Chapter 78

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Zhu Jishi knew who Charles Bonaparte was; he was the future Emperor of France, Napoleon III! He was also the hope of the Bonapartists who were trying to restore the Bonaparte dynasty. After meeting a bunch of unimpressive Bonapartes at the castle in Viterbo, Italy, Zhu Jishi now understood why Napoleon's crown was given to Charles Bonaparte. At least he dared to risk his life to oppose the Orleans dynasty! At least he wasn't afraid of being imprisoned by the Orleans dynasty. On this point, his father, uncle, and a bunch of cousins couldn't compare. And this truth, Louis-Philippe of the Orleans dynasty must also know. That's why as soon as Charles Bonaparte escaped, Paris immediately went on high alert. All the roads and ports leading out of France must be under strict control by now, right? If Charles Bonaparte wanted to escape, the best way would be...

To leave with the French Foreign Ministry's delegation!

Thinking of this, Zhu Jishi suddenly shivered and looked up at Mr. Louis Roland sitting opposite him! This demeanor, this aura, this appearance, it was so similar to Napoleon in the portrait (purely a psychological effect, the two Napoleons didn't really look alike). Why didn't he notice it last night?

Glancing at Isabelle Deneuve, he muttered to himself, "If this Louis Roland is Napoleon III, what is Isabelle's relationship with him? Isabelle is a Bonapartist! She must have been working hard to save Napoleon III recently, and the prison break might have been her plan! Could this countess be the historical Empress of Napoleon III? I seem to have slept with her, uh, slept with the Empress of France! That's really impressive..."

Of course, Zhu Jishi's imagination was a bit too rich, although this Louis Roland was indeed the famous Napoleon III. However, Isabelle was not Napoleon III's wife, or even his mistress. There was a kind of emotion called "personal worship." The personal worship of Emperor Napoleon was the driving force behind all the Bonapartists' struggles.

Maria Clementina, a "bedroom politician," was like this, and so was Isabelle Deneuve. Upon learning that Zhu Jishi had "invented" ammonium oil explosives, they immediately thought these explosives could be used to destroy the outer walls of Ham Fortress Prison—ordinary black powder was powerless against those high walls, but the 50 kilograms of ammonium oil explosives smuggled into France in Isabelle Deneuve's and Maria Clementina's luggage could destroy the outer walls of Ham Fortress Prison, helping the future Emperor of France escape from his suffering.

However, just escaping from Ham Fortress Prison wasn't enough; he also needed to escape France and hide in England. As Zhu Jishi had guessed, as soon as Charles Bonaparte escaped, King Louis-Philippe immediately ordered all checkpoints and ports to be on high alert, making it difficult to leave France. The plan to escape France had been formulated before Charles Bonaparte's escape.

The first plan was to immediately sail to England (Ham Fortress is on the English Channel), but the port was immediately sealed off after the explosion at the fortress, so it failed.

The second plan was to slip into Calais with the Laennec delegation, where a commercial ship of the Segur wine company was waiting. Now, Charles Bonaparte's plan to escape France was the second plan, and Zhu Jishi became the cover for Charles Bonaparte's escape from France.

"Does Marquis Laennec know?" Zhu Jishi looked out the window at the French troops patrolling and asked in a low voice.

"Marquis Laennec doesn't know, and neither do you or Isabelle. I planned the whole thing myself." Maria Clementina looked at Zhu Jishi and smiled, "Jason, you can be absolutely放心."

Hearing this, Zhu Jishi looked at the woman with new respect. The crime of helping Napoleon III escape was not small, even for a duchess like Maria.

"What do you need me to say?" At this point, pushing Napoleon III away was impossible; he could only tough it out and play the good guy. If this adventure succeeded, he and the future Emperor of France would be comrades in adversity.

"Louis Durand is my late sister's husband's younger brother and is now the chief representative of Ji Shi Company in France." Isabelle said this and turned her gaze to Napoleon III. "Louis, Jason just returned from Viterbo Castle to Paris. He performed surgery on Louis Bonaparte, who had stomach cancer, removing the diseased stomach. Louis Bonaparte is now out of danger."

Napoleon III's eyes showed gratitude as he nodded at Zhu Jishi but said nothing.

"Jason is also a member of the Chinese royal family. His ancestors were the Ming emperors of China, who were overthrown by the Manchu dynasty. He is now dedicated to spreading Western science and technology to the backward and closed China. Among those accompanying the Laennec delegation to China are Jason's friends, Mr. Jones and Mr. Bessin."

Hearing that Zhu Jishi was a member of the Ming royal family, Napoleon III's eyes showed more respect. Although he had been in prison at Ham Fortress, he was not isolated from the world. He could read all the newspapers published in France. Therefore, he knew that the French Academy of Sciences now had a Chinese member and that Zhu Jishi held a high academic status in medicine, microbiology, and chemistry. However, these academic achievements, in his view, were not as grand as a royal identity.

"Jason," Napoleon III smiled at Zhu Jishi, "how do you plan to spread Western science and technology to China? Do you plan to overthrow the Manchu dynasty and restore the Ming rule?"

Napoleon III's mind was full of thoughts about restoring the Bonaparte dynasty, so he naturally assumed that Zhu Jishi, as a descendant of the Ming royal family, must have the same ideals.

"Mr. Durand..."

"Call me Louis." Napoleon III interrupted with a smile, "Jason, I think we are friends now, right?"

"It is a great honor to be friends with you." Zhu Jishi smiled, "Louis, to be honest, I have no plans to restore the Ming dynasty. Instead, I plan to establish a university and a college in Hong Kong to spread Western knowledge to the Chinese."

"Just establishing a university is not enough. You also need to start a newspaper and a publishing house; propaganda is very important." Napoleon III smiled and looked at Zhu Jishi, "Jason, you also need to form a political party, like the Carbonari in Italy."

Sure enough, after three sentences, he couldn't help but return to his old habits. Napoleon III was still encouraging Zhu Jishi to take the path of a politician. He seriously told Zhu Jishi, "In Europe, universities have always been the most vibrant places for ideas. Their value lies in this. Therefore, the university you establish in Hong Kong will definitely become the center of progressive thought in the East. Those young students who understand Western political ideas will become a powerful political force in the future. You have an obligation to guide them on the right path, so a good newspaper and a vibrant progressive political party are essential."

Zhu Jishi was taken aback and thought about it. Napoleon III's words made a lot of sense! He had overlooked the impact that Western political ideas would have on the students of Ji Shi University in the future—weren't Chinese college students and overseas students, for a long time, the most active group in various ideologies and the reserve force of revolutionaries?

The university and college he started in Hong Kong, free from Qing control and governed by British law, would inevitably be a place of free thought. Various political theories would spread without hindrance, and the emergence of a revolutionary party was only a matter of time...