Ti flies like a fleeting horse, and in the blink of an eye, it was already June 25th.
Amidst the rising enthusiasm of the people in the Ro region to participate in politics and the continuous optimistic news coming from the Austrian region, Pope Pius IX had to step out of the Vatican Palace again and head to St. Peter’s Square under the guard of the Swiss Guards to announce the progress of reforms.
Perellino Rossi, the chief advisor to Pope Pius IX, was appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs by Pope Pius IX and was pushed to the forefront. Perellino Rossi also delivered a joint inaugural speech at St. Peter’s Square, announcing his first set of reform proposals.
In the proposal, Perellino Rossi claid that considering Ro is currently in an economic slump, rash democratic reforms would only push the Pope State’s economy to the brink of collapse. Therefore, the first thing the governnt needs to do is economic revitalization, so he will invite the renowned nobles of Ro to discuss strategies for saving the economy.
The strategies concerning politics from that year and whether to implent a National Assembly like in France also need further discussion.
As soon as these words were spoken, a small commotion erupted at St. Peter’s Square, and so republic agitators and ambitious figures standing at the outskirts of St. Petersburg Square were evidently dissatisfied.
However, the commotion did not gain traction like previous demonstrations, and those who attempted to incite the residents at the outskirts of St. Petersburg Square were quickly apprehended by the Swiss Guards.
The reason, however, was that many noble gentlen with influence in Ro chose to continue observing with satisfaction after hearing Perellino Rossi’s invitation for them to participate in politics.
Without their covert assistance, the republic agitators and potential ambitious figures could achieve nothing.
After the first stage of the reform proposal was explained, Pope Pius IX once again appeared amid cheers filled with people’s attention, publicly pardoning those who sought to incite the crowd at St. Petersburg Square with a tone of world-weary compassion, winning over the hearts of the Roman residents once more.
With the further encouragent of the "water army" hidden among the residents, many citizens, whether genuinely or swept up with the crowd, shouted "Long live the Pope."
Pope Pius IX and Minister Perellino Rossi departed from St. Peter’s Square amid the previous cheers, heading back to the Vatican Palace.
Early the next morning, the mainstream newspapers in Ro all published reports on Perellino Rossi’s speech. So newspapers even dug up all the information about Perellino Rossi and claid that since Perellino Rossi hailed from France, he would certainly transform the Pope State into a nation like France.
Everyone in Ro was eagerly anticipating Perellino Rossi’s next move.
Except for Jero Bonaparte in the Ro hotel.
After 23 days of "closed-door retreat," Jero Bonaparte finally completed the drafting of the main content of "Catholic Ethics Economics."
Lucien Louis routinely ca to Jero Bonaparte’s hotel residence to help Jero Bonaparte with proofreading while bringing along newspapers from France.
"Perfect!" Lucien Louis couldn’t help but exclaim again after reading to the end without missing a word.
Jero Bonaparte looked up and smiled slightly upon hearing Lucien Louis’s praise.
This book, which was the culmination of 19th-century Christian "wisdom," could not possibly have any flaws.
If there was a flaw to speak of, it was the exposition on socialism.
Since the original author’s book was written in the 1920s, during the outbreak period of socialist theory, part of the text was a "refutation" of socialism.
Now, in the mid-19th century, socialist theory was still in its primitive stage, with many theoretical concepts yet to be unveiled.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Jero Bonaparte deleted various aspects of the content.
The entire book was thus reduced from 260,000 words to around 180,000 words.
Jero Bonaparte believed that even without this part, "Catholic Managerial Ethics" could still stand as a pillar of Catholic economics.
Putting down the manuscript, Lucien Louis inquired again about Jero Bonaparte’s views on the political situation in Ro.
"Minister Perellino’s actions are sowhat slow!" Jero Bonaparte sighed slightly.
"Hmm? Uncle, I think it’s a good sign that His Majesty is willing to reform. A little patience will surely yield results!" Lucien Louis responded optimistically to Jero Bonaparte.
"Lucien!" Jero Bonaparte got up and went to the window, followed by Lucien Louis.
Pointing to the Roman citizens outside the window, Jero Bonaparte said to Lucien Louis, "Lucien, the Pope can wait, and the nobles can wait too! But can they wait? The wave of revolution has already swept across Europe; slow reforms will only lead to more disillusionnt with the regi among the impatient public. They can wait for a while, but they cannot wait forever. His Majesty’s first step is already wrong!"
"If it were you, what would you do?" Lucien Louis asked Jero Bonaparte.
"Either do nothing or be ruthless!" Jero Bonaparte told Lucien Louis, "If it were , I would set up a Constitutional Assembly as a facade, then use the peasants’ votes to send clergy into the assembly, thus controlling Ro."
"What if they revolt again?" Lucien Louis inquired again.
"I am waiting for their rebellion!" Jero Bonaparte said with a sinister expression, "If they don’t revolt, how can I declare them unconstitutional in the na of the law? Then, by issuing an edict declaring the rebels unconstitutional, combined with France’s blade and the countryside’s return groups, they can be...!"
Jero Bonaparte made a chopping gesture with his hand, with the implied aning being self-explanatory.
The current situation in the Pope State can no longer be managed by them alone; it requires a major power to forcibly alter Ro’s values with bayonets.
"France... France will help the Pope?" Lucien Louis asked Jero Bonaparte.
"Look at this, and you’ll understand!" Jero Bonaparte returned to the desk and handed a newspaper from France to Lucien Louis.
The newspaper contained the content of "The Resolution on Dissolving National Workshops."
"Do you know what this ans?" Jero Bonaparte’s tone was calm yet carried a terrifying undertone.
Lucien Louis shook his head, indicating he did not understand.
"It ans that a massacre is about to unfold in Paris. The city officials are tearing off their masks and starting to take action against the workers!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)