From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

In the last few days of January, Lawrence had a rare few quiet moments.

The dockworkers union's revenge will not come for a while. As long as Lawrence no longer puts himself in danger and enters their territory in Xicheng District, those gang leaders will not foolishly come to Beicheng District to attack Lawrence.

Such a blatant challenge to Corsican law and order will definitely offend many powerful people, including Pauli.

After being free, Lawrence went to the patrol team to supervise the work step by step every day during the day. At night, he read quietly with Anna's company. Occasionally, Mrs. Dora would invite Lawrence and Anna to have dinner.

On the pay day at the end of the month, the patrols also received their first share in addition to their salary. Although the monthly amount was not much, everyone couldn't help but smile when looking at the gold coins lying on their hands. He became more and more supportive of Captain Bonaparte.

Although Lawrence occasionally wished that he could live peacefully like this forever, he understood that the turning point in the fate of the entire Corsica would be in the near future, and such a leisurely time would not last long.

Sure enough, in the early morning of the last day of January, there was a hurried knock on Lawrence’s door.

Anna is still sleeping soundly, and Lawrence, who got up early, is sitting in the living room reading a book, a second-rate chivalry novel with mediocre writing skills.

Hearing a knock on the door, Lawrence put down his book and stood up. When he opened the door, he saw a man wearing a dark green coat. On his chest was a badge with the flag of the Republic of Corsica on it.

Lawrence recalled for a while and remembered seeing this man in the Governor's Palace. It seemed that he was someone sent by Pauli.

"Come in." Lawrence turned sideways and extended his hand to greet him.

"No need," the man shook his head and said, identifying himself:

"I am the secretary of Governor Pauli. I am here to inform you that the Corsica Parliament will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow, February 1st. Governor Pauli requires you to attend the meeting as a staff officer."

Lawrence nodded solemnly. According to convention, the next regular meeting of the Corsica Parliament should be in early March, but Pauli obviously cannot wait. He must decide on a plan for the survival of Corsica as soon as possible.

"Tell Governor Pauli for me, I understand."

"Yes." The man's expression was also heavy. As Pauli's secretary, he must also know something about the dangerous situation in Corsica.

Pauli's secretary left in a hurry after delivering the message, probably because he had other work.

Lawrence, who returned to the living room, also sat on the sofa and fell into deep thought:

At present, only his plan is most suitable for the current situation, so Pauly must be on the same front as Lawrence. But Lawrence didn't know what the attitude of other congressmen with ulterior motives was.

Whether for the sake of Corsica or for his own benefit, Lawrence had to see to it that this plan was adopted. As long as you become the person in charge of the plan, the political capital you will gain and the resources you will mobilize will be immeasurable.

Even so, Lawrence had no suitable solution for the time being, so he had to go into the study, unfold the letter paper, pick up a pen and write a letter to his brother, Congressman Carlo, hoping that the other party would stand with him by then.

With the brotherly feeling between the two and the inside story that Carlo knew, he would not refuse.

As for how to win over or intimidate other congressmen, Lawrence crouched over his desk and thought hard for a long time, and finally came to the conclusion:

We must start with Poly!

Although at the beginning of the establishment of the Republic of Corsica, Pauli dispersed political power into the hands of parliamentarians in order to win over local forces and maintain order.

But there is no doubt that if Pauli, who has the army in his hands, wants to have his own way, no one in Corsica can stop him.

By then, the opinion of the parliament may not be important.

"Sir, are you hungry? I'm going to prepare breakfast."

Anna rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked down from the second floor, still wearing a loose silk pajamas, and said to Lawrence in the study.

Lawrence glanced sideways, then quickly moved his eyes away from Anna's exposed white skin, coughed twice pretending to be calm, and said:

"Ahem, wait a minute, change your clothes and help me deliver this letter to Congressman Carlo Bonaparte in Dongcheng District."

Anna nodded, took the envelope with both hands obediently, turned back to the room and started changing.

Lawrence tilted his head, thinking hard about how to persuade Governor Pauly to carry out their plan.

The next day, early morning, seven o'clock in the morning.

Although the parliament would not officially start until ten in the morning, it was the first time for Lawrence to attend such a major meeting and he chose to arrive earlier to get more information.

Since he was attending the parliament as a staff officer today, Lawrence did not wear the uniform of a patrolman, but chose a decent gentleman's uniform given by Carlo.

The guards at the Governor's Palace had also heard of the famous Captain Bonaparte, and they allowed Lawrence to enter after just a simple inspection.

When Lawrence walked into the door, he could still faintly hear the conversation of the guards behind him:

"That's Captain Bonaparte. He's really young and promising."

"It would be great to work under him. I even envy those patrols."

"that is"

Hearing such a conversation, Lawrence could only help but smile. It seemed that the two thousand gold coins were well spent. Even the soldiers at other posts have spread the news about this.

The Corsican Parliament is located in the Governor's Palace. An auditorium next to Paoli's residence was also built during the Genoese period and has a typical post-Renaissance architectural style.

The layout of the auditorium has been changed for the purpose of hosting the parliament. There are six rows of seats near the main entrance for citizens who come to listen.

According to Corsican law, citizens have the right to observe the parliament when it is in session, but today, because it is an emergency meeting, it is not open to citizens.

Further inside is a long horseshoe-shaped table facing the door. This is where the MPs and participants sit. The top seat is undoubtedly reserved for Governor Pauly.

At the front is a speaking table, reserved for the speaker who presides over order and members who need to make long speeches.

When Lawrence entered the auditorium, Governor Paoli was already there.

Because his official position is that of national general, Pauli did not wear a silver wig today, but wore a dark green military uniform with a dazzling gold medal on his chest.

Behind the speaking table in front of Pauli was an old man with bright eyes. He wore a low white bishop's hat and a white robe. It seemed that this was the Bishop of Corsica.

Just judging from his position, it seems that the position of speaker is also held by him.

"Lawrence, you're here."

Paulie was discussing something with the bishop, his expression was very heavy. When he saw Lawrence coming, he just tilted his head slightly and motioned for him to come over and sit down.

The status of the two people in front of him was much higher than his own, and it was difficult for Lawrence to interrupt, so he patiently listened to the discussion between the two.

What I heard the two people arguing about was Pauly and Lawrence's plan.

This plan is divided into two parts. One is to withdraw troops from the north to lure the Genoese southward, and the other is to spread the news that there are large silver mines on Corsica.

Since the latter required a high degree of secrecy and did not require much official cooperation, Pauli did not intend to inform the parliament, but was prepared to proceed directly with Lawrence.

But for the former, such a large-scale troop withdrawal cannot be concealed or explained to the parliament. Pauli originally wanted to cancel it from the agenda, but the bishop refused on the grounds that the troop withdrawal was related to the interests of the people in the constituency and requested that it be submitted to the parliament for discussion.

The two argued with red faces, but the bishop never gave in. Regarding this representative of church power, Pauli has nothing to do with him for the time being.

In addition, this matter was indeed his fault. If it was exposed, public opinion would be very unfavorable to Pauli. Pauli had no choice but to compromise and agreed to add troop withdrawal to the agenda, preparing to think of a solution during the meeting.

Lawrence, who had been listening on one side, gradually became clearer in his eyes. As long as he confirmed that Pauli was determined enough to withdraw his troops, everything would be easy to handle.

Lawrence had countless ways of mobilizing troops around Parliament.

"And it might be more advantageous for me to deliberately let Parliament veto withdrawal."

Lawrence narrowed his eyes slightly and couldn't help but licked his upper lips, thinking so.