From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Ah, it's such a beautiful sunny day. I can already imagine myself bathing in the sunshine and being worshiped by the citizens of Ajaccio."

At noon on April 8, 1770, the Northern Army led by General Nathan was less than 20 kilometers away from Ajaccio.

General Nathan, who was riding on horseback, squinted at Ajaccio looming in the distance, and couldn't help but sigh to the officers around him that this central city of Corsica would soon fall into his hands.

"Well, General Nathan, I still need to remind you."

An officer next to General Nathan whispered nervously:

"The soldiers are quite critical of our actions. Should we station ourselves on the outskirts of the city to stabilize the morale of the troops before launching an attack?"

"A lot of criticism? Didn't I ask you to tell them?"

After being interrupted by these discouraging words, General Nathan stared at the officer with displeasure and said:

"I received orders from General Paoli to march to Ajaccio."

"Yes, it's just that" the officer lowered his voice and said:

"Many soldiers are skeptical about this and don't fully believe it."

After hearing this, General Nathan waved his hand impatiently and said:

"After I break into the Governor's Palace and rescue General Paoli, this will naturally become true. Now, let the whole army rest in place for half an hour. After that, one company of soldiers will be left to take care of the supplies, and the rest of the troops will continue to march towards Ajaccio. ”

"Haha, I really didn't expect that I could still wear this dress."

At the same time, in the Governor's Mansion, Paulie expertly put on his general's uniform and pinned his iconic large golden medal on his chest.

At this moment, Pauli looked no different from the powerful Corsican general a month ago.

Lawrence glanced at Paulie lightly and said casually:

"You can keep your clothes as a souvenir, General Pauli."

"Forget it." Pauli waved his hand helplessly and said with a wry smile:

"This dress just reminds me that I'm just a puppet now."

Standing behind Lawrence and Pauli was Captain Mattick, the captain of the cuirassiers.

After Lawrence successfully threatened Pauli to assist him, this captain who was completely loyal to Paulie naturally accepted Lawrence's command again, which actually saved Lawrence a lot of energy to communicate with him.

When Captain Mattick saw Pauly finishing his clothes, he stepped forward and handed the reins of the two horses to Lawrence and Pauly, saying:

"General Paoli, Governor Bonaparte, and Major Trifalli have already assembled the soldiers at the Ajaccio station. Should we go directly to the station?"

Paulie subconsciously opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly realized that the one who dominated Ajaccio was no longer himself, but the young man next to him, so he smiled slightly and turned to look at Lawrence in silence.

Lawrence took the reins, stepped on the stirrups, climbed onto the horse, looked down at Captain Mattick and ordered:

"No, Captain, assemble your cuirassiers and follow me and General Pauli. Let's go for a walk around the city first."

"Hey, I heard there's going to be another war."

"Yes, General Nathan's troops are probably approaching Ajaccio."

"But have you heard? General Nathan's attack was ordered by Governor Pauli."

"I also heard someone say this. Could it be that Governor Bonaparte really...?"

"Shhhhhh, no one can talk about this kind of thing."

"Wait! Look! What is that?!"

While the citizens on the street were discussing the recent situation in Corsica in low voices, someone suddenly shouted and pointed ahead, as if they had seen something extraordinary.

I saw at the street corner ahead, accompanied by a steady and dull sound of horse hooves, a group of majestic cuirassiers slowly walked out. They, including men and horses, all strode on the streets of Ajaccio with their heads held high.

At the front of the queue, what attracted everyone's attention was undoubtedly Governor Bonaparte and General Paoli, who were marching side by side.

Many citizens saw the military uniform on Pauli and remembered that the current general of Corsica still held the position of the previous governor.

"What's going on? Didn't it say that Paoli was imprisoned by Governor Bonaparte?"

"Yes, I also heard that Governor Bonaparte killed General Paoli."

"But they don't look like Governor Bonaparte usurping power at all."

"Let me tell you, it's a complete rumor."

"I think it's hard to make a conclusion now. We still have to see what the two adults are going to say."

Citizens on both sides of the street were whispering. They had been hearing rumors for the past two days about Laurence Bonaparte usurping the throne. They almost really believed that General Nathan was here to rescue Governor Paoli.

Just look at the appearance of Lawrence and Paulie, look at the intimate look of them riding side by side, Lawrence seems to treat Paulie on the same level as him, there is no trace of the rumored smell of gunpowder.

Although Lawrence and Paulie did not speak, they were just walking on horseback on the streets of Ajaccio. However, they had already attracted a large number of curious and surprised citizens who followed the team and wanted to know what they were going to do when they left the Governor's Palace today. What.

This mighty team marched in Ajaccio for more than an hour, and nearly a thousand people had gathered behind them.

Lawrence turned his head and looked at the crowded streets behind him. He estimated that the number of people was almost enough, so he led the team to the patrol station, where there was a large open space that could accommodate such a large number of citizens.

In the open space outside the patrol station, the citizens quickly formed a circle under the command of the cuirassiers, staring at Lawrence and Pauli in the center.

"You should know what to say, right?"

Lawrence glanced at Paulie slightly and asked in a low voice.

Paulie nodded slightly bitterly. As a seasoned politician, he already knew how to deal with this kind of situation.

"Citizens and friends, I am Lawrence Bonaparte, Governor of the Republic of Corsica."

Lawrence rode on his horse and waved to the citizens and said.

Paulie also quickly entered the state, and shouted in a solemn voice:

"I am the Grand General of the Republic of Corsica, Pasquale Paoli."

As soon as the two introduced themselves, they received a half-minute-long cheer from the citizens in response.

For most people, it was the best ending to see the two Corsican heroes not fighting each other as rumored.

After the cheers died down, Lawrence cleared his throat and said loudly:

"Dear citizens, as a citizen of Ajaccio, I know that you have been concerned about and discussed a series of false rumors recently. Let me think about it, what are those rumors about?"

After Lawrence finished speaking, he pretended to be thoughtful and pointed one ear towards the citizens, gesturing for them to tell them the contents of these rumors.

The citizens burst into laughter upon seeing this, and some bold citizens in the front row shouted back:

"They said that you imprisoned General Pauli, and some said that you killed General Pauli. They said that General Nathan came to attack you on General Pauli's order."

"Oh, God."

Lawrence sighed helplessly, patted Paulie next to him on the shoulder very intimately, and said:

"I imprisoned General Pauli? I killed General Pauli? Then who is sitting on the horse now? Don't tell me that it is General Pauli's ghost."

Under another burst of laughter from the citizens, Lawrence winked at Paulie, indicating that he should continue.

Paulie nodded slightly, waited for the citizens' laughter to gradually dissipate, and then said loudly:

"In addition, I heard someone say that General Nathan accepted my order by leaving his post without permission this time and abandoning the northern defense line to attack Ajaccio. This is really nonsense!"

When the citizens heard Pauli's words, they quickly stopped laughing and became serious.

Since Paulie himself has denied General Nathan's statement, the citizens already have the answer to who wants to usurp the throne.

"General Pauli!" Some unwilling citizens were still suspicious and asked Pauli loudly:

"Why haven't you appeared in public during this time?"

As an old political fox, Pauli's answer to this kind of question was completely at his fingertips, and he responded directly:

"After all, Governor Bonaparte is a bit young. During this period of time, I have been assisting Governor Bonaparte in handling military affairs in the Governor's Palace. When Governor Bonaparte fully adapts to his duties, I will completely step down from all my duties and become an ordinary citizen. ”

"So that's it!"

The citizens nodded in enlightenment and couldn't help but sigh that General Paoli had indeed dedicated his whole life to Corsica, and Governor Bonaparte was indeed General Paoli's most beloved successor.

Lawrence also glanced at Pauly calmly, and couldn't help but sigh that Pauly's words were very good.

Not only did he explain to the citizens why he had disappeared for a while, but he also promised Lawrence in front of everyone that he would transfer the title of Grand General to Lawrence.

Later, with the testimony of Paulie, Lawrence accused General Nathan of several crimes of usurping power, which completely engraved the ugly face of General Nathan into the hearts of the citizens.

After the speech ended, the citizens quickly left the scene driven by the cuirassiers.

"call"

Paulie on the horse exhaled and said casually to Lawrence:

"You specially arranged this to dispel these rumors about Nathan?"

"But it's all these rumors about Nathan."

Lawrence smiled and said:

"Even the incident on April 1st has been resolved."

"April 1. So that's it."

Paulie frowned and looked at Lawrence and said:

"From today on, every Corsican will believe that you took over the power from me peacefully. Even if those who experienced it personally on that day come out to object, I am afraid no one will believe it."

"That's right," Lawrence nodded and admitted.

"well"

Paulie touched his forehead, sighed deeply, and said:

"I feel like I've become a drama actor."

"Politicians are actors."

Lawrence said without any reaction:

"It's just that you were acting for yourself before, and now you are acting for me."