Make France Great Again-Chapter 169: Hugo’s Counterattack and the 1st Meeting

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Hugo’s Counterattack and the 1st Meeting

"Indeed!"

Victor Hugo displayed a relieved expression. He had long anticipated that the cabinet would inevitably fall under the control of Jerome Bonaparte. Once this ambitious man seized power, he would certainly need to satisfy the interests of certain individuals.

Victor Hugo recalled the current schism within the Order Party. Having suffered multiple setbacks in the parliament and political arenas over the years, he also sensed the taste of conspiracy.

The Orthodox Faction, particularly those inclined towards the Clerical Faction’s aggressive actions against other members of the Order Party, were likely instigated by Jerome Bonaparte. To reward their instigation, Jerome Bonaparte would have to continue catering to their interests.

If Jerome Bonaparte wielded the knife in other areas, it would inevitably lead to political turmoil. Such a distribution would not benefit anyone, and there was no more prudent way than to target public education.

All that France would lose was a group of liberal-minded teachers, but in return, they would gain the Church’s support and reduced education expenditures.

The cost of religious schools in France was far less than a group of ordinary higher education institutions.

The thought of future French students potentially becoming religious adherents, with science and free thought being strangled in the cradle, sent shivers down Victor Hugo’s spine.

"I must do something!" Victor Hugo murmured, bowing his head. He understood that recklessly confronting religion, which had existed on French soil for centuries, would be certain death. Only by first acknowledging religion could he launch an attack against them.

He needed to return and prepare the "ammunition" for the attack. Without "ammunition," there was nothing else to discuss.

"François, Charles!" Victor Hugo resolved to strive for the future of France. He lifted his head and looked resolutely at François Hugo and Charles Hugo.

"Father!"

"Father!"

François Hugo and Charles Hugo responded to Victor Hugo one after the other.

"I’ll leave matters here to the two of you! I must return!"

With that said, Victor Hugo picked up the briefcase beside him, stood up, and, after putting on the top hat hanging on the coat rack, left.

The newsroom was left with the wide-eyed brothers and a group of busy workers.

"Now, what should we do?" François Hugo asked Charles Hugo with a consultative tone.

Charles Hugo thought for a moment and then said, "You stay here, I will take a trip to the Opera House!"

Charles Hugo also hurriedly left.

"Hey! Where are you going?" François Hugo anxiously shouted at the departing figure of Charles Hugo.

"To see if I can help the newsroom through a difficult time!" Charles Hugo didn’t intend to stop. He waved his hand behind as he ran and loudly explained.

"Ah!" François Hugo, watching Charles Hugo leave, returned to the newsroom. He sat alone on the sofa, hands drooping on his legs, staring blankly into the distance.

...

While Victor Hugo returned home to prepare the "ammunition" for the Legislative Assembly strike, a luxurious double-bridge carriage slowly parked at Matignon Palace (Prime Minister’s Mansion). The golden bee emblem on the side of the carriage made it clear who the owner of the carriage was.

The carriage door slowly opened, and Jerome Bonaparte alighted and headed straight into the Matignon Palace cabinet meeting hall.

At this moment, in the cabinet meeting hall, the ministers of various departments had long been waiting in the hall. Upon instructions from Prime Minister Opler, they rose one after another in anticipation of the arrival of President Jerome Bonaparte.

A servant of Matignon Palace entered the meeting hall. He hurriedly approached Prime Minister Opler to report the arrival of Jerome Bonaparte.

Upon hearing of the president’s arrival, Prime Minister Opler smiled and gently said, "Gentlemen, the President has arrived!"

The doors of the conference hall slowly opened, and the figure of Jerome Bonaparte also appeared on the other side of the door.

Prime Minister Opler took the lead in applauding, followed by the ministers of various departments who also clapped to welcome Jerome Bonaparte.

Amidst the continuous applause, Jerome Bonaparte slowly walked to the main seat of the conference hall, which was originally the exclusive seat of the Cabinet Prime Minister. Due to the arrival of the President, the Cabinet Prime Minister had to settle for the first seat on the right.

Standing at the main seat, Jerome Bonaparte glanced at everyone present, cleared his throat, and said, "Everyone, please take your seats!"

Everyone obeyed Jerome Bonaparte’s order and sat down, directing their attention to him.

Looking at the Bonaparte Faction and those inclined towards the Bonaparte Order Party within the Cabinet, Jerome Bonaparte spoke in a friendly tone, "Most of you present here, I know more or less! I am aware of your abilities, so I feel very assured entrusting the state to you for governance!"

"The Cabinet still has to follow your leadership, Mr. President!" Prime Minister Opler, of course, could discern between polite words and sincere intent, and he hurriedly flattered.

"Indeed! As they say, a ship relies on its helmsman. Mr. President, you are our helmsman!" stated Minister of War Renio, expressing his support for Jerome Bonaparte.

"Exactly! According to the French Constitution, Mr. President, you have the authority to manage the government. I hope you won’t slack off!" Finance Minister Achille Fuld’s seemingly critical words were also filled with flattery.

The remaining ministers also more or less expressed to Jerome Bonaparte that "Presidential leadership, Prime Minister and Ministers executing the plans is the tradition of France," and that this good tradition must not be abandoned.

In the spirit of democratic choice, Jerome Bonaparte "could not" refuse his colleagues’ hope that he would preside over the situation, and he "reluctantly" took on the role of overseeing the overall situation.

France transitioned from a phase where the President "ruled but did not govern" to a phase where the President "held full power."

Jerome Bonaparte nodded to Prime Minister Opler, and after "obtaining" Prime Minister Opler’s "consent," Jerome Bonaparte spoke, "Do any departments have significant matters to report?"

Minister of Public Works Mornay was the first to speak, "Mr. President, I believe that the agencies under the Ministry of Public Works are too bloated, and their scope of authority too wide. I propose that we appropriately streamline the staffing of the Ministry of Public Works!"

These words, akin to a bolt of thunder, shattered the calm of the legislative hall. Prime Minister Opler and some uninformed ministers looked at Public Works Minister Mornay in surprise. They had never heard of anyone feeling their power was too great. Any bureaucrat with even the slightest ambition would wish for more power. Proposing to voluntarily reduce one’s power was unprecedented in Cabinet meetings.

Soon, the ministers present and the Prime Minister understood that this was a play prearranged by the President and Mornay, and all they needed to do was quietly watch as bystanders.

Sure enough, as they expected, President Jerome Bonaparte, as if having already been informed of Mornay’s proposal to reduce duties, did not ask why Mornay wanted to reduce power, but directly asked, "Minister Mornay, which function do you wish to cut from the Ministry of Public Works?"

"Mr. President, I suggest that the Railway Commission under the Ministry of Public Works be established as an independent department, directly supervised by the President and the Prime Minister!" Mornay stood up and placed the prepared materials in front of Jerome Bonaparte and Prime Minister Opler.

Having long read the content of the materials, Jerome Bonaparte pretended to peruse the contents while saying to Mornay, "What’s the reason?"

"Due to the issuance of public works bonds and the construction of railways in the first half of the year, the number of personnel in the Railway Commission has gradually increased. We had to assign additional manpower to fill the Railway Commission! This has severely affected the other operations of the Ministry of Public Works!" Mornay said confidently to Jerome Bonaparte.

"But why establish a new department for this?" Prime Minister Opler frowned, raising his head to glance at Jerome Bonaparte.

As a transitional Prime Minister, he didn’t expect to encounter such a "thorny" issue on his first day in office. He wanted an explanation from Jerome Bonaparte.

"Prime Minister, while the Railway Commission is a subordinate body of the Ministry of Public Works, it essentially includes everything that a full department could have. The Railway Commission has four subsidiaries and a General Office, a Personnel Division, a Transport Bureau... This creates a conflict in the functional overlap between the Railway Commission and the Ministry of Public Works, which in turn severely affects the operation of the entire Ministry of Public Works!" Mornay explained to Opler.

From the outset, Jerome Bonaparte had already decided to extract the Railway Commission from the Ministry of Public Works. For this reason, he deliberately created an overlap of authority between the Railway Commission’s subordinate institutions and the internal institutions of the Ministry of Public Works.

"Just lowering their administrative level would solve it!" Prime Minister Opler responded.

"Prime Minister, rashly lowering it might impact our bonds, and the market could lose confidence in them! Our project progress might also come to a halt!" Mornay replied with a gentle attitude.

Bonds... Prime Minister Opler suddenly remembered that he seemed to have also purchased a large number of bonds from the Ministry of Public Works. If the bonds experienced turmoil, his money would depreciate. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

At this thought, Prime Minister Opler felt a trace of panic, "If a new department is established, won’t those bonds depreciate?"

Mornay glanced at his colleagues present, most of whom also purchased bonds from the Ministry of Public Works. He asserted firmly, "Not only will they not depreciate, but they might even increase in value! The establishment of the Railway Commission as a department represents the government’s confidence in the railway enterprise. Which is more promising— a department directly under the Cabinet or one under the Ministry of Public Works?"

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