Jerome Bonaparte picked up where Eugène Roué had left off, sweeping his gaze over all the Bonaparte Party Members present and solemnly proclaiming, "Gentlemen, this time we must join forces to crush Cafenak’s conspiracy to overthrow the Republic!"
Jerome Bonaparte spoke righteously to the Bonaparte Party Members about defending the Republic, making those present momentarily believe that he might genuinely be a Republican.
Eugène Roué, standing nearby, quickly added, "At this stage, protecting the Republic’s electoral law system is protecting our interests!"
Recently tasked with handling the newspaper’s publicity, Percy chimed in as well, "Roué is right, maintaining the Republic’s electoral law system is indeed safeguarding our own interests!"
Driven by mutual interests, the Bonaparte Party Members sprang into action.
Even Colonel Demour (retired), who had recently joined them, advised, "Your Highness, we should engage more with those generals who have already made illustrious contributions during the Empire. As I understand, some generals in the military also loathe Cafenak!"
Jerome Bonaparte instantly realized that this old fellow before him was indeed the best channel for liaising with generals leaning towards the Bonaparte Faction.
Having once served as the Emperor’s Aide, he had not been subjected to the Restoration of Bourbon’s purges after the Emperor’s downfall, which was a feat in itself.
Now it seems, after the Restoration Dynasty, Colonel Demour may have maintained some clandestine connections with certain generals.
The phrase "An old house is like a treasure" appeared in Jerome Bonaparte’s mind, making him compare Colonel Demour as his true "life mentor," far more reliable than his irresponsible, cunning father.
"If I have the fortune to converse with those generals who once fought hard for the Empire, I will certainly do my utmost!" Jerome Bonaparte expressed his willingness to embrace those generals who had "betrayed" the Emperor.
Demour nodded in satisfaction and said, "I believe they will be very pleased to pledge allegiance again to the Empire and serve the Emperor’s nephew! Your Highness, I assure you, Cafenak can never command the troops near Paris like the Emperor did!"
Demour’s assurance fueled Jerome Bonaparte’s confidence. As long as Cafenak couldn’t deploy the army to completely upend everything, he would never be able to contend with Jerome Bonaparte.
"We must unite all forces capable of being united to fight against this fellow, Cafenak!" Jerome Bonaparte reiterated the current objective.
"Secretary Percy!" Jerome Bonaparte called out to Percy.
"Your Majesty!" Percy respectfully responded.
"After the meeting, I would trouble you to visit Count Falu’s residence to inform Count Falu of Cafenak’s news!" Jerome Bonaparte commanded Percy.
As an extreme republican, Cafenak clearly would not earn the trust of the Church Faction led by Count Falu. Bringing in the Church Faction and their Orthodox allies could further weaken Cafenak’s ability to control the military, putting him in a bind.
"However, I believe Count Falu will have also heard this news from his allies, so I hope you’ll reinforce our stance in front of Count Falu: resolutely resist Cafenak!" Jerome Bonaparte reminded Percy again.
"Understood!" Percy nodded slightly in agreement.
"Captain Leti!" Jerome Bonaparte called out to Leti.
"Your Majesty!" Leti responded.
"I hope within the next week in Paris to hear rumors of Cafenak wanting to stage a coup!" Jerome Bonaparte unveiled his second weapon: "Rumor."
As soon as the news that Cafenak wanted to stage a coup to dissolve the National Assembly spread far and wide, the National Assembly would naturally hold Cafenak accountable.
Wherever it is applied, the saying "Three men become a tiger" fits perfectly.
Even though Cafenak now holds the reins of military and political power in France, practically, he’s just a man whose political life is counting down.
Expecting cautious officers to risk their heads with Cafenak would be making unreasonable demands.
Moreover, there are also many people like Jerome Bonaparte sowing discord in the military.
By then, Cafenak will face the dilemma of being unable to dispel rumors or use the military to resolve the root of the problems.
"Remember, never let Cafenak catch us doing anything wrong!" Jerome Bonaparte reminded Leti again, as he was very uneasy about the loose Bonaparte alliance.
If he weren’t busy preparing for the election right now, he would surely be restructuring this loose coalition into a party loyal only to him.
Leti nodded to assure that he would handle matters more cautiously.
Jerome Bonaparte delegated their tasks one by one, giving the loosely formed Bonaparte alliance a faint sense of a modern party organization.
After assigning the tasks, it was time for Jerome Bonaparte to paint a vision; he first sketched the blueprint of the future Empire for the Bonaparte Party Members, then subtly indicated that he would lead them toward shared prosperity.
All Bonaparte Party Members were jubilant, as they strived hard for the future promise of rewards matching their current diligent work.
The entire meeting lasted from 5 p.m. to midnight, ending with Bonaparte party members leaving the temporary conference hall in twos and threes.
Only Percy and Eugène Roué remained in the temporary conference hall.
"I noticed during the meeting earlier that you didn’t look well! Tell me, what exactly happened?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Leti and Percy.
"Your Majesty, I didn’t intend to disturb you now..." Percy first apologized to Jerome Bonaparte before explaining his predicament.
Ever since Percy was appointed by Jerome Bonaparte to be responsible for the Bonaparte Newspaper, he has been dedicated to performing his job well.
From purchasing the newspaper to finding recognized printers and seeking channels to sell newspapers and collaborate with "friendly competitors," Percy had personally managed everything, with valuable help from Achille Fuld amid it all.
However, just a few days ago, several bureaucrats assigned to review newspapers under the Ministry of Commerce came to the newspaper office intending to shut it down, citing procedural illegality.
Fortunately, Percy promptly revealed his identity, causing those bureaucrats to leave in embarrassment.
However, the matter didn’t end there. Early the next morning, several printers begged Percy to forgive them, willing to bear his losses.
After Percy’s careful questioning, the printing boss hesitantly revealed that some bigwigs did not want the newspaper to survive.
Things didn’t stop there, as the "friendly competitor" also came knocking yesterday, seeking to sever ties with Percy.
This plunged Percy into a complete predicament.