From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

While Lawrence and the Duke of Choiseul were chatting quietly, King Louis also organized his words, looked at Lawrence with a bright face and said:

"Hahaha, what an interesting answer. I completely understand what you mean, Governor Bonaparte. I want to say that you are also a wise ruler in Corsica, especially since I heard Choiseul say, Do you also have special talents in finance and taxation? "

After hearing this, Lawrence immediately looked at Duke Choiseul and knew that Louis XV was probably mentioning his position as tax collector of the royal family, so he nodded and said following Louis XV's words:

"It's not really a talent, Your Majesty, it's just some experience."

"Oh, no need to be modest, Governor Bonaparte, I believe in Choiseul's vision."

Louis XV waved his hands and said happily:

"Sure enough, the position of tax collector of the Wang family has been vacant for a long time, and I am looking for a suitable candidate."

The Duke of Richelieu and Justice Maupp at the table also frowned slightly after hearing this. With their keen political sense, they almost immediately understood the purpose of the Duke of Choiseul in arranging this identity for Lawrence.

"It seems that Bonaparte no longer wants to be limited to exerting influence only around the king. He also wants to directly intervene in the political situation in Paris. This may be a bit tricky."

Justice Maupp calmly analyzed in a low voice to the Duke of Richelieu beside him.

Duke Richelieu looked a little ugly, but he still nodded in agreement, indicating that he agreed with Justice Maupe.

If Bonaparte really gains a certain amount of political power, he is likely to become a big trouble for his own side due to his special status.

Lawrence on the other side put on a declining expression, pretending to be embarrassed and said:

"Your Majesty, this is a great responsibility."

Louis XV stroked his slightly raised beard, waved his hand very boldly and said:

"Don't shirk Governor Bonaparte. I can't find another minister who is both talented and loyal."

At this time, Justice Maupp, who was only listening to the side, suddenly interrupted, pointing the finger at Lawrence and said:

"Please allow me to interrupt, Your Majesty. Governor Bonaparte is indeed an outstanding young man, but he is a foreigner after all. It may not be very appropriate to entrust such an important position to a foreigner."

After the words fell, several nobles from Richelieu's faction also nodded in agreement, with their opposition written on their faces.

Upon seeing this, Louis XV did not directly refute Justice Maupe. He just smiled and turned his gaze back to Lawrence, indicating that he would answer it himself.

Lawrence said loudly and understandingly:

"Your Excellency, first of all, I want to say that the appointment by His Majesty the King is a royal official position, not a government official position. Isn't it appropriate for you, as a government official, to interfere in the appointment of a royal official position?"

Only halfway through Lawrence's words, Louis XV nodded with satisfaction. As a king, he naturally did not want the royal power to be restricted by the government and parliament, especially in the appointment of royal officials.

Therefore, these words also spoke to the heart of Louis XV.

As a staunch supporter of royal power, Justice Maupe naturally would not object too strongly to Louis XV's decision.

"Secondly, I want to say, do you doubt my loyalty just because I am a Corsican?"

Lawrence then said:

"If you follow your theory, our respected Duke Choiseul was born in Lorraine, and Lorraine was still a territory of the Holy Roman Empire at that time. Do you want to say that Duke Choiseul is also a foreigner and therefore cannot be favored by His Majesty? What about reuse?”

"you"

Justice Mopu stared and became speechless. He waited for a while but could not think of a suitable explanation.

Although everyone knew that the Choiseul faction and the Richelieu faction were already incompatible, Louis XV did not like the struggle between the two.

Therefore, Justice Maupe certainly could not follow Lawrence's words in front of Louis XV to personally attack the Duke of Choiseul. This would only arouse the disgust of Louis XV.

And if it is admitted that Duke Choiseul should be reused, then it would be in Lawrence's hands. After all, Duke Choiseul was not only born in the Holy Roman Empire, but also served in the Austrian court and army for decades.

Such a foreigner can become an important minister of France. What's wrong with Lawrence, a foreigner, becoming a royal tax collector?

The surrounding nobles couldn't help but clicked their tongues after pondering what Lawrence had said. It seemed that there was a reason why this young man was highly regarded by the Duke of Choiseul and Louis XV.

The Duke of Richelieu at the table looked at the red cheeks of Louis XV, and then patted Justice Maupe's thigh twice, signaling him not to obstruct the matter. King Louis seemed to have made up his mind. .

Justice Maupp, who received the signal from the Duke of Richelieu, could only glance at Lawrence resentfully, snorted softly, closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair, indicating that he had nothing to say.

Louis XV couldn't help but feel proud. Seeing that his will was carried out smoothly made him very satisfied, so he said loudly to Lawrence:

"Very well, Governor Bonaparte, although it is not very formal, I hereby appoint you as the royal tax collector, with the responsibility of auditing all legal taxes on my land in my name; someone will come later. Explain your responsibilities to you.”

"My pleasure, Your Majesty."

Lawrence bowed his head and answered.

As the voice of Louis XV fell, the nobles in the Hall of Mirrors looked at Lawrence more solemnly, and they all whispered:

"Doesn't this mean that Governor Bonaparte also has real power in Paris?"

"It's hard to say. The position of Wang Family Tax Inspector has been vacant for a long time. Although he nominally has the power to supervise tax collection across the country, this power has almost never been used. It is basically a false title."

"But this young man might really be able to use this power. With the support of Duke Choiseul, he will definitely not be afraid of offending other forces."

"Well, it's hard to make a conclusion. In any case, the position of tax collector of the Wang family is high enough in terms of status. It can be regarded as the minister of state. The king is really generous."

"Humph, I think this is just a consolation prize for Bonaparte to surrender."

No matter how different nobles commented on this matter, one thing they could not deny was that this young outsider had transformed from a subordinate of the Duke of Choiseul to a political figure that could not be ignored in the city of Paris.

After Louis XV announced the appointment, he still looked unfinished, staring at Lawrence with soft eyes, as if he still had something to say.

Duke Choiseul also noticed this detail, smiled twice, and said softly to Lawrence:

"This should just be a reward for your surrender to him. Your credit for saving the crown prince needs to be counted separately."

Lawrence nodded slightly. He had also chatted with Duke Choiseul beforehand and knew that if nothing unexpected happened, this reward would be a titular earl title.

So Lawrence reached into his pocket and took out the transfer agreement signed by Ambassador Bertula.

For Lawrence, a dispensable title was naturally not the best reward result, and what could make Louis XV change his mind was this piece of hard paper still exuding the scent of ink.

Louis XV also noticed Lawrence's move and curiously asked:

"Oh? Governor Bonaparte, is this...?"

Lawrence stood up slowly under the gaze of everyone, knelt down on one knee in front of Louis XV, held the agreement horizontally in front of him with both hands, and said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, since you have appointed me an official position, I have officially become your minister from now on. As a minister, I am obviously not qualified to hold it, so I must give it to you."

The guests in the Hall of Mirrors immediately focused their attention on the paper tube in Lawrence's hand, speculating excitedly and doubtfully on the contents inside.

In an inconspicuous corner, Baron Bertula stared blankly at the agreement in Lawrence's hand. It looked like the one he signed and handed over to Lawrence just a few hours ago.

"Wait a minute." Baron Bertula suddenly realized something, his pupils shrank, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"I see. No wonder, no wonder he asked me to draw up a treaty in a hurry, and specifically requested that the sovereignty of St. Kitts be transferred to him personally instead of the Corsican government."

Louis XV stood up happily, and he also heard that Lawrence meant to give the scroll in his hand as a gift to himself.

Over the years, those who presented gifts and treasures to the king mostly presented rare treasures or exquisite handicrafts. It was extremely rare for someone like Lawrence to kneel on the ground while holding a roll of paper.

Louis XV left his seat, walked to Lawrence, personally picked up the transfer agreement and read it with interest.

"This is...?" Louis XV took a rough look at it, and suddenly showed an expression of surprise and confusion.

Lawrence immediately explained aloud:

"Your Majesty, as you can see, I am about to take over the sovereignty of a piece of British Kingdom land, but as a subject, I am not qualified to have land sovereignty. Therefore, I must dedicate everything on this island of St. Kitts to you. You will replace me Take it all right!"

"Hey, are you saying that you want to dedicate a British island to me?"

Louis XV's eyes instantly ignited with passion. As a king, he had never accepted such a gift.

Although Louis XV had no idea where the island of St. Kitts was located, how big it was, and how many people there were, being able to defeat the hateful British guys and take an island from them openly was enough for Louis XV. I felt pleasantly surprised.

And even if he is a monarch who is obsessed with court life, he is still a king, with a natural tendency to expand territories.

"Yes."

Lawrence lowered his head and emphasized:

"As long as you nod, St. Kitts will belong to the Bourbon royal family for generations to come."

After hearing what Lawrence said, all the guests realized that he actually wanted to dedicate an entire island as a gift to the king.

"This is really true."

Louis XV picked up this copy and read it several times in amazement, then turned to the Duke of Choiseul excitedly and asked:

"By the way, Choiseul, where is St. Kitts Island? What kind of island is it?"

"Ah, Your Majesty"

Duke Choiseul showed a respectful smile and said slowly:

"It's an island in the Pearl Islands of the Caribbean, you know, the rich Pearl Islands, where we have several colonies and where most of the sugar the French eat comes from. St. Kitts is just like those islands, It’s a small island suitable for growing sugar cane.”

"So that's it." Louis XV nodded with sudden realization and looked at the desserts sprinkled with sugar on the banquet table. It seemed that the delicious sugar on them came from the island of St. Kitts.

Duke Richelieu sat in his original position with a frown on his face and said nothing.

Although he knew that St. Kitts was a volcanic island with a population of less than a thousand, King Louis was obviously in high spirits, and it was not appropriate to say such disgraceful words at this time, especially since the Duke of Choiseul was not deceived. King Louis is just avoiding the important and taking the easy.

"Rise quickly, Governor Bonaparte."

Louis XV waved to a waiter, handed the precious transfer agreement to the waiter and told him to keep it properly, then he personally helped Lawrence up with a smile and said:

"What a complete surprise. Tell me, how can I compensate you for your loss?"

"Your Majesty is serious, this is my obligation." Lawrence stood up slowly and said humbly.

The smile on Louis XV's face grew stronger. He patted Lawrence on the shoulder and asked him to return to his seat. Then he also sat back, resting his hands on the table and watching Lawrence ponder.

The Hall of Mirrors fell into silence for a while, everyone was curious about how King Louis would repay Lawrence for this great gift.

Louis XV also knew that everyone was waiting for his response. He wanted to make his reputation for generosity resounding both inside and outside the court, so today he specially prepared to canonize Lawrence as Count of France in recognition of his sacrifice of his life to save France some time ago. Heroic act of the crown prince.

But now it seems that a mere earldom cannot match Lawrence's contribution.

After pondering for a moment, Louis XV suddenly called Prince Louis over and whispered something in his ear.

After hearing this, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince immediately beamed with joy, turned his head towards Lawrence, and then couldn't help nodding excitedly.

Duke Richelieu and Justice Maupp witnessed this scene. They looked at each other and had a bad premonition.

As Crown Prince Louis returned to his throne, King Louis cleared his throat twice and said loudly:

"Okay, Governor Bonaparte, let's put aside the matter about St. Kitts Island for now. But it was your heroic rescue a few days ago that moved me so much after hearing it. Just for this reason, I must Have something to show for it.”

After saying that, Louis XV nodded to Crown Prince Louis, and then announced:

"I have decided to appoint you as the crown prince's first attendant. I hope that your passion for saving the crown prince that day will make you assist him even more."

King Louis's sonorous voice echoed in the Hall of Mirrors, and all the guests focused their eyes on Lawrence in disbelief.

If the tax collector of the royal family just now had status but no power, then the official position of the crown prince's first attendant has low status but huge power. The two complement each other perfectly.

Even the Duke of Choiseul looked at Lawrence with admiration, secretly saying that what this boy did in exchange for St. Kitts Island was really a lucrative deal.

Everyone knows that although the current king still looks energetic, he is already sixty years old; in a decade or so at most, the young and fat crown prince on the table will rule France.

As long as Louis XVI succeeds to the throne, no matter who the first attendant is, his political future will undoubtedly be bright. Even if the new king does not care about him, his treatment will not be any worse.

Therefore, under such circumstances, being able to become the crown prince's first attendant is something that many people dream of.

While Lawrence calmly accepted King Louis' appointment, he thought with a wry smile in his heart:

"If I were in my hometown, I would be considered a prince Xianma."