Make France Great Again-Chapter 182 - 183: Arresting Alphonse Rothschild

"Mr. President, we have discovered some credit issues with the Rothschild Clan’s bank! A batch of stock exchange officials took bribes from them in private, selling bonds of poor quality! This undermines the stability of the French market!"

The Paris Police Chief, Kalie, who just entered the room, quickly approached Jerome Bonaparte to report.

"I wasn’t... I didn’t!" Alphonse de Rothschild, looking at the suddenly intruding Kalie and others, quickly understood Jerome Bonaparte’s intentions.

He instantly realized that he was not facing the mild-mannered Louis Philippe but a cold-hearted dictator.

Financial means could deal with someone like Louis Philippe, but not with a dictator.

"Your Majesty, the Rothschild Bank also used bribery to corrupt a batch of officials from the Ministry of Public Works, obtaining a large number of railway bonds with their help!" The Minister of Justice, Rue, unabashedly addressed Jerome Bonaparte as "Your Majesty".

"Mr. Alphonse, do you have anything else you want to argue? Corrupting national officials, selling inferior bonds... I see you’re quite bold!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Alphonse de Rothschild with a sarcastic tone.

Bankers who had been pleading poverty earlier kept their heads down silently. In this era, isn’t everyone doing the same thing? Hasn’t the President done it too? Of course!

Despite inwardly criticizing the President, the bankers dared not frankly advise or petition him.

Not to mention the severe corruption in France, even by the time of the Third Republic, Fourth Republic, or even the Fifth Republic, corruption has not decreased at all! Many Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Fifth Republic have been accused of corruption and investigated. However, investigation is one thing, but how many have actually faced punishment?

In the capitalist world, corruption is merely a tool for those in power; they can use it to bring down political opponents.

And in the United States, they even turned collusion into so-called political donations, making corruption a legitimate source of income, which is also a subtle maneuver in the capitalist world.

Due to factors relating to power, Jerome Bonaparte could accuse Alphonse de Rothschild of using bribery to corrupt the French bureaucracy, but Alphonse de Rothschild, in front of everyone, refuted Jerome Bonaparte by saying everyone is a corrupt person.

Otherwise, his fate would not just be imprisonment but also severe punishment.

Alphonse de Rothschild sensibly stopped talking, making everyone present breathe a sigh of relief; if he had started accusing recklessly, everyone present would have been doomed.

"Mr. Alphonse, you’ve violated the country’s laws!" Jerome Bonaparte displayed an expression of surprise, then shook his head and said, "It’s truly regrettable; I didn’t expect such a thing to happen!"

"Chief Kalie!" Jerome Bonaparte turned his gaze to Director Kalie.

"Yes!" Director Kalie responded with his head down to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Is my friend really going to prison?" Jerome Bonaparte "choked" as he asked Kalie.

"I’m afraid it must be so!" Kalie "righteously" responded.

"In that case, Mr. Alphonse! Please trouble yourself to accompany the police!" Jerome Bonaparte said to a pale Alphonse de Rothschild: "Rest assured! Once the truth is found, you’ll certainly be released!"

"Thank you, Mr. President!" Alphonse de Rothschild gave a smile even more unpleasant than crying and expressed his gratitude to Jerome Bonaparte.

If there were such a thing as a remedy for regret, Alphonse de Rothschild would surely take one.

A mere ten million francs is nothing compared to the safety of the Rothschild Bank.

Who could have expected that the dictator would actually dare to arrest people!

"Let’s go, Mr. Rothschild. We have no intention of shackling you!"

Under the watchful eyes of the bankers, Alphonse de Rothschild could only follow the police officers out of the room.

The door to the room closed again, and the startled bankers retracted their gazes.

"You needn’t worry, gentlemen. Mr. Alphonse is just cooperating with the investigation! Even if he is guilty, the charge would be bribery at most!" Jerome Bonaparte "reassured" the bankers present.

The reassurance had an unexpected effect; the bankers who had previously complained to Jerome Bonaparte about their lack of funds suddenly became wealthy.

"Mr. President, I am willing to serve France’s national defense!"

"Mr. President, I am willing too!"

The bankers enthusiastically expressed their commitment to contributing to France’s future to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Gentlemen, you are the elite of France, and I can’t bear to ask for your help!" Jerome Bonaparte looked at the bankers with a troubled expression.

The bankers quickly assured the President that he need not be courteous with them, and insisted they be allowed to contribute to the national defense of France.

Jerome Bonaparte reluctantly agreed to the bankers’ patriotic intentions.

"Alright! Since everyone is so enthusiastic, I hope you will continue to serve the future of France!" Jerome Bonaparte said with a pleasant smile to everyone present.

After Jerome Bonaparte delivered a "profound" lecture, the bankers finally realized the importance of national defense, and they eagerly donated to Jerome Bonaparte.

The initial plan was to raise 10 million francs, but Jerome Bonaparte raised 15 million francs.

This method turned out to be even more violent than robbery.

"I will remember your patriotism in my heart!" Knowing well the tactic of giving a stick and then a sweet date, Jerome Bonaparte immediately said, "The next issue of railway bonds will be released in January next year! Anyone who participated in this donation can have the priority to subscribe to the bonds. I can assure you that the next railway bonds will be even more!"

Jerome Bonaparte’s promise thrilled the bankers, as the stable returns of the railway bonds were enough for them to forget the recent pain.

If the President had informed them of this "good news" earlier, they would have gladly donated to the military.

Why go through the trouble of brandishing swords?

In Jerome Bonaparte’s mind, only by instilling fear in the bankers can he ensure they follow his commands.

At the end of the 20th century, a leader of the Cosmic Country, Roh Tae-woo, often summoned the conglomerates to Cheongwadae during his rule to reprimand them. The conglomerates trembled with fear, and dared not talk back, only allowing Roh Tae-woo to demand as he wished.

Even after Roh Tae-woo stepped down, the leaders of the conglomerates, who had internalized their fear of him, still made regular monetary tributes to Prince Charming every year.

If you cannot earn their respect, then try to acquire their fear.

Fear will prevent them from having any room to resist your executive orders.

After the fundraising ended, the bankers walked out of the room, trembling with fear.

Inside the room, only a few remained: Count Algou, Mane, Emile Pereire, Isaac Pereire, Achille Fuld, and Adolphe Schneider.

"Mr. Algou!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded slightly at the elderly President of the Bank of France.

"Mr. President, you have truly taught me a lesson!" Count Algou couldn’t help but remark, "In you, I seem to see the shadow of the Emperor of the past!"

The old man, who had lived through the Imperial Era, Restoration of Bourbon, and the Orleans Kingdom, had eyes full of nostalgia.

"Huh! My uncle?" Jerome Bonaparte curiously asked Count Algou.

"The Emperor of the past was just like you. He entrusted the Bank of France to us, and we raised military funds for him. In the end, the Bank of France became a personal wallet that he could draw from at will!" Count Algou sighed, regretting his choice of words and quickly said, "Please forgive an old man’s nonsense!"

"A wallet? No, Mr. Algou, I am not like my uncle, and the Bank of France will never become a personal wallet!" Jerome Bonaparte declared firmly to Count Algou.

"That would be for the best!" A smile appeared on Count Algou’s face. He knew never to trust a politician’s words, but what else could they do but believe him for now.

Alas! Count Algou had witnessed firsthand when the Emperor dissolved the Five Hundred People’s Hall. If the President had even a tenth of his uncle’s courage, how could the legislators in the Legislative Assembly be his opponents?

"However, I hope the Bank of France can appropriately adjust some policies!" Jerome Bonaparte expressed his opinion to the President of the French Industrial Bank in front of him.

"Speak!" Count Algou asked Jerome Bonaparte sternly. novelbuddy-cσ๓

"I know you and your colleagues at the Bank of France are proud of its profits!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Count Algou. "But have you ever thought, the more you profit, the more the French business community loses!"

"Mr. President, with all due respect! The essence of a bank is to exist for profit!" Count Algou, with a conservative viewpoint, immediately retorted.

"I acknowledge that from a long-term perspective, the bank aims for profit!" Jerome Bonaparte took out a Napoleon gold coin and said, "I once read in a book that the value of gold does not lie in itself, but in serving as a general equivalent. This function, given by its rare nature, is its mission. If gold cannot serve as a general equivalent for exchange, it becomes useless!"

The medieval mindset of precious metal still lingering in the 19th century severely hampered the development of the European financial system.

Although the Saint-Simonists had proposed the connection between industry and finance early in the 19th century, only the future Second Empire truly understood and implemented it. The remaining countries gradually realized the connection between industry and finance not until the 1860s to 1870s.

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