Jerome's Training Plan

Two days later, banker Nathan Rothschild received an invitation from Mr. Bovan, the director and chief executive officer of the Roman Bank and a renowned banker. The invitation invited him to a reception to be held at Mr. Bovan's estate two days later.

The Roman Bank was actually a banking union composed of six France banks that held shares in each other, forming a unified entity and effectively acting as a central bank. French franc banknotes issued by the France government were all issued through the Roman Bank.

This was almost Nathan Rothschild's dream. In fact, through cooperation with Austria over the years, he had almost realized this dream in Austria. But the core of the world was, after all, New Rome. This was where the most money could be made. In fact, hot money from various countries would basically come to France to look for investment or speculative opportunities. And doing these things in France meant dealing with the Roman Bank.

Rothschild naturally had many dealings with the Roman Bank. He even once hoped to have his own bank rebranded and infiltrate the Roman Bank. Of course, this goal was not achieved, as the France were somewhat resistant to non- France capital. However, the Rothschild Bank and the Roman Bank frequently collaborated.

Nathan Rothschild, of course, would not refuse Mr. Bovan's invitation. Bovan Bank was one of the six members of the Roman Bank. Although it was not the largest or the most financially powerful, Mr. Bovan was widely recognized as one of the best bankers in France. Now, Mr. Bovan was the direct manager of the Roman Bank, and being able to attend a party at his home was, for many bankers, a symbol of status and prestige.

Nathan Rothschild then adjusted various unnecessary schedules so that he could attend Mr. Bovan's party on time.

Mr. Bovan owns a not-so-small estate in New Rome, where land is incredibly valuable. Of course, it's much smaller than his estates in the Bordeaux region, but in New Rome, probably only a limited number of estates can rival Mr. Bovan's.

Although Mr. Bovan's estate isn't the largest, it's certainly the most luxurious. And unlike before, when his residence was also incredibly opulent, glittering with gold everywhere, as if he wanted to drape the ground in gold like the India (a story of boasting in Buddhist scriptures; it's said that India have a long tradition of boasting). Now, Bovan 'Bovan estate appears much more modest. But those who truly understand will immediately recognize the meaning of understated luxury upon entering.

Nathan Rothschild's two carriages stopped in front of the main building of the Bovan estate (later referred to by some as the Bovan Palace), where several servants immediately came to greet them. In the first carriage was Nathan Rothschild's butler, who showed the invitation to the servants. Then, Nathan and Mrs. Rothschild, in the second carriage, entered the building, which had a distinctly Rome character, surrounded by servants.

Upon entering, one is greeted by an exceptionally large circular hall, spanning seven or eight hundred square meters and boasting a height of over twenty meters, yet devoid of any pillars—truly a Pantheon. In the center of the hall stands a black marble pedestal, over a meter tall, upon which rests a partially damaged white marble statue of Hermes.

Nathan Rothschild knew that the statue had been bought from the Turkey, who said it had been unearthed by the Greece while tilling their fields. It was said that the ignorant and devout Greece Eastern Orthodoxy Christians recognized it as an ancient pagan idol and intended to destroy it. However, the Turkey lord stopped them—he knew it could fetch a good price. So it remained there.

Besides this statue, the various paintings hanging here, as well as the sculptures displayed elsewhere, are all works by famous artists and are quite valuable. In terms of value alone, some of these works are even more valuable than this Hermes statue. It is only because Hermes, as the patron saint of merchants, better suited Mr. Bovan's tastes that he was able to occupy the most central position.

The servants led Rothschild and his party through the hall and into the back garden—where the party was to be held.

At that moment, Mr. Bovan was talking to a young man. When he saw Mr. and Mrs. Rothschild enter, he simply nodded to them from a distance but did not come over immediately. Instead, he continued talking to the young man.

Nathan Rothschild also picked up a glass of wine from a waiter's tray, raised the glass to Mr. Bovan, and then went to talk to the others.

"Mr. Bovan, who is that person?" the young man asked.

"Ah, Supervisor Bonaparte, that man is the Jewish banker we just mentioned. He's very cunning; if you, Mr. Bonaparte, are to deal with him in the future, you must be very careful."

This young Bonaparte was Jérôme, the Jerome brother of Joseph and Napoleon.

Jerome had just finished his formal education, and his older brothers had many different plans for his future. Initially, Joseph wanted to try and see if he could develop a scientific skill. Joseph's expectations for him were not high; he did not expect his younger brother to reach his level in science. He only hoped that Jerome could approach Napoleon's level in this area. While this would not be enough to make him an expert, it would be sufficient to share some of the management responsibilities of the family business, especially the high-tech industry.

However, Jerome's performance greatly disappointed Joseph. It wasn't that Jerome wasn't hardworking; in fact, he was far more diligent than Lucien in his studies. But his grades weren't any better Lucien's; they were essentially at the same level. If the exams were easier, his scores would be slightly better Lucien Lucien's; if the questions were more difficult, his scores would certainly be Lucien. Of course, in Napoleon's eyes, both he and Lucien were the same. "Trash, utter trash!"

In other words, compared to his older brothers, the more obedient Jerome lacked talent in science. So when he entered middle school, Joseph abandoned his first plan to cultivate him.

Then Napoleon took over his younger brother's care, and after Jerome graduated from secondary school, Napoleon arranged for him to attend the newly established Saint-Cyr Military Academy. However, Jerome showed considerable difficulty adapting, even worse than at the Louis-le-Grand School. Although he tried hard to learn, he simply wasn't cut out for it. Upon seeing his grades, Napoleon angrily exclaimed, "He has completely disgraced me! Even Pauline would be better than him!" Napoleon then personally ordered Jerome, who had failed multiple subjects, to be expelled from Saint-Cyr. Thus ended Jerome's student life.

So, it seemed that according to the rules, Jerome should be handed over to Lucien for training. However, both Joseph and Napoleon believed that Jerome should not be given to Lucien. Thus, Jerome was sent back to Joseph once again.

This time, Joseph secured Jerome a supervisory position at the Roman Bank, instructing him to be observant and proactive, to observe and analyze the Roman Bank closely, and to give a weekly report to Joseph. This was also a way of teaching him business. That's why Jerome appeared here at this time.

Jerome currently holds no real power. However, he is, after all, a member of the Bonaparte family, and the Bonaparte brothers are generally quite united. So even though he has no power now, Bovan still tries hard to maintain a good relationship with him. He knows that Joseph sent Jerome here to train his abilities, so he seizes the opportunity to cooperate, occasionally teaching him many business tips.

"Supervisor Bonaparte, let's go over there and meet that Jew. We've had quite a bit of business dealings with him," Mr. Bovan said to Jerome.