

Jerome Bonaparte restrained his smile and responded expressionlessly, "Governor, you don’t need to explain!

My initial intention in establishing the Agricultural College was indeed to promote the development of French agriculture, but I also know that the profit from agriculture is far less than that from industry, so there will certainly be a large portion of agricultural majors who are unwilling to devote themselves to agriculture.

I can understand this, so what we need to do is not to force them to farm, but to enhance the profit margins of agriculture as much as possible.

Only in this way will more people be willing to devote themselves to agriculture.

The Empire can only win the support of the vast majority living on this land by doing agriculture well.

..."

Jerome Bonaparte spoke passionately about the necessity of improving agriculture and how it could be done effectively.

After speaking for about five minutes, Empress Augusta, who was beside Jerome Bonaparte, finally couldn’t hold back. She seized the pause in Jerome Bonaparte’s speech and said, "Your Majesty, let’s go visit the experimental base first!"

"Hmm! Alright!" Jerome Bonaparte smacked his lips with a hint of regret, nodded, and then ordered the governor of Cher Province to lead the way.

With the governor of Cher Province leading, Jerome Bonaparte and others arrived at the experimental base in the backyard of the Agricultural College... No, rather than a base, it was more like an estate. When Jerome Bonaparte and the others entered the experimental base, the gardener responsible for guarding the base stopped them.

Seeing this, the governor of Cher Province loudly reprimanded the gardener.

Soon after, a slightly burly middle-aged man came to Jerome Bonaparte and the others. He first apologized to Jerome Bonaparte and then introduced himself.

Jerome Bonaparte finally realized that the man in front of him was the president of this Agricultural College.

Upon the president’s arrival, the gardener opened the gate quickly, allowing Jerome Bonaparte and the others to enter the base.

At first glance upon entering, Jerome Bonaparte saw the arched grape trellises within the base.

The president hurriedly introduced to Jerome Bonaparte that these grape trellises were cultivated by students of the Agricultural College, mainly to train their practical skills.

Looking at the grape trellises in front of him, Jerome Bonaparte recalled the historical disaster triggered by phylloxera, which directly led to the decline of the French grape industry.

However, since the disaster occurred in the late 1860s, Jerome Bonaparte could only remind the president, "Your Agricultural College must closely monitor the condition of the grapes!

A small grape is linked to our entire French economy!"

"Yes!" Although the president of the Agricultural College did not understand what Jerome Bonaparte meant, he still nodded in agreement.

Then, the president wanted to lead Jerome Bonaparte and Empress Augusta further into the experimental base.

Just then, an attendant in imperial uniform appeared behind Jerome Bonaparte and the others and reported to Lucien Murat at the rear.

Upon hearing the report, Lucien Murat’s face changed slightly. He hurried to Jerome Bonaparte and said, "Your Majesty, there’s a telegram from Paris!"

Jerome Bonaparte’s expression immediately became serious. He turned to the president and apologized, "Forgive me, I cannot continue the visit!"

The president of the college, who hadn’t yet had a chance to show the results to the Emperor, felt regretful but could only smile in response to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, I’m glad you could visit along with Her Majesty the Empress!"

Jerome Bonaparte, Empress Augusta, and the others left the college amidst the president’s farewells, and back at the hotel, he immediately asked Lucien Murat, "Where’s the telegram?"

Lucien Murat glanced at the attendant, who promptly responded to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, the telegram is already in the study!"

"Hmm!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and then entered the study, picked up the telegram on the table, and read it.

"What’s the matter? Is there something wrong in Paris? Do we need to go back now?" Empress Augusta, who followed Jerome Bonaparte into the study, inquired.

Jerome Bonaparte put down the telegram and said lightly, "Nothing much! The telegram says that Sardinian Prime Minister Cavour has already purchased a train ticket to come here and is expected to arrive the day after tomorrow!"

"Cavour!" Empress Augusta displayed a look of disgust upon hearing the name Cavour, "Why isn’t he banning liberalism in Sardinia and running over to France!"

"What else could he be doing! Of course, pleading for us to spare Sardinia!" Jerome Bonaparte shrugged and answered.

"Spare Sardinia?" Empress Augusta sneered, "When they were plotting the assassination, they didn’t think of that!"

"Cavour didn’t plot the assassination!" Jerome Bonaparte "corrected" her.