Chapter seven hundred and twenty-first Toulon show
"Welcome?" The mayor of Toulon was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and said excitedly: "Yes! I will order people to prepare immediately!"
"Remember! Be quick! We don't have much time!" Minister Dick once again warned the mayor of Toulon: "All greeters must be present before the fog dissipates!"
"Please rest assured! I will definitely let His Majesty see your enthusiasm in Toulon!" the mayor of Toulon responded firmly to Minister Dick.
"Then I will take the first step! As soon as you are ready, rush to the port!"
After handing over the task, Minister Dick quickly left the city hall. As the organizer of the welcome ceremony, he not only wanted to let Emperor Jérôme Bonaparte see the love of the residents of Toulon, but also the support of the Navy for His Majesty.
.
Otherwise, how can their navy compete with those army bastards for military expenditures?
Minister Dicko heard that the current French (acting) Chief of General Staff Niel is implementing the second military reform to address the shortcomings of France in the Crimean Peninsula.
If the navy does not take action to show its loyalty to Emperor Jérôme Bonaparte, then the next military expenditure will inevitably be tilted towards the reforming army.
After Minister Dick left, the mayor of Toulon also ordered his bureaucrats to take action.
The entire Toulon City Hall is like a machine that has just been started and is running at high speed.
On the other hand, the fleet far outside the military port was drifting quietly on the sea, waiting for the mist to dissipate.
After all, sailing into a military port in foggy conditions is a very dangerous act.
While Jérôme Bonaparte and others were waiting for the fog to dissipate, a small boat appeared from the fog and soon arrived near the ironclad Friendship.
Immediately afterwards, the officer on the boat shouted loudly that he had come here on the order of Minister Dicko, with the purpose of meeting His Majesty Jérôme Bonaparte.
The captain of the ironclad ship immediately reported the situation to Jérôme Bonaparte.
"Dico, what on earth is this guy doing?" Jérôme Bonaparte muttered in a low voice, and then gave the order: "Throw down the rope and let them come up along the rope!"
"Yes!" The captain immediately threw the rope to the naval officer on the small boat. The naval officer climbed along the rope to the side ramp of the ironclad ship, and then followed the ramp to the deck of the ironclad ship to meet Jérôme Bonaparte.
"Your Majesty!" the naval officer who met Jerome Bonaparte immediately bowed to Jerome Bonaparte and said.
"What is the purpose of Dicko sending you here?" Jérôme Bonaparte asked lightly.
The naval officer politely told Jérôme Bonaparte that Minister Dicko hoped that His Majesty could wait for a while at sea so that he could be fully prepared.
"Prepare! Prepare for what?" Jérôme Bonaparte showed a little displeasure on his face. After wandering at sea for more than a week, he was eager to set foot on land again.
The naval officer who felt the displeasure in Jérôme Bonaparte's words responded hesitantly to Jérôme Bonaparte: "His Excellency the Minister said that he wanted to make His Majesty feel that the residents of the Toulon military port have a negative attitude towards him."
Your Majesty, your love! Your Majesty, your heroic appearance in the Crimean Peninsula has fascinated every resident of Toulon Port, and they admire and respect you from the bottom of their hearts!"
After listening to the naval officer's words, Jerome Bonaparte could not help but reveal a proud smile.
"This Dicko can always come up with something new for me!" Jérôme Bonaparte laughed and scolded, then pointed at the naval officer and said: "Go back and tell Dicko, for his sake,
I'll just wait for a while!
Remember, don’t keep me waiting too long!”
"Yes! Your Majesty!" the naval officer replied quickly to Jérôme Bonaparte.
Then, the naval officers bid farewell to Jérôme Bonaparte.
He jumped onto the boat along the rope, and gradually disappeared into the hazy mist on the boat.
Time flew by, and about an hour later, the sun gradually poked its head out from the eastern horizon, and the fog shrouding the city of Toulon gradually dissipated.
The small boat driven by the naval officer once again appeared around the Jérôme Bonaparte ironclad.
"Your Majesty, the fleet can enter the military port!" the naval officer said to Jérôme Bonaparte.
"You are moving quite fast!" Jérôme Bonaparte, who looked through the monocular lookout and saw the dense "black spots" at the military port in the distance, couldn't help but praise him.
The naval officer had a shy smile on his face.
Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte ordered the ironclad Friendly and its attached transport ships and frigates to set off for the military port in sequence.
The "Friendship" started up again, and after about ten minutes of driving, the ironclad ship sailed near the port of Toulon.
Only then did Jérôme Bonaparte discover that the warships in the port of Toulon were neatly lined up in two rows at the moment, which seemed to be a specially prepared show to welcome Jérôme Bonaparte's triumphant return.
As soon as Jerome Bonaparte's ironclad ship entered the port, Minister Dicko on the shore quickly ordered the semaphores on the shore to issue an order to fire on the two fleets.
The two rows of warships received the order from the semaphore troops to fire and quickly sailed to one side. The "Yiyi" and its attached fleet passed through the gap between the two rows of warships with a huge roar and arrived at the port.
pier.
"Let's go, everyone!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Wallewski and Richard Metternich who were accompanying him.
Walewski and Richard Metternich followed Jerome Bonaparte and disembarked from the gangway on the side of the ironclad.
Jérôme Bonaparte, who had just set foot on land, once again felt an unprecedented peace of mind. He muttered in a voice that only he could hear: "The wandering life at sea is indeed not suitable for someone like me.
people."
As soon as Jérôme Bonaparte finished speaking, the voice of Minister Dicko came to his ears: "Your Majesty!"
"Dico, you are here!" Jérôme Bonaparte said to Dicko with a smile, then stretched out his hand and shook it tightly with Minister Dicko.
"Your Majesty, welcome home!" Minister Dicko replied to Jérôme Bonaparte with a sincere expression.
After the monarch and his ministers exchanged greetings for a moment, Jérôme Bonaparte turned his attention to the gentleman in leather clothes beside Dicko. He thought for a moment: "If I remember correctly, you are the mayor of Toulon, Ya."
Cobu Joey?"
The mayor, who heard that Jerome Bonaparte still remembered his name, responded to Jerome Bonaparte with a look of honor: "Your Majesty, I am honored that you still remember me!"
"The current prosperity of Toulon is inseparable from the guidance of your Toulon City Hall. How could I forget?" Jérôme Bonaparte reached out and patted Jacob Joy on the shoulder and said: "Toulon
As one of the few excellent ports in France, the Port of Toulon, like Marseille, carries our country’s hope for the entire Mediterranean region. Therefore, I hope that the Port of Toulon will not only become a military port, but also a link between Mediterranean countries and France.
between trading ports.
The Toulon City Hall must continue its efforts and strive to build Toulon into France... no, I should say the world's first-class port."
"Your Majesty, please rest assured that our Toulon City Hall will definitely live up to your expectations and strive to build Toulon into an international port!" the mayor of Toulon also assured Jérôme Bonaparte.
"With your words, I feel relieved!" Jérôme Bonaparte responded to the mayor of Toulon with a smile.
No one knows the future potential of the Port of Toulon better than him. Once the Suez Canal is completed, the originally sluggish Mediterranean trade will be revitalized.
(One of the reasons why Mediterranean trade declined in history was the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope route.)
The port of Toulon can also follow this trend and become more prosperous.
Of course, Jérôme Bonaparte himself no longer had any hope that the Suez Canal would belong to France, because once the Suez Canal was opened, it would definitely affect the interests of the Cape of Good Hope route and the British Kingdom's control of the Mediterranean. As a maritime hegemon,
Britain will never allow this to happen.
Regardless of the various concessions made by Britain to the French Empire, it is because the French Empire itself has not yet made any move to seize the "Poseidon Trident".
Once Britain determines that France is trying to snatch Poseidon's Trident from it, it will maintain its maritime hegemony at all costs.
From the Napoleonic Wars to World War I and then World War II, Britain implemented their beliefs with practical actions.
Therefore, Jérôme Bonaparte did not want to have a major conflict with Britain unless it was absolutely necessary.
The topic went off topic. After Jerome Bonaparte encouraged the mayor of Toulon, he invited Minister Dick and Mayor Jacob to follow him on his left and right sides.
When Jérôme Bonaparte advanced again, the band played the "Triumph Ode" of the First Empire. Under the passionate melody, several children like porcelain dolls appeared in front of Jerome Bonaparte.
They held flowers and garlands in their hands, as if they had rehearsed, and said to Jerome Bonaparte in unison: "Your Majesty, welcome back!"
"Well!" In full view of everyone, Jérôme Bonaparte knelt down, gently touched each child's head and said softly: "Thank you for your hard work!"
Then, he pointed to the flowers and flower crowns in the children's hands and asked them: "Is this for me?"
"Yeah!" The children nodded, and then said, "But the adults said it would take a while before I can give it to you!"
"Are you tired?" Jérôme Bonaparte asked again.
"tired!"
"Not tired!"
Some children follow their parents' advice and answer "not tired", while others follow their own answers and answer "tired"!
"I know!" Jerome Bonaparte stretched out his hand to take away the flowers from the children's hands, and then lowered his head and put the children's garlands on his head.
After doing all this, Jerome Bonaparte patted each child's butt and said: "Let's go! Go home!"