Jero Bonaparte used brief words to directly shut down all of Cavour’s remarks that could be detrintal to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Since his own boss regarded the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as a harmless country, what reason did he have to prevent his boss from continuing to recruit followers?
Cavour certainly couldn’t simply make unfounded claims against the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, insinuating they had ulterior motives!
Now, the only thing Cavour could do was to leave a good impression on Jero Bonaparte, striving to have Jero Bonaparte lean as much as possible towards them.
"Your Majesty, we did not co here to compete with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. On the contrary, we are pleased to see more and more countries building friendly relations with you. Ensuring peace in Europe is indispensable without the cooperation of European countries. anwhile, we deeply regret not having witnessed your coronation ceremony!" Cavour skillfully congratulated Jero Bonaparte with impeccable political language.
"Thank you, Sardinian Kingdom, for recognizing the French Empire! The French Empire sincerely wishes the Sardinian Kingdom to thrive!" Jero Bonaparte casually replied, his attitude evidently more indifferent compared to the last eting.
If not for the proactive flattery of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Jero Bonaparte might still have entertained Cavour with false pretenses.
Currently, the French Empire’s dependencies on the Apennine Peninsula were not limited to just the Sardinian Kingdom, lowering the Sardinian Kingdom’s significance in Jero Bonaparte’s mind by a notch.
Besides, the Sardinian Kingdom itself occasionally liked to make big headlines, and Jero Bonaparte really didn’t want to be cornered into a confrontation by the Sardinian Kingdom one day.
Jero Bonaparte was quite willing to recruit followers, but he could not be led by them.
Cavour also detected the indifference in Jero Bonaparte’s words, further intensifying his anxiety.
Should the French Emperor truly be won over by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, what awaited the Sardinian Kingdom and the Italian nation would only be eternal division.
Cavour was a staunch nationalist for the Italian nation, but he was also a loyal moderate monarchist, convinced that only the Sardinian Kingdom could unify the Apennine Peninsula.
To complete the Apennine Peninsula blueprint in his heart, he was willing to sacrifice everything.
Thinking of this, Cavour decided to bring out his "secret weapon," and gritting his teeth, he said, "Your Majesty, our king has specially ordered to present you with a gift as an apology for not being able to attend the coronation!"
Emphasizing the word "gift," Cavour unintentionally piqued Jero Bonaparte’s interest a bit.
Although the Sardinian Kingdom was only a dium-strength kingdom, the Savoy Clan was indeed a royal family with a long history, and perhaps they possessed rare treasures.
However, Jero Bonaparte still didn’t hold much hope that the Savoy Clan could present sothing that would genuinely capture his interest.
For Jero Bonaparte, whether it be marriage with the Savoy Clan or vying for the throne for the Bonaparte Clan, it was not as important as the throne beneath him.
Excessive expansion would only draw the gaze of Europe back onto France, making France’s progress difficult.
Moreover, what right did he have to use his throne (the French Empire) to contend for the Bonaparte Clan’s throne (Central Italy Kingdom)?
The absurdity of the Bonaparte Clan should just switch early on to being idle parasites.
Jero Bonaparte suddenly realized that since he beca the Emperor of the French Empire, the ambition of the entire Bonaparte Clan had also grown, with many mbers of the Bonaparte Clan starting to harbor unrealistic fantasies that Jero Bonaparte could invade the Rhine Land, flatten Italy, and reclaim the throne they had lost once more.
For such people, Jero Bonaparte was simply too lazy to pay attention.
Those not destined to be kings, yet forcibly attempting to beco kings, would only lead to a dead end.
"You truly shouldn’t have gone to such expense!" Jero Bonaparte continued to fully express his "shalessness" and said, "Please convey my gratitude to King Victor (Emmanuel II)!"
Afterward, Jero Bonaparte displayed an eager expression, impatiently wanting to see what the "gift" looked like.
"Your Majesty, please wait a mont! The gift will arrive at your ball tomorrow!" Cavour replied to Jero Bonaparte.
"Good!" Jero Bonaparte nodded and replied to Cavour, "I’m looking forward to your gift!"
Subsequently, Jero Bonaparte and Cavour had a further conversation about the Apennine Peninsula, during which Cavour continually probed Jero Bonaparte’s attitude towards the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and even subtly hinted at the connection between Henry V and the Bourbon-Two Sicilies Branch.
For such a clumsy incitent by Cavour, Jero Bonaparte rely smiled it away.
Between national interest and monarchical sentint, Jero Bonaparte had reason to believe that Ferdinand II would place the forr above the latter.
Otherwise, Ferdinand II would not have dispatched the crown prince to communicate with the French Empire at all.
In the realm of orthodoxy, Jero Bonaparte is still a complete usurper.
In this exchange under the guise of "literature," Jero Bonaparte and Cavour did not reach any substantial exchange of opinions, spending most of the ti rely perfunctorily dealing with each other.
A fatigued Cavour, after bidding farewell to Jero Bonaparte, took a carriage back to the high-end hotel next to the French Embassy where Sardinia’s diplomatic mission was staying.
All mbers who ca to France this ti were staying in this hotel. As he just entered his hotel room without changing out of his tight, painful suit, he heard a knock on the door.
Cavour had to change back into his suit to open the door. Standing there was a slightly petite girl about 13 or 14 years old, dressed in a light blue dress with a pink feather in her hair. Despite her young age, she possessed an unusually beautiful face, a slender waist, and breasts that seed inappropriate for her age, driving mature n wild with desire.
"Cousin!" She gracefully saluted Cavour, who was nearly 30 years her senior, addressing him as cousin.
Indeed, she was Cavour’s "secret weapon" and an essential part of his plan for the revival of a unified Italy.
This "secret weapon" was originally intended to be presented to Jero Bonaparte a few years later, but it seed that he had to use it now.
"Cousin!" Count Cavour looked solemnly at his 13-year-old distant cousin. "The ti has co for the Sardinian Kingdom to need you! I will send you to the Tuileries Palace tomorrow, before the Emperor!"
"I understand!" The "cousin" nodded, and in a voice like a warbler’s, responded to Cavour.
"I wish you success, my cousin, you must succeed by any ans..." Count Cavour’s expression was unusually dignified, as if his "cousin" was about to accomplish sothing great.
The "cousin" nodded once again to indicate understanding.
The next evening, the ball at the Tuileries Palace officially began. Jero Bonaparte arrived wearing the Emperor’s casual attire, and beside him was Francesco II, dressed in a magnificent Rococo-style costu.
Recently, the Emperor of the French Empire frequently enjoyed having this foreign prince by his side, imparting knowledge from ti to ti.
If not for the relatively small age difference between the two, many might have mistaken Francesco II as Jero Bonaparte’s illegitimate son.
Under the guidance of Jero Bonaparte, Francesco II indeed showed so improvent, at least no longer as timid as before, with growing respect for Jero Bonaparte in his heart.
Jero Bonaparte was also pleased to maintain this master-disciple-like friendship, for the friendship of monarchs was often just like this.
"Rember, all the actions of a monarch must align with his position! For instance, I am now attending a non-typical aristocratic ball!" Jero Bonaparte, paying no heed to others’ views, pointed to so attendees at the ball and told Francesco II, "Most of them are France’s industrial and comrcial giants who rose during the Empire period! When dealing with them, there’s no need to be overly complicated. Just understand their needs.
When you can’t et everyone’s demands, you must sacrifice the interests of so to satisfy others. That’s the key to maintaining stability!"
Francesco II gazed at these people clad in various types of "strange costus," seemingly gaining so insights.
"Go! Try to imrse yourself with them, you might gain sothing from them!" Jero Bonaparte gestured generously with his hand to encourage him.
After parting ways with Francesco II, Jero Bonaparte soon t Cavour again, and he approached him casually, saying, "Mr. Cavour, we et again!"
"Your Majesty," Cavour responded respectfully, "The gift has already arrived at the ball!"
"Hmm?" Jero Bonaparte showed a puzzled expression, seeing nothing but people around, "You can’t possibly an that your prepared gift is among the crowd!"
"Your Majesty, please look!" Cavour gestured to the distance.
Following the direction of Cavour’s hand, Jero Bonaparte seed to see a fairy in a blue dress slowly walking towards him.
For a mont, Jero Bonaparte doubted whether he had entered a different world.
Could he have suddenly been transported to so fantasy world?
With her stunning appearance and curvaceous figure, the "cousin" successfully attracted Jero Bonaparte’s attention, as well as that of all the gentlen at the ball.
Many n wanted to invite her to dance, but they were politely declined.
The "cousin" approached Jero Bonaparte and extended her soft, fair hand to introduce herself, "Your Majesty, my na is Virginia Oldoini!"
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