Jerome Bonaparte's analysis far exceeded Louis Bonaparte's expectations. He originally just wanted his cousin to have a slight understanding of the current situation in France, and then use the limited time to analyze for him. As a member of the Bonaparte Clan, staying out of politics was not an option.
What he didn't expect was that he had never truly understood his cousin, whose political acumen was unexpectedly sharp.
Louis Bonaparte scrutinized Jerome with a penetrating gaze, as if trying to see through Jerome's body into the depths of his soul.
Jerome straightened his back. Although he appeared confident, he was equally uneasy inside, fearing that Louis Bonaparte might notice something unusual about Jerome.
"Who taught you those analyses just now?" Louis Bonaparte spoke again, and Jerome felt a sense of relief.
After adjusting his state slightly, Jerome calmly pointed to his head and eyes and said, "These are all what I saw and thought of myself! No one was willing to teach me, besides..."
Jerome paused and revealed a contemptuous smile, "The bureaucrats sitting high above Paris for nine days [Note 1] are probably still pondering how to suppress the upcoming riots! Putting workers into national workshops is just a stalling tactic; it cannot fundamentally solve France's unemployment problem, not to mention those parliamentarians each with ulterior motives! Paris now is like a powder keg."
Jerome gestured in the air, "Just a little spark, and the powder keg will ignite! Then Paris will face the second division. By that time, the Republican Faction can only ruthlessly suppress the workers! Even if the Republicans manage to suppress the workers by chance, how will they realize their so-called universal suffrage when Parisians don't have a fish's seven-second memory!"
In the original course of history, a second revolution triggered by workers was due to descend upon Paris in two months, plunging the newborn Republic into a crisis of division or death. Under the parliament's tough policies, the moderate Lamartine withdrew, replaced by the military strongman Cafenak, marking the onset of the Republic's rending stage from that time.
Jerome Bonaparte's reply made Louis Bonaparte ponder. Having not been in Paris for a long time, most of the information he had was second-hand, or even third-hand, from newspapers, far less direct than Jerome's firsthand account.
"My dear cousin, how do you view this revolution?" Louis Bonaparte asked Jerome Bonaparte with a serious expression. From now on, he no longer regarded Jerome Bonaparte as a little brother who needed his care, but as one who would soon raise the Bonaparte flag high.
"An opportunity!" Jerome Bonaparte responded without hesitation, and then added, "An opportunity for the Bonaparte Clan to return to the political arena in France. The Bonaparte Clan has not returned to the center of French power, Paris, for 33 years!"
Jerome raised his hand and clenched his fist, "We must seize this opportunity to return to Paris, just like His Majesty the Emperor did back then; controlling Paris means controlling the whole of France!"
Jerome Bonaparte's ambitious words also stirred Louis Bonaparte's ambitions.
Since 1830 until now, Louis Bonaparte had never forgotten ascending the throne of France, but every attempt ended in failure.
Now, with the power of France in a state of vacuum, his body was the first to fail him.
Regret enveloped Louis Bonaparte's heart. The fire of ambition in his eyes gradually extinguished, leaving only a sigh.
After the sigh, Louis Bonaparte readjusted his emotions and looked at his cousin Jerome. He didn't have much time left, but Jerome was still young; perhaps he could...
"Jerome, what is your plan?" Louis Bonaparte asked with his hands folded together, a stern expression on his face.
Jerome slowly lowered the arm that was raised in mid-air, shook his head, and said with a wry smile, "The original plan was to invite you back to Paris and then participate in the election there. I believe that with Bonaparte's influence in France, we could certainly defeat those weak Republicans in the election and seize the throne of France!"
"Can we really seize power in France?" The twice-failed attempts made Louis Bonaparte somewhat hesitant and confused. He believed he could seize power, but to seize it through elections seemed somewhat frivolous.
Even the uncle he touted had only crowned himself with a veneer of false democracy after he had secured the army.
"Whether we can seize power is not actually about us, but about our opponents!" Jerome Bonaparte said confidently, "As long as the Republican Faction continues to implement universal suffrage, a vast voting base in the countryside will be ours to use! The presidency of France is within reach!"
Louis Bonaparte was also very enticed by the scenario described by Jerome Bonaparte, but his body could no longer permit him to continue hustling for elections.
Louis Bonaparte cast his gaze once more on Jerome, this time with a gratified smile on his face. The whiskers at the corner of his mouth stretched out as he smiled and placed his hand on Jerome Bonaparte's shoulder, saying, "I think your plan should change!"
"Change?" Jerome Bonaparte instantly understood the implication. He shook his head and said self-deprecatingly, "I'm just a nobody with a title from the Bonaparte Clan, hardly anyone in Paris can recognize me! Cousin, you're different! Your fame soared with the two coups, and 'Eradicating Poverty' let all of Paris recognize a learned Prince Bonaparte! Those are achievements I cannot match in the short term!"
"You can too!" Louis Bonaparte asserted resolutely, "Trust me, cousin! Sometimes, a dead person's value is greater than a living one's. Because the dead need the living to narrate their deeds, and the living are willing to share the dead's glory! Especially a dead person who hasn't made mistakes yet!"
Jerome did not understand what Louis Bonaparte meant.
"Let me tell you..." Louis Bonaparte whispered into Jerome's ear.
"No... I disagree!" Jerome Bonaparte exclaimed, his eyes widened, his lips muttering.
"Cousin, this time you must listen to me!" Louis Bonaparte said decisively to Jerome, "I have a premonition; this is the Bonaparte Clan's last opportunity! If we fail this time, we may never return to the political stage of France again."
PS: 1. A derogatory term for bureaucrats in Paris.