Chapter 429: Chapter 423 The French Empire Declares War!
The gentleman flipped open the first page of the "Diplomatic Daily," and the first thing that caught his eye was the shocking headline: "Shock! A War in the Near East Unleashed by This!"
This startling headline piqued the gentleman’s interest, and he began to read the content beneath the headline line by line.
The entire article starts with the Revolution of ’48, providing a detailed analysis of the actions of the Russian Empire in the Near East from 1848 to 1853. It encompasses political, military, economic, and even cultural analyses of the Russian Empire, ultimately concluding that a war between the Russian Empire and the French Empire is inevitable, with the French Empire supporting the Ottoman Empire against the Russian Empire, their blatant anti-Russian sentiment evident on the newspaper.
After reading the "Diplomatic Daily," the gentleman put down the newspaper and let out a long sigh. Although he personally was not against the Russian Empire, and even lacked any particular feelings towards politics itself, the content on the newspaper indeed gave him a sense of urgency. The inherent superiority of the French Nation stirred within him a subconscious aversion to the Russian Empire.
"Give me another one!" the gentleman told the newsboy standing next to him once more.
"Sir, is it the same type of newspaper you want?" the newsboy pointed at the "Diplomatic Daily" tucked under the gentleman’s arm and asked.
After a few moments of careful consideration, the gentleman nodded slightly.
The newsboy quickly pulled out another newspaper from the stack, titled "Fairness Daily."
The gentleman began to read the "Fairness Daily," and the first editorial also described the Russian Empire. The editorial used even more scathing methods to criticize the Russian Empire,
The editorial fully documented how the Russian Empire oppressed the Ottoman Empire in the Near East, and claimed that should the French Empire turn a blind eye to the actions of the Russian Empire, it would be a subversion of all order and justice.
...The lies of politics and religion are exactly what Russia represents. It is inherently barbaric yet tries to emulate our civilization, causing doubts; its tyranny strikes fear in us... Its violent rule might be fit for a tribe that is inherently savage and akin to insane beasts, but it is certainly not suitable for the civilized... Nicolai’s policies have sparked outrage among all civilized countries in Europe, for his policies embody burning, killing, and looting. They are nothing but a larger-scale band of robbers.
Such rhetoric made the gentleman’s inner aversion to the Russian Empire stronger.
As he inquired whether there were any other newspapers from the newsboy again, the newsboy handed him a church-affiliated newspaper.
The church also, in the name of God, criticized the Russian Empire, claiming that once the Russian Empire occupied Constantinople, its next targets would be Marseille and Rome.
Then, the gentleman once again took several more newspapers from the newsboy, most of which contained editorials that berated the Russian Empire’s barbarism.
Having read many critical articles in one go, the gentleman was suddenly overwhelmed by an inexplicable sense of mission. Under the influence of herd mentality, he gradually began to agree with the anti-Russian content of the newspaper editorials.
A storm of public opinion against the Russian Empire’s invasion of the Danube River Basin is gradually intensifying, even stronger than the one a month ago.
In the coming days, under Jerome Bonaparte’s orders, the Paris Newspaper pivoted from the "Russian Empire disrupting Near East peace" narrative to "Russian Empire invading the French Empire."
All at once, Paris shifted from its usual festive and lively scene to one filled with anxiety.
Even before the Parisians could digest the news of "Russian Empire’s potential invasion of the French Empire," early the next morning, the Parisians out and about noticed that, without knowing when, soldiers began patrolling the streets of Paris. Instantly everyone associated the patrolling soldiers with "Russia possibly invading France." The soldiers, formerly viewed negatively by the Parisians, suddenly became tall and imposing figures in their chatter, and the atmosphere was thick with the smell of gunpowder, as a great war was brewing.
While the Parisians speculated on when the Russian Empire might invade the French Empire, Emperor Jerome Bonaparte was preparing to don his specially-made Lev’s Formal Suit to head for the Bourbon Palace.
There, in the presence of all the Legislative Corps members in the Bourbon Palace, he would carry out an important vote.
He was to declare in front of the Legislative Corps representing thirty-five million French people...
"Knock, knock, knock!"
The crisp sound of knocking on the door pulled Jerome Bonaparte out of his daydreams and back to reality. Realizing this, Jerome Bonaparte quickly asked Mokar, who was at the door, to enter the room.
"Your Majesty!" Mokar slightly bowed to Jerome Bonaparte and then remained silent!
"I understand!" Jerome Bonaparte responded lightly, then looked at himself in the mirror, nodded with satisfaction, and slowly turned to Mokar: "Let’s go! It’s time to set off!"
Mokar and Jerome Bonaparte took a carriage escorted by the Imperial Dragon Cavalry to the entrance of the Bourbon Palace.
At this moment, the members of the Legislative Corps inside the Bourbon Palace were unaware of the Emperor of the Empire’s arrival. If it wasn’t for the routine of clocking in for work, most of the attendees would not have been willing to sit through the tedious sessions at the Bourbon Palace, listening repeatedly to dull reports.
Since the coup on December 2nd, the former National Assembly had been dismantled, and its powers were split three ways, divided between the Legislative Corps, Senate, and Council of State.
The Legislative Corps was only responsible for agreeing or disagreeing with a motion, without any rights to review or implement the contents of the bill. The right to review was assigned to the Senate, and the right to implement was given to the Council of State.
It can be said that the entire Legislative Corps had become a ruthless voting machine in the hands of Jerome Bonaparte, with all its actions needing to be within the framework provided by Jerome Bonaparte to be considered valid.
The once unruly National Assembly had now transformed into a rubber stamp at the disposal of Jerome Bonaparte.
Even though the rubber stamp held no power, Jerome Bonaparte still needed it to endorse his legitimacy.
Especially concerning the war declaration against the Russian Empire, where the support of 35 million people made the Emperor’s legitimacy far greater than that of a solitary tyrant.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Bourbon Palace, and the Dragoons escorting Jerome Bonaparte dismounted, forming two lines. The patrol guard grenadiers responsible for guarding the Bourbon Palace and maintaining its internal and external security also converged around the carriage. Jerome Bonaparte pushed open the carriage door, and just when everyone thought he would proceed immediately to the Bourbon Palace, he instead approached the Guard Army grenadiers, inquiring about their every concern, chatting intimately with them about household matters, and praised them as the Empire’s indestructible spear.
The grenadiers responsible for guarding the Bourbon Palace were no match for the 21st-century political showmanship master, Jerome Bonaparte, who within moments had all their backgrounds revealed and also earned their loyalty.
After his political performance ended, Jerome Bonaparte "reluctantly" released the grenadiers’ hands and bid them farewell.
Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte and Mokar, with firm strides, entered the inner doors of the Bourbon Palace and made their way to the assembly hall via the corridor on the right side of the palace.
Under the watchful eyes of the assembly, Jerome Bonaparte slowly walked up to the imperial podium. Now standing at the podium, Jerome Bonaparte gazed at the puppet members below and from their expressions, he detected their confusion and surprise at his reason for being there.
"Members of the Empire!" Jerome Bonaparte took a deep breath and addressed the members with a rich, slightly magnetic voice: "Today, here... in this solemn and sacred Bourbon Palace, I ask you to swiftly pass a proposal, which concerns the lives of tens of millions within the Empire, and that is... the emergency funding for the war against the Russian Empire!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire French Empire Parliament was immediately stirred to a small commotion, with many members’ faces showing expressions of shock.
Although the relations between the Russian Empire and French Empire had been quite poor in recent months, with several instances of envoys leaving Paris, they never imagined that a war between the French Empire and the Russian Empire would so imminently come to their doorstep.
"At this very moment, the Tsar of the Russian Empire, driven by his grand ambition, is commanding the cold-blooded Slavic Corps to launch attacks on the Near East! It won’t be long before the Tsar’s grasp firmly seizes the Near East, and at that point, the French Empire might face an assault from the Russian Empire! For the future of the French Empire and for the millions of French children, we cannot wait any longer! Endless compromise will only make the situation worse!" Jerome Bonaparte said, word by word, to all the present members: "Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided to unsheath our sword against the Russian Empire! I firmly believe that with our profound military heritage and our brave and fearless army, we can surely defeat Russia! As long as we unite as one, we can triumph over the enemy!
Here, I hope each of you members will cast your precious vote for the future of France, whether you are from the Orthodox Faction or the Orléans Faction, above all, you and I are French. Thank you!"