From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Hey, did you hear about that?"

"Of course, please keep your voice down. I heard General Nathan was very unhappy about this."

"I really didn't expect General Pauli to step down voluntarily."

While the officers in the banquet hall were discussing the dispatch of troops, the soldiers of the Northern Army were also frantically spreading the news they had just received.

However, for these ordinary soldiers, their information channels are limited, and the versions they know are probably:

"Patrol Captain Harald aroused public outrage, Laurence Bonaparte volunteered to defend the Governor's Palace, Governor Paoli resigned, Parliament urgently appointed Lawrence as the new Governor, British sailors suddenly launched a massacre, and the new Governor Lawrence led troops to defend Ajaccio ”

Even in the eyes of many soldiers, they thought this was just a normal change of power.

For Lawrence, a well-known lieutenant colonel of the National Defense Force, the soldiers also regarded him as a member of the military and supported him very much as the new governor.

"Hey, Jack, what are you looking at? Why can't I see you talking?"

Just when the soldiers of a certain company gathered together and talked about the past between Lawrence and Paulie, someone noticed that a certain soldier in the corner was staring at a piece of paper in despair, which was out of tune with the soldiers who were talking loudly.

Jack in the corner was stunned for a long time after hearing other people's greetings before he reacted. Then he crumpled up the letter paper in his hand and threw it out. He lowered his head and whispered:

"My mother was killed by the British in Ajaccio. My father was also severely wounded and only one breath was left."

Jack murmured absently, squatting on the ground and burying his head between his legs, sobbing unbearably.

"Oh my god."

"Jack, they'll be watching you from heaven."

"Those British people are really beasts!"

"Oh, but fortunately Governor Bonaparte has already punished the British. I heard that the British officers were slowly burned to death by a slow fire, until the ground was completely covered with human grease. Damn, that's really a relief."

With tears in the corners of his eyes, Jack silently listened to everyone's comfort, then nodded and whispered:

"Well, if it weren't for Monsieur Bonaparte, I would have no way to deal with those bastard British guys in my life. If I have the chance, I would really like to thank Monsieur Bonaparte personally."

"There will definitely be one." The soldiers quickly gathered around and patted Jack's shoulders to comfort him.

At this moment, the company commander of the soldiers rushed back from the banquet hall. He walked into the barracks with a shiny face, looked at the soldiers gathered together, frowned and scolded:

"Hey! What are you doing, so noisy! Listen to me. Everyone starts packing their personal belongings immediately. We will march tomorrow."

"March? Company commander, where are we going?" The soldiers couldn't help but ask in confusion after hearing this inexplicable order.

The company commander unconcernedly buttoned the flesh between his teeth, thinking that he would be setting off tomorrow anyway, so he said directly:

"Of course, to attack the usurper Laurence Bonaparte."

"What?!"

The soldiers couldn't help but exclaimed after hearing this. They looked at each other for a while and then said one after another:

"But Monsieur Bonaparte is a governor appointed by Parliament!"

"Aren't we committing rebellion by doing this?!"

"That's right, and now that we're out of here, who's going to defend us against the Genoese from the north?"

"My God, I have been shooting Genoese all my life. Am I now going to shoot my fellow Corsicans?"

Listening to the soldiers' nagging questions, the company commander finally couldn't bear it and shouted:

"Shut up, everyone! This is General Nathan's order. You just have to carry it out! The whole army will set off tomorrow morning. Anyone who delays the fight will be dealt with directly according to military regulations!"

After that, the company commander glared at the soldiers fiercely, and then left the barracks without looking back.

The soldiers watched blankly as the company commander's back slowly disappeared. They exchanged glances with each other and whispered to each other:

"How could this happen? What did General Nathan think?"

"Actually, I feel that General Nathan wants to usurp the throne."

"That's right, Lord Bonaparte was originally a close associate of General Paoli. How could he usurp the throne? Sooner or later, the governor's seat will be his."

"Well, this is an order after all, so let's pack up."

When the company commanders and battalion commanders informed their men of the plan to attack Ajaccio, such conversations happened everywhere in the Northern Army.

Although General Nathan also learned from his subordinates what the soldiers thought of his actions, he didn't care.

"Hmph, let those people talk if they want to. Anyway, I have the advantage of two thousand people against Lawrence's one thousand. After I become the new governor, they will shut up obediently."

After receiving the report that the military morale was unstable, General Nathan only responded indifferently, and then continued to imagine how everyone would worship him after entering the Governor's Mansion.

At the same time, in the Governor's Palace of Ajaccio.

"You should all read this letter."

Lawrence picked up a piece of letter paper on the desk and asked the people in front of him.

At this moment, all of Lawrence's cronies gathered in the study, including old Sean, Yan, and Grosso from the patrol, Major Trifali and Lieutenant Seth in the army, Lawrence's brother Carlo Bonaparte, and the newly appointed generals who had just been appointed by Lawrence. Anna as secretary.

These are also the rare people who know Lawrence's complete plan.

At this time, they all looked at the letter in Lawrence's hand solemnly, and nodded unanimously to indicate that they had read it.

"As you can see, this is from the Duke of Choiseul of France."

Lawrence put the letter aside, held his chin and said in a deep voice:

"We have gone very smoothly in seizing power in Corsica, so the next step is to pacify the entire island of Corsica."

Everyone nodded in understanding, and they also knew that the only unstable factor on Corsica today was the Northern Army, which controlled most of the military power, and its commander, General Nathan.

Lawrence continued:

"On April 1, I wrote to the Duke of Choiseul in the name of the Corsican government, asking him to start fulfilling my contract with him."

In the contract between Lawrence and the Duke of Choiseul, when Lawrence seized the power of Corsica, the Duke of Choiseul would send troops at the invitation of the Corsican government. A force pressed on the mainland of Genoa and forced Genoa to withdraw from Corsica. , and another force was stationed in Corsica to help Lawrence pacify the island.

"But in his reply, the Duke of Choiseul estimated that the earliest the French army would arrive in Corsica would be a week later."

Lawrence's face was also extremely solemn, he looked around at everyone and said:

"And General Nathan should be able to learn the news about Ajaccio today, that is to say"

Major Cui Farley frowned and continued:

"Based on what I know about General Nathan, he will definitely not treat this news hesitantly. If I guess correctly, the Northern Army will probably start taking action now. And the French army will definitely be unable to catch up, which means we have to Alone against the Northern Army."

The atmosphere in the study became more solemn. This was not only a civil war involving the fate of everyone present, but also a battle with a huge disparity in power.

"How about we withdraw from Ajaccio?"

Seeing everyone's silence, Major Cui Farley took the initiative and suggested:

"There is a lot of room for strategic shifts in the south of Corsica. We just need to retain our own strength, avoid fighting, and wait until the French army moves in."

Lieutenant Seth nodded and added thoughtfully:

"Yes, the strategic depth of the southern region is enough for us to compete with the Northern Army."

"I'm afraid that won't work."

Carlo Bonaparte shook his head hesitantly and said:

"Ajaccio, especially the Governor's Palace, is an important source of legitimacy for Governor Lawrence's identity. Once we give up Ajaccio, at least in terms of law and public opinion, it will be difficult to prevent General Nathan from declaring him as the new Governor ”

Grosso also nodded in agreement with Carlo's point of view and sighed:

"Besides, this poor place in Corsica is slightly richer than Ajaccio. If we give it to that General Nathan, he will capture thousands of strong men in Ajaccio, and the gap in strength between us and him will only be wider."

Even Anna, who was hiding timidly behind Lawrence, said carefully:

"Also, the people of Ajaccio have finally settled down. If they were occupied by that general, I think the people would be very sad."

After hearing this, Major Cui Farley couldn't help but smacked his lips and said:

"But if we fight head-on with the Northern Army, let alone my resistance to the civil war as a soldier, what are our chances of winning even if we fight?"

After another debate, everyone failed to reach a unified result, so they had to focus on Lawrence who was listening silently.

Everyone knows that in the whole of Ajaccio, he is the only one who can make the final decision.

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