As a series of problems came to light, the colonial bureaucrats began to panic. Although the emperor had not erupted on the spot, they were all skilled at reading faces and could tell from his expression that Napoleon IV was angry. In the Governor’s office in Algiers, a group of colonial officials was holding a routine meeting. From everyone’s demeanor, it was clear that this meeting was anything but ordinary. A portly middle-aged man spoke anxiously, “Governor, the emperor has already refused to let us accompany him. What should we do now? You know very well that whether it is the current large-scale agricultural development project or the earlier African development plan, we have left too many loose ends. These problems are now fully exposed before the emperor. If responsibility is to be pursued, none of us here will escape.” Governor Ablimit did not answer immediately. Instead, he picked up a cup of steaming coffee, took a small sip, and then slowly said, “Why panic? The sky has not fallen yet. Since His Majesty the Emperor did not deal with us on the spot, that means there is still room to maneuver. By the way, Memtimin, what did you say just now? The African development plan has been over for so many years. Do you mean to tell me you have not wrapped things up properly?” The principle of “the law does not punish the majority” was a long-standing peculiarity of France. If everything were handled strictly according to the law, probably seven or eight out of ten Parisians would have ended up in jail, since frequent participation in demonstrations inevitably led to some transgressions. If people could not be punished, then the only option was to change the law. Even if the legal provisions were not formally amended, its enforcement would be altered artificially. The money was not embezzled by just one or two individuals. In this case, not only were many colonial officials implicated, but there were also quite a few involved back in the homeland. If the investigation really dug deep, not only would everyone present be implicated, but practically every official in the colonies would be dragged in, and a large number of mainland bureaucrats would be caught up as well. If such large-scale punishment were carried out, it was uncertain whether the bureaucratic system could be reformed, but France’s colonial system would certainly collapse first. Memtimin replied awkwardly, “Governor, you know how particular the situation is here. With insufficient funds allocated by the government, we took it upon ourselves to cut some less important projects and concentrated the money on key ones.” A lack of funding was inevitable. After multiple layers of skimming along the way, if the project manager received even half of the original funds, it meant the officials involved still had some integrity. The subordinates also needed to eat. They would skim off a portion, give a share as gifts to higher-ranking officials, and the money available for actual work would be even less. Taking the initiative to cancel certain projects might seem like a serious offense, but in reality, it had its own logic. Without doing so, they could not even put together token showcase projects. Of course, their actions would have been much more convincing if they had not pocketed money for themselves. Ablimit pointed at Memtimin, speaking in a tone of bitter disappointment, “You people… Algeria’s conditions are harsh, and the mainland’s considerations have been inadequate. This is understandable, and everyone should be sympathetic. If funds are insufficient, could you not have found other solutions? You should have made full use of your initiative. Even if there was not enough money, you could not simply cancel the projects outright. This incident is a lesson. If everyone had prepared earlier, even if the tasks assigned from above were not fully completed and only achieved forty to fifty percent, I believe His Majesty the Emperor would still have appreciated our efforts.” These were heartfelt words. Doing something and doing nothing were two completely different things. Even if only a scaled-down version of the project was completed, there would still be something tangible to show for it, proving that the money had actually been spent. If nothing was done at all, and the project was directly cut while the funds were still spent, that would be an insult to the intelligence of the government’s top leadership. Memtimin nodded awkwardly and said, “Understood, Governor. We will be more careful in the future. But for now, the urgent matter is to get through this current situation. Otherwise, there will be no future for us.” It was not as if they were going to lose their heads. Napoleon IV was not the type to rule through ruthless executions. Even rebels could be forgiven, so as embezzlers, their situation was not as severe. Ablimit countered, “What are you all planning to do? Right now, the initiative is no longer in our hands. The one who can make decisions is His Majesty the Emperor.” At this point, the issue was laid bare. Memtimin slowly said, “Everyone is very worried because the Emperor has not made his stance clear for a long time. The best course of action would be to find a way to figure out His Majesty’s true intentions. If we can smooth things over, that would be ideal. If it truly proves impossible, then we will have no choice but to take a great risk and seize the Emperor…” … After inspecting more than a dozen projects in a row and finding serious problems in all of them, Napoleon IV was utterly disheartened. Even his desire to pursue accountability faded. There was nothing he could do. Too many people were involved, which meant he could not act rashly. He knew that this was, after all, a colony. If he really turned hostile, who knew whether these audacious officials might launch a coup and detain the Emperor? Perhaps due to instinct, after sensing that something was off, Napoleon IV calmly altered his inspection route. He went straight to Oran and boarded a ship to leave, giving these people no chance at all. In his own colony, the Emperor had to flee out of fear that vested interest groups might turn on him. It had to be said that this was an irony. … At the temporary palace in Paris, after hastily concluding his trip to Algeria, Napoleon IV seemed noticeably deflated. At that moment, he suddenly understood why Austria had once executed tens of thousands of people at once. It was entirely because the bureaucrats under them caused too much chaos. Without mass executions, there would be no way to shock people into submission and no way to clear entrenched corruption. He understood it well, but all he could do was envy it. If he were really to order the execution of tens of thousands at once, he would still shrink back. In this regard, France and Austria were completely different. Austria dared to strictly enforce the law because the Austrian government had conducted anti-corruption campaigns for many years, and both the public and bureaucrats had become accustomed to it. France was not the same. Setting aside the impact on society, the sheer extent of those implicated was enough to make Napoleon IV shrink back. “I just went on a trip and saw things that are truly hard to believe. I assume many of you are at least somewhat aware of it. The problems are laid out before us. Now we need to discuss how the government should respond. Let us deliberate together!” Not knowing how to wrap things up, Napoleon IV did not hesitate to kick the responsibility to the cabinet. After much polite deferral among his colleagues, the highly respected Prime Minister Terence Bourquin was forced to step forward. “Your Majesty, the corruption in the colonies is beyond imagination. The situation we face now is like a frail patient. If we administer strong medicine all at once, it could very well be fatal. We can only slowly nurse it back to health. Regarding the corruption issues that have now been exposed, it is best for us to select a few typical cases to punish as a warning to others. The rest should be retained for now and we will observe their future conduct.” Upon hearing this proposed approach, Napoleon IV’s composure completely collapsed. “Punishing a few to warn the many” sounded good in theory, but in practice it meant grabbing a few scapegoats to sacrifice publicly, while sweeping the deeper problems under the rug. Even though everyone knew that certain officials had issues, they would still have to be kept in office. Pursuing accountability in such circumstances was a joke. It is easy to imagine that after this incident, the central government’s deterrent power over the colonies would drop to a historic low. In particular, imperial authority itself would also take a hit. The last remnants of reverence lingering in many hearts would be buried along with it. However, for the sake of domestic stability, this was a price that had to be paid. If they pursued a thorough investigation, leaving aside whether it could even be carried through to the end, even if the full truth were uncovered, did the French government have the courage to flip the table? Napoleon IV had already realized that the government’s control over the colonies was not as tight as he had imagined. Colonial officials were starting to behave like entrenched local powers, weaving an extensive network in the region. After hesitating for a moment, Napoleon IV shook his head. “No, this cannot go on. If we continue to let them do as they please and they perceive the central government’s weakness, it won’t be long before those people start pushing for independence. Even if we cannot deal with all of them at once, we must at least remove several key officials. The rest can be dealt with gradually at a later time.” *** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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