Make France Great Again-Chapter 66: The Sparrow Stalks Behind

On July 3, 1848, the tumultuous June Revolution ended with Cafenak’s ruthless suppression. The workers, without the prospect of the societal reforms they dreamed of, fell prematurely on the barricades of Paris, under the rifles and bayonets. The savage French Army relentlessly drove them out of Paris, leaving them to fend for themselves.

General Cafenak, with hands stained with the workers’ blood, also had his wish fulfilled, ending his temporary acting position and successfully becoming the true First Consul of France.

However, the power term of this First Consul was less than 5 months, and the election results would settle in December.

By then, Cafenak would step down voluntarily. Of course, Cafenak had another option, which was to use his current unbrindled authority to dissolve the National Assembly with his troops, making himself the First Consul in the true sense.

This was also the scenario that Thiers and others within the Order Party feared.

However, after resolving the domestic riot, Cafenak obviously had no intention of emulating Napoleon. Filled with ambition, he believed it was his decisiveness that saved France, and that all of France would gloriously vote for him in the December election.

Yet Cafenak did not know that from the moment he took the position of First Consul, all his powers would automatically expire in December.

The Order Party could not allow another Bonaparte to take the stage. To prevent this, they were even willing to ally with the Bonaparte Faction.

On July 8, reports of the massacre in Paris spread through the newspapers within Paris to Belgium, Prussia, and also to Rome.

That day, the weather in Rome, under the Mediterranean climate, was particularly hot.

Even those people who usually gathered for demonstrations did not want to enjoy the feeling of a steam bath under the scorching sun. Every household opened their windows for ventilation, yet the entire room still felt like a sauna.

Many people chose to swim in the Tiber River to counteract the effects of the sweltering heat.

Jerome Bonaparte was also among them.

However, he did not go to the Tiber River to swim but chose a shady spot upstream to fish.

In the literal sense of fishing.

Accompanying him were Charles Bonaparte and his nephew Lucien Louis.

Captain Leti, with a group of temporarily hired hands, brought large bags of the items needed for fishing and placed them near the shade of trees.

Jerome Bonaparte and Charles Bonaparte each held a fishing rod, fishing.

Crumbled breadcrumbs were scattered in the water to attract fish to feed.

Struggling and twisting worms were "mercilessly" skewered on iron hooks by Jerome Bonaparte, thrown into the crumbs’ spot, and then he comfortably sat on a rocking chair, yawning and waiting for the fish to bite.

As Charles Bonaparte was wrapping bait into a ball to hang on the fish hook, he glanced at the lazy Jerome Bonaparte and said irritably, "Paris has become such a mess, yet you seem quite at ease!"

"Hmm?" Jerome Bonaparte lazily squinted his eyes, letting the rocking chair sway back and forth, with the fish hook bobbing up and down along with it. "Isn’t it just that guy Cafenak creating a massacre in Paris? What’s the big fuss?"

"You..."

Jerome Bonaparte’s indifferent demeanor infuriated Charles Bonaparte. He even began to doubt whether it was a wise decision to hand the Ruby to the Pope back then.

To appease his cousin, Jerome Bonaparte slowly opened his eyes and said casually, "Everything is under my control! Without Cafenak, how would I ascend?"

"How would I ascend without Cafenak?" Charles Bonaparte repeated Jerome Bonaparte’s words, looking at him puzzledly.

Jerome Bonaparte had no choice but to explain to his cousin, "Before Cafenak created an appalling massacre in Paris, the Republican Faction enjoyed enormous prestige in Paris. Now, the Republican Faction’s prestige is gradually declining along with Cafenak’s dictatorial rule. With selfless General Cafenak aiding the Order Party, he also helped us clear away the most stubborn obstacles.

The Mountain Party in the assembly likely already sees General Cafenak as an eyesore. Can the Parisians and those moderate Republicans who experienced the turmoil in Paris favor someone who bombarded Paris with cannons? Without the support of the Mountain Party and the Parisians, Cafenak is doomed to lack the majority support, not only in France but even in Paris."

Jerome Bonaparte paused for a moment and confidently pointed to himself, saying, "However, I, Jerome Bonaparte, have not suppressed workers nor bombarded Paris with cannons. On the contrary, I will call for all classes to unite and overcome difficulties together. I will use extensive infrastructure to prevent the French workers from falling into unemployment! I will oppose the monopolization of education in France by the Catholic Church! I also do not have the military command experience like my uncle did... In short, I can meet the needs of all the French people. Why should someone like me fail!"

Jerome Bonaparte’s confident answer made Charles Bonaparte feel as if he had traveled through time to the Emperor’s era, when the Emperor was equally self-assured.

"However, I have a question!" Charles Bonaparte’s fishing rod twitched, and the simple bobber on the water suddenly plunged. With quick hands, Charles Bonaparte steadily grabbed the rod with his left hand, quickly reeling in with his right, while asking, "If you’ve satisfied every interest in France, whose interests have suffered?" ƒrēenovelkiss.com

"No one has suffered!" Jerome Bonaparte looked at his still motionless fishing rod, shook his head, and said, "Or rather, those who have suffered won’t even realize their interests have suffered."

Jerome Bonaparte wove a common interest community with lies. The only ones who truly suffered are the Proletariat. However, the proletarians had already been stripped of their rights by Cafenak.

After the bloody suppression, all they were left with was hatred towards Cafenak in the short term. With their political rights stripped away, they could only use their votes to retaliate against Cafenak.

A sardine was taken off the hook by Charles Bonaparte and placed in the bucket.

"Damn, am I really gonna get skunked today?"

Jerome Bonaparte quietly mumbled in Chinese.

Even though he wasn’t a fishing enthusiast, getting skunked was indeed the biggest insult to an angler.

As Jerome Bonaparte found himself in a predicament, Captain Leti came to his side, handing him an unopened letter. The envelope had an address from Paris Kusel Street, the residence of Mathilde.

"Excuse me for a moment!"

Jerome Bonaparte apologized to his cousin, who nodded and continued fishing.