From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Several palace doctors gathered around Count Falcone in a panic, performing some emergency hemostasis treatment on the count who had completely passed out.

When Prince Louis assigned these doctors to wait outside the duel, he thought of interrupting the duel at any time and stepping forward to rescue Lawrence. However, he never expected that Lawrence not only won the duel unscathed, but also directly shot the playboy in the chest. The romantic life in the second half of my life was also ruined.

It wasn't until several doctors worked together to carry Count Falcone away that Crown Prince Louis beat his still beating heart and took a few deep breaths to calm down.

Since his enmity with Count Falcone, Crown Prince Louis has also thought about how to take revenge on this disgusting pervert.

But the 16-year-old crown prince, who had grown up in a greenhouse since childhood, obviously knew nothing about conspiracies and intrigues. He scratched his head and couldn't come up with a solution. In the end, he had to resort to the most common trick used by children - looking for parents.

Louis XV didn't care about the small conflicts between these young people, especially when the other party was the grandson of the Duke of Richelieu. He only verbally criticized Count Falcone.

Seeing that he did not get support from his grandfather, Crown Prince Louis was at his wits' end and almost took the initiative to show weakness and give up the hostility with Count Falcone.

Therefore, when Prince Louis looked at the blood of his enemy dripping all the way on the grass, he never expected that he would have the opportunity to see Count Falcone in such a miserable state.

This exhilarating feeling is even more satisfying than creating the most exquisite gold lock.

Crown Prince Louis looked at Lawrence beside him excitedly. He would not forget who had done this for him today.

So Prince Louis, who was in a happy mood, no longer cared about his status. Seeing that Lawrence was still wearing a thin shirt, he ran to the side personally, took Lawrence's coat and put it on him, and said with concern:

"Dear Lawrence, don't catch a cold. Let's get back to the banquet. I will toast you five glasses of wine today."

"As you wish, Your Highness." Lawrence smiled kindly and nodded.

The nobles who were watching upstairs couldn't help but marvel when they saw this scene. It was the first time for them to see a member of the royal family, especially the future king, treat others so kindly and approachably.

I am afraid that the young Louis XV and the Duke of Richelieu did not have such a close relationship at that time.

Lawrence buttoned up his coat and was about to return to the castle with Prince Louis when he saw Duke Choiseul coming down to the courtyard with a look of complete surprise.

"I really have a new understanding of you, Governor Bonaparte."

Duke Choiseul circled half a circle around Lawrence to make sure that Lawrence was not injured before showing a satisfied smile, nodding his head and saying:

"By the way, my daughter Elvie asked me to bring you a message, saying that she is very grateful to you for driving away that damn fly. She cannot thank you in public because of the dignity of being a lady."

Lawrence smiled and nodded to express his understanding. Of course, a well-educated lady could not openly show joy to such a bloody scene, although Miss Elvy was probably happier than Prince Louis at this time.

"But how did you do it? At that distance, you were able to knock that bastard down with one shot."

After finishing speaking, Duke Choiseul looked at Lawrence in surprise and asked.

For this question, Lawrence has already prepared the answer:

"To be honest, I didn't expect to be able to knock down Count Falcone with the first shot. But this is also the result of luck, skill, and equipment advantages. My pistol is the most exquisite craftsman in Corsica. Made.”

Of course, Lawrence would not reveal the existence of rifled muskets to Duke Choiseul, but he also did not want to deliberately make up several lies to cover up one lie, so he directly explained with half-truths.

"is that so."

Duke Choiseul glanced at the pistol on Lawrence's waist and saw that the barrel of this pistol did indeed have a longer barrel, but it still looked like a custom-made ordinary duel pistol on the market.

In addition, Duke Choiseul himself had no interest in firearms, so he did not pursue the question further, thinking that Lawrence was indeed lucky.

"In this case, let's go back to the banquet hall quickly."

Crown Prince Louis looked up at the nobles upstairs and said excitedly that he could not wait to bathe in the congratulations with Lawrence. This kind of sincere congratulations was not common in the Palace of Versailles.

Duke Choiseul patted his head and said apologetically:

"Sorry, Your Highness, I need to say something to Governor Bonaparte. I'm afraid I have to excuse myself for a while."

"Is this it? Okay."

Crown Prince Louis shook his head with regret after hearing this, but he did not raise any objection to Duke Choiseul's decision, so he looked at Lawrence with a smile and said:

"It seems that I will have to propose a toast to you in two days. You will be the protagonist in the Palace of Versailles at that time."

Lawrence declined modestly and was reminded by Prince Louis’ words:

The banquet hosted by Louis XV for himself was about to begin.

Although such a banquet could only be considered common in the Palace of Versailles, for Lawrence, this was the first time he had met the King of France, so he still had to take it seriously.

And Duke Choiseul suddenly wanted to have a private conversation with Lawrence, probably because of this banquet.

Lawrence then bowed farewell to Prince Louis with understanding, and then, led by Duke Choiseul, avoided the sight of the nobles and returned to Duke Choiseul's own room.

There was no one else in the room, not even a servant to take notes, so it seemed like a rather confidential conversation indeed.

After the Duke of Choiseul entered the door, he first asked Lawrence to sit down, then closed the door tightly himself, lit a match and lit two candlesticks.

"You won't blame me for dragging you away from the cheers of the crowd, right?"

Duke Choiseul placed the candlestick on the small table and joked in a relaxed tone.

Lawrence shrugged. Of course, he didn't care much about participating in those situations, unless there was a special need to enhance his prestige in people's minds.

However, judging from the relaxed tone of Duke Choiseul, it seemed that there was nothing particularly serious that he needed to tell him, which made Lawrence feel a little relieved.

Duke Choiseul sat next to Lawrence and said with a smile:

"By the way, I have to tell you the good news first."

"Good news?" Lawrence asked with a frown.

Duke Choiseul lowered his voice and explained:

"The fact that you saved Crown Prince Louis last night reached the king's ears this morning. King Louis is quite satisfied with your behavior and is ready to reward you."

Lawrence listened silently and just nodded calmly. King Louis must have received the news immediately about something like this happening under his nose.

As for the so-called reward, it was within Lawrence's expectation. Any astute ruler would reward such a heroic act to encourage the citizens to follow suit.

It was Duke Choiseul's intelligence network that surprised Lawrence. After all, King Louis only learned of the news in the morning, and Duke Choiseul knew before night that King Louis was very satisfied with him.

It seems that Madame Du Barry is not the only one in the court of Versailles. At least there must be someone from the Duke of Choiseul beside Louis XV.

It’s no wonder that the Duke of Choiseul deliberately shut out others to talk to Lawrence alone. Although everyone knew about placing spies around the king, there would still be big trouble if it came out openly.

"So what reward does our king want to give?"

Lawrence didn't care about the reward itself, but it was more important that Louis XV had improved his favor during this incident.

"Who knows, it depends on the king's mood, but he said that he should not be thought of as a stingy king."

Duke Choiseul turned to look at Lawrence and said:

"I'll probably give you a knighthood."

"Oh? Can you make me a duke?" Lawrence asked casually.

"What are you thinking about?"

Duke Choiseul curled his lips angrily. His own title of duke was promoted through his military exploits in the Austrian Succession War and his family tradition. He shook his head and said:

"Maybe it's to be made an earl. Of course, it's the kind that doesn't have a real fiefdom or annuity, it's just a title."

Lawrence couldn't help but sigh after hearing this. This result was also expected. After all, for the king, there was almost no cost to the king with such a false title. At most, it would make other nobles feel a little dissatisfied.

Moreover, the nobles who are qualified to express dissatisfaction actually only account for a small part of the noble class.

Because in France during the Louis XV era, the phenomenon of selling officials and conferring titles was actually quite common. Any civilian could purchase the status of a minister of state for 120,000 livres silver coins, thus automatically becoming a noble.

By the time of Louis XVI, there were as many as 900 such purchased ministers of state.

Including during the reign of Louis XIV, he also sold noble titles for as low as 6,000 livres.

Therefore, among today's French nobles, there are very few who can really trace their family's bloodline back several centuries like the Duke of Choiseul and the Duke of Richelieu.

Even in France, because the official positions of some local officials are hereditary, that is to say, the official positions can be passed down from generation to generation like titles, so these powerful bureaucrats will call themselves "nobles in court uniform", using the common people's The status is compared to the ranks of the nobility.

It’s no wonder that by the eve of the French Revolution in 1789, about 95% of the nobility were actually from the middle class.

Voltaire also recorded this phenomenon: "Countless bankers, surgeons, businessmen, clerks and even princes' servants have received the title of nobility. Those who hold government positions, such as ministers or chief justices , and you have to call yourself a nobleman.”

Therefore, Lawrence was not happy at all after hearing that Louis XV was likely to grant himself such a title. If possible, Lawrence would prefer to convert the title directly into money. After all, a count would cost tens of thousands of livres at least. Only then can you buy it.

"What's wrong? You're not satisfied?"

Seeing Lawrence's lack of reaction, Duke Choiseul asked curiously:

"I remember that you are still a knight of Florence in terms of noble status, right? You must know that many people nowadays do not regard knights as nobles at all, especially foreign knights like you."

"I think such a false name is useless. As long as the identity is enough to match your status, the most important thing is the power in your hands."

Lawrence shook his head and said:

"Just like Maria Theresa, she is legally the queen of Hungary and Bohemia, but we are not accustomed to calling her the empress of the Holy Roman Empire. If I want to pursue a noble status, I will now He can still call himself the Emperor of Corsica.”

"Hahahaha Emperor of Corsica, I really don't know where you stole the imperial law from."

Duke Choiseul couldn't help but laugh twice, then looked at Lawrence and said:

"However, if you are really dissatisfied with this reward, you can indeed express your refusal to the king. He may have other preparations. Of course, if he is not, it depends on his mood at the time."

"I understand." Lawrence nodded, keeping this in mind, and prepared to think about how to maximize the benefits of this reward opportunity when he went back.

After informing Lawrence of the good news, Duke Choiseul also calmed down, became serious, and said in a deep voice:

"Anyway, this is your first time meeting the king, so you need to take it seriously. Moreover, many people are not happy to see the king favoring you."

Lawrence also frowned slightly, nodded understandingly and asked:

"Both Madame Du Barry and the Duke of Richelieu will attend the banquet?"

"Madame Du Barry will definitely accompany King Louis to attend. Logically speaking, Duke Richelieu will not attend such a banquet. After all, he has already half of his feet in the ground, but..."

Duke Choiseul carefully analyzed:

"They would never tolerate us being too close to King Louis, and you have beaten Duke Richelieu's grandson into a useless person. In both public and private matters, Duke Richelieu will not stop. I just don't know what he is going to do." means."

Lawrence nodded in approval and added:

"That's true, but their method is nothing more than to alienate the relationship between us and the king, but the specific method is not clear. I think so."

"Well, do you have any ideas?" Duke Choiseul saw Lawrence looking thoughtful and couldn't help but ask. The young Governor of Corsica had already given him many surprises.

Lawrence did not rush to answer, but closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head and said:

"I'm not sure if it will work, but I think it can be arranged first."

"Huh? What's the arrangement?" Duke Choiseul approached Lawrence and asked quickly.

Even in this secret room with only two people, Lawrence still leaned over and whispered in Duke Choiseul's ear.

After hearing this, Duke Choiseul frowned and did not let go for a long time.

"What do you think? This shouldn't be difficult for you." Lawrence looked at Duke Choiseul calmly and asked.

Duke Choiseul lay in his chair, narrowed his eyes and said slowly:

"Governor Bonaparte, your arrangement is indeed to deal with Duke Richelieu and Madame Du Barry, right?"

"Of course." Lawrence nodded expressionlessly.

"Hahaha." Duke Choiseul laughed to himself twice, then stood up and said in a deep voice with his hands behind his back:

"If your plan really works, I won't care about the little deals you get for yourself in there."

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