The Fox of France

The journey had been smooth so far, except for the hunger that plagued everyone on board. Considering that the British were used to lounging around and not doing much work, the French decided to cut their food rations by a third. As a result, when Morel and his crew dragged the British steamship into the port of Camares ten days later, several British prisoners in the hold had already starved to death. The remaining survivors, apart from the technician who was kept separately and cared for, were too weak to even stand.

Of course, the French would never admit that these British deaths were due to hunger. Instead, they attributed their demise to complications from injuries sustained in the battle.

Camares was just a fishing port, without any dedicated shipyards. However, reaching this point allowed them to quickly spread the news about capturing British ships.

Joseph received this news during lunch. Meanwhile, Napoleon was busy in Paris, reorganizing the nation's order and striving to establish a government with influence extending to the villages. Essentially, Napoleon's government was a military one. In France, nobles used to be the only ones with influence in rural areas. Now that the nobility had been abolished, Napoleon aimed to utilize the opportunity to make the discharged soldiers organizers within the villages.

This plan was quite feasible, especially for those veterans, particularly the ones who had served in Napoleon's army. Many had earned substantial money abroad and could return to their villages, benefiting from government policies to buy land inexpensively. They would instantly become the affluent class of the countryside. Before going back, they all joined the so-called "Veterans' Association," and even after retirement, they maintained their connections and organization. These were the political forces supporting Napoleon.

As for Lucien, he was busier than Napoleon at the moment. As the Minister of Truth, his primary task was to establish a propaganda organization for "spreading the truth."

Lucien's propaganda plan consisted of two parts. One part was a propaganda agency directly managed by the Ministry of Truth, mainly responsible for external propaganda. In the last war, France had obtained the right to conduct unrestricted free trade in the Netherlands, Belgium, the Rhenish Federation, and Prussia, including establishing news agencies and sending reporters.

Lucien planned to establish a European Free Communication Agency, responsible for gathering various news and, after verifying its truth, providing it to newspapers in those countries. This was meant to help people across Europe understand the truth of France and the benevolence of the First Consul toward the people of other nations. Additionally, the "Scientific Truth Gazette" would open branches in these countries, releasing newspapers in various languages tailored to regional readerships.

However, the "Scientific Truth Gazette" was highly politically charged and sometimes not conducive to subtly spreading the truth. So, besides the "Scientific Truth Gazette," Lucien planned to create and control a batch of "Businessmen's Gazette" through indirect means to disseminate the truth more subtly.

On the domestic front, Lucien intended to control public opinion more discreetly. On one hand, he would establish an official news publishing bureau, along with relevant regulations, all in the name of "protecting freedom of speech."

On the other hand, through covert investments from the "Military-Industrial Consortium," he would create or control a series of newspapers. These newspapers would then be used to form a "French News and Communication Agency," which would monopolize the sources of news.

These tasks alone wouldn't have kept Lucien so busy. However, recently, a new activity had emerged in Paris—an "Miss Paris Contest," which conveniently fell under Lucien's purview. This widely celebrated event had consumed what little time he had left.

As for Louis, he was still studying at the University of Paris and had moved into the city for the sake of convenience. As for Jerome, he was still in middle school. Many of the researchers in the Military-Industrial Consortium had children around Jerome's age or even younger. So, they had established a nearby school for children, and Jerome attended school there.

Jerome secretly wished he could attend the schools in the city to avoid Joseph's scrutiny of his homework. He strongly suspected that his brother reviewed his homework whenever he felt too fatigued to refresh his mind.

This noon, Joseph had been busy all morning and had just begun to say, "Jerome, about your homework this morning..." when he saw Fanny and her female secretary Pauline approaching. Jerome immediately exclaimed as if he'd found a lifeline, "Big brother, I already showed Fanny Sister my homework this morning. She said it was perfect."

While he spoke, Jerome subtly winked at Fanny.

"Yes, I've reviewed it, and it's flawless," Fanny confirmed.

"Well then, let's have lunch," Joseph said, taking his seat at the table. He couldn't ignore Fanny's face, after all. "Pauline, you have fun with Fanny, alright?"

"What do you mean, fun? I'm working diligently," Pauline retorted with wide eyes. Joseph was more lenient with his younger sisters compared to his brothers, so Pauline wasn't as intimidated by Joseph as his brothers were.

"Joseph, Pauline has been a great help to me," Fanny said. "We're not just here for a meal. We've received a report that a smuggling ship captured a British steam warship during a battle, along with many British prisoners, including a technician."

This news immediately caught Joseph's attention.

"They're asking for 50,000 francs. I think that price is acceptable. We could also have the French government step in and commend them. I checked the information on this Morel, and he seems competent and worth nurturing. I've already instructed our people to buy the British ship," Fanny replied. "Furthermore, the ship is reportedly heavily damaged and not easily movable. It's currently in Camares. Camares is just a fishing port with no maintenance capabilities. If the British find out, they could come over and destroy the ship. So, I suggest we organize a team to survey the ship and obtain firsthand technical information."

"Yes, we should send people immediately," Joseph nodded. "Let's have lunch first, and after the meal, we'll draft a list..."

Morel received 50,000 francs from the Military-Industrial Consortium and handed over the captured steamship, along with the British prisoners, to the Consortium. He also received a medal from the government.

The Bourbon dynasty had established various honor medals, such as the Order of Saint Michael, the Order of the Holy Spirit, and the Order of Saint Louis. After the Revolution, these were abolished by the First Republic government due to their clear feudal and Bourbon flavor. Consequently, for a period, awards for those who had achieved distinction were given in the form of money or symbolic honor weapons.

However, such forms of recognition were not as effective as medals. Some individuals, especially those who admired the Roman Empire like Napoleon, established an organization that emulated the Roman "Legion of Honor." Its members were those who received medals.

Morel received the lowest-ranking Knight's Medal (here, a knight refers to the cavalry of the Roman Empire, not the medieval knights), which was still enough to make him proud. During the Bourbon dynasty, a commoner like Morel would never have received such an honor.

After receiving the money, Morel took his ship, which was missing a mast, back to Krakow. On the one hand, he would make the necessary repairs there, and on the other, he would seek compensation from the local insurance company.

Representatives from the insurance company boarded the ship and recorded the losses. Ten days later, Morel received the insurance company's response. The company would compensate them for the replacement of the mast, but regarding the loss of cargo, they believed it was not covered under the policy.

Naturally, Morel protested, and the insurance company then brought out the contract, turned to the appendix section, and, with profound knowledge of French grammar and law, elevated Morel's understanding of the French language. And... well, Morel still didn't manage to get compensation for the cargo loss.

While Morel was in despair, arguing with the insurance company's representatives, Joseph received the technical data about the British steam warship captured in Camares.

"Well, it uses two steam engines, jointly propelling two paddlewheels. Paddlewheels are not very efficient, and having them on both sides is an obvious weakness... Plus, auxiliary power from a mast with a sail. The mast is positioned too close to the boilers, damaged in a boiler explosion. Who designed this?" After a thorough examination of the data on the British steam warship, Joseph reached a conclusion. "The British certainly made us spend 50,000 francs in vain for this technology."