From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

June 10, 1770, two days after Lawrence made the deal with Mr. Montmartre.

Today's Paris is no different from the past, except that the weather is a lot gloomier. The thick fog in the early morning shrouds the streets and alleys. The street lights that have not been extinguished are like small lighthouses emitting dim orange light.

Although summer has arrived, there is still a slight chill in the air in the early morning.

However, the hard-working citizens and shopkeepers obviously don't care about this. Even at dawn, they opened their shops early, and the streets of Paris gradually regained their vitality.

In a cafe facing the street, Lawrence, wearing a black wool coat, was sitting silently at an outdoor round table, watching the people coming and going in the morning mist.

"Excuse me, sir. Your coffee and cake cost one livre and ten sols in total."

The waiter in a shirt and vest walked to Lawrence meticulously carrying a tray and said politely, while gently placing the bill and coffee cake on Lawrence's table.

The sur is also an officially issued currency, mainly made of brass, and its exchange rate with the livre is twenty to one.

Since it was only sunrise time, Lawrence was the only customer in the store, but the waiter's attitude was still very respectful and showed no signs of neglect.

This was not because the waiter recognized Lawrence's identity, but because this cafe is located on Place de la Bourse, the financial center of Paris.

Many banks and financial institutions have branches nearby, and the Paris Stock Exchange is also headquartered here.

For a man as well dressed as Laurence who frequented the Exchange Square, it didn't take much guessing for the waiter to know that he must be a gentleman of great worth.

Lawrence nodded slightly and glanced at the mediocre coffee and red velvet cake less than the size of a palm on the table. He felt a little helpless that such a small amount of food cost one and a half livres. The same price could feed a poor citizen for several days. It’s a waste.

However, Lawrence still took out two lifre silver coins from his pocket and placed them on the waiter's palm. The extra ten surs were naturally the waiter's tip.

"Thank you, generous sir, and wish you a happy day." The waiter held the silver coin in his hand and said happily.

"correct."

Lawrence stopped the waiter who was about to leave and asked casually:

"Has anything interesting happened here lately?"

The waiter stood there and thought for a while. This cafe was a place where many financial professionals rested and chatted, so he could often hear some of the latest news in the financial world.

"Recently, it's nothing special. A certain gentleman successfully made a lot of money through speculation and became rich overnight. A certain gentleman's company went bankrupt and finally left Paris in embarrassment. This kind of news happens every day."

The waiter shrugged and then added:

"But there is one thing I heard many guests discussing. They said that Mr. Montmartre of the French Commercial Bank invested a large sum of money in some silver company. I heard it was several million livres! Yesterday Almost all the customers in the store are discussing this matter.”

Lawrence smiled and nodded, and continued to ask:

"That's interesting. What did those people discuss?"

"Uh let me think"

The waiter didn't seem to be interested in the financial industry, but since he had received Lawrence's tip, he had to think hard for a while and said:

"I heard a lot of people talking about gathering some cash flow, and it seemed that they were going to follow up on the investment in Montmartre; the rest was about discussing the silver company. Oh, I remembered, it's called the Country of Corsica Silver Company, they all said that this company may have a royal background, I don’t know the rest.”

After that, the waiter pointed to the street outside and said:

"I think you can buy a newspaper and read it. This matter will definitely be reported today."

Lawrence nodded slightly and said:

"I will, thanks for the message."

Just as the conversation between the two ended, an alert boy immediately came up to them.

He had obviously heard the waiter's suggestion that Lawrence buy a newspaper.

On the boy's head is a low-brimmed newsboy hat, so that the iconic hat already indicates his occupation.

There was also a huge satchel on his shoulder that was disproportionate to his size.

Even though it was full of newspapers, the weight seemed to be crushing the little boy.

"Want to buy a newspaper, sir? This morning's Financial News, Paris Morning, and Review de France."

The boy spoke a string of newspaper names with great skill, looking at Lawrence expectantly.

Lawrence looked at the boy with interest and focused his eyes on the large packet of newspapers on his body.

Newspapers were undoubtedly the most common and important news media at the end of the eighteenth century.

If a Parisian wants to know what is happening in Marseille thousands of miles away, the most direct way is to buy a newspaper.

Even those who cannot afford newspapers basically get their news from those who read newspapers.

In other words, the channels for ordinary people to obtain information are quite limited, and newspapers are almost their entire source of information.

And as long as you control newspapers, you are equivalent to controlling news and public opinion.

Lawrence knew very well that whether in this era or in previous eras, public opinion is much more important than the so-called truth.

For example, for a figure like Louis XV, how many people have seen him and dealt with him personally? Those farmers who work hard in the countryside will most likely never see their king in their lifetime.

But they would always discuss the king's various deeds with gusto after dinner, and these deeds were just obtained from inquiries in the public opinion field. No one had ever seen the real king.

In other words, it does not matter what a person's true nature is. As long as his public opinion image is that of a loving father, then the people will think that he is a loving father. If his public opinion image is that of a tyrant, the people will think that he is a tyrant.

Just like Mario, the director of the Ajaccio orphanage who was once exploited by Lawrence, ordinary people have no access to the truth and will only think that he is really a kind and kind old man who has worked hard for the children all his life.

And what can control all of this is the stacks of light newspapers in this little newsboy's satchel.

"It would be great if I could control the public opinion in Paris and even France."

Thinking of this, Lawrence narrowed his eyes slightly, and a long-term plan gradually emerged in his mind.

"Uh sir?"

When the little newsboy saw that the gentleman in front of him suddenly lost his mind, he couldn't help but waved his hand in front of him in surprise and asked carefully:

"Do you want a newspaper?"

Lawrence woke up with a start, put these thoughts aside for the time being, looked at the newsboy with soft eyes, took the initiative to reach out and carry his heavy satchel to the table, and said with a smile:

"Of course, of course, just give me that financial news report you just mentioned."

"Very well, sir."

The boy excitedly opened his satchel and took out a thick, beautifully printed newspaper and handed it to Lawrence. At the same time, he stretched out his hand and said:

"A livre, sir."

Lawrence was stunned for a moment, then blurted out:

"A lifre? A newspaper?"

The boy was also stunned, and couldn't help but look at Lawrence's clothes again, thinking that it was impossible for such a well-dressed gentleman to not even be able to afford a livre.

With Lawrence's current net worth, it's not that he can't afford to pay for a newspaper, but he has thought that this price is simply not acceptable to the ordinary people. I am afraid that only financiers who frequent Exchange Square will buy such a newspaper.

"Financial News has always priced it at this price. Sir, I definitely did not intentionally raise the price."

The boy thought Lawrence was doubting himself, so he quickly waved his hand and explained.

Lawrence frowned and glanced at the boy's satchel. It looked like there were many kinds of newspapers in it, so he asked:

"Are other newspapers also priced at this price?"

"others"

The boy scratched his head and explained patiently:

"Other newspapers are not so expensive. The Paris Morning Post only costs ten sols, and the French Review costs twelve sols."

Laurence listened silently as the boy quoted the price of almost all the newspapers on the market in Paris, but even the cheapest among them cost five sols.

The price of five suls can already feed poor people for a day, and they will definitely not take the initiative to buy it.

Even the slightly affluent ordinary citizens probably would not subscribe to it throughout the year but would rather subscribe to one newspaper together with several people.

"In other words, the popularity of current newspapers among the lower class people is far from enough."

Lawrence whispered to himself.

This result is actually not surprising. In addition to the higher price, newspapers themselves do not meet the entertainment needs of the lower class people.

Those poor people with low literacy rates and struggling to make ends meet, even if they have spare money, will not buy those obscure and difficult-to-read newspapers. They are more willing to throw their money into pubs or casinos.

It seems that the editors of various newspapers do not regard this kind of people as their audience.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with such a decision. After all, newspapers want to make money. If they publish a newspaper compiled specifically for the lower class people, they may not even be able to recover the cost.

However, for Lawrence who wants to enter the world of public opinion, this is undoubtedly the best entry point.

As early as when attending a dinner at the Palace of Versailles a few days ago, Lawrence had mentioned the plan to manipulate public opinion with Duke Choiseul.

There happened to be no important matters today, so Lawrence decided to take the opportunity to implement this plan.

"Okay kid, bring me a copy of the Financial News, and also a copy of the cheapest newspaper you just mentioned. No need to change."

Lawrence took out two livres and handed them to the boy and said.

The boy excitedly took the silver coin and bumped it twice in his hand, then handed the two newspapers to Lawrence ably, bowed and ran away.

"These newspapers are really good at finding out information."

Lawrence unfolded the thick financial news and glanced at it, and soon found the news about Mr. Montmartre's investment in the Corsican National Silver Company.

Although this report is not on the front page, it is positioned quite high and a full page is devoted to the report. It also includes the opinions of several well-known investors.

Lawrence briefly glanced at the opinions of several investors interviewed:

They all said that there is currently too little news about Corsica National Silver Company, making it difficult to make a judgment. However, judging from Mr. Montmartre's bold investment behavior, it is still recommended to conduct appropriate follow-up.

"It seems that the National Silver Company will become a hot spot in the Paris financial community in the next period of time."

Lawrence smiled and put the newspaper aside. After all, in order to preserve their reputation, these well-known investors usually said ambiguous words during interviews. It was rare to directly recommend investing in a project like this.

Judging from the interviews of these investors, the financial community should take a fairly optimistic attitude towards the National Silver Company.

And after the inspection report fabricated by Academician Geta is officially made public, I am afraid that the attitude of the financial community will go up to a higher level, and an explosive carnival will directly usher in.

Lawrence also came to this coffee shop in Exchange Square today to test the attitude of the financial world.

After confirming this, Lawrence picked up the cheapest newspaper he had just bought in Paris.

Before even looking at its contents, Lawrence already knew why it was so cheap.

Simply put, the paper is yellow and brittle, and the printed fonts on it are even slightly ghosted. You have to get closer to see them clearly.

Let’s look at the content of this newspaper. It’s called the Observer Daily, and its reports are basically editorials focusing on social events.

However, Lawrence could easily see that these editorials were extremely poor in depth and breadth, and that this newspaper could be regarded as a second-rate newspaper at best.

And after adding its poor paper and printing, it cannot even reach the level of a third-rate newspaper.

No gentleman would be willing to open such a newspaper and read it in front of his colleagues at lunch, which would only cause them to lose face.

No wonder it's priced so low.

However, there was no trace of disgust on Lawrence's face. Instead, he read the words above with relish.

In his eyes, this newspaper and the newspaper company behind it are the best way for him to enter the world of public opinion.

If Lawrence wanted to control public opinion, he would naturally need a newspaper of his own as a mouthpiece. However, it was obviously unrealistic for Lawrence, who was unfamiliar with the place, to set up a newspaper himself.

Therefore, acquiring an existing newspaper is the most expedient option.

As for acquisition targets, Lawrence did not consider well-known newspapers on the market at all.

High financial costs are only one aspect. More importantly, these newspapers basically have their own political backers.

Only in this way can they speak freely about affairs inside and outside Paris, and even royal affairs.

It would be difficult for Lawrence to persuade the people behind the newspaper without using the power of Duke Choiseul. But once he borrowed the power of Duke Choiseul, the newspaper would actually become Duke Choiseul's. mouthpiece.

Although the two are still firm allies now, no one can say how their relationship will develop after dealing with the Duke of Richelieu.

Therefore, Lawrence needs a news organization that is completely accountable to itself and completely true to itself.

In this way, starting with a small newspaper and slowly developing it became the best choice, and the Observer Daily became Lawrence's first candidate.

"78 Main Avenue."

Lawrence found the editorial office in a corner of the newspaper, drank the coffee in his cup, packed the two newspapers and tucked them under his arm, got up and walked to the street to stop a public carriage.

He was ready to bring about a revolution in Paris journalism.