Make France Great Again-Chapter 926 - 917: The "Sudden" Economic Crisis

General Lawrence and his 4,900 soldiers, filled with resentment, were transported by train in batches toward Marseille.

The train traveled nonstop for two days and nights, finally reaching Marseille Port.

The British soldiers who disembarked were already so hungry that they felt their stomachs touching their spines. During this long journey, apart from a lunch prepared specifically for them at noon after boarding, they had hardly eaten anything else.

After getting off the train, the soldiers were eager to head into Marseille to buy some food to stave off their hunger once the troops disbanded.

Unfortunately, just as they stepped off the train, before fully appreciating the foreign scenery, Lawrence ordered them to head to the Marseille Military Port to board a ship.

The poor British soldiers had no choice but to endure their hunger as they marched toward Marseille Port.

However, the only consolation was that the messenger who relayed the orders informed the soldiers that once they boarded the ship, they could enjoy delicious food in the cabin.

Even though the British soldiers were aware that the meals on the troop ships would not be great, having something to eat was better than nothing.

After approximately another half-hour journey, the British Army finally arrived at Marseille Port.

At this moment, the port was filled with fleets bearing British flags, representing the Mediterranean Fleet stationed by Britain.

Then, with the assistance of French land and naval forces that had been stationed in advance at the Marseille Port, the British troops boarded the ships in batches.

The entire process took less than a day to complete. Once all the British soldiers had boarded, the troop ships slowly set sail and soon disappeared from Marseille Port.

The land and naval forces stationed in the port, upon seeing the departing troop ships, also returned to their respective locations to report the situation of the British Army to their highest commanders.

The news of Britain’s departure, after being reported layer by layer, finally reached Trocch and Minister Dico. Commander Trocch and Minister Dico also reported the news via telegraph to Jerome Bonaparte in Paris.

When Jerome Bonaparte received telegraphs from both Trocch and Minister Dico, he again summoned Ambassador Cowley: "Ambassador Cowley, the first detachment of your country has safely left France!

Do you know when your next detachment will arrive?"

Ambassador Cowley responded to Jerome Bonaparte in a slightly ingratiating tone: "Your Majesty, the next group of soldiers will arrive in France in a week!

Please be sure to inform the railway bureau to prepare the next train as soon as possible!"

"I understand!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and then inquired of Ambassador Cowley: "By the way, how many people will be coming in your next batch? I’ll ensure they prepare trains corresponding to the number of people!"

"About 4,500 people will depart from London in the next batch!" Ambassador Cowley replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

"4,500 people! About the same number as this time!" Jerome Bonaparte tapped lightly on the desk with his index finger.

"That’s correct!" Ambassador Cowley responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"All right! I’ll have the railway bureau reserve a train for you; such an incident will absolutely not happen again!" Jerome Bonaparte resolutely replied to Ambassador Cowley.

"Your kindness will always be remembered by Britain!" Ambassador Cowley bowed in response to Jerome Bonaparte.

After Ambassador Cowley left, Jerome Bonaparte instructed Bashirio to go to the National Intelligence Bureau to inquire whether Marcel Yale had any news from India.

Bashirio followed Jerome Bonaparte’s orders and left. Half an hour later, Bashirio reappeared before Jerome Bonaparte with a letter in hand.

"Your Majesty, this is what Marcel Yale wanted me to give to you!" Bashirio handed the letter to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte accepted the envelope, glanced at its front, and saw no writing on it—it appeared to be an ordinary envelope.

Jerome Bonaparte slowly opened the envelope, took out the neatly folded letter within, and then read the letter.

The letter’s contents related to the current situation in India.

Of course, this "current" did not mean the present moment, but rather two weeks prior to the letter reaching Jerome Bonaparte.

Though timeliness is crucial for information, considering the distance between India and France, intelligence from two weeks ago still counted as timely.

Even for the British, as the concerned nation, the time they obtained information on India might still lag behind Jerome Bonaparte.

According to the intelligence from India, insurgent forces in the Delhi region were launching attacks everywhere, trying to get more people to join their ranks.

However, the Sikh princes in the Punjab region and the Governor’s Mansion of Calcutta in West Bengal were advancing steadily from the left and right towards the Delhi area, planning to limit the insurgents’ activity space by encirclement.

Meanwhile, the British Governor in India, Canning, without obtaining formal authorization from Britain, had "arbitrarily" completely abolished the "Doctrine of Lapse" policy established by the former Governor Da He X.

...

When Jerome Bonaparte read this, he put down the intelligence report and sighed softly.

Since Canning abolished the Doctrine of Lapse, the uprising in Delhi was destined to face failure.

Because the attitude of the Indian princes towards the Kingdom of Britain will undergo a transformation in the upcoming period.

The princes, who originally opposed Britain, are very likely to pledge loyalty to Britain once again before they arrive.

Throughout history, the interests of feudal lords may align with the common people for a period, but they can never forever be close to the masses.

To utilize uprisings, seize the fruits, and then betray the uprising, is what a qualified feudal lord should do.

Once the Indian princes do not support the uprising, then relying solely on the power of the Indian insurgents can never resist Britain.

Before a mature organization is formed, individuals can never resist the whole.

Thinking of this, Jerome Bonaparte felt a mix of emotions in his heart.

Although in his heart he was willing to support the Indian people’s uprising, he was seated on the side of Britain.

Now, he could only silently wish in his heart that the Indian insurgents could repel the invading army of the Kingdom of Britain.

Although the Delhi uprising and the many uprisings that followed (a typical example: Queen Zhanxi) cannot overthrow the rule of the Kingdom of Britain, they can at least make the invaders feel pain, making them cautious when oppressing India.

Of course, Jerome Bonaparte’s ability to have such thoughts was primarily based on the education he received in his previous life, coupled with the fact that this large-scale uprising did not occur in his colony.

If such a thing happened in the French Empire’s colonial territory, Jerome Bonaparte’s empathy would disappear. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

What follows would be merciless slaughter against any indigenous people attempting to defy French will.

Jerome Bonaparte folded the letter neatly and put it back in the envelope.

He then called Basilio, pointing to the letter, he said to Basilio, "Bashirio, now you will send the letter back to the National Intelligence Bureau!"

Basilio nodded, took the letter, and left the study.

After Basilio left, Jerome Bonaparte got up and walked to the sofa, then sat down.

A while later, the sound of knocking came to Jerome Bonaparte’s ears.

"Come in!" Jerome Bonaparte responded calmly.

The door slowly opened, and a secretary dressed in a black suit entered the room, holding a stack of newspapers in his hands.

"Your Majesty!" The secretary straightened his posture and spoke in a firm tone, "The newspapers you requested are all ready!"

"Thank you!" Jerome Bonaparte smiled and nodded, then tapped the wooden coffee table and said to the secretary, "Place them here!"

"Yes!" The secretary complied, placing the newspapers on the table, then turned to close the door and left.

Jerome Bonaparte glanced at the newspapers on the coffee table, casually picked up the top newspaper, and began to read.

After skimming through it, Jerome Bonaparte set the newspaper aside and picked up another one to continue reading.

After browsing through several newspapers, Jerome Bonaparte picked up one from the United States of America.

"Strange, why is there an American newspaper here?" Jerome Bonaparte murmured softly.

He remembered telling the secretary’s office not to give him newspapers that were out of date.

And this newspaper was published two weeks ago, its timeliness long gone during its journey across the ocean.

The best way to deal with such a newspaper is to throw it away directly.

As Jerome Bonaparte was about to discard the outdated newspaper, he subconsciously glanced at it, and happened to see the front-page headline of this outdated American newspaper: "United States of America Railway Becomes the World’s Longest Railway."

Jerome Bonaparte unfolded the crumpled newspaper and turned to the front page to read.

The first part of the content on the newspaper stated that the United States had constructed 33,000 kilometers of railway, surpassing the length of the French Empire and the Kingdom of Britain, thus becoming the veritable number one railway nation.

The second part of the newspaper, however, noted that although the United States had an unparalleled railway length compared to the whole of Europe, the United States did not achieve this on their own.

The headline writer then provided data on the United States’ pig iron production.

He pointed out that with stagnating production in pig iron and steel, the railway could still develop rapidly, with the only method being purchasing British rails.

Subsequently, the third part of the article criticized the United States for purchasing pig iron, steel rails, and cotton cloth from the Kingdom of Britain and called for the United States to raise domestic tariffs and nurture its outstanding enterprises.