Who Should Take the Blame?

Although he was outmaneuvered by his superior and made a fool of himself, Napoleon's reputation actually improved somewhat. Before, people thought of Napoleon as nothing more than a science enthusiast. But after this incident, public opinion generally considered Napoleon a genuine, unadulterated scientist—even though he sometimes made mistakes. As for what ordinary people thought? Often, ordinary people had no opinion of their own; they simply followed the opinions of the public.

Naturally, this also led to a further increase in Napoleon's approval rating. This is understandable, considering that His Majesty Napoleon was knowledgeable in military affairs, law, politics, economics, and science; he was a true omniscient ruler, practically a philosopher-king.

After that, a period of peace and tranquility followed. For a while afterward, Joseph tried to continue to cause trouble for Napoleon by giving Napoleon more paper review assignments. However, this time Napoleon took Lucien's advice and retaliated with a cowardly and humiliating tactic. He told his mother that he was already busy, and Joseph had dumped so much work on him that he didn't even have time to go on dates with Miss Lola.

Letizia has never really interfered in the affairs between her sons, finding them too complicated for her to understand. But this time, however, Letizia has decided to intervene with her eldest son. After all, it concerns having a grandson.

Joseph was thus successfully repelled. Napoleon's life immediately improved, except for Letizia's occasional urging for marriage. However, Napoleon always wanted to postpone it as much as possible, because he found that he could use dating as an excuse to push many things onto Joseph and Lucien.

Of course, in rebellion, Joseph and Lucien naturally joined the party pressuring Napoleon to get married.

Good times are always fleeting. In the end, Napoleon had no choice but to submit to the three great powers, and the Roman Empire gained another empress.

Just as Napoleon predicted, once he got married, his mother immediately returned to retirement, and then she couldn't shake off many things again.

So, no sooner had his honeymoon ended than Napoleon became busy again.

For example, today, at the family meeting, Joseph once again threw a report at Napoleon.

This report concerns the France economic situation. The France stock market has been in a bull market for years; more precisely, since Napoleon became First Consul, France market has been steadily rising. While there have been minor fluctuations, overall, the market has performed very well. As a result, the prices of various France stocks have been climbing steadily, and now stock prices have reached a considerably high level.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, the economic fundamentals were not as good as they used to be. Take railways as an example. The emergence of railways did indeed greatly improve productivity, but precisely because railways were profitable, investment in railways increased dramatically in France and even across Europe, and the market was extremely enthusiastic about railways.

One consequence of this craze was the proliferation of railways. Initially, railways were built only where needed, but later, they were repeatedly built wherever necessary. Then, it became a phenomenon where railways were built wherever there was a possibility. For example, there were three railway lines connecting Paris to "New Rome," a distance of only a few dozen kilometers. And there were two railway lines connecting Paris to Marseille, with a third even under construction.

However, neither France nor other Europe countries needed that many railways, nor did they have that many goods that needed to be transported by rail. As a result, railway capacity began to be severely excessive.

Because of excess railway capacity, most railway lines are not operating many trains. On average, the railways across continental Europe are operating at just over 20% of their capacity, and in France, the figure is even lower, less than 10%.

Most railway companies' plans are based on operating at more than 50% capacity, so in the current situation, these companies have no room for profit. They are still alive mainly by relying on bank loans and telling stories on the stock market.

"Joseph, why are you showing me these?" Napoleon asked.

On the sofa opposite his desk, Joseph crossed his legs and said, "Napoleon, your reputation has risen a bit recently, which is just what you need, isn't it? Hmm, the wheat is ripe; it's time to harvest it."

Napoleon understood Joseph's meaning; in fact, Joseph was partly responsible for the railway frenzy. Thanks to the overheated railway construction, Lorraine Steel sold vast quantities of steel products, making an immeasurable profit. Meanwhile, the banking system of the Military-Industrial Complex also profited immensely from this railway madness.

The railway boom also attracted a large influx of foreign investment, all aimed at making quick profits. Therefore, they focused more on stock prices than on actual business operations. Consequently, the Roman Bank (a consortium of banks belonging to the Military-Industrial Consortium, including the Bovan Bank) seized this opportunity to gradually transfer a large amount of debt from worthless railways to these foreign banks. In the process, these foreign banks appeared to have made considerable profits.

"You mean to pop this bubble and reap the benefits?" Napoleon said. "That's very hateful. What do you plan to do?"

"First, get the French Railway Company to lower its freight rates," Joseph said.

French Railway Company) is naturally the darling of the Military-Industrial Consortium. It owns the best and most profitable railways in France. Of course, recently, especially after the railway construction boom went to an excessive stage, French Railway Company itself has been operating at a loss. But this is not a problem, because while France is losing money, its parent companies, Lorraine Steel and Roman Bank, are making a fortune. So overall, they are making even more money, and therefore French Railway Company's operations are naturally without any issues.

But other railway companies are different, especially those that rely on foreign capital to make money through speculative schemes. If they don't falsify data, their financial statements are practically unreadable.

Over the past year, these companies have considered lowering prices to compete. However, they were quickly warned that any railway company that lowers prices would be admitting to financial difficulties, which would immediately cause changes in the stock market. These companies are now surviving on bank loans and stock market narratives.

But the French Railway Company) isn't worried about that. If they lower prices, the entire railroad boom bubble will burst, and then they can reap the benefits from those insolvent railways.

Napoleon shook his head and said, "I object to this. It's too simplistic and crude. It will make people think we're the culprits, and while we are indeed the culprits, we can't let people know that. We must find another way; we must find a scapegoat."

"What kind of scapegoat are you looking for? This scapegoat must have some weight, at least in this market. Only then will his actions be enough to burst the bubble. And something too small can't cover up something bigger, just like an elephant can't hide behind a mouse," Joseph said.

"No, my dear brother, an elephant can't hide behind a mouse, but it can hide behind eyelids. Once the eyelids are closed, everything in the world is hidden. The media is the world's eyelids, and these eyelids are under our control," Lucien said. "We can easily pin the blame on the Britain, or someone else."

"Putting the blame on the Britain would cause a lot of trouble, at least for now, that is not necessary," Napoleon said.

"Then why don't we push it to the United States?" Lucien asked again.

"There's no need for that. There's no need to turn against the United States now," Napoleon rejected Lucien's suggestion once again.

"Then let's put it to the Jews," Joseph said. "First, the Jews don't have a country. Putting it to them will avoid diplomatic problems. Second, some Jews are very wealthy, and their power is enough to burst this bubble and benefit from the process. So, why not just find a Jewish banker and have him do it?"

"You mean the Rothschild? Would they be willing?" Lucien asked.

"What's there to be willing or unwilling about? We've already decided that the Jews will take the blame, how could he possibly disagree?" Napoleon said. "Besides, since ancient times, has anyone's consent been needed to pin a blame on someone? You're so young, so naive..."

Lucien remained silent, but Joseph spoke up, "Napoleon, don't be so simplistic and brutal. Use incentives, not just threats. By bursting this bubble, the Rothschild can also gain some benefit and make some money. As for the blame, that's for all the Jews, not just his family. We can even protect them and demonstrate our adherence to the Civil Code. So, you see, isn't this something we can discuss properly? Hmm, the Rothschild also own one or two railways. He can get those railways to lower their prices first, and then our France Railways can immediately follow suit. Wouldn't that solve the problem? And letting him know in advance that the railway stocks are going to crash will still be enough to sway him. As for the other Jews, what does that have to do with the Rothschild?"