From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

After saying goodbye to everyone in the club, Lawrence took the carriage back to his mansion without making any further stops.

Judging from the greed shown by Mr. Getta, he would definitely give Lawrence a satisfactory result in exchange for the good job as a company consultant, so Lawrence felt relieved to leave the evaluation report to him to complete.

At the same time, Lawrence and Geta had this relationship, and Mr. Geta agreed to recommend Lawrence to join the Royal Academy of Sciences.

In this way, Lavoisier only needed to activate his own connections and find a colleague or friend to recommend Lawrence to join, which must not be difficult for him.

The reason why Lawrence went to great lengths to join the Royal Academy of Sciences was, in the short term, to use the Royal Academy's brand name to continue to build momentum for the National Silver Company; and in the long term, Lawrence also wanted to build a good relationship with the scholars there so that he could do so in the future. Convince them to work for the development of Corsica.

If there were major social changes and turmoil in France in the future, Lawrence might be able to take the opportunity to move the entire Royal Academy of Sciences to Corsica.

After all, no matter in which era, talent is a necessity for development.

However, in the process of joining the Royal Academy of Sciences, the final committee vote was something that Lawrence could not handle alone.

And the committee itself would certainly not agree to join Lawrence, a young man who had always been unknown in the academic field.

However, Lawrence was not worried about this issue. There were still many people in Paris who could have a decisive influence on the Royal Academy of Sciences Committee, and the Duke of Choiseul was undoubtedly one of them.

Although the Duke of Choiseul has not yet sent someone to inform Lawrence of the time of the banquet at the Palace of Versailles, Lawrence has sent him a letter of visit this morning and is preparing to take the initiative to go to Versailles to meet him.

There are still many problems before Lawrence and the Duke of Choiseul. Let’s not talk about joining the Royal Academy of Sciences this time. The matters of Duke Richelieu and the National Silver Company alone are enough to keep them busy. It’s been a while.

Lawrence followed the principle that changes come later, and did not want to delay these matters until after the banquet, so he decided to take the initiative to go to Versailles.

The distance between Paris and Versailles is only forty miles. Lawrence estimates that he will receive a reply from Duke Choiseul the day after tomorrow at the latest.

Time passed slowly and soon the first day of June came.

On the official road from Paris to Versailles, a neat column of horse-drawn carriages drove steadily. All of them were luxurious four-wheel carriages, and the horses were all fat and strong.

What was painted on both sides of the carriage was not the coat of arms of any noble family, but the profile of a pure black man wearing a turban.

Occasionally on both sides of the road there are knowledgeable citizens who are surprised to recognize the flag of the Republic of Corsica.

"Damn, the roads here are really flat and there are no bumps at all. The carriage ride in Paris a few days ago almost shook my butt off."

In the leading carriage, Grosso still looked very interested. He stuck his head out of the window and observed the neat and smooth stone road below, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Lawrence, who was sitting opposite him, was reading something attentively and casually echoed:

"This is not surprising. During the Louis XIV period, the French began to vigorously renovate and build official roads. This is the road for dignitaries and even kings to travel between Paris and Versailles. It is of course of the highest standard."

In the carriage, Ya'an saw Lawrence looking solemnly at the letter in his hand, and couldn't help asking worriedly:

"Sir, what are you looking at? What happened?"

Grosso was also keenly aware of the strangeness of today's trip, and then said:

"That's true. We brought all the guards with us this time. You even hired a painter to paint the Corsican logo on the carriage. Why is it so grand?"

Lawrence shook his head slowly, then put away the letter in his hand and explained:

"This is the reply I received from the Duke of Choiseul. In addition to accepting my visit to him, he also invited me to go on a hunt with him after I arrived in Versailles."

"Hunting? No wonder we have to bring all the guards there." Grosso nodded in realization.

"Huh? Is it to prevent attacks by wild beasts in the forest?" As an ordinary citizen born and raised in Corsica, Ya'an asked in confusion as he knew nothing about the hunting activities of the nobles.

"Don't be stupid, kid."

Grosso put his arm around Ya'an's shoulders and said with a smile:

"This kind of hunting by a noble man is extremely dangerous. All wild beasts within a radius of several miles will be driven out in advance, unless the man got drunk last night and fell off his horse to death."

"this"

Ya'an turned his head slightly, looked through the window at the carriage carrying twenty precision shooters behind him, and asked in confusion:

"Then what are we bringing these people for?"

"This hunt is inherently a social occasion."

Lawrence's expression was still solemn, he shook his head and explained:

"Bringing a guard is just to show your identity. And if it was just an ordinary hunt, I wouldn't take it so seriously."

Grosso's face became a little more serious, and he frowned and asked:

"What, this hunting is unusual?"

Lawrence looked at Grosso and Ya'an, nodded heavily and said:

"The Duke of Choiseul's letter stated that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess of France will participate in this hunt."

"His Crown Prince and Crown Princess?"

Both Grosso and Ya'an couldn't help but take a breath, looked at each other and then at Lawrence. This was a person they had never thought they could come into contact with.

Lawrence also knew very well that the crown prince and crown princess mentioned in the letter were the future French King Louis XVI and French Queen Marie Antoinette.

Since Louis XV's only son, Dauphin Louis, died early in 1765, Dauphin Louis, now only sixteen years old, became the first heir to the throne of France.

This is very similar to Louis XV, because Louis XV inherited the French throne from his great-grandfather Louis XIV.

Although the current grandson of King Louis has two younger brothers, namely Louis XVIII and Charles X during the Bourbon Restoration period in history, considering Louis XV’s increasingly weakened body and age of 60, the grandson of Louis is still very young. A chance to take over the throne of France from Louis XV.

However, Lawrence did not dare to confirm whether his appearance would bring some changes to the natural succession of the throne. Until the situation became clear, Lawrence decided to take the Crown Prince seriously as the future king.

As for the Crown Princess Marie Antoinette mentioned in the letter, she was the youngest daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and the famous Maria Theresa.

In order to reach reconciliation with France and jointly fight against the rising Prussians, Maria Theresa chose to marry her youngest daughter to the future King of France, and the crown princess only arrived in Paris in April this year.

"No wonder, this is a big shot. Tsk tsk, the future king, those little nobles are probably trying too hard to participate in this hunt. That Duke of Choiseul is really interesting."

Grosso touched his chin and said excitedly. When he decided to follow Lawrence, he never expected to meet such a person one day. Grosso had already begun to imagine that he was bragging to everyone in the tavern that he had met the King of France. .

Although Lawrence nodded slightly, he probably guessed that the Duke of Choiseul did not give him this benefit out of thin air. He probably also decided to increase his efforts to win over him after learning about his meeting with the Duke of Richelieu, and then gave him this precious gift. The quota was allocated to Lawrence.

Otherwise, Lawrence, as the governor of Corsica, would really not be qualified to participate in this hunt.

Lawrence and his party set out from Paris at dawn and arrived at the Duke of Choiseul's estate on the edge of Versailles at almost noon.

Although this place is still some distance from the Palace of Versailles and can be considered a country manor, Lawrence looked at the endless wheat fields in front of him and learned that these were all lands owned by the Duke of Choiseul. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion at the financial resources of this important French minister.

It is said that after the fall of the Duke of Choiseul in history, Madame Du Barry suggested that Louis XV pay him a lump sum of 600,000 livres and give him 60,000 livres in order to allow him to stay in the fief and enjoy his old age. Foer's annuity, but such a large sum of money was directly rejected by the Duke of Choiseul, which shows the wealth he possesses.

Although this hunting activity will only start tomorrow, many nobles dressed in gorgeous clothes and surrounded by entourages can already be seen in the Duke of Choiseul's manor.

Even many carriages on this road were heading towards the Duke of Choiseul's estate. Seven or eight carriages arrived at the same time as Lawrence alone, and they were all four carriages.

The manor housekeeper has obviously received countless visitors and is already familiar with the process. He skillfully sends out servants to guide the coachman to park the vehicle in the reserved space and welcome the distinguished guests in the carriage to the manor.

The open space next to the manor is already filled with carriages of different styles. It is almost impossible to find two identical carriages inside. In order to highlight their own personality, the nobles also put a lot of effort into their carriages.

The use of gold and silver decoration has become a bit tacky. Only those vehicles with the most avant-garde rococo style and soft lines will be praised by everyone.

Lawrence stepped out of the carriage under the guidance of the manor's servants and looked around. He estimated that there were almost a hundred carriages here. It seemed that tomorrow's hunting would not be a small event.

"Damn it, that manor housekeeper has no idea what he's so proud of!"

A young nobleman threw away the hand of the servant who took him out of the car with disgust, and complained with great dissatisfaction:

"I thought it was disrespectful for him to come to pick me up in person, but he even asked these mud-legged people to come!"

However, his complaints did not arouse support from the surrounding nobles. Instead, several older nobles shouted to him with mocking looks:

"Hey! Forget it, brother, don't even look at whose manor this is. The butler here may be nobler than yours in terms of noble blood."

"But." The young nobleman calmed down under the ridicule of several people, but still said dissatisfied:

"That housekeeper is too arrogant. I just asked him for directions, and he turned a blind eye to me. It's really hateful!"

"Oh - you better forget it. After leaving this manor, the butler's status is not lower than yours."

Lawrence listened to the conversation of these nobles for a while and couldn't help but smile. It seemed that the Duke of Choiseul, who held military and diplomatic power, still had a good status in everyone's hearts despite his decline.

Just as Lawrence was about to be led into the arranged accommodation by the servants, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, please wait a moment."

Lawrence turned around and saw that the person calling him was an old man in plain white robes. He bowed to Lawrence politely and said in a calm voice:

"I am the steward of the manor here. His Excellency the Duke wants to see you immediately."

Before Lawrence could reply, the people who had been talking about the manor's butler just now were stunned on the spot, looking a little dumbfounded at the fact that the arrogant butler in front of them was so respectful to the young man in front of them.

"Who is this person?!"

The young noble who complained just now widened his eyes and said angrily:

"He's not even wearing a wig, and he's not even wearing a hat. What kind of country bumpkin is he?"

"Shh! Please keep your voice down!" The people next to him quickly stopped him and said:

"Didn't you hear? The butler just called him Monsignor Bonaparte. This must be the Governor of Corsica. I heard that his relationship with the Duke of Choiseul is not ordinary."

"I"

The young noble suddenly lost his arrogance upon hearing this. He did not dare to offend the famous man in front of Duke Choiseul, so he only dared to whisper in the voice he heard:

"Humph, he's not a country bumpkin from Corsica"

On the other side, Lawrence entered the main building under the leadership of the manor's steward, and after waiting for a short while, he met Duke Choiseul.

"I haven't seen you for a few days, Governor Bonaparte."

Duke Choiseul smiled slightly, sat next to Lawrence and greeted:

"How's it going? How was your stay in Paris?"

"Everything is fine, thank you for your concern." Lawrence took the tea served by the servant and nodded to Duke Choiseul.

"That's good, that's good."

Duke Choiseul smiled, reached for a piece of soft cake sprinkled with sugar, threw it into his mouth, and said slowly:

"You will be in Paris for a while. I think you can try to adapt to the Parisian way of life. Such as salons, clubs, horse racing, and, of course,..."

As he spoke, Duke Choiseul glanced at Lawrence thoughtfully and said slowly:

"There are also plays. I heard that you attended a play at the Paris Comédie-Venue a few days ago. It was very good."

Lawrence also chuckled and glanced at Duke Choiseul, knowing that his behavior of going to see Duke Richelieu could not be hidden from him.

"It is indeed a very good drama, but it's a pity that the people around it were not very good at the time."

Lawrence shook his head regretfully and said:

"I think it will be much better to go to the theater with you next time."

After hearing this, the smile on Duke Choiseul's face became even thicker. It was impossible for him not to recognize Lawrence's kind words.

So Duke Choiseul waved to the servants in the room and motioned them out. After the door was closed, he said directly:

"In that case, let's be honest. I'm glad you're on the right side. But tell me, Governor Bonaparte, I don't believe that old bastard, the Duke Richelieu, didn't recruit you. Why didn't you agree? Where is he?"

Lawrence looked at Duke Choiseul and was not prepared to say anything false, but said directly:

"Because I'm not satisfied with the conditions he offered."

Duke Choiseul was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile and asked:

"Then if his conditions satisfy you, are you ready to join him?"

"Of course." Lawrence replied directly without caring.

Duke Choiseul didn't speak for a long time after hearing this. He just licked his lips and stared at Lawrence for a while, then twirled his fingers, narrowed his eyes and said slowly:

"In other words, you are only on my side for profit?"

Lawrence shrugged and said:

"Yes, I can't turn to you just because I have a kind heart to help others, right?"

"Governor Bonaparte, I am beginning to appreciate you more and more."

Duke Choiseul turned half of his body to face Lawrence and said in a deep voice:

"You are so right. Only interests are the strongest ties that connect people. And I also promise you that as long as you stand by my side, bring down that damn old bastard Richelieu and Du Barry bitch. , I will promise and guarantee the things you want.”

Lawrence stood up, bowed humbly to the Duke of Choiseul to show his submission, and at the same time said silently in his heart:

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency, but I will take what I want myself."