From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Then I guess we have a lot to talk about."

Although Crown Princess Mary is a princess who is not interested in politics, this does not mean that her mind is not smart.

After hearing Lawrence say that both he and the Duke of Choiseul were very dissatisfied with Madame Du Barry, Crown Princess Marie immediately understood what Lawrence meant.

This is saying that they have a common enemy.

Although Crown Princess Marie was not familiar with the name of Laurence Bonaparte, Duke Choiseul, as an important minister of France, his name was resounding throughout most of Europe. After learning that Duke Choiseul was also interested in Du Barry, After the lady was dissatisfied, Crown Princess Mary decided to show a positive attitude towards Lawrence's wooing.

After reaching an initial agreement with Crown Princess Mary, Lawrence did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he sat down cross-legged and chatted with Crown Princess Mary. After all, no one else present could speak German.

Lawrence himself was also very happy to establish a good personal relationship with the future queen.

"So, you are a governor?"

Crown Princess Mary also sat down with her legs crossed, stared at Lawrence with great interest and said:

"I have also met many governors, whether they are from Venice or Lucca. They are all as old as mummies. This is the first time I have seen someone as young as you."

Lawrence shook his head and smiled. If he wanted to take over Corsica's power peacefully, he would probably have to wait until his beard turned gray before it was his turn, so he shrugged and said:

"Okay, but I don't think I'm that young. Like Alexander the Great, he started conquering the world at the age of fifteen."

"Alexander the Great? Ah, I remember this man"

Crown Princess Mary had obviously spent a lot of time in history classes, and she only had an impression of such a character. She patted her head and thought for a while before poking her chin and saying uncertainly:

"Is he the Roman emperor?"

Lawrence couldn't help blinking after hearing this, smiled awkwardly, and then said:

"Well, in fact, he was a Greek, and Rome was still a republic in his time, but..."

Lawrence glanced at the somewhat depressed Crown Princess Mary, and then said with a smile:

"You must have confused Alexander of Macedonia with Alexander Severus of the Roman Empire. The latter was an unknown Roman emperor. The fact that you know this name shows that you are quite knowledgeable."

"Oh! So I'm just confused."

Although Crown Princess Mary had no idea who Alexander Severus was, she still swept away the depression on her face and said with a triumphant smile.

Seeing Princess Mary's mood changing so quickly, Lawrence also gave a wry smile, thinking that no matter how noble her background and status were, she was still just a girl of fourteen or fifteen years old.

Just as the two were about to continue chatting to pass the time, they heard the sound of horse hooves suddenly coming from the path outside the castle.

In the dust and mist raised by the horses' hooves, a group of neatly formed riders galloped towards the castle, surrounded by a young man with extraordinary temperament in the middle.

At the end of the procession there are two riders holding high the iris flag with a dark blue background, which is the symbol of the French royal family.

Upon seeing this, the ladies outside the castle interrupted their conversations one after another, stood up from the picnic cloth and stared at the boy in the team; the nobles inside the castle also heard the movement and swarmed out to welcome the arrival of the team. .

"Oh, this must be my husband here."

Crown Princess Mary frowned slightly, glanced at the middle of the team unhappily, held her chin and said nonchalantly:

"To be honest, the total number of words he and I have spoken so far is less than a hundred."

Lawrence didn't speak after hearing this, and just nodded in agreement. Although he himself was very disgusted with arranged marriages, in his current status, he was not qualified to dictate what to do about the marriage between France and Austria.

The team gradually slowed down as it approached the castle. The riders drove the horses at a fast pace, and the young man who attracted everyone's attention also took the initiative to ride his horse to the front of the team and waved to the crowd that greeted him.

This is the man who the current Crown Prince, the future King of France, will be called Louis XVI.

He was obviously well prepared for today's hunting. His upper body was wearing a loose and refreshing dark green mantle, and a short cloak embroidered with fleur-de-lis was wrapped around his shoulders. His lower body was wearing silk stockings and high-rise silk stockings. Heeled cavalry boots, both pieces of equipment are specially designed for riding horses.

However, his riding skills were obviously not yet proficient, so two followers followed him on foot to hold the reins for him, and two followers followed him on horseback, one carrying a quiver for him, and the other He was adjusting the long bow for him.

Lawrence looked at Louis XVI in the crowd and nodded approvingly. At least judging from his outfit and energetic temperament today, he was in line with the status of the Crown Prince of France.

In fact, in the early years of his reign, Louis XVI was not the passive locksmith king that people remembered him to be.

In the early days of his succession to the throne, he also had a period of aggressiveness. He frequently changed prime ministers and adopted more radical reforms and policies, including intervention in the North American War of Independence and fiscal reforms with the assistance of Turgot.

These actions also earned Louis XVI the title of "radical reformer" at that time. Of course, some people called him a "sudden reformer" to ridicule his policies as being too radical.

However, as his grandfather Louis XV said: "After my death, the flood will be overwhelming." France's financial problems were not something that this immature king could improve.

Coupled with the fact that Louis XVI's reforms themselves had quite a few shortcomings and the huge debts caused by intervention in the North American War of Independence, France fell into a more serious financial crisis at the hands of Louis XVI.

After Louis XVI discovered that he was completely powerless to shake the nobility and clergy class, he gradually lost interest in governing the country and gradually became addicted to hunting and machinery manufacturing, becoming what people call a passive and corrupt locksmith king.

Of course, these are just things to say later. Although today's Crown Prince Louis has shown considerable interest and talent in lock making and hunting, he has not yet reached the point of being addicted to them.

The nobles who poured out of the castle consciously lined up on both sides of the path to make way for Crown Prince Louis' team. Most of them showed obvious respect and respect for the future king.

Of course, there are also a very small number of high-ranking nobles who just watch the arrival of Crown Prince Louis calmly and do not show any special hospitality or respect for him. The Duke of Choiseul is a typical example of this type of person.

As an important minister who was called brother to Louis XV, Duke Choiseul acted like an elder when facing Prince Louis. He stood in the middle of the road and looked at Prince Louis with a kind smile. Take the initiative to greet them.

However, Crown Prince Louis took the initiative to dismount when he was more than ten yards away from the Duke of Choiseul, led the horse and walked to the Duke of Choiseul humbly and greeted:

"It's been a long time since I saw you in the Palace of Versailles. It's so cordial to see you today."

Duke Choiseul grinned, stepped forward and patted Prince Louis on the shoulder, saying with emotion:

"You've grown taller, but you've also gained a lot of weight. Ah, time is really unpredictable, but I won't talk about that today. Just enjoy the hunt, Your Highness."

"Of course, thank you for your hospitality."

Prince Louis nodded and said, and then chatted with other nobles on both sides of the road for a while.

It was not until a while later that he noticed his radiant and arrogant wife standing on the grass beside him.

Crown Prince Louis glanced at Crown Princess Mary with some embarrassment. As one of the few members of the Bourbon royal family who was not interested in women, he naturally felt very uncomfortable and embarrassed about this political marriage.

Especially since the couple is not only young, but also has a language barrier, normal communication requires the presence of an interpreter. In this case, let alone some private communication activities.

Of course, it was embarrassing. As a member of the royal family who had received a good palace education, Crown Prince Louis still knew that he must show harmony with his wife on such occasions.

Otherwise, countless versions of the story about the discord between Prince Louis and his wife would be circulated in the salons of various ladies in Paris the next afternoon. There were even similar rumors in the past that a certain nobleman had lost his manliness and caused discord between his wife and his wife. The most talked about version.

While Prince Louis walked towards Crown Princess Mary at a loss, he waved to a certain entourage in the team, gesturing for him to follow him quickly.

In order to communicate with Crown Princess Marie, Crown Prince Louis specially arranged for a German-speaking entourage to follow him.

"Ah, dear Mary, you came much earlier."

Crown Prince Louis greeted stiffly with the help of an interpreter:

"How do you feel? Is this your first time participating in such an event in France?"

"snort"

Crown Princess Mary snorted, stared at Prince Louis fiercely and said:

"I have to say it's terrible. The servants in Versailles are more rude than the gangsters in Vienna!"

"Well"

Crown Prince Louis scratched his head in confusion. Although he had no idea what was going on, he still knew the character of this pampered princess. She would definitely not leave a trace of face for herself in public.

However, just when Prince Louis felt helpless and thought he was going to lose face in front of everyone, Crown Princess Mary just shook her index finger slightly dissatisfied and said:

"Hmph, forget it, if it weren't for Mr. Bonaparte's help today, this place would have become a nightmare for me."

"Monsieur Bonaparte?"

Crown Prince Louis was relieved when he saw that Crown Princess Marie was not going to make a scene, but hearing Bonaparte's name still made him frown in confusion, and then he noticed Lawrence standing next to Crown Princess Marie.

Regarding this young man who looked only a few years older than himself, Crown Prince Louis quickly remembered who he was, so he hurriedly came forward and whispered gratefully:

"So you are Governor Bonaparte? I have often heard my grandfather mention you recently. Anyway, it is great that you can help me deal with this crazy woman, otherwise I don't know how today will end."

Lawrence glanced at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in front of him. Judging from his urgent and grateful expression, he really felt helpless towards the woman Crown Princess Mary.

"So this hepatic king started from this time?"

Lawrence thought of the cowardly behavior of Louis XVI in history when facing the queen, and could only sigh slightly helplessly.

Of course, although Lawrence already had some opinions about Prince Louis in his heart, in front of him, Lawrence still looked flattered, bowed and said:

"It's just a small effort. I'm honored to be able to save you trouble."

"Oh yes, yes."

Crown Prince Louis stared at Lawrence with gratitude and curiosity for a while. It was also the first time for him to see this figure who had often appeared on Louis XV's lips recently, and after discovering that this young man of similar age to himself was already a national figure, During the visit, Crown Prince Louis was even more surprised, so he couldn't help but invite with great interest:

"By the way, Governor Bonaparte, do you want to go hunting together later? I feel like you are a good hunter."

"Hunting? This is real"

Lawrence raised his body in surprise, smiled and said:

"I have absolutely no reason to refuse. I hope I won't hold you back by then."

"Hahaha, look what you said."

Crown Prince Louis couldn't help but smile, and then glanced at Crown Princess Mary aside. After seeing that this woman did not stage a farce here, he felt even more happy. He waved to Lawrence happily and said:

"After seeing you for a while, I feel that you are a really good person, Governor Bonaparte."

After that, Crown Prince Louis led his team into the castle to rest and prepare for the afternoon hunt.

And Lawrence couldn't help but sigh after watching the back of Prince Louis disappear through the castle gate. After exchanging a few words with His Royal Highness, it seemed that he would indeed become the indecisive, weak and timid king in history. Of course, On the bright side, at least His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is still very generous and kind in his dealings with others.

While Lawrence was silently speculating on Prince Louis, Duke Choiseul walked up to Lawrence at some point and said meaningfully:

"How does it feel to chat with the future king?"

Lawrence glanced at Duke Choiseul and whispered casually:

"To be honest, I don't feel anything. He is a good person, that's all."

"Well, just don't say this out loud."

Duke Choiseul shook his head indifferently and said:

"But Crown Prince Louis took the initiative to invite you to go hunting together, which is a good thing. I originally wanted to personally come forward to let you and Crown Prince Louis form a team, but I didn't expect you to solve it yourself. Oh, and the Crown Princess, look It seems like you had a good time chatting with her, too?"

Lawrence shrugged and said:

"There is no such thing as a happy conversation. I am just trying to make the little girl happy. After all, she is the key figure in bringing down Madame Du Barry."

"Of course it's best for you to have this idea, but from a personal point of view, I still want to remind you, Governor Bonaparte."

Duke Choiseul's face became a little more solemn, he looked at Lawrence seriously, and said in a deep voice like a generous elder:

"Your relationship with the crown prince and his wife is not only to help me bring down the Duke of Richelieu and Madame Du Barry, it is also of great benefit to yourself, you understand."

For the Duke of Choiseul, if he can win the support of the crown prince and his wife, he will have many advantages in the battle with the Duke of Richelieu. However, as an important minister, the Duke of Choiseul himself was obviously not suitable to get closer to them personally. After all, the current King Louis XV was still sitting on the throne.

When the contemporary monarch is still in power, important ministers collude with the prince. This will definitely arouse the monarch's disgust and resentment, no matter in which era or country, and even lead to imprisonment and death.

However, as a young man of similar age to the crown prince and his wife, and because he will be the Prime Minister of Corsica directly subordinate to the king in the future, Lawrence can establish a deep friendship with the crown prince and his wife in the name of normal social interaction.

This is why the Duke of Choiseul specially invited Lawrence to this hunt, and even prepared to introduce Lawrence to Prince Louis himself.

"Governor Bonaparte, Lawrence."

Duke Choiseul said earnestly:

"You are still young, Crown Prince Louis is still young, and the Crown Princess is still young. In the future, the two of them will rule France for decades, and you will spend the rest of your life serving them, so how important is your friendship with them? I don’t need to say more.”

"certainly."

Lawrence smiled and nodded, affirming the second half of Duke Choiseul's sentence.

As for the first half of his sentence

Lawrence was not prepared to spend the rest of his life serving anyone.

This chapter was posted yesterday, but I reviewed it all night before posting it in the morning. Sorry for keeping everyone waiting.