Make France Great Again

Chapter 169 Hugo's Counterattack and the First Meeting

"really!"

Victor Hugo had a relieved expression. He had already expected that the cabinet would be controlled by Jerome Bonaparte. Once Jerome Bonaparte, an ambitious man, controlled the power, he would have to satisfy part of it. people's interests.

Victor Hugo thought of the splitting behavior that was currently taking place in the Party of Order. Having suffered repeated beatings by the state in the parliamentary and political fields over the years, he also smelled a conspiracy.

The orthodox faction... especially the clergy-oriented faction's attack on other members of the party of order is likely to be instigated by Jerome Bonaparte. In order to repay their instigation, Jerome Bonaparte must Continue their certain interests.

If Jerome Bonaparte moves his sword in other fields, it will inevitably cause political turmoil. Such a distribution will not benefit them, and there is no safer way than to use his sword in the field of public education.

France lost nothing more than a group of liberal-minded teachers, but what it did get was support from the church and cuts in education expenditures.

The expenses of religious schools in France are much smaller than a group of ordinary colleges and universities.

Thinking of the future where French students may become religious believers, and science and free thought will be strangled in the cradle, Victor Hugo is horrified by such a future.

"I have to do something!" Victor Hugo murmured with his head bowed. He understood that it would be fatal to confront the religions that had existed in France for hundreds of years. Only by acknowledging religions could we attack them.

He had to go back to prepare the "ammunition" for the attack, and there was no need to talk about other things without "ammunition".

"Francois, Charles!" Victor Hugo was determined to fight for the future of France. He raised his head and looked at Francois Hugo and Charles Hugo with a firm tone.

"Father!"

"Father!"

Francois, Hugo and Charles Hugo responded to Victor Hugo one after another.

"I'll leave the matter here to you two! I'm going back!"

After finishing speaking, Victor Hugo picked up the leather bag beside him, got up, put the top hat on the hanger on his head, and left.

The newspaper office left only the staring brothers and a group of busy workers.

"Now, what should we do?" Francois Hugo asked Charles Hugo in a negotiating tone.

After thinking for a moment, Charles Hugo said, "You stay here, I'll go to the opera house!"

Charles Hugo also left in a hurry.

"Hey! What are you going to do?" Looking at the background of Charles Hugo's departure, Francois Hugo shouted anxiously.

"See if we can help the newspaper get through this difficult time!" Charles Hugo didn't mean to stop. He waved his hands behind him while running, and explained loudly.

"Alas!" Francois Hugo, who had watched Charles Hugo leave, returned to the newspaper office and sat alone on the sofa with his hands drooping on his legs, staring blankly into the distance.

...

Just when Victor Hugo returned home to prepare for the Legislative Assembly to attack the "ammunition", a luxurious double-bridge carriage slowly stopped at the Mansion Matignon (Prime Minister's Office). The golden bee icon on the side of the carriage is eye-catching Then you know who the owner of the carriage is.

The car door opened slowly, and Jerome Bonaparte got out of the car and went straight into the cabinet meeting hall of Matignon Mansion.

In the cabinet meeting hall at this time, the ministers of various departments had been waiting in the hall early, and under the instructions of Prime Minister Opal, they got up and waited for the arrival of President Jérôme Bonaparte.

A servant of Matignon House entered the conference hall, and he trotted to Prime Minister Opal to report to Opal the arrival of Jérôme Bonaparte.

Hearing the president's visit, Prime Minister Opal smiled on his face, and said kindly: "Everyone, Mr. President has arrived!"

The door of the meeting hall opened slowly, and the figure of Jerome Bonaparte also appeared on the other side of the door.

Prime Minister Opal applauded first, and then the ministers of various departments also applauded Jérôme Bonaparte to show their welcome.

In the continuous cross talk, Jerome Bonaparte slowly came to the main seat of the conference hall. This seat was originally the exclusive seat of the cabinet prime minister. Due to the arrival of the president, the cabinet prime minister could only condescend to the first one on the right hand side. Location.

Jerome Bonaparte, who was standing on the main seat, glanced at everyone present, cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, please sit down!"

Everyone sat down according to Jerome Bonaparte's order, and they turned their attention to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte looked at the Bonapartists in the cabinet and the Party of Order who tended to be Bonapartes and said kindly: "I know most of you here more or less! Your abilities, I understand everything, so I am relieved to hand over the country to you to govern!"

"The cabinet still has to follow the leadership of the President!" Prime Minister Opal certainly could hear what was meant by polite words and what was meant by sincerity, he hurriedly flattered.

"That's right! As the saying goes, sailing on the seas depends on the helmsman. Your Excellency, you are our helmsman!" Minister Reigno immediately expressed his support for Jerome Bonaparte.

"That's right! The French Constitution stipulates that you, the President, have the power to manage the government. I hope that you, the President, will not slack off!" Finance Minister Archille Fuld's seemingly critical words were also full of flattery.

The remaining ministers also more or less said to Jerome Bonaparte that "the leadership of the president, the execution of the prime minister and the ministers are the traditions of France", and they must not abandon the fine traditions.

Based on the choice of the democratic system, Jerome Bonaparte "couldn't" refuse the wishes of his colleagues that he could preside over the overall situation, and he "reluctantly" presided over the overall situation.

France has changed from a stage in which the president "rules but does not govern" to a stage in which the president "dominates power".

Jérôme Bonaparte nodded at Prime Minister Opal, and after "obtaining" the "consent" of Prime Minister Opel, Jerome Bonaparte said: "Is there any important situation in each department?"

Morney, who is the Minister of Public Works, spoke first: "Mr. President, I think the agencies under the Ministry of Public Works are too bloated and the scope of power is too large. I propose that the Ministry of Public Works should be appropriately compressed!"

As soon as this remark came out, it was like a thunderbolt that exploded the peaceful parliament hall. Prime Minister Opal and some uninformed ministers looked at the Minister of Public Works, Morny, in surprise. They had never heard of it, and some people would dislike it. People with too much power, but all bureaucrats with a little bit of ideals wish to have as much power as possible in their hands. It is the first time that the cabinet meeting proposes to actively reduce the power in their hands.

It didn't take long for the ministers and prime ministers present to understand that this should be a big show prepared by the president and Morney in advance, and they just need to quietly act as spectators.

Sure enough, as they expected, President Jérôme Bonaparte seemed to have known that Morny would propose to reduce functions. He did not ask Morny why he wanted to reduce power, but asked directly: " Minister Morny, which function of the Public Works Department do you want to cut?"

"Your Excellency, I suggest that the Railway Commission under the Ministry of Public Works be established as an independent department, under the direct responsibility of the President and the Prime Minister!" Morni stood up and blocked the prepared materials in front of Jerome Bonaparte and Prime Minister Opel. .

Jerome Bonaparte, who had already read the content of the document, pretended to flip through the content of the document, and said to Morny, "What's the reason?"

"Due to the issuance of public works bonds and the construction of the railway in the first half of the year, the number of people in the railway committee has gradually increased, and we have to send more people to fill the railway committee! This has seriously affected other businesses of the public works department!" Said to Jerome Bonaparte succinctly.

"Then there is no need to re-establish a department!" Prime Minister Opal frowned, and he raised his head to glance at Jerome Bonaparte.

As the transitional prime minister, he did not expect to encounter such a "difficult" problem on the first day of his tenure as prime minister. He wanted Jerome Bonaparte to give him an explanation.

"Your Excellency, the Railway Commission is said to be a subcommittee of the Ministry of Public Works. In fact, it has included everything that a department can have. The Railway Commission has four sub-bureaus and general offices, the Personnel Department, and the Transportation Bureau... which makes The function of the entire railway commission in the public works department conflicts with the public works department, which seriously affects the operation of the entire public works department!" Morney explained to Opal.

From the very beginning Jérôme Bonaparte had decided to separate the Railway Commission from the Ministry of Public Works, and for this he deliberately created a crossover between the powers of the institutions under the Railway Commission and those within the Ministry of Public Works.

"Then just lower them all to an administrative level!" Prime Minister Opal replied.

"Mr. Prime Minister, if we lower it rashly, it may affect our bonds, and the market will lose confidence in bonds! Our construction progress may also be stopped!" Morney responded warmly.

Bonds... Prime Minister Opal suddenly remembered that he seemed to have bought a large amount of bonds from the Ministry of Public Works. Once the bonds were turbulent, his money would shrink.

Thinking of this, Prime Minister Opal couldn't help feeling a little flustered: "If a department is re-established, those bonds won't shrink?"

Morny glanced at his colleagues present. Most of them had bought the bonds of the Ministry of Public Works. He said firmly: "Not only will it not shrink, but it may even rise a wave! Once the Railway Commission is established as a department, it represents The government has confidence in the railway business. Which department is more promising, directly under the Cabinet, than under the Ministry of Public Works?"

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