Looking at the Egyptian celebrities saluting him in the banquet hall, Jerome Bonaparte showed a kind smile on his face.
Then Jérôme Bonaparte walked slowly among them and shook hands with them.
All the celebrities who shook hands with Jerome Bonaparte had expressions of joy and excitement on their faces.
If the emperor had not visited Egypt this time, people like them would never have had the chance to shake hands with the French emperor in their lifetime.
Now, the emperor of the French Empire actually takes the initiative to shake hands with them. For them, this is simply a matter of supreme honor.
However, since the emperor randomly selected celebrities to shake hands with him, some celebrities who did not have the opportunity to shake hands with the emperor were unwilling to do so. They desperately stretched their hands in front of the emperor, hoping that the emperor would give them "supreme honor."
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A simple opening ceremony was slowly slipping out of control. The people in the banquet hall crowded Jerome Bonaparte and Frederic Bonaparte in the middle, preventing Jerome Bonaparte from letting him go.
Nabal has a chance to advance.
This made Jerome Bonaparte feel unhappy, and he could not help but frown slightly.
Mohammed Sai, who was originally standing on the edge of the banquet and responsible for maintaining order at the banquet, also realized that the opening ceremony was already moving in an uncontrollable direction.
Therefore, Mohammed Sai silently cursed those reluctant guests, and at the same time personally led a group of housekeepers to "rescue" Jerome Bonaparte.
With the efforts of Mahomet Sai, a passage leading to Jerome Bonaparte soon appeared. Mahomet Sai came to Jerome Bonaparte and spoke loudly to those present.
The crowd shouted.
"Everyone! I can understand your love for His Majesty, but you can't block His Majesty's way forward like this!"
After hearing the voice of Muhammad Sai, the crowd in the banquet hall also realized that not only was it unbecoming of a gentleman, but it would also leave a bad impression in front of His Majesty the Emperor.
The reason why they attended the banquet was not to improve their social status in Europe through this meeting with the emperor. If the emperor had a bad impression of them due to this meeting, all their efforts would be in vain.
It may even have a negative impact on them.
After thinking about this, many people began to take the initiative to make way for Jerome Bonaparte. The hand that was less than a fist away from Jerome Bonaparte retracted without expression.
Muhammad Sai was silently relieved when he saw this. It could be seen that these celebrities still had some sense.
The opening ceremony, which was about to get out of control, was restored with a few words from Mohammed Sai.
Jérôme Bonaparte and Frederic Bonaparte were walking in the passage that the celebrities took the initiative to make way for them. Mohammed Sai and the servants in the mansion stood sideways on the left and right sides of the passage to prevent accidents.
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Soon, Jerome Bonaparte and Frederic Bonaparte walked from the banquet hall to the restaurant in the back room.
There was no guest in the restaurant at this time. Everyone was still standing in the banquet hall. They were waiting quietly for Jerome Bonaparte to sit down. Jerome Bonaparte was in the restaurant of Mohammed Sai
He was strongly invited to sit at the head seat of the restaurant, and Frederick Bonaparte was arranged to a separate small table next to the dining table.
As Jérôme Bonaparte sat down, Mahomet Sai quickly signaled the black eunuch with his eyes to take the next step.
The black eunuch who received the signal from Muhammad Sai hurriedly summoned the guests in the banquet hall in French.
The first guest to be summoned was naturally Emil Pasha, the powerful figure in the Port of Alexandria (the Pasha was nominally equal to the Governor of Egypt, and was also the real controller of the Port of Alexandria), then the representative of the French consortium stationed in the Port of Alexandria, and finally
He was a prominent businessman and landowner in Alexandria.
Since the table where Jérôme Bonaparte sat could only accommodate about 30 people, there were more than 100 guests attending the banquet.
This resulted in the remaining 70 guests who were not called having to choose several other restaurants for dining.
Under the arrangement of the housekeeper of the mansion, the guest whose name was not called left the restaurant where Jérôme Bonaparte was sitting with regret.
Immediately afterwards, Mahomet Sai closed the door for Jérôme Bonaparte thoughtfully, and the servants standing behind them poured wine for everyone on the seats.
Jérôme Bonaparte raised his glass and politely expressed his thanks to everyone present.
Everyone at the banquet also raised their wine glasses to convey their blessings to the emperor. After drinking a glass of wine, plates of delicious dishes were served to the table.
"This is my first meeting with you, but I believe this is just the beginning!
As long as the friendship between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt (Jérôme Bonaparte specifically said the Kingdom of Egypt, not the Ottoman province of Egypt) remains unchanged, then we will remain friends!" Jérôme Bonaparte said
Nabal slowly said to everyone present, and then he turned his attention to the first person sitting on his left, "How to make the friendship between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt last forever, this cannot be done without you.
Help from these Egyptian elites!
I believe that as long as you exist, there will be no break between Egypt and France!
Our friendship will last until a hundred years or even a thousand years from now!"
As soon as Jerome Bonaparte finished speaking, the Pasha sitting on the left side of Jerome Bonaparte also spoke flatteringly and said, "Your Majesty, what you just said is absolutely correct!
I can assure you that as long as I am alive, there will be no setbacks in the friendship between Egypt and the French Empire!
Only by relying on the French Empire can Egypt become truly independent from the Ottoman Empire. Counting on the British Kingdom will only lead to death!
Long live His Majesty the Emperor of the French Empire, and long live His Majesty the Governor of the Kingdom of Egypt!”
Since most of the people invited to this banquet were selected representatives of the pro-French faction, when the Emir Pasha said these words, everyone present cheered for the French Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt in unison.
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor of the French Empire, and long live the Governor of the Kingdom of Egypt!"
Listening to the praises of everyone present, Jerome Bonaparte showed a satisfied smile, and then slightly raised the wine glass in his hand.
Upon seeing this, the representative of Norinco in the Suez Canal who was sitting on the right immediately understood what Jerome Bonaparte meant, and he also appealed to everyone present.
"Everyone, let us raise our glasses! Cheers once again to the friendship between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt!"
After that, everyone present heeded the call of the representative. They raised their wine glasses and shouted the slogan "Long live Franco-Egyptian friendship" again, and drank the red wine in one gulp.
As one glass after another of red wine was consumed, the atmosphere in the restaurant gradually reached a climax. Some guests who were sitting a little far away from Jerome Bonaparte actually walked directly from their seats in order to let the emperor remember him.
Toast to Jerome Bonaparte in front of Jerome Bonaparte.
If this behavior were prohibited in the Tuileries court, then the guest's discourteous behavior would definitely be blacklisted by the court.
However, this is not a palace, and what Jerome Bonaparte hosted was not a formal palace banquet.
Moreover, Jerome Bonaparte held this banquet in order to win over the Egyptian elite and make them lean towards the French Empire.
Therefore, Jerome Bonaparte did not reprimand his guests for their discourtesy.
Instead, he smiled and drank with them. This behavior undoubtedly increased the favorability of these local Egyptian elites towards the emperor and the French Empire.
After a while, the sky gradually darkened, and servants entered the room one after another holding candlesticks. They first used the candlesticks to light the standing candlesticks placed in the four corners of the room, and then lit all the candles on the chandelier.
The orange light emitted by the candles complemented the silver light reflected from the silver branches in the room, and the whole room seemed to turn back to daylight in an instant.
Everyone at the banquet continued to exchange glasses, and before they knew it, nearly two hours had passed.
After everyone had had enough wine and food, Jérôme Bonaparte, who was looking slightly drunk, invited everyone present to dance in the ballroom.
The crowd under the influence of alcohol no longer abided by the doctrine, and they followed Jerome Bonaparte to the restaurant.
As for Crown Prince Friedrich, he was escorted by a black eunuch and returned to his room first.
When Jérôme Bonaparte and others arrived at the ballroom, dozens of ladies were already waiting around the ballroom.
If an ordinary person from Alexandria entered the ballroom, he would be surprised by the group of boldly dressed ladies in front of him, because without exception, these ladies are the wives of the invitees.
These ladies, who are usually aloof and aloof, have never dressed as boldly as they do today.
Jérôme Bonaparte, who had just entered the ballroom, was also shocked by Egypt's unique "customs and customs". Having attended many banquets, he had never been so surprised as he was today.
"Your Majesty, please choose someone to be your dance partner!" Mohammed Sai came to Jerome Bonaparte at some point and whispered to Jerome Bonaparte.
"This..." Jérôme Bonaparte responded to Mohammed Sai a little more reservedly, "Isn't this a little too offensive!"
Mahomet Sai naturally also understood the emperor's reserve. He once again said to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, please believe that every lady is honored to be your dance partner!
Every husband also feels that his wife can be chosen by you and feels that he shares weal and woe!"
After listening to Mahomet Sai's speech, Jérôme Bonaparte was no longer reserved and immediately chose a lady wearing a fishnet dress to be his dance partner.