The letter from Paris was opened by Jerome Bonaparte in a shaded corner.
The sender, as Jerome Bonaparte expected, was his sister Princess Mathilde.
In the letter, Princess Mathilde first reported her safety to Jerome Bonaparte and then described some details of the June Revolution.
After the revolution began, Princess Mathilde, Old Prince Jerome, and some key members of the Bonaparte Party were split into two groups, protected by Bonaparte Party members carrying firearms.
Despite the overall suppression of the revolution in the East District and Southeast District of Paris, Cafenak still risked the disdain of France’s upper class by transferring cannons to the Saint-Germain District.
Many property owners who had participated in the National Guard were forced by Cafenak’s bayonets to fight in lavish clothing, wielding weapons they had never fired.
Even so, they were still regarded as trash by Cafenak.
Princess Mathilde described it in the letter as follows: "During those few days, our Mr. Dictator was in the limelight, former legislators were either beaten or scolded in his presence, and even those gentlemen who frequented high society would come and go at his command."
Although his sister’s account contained some subjective conjecture, Jerome Bonaparte could see from Mathilde’s words that the soldiers under Cafenak made the elite class in the West District quite despise them.
If your actions in Paris make the elite class regard them as useful, your rule is not far from being overthrown.
The two generations of the Bourbon Dynasty are already typical examples.
Jerome Bonaparte continued to read, and Mathilde also mentioned Victor Hugo, claiming that Victor Hugo hoped to have a conversation with him in Paris.
If the conversation goes well, Mr. Hugo would choose to support Jerome.
Jerome Bonaparte clenched his fist, muttering with excitement inside.
Victor Hugo and the moderate Republicans behind him were people Jerome Bonaparte must win over.
If Hugo could rally the voters in the Seine Province to vote for him, he would have a secure base of votes in the Seine Province.
At the end of the envelope, Mathilde mentioned another proposal by Cafenak in the National Assembly on July 4th, suggesting, due to the impact of the June Uprising, that voter restrictions should be imposed, with voters being those who have a certain ability to act.
If this proposal succeeds, it would mean that all the efforts Jerome Bonaparte had made would turn into nothing.
The appeal of the Bonaparte Clan does not have much attraction for the elite class; without the peasants, the Bonaparte Faction would find it difficult to win.
However, Mathilde concluded by saying Cafenak’s proposal was directly denied by a ratio of 50:700.
The Order Party, Republican Faction, and Mountain Party rarely united to deny Cafenak, as they clearly did not want to see Cafenak remain in power.
After reading the letter, Jerome Bonaparte breathed a sigh of relief and tucked the envelope into his chest.
Sister Mathilde’s letter truly caused Jerome Bonaparte’s mood to fluctuate like a roller coaster.
Now, with victory assured, Jerome Bonaparte was just waiting to return to Paris for promotion.
With a settled mind, Jerome Bonaparte returned to the fishing spot.
At this moment, there was an additional elderly man with a kindly face at the fishing place, who was chatting with Charles Bonaparte.
Seeing Jerome Bonaparte arrive, the old man hurriedly greeted him, "Your Majesty Prince, hello! I am Perellino Rossi!"
Jerome Bonaparte’s face showed a trace of surprise, then he solemnly greeted, "Hello, Minister of Internal Affairs!"
After some polite exchanges, Perellino Rossi began to express his purpose to Jerome Bonaparte, "I have come this time to consult with the Prince about some issues!"
"Please speak!" Jerome Bonaparte responded.
Perellino Rossi shared his problem with Jerome Bonaparte.
Since Pope Pius IX announced reforms, Perellino Rossi has been working on them, using his experience from France, notifying limits on election spending, appeasing the elite class, and then attempting to bring in the priestly class to counter the Roman elite class.
However, his reforms had not made any progress; instead, he had found himself stuck in a swamp.
Upon hearing Perellino Rossi’s words, Jerome Bonaparte looked at the man with a peculiar expression; he had even prayed for Pope Pius IX himself, yet His Holiness was still operating with ideas from 1830.
Whose problem was it, his own or the Pope’s?
"Minister, since you admire Lord Guizot so much, I suppose you must have read Mr. Guizot’s ’History of French Civilization’!" Jerome Bonaparte inquired of Perellino Rossi.
"Of course!" Perellino Rossi nodded and said.
"As far as I know, while writing the ’History of French Civilization,’ Mr. Guizot preserved some ideas of Saint-Simonism, which is the part he is most proud of!" Jerome Bonaparte was referring to Guizot’s theory of class struggle.
"But... Mr. Guizot himself did not..." Perellino Rossi responded.
"The situation in the Pope State now is similar to the time of the Great Revolution, with the Third Level challenging the First Level! However, unlike the Great Revolution, most of the peasants within the Third Level are willing to stand with His Holiness the Pope! Given this, why not take their votes and use this system to one’s advantage!!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Perellino Rossi.
"This..." Perellino Rossi hesitated.
"Rome is not the foundation of His Holiness Pope Pius IX; the foundation is in the countryside! Limiting election spending will only exclude those loyal to His Holiness from the system, while some ill-intentioned people will impede reform!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Perellino Rossi.
"His Holiness does not want to lose secular power!" Perellino Rossi whispered.
"In the Pope State, there is no difference between constitutional monarchy and absolute monarchy, as long as one holds the majority! Appropriately releasing signals can ease sharp conflicts!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Perellino Rossi.
After thinking for a long time, Perellino Rossi decided to give it a try.
However, before that, he still had to communicate with the Pope.
At this time, the sky was getting dark, fishing clearly had become mere words, and Jerome Bonaparte and others could only return empty-handed.
On July 15th, having persuaded the Pope, Perellino Rossi began the second round of reforms.
Jerome Bonaparte had no mood to continue following the political situation of the Pope State; upon receiving a letter, he quickly wrote a letter to his "protector" in Paris, General Difuer.