Jero Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II conversed energetically, as if they were old friends who hadn’t t in years.
After a brief exchange, Victor Emmanuel II pointed to Lamamor beside him and said to Jero Bonaparte, "Jero, this is Lamamor!"
Lamamor quickly stood upright and answered solemnly, "Your Majesty!"
Jero Bonaparte glanced at Lamamor with a friendly smile and said warmly, "Marshal Lamamor, it’s been almost 4 or 5 years since we last t!"
"Indeed!" Lamamor replied respectfully to Jero Bonaparte, "Ever since the Crian battle ended thoroughly, I haven’t had the chance to et Your Majesty again!"
"The battle in Cria, the Sardinian army you led truly left a deep impression on !" In front of Victor Emmanuel II, Jero Bonaparte offered a small complint to Lamamor, "Victor, you weren’t there, you don’t know how critical the situation was back then!"
If it wasn’t for the first wave of stubborn resistance by the Sardinian troops led by Lamamor against the Russian Army, our subsequent forces could very well have been completely overwheld by the continuous Russian Imperial Army.
It was precisely Lamamor’s persistence that enabled our successive victories!"
Upon hearing Jero Bonaparte’s praise in front of him, Lamamor’s face turned slightly red.
In fact, Sardinia’s battle on the Crian Peninsula wasn’t as resilient as Jero Bonaparte described.
Especially in the battle at Inkman Mountain, the Sardinian army faced a sweeping multitude of Russian troops, nearly leading to an epic defeat.
If not for the tily rescue by the French Army at the ti, Lamamor’s troops would have been dood.
Though Lamamor later exaggerated his army’s role in the report submitted to Victor Emmanuel II, he didn’t boast as much as Jero Bonaparte.
And Victor Emmanuel II, with a shocked look in his eyes, seed to be asking, what was going on with your previous report.
"Your Majesty, you are exaggerating!" Lamamor modestly said, "Throughout the Crian War, the French Army you led was always the mainstay!
We were rely following behind the French Army, playing a supporting role."
"Lamamor, not everyone can play a supporting role!" Jero Bonaparte shook his head and said to Lamamor, then shifted the conversation and asked, "By the way, I heard recently that you’ve beco the Pri Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and I’m truly happy for you!
In my opinion, only generals like you who are loyal, or scholars as knowledgeable as Cavour, can bring real peace to the Kingdom of Sardinia!
Excessively indulging liberalism and extre nationalism will only lead the country into an irretrievable quagmire!"
Victor Emmanuel II’s face showed a touch of embarrassnt, and upon hearing Jero Bonaparte’s words, Lamamor’s face revealed an excited expression.
"Jero, you’re right!" After the awkward mont, Victor Emmanuel II nodded and responded to Jero Bonaparte, "Recently, the Kingdom of Sardinia’s relationship with the French Empire fell into a deadlock precisely because of the excessive indulgence of extre nationalists!
Here, I must apologize on behalf of the Kingdom of Sardinia to you!"
After speaking, Victor Emmanuel II made a gesture to bow and apologize to Jero Bonaparte.
Jero Bonaparte quickly supported Victor Emmanuel II with his hand, kindly saying to him, "Victor, everyone in this world makes mistakes! As long as we can promptly correct errors before they cause major problems!"
"But now, our past mistakes have already caused dissatisfaction from the Austrian Empire!" Victor Emmanuel smoothly guided the conversation to the conflict between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia, "Currently, the Austrian Empire has deployed tens of thousands of military forces at the border!"
"The purpose of my visit this ti is precisely for this matter!" Jero Bonaparte paused for a mont, then continued with a calm tone, "However, I think discussing these topics here might not be appropriate!"
Victor Emmanuel II imdiately realized that they were not in the Turin Royal Palace, but at the Turin Railway Station.
Where does one discuss serious matters at a train station!
Victor Emmanuel II had to temporarily abandon this topic and invited Jero Bonaparte to join him in a carriage to the Turin Royal Palace, where his son and daughter had already prepared a welcoming ceremony for Jero Bonaparte.
When Victor Emmanuel II ntioned this, his face grew slightly embarrassed.
Once, he followed Cavour’s advice and introduced his daughter to Valerovsky, hoping to form a matrimonial alliance with Jero Bonaparte.
Unfortunately, the alliance did not succeed; if it had, the position of the Kingdom of Sardinia would have been considerably improved.
Victor Emmanuel II casually let his thoughts wander.
Standing beside him, Jero Bonaparte, upon hearing Victor Emmanuel II’s words, likewise thought of Victor Emmanuel II’s eldest daughter.
In history, she beca "his" wife, and the Sardinian Kingdom leveraged this marriage to successfully unify the entire Kingdom of Italy.
Unfortunately, due to a tiny, minuscule change, Jero Bonaparte’s life experienced significant shifts.
Jero Bonaparte, who sat on the Emperor of the Empire’s throne, and Victor Emmanuel’s daughter’s paths have now beco unrelated parallel lines.
Thinking of this, Jero Bonaparte sighed lightly and said, "Let’s go!"
Victor Emmanuel II did not understand why Jero Bonaparte suddenly sighed, but he did not dwell on it.
Under Victor Emmanuel II’s lead, Jero Bonaparte departed the railway station and then boarded the sa carriage as Victor Emmanuel II.
anwhile, Lamamor, Nie’er, and others climbed onto several other carriages to proceed.
After Jero Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II were seated, the carriage accelerated along the gas-lit road.
Sitting in the carriage, Jero Bonaparte gazed dreamily at the scenery that continued to recede.
Soon, Jero Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II arrived at the vicinity of the Turin Royal Palace.
Once the carriage entered through the outer gates, it began to decelerate slowly, ultimately coming to a complete stop upon reaching the Turin Royal Palace.
"Let’s go!" said Victor Emmanuel II, seated near the main door, as he pushed open the carriage door and stepped down. Jero Bonaparte also promptly followed suit, disembarking.
At the sa ti, inside the hall of the Turin Royal Palace, Princess Maria Clotilde, presiding over the eting, upon hearing the butler report the arrival of Victor Emmanuel II and Jero Bonaparte, spoke gracefully to the surrounding guests, "Ladies and gentlen, both Majesties have arrived!
Please follow to welco them!"
The guests present followed the Queen in departure, and upon stepping out of the hall, they imdiately saw Jero Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II at the foot of the stairs.
"Command the band to play!" Princess Maria Clotilde softly said to the butler beside her. Upon hearing Clotilde’s command, the butler swiftly began to act.
The elegant lody emanated from behind Princess Clotilde, and songs from the First Empire era, crossing decades, resonated once more throughout the Turin Royal Palace.
At the foot of the stairs, upon hearing the song from the First Empire, Jero Bonaparte raised his head to glance at the people atop the staircase, quickly focusing on the foremost lady and curling his lips into a slight smile.
Subsequently, Jero Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II ascended the stairs and stood before Maria Clotilde.
"Your Majesty!" Princess Maria Clotilde formally curtsied to Jero Bonaparte.
Jero Bonaparte carefully examined his "wife" before him—the full and gentle cheeks, slightly prominent nose, coupled with the pinned-up hair, lent Princess Maria Clotilde a touch less of juvenility and more of maturity.
Unfortunately, this maturity looked strikingly incongruous on Maria Clotilde’s 15-year-old physique.
"Um!" Jero Bonaparte spoke lightly, "You must be Maria Clotilde!"
"Your Majesty, I am Maria Clotilde! Daughter of King Victor Emmanuel!" Maria Clotilde replied gracefully to Jero Bonaparte.
"I know!" Jero Bonaparte nodded, then praised Victor Emmanuel II, "Victor, you are truly blessed to have such an understanding daughter!"
Victor Emmanuel II smiled with pursed lips, a hint of pride revealing between his brows.
Afterward, under Maria Clotilde’s lead, Jero Bonaparte entered the hall,
Victor Emmanuel II once again introduced him to other mbers of his family, which included the future "King of Italy" Umberto I, the future "King of Spain" Amadeo Ferdinand Maria, and the future Queen of Portugal Maria Pia, among others.
Once the family introduction was completed, Victor Emmanuel II proceeded to mingle with Jero Bonaparte amongst the crowd, introducing him to the attendees of the banquet.
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