Make France Great Again-Chapter 967 - 958: Stern Rebuke of Sardinia

January 16, 1858, 1 PM.

As the meeting was about to commence, the sky over Paris was suddenly shrouded in dark clouds from an unknown origin, and shortly thereafter, the sky began to rumble with thunder, accompanied by rain that fell onto the streets of Paris due to the force of gravity.

The cold rain poured freely onto the land of Paris, mercilessly attacking the people walking on the streets, making the already bustling roads become even more deserted under the rainfall, with pedestrians caught by the sudden downpour seeking shelter under eaves, waiting for the rain to subside.

Even in such weather, carriages continued to gallop nonstop through the streets.

Although these carriages came from different directions, their destination was remarkably the same.

That destination was the Louvre, located at the end of the Champs Elysees Palace (with the Tuileries Palace and Louvre now connected), and soon they arrived near the Louvre, stopping outside this magnificent and grand palace.

"Sir, we have arrived!" the driver in charge of the carriage called out to the passengers inside.

After a moment, Emile Olivier stepped out of the carriage. He first glanced at the Louvre not far from him, then cast a glance at the carriage next to him, and a trace of melancholy unconsciously appeared on his face.

From the carriage parked beside Emile Olivier, a gentleman dressed in the attire of a noble from the old dynasty also emerged. He looked at Emile Olivier and his carriage, and a mocking smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of his mouth.

This deep-rooted class disdain made Emile Olivier feel an indescribable humiliation.

At this moment, Emile Olivier wished to throw his glove at the other person and challenge him to a true gentleman’s duel.

However, reason restrained Emile Olivier.

To duel with a ticket at the Louvre itself would be the utmost disrespect to the Emperor.

Emile Olivier suppressed his discontent and instead forced a smile towards the other.

The gentleman, sensing that his provocation was unheeded, instead showed a furious expression and stormed into the Louvre.

Watching the gentleman’s departing figure, Emile Olivier’s face bore a hint of delight.

No matter what, he had triumphed over his opponent on the spiritual level.

Subsequently, Emile Olivier took a few steps forward to the driver’s side and tossed a silver coin to him, saying, "Keep the change!"

The driver, receiving the silver coin, immediately beamed a bright smile, hurriedly complimenting Emile Olivier, "Good luck! Generous sir!"

Saying this, the driver drove his carriage away.

Emile Olivier likewise advanced towards the Louvre, and upon reaching the entrance of the Louvre, the two soldiers guarding it stopped him and said, "Sir, please present your invitation!"

Emile Olivier handed his invitation to the soldier, who, after reading it, quickly stepped aside for Emile Olivier.

Emile Olivier walked along the path opened by the soldiers, entering the hall of the Louvre.

At this moment, the hall of the Louvre was already crowded with people, with gentlemen in different styles of attire gathered in groups, casually chatting and laughing.

Emile Olivier also began to search for Jules Favre and the others in the hall of the Louvre.

However, after searching the hall, Emile Olivier only found Ernest Picard and Alfred Dariemon; Jacques Louis Enon and Jules Favre seemed not to have arrived.

"Picard, what’s going on with Favre and Enon? The meeting is about to start, why haven’t they arrived yet!" Emile Olivier asked Ernest Picard while looking around.

"I don’t know either!" Ernest Picard shook his head and replied to Emile Olivier, "Logically, they should have come!"

Standing aside, Alfred Dariemon also spoke to them, "You two don’t need to search anymore! If I’m not mistaken, Enon and Favre surely won’t come!"

"How could that be!" Ernest Picard refuted Alfred Dariemon, "Enon told me last night that he definitely wouldn’t miss today!"

"Have you forgotten that Enon is Favre’s best friend! If Favre doesn’t want to come, I believe Enon won’t come either!" Alfred Dariemon responded to Ernest Picard, "As for Jules Favre... ever since I’ve known him, he has been a staunch Republican."

With such a stance, he absolutely would not make any compromises with the Empire.

Therefore, naturally they wouldn’t attend this meeting; the only Republicans attending might just be a few of us..."

As Alfred Dariemon spoke to this point, he suddenly saw the newly arrived guests and quickly corrected himself, "And those who just came in!"

Ernest Picard and Emile Olivier looked towards the doorway, seeing that those entering the hall belonged to the Right Wing Republicans under the Republican Faction. (They are a subordinate branch of the Republican Faction with only one seat in the Legislative Corps.)

These Republicans, upon seeing Ernest Picard and Emile Olivier, quickly ran up to them, saying, "Mr. Emile Olivier, Mr. Ernest Picard, hello!"

Ernest Picard and Ernest Picard smiled and greeted this right-wing republican, then began to converse with each other.

[In Europe, the left wing represents radical and progressive, while the right wing represents conservative.

Right-wing republicans are also conservative republicans; they do not see the overthrow of a dynasty as a necessary condition, and can also be called "moderate" republicans.

This moderation is not toward the people, but toward the ruling class.]

From the mouth of this right-wing republican, Emile Olivier learned that the other party has already prepared to detach from the larger framework of the Republican Faction and join the Bonaparte Faction.

"Mr. Picard, Mr. Olivier, are you also prepared to leave the Republican Faction?" The leader of the right-wing republicans smoothly asked Ernest Picard and Emile Olivier.

After exchanging a glance, Ernest Picard and Emile Olivier simultaneously said, "We currently have no such plans!"

"I wish you could achieve great success in the Republican Faction!" The right-wing republican said to them.

...

Time in conversation quickly reached 2:55 PM.

At this moment, with less than 5 minutes until the meeting begins, the originally noisy hall became particularly quiet due to the arrival of the Royal Chief Steward, Basilio.

Basilio looked at everyone present, then said, "Please follow me!"

Everyone in the hall followed Basilio up the stairs laid with a bright red carpet, reaching the second floor of the Louvre.

Pushing open the door to the second-floor hall, people saw Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta dressed in the First Empire’s court attire.

Once everyone entered the second-floor hall, the time arrived at 3 o’clock, and the meeting officially began.

First, Jerome Bonaparte spoke in a low and authoritative voice to everyone present, "I summoned you all here today, not for anything else!

Just wanted to meet with you face to face; you should all know about the assassination attempt that occurred two days ago at the entrance of the Paris Opera House.

The main targets of this assassination were me and Augusta. Fortunately, the assassin targeting me was not one of our French, but someone from the Apennine Peninsula.

...

However, I am still somewhat puzzled; why was the assassin from the Apennine Peninsula? I don’t seem to have committed any heinous acts against the citizens of the Apennine Peninsula.

Why would Apennine Peninsula people want to assassinate me? After pondering for two days, I still cannot fathom.

Until this morning when Percy pried open Orsini’s mouth, I finally understood!

The reason I was targeted for assassination was entirely because I did not follow the wishes of the Charcoal Party!

So they got furious, came to assassinate me, hoping that after assassinating me, they could establish a regime that would help them unify the Apennine Peninsula!

..."

Upon saying this, Jerome Bonaparte couldn’t help but curse, "What kind of ridiculous reasoning is that! They, the Apennine Peninsula, aren’t capable of unifying on their own, so they set their sights on us French.

Seeking to have us French spill blood to help them establish a peaceful and unified nation; I still remember the last time we did something like that, it was during the time of Louis XVI, and after one battle, we ended up with the United States of America.

We did not earn a penny, in fact, we ended up in debt!

Even Louisiana was taken advantage of by the Americans, let alone the United States aligning with Britain during our conflict with them!

Even if I raise a dog, it should know who its master is!

We freed the Thirteen States, and not only did the people of the Thirteen States fail to thank us, they aligned with their former invaders.

...

Jerome Bonaparte’s words made the Church Authority and Orthodox Faction in the hall feel satisfied.

As conservatives, what they fear most is the Second Empire imitating the First Empire in taking action against the Apennine Peninsula; now Jerome Bonaparte’s words can be seen as a statement not to seek changes in the Apennine Peninsula’s status.

"After saying so much, I want to tell you one thing, I have decided to severely punish the assassins!" Jerome Bonaparte said firmly to everyone present, "And to thoroughly investigate the masterminds behind them and completely destroy the laboratory that bred the murderers."