Upon learning of the Emperor’s location, Cavour wasted no ti and quickly left the embassy, heading towards the train station as he needed to catch the next available train.
This scene was observed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ surveillance personnel stationed around the Sardinia Embassy. They followed Cavour from a distance and, after he had purchased his train ticket and left, they discreetly showed their credentials to the ticket seller and inquired about the train Cavour had booked.
Upon seeing the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ insignia, the ticket seller was visibly startled and stamred out the information.
After learning which train Cavour would be taking, the Ministry’s personnel quickly left the ticket counter, but not before threatening the ticket seller to keep it confidential.
The ticket seller nodded repeatedly in fear and then watched them leave.
Subsequently, they returned to the Ministry and reported the news to Minister Percy.
Upon hearing the report, Percy was montarily surprised, then smiled warmly and said to them, "You’ve worked hard!"
"Not at all, not at all!" the surveillance personnel responded ingratiatingly.
After giving them a verbal comndation, Percy gently issued a dismissal order.
Once the surveillance personnel left, Percy called for his secretary again and instructed him to imdiately send a telegram to the closest telegraph office to Jero Bonaparte’s location.
"Understood!" the secretary replied and promptly headed to the Ministry’s telegraph bureau.
After a short while, the secretary returned to Percy’s office to report the completion of the task.
...
The telegram, transmitted from Paris to a telegraph office near the Loire Valley Region, reached its destination near Jero Bonaparte after about ten minutes by express ssenger.
At this mont, Jero Bonaparte and Augusta were in the Central France Region, accompanied by the Governor of Loire-Cher Province (hereinafter referred to as Cher Province), visiting an agricultural "university" (in reality, more like a vocational college) established by the provincial governnt in Blois.
Upon entering the campus, Jero Bonaparte observed the students moving around and couldn’t help but smile.
Then, he casually summoned a student and asked about his family, field of study, and why he chose agriculture.
The student, sowhat hesitantly, answered Jero Bonaparte’s questions, explaining that he had chosen the agriculture major because his family could no longer afford to send him to Paris to study.
It happened that the Blois Province had opened an agricultural college, and the local governnt offered him reduced tuition, hence his pursuit of agriculture.
Jero Bonaparte then asked if he would be willing to continue working in agriculture after graduation.
The student seed notably hesitant in his response to this question.
Jero Bonaparte imdiately encouraged him, "There’s nothing to hide! Even if you say your goal is to laze around, I can understand!
Back in my day, that was my goal too!"
Upon hearing Jero Bonaparte’s response, the student gathered the courage to express that his primary goal was to pass the exam to enter the imperial system and beco an Imperial Tax Officer. His lesser goal was to seek opportunities in a big city.
If neither worked out, he might consider returning ho to engage in agriculture.
After hearing the student’s reply, Jero Bonaparte’s eyes dimd slightly.
Whether in the 21st century or now, agricultural students are rarely willing to return to farming.
However, Jero Bonaparte could understand their choice. In this era of change, returning to the countryside to farm undoubtedly seed the worst option.
Even the locally born and raised Junker nobility next door are racking their brains to reinvest the profits from agricultural production to double their assets.
Therefore, Jero Bonaparte did not wish to overly demand that they must return to farming.
"It seems you’ve made plans for yourself!" Jero Bonaparte gently patted his shoulder and earnestly said, "The future of the Empire is ours, but it’s also yours!
I’m looking forward to you accomplishing great things!"
Having said that, Jero Bonaparte ordered Lucien Murat, who was by his side, to hand a beautifully packaged gift to the student standing before them.
The student, upon receiving the gift, was sowhat at a loss, and Jero Bonaparte smiled and said to him, "Consider this an early graduation gift from !"
"You should thank His Majesty!" the Governor of Cher Province hastily urged.
"Thank..." The student began to speak, but Jero Bonaparte stopped him, "No need to thank !"
The student swallowed his words of gratitude, then stood tensely, waiting quietly for Jero Bonaparte’s instructions.
"Now, you may leave!" Jero Bonaparte waved his hand in response to the students,
After the students had left, the governor of Cher Province ran up to Jero Bonaparte and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, actually many students still wish to return to their hotowns and engage in agriculture!"
Jero Bonaparte restrained his smile and responded expressionlessly, "Governor, you don’t need to explain!
My initial intention in establishing the Agricultural College was indeed to promote the developnt of French agriculture, but I also know that the profit from agriculture is far less than that from industry, so there will certainly be a large portion of agricultural majors who are unwilling to devote themselves to agriculture.
I can understand this, so what we need to do is not to force them to farm, but to enhance the profit margins of agriculture as much as possible.
Only in this way will more people be willing to devote themselves to agriculture.
The Empire can only win the support of the vast majority living on this land by doing agriculture well.
..."
Jero Bonaparte spoke passionately about the necessity of improving agriculture and how it could be done effectively.
After speaking for about five minutes, Empress Augusta, who was beside Jero Bonaparte, finally couldn’t hold back. She seized the pause in Jero Bonaparte’s speech and said, "Your Majesty, let’s go visit the experintal base first!"
"Hmm! Alright!" Jero Bonaparte smacked his lips with a hint of regret, nodded, and then ordered the governor of Cher Province to lead the way.
With the governor of Cher Province leading, Jero Bonaparte and others arrived at the experintal base in the backyard of the Agricultural College... No, rather than a base, it was more like an estate. When Jero Bonaparte and the others entered the experintal base, the gardener responsible for guarding the base stopped them.
Seeing this, the governor of Cher Province loudly reprimanded the gardener.
Soon after, a slightly burly middle-aged man ca to Jero Bonaparte and the others. He first apologized to Jero Bonaparte and then introduced himself.
Jero Bonaparte finally realized that the man in front of him was the president of this Agricultural College.
Upon the president’s arrival, the gardener opened the gate quickly, allowing Jero Bonaparte and the others to enter the base.
At first glance upon entering, Jero Bonaparte saw the arched grape trellises within the base.
The president hurriedly introduced to Jero Bonaparte that these grape trellises were cultivated by students of the Agricultural College, mainly to train their practical skills.
Looking at the grape trellises in front of him, Jero Bonaparte recalled the historical disaster triggered by phylloxera, which directly led to the decline of the French grape industry.
However, since the disaster occurred in the late 1860s, Jero Bonaparte could only remind the president, "Your Agricultural College must closely monitor the condition of the grapes!
A small grape is linked to our entire French economy!"
"Yes!" Although the president of the Agricultural College did not understand what Jero Bonaparte ant, he still nodded in agreent.
Then, the president wanted to lead Jero Bonaparte and Empress Augusta further into the experintal base.
Just then, an attendant in imperial uniform appeared behind Jero Bonaparte and the others and reported to Lucien Murat at the rear.
Upon hearing the report, Lucien Murat’s face changed slightly. He hurried to Jero Bonaparte and said, "Your Majesty, there’s a telegram from Paris!"
Jero Bonaparte’s expression imdiately beca serious. He turned to the president and apologized, "Forgive , I cannot continue the visit!"
The president of the college, who hadn’t yet had a chance to show the results to the Emperor, felt regretful but could only smile in response to Jero Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, I’m glad you could visit along with Her Majesty the Empress!"
Jero Bonaparte, Empress Augusta, and the others left the college amidst the president’s farewells, and back at the hotel, he imdiately asked Lucien Murat, "Where’s the telegram?"
Lucien Murat glanced at the attendant, who promptly responded to Jero Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, the telegram is already in the study!"
"Hmm!" Jero Bonaparte nodded and then entered the study, picked up the telegram on the table, and read it.
"What’s the matter? Is there sothing wrong in Paris? Do we need to go back now?" Empress Augusta, who followed Jero Bonaparte into the study, inquired.
Jero Bonaparte put down the telegram and said lightly, "Nothing much! The telegram says that Sardinian Pri Minister Cavour has already purchased a train ticket to co here and is expected to arrive the day after tomorrow!"
"Cavour!" Empress Augusta displayed a look of disgust upon hearing the na Cavour, "Why isn’t he banning liberalism in Sardinia and running over to France!"
"What else could he be doing! Of course, pleading for us to spare Sardinia!" Jero Bonaparte shrugged and answered.
"Spare Sardinia?" Empress Augusta sneered, "When they were plotting the assassination, they didn’t think of that!"
"Cavour didn’t plot the assassination!" Jero Bonaparte "corrected" her.
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