CHAPTER 554: CHAPTER 546 STEADY EMPEROR

"Return to the embassy now and report the capture of Sevastopol to Paris!"

Under the orders of Envoy Valvesky, the second secretary of the embassy, Klein, turned around and left.

Before Klein could take a few more steps towards the hospital entrance, the voice of Brigadier General Troche came from behind him: "Wait a moment!"

"Brigadier General Troche, do you have any instructions?" Klein turned around and inquired of Brigadier General Troche.

"Could I trouble you to make another trip and deliver this news to Ambassador Stratford of the British Embassy?" Brigadier General Troche explained to Klein, "This is something the Marshal promised to Commander Lagren of the British Expeditionary Army while in Sevastopol! Also, General Pellissier is also a commander in this operation, so..."

"I understand!" Klein nodded to Brigadier General Troche before turning and leaving the military district hospital.

...

As Klein left the military district hospital, he hailed a carriage and got in. The coachman carried Klein through the streets and alleys of Constantinople and soon arrived at the entrance of the French Embassy.

Stepping down from the carriage, Klein casually fished a silver coin out of his coat pocket and tossed it to the coachman before turning away.

"Sir, I haven’t given you change yet!" the coachman called out loudly to Klein.

"No need!" Klein waved his hand behind him and entered the French Embassy.

"What a generous gentleman!" the coachman couldn’t help but remark, and then drove the carriage away from the French Embassy.

Once inside the embassy, Klein rushed to the telegraph room on the second floor. He pushed open the door and spoke to the operators who were stationed in the telegraph room: "Send a telegram to Marseille immediately. The content of the telegram is as follows: The brave and fearless French Army, under the wise leadership of His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte and the astute command of Marshal Saint Arno and General Pellissier, has now occupied Sevastopol. Long live France! Long live the Empire!"

As soon as Klein finished speaking, the two telegraphers looked at him in astonishment.

"What’s wrong? Send the message! What are you staring at me for?" Klein retorted loudly to the telegraphers.

The telegraphers turned around and began to send the message, and the telegraph room echoed with the sound of "didi da da."

After a while, the two telegraphers stopped and said to Klein, "Done!"

"Right! Also, Marshal Saint Arno has now been admitted to the Constantinople Military District Hospital! That’s also part of the message to be sent!" Klein hastily added to the two telegraphers.

"Yes!"

The diligent telegraphers faithfully transmitted Klein’s words to Marseille without missing a single word.

Having completed this task, Klein turned and left the French Embassy. He still had to report the news to Ambassador Stratford at the British Embassy.

...

When Klein arrived at the doors of the British Embassy, Stratford Canning rose from the sofa to greet Klein and shook hands with him.

"Is it you?" Stratford Canning looked at Klein curiously and asked.

Klein bowed and responded to Stratford Canning, "I have come under orders from Envoy Valvesky to report to you the news from the Rimia Peninsula, Ambassador Canning!"

"Crimea? What happened there?" Stratford Canning asked Klein.

Klein immediately reported to Stratford Canning that the Allied Forces had occupied Sevastopol.

"Really?" Stratford Canning asked Klein excitedly, almost unable to believe the speed of the Allied Forces’ advance.

"Of course!" Klein replied with a confident nod, "This was conveyed personally by Marshal Saint Arno, how could it be fake?"

"Marshal Saint Arno? He’s in Constantinople?" Stratford Canning paused for a few seconds before asking Klein.

"This..." Klein paused for a moment, then smiled mysteriously and said, "Secret!"

Saying this, Klein prepared to leave the British Embassy.

Stratford Canning quickly got up to see Klein to the door, and after watching Klein leave, he turned back into the British Embassy’s telegraph room to convey the message to the telegraphers.

...

About an hour later, the telegraph operator at the Marseille Port sorted out the message from Constantinople and sent it to Paris.

The telegrapher at the Paris General Staff received the two telegrams from Marseille and immediately passed them on to his superior, who then transferred them to Niel, the then Vice Chief of Staff of the French General Staff.

"Quickly prepare a carriage! I need to go to the palace!" With two telegrams in hand, Niel hurriedly ordered his Secretary of State to prepare a carriage to the Tuileries Palace.

About 10 minutes later, the Secretary of State came in to report that the carriage was ready and could depart at any time.

"Let’s go!" Niel swiftly rose from his pearwood chair, and upon exiting the General Staff building, he entered the carriage.

The carriage carrying Brigadier General Nie’er headed towards the Tuileries Palace and soon arrived at the front courtyard of the Tuileries Palace.

As Nie’er got off the carriage, he happened to meet Mokar coming down the steps.

"Mr. Mokar!" Nie’er respectfully said to the grand steward of the royal household.

"General Nie’er, please follow me! His Majesty is still in the study!" Mokar said to Major General Nie’er.

Under Mokar’s guidance, Major General Nie’er arrived at the door of the study.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

After three knocks on the door, Jerome Bonaparte’s voice appeared: "Who is it?"

"Your Majesty, Chief of Staff Nie’er requests an audience!" Mokar said to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Oh, Nie’er! Let him in!" Jerome Bonaparte replied.

"Please come in, General Nie’er!" Mokar made an inviting gesture towards Nie’er.

Nie’er entered the study and saw Jerome Bonaparte working at his desk.

"Your Majesty!" Nie’er bowed and greeted Jerome Bonaparte.

"What’s happening over at the General Staff?" Jerome Bonaparte inquired from Nie’er.

"Nothing!" Nie’er strode over to Jerome Bonaparte’s desk and handed him two telegrams.

"This is..." Jerome Bonaparte flipped through the contents of the two telegrams, and after reading the first one, his expression changed from calm to shocked.

"Is the news accurate?" Jerome Bonaparte raised his head and asked.

"This needs to be confirmed!" Nie’er hesitated for a moment before responding to Jerome Bonaparte, "However, I believe the news should be true!"

"It’s only been about a week since the last battle! Did they capture Sevastopol so quickly?" Jerome Bonaparte murmured softly to himself.

If his memory wasn’t failing him, the historical capture of the Sevastopol Fortress happened around this time next year.

Even if he had strengthened the French Army, it wouldn’t result in such a swift victory!

This victory gave Jerome Bonaparte an unrealistic feeling. He was somewhat suspicious that the French Army in Crimea was prematurely announcing a victory to him.

After all, there was precedent for such things in history, although the country that prematurely announced the capture of the Sevastopol Fortress wasn’t the French Empire, but the Kingdom of Britain.

Could it be that this time it’s the turn of the French Empire Army to prematurely release information?

Thinking of this, Jerome Bonaparte calmed down considerably.

For an empire that hasn’t been established for long, the worst thing is for the government to become the disseminator of rumors, especially rumors that are easily disproved.

Once the rumor is debunked, it will inevitably harm the government’s credibility among the populace.

As the government’s credibility collapses, the citizens living in the empire will also lose their reverence for the government. A government that has lost reverence is destined to be overthrown by the French populace using violent means.

After all, the soil under Jerome Bonaparte’s feet is not the compromise-famous Britain, but France, known for overthrowing incompetent rulers.

The French people have, through their actions, overthrown the reigns of three monarchs (Louis XVI, Charles X, Louis Philippe), earning unanimous "recognition" from all those aspiring to the French throne.

Even Louis XVIII, who prided himself on Bourbon legitimacy and divine right of kings, had to declare peace and heal old wounds the moment he set foot on French soil. This approach earned the Bourbon Dynasty credibility.

Of course, the Bourbon Dynasty’s credibility gradually returned to zero during Charles X’s six years of squander, leading to its overthrow.

Jerome Bonaparte knew that the empire he established probably wasn’t as solid as Louis XVIII’s, with members of the internal opposition suffering relentless suppression and assimilation by Jerome Bonaparte, yet many undercurrents still lurked beneath the calm of Paris, undoubtedly opposing Jerome Bonaparte.

After the Crimean War began, many secretly attacked Jerome Bonaparte, claiming that he waged the war only to curry favor with the Kingdom of Britain by sacrificing the blood of the French people.

Some malicious individuals even claimed that Jerome Bonaparte himself was a puppet of the Kingdom of Britain, and that his every move was manipulated by Britain.

If it weren’t for the recent victory in the Battle of Alma from the Crimea, such vicious attacks would only grow.

Due to the Battle of Alma achieving a phased victory, the empire could leverage this great triumph to carry out precise strikes against a "small amount" of rumor mongers within the empire.

Many of those spreading rumors in secret were directly sent to debt prison by Jerome Bonaparte.

If this news turns out to be true, it will greatly help Jerome Bonaparte establish authority.

On the contrary, if it is false information, the difficultly suppressed undercurrents might surge up again.