When the morning light broke through the hazy veil covering the sea of Rouen, a steam passenger ship slowly sailed into the port of Rouen from a distance.
After the passenger ship stabilized, Jérôme Bonaparte and Augusta, dressed in casual clothes, walked step by step on the steps leading to the port towards the Rouen pier below.
Soon, Jérôme Bonaparte and Augusta were standing at the dock of Rouen port.
Looking at the crowds coming and going at the port pier, Jérôme Bonaparte and Augusta looked at each other and smiled.
After more than a month, they finally returned to their home country again.
"Finally back!" Jérôme Bonaparte couldn't help but sigh.
"yes!
"Augusta also responded.
Just when Jérôme Bonaparte and Queen Augusta lamented the difficulty of the journey, Mokar approached Jérôme Bonaparte and Queen Augusta and asked them in a low voice whether they were going to the Rouen City Hall to meet Rouen.
Meeting with Ang officials.
"No need!" Jerome Bonaparte decisively rejected Mokar and said, "I'm just passing by here. There is no need to alert the officials in Rouen!"
"Yes! Your Majesty!" Mokar bowed and responded.
Immediately afterwards, Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta were arranged by Mokar in a luxury hotel in Rouen. Mokar personally went to the Rouen train station to buy a ticket for Jérôme Bonaparte and his wife to travel to Paris.
train tickets.
After sitting on the sofa and waiting quietly for more than an hour, the door knocked again. Jerome Bonaparte got up and came to the door of the room and asked: "Who is it?"
"Your Majesty, I am Mokar!" Mokar's voice came from outside the door.
This guy, didn’t I tell him to call me sir?
Jerome Bonaparte complained in his heart, and then opened the door.
After the door opened, Jérôme Bonaparte discovered that Mokar was not the only one standing at the door.
Behind Mokar was a guy who looked familiar, but couldn't remember him.
"Who are you?" Jérôme Bonaparte looked curiously at the people following Mokar.
"Your Majesty, I am Adolphe Leclerc, the mayor of Rouen!" Mayor Leclerc behind Mokar quickly introduced himself.
After listening to Leclerc's introduction, Jérôme Bonaparte gave Mokar a sharp look.
Upon seeing this, Mokar hurriedly explained to Jérôme Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, Mayor Leclerc and I just met by chance on the road! I did not go to the city hall specifically to look for Leclerc!"
Adolf Leclerc, who was standing aside, also echoed, "Your Majesty, what Chief Mokar said is right! The Chief and I just met by chance on the street."
"Come in!" Jérôme Bonaparte said calmly to Adolphe Leclerc and Mokar.
Adolphe Leclerc and Mokar entered the room. After seeing Mayor Leclerc open the door, Queen Augusta on the sofa also stood up and said to Leclerc: "Mr. Leclerc,
Hello!"
"Hello, Your Majesty the Queen!" Leclerc hurriedly saluted Queen Augusta, "Please forgive me for coming here without saying hello!"
"Nothing!" Queen Augusta shook her head and responded to Leclerc, "My husband and I did not notify you because we were worried that it would cause unnecessary trouble to you!
My husband and I are very happy to have Mr. Leclerc here!"
“Augusta is right! We’re glad you could come!
"
Since Leclerc had already arrived, Jérôme Bonaparte had no reason to drive him away. He stretched out his hand to invite Mayor Leclerc to sit down.
Leclerc then reported to Jerome Bonaparte the development status of the Rouen region and the financial balance and expenditure.
From Leclerc's hands, Jérôme Bonaparte learned that the development of the Rouen region had not stopped or even regressed because of the war.
On the contrary, because of the end of the war, the development speed was even faster than during the war period.
The reason is that Rouen relies on semi-finished textiles from overseas (mainly Britain and the United States) for processing, and then exports them overseas to earn profits from processing.
In Rouen during the war, everything had to be compromised for the war, which made the original textile industry orders more inclined to low-cost orders, so the profits earned by the Rouen region also decreased with the decrease in orders.
Now, after the war, the Rouen region is able to obtain semi-finished textiles from overseas for secondary processing, thereby earning huge profits.
"Your Majesty, our city hall plans to take advantage of Rouen's geographical advantages to build a steel industry park in Rouen! In this way, Rouen will not only be able to meet the city's steel needs, but also meet other cities in Normandy Province.
The town's steel needs!" Mayor Leclerc reported ambitiously to Jérôme Bonaparte.
"Very good! The idea of your city hall is very good," Jérôme Bonaparte nodded with satisfaction and said to Leclerc, "The Rouen region should not only consolidate and develop the textile industry, but also have the courage to explore other fields!
I think you should not only develop the steel field, but also expand in the chemical industry!
The textile dyes you make are closely related to the chemical industry!
As the mayor, you should think more about the issue of artificial dyes and strive to let the whole world use products from Rouen!"
"Your Majesty, please rest assured! I will definitely follow your teachings and make the chemical industry bigger and stronger!" Leclerc assured Jérôme Bonaparte.
"However, you have to remember that nothing can be rushed! The more anxious you are, the easier it is to do bad things!" Jérôme Bonaparte warned Leclerc again.
"Yes!" Leclerc nodded again.
Leclerc then asked Jérôme Bonaparte if he would go with him to the Rouen City Hall to "instruct" the officials of the Rouen City Hall.
"I don't think this is necessary!" Jérôme Bonaparte shook his head and rejected Leclerc and said, "The development of your Rouen City Hall is quite good, and you don't need the guidance of a layman like me at all!
Just keep it up!”
Although Leclerc was a little disappointed with Jerome Bonaparte's unwillingness to go to Rouen City Hall, he still assured Jerome Bonaparte that he would follow Jerome Bonaparte's teachings.
.
"Okay! That's all I have to say!" Jérôme Bonaparte turned his attention to Mokar, "How are you doing with the train tickets I asked you to buy?"
"Your Majesty, the train will leave at 3 o'clock in the afternoon!" Mokar immediately replied to Jérôme Bonaparte.
"It's three o'clock in the afternoon!" Jerome Bonaparte took out the pocket watch in his pocket and glanced at the time.
It was already around 11 o'clock at this time, and it was only more than 4 hours before the train started.
Jerome Bonaparte raised his head and smiled and said to Leclerc: "Mr. Leclerc! If you don't mind, you can stay and dine with us!"
A joyful expression immediately appeared on Leclerc's face. Sitting at the same dining table with the emperor was something he could not even dream of doing.
"It is my honor, Your Majesty!" Leclerc said, bowing to Jérôme Bonaparte again.
At 11:30 in the morning, the owner of his hotel, who knew that he had met a distinguished person, personally brought lunch to Jérôme Bonaparte's room and then left the room.
[ps: The boss doesn’t know that Jerome Bonaparte is the emperor, he is just someone who can keep Mayor Leclerc company, probably a certain prince in Paris.]
Jérôme Bonaparte, who was sitting at the dining table, raised his glass and blessed Leclerc, "I hope that the city of Rouen will become more prosperous under the leadership of you, Mayor Joseph Leclerc."
!
Please rest assured that the empire will not forget everyone who has contributed to it!"
After saying that, Jérôme Bonaparte and Joseph Leclerc clinked their glasses with each other, and then drank the red wine in the glasses.
…
Lunch lasted for nearly an hour before it ended. Jérôme Bonaparte and Adolphe Leclerc, who had eaten and drank enough, parted outside the hotel. (Adolphe Leclerc originally wanted to see Jérôme off in person.
Bonaparte waited to board the train, but was rejected by Jérôme Bonaparte.)
At 2:25 in the afternoon, Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta boarded the train, this time they traveled first class.
Compared with the messy third-class cabin, the first-class cabin is particularly quiet, with only about 20 people in the entire carriage.
After the whole journey, Jérôme Bonaparte and Augusta did not make a new friend.
Because every guest sitting in the first class cabin looks so unapproachable.
The train arrived in Paris around 10 a.m. the next day.
After getting off the train, Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta met Jerome Patterson and a group of soldiers on the train platform.
When the guests who were also sitting in the first-class cabin saw Jerome Patterson, they all showed surprise on their faces.
Standing in front of Jerome Bonaparte, Jerome Patterson shouted in a sonorous voice, "Your Majesty Emperor Jerome, Your Majesty Queen Augusta, welcome back to Paris!"
After hearing these words, the expressions of the first-class guests changed again, and many of them had a look of regret on their faces.
If they could have talked with the two His Majesties on the train, maybe their fate would be very different from now.
"Thank you for your hard work!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded to Jerome Patterson, and then left the train station with Jerome Patterson.
On the way to the carriage, Jerome Bonaparte asked Jerome Patterson how he knew he and Augusta were on this train!
Jerome Paterson told Jerome Bonaparte that Paris received a telegram from Rouen last night, which stated that the emperor and queen had set off on the train to Paris, so they appeared here.