"Are you planning a rebellion?"
Jero Bonaparte sternly scolded the captain standing in front of him, with an attitude that suggested he might dismiss the captain on the spot.
The surrounding sailors halted in their tracks upon witnessing this scene.
"Your Majesty, I wouldn’t dare!" The captain lowered his posture and bowed to Jero Bonaparte.
"You wouldn’t dare? You surely have the courage now!" Jero Bonaparte replied sarcastically to the captain, "You almost decided where I would go! I ask, who is truly in charge on this ship?"
"There is only one sun on this ship, and that is you, Your Majesty!" The captain complinted sincerely.
"Is this how you treat , your sun?" Jero Bonaparte rcilessly retorted and pointed to the surrounding sailors, saying to the captain, "Believe , with just one command, your career as captain will end!"
The captain mustered courage to respond to Jero Bonaparte, "Even if you dismiss now, Your Majesty, I will not agree to you going to the Cria Peninsula! You are the future of the Empire; for France’s sake, I absolutely won’t allow you to go to the Cria Peninsula!"
"You stubborn guy!" Jero Bonaparte smiled wryly, realizing he was dealing with a "foolhardy" person, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll directly dismiss you and feed you to the sea?"
"Your Majesty, even if you appoint anyone else on this ship as captain, they would not agree to you going to the Cria Peninsula either!" The captain replied to Jero Bonaparte, then loudly addressed the sailors, "After my death, you must not let His Majesty go to the Cria Peninsula!"
After speaking, the captain displayed a deanor of heroic sacrifice.
"You stubborn guy!" Jero Bonaparte repeated what he’d said earlier, patted the captain’s shoulder helplessly, and said, "Stop overacting! I won’t go, fine!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" The captain quickly flattered Jero Bonaparte, "I knew soone like you, Your Majesty, wouldn’t..."
"Alright! Alright!" Jero Bonaparte waved his hand in response to the captain, "Just put down at the port of Constantinople! Also, go get Richard tternich out of the room!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The captain saluted Jero Bonaparte and imdiately jogged into the cabin to wake the reclining Richard tternich.
A while later, Richard tternich appeared before Jero Bonaparte and sat with him on the deck steps.
"Ambassador Richard, how are you feeling today?" Jero Bonaparte casually asked, hands dangling on his open thighs.
"Your Majesty, I feel much better now!" Richard tternich answered Jero Bonaparte.
Upon hearing this, Jero Bonaparte closely examined Richard tternich’s complexion, confirming it appeared so.
When Richard tternich first boarded, he was pale as death, now his flushed cheeks showed a hint of pallor.
"We’ll be disembarking soon!" Jero Bonaparte sighed and said to Richard tternich.
Richard tternich hesitated for a few seconds, then asked with a laugh, "Your Majesty, didn’t you say we were going to accompany this ship to the Cria Peninsula?"
"Sorry!" Jero Bonaparte shrugged and said helplessly, "Negotiations with the captain failed; he consistently refused my request to go to the Cria Peninsula!"
Hearing Jero Bonaparte’s words, Richard tternich couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
In Richard tternich’s heart, the authority of any monarch cannot be insulted; the captain’s behavior towards Jero Bonaparte was undoubtedly a slap to authority. (Richard tternich thought)
"How do you intend to deal with that disrespectful fellow?" Richard tternich curiously asked Jero Bonaparte.
"Deal with him?" Jero Bonaparte wore a surprised expression, "Why should I deal with him?"
"He..." Richard tternich fell silent for a mont before saying to Jero Bonaparte, "He insulted you!"
"I think what he said wasn’t exactly wrong!" Jero Bonaparte shrugged, placed a hand on Richard tternich’s shoulder, and earnestly said, "Richard, this era is no longer the era of absolute monarchy! We cannot decide soone’s future over a couple of offensive words.
Since the new era, the rights of the King of France are no longer endless, and each use of power may deplete so authority.
When a monarch’s authority is entirely depleted, that’s when he falls!
Of course, this will also be the case for the future Austrian Empire!"
Richard tternich pondered Jero Bonaparte’s words repeatedly, recalling the Great Revolution of 1848.
At that ti, indeed, the Austrian Empire Governnt’s continuous internal struggles eroded authority, and when disaster struck, the Emperor’s authority could no longer restrain the subjects within the Empire.
If not for Pri Minister Felix Schwarzenberg, the whole Austrian Empire might have...
"Also, do not overly comply with the will of the Monarch!" Jero Bonaparte whispered to Richard tternich: "Sotis, the actions of the Monarch may not necessarily be correct! He could very well lead a country into dangerous territory!"
Richard tternich imdiately felt there was more to Jero Bonaparte’s words than t the eye.
"Your Majesty, God teaches us that subjects cannot defy the Monarch! Even if the Monarch himself makes a mistake!" Richard tternich said piously.
"God! Give a break!" Jero Bonaparte showed a disdainful expression on his face, as if to say, "You still believe in God."
Indeed!
To Richard tternich, God was just rhetoric to placate Jero Bonaparte.
Influenced by the pragmatism of Prince tternich, Richard tternich also did not believe in God.
After all, no matter how powerful God is, He could not send angels to earth.
Richard tternich even maliciously imagined that if God really did send soone to earth one day, the Roman Curia might be the first to oppose the coming of the angels.
An organization that has existed for a thousand years, burdened with sins too nurous to count.
Quite possibly, Pope Pius IX would declare the angels’ descent as "malicious."
Even though Richard tternich did not believe in God, he still needed to use God as a shield.
"Your Majesty, the Monarch’s rights originate from God’s will! As God’s lamb, I must comply with God’s will!" Richard tternich responded earnestly.
"Why was your tithe abolished then?" Jero Bonaparte’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
"That was also God’s will!" Richard tternich replied, bracing himself.
"So it turns out God guided the revolution! It seems the Austrian Empire is the target of God’s wrath!" Jero swiftly seized on Richard tternich’s verbal slip.
"No! It’s not..." Richard tternich also realized the problem.
The abolition of the tithe in the Austrian Empire was during the sa ti as the emancipation of the serfs in 1848.
If the abolition of the tithe represented God’s will, then their Austrian Empire would beco the great villain.
"Alright! Let’s not talk about God anymore!" Seeing the topic veering further off course, Jero Bonaparte decisively steered it back on track, "What I an is, if your Monarch believes that France and the Austrian Empire are destined for war, what will you do? Will you agree with his actions, or stop him?"
"His Majesty Franz will not declare war like you!" Richard tternich replied.
"Suppose! Suppose!" Jero Bonaparte emphasized, "If you really face such a choice, what will you do?"
"I will do everything in my power to stop His Majesty Franz!" Richard tternich responded resolutely.
"You see! Your answer just now didn’t care about the Monarch’s feelings at all!" Jero Bonaparte spread his hands to Richard tternich.
"I..." Richard tternich was silent for a mont.
"Richard, sotis you must be forceful!" Jero Bonaparte urged, "Think about your forr Pri Minister Felix Schwarzenberg, did Franz agree with every decision he made? Now look at your Foreign Minister Bao’er... Although I don’t want to overly criticize the Austrian Empire, your Foreign Minister is simply like Franz’s echo, with no ability for independent thought!"
Richard tternich understood that Jero Bonaparte was criticizing the previous foreign policy of the Austrian Empire.
Although the policy’s general direction was not within Bao’er’s control, Bao’er was also largely responsible.
"Richard, my friend, you must rise!" Jero Bonaparte said seriously to Richard tternich.
"Your Majesty... I..." Richard tternich opened his mouth, wanting to say sothing, but found himself at a loss.
"In fact, you are more suited to lead the Empire than Franz! You are more resolute, and your thinking is more flexible!" Jero Bonaparte said aningfully.
Richard tternich, after a mont of silence, denied it without too much severity.
Not bad! At least it wasn’t an imdiate denial!
Looking at Richard tternich in front of him, Jero Bonaparte’s mood imdiately brightened, now feeling like a diligent gardener, continuously nurturing a seed called ambition with his words.
"Your Majesty, we have arrived in Constantinople!"
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