The carriage, under De Reina’s guidance, traveled eastward along the banks of the Loire River, quickly reaching the outskirts of the eastern side of Tours City, from where they would enter the city center from the east.
Even before officially entering the city, De Reina eagerly pointed to the opposite bank of the Loire River and said to Jero Bonaparte, "Mr. President, look over there!"
Following De Reina’s finger, Jero Bonaparte saw an octagonal tower situated in the hillside opposite the bank of the Loire River. Behind the octagonal tower was a faintly visible pink building, which seed to be the residence of a noble.
"Mayor De Reina, what is that place?" Jero Bonaparte, not yet familiar with the history of Tours City, asked.
"Mr. President, that is the Chateau de Cloux!" De Reina, with an expression of pride, said to Jero Bonaparte, "It was once the residence of François I and Da Vinci. In his later years, Da Vinci was invited by King of France François I to spend his final three years in Tours, and it was also in that castle that he passed away, in the arms of François I."
Although Jero Bonaparte was not familiar with which king François I was, the na of Da Vinci is sothing every student who studied the European Renaissance in high school history must know.
If the Middle Ages represented the darkness under Church rule, then the Renaissance was undoubtedly the sharp blade that pierced through the darkness.
Whether it was the Protestantism in Prussia or the Anglican Church in Britain, both were intricately linked with the Renaissance, and figures like Da Vinci were part of the sharp blade of the Renaissance, while the printing technique brought by Arab scholars beca an important tool in shattering Catholicism’s ideology. Originally aiding the printing of indulgences, it beca the main culprit for the schism of Catholicism.
After the Renaissance, Protestantism further directed Britain’s transformation into capitalism as a significant driving force.
More ironically, when the Ottoman Empire, the "origin" of printing, saw Catholicism splitting due to the spread of printing, and Protestant and Catholic conflicts in Germany and Britain, it decisively ordered a strict investigation of printing presses. It thus avoided falling into "division."
"Tours is indeed a remarkable city!" Jero Bonaparte exclaid.
"Not only that, but Tours was also the royal land of the forr Valois dynasty!" De Reina vividly described the history of Tours City to Jero Bonaparte, from Charles Martel of the Frankish Palace Minister defeating the Arab Alliance Army in Tours to the period of the Great Revolution when Tours served as a base against the Vendée rebel troops. In short, Tours is an indispensable and irreplaceable part of the entire western France.
Jero Bonaparte listened intently to De Reina’s description of Tours, nodding now and then at Mayor De Reina.
Encouraged by Jero Bonaparte, Mayor De Reina enthusiastically recounted the developnt history of the Tours region, including how Tours evolved from a prosperous textile area to the flourishing agricultural city it is today.
In De Reina’s words, Tours is a city that could not be more perfect.
"If the Valois dynasty hadn’t ended without heirs, the capital of France would definitely be Tours!" De Reina confidently said to Jero Bonaparte.
"Hmm! I think so too!" Jero Bonaparte perfunctorily replied, internally dismissive of De Reina’s boasting about Tours. While Tours may outshine the western region of France and earn the na "Black Pearl of the West," the thought of comparing it to Paris should be dispelled as soon as possible.
History has proven that it’s a general trend for Paris to be the heart of all of France, even though generations of French kings intentionally tried to limit Paris’s local population, Paris attracted people from surrounding areas due to its advantageous geographical location.
So much so that kings from the ti of Louis XIII had to first suppress Parisians before they could control the entire France.
The relationship between Paris and the outer provinces was similarly close to hostility. Every ti there was a Paris uprising, the French rulers would choose to dispatch troops from the outer provinces to suppress Paris. Every suppression required Parisian blood to flood the streets of Paris before the frenzy could be alleviated.
Louis XVI, due to his own weak personality and unwillingness to suppress the people of Paris as his great-grandfather did, ultimately resulted in his being sent to the gallows.
After the Great Revolution, Paris’s political and economic status even more suppressed France’s second and third largest cities.
"Therefore, Mr. President!" De Reina finally revealed his ambition, "I hope under your leadership, Tours can beco the leader of the western region! The citizens of Tours will loyally follow Your Majesty the President!"
Oh, so that’s the trick! I was wondering why there was so much praise for Tours.
Jero Bonaparte instantly understood Mayor De Reina’s intention.
If Paris were to be the hub of French Railways (the primary and only hub), then De Reina undoubtedly hoped that Tours could beco the secondary hub second only to France.
Once Tours becos the transportation hub for the entire western France, Tours will inevitably beco increasingly prosperous because of the flow of goods.
One could say the entire West would beco a blood supply for Tours.
Of course, this does not an Tours itself is an incapable entity.
Otherwise, Tours wouldn’t be among the first few places to open to traffic.
[PS: According to an unreliable rumor, it is said that when Pri Minister Thiers was planning the western railway, he received a "donation" from the Tours business community. Of course, afterward, Pri Minister Thiers denied receiving any so-called black money, stating that all were rumors.]
Although Jero Bonaparte was inclined to make Tours the hub of the western railway, he couldn’t disclose his preference to Mayor De Reina just yet.
Seeing Jero Bonaparte remaining silent for a long ti, Mayor De Reina couldn’t help but feel a bit agitated and uneasy.
In order to gain Jero Bonaparte’s support, Mayor De Reina even openly hinted to Jero Bonaparte that as long as the people of Tours could gain the dominant position in the western railway, they would unwaveringly support President Jero Bonaparte’s coup.
Since the trial on July 1, 1849, of Lederer Roland and others for "counter-revolutionary" activities, a wave of public opinion has mysteriously erged, claiming that the President and the leader of the majority party (Order Party) were about to launch a coup and then and the constitution.
This wave of public opinion not only prevailed in Paris but also spread to several nearby provinces. To quell the rumors, Jero Bonaparte had to travel between the provinces near Paris from August 10 onwards to "clear up" misunderstandings and strive to gain the support of provinces surrounding Paris.
After all, Jero Bonaparte was not yet ready to execute a coup plan, yet public opinion had already pushed him to the height of coup montum.
If he didn’t calm the public opinion himself, continuing with the coup would be very difficult.
The coup itself was sothing relying on the cover of secrecy to conduct.
Once exposed, every move you make will be under public scrutiny, making it significantly harder to initiate a coup.
"Mayor De Reina, I am loyal to the constitution of the Republic!" Jero Bonaparte harshly reprimanded De Reina: "Although the current system has more or less its flaws, they can be improved. Therefore, you must believe in the future, stop thinking about a coup, and don’t attempt to gain sothing through a coup. I, Jero Bonaparte, can swear to the Loire River, I am loyal to the constitution of the Republic, loyal to the people of France all my life! I must also tell you that a coup has no excuse, and riots have no possibility! Anyone who tries to oppose the people of France will have no good end!"
Jero Bonaparte’s firm stance against the coup made Mayor De Reina feel like he might have misunderstood the President.
Sitting to the right of Jero Bonaparte, Percy wore a faint smile, knowing from his more than a year of working with Jero Bonaparte that such oaths had no binding force on him.
Mr. President is an opportunist as realistic as one can be.
"Mr. President, I apologize for my earlier remarks!" De Reina feigned embarrassnt and said, "However, I still hope you will consider my request!"
"Hmm! I will consider it!" Jero Bonaparte nodded at De Reina in response.
The carriage entered the city center, and people on the street looked toward Jero Bonaparte and his personal guards.
In the carriage, Jero Bonaparte also waved to the residents outside the carriage.
Under the arrangent of De Reina, Jero Bonaparte and Percy were accommodated in a dieval-style inn.
"Mr. President, please rest here for a while! The people of Tours (here referring to the nobles and property owners) will et with you tomorrow!" Mayor De Reina said to Jero Bonaparte.
"I am eagerly looking forward to eting the notable gentlen of Tours!" Jero Bonaparte replied to Mayor De Reina with a smile.
After Mayor De Reina departed, several local reporters from Tours, who had been prepared in advance, stationed themselves at the front of the inn, hoping to interview Jero Bonaparte.
However, before they could approach the inn, they were stopped by the President’s guards stationed at the entrance.
Not long after, the President’s aide Conrobel appeared at the doorway, pointing at the reporters crouched by the entrance, saying: "Mr. President invites you for a face-to-face conversation!"
Led by Conrobel, the newspaper reporters entered the upper floor of the inn, which was where Jero Bonaparte’s room was located.
"Please, co in!" Conrobel opened the door to Jero Bonaparte’s room, where Jero Bonaparte was seated on a pogranate-red velvet chair, and opposite him were several chairs, matching the number of reporters.
"Please, take a seat, gentlen!" Jero Bonaparte invited the reporters to sit.
"Thank you, Mr. President!" The reporters also courteously greeted Jero Bonaparte.
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