CHAPTER 592: CHAPTER 583: THE "LESSON" IN THE RESTAURANT

Under the urging of Empress Augusta, Jerome Bonaparte reluctantly got dressed and walked out of the bedroom.

After a simple wash, Jerome Bonaparte took Empress Augusta’s hand and, guided by the servants, headed to the dining room.

At this moment, Franz Joseph, Princess Elizabeth, and Prince Metternich were wrapping up their breakfast in the dining room. The entrance of Jerome Bonaparte and his wife caused the three to set down their knives and forks and stand up simultaneously.

"No need to stand!" Jerome Bonaparte waved his hand, displaying a friendly smile and said, "There aren’t that many formalities in the Tuileries Palace! You can treat this place like your own home!"

Franz Joseph and the others sat back down, and Jerome Bonaparte, along with Augusta, also took their seats.

Jerome Bonaparte sat next to Franz Joseph, and Augusta sat next to Elizabeth.

After a while, the Royal Palace Chief Steward, Mokar, served Jerome Bonaparte’s breakfast on a tray, placing it in front of Jerome Bonaparte and Empress Augusta, consisting of a small sandwich, two eggs, and a glass of milk.

"Your Majesty the Empress, why are you only eating this?" Elizabeth, sitting next to Augusta, asked with puzzlement.

"Qianqian, this food is enough to fill the stomach!" Empress Augusta replied to Elizabeth with a smile: "There are many people in the world who can’t even have this!"

"How could anyone not even have this to eat?" Elizabeth couldn’t help but say.

"Silly girl, does everyone live in an environment as carefree as you?" Empress Augusta affectionately responded to Elizabeth.

"In fact, Qianqian’s ability to have such thoughts is quite normal! It’s the cognitive differences at play, Augusta, don’t forget what you said the first time you accompanied me to the orphanage!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Augusta in a gentle tone.

Remembering her naive remarks back then, Augusta’s face blushed slightly, and she softly complained, "Your Majesty, let’s not talk about the past."

Watching the couple openly flirt and banter in front of her, Elizabeth showed a trace of envy on her face. Would she and Franz Joseph be like them in the future?

Elizabeth cautiously glanced at Franz Joseph sitting opposite her and found Franz Joseph’s expression serious, seemingly contemplating something!

"In fact, those living in the upper echelons of society can only understand the current state through limited information! Whether it’s the newspapers published or the government’s work reports, they will never record the real data! They will only choose to report the positive side to the upper class, while hiding the negative aspects." Jerome Bonaparte took a bite of his sandwich and glanced at Franz Joseph beside him, "There are still many people in this world who have not crossed the subsistence line! Take Paris, for instance... Qianqian, in your eyes, what kind of city is Paris?"

"Ah!" Aroused from her thoughts, Princess Qianqian pondered for a moment, carefully choosing her words, and responded to Jerome Bonaparte: "Your Majesty, I think Paris is a beautiful and industrious city; it is an invaluable asset to France and even the world!"

"Qianqian, thank you for your praise of Paris!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Princess Qianqian: "Paris, as you said, is indeed a beautiful and industrious city, but behind this beauty and industrious spirit lies a city supported by tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of sans-culottes, who, like worker bees in a hive, work tirelessly in this vast hive, producing high-quality honey for us to enjoy.

These people are both the backbone of Paris and the silent majority! They are everywhere, yet they can be forgotten at any time.

However, the salaries of these people who have built the entire city of Paris only allow them to barely survive above the subsistence line.

In Paris, nearly seventy percent of workers cannot get enough food to sustain their lives, with bread hard enough to substitute for a stick becoming their means of survival.

The slightest disturbance could plunge them into abject poverty, and poverty will undoubtedly lead to large-scale unrest!

Those sans-culottes who cannot survive will not care if you are a king or an emperor; they will gamble their lives to overthrow those high and mighty people!"

"God! That’s truly terrifying!" Elizabeth responded with a trembling voice.

At this moment, Franz Joseph’s face also showed a trace of fear, as the Great Revolution from a few years ago still lingered in his mind.

"Is it terrifying?" Jerome Bonaparte chuckled lightly, then nodded and said, "For us, the sans-culottes indeed represent a formidable force, but this force is not without flaws! The simplest way is nothing more than a massacre! Simply annihilate all the rebellious population, and it can be done! We have used this method many times since the era of monarchy!"

Elizabeth was even more frightened, while Franz Joseph inwardly agreed somewhat with Jerome Bonaparte’s perspective.

"However, this method only treats the symptoms, not the root cause! Massacring the rebels will not solve the problem! Instead, it might bring some people together to resist mutually, especially since we are undergoing a transformation right now!" Jerome Bonaparte shifted the topic gradually towards the industrialization system, "An industrial transformation, the old agricultural production system will gradually disintegrate with the development of industrialization! The ancient nobles who cannot adapt to the new system will also gradually decline and even vanish amidst this impact!"

"Impossible!" Franz Joseph shouted in fear, unable to accept Jerome Bonaparte’s viewpoint due to his conservative mindset!

"Franz, why do you think this is impossible?" Jerome Bonaparte sharply questioned Franz Joseph.

"Because... because..." Franz Joseph racked his brains but could not answer.

"Your Majesty, can I answer this question as well?" Prince Metternich spoke to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Of course!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded in response to Metternich.

"Because the nobles possess far more wealth than ordinary people! If the era truly changes, their development will be faster than ordinary people’s!" Prince Metternich responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Mr. Metternich, investing is not the same as managing land! Pioneers can indeed avoid some detours, but how can you ensure that your investment is correct?" Jerome Bonaparte questioned, "Just one crisis is enough to turn the savings of countless nobles into bubbles! How many nobles, with ancient surnames but lacking the wealth to match their surnames, are truly credible!

During the Great Revolution, how many nobles who fled to other countries were able to rise again based solely on their surnames?"

Hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s words, Metternich was left speechless. He recalled the difficulties his family faced after their properties in the Netherlands were confiscated by the French Revolutionary Army.

"The bourgeoisie birthed by industrialization will, with their ample financial resources, gradually destroy the entire aristocratic system and then replace it!" Jerome Bonaparte revealed a harsh reality to Franz Joseph.

If not for him, Franz Joseph would come to understand this only after decades of relentless battering.

"Your Majesty, is there nothing that can stop it?" Elizabeth’s face turned pale as she helped Franz Joseph inquire.

"Regrettably!" Jerome Bonaparte sighed deeply in response, "No power can stop its birth, as it is not something tangible but a trend. Some early-adopting countries are undergoing transformation, some have completed it. If you resist this change, you will become a sacrifice for those early-adopting countries!"

Everyone except Elizabeth understood that the early-adopting countries Jerome Bonaparte referred to specifically meant England and France.

And the immense gap between industrialized countries and agricultural countries was vividly demonstrated in this Crimean War!

"The nobility will struggle amidst this tide of change, yet no matter how much they struggle, only a small portion of the nobility will survive! The vast majority of nobles will be drowned; naturally, this process spans decades!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Franz Joseph, "During this time, those with noble surnames will still be active on the political stage, becoming the trendsetters of the era. However, in terms of the overall environment, nobles no longer have the ability to completely rule the country! They must learn to share power with some people, like your Austrian Empire does with Baron Rothschild! In the future, more and more people will step forward to replace the position of the nobility, weakening their influence!"

Since Astam Rothschild was ennobled as a baron by Emperor Franz, the influence of the Rothschild Clan in the Austrian Empire increased day by day, seemingly set to influence the entire Austrian economy.

"Mr. Rothschild is already a baron of the Empire!" Franz Joseph retorted.

"That’s merely a disguise for convenience! The Rothschild Clan’s loyalty to Austria cannot be compared with that of the ancient nobility!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Franz Joseph.

Franz Joseph remained silent as Jerome Bonaparte was right; the loyalty of the Rothschild Clan to the Empire was only skin deep!

"Franz, an era named industrialization has arrived, and those unwilling to embrace industrialization will inevitably be abandoned by the times! Even the most ancient empire, if unable to align with the wheels of progress, will be crushed!"