Time flies like a fleeting horse, and in the blink of an eye, it was already June 25th.
Amidst the rising enthusiasm of the people in the Rome region to participate in politics and the continuous optimistic news coming from the Austrian region, Pope Pius IX had to step out of the Vatican Palace again and head to St. Peter’s Square under the guard of the Swiss Guards to announce the progress of reforms.
Perellino Rossi, the chief advisor to Pope Pius IX, was appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs by Pope Pius IX and was pushed to the forefront. Perellino Rossi also delivered a joint inaugural speech at St. Peter’s Square, announcing his first set of reform proposals.
In the proposal, Perellino Rossi claimed that considering Rome is currently in an economic slump, rash democratic reforms would only push the Pope State’s economy to the brink of collapse. Therefore, the first thing the government needs to do is economic revitalization, so he will invite the renowned nobles of Rome to discuss strategies for saving the economy.
The strategies concerning politics from that year and whether to implement a National Assembly like in France also need further discussion.
As soon as these words were spoken, a small commotion erupted at St. Peter’s Square, and some republic agitators and ambitious figures standing at the outskirts of St. Petersburg Square were evidently dissatisfied.
However, the commotion did not gain traction like previous demonstrations, and those who attempted to incite the residents at the outskirts of St. Petersburg Square were quickly apprehended by the Swiss Guards.
The reason, however, was that many noble gentlemen with influence in Rome chose to continue observing with satisfaction after hearing Perellino Rossi’s invitation for them to participate in politics.
Without their covert assistance, the republic agitators and potential ambitious figures could achieve nothing.
After the first stage of the reform proposal was explained, Pope Pius IX once again appeared amid cheers filled with people’s attention, publicly pardoning those who sought to incite the crowd at St. Petersburg Square with a tone of world-weary compassion, winning over the hearts of the Roman residents once more.
With the further encouragement of the "water army" hidden among the residents, many citizens, whether genuinely or swept up with the crowd, shouted "Long live the Pope."
Pope Pius IX and Minister Perellino Rossi departed from St. Peter’s Square amid the previous cheers, heading back to the Vatican Palace.
Early the next morning, the mainstream newspapers in Rome all published reports on Perellino Rossi’s speech. Some newspapers even dug up all the information about Perellino Rossi and claimed that since Perellino Rossi hailed from France, he would certainly transform the Pope State into a nation like France.
Everyone in Rome was eagerly anticipating Perellino Rossi’s next move.
Except for Jerome Bonaparte in the Rome hotel.
After 23 days of "closed-door retreat," Jerome Bonaparte finally completed the drafting of the main content of "Catholic Ethics Economics."
Lucien Louis routinely came to Jerome Bonaparte’s hotel residence to help Jerome Bonaparte with proofreading while bringing along newspapers from France.
"Perfect!" Lucien Louis couldn’t help but exclaim again after reading to the end without missing a word.
Jerome Bonaparte looked up and smiled slightly upon hearing Lucien Louis’s praise.
This book, which was the culmination of 19th-century Christian "wisdom," could not possibly have any flaws.
If there was a flaw to speak of, it was the exposition on socialism.
Since the original author’s book was written in the 1920s, during the outbreak period of socialist theory, part of the text was a "refutation" of socialism.
Now, in the mid-19th century, socialist theory was still in its primitive stage, with many theoretical concepts yet to be unveiled.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Jerome Bonaparte deleted various aspects of the content.
The entire book was thus reduced from 260,000 words to around 180,000 words.
Jerome Bonaparte believed that even without this part, "Catholic Managerial Ethics" could still stand as a pillar of Catholic economics.
Putting down the manuscript, Lucien Louis inquired again about Jerome Bonaparte’s views on the political situation in Rome.
"Minister Perellino’s actions are somewhat slow!" Jerome Bonaparte sighed slightly.
"Hmm? Uncle, I think it’s a good sign that His Majesty is willing to reform. A little patience will surely yield results!" Lucien Louis responded optimistically to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Lucien!" Jerome Bonaparte got up and went to the window, followed by Lucien Louis.
Pointing to the Roman citizens outside the window, Jerome Bonaparte said to Lucien Louis, "Lucien, the Pope can wait, and the nobles can wait too! But can they wait? The wave of revolution has already swept across Europe; slow reforms will only lead to more disillusionment with the regime among the impatient public. They can wait for a while, but they cannot wait forever. His Majesty’s first step is already wrong!"
"If it were you, what would you do?" Lucien Louis asked Jerome Bonaparte.
"Either do nothing or be ruthless!" Jerome Bonaparte told Lucien Louis, "If it were me, I would set up a Constitutional Assembly as a facade, then use the peasants’ votes to send clergy into the assembly, thus controlling Rome."
"What if they revolt again?" Lucien Louis inquired again.
"I am waiting for their rebellion!" Jerome Bonaparte said with a sinister expression, "If they don’t revolt, how can I declare them unconstitutional in the name of the law? Then, by issuing an edict declaring the rebels unconstitutional, combined with France’s blade and the countryside’s return groups, they can be...!"
Jerome Bonaparte made a chopping gesture with his hand, with the implied meaning being self-explanatory.
The current situation in the Pope State can no longer be managed by them alone; it requires a major power to forcibly alter Rome’s values with bayonets.
"France... France will help the Pope?" Lucien Louis asked Jerome Bonaparte.
"Look at this, and you’ll understand!" Jerome Bonaparte returned to the desk and handed a newspaper from France to Lucien Louis.
The newspaper contained the content of "The Resolution on Dissolving National Workshops."
"Do you know what this means?" Jerome Bonaparte’s tone was calm yet carried a terrifying undertone.
Lucien Louis shook his head, indicating he did not understand.
"It means that a massacre is about to unfold in Paris. The city officials are tearing off their masks and starting to take action against the workers!"