Make France Great Again

After Valerovsky brought Marcel Yale in front of Jerome Bonaparte, he wisely took his leave. Being well-versed in court politics, he wouldn't meddle excessively in tasks beyond his authority like Percy. People like Valerovsky, who are aware of their limits, often gain more favor from their leaders.

If not for the lack of qualified diplomatic talents under his command, Jerome Bonaparte wouldn't have considered sending Valerovsky to Britain.

Among the Bonaparte Faction, besides De Luy and Valerovsky, there were no other diplomatic personnel worth mentioning. And with De Luy himself serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, every move he made would be overly scrutinized by the outside world.

If he were to visit the United Kingdom, there would likely be rumors on the second day about France collaborating with Britain.

Unless Jerome Bonaparte chose to dismiss De Luy, however, finding someone to replace De Luy in his role would indeed be difficult.

Surely, Percy couldn't take on De Luy's position!

Compared to De Luy, Valerovsky was evidently a better choice.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty!"

Marcel Yale's voice pulled Jerome Bonaparte back from his contemplation. Without expression, Jerome Bonaparte glanced at Marcel Yale and inquired about the recent progress regarding the East and the restructuring of the National Intelligence Bureau.

Marcel Yale reported the progress to Jerome Bonaparte one by one.

The list of personnel heading East had been drafted, with the majority undergoing immersive French education, striving to depart for the East by the end of the year.

Compared to the progress in the East, the organizational restructuring of the National Intelligence Bureau experienced some challenges.

After all, this was also Marcel Yale's first attempt. From Marcel Yale's description, Jerome Bonaparte discovered some conflicts had arisen between the functional organs of the National Intelligence Bureau.

"Marcel, why don't you establish a department specifically for collecting foreign intelligence and another for domestic intelligence! This way, the conflict and internal friction between the two departments would be significantly reduced!" Jerome Bonaparte suggested to Marcel Yale.

In later generations, any slightly mature organizational structure would have internal and external departments strictly delineated to relatively properly resolve issues.

Of course, collisions between departments weren't excluded at times, such as with the future FBI and CIA.

After pondering for a moment, Marcel Yale expressed to Jerome Bonaparte that he would definitely adopt Jerome Bonaparte's suggestion.

"By the way! How many informants have you deployed in the embassies across Paris?" Jerome Bonaparte finally posed the main question.

"Your Majesty, lately we've focused on monitoring the informants planted in Paris by other countries, so this aspect of the work is just getting underway!" Marcel Yale responded to Jerome Bonaparte with some trepidation.

"Just getting underway?" Jerome Bonaparte raised his voice, looking furious: "I have given you ample preparation time and allocated a large amount of funding. Yet you tell me it's just getting started!"

"It's my oversight that has led to the current situation!" Marcel Yale immediately admitted his fault to Jerome Bonaparte, understanding that the leader sought not an explanation but an attitude: "I voluntarily resign from my position as Director of the National Intelligence Bureau!"

"Hmph!" Jerome Bonaparte snorted coldly and said dismissively: "Mr. Marcel, do you think you can threaten me with your resignation?"

"Mr. President, I am not trying to threaten anyone. I am ashamed of my neglect! I have failed to live up to your trust in me!" Marcel Yale emphasized repeatedly that it was his mistake.

"Mr. Marcel, your position has now changed to Acting Director. You should understand my intention!" Jerome Bonaparte decided to administer a minor reprimand to Marcel Yale, as it was unwise to change the National Intelligence Bureau at this stage.

"Your Majesty, I will do my utmost to make amends for my mistake!" Marcel Yale promptly expressed his position to Jerome Bonaparte upon seeing the situation.

"Now, a task for you!" Having concluded the reprimand, Jerome Bonaparte didn't dwell on Marcel Yale's issue further. He commanded Marcel Yale: "From now on, closely monitor the movements of the Russian Empire Embassy. I need updates on the embassy's activities as soon as possible."

"Yes! Your Majesty!" Grateful for escaping severe punishment, Marcel Yale eagerly assured Jerome Bonaparte that he would follow the orders.

"And!" Jerome Bonaparte continued: "Other issues must not be neglected. If you say you can't complete other tasks because of monitoring the Russian Empire Embassy, you might as well not be the Director of the National Intelligence Bureau!"

"I'll complete it as soon as possible!" Marcel Yale immediately responded.

"External liaison points must remain concealed, and intelligence should preferably be conducted via single-line communication! This way, we can effectively protect our intelligence network from being compromised!" Jerome Bonaparte advised Marcel Yale once more.

"Understood!" Marcel Yale suddenly realized the President seemed to understand espionage better than himself, gaining new insights every time he was summoned.

"If an additional budget is needed, you can inform Valerovsky! Money often plays a crucial role in intelligence warfare." Jerome Bonaparte paused, emphasizing: "But do not excessively rely on money. Always be cautious; those we can buy with money might also be bought by others!"

Marcel Yale nodded in acknowledgment.

"Alright, you can go back and rest!" Jerome Bonaparte issued the dismissal order to Marcel Yale.

After Marcel Yale left, an exhausted Jerome Bonaparte decided to stay overnight at the Tuileries Palace.

Lying on the soft bed in the Tuileries Palace, Jerome Bonaparte was restless and couldn't fall asleep, his mind filled with thoughts, until the sky gradually whitened and a ray of sunlight draped over the Tuileries Palace, and only then did Jerome Bonaparte fall asleep.

Early the next morning.

A large number of anti-Bonaparte newspapers, such as the "Constitutional Newspaper," "National Office," and "Observation" (a newspaper founded by Proudhon), rushed to report on Jerome Bonaparte's banquet at the Tuileries Palace, with the articles uniformly depicting Jerome Bonaparte as an ambitious president.

Among them, Proudhon's newspaper was the most straightforward: "The old Bonaparte is dead, the new Bonaparte will come with a face of socialism. Perhaps before long, we will see a socialist Emperor."

Due to some Orthodox and Orléans factions favoring Bonaparte, the article in the "Constitutional Newspaper" euphemistically referred to Jerome Bonaparte as the "Dictator of Paris."

To the surprise of all who opposed Jerome Bonaparte, such reports did not cause much of a stir among the Parisians.

The long-standing "Wolf! Wolf!" effect has already caused Parisians to develop a kind of aesthetic fatigue; some onlookers who wished for more chaos even shouted, "He should have ascended the throne long ago."

When Jerome Bonaparte woke up again and saw the contents of the anti-Bonaparte newspapers placed by his bedside, he couldn't help but silently thank those newspapers opposing him in his heart.

It was precisely because they tirelessly hyped that he was about to launch a coup that the entire citizenry of Paris no longer wished to believe these rumors.

The threshold of the Parisians had been repeatedly raised by the anti-Bonaparte newspapers, to the point where even if a coup really occurred one day, the Parisians would likely not react at all.

It's time to test the attitude of the Parisians!

Jerome Bonaparte made up his mind to quickly complete the trial before the coup.

Upon leaving the bedroom, Jerome Bonaparte called Valerovsky over once more.

"Your Majesty!" Valerovsky responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Cousin, you..." Jerome Bonaparte conveyed his plan to Valerovsky.

Upon hearing Jerome Bonaparte's plan, Valerovsky showed a startled expression.

"Is there a problem?" Jerome Bonaparte inquired of Valerovsky.

"No!" Valerovsky shook his head, then said hesitantly, "Are we really going to... so soon?"

"Cousin!" Jerome Bonaparte patted Valerovsky's shoulder and said earnestly, "We only have a little more than a year. If we don't speed up our actions, I'm afraid we'll have to consider leaving in disgrace! We cannot fight unprepared battles! Besides, this is just a test!"

Valerovsky followed Jerome Bonaparte's instructions, took a carriage, and left the Tuileries Palace to head to the Havas News Agency, where he met with the director Charles Havas.

"Secretary General Valerovsky, what task does the President have for us?" Charles Havas eagerly inquired of Valerovsky.

"You..." Valerovsky relayed Jerome Bonaparte's task.

"The President... no! His Majesty is finally going to..." Charles Havas exclaimed with an excited tone.

"That's right!" Valerovsky nodded, agreeing with Charles Havas's guess, and then said, "Your Havas News Agency, after so many years of development, has already established many branches in France, so this operation is most suitable for you!"

"Please rest assured, Mr. President, we will certainly complete the task entrusted by the President!" Charles Havas's aged voice revealed determination.

That afternoon, the Paris headquarters of the Havas News Agency issued orders to its subsidiary news agencies.

Branches located in France's secondary cities (such as Lyon) worked overtime to print.

On October 8th, an article titled "Open Letter to the People of France" spread throughout all of France.

The signature of the article's author was none other than Jerome Bonaparte, the President of the French Republic.