"Reception?" The mayor of Toulon City was montarily stunned, then quickly responded excitedly, "Yes! I will imdiately send soone to prepare!"
"Rember! Be quick! We don’t have much ti left!" Minister Deco once again reminded the mayor of Toulon City, "All welcoming personnel must be in place before the fog lifts!"
"Rest assured! I will ensure that His Majesty sees your enthusiasm, Toulon City!" The mayor of Toulon City replied firmly to Minister Deco.
"Then I’ll go ahead! As soon as you’re ready, head straight to the port!"
After giving his instructions, Minister Deco quickly left the City Hall. As the organizer of the welcoming ceremony, he must not only let Emperor Jero Bonaparte see the love of the Toulon residents but also the navy’s support for His Majesty.
Otherwise, how would their navy compete with that bunch of army buffoons for the military budget?
Minister Deco had heard that the current acting Chief of Staff of France, Nie’er, was implenting a second military reform targeting the shortcomings of France’s presence on the Cria Peninsula.
If the navy does not act to show their loyalty to Emperor Jero Bonaparte, then the next military budget will surely lean towards the reforming army.
After Minister Deco left, the mayor of Toulon City also instructed his subordinates to start taking action.
The whole Toulon City Hall was like a machine that had just started up, operating at high speed.
On the other hand, the fleet stationed outside the military port was quietly drifting on the sea, waiting for the fog to disperse.
After all, entering the military port in foggy conditions is a very dangerous maneuver.
While Jero Bonaparte and others were waiting for the fog to dissipate, a small boat appeared from the fog, quickly approaching the vicinity of the Friendship Ironclad.
Imdiately, the officer on the small boat shouted loudly, he ca on the orders of Minister Deco, and his purpose was to et His Majesty Jero Bonaparte.
The captain of the Ironclad imdiately reported this situation to Jero Bonaparte.
"Deco, what is that guy up to?" Jero Bonaparte muttered quietly, then ordered, "Lower the rope, let them co up using the rope!"
"Yes!" The captain promptly threw down a rope to the navy officer on the small boat, who climbed up the side ladder of the Ironclad along the rope, and then onto the deck to et Jero Bonaparte.
"Your Majesty!" The navy officer who t Jero Bonaparte imdiately bowed in salute to Jero Bonaparte.
"What is Deco’s purpose in sending you?" Jero Bonaparte asked calmly.
The navy officer tactfully told Jero Bonaparte that Minister Deco hoped His Majesty could wait a little longer at sea so that he could make adequate preparations.
"Preparation! Preparing for what?" Jero Bonaparte showed a trace of displeasure on his face, having drifted at sea for over a week, he was eager to set foot on land again.
The navy officer, sensing the displeasure in Jero Bonaparte’s words, hesitantly responded to Jero Bonaparte, "Minister hopes to let you feel the admiration of the residents of Toulon Military Port for you, Your Majesty! Your majestic presence on the Cria Peninsula makes every resident of Toulon Port long for you; they sincerely admire and respect you!"
Hearing the navy officer’s words, Jero Bonaparte couldn’t help but show a satisfied smile.
"This Deco, always manages to co up with so new tricks for !" Jero Bonaparte said with a smile and then pointed at the navy officer, "Go back and tell Deco that, on his account, I’ll wait a little longer!
Rember, don’t make wait too long!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The navy officer quickly answered Jero Bonaparte.
Then, the navy officer took his leave from Jero Bonaparte.
He jumped onto the small boat using the rope and gradually disappeared into the hazy fog.
Ti flew by, and after about an hour, the sun slowly peeked over the eastern horizon, and the fog shrouding the city of Toulon gradually dissipated.
The navy officer’s small boat reappeared around Jero Bonaparte’s Ironclad.
"Your Majesty, the fleet can enter the military port!" the navy officer said to Jero Bonaparte.
"You work pretty fast!" Jero Bonaparte praised, seeing the distant, densely packed "black spots" of the military port through his monocular telescope.
The navy officer showed a shy smile.
Subsequently, Jero Bonaparte ordered the Friendship Ironclad and its attached transport and escort ships to proceed towards the military port in sequence.
The "Friendship" restarted, and after about ten minutes of sailing, the ironclad made its way near the Toulon Port.
Jero Bonaparte only then realized that the warships in Toulon Port were currently arranged in two lines, seemingly as a special preparation to welco Jero Bonaparte’s triumphant return.
As soon as Jero Bonaparte’s ironclad ship entered the port, Minister Dico quickly ordered the flag signal soldiers on shore to issue the command to fire at the two lines of the fleet.
The two lines of warships, upon receiving the flag signal soldiers’ order to fire, swiftly fired to one side.
Amidst the trendous roar, the "Friendship" and its affiliated fleet passed through the gap between the two lines of warships and reached the port dock.
"Let’s go, everyone!" Jero Bonaparte said to Valerovsky and Richard tternich, who were accompanying him.
Valerovsky and Richard tternich followed Jero Bonaparte off the ship, descending the gangway on one side of the ironclad ship.
With his feet just touching the land, Jero Bonaparte once again felt an unprecedented sense of relief. He mumbled softly to himself in a voice only he could hear: "Indeed, life adrift at sea is not quite suited for soone like ."
Just as Jero Bonaparte finished speaking, the voice of Minister Dico reached his ears: "Your Majesty!"
"Dico, you’ve co!" Jero Bonaparte said with a smile to Dico and then extended his hand to shake Minister Dico’s hand tightly.
"Your Majesty, welco ho!" Minister Dico responded sincerely to Jero Bonaparte.
After the monarch and minister exchanged pleasantries for a mont, Jero Bonaparte turned his gaze to the well-dressed gentleman beside Dico. He pondered for a mont: "If I’m not mistaken, you are Jacob Joy, the mayor of Toulon City?"
The mayor, upon hearing that Jero Bonaparte still rembered his na, responded to Jero Bonaparte with a face full of honor: "Your Majesty, I’m honored that you still rember !"
"The current prosperity of Toulon City is inseparable from the guidance of your Toulon City Hall. How could I forget?" Jero Bonaparte said, patting Jacob Joy’s shoulder: "As one of the few excellent ports of France, Toulon Port, like Marseille, carries our nation’s hopes for the entire diterranean Region. Therefore, I hope that Toulon Port not only becos a military port but also a trade port connecting diterranean countries with France.
Toulon City Hall must continue to strive to build Toulon into the top port of France... no, of the world."
"Your Majesty, please rest assured that our Toulon City Hall will not disappoint your expectations and will strive to make Toulon an international port!" The mayor of Toulon City also assured Jero Bonaparte.
"With your assurance, I’m relieved!" Jero Bonaparte replied with a smile to the mayor of Toulon City.
No one knows better than him the future potential of Toulon Port. Once the Suez Canal is completed, the previously declining diterranean trade could be revitalized.
(Historically, one reason for the decline in diterranean trade was the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope route.)
Toulon Port could also prosper, riding this wave.
Of course, Jero Bonaparte himself no longer held any hope for France to take ownership of the Suez Canal, as once the canal is completed, it is bound to impact the interests of the Cape of Good Hope route and the Kingdom of Britain’s control over the diterranean. As the mariti supremacy holder, Britain would never allow this event to happen.
Though the current concessions of Britain to the French Empire seem nurous, that’s because the French Empire itself has not yet made any moves to seize the "Trident of the Sea God."
Once Britain determines that France is taking action to seize the Trident of the Sea God, it would spare no cost in maintaining its mariti supremacy.
From the Napoleonic Wars to World War I, and then to World War II, Britain has carried out their belief with practical actions.
So unless absolutely necessary, Jero Bonaparte did not want too great a conflict with Britain.
The topic strayed far, and after encouraging the mayor of Toulon City, Jero Bonaparte invited Minister Dico and Mayor Jacob to follow on his left and right.
As Jero Bonaparte moved forward again, the band played the Hymn of Triumph of the First Empire. Amidst the passionate lody, children, like porcelain dolls, appeared to Jero Bonaparte, holding flowers and wreaths. As if rehearsed, they spoke in unison to Jero Bonaparte: "Your Majesty, welco back!"
"Mm!" In front of everyone, Jero Bonaparte crouched down, gently stroked each child’s head, and said softly: "Thank you all for your hard work!"
Then he pointed to the flowers and crown in the children’s hands and asked them: "Are these for ?"
"Mm!" The children nodded and then said: "But, the adults said we have to wait a while to give them to you!"
"Are you tired?" Jero Bonaparte asked them again.
"Tired!"
"Not tired!"
So children followed their parents’ words and answered "Not tired," while others honestly said "Tired!"
"I understand!" Jero Bonaparte reached out to take the flowers from the children’s hands, then had those bow their heads place the wreaths on his head.
After doing all this, Jero Bonaparte patted each child’s back and said: "Let’s go! Go ho!"
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