From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"What did you say?!"

Duke Richelieu suddenly felt in a trance and almost fell to the ground without losing his balance.

Even though he barely held on to the door frame, Duke Richelieu still looked pale and stared at Count Falcone in front of him bloodlessly.

Count Falcone looked at his grandfather without any reaction. Even when he almost fell to the ground, he remained indifferent. He just looked at Duke Richelieu with low growls from his throat.

"You, you evil beast!"

I saw Duke Richelieu roaring in an extremely rare and loud voice. The roar was as loud as a bell and was simply not something that an old man in his seventies could utter.

"How dare you send someone to kill that Bonaparte?!"

Duke Richelieu stepped forward in two steps, raised his arms and slapped Count Falcone mercilessly on the face with two slaps.

Bang bang!

This slap was almost delivered by Duke Richelieu with all his strength. The slap made Count Falcone feel dizzy for a while, leaving two extremely scarlet palm prints on his handsome cheek.

Even the housekeeper at the side could not help but take a deep breath, quickly closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. In the decades he had served the Duke of Richelieu, this was the first time he had seen the Duke so angry.

"Haha. Why don't I dare."

The burning pain penetrated the dense nerves on the face and penetrated into the bone marrow, but Count Falcone grinned.

The laughter grew louder and louder, even surpassing the roar of Duke Richelieu just now:

"Why don't I dare! That kid shot me into a cripple, and you and my father still talk about him every day, saying what a young talent he is! What a pity that he can't be on our side! I don’t understand what he deserves for you to pay attention to! The same goes for Miss Elvy. I have been pursuing her for several months, but she was seduced by that kid in just one night. Why do you tell me? ! Why?”

Desperate and crazy screams raged on the balcony, even drowning out the howling night wind.

"Falcone. You."

The Duke of Richelieu looked at his eldest grandson with hatred, shook his head and said:

"I will make him pay for that Bonaparte, why do you have to do such a stupid thing? Just those dozens of beggars could rob the convoy of the Governor of Corsica?!"

Count Falcone then lowered his head in silence.

He also knew that the men sent by the King of Beggars alone were not completely sure of attacking Lawrence.

But he couldn't bear it anymore. The mentally broken Count Falcone no longer had the patience to wait for his grandfather to avenge himself. He was only thinking about how to let the news of that damn country bumpkin's death reach his ears.

"You...are too young, alas."

Duke Richelieu shook his head and said sadly.

After that, Duke Richelieu ignored Count Falcone, who was standing aside, and directly ordered the housekeeper:

"Listen up, go and deal with all the people involved in this matter now. Those who can't be dealt with will also send me warnings. Don't let any clues implicate the Richelieu family. In addition, prepare for me. Pen and paper, I'm going to write to the Royal Guards at Versailles and the Mountie over there."

At this point, Duke Richelieu knew that there was no point in blaming Count Falcone anymore. What he needed to do now was to use all his energy to completely shift the blame for this attack away from the Richelieu family.

"I'll do it right now."

The housekeeper couldn't help but shudder, but he knew very well what Duke Richelieu meant by dealing with it.

At least in St. Luke's Manor, I am afraid that many humble and lowly servants will have their necks wiped in their sleep and thrown into the inaccessible wilderness before dawn.

The next day, June 15, 1770.

Sure enough, as the Duke of Richelieu said, it was a beautiful sunny day.

News of the attack on the Governor of Corsica, Laurence Bonaparte, had not yet reached Paris, and the Duke of Richelieu had handled the bloody internal affairs quite skillfully and secretly.

This also made the citizens of Paris unaware that such a shocking incident had happened last night, and they were still living their ordinary lives day after day.

"Ah, it's such a nice day, perfect for drinking a cup of hot chocolate from Cuba."

Mr. Montemar was sitting in his office, looking at the cloudless sky outside the floor-to-ceiling window, and said to his secretary in a good mood:

"Can you please go make a drink? Oh, by the way, bring today's morning newspaper with you."

Mr. Montemar has not forgotten the news about the short market that Lawrence revealed to him yesterday.

For this reason, he immediately sold a batch of stocks and bonds yesterday to collect funds and avoid risks.

Therefore, early this morning, Mr. Montemar was excited and impatient to see in the newspapers that the news Lawrence said came true.

A few minutes later, the secretary walked in with a large cup of fragrant hot chocolate and a large stack of morning newspapers just pulled out of the printing plant under his arm.

Mr. Montemar immediately picked up the top copy of the Financial News and read it with interest. For investors like them, the Financial News is the most accustomed source of news.

However, even after looking through the entire newspaper, Mr. Montemar could not find any reports on market fluctuations.

"Huh? It's really strange. Your Excellency Bonaparte said he was 90% sure."

Mr. Montemar picked up the newspapers below and read them again, but also found no valuable reports.

Mr. Montemar rubbed his hands uneasily and had no choice but to pin his hopes on the last newspaper.

He glanced at the newspaper at the bottom, which was the Observer Daily, which had become famous yesterday.

Many investors also included this newspaper in their subscription list because of yesterday's shocking insider report.

"This is.?!"

Mr. Montemar just glanced at the front page headline of today's Observer Daily, and his eyes were immediately sucked away.

I saw the bold letters above clearly saying:

"Justice Maupp suspended the listing process of the National Silver Company of Corsica and may impose strict controls on the entire financial market in the future, as Laurence Bonaparte personally confirmed."

After seeing this headline, Mr. Montemar opened the newspaper extremely nervously. After all, Justice Maupp is the person who has the most say in the judiciary and legislation at the moment.

If he says that he wants to strictly control the financial market, then there is a high probability that corresponding laws will be promulgated in a short time.

All investors are happy to see a free market. The greater the government's control, the more pessimistic investors will be about the market.

"So that's the case. Justice Maupp's attitude will definitely reduce investors' confidence in the market. This is the news that Monsignor Bonaparte said."

After reading the report, Mr. Montemar clapped his hands excitedly. Now that Lawrence's news has been confirmed, the capital allocation he made in advance will be able to take effect.

"Furthermore, Your Excellency Bonaparte is talking about the short-term short market, which means that there should be no real government control measures in the end, and the suspension of the listing process should only be temporary. I won't worry about it."

Mr. Montemar, who knew the inside information in advance, also read more information from this report and decided to leave those political issues to Lawrence.

Mr. Montemar himself hurriedly called his secretary in and told him to immediately buy at the bottom and make a plan to deal with the market rebound. He was ready to make a big profit from this market.

At the same time, in the Exchange Square, a large number of financial practitioners who had received the latest Observer Daily gathered together to discuss this report of great significance to the financial industry:

"Hey, did you read it? What's wrong with Justice Mopu? Why is he suddenly attacking the financial industry?"

"It's really ridiculous. Has his behavior been approved by the State Council? I haven't heard anything about it at all."

"Isn't the report wrong?"

"That's not the case. The reports said it was confirmed by His Excellency Bonaparte himself. I saw him walking out of the Palace of Justice yesterday. He must have discussed the matter with Justice Maupp. And Justice Maupp ordered it to stop. The listing of a national silver company must be strictly regulated.”

"No wonder, I heard that His Excellency Bonaparte withdrew a large sum of money from the Bank of Commerce de France. It seems to be to cope with this downward market."

"Yes, that must be the case. Alas, let's stop complaining and quickly sell off a batch of current assets. Who knows how this matter will develop in the end."

"Damn it, I don't want to be slaughtered like this, I want to launch a petition to the Palace of Versailles!"

A large number of investors discussed this report with various tongues, but their attitude was quite consistent, that is, they were disgusted with Justice Mopp's tyrannical behavior.

Some people who are well connected in the political circles are contacting the corresponding officials to inquire about the latest progress of this matter, and even hope that King Louis can intervene in this unreasonable behavior.

Justice Maupe, who was far away in Versailles, naturally did not know that he had been accused of being blamed by Lawrence for no reason.

When the time came around noon, Lawrence, who had been waiting at the Duke of Choiseul's estate, also received a notice from the royal messenger, indicating that King Louis would receive him during lunch.

By insinuating the envoy, Lawrence also got words out of him and learned that Justice Maupe would also accept the king's summons at the same time.

It seems that the two of them are going to face each other directly.

After quickly putting on his gown and wig, Lawrence headed directly to the Palace of Versailles with the freight carriage containing more than a hundred boxes.

The guards at the gate of the Palace of Versailles had never seen Lawrence come to see the king with such fanfare, and they were a little undecided for a while.

Finally, under pressure from Lawrence, the guards reluctantly gave in and agreed to move the wooden boxes into the palace and arrange them neatly on the marble courtyard.

Louis XV and Chancellor Maupe were originally waiting for Lawrence in the dining room of the King's Suite, but after hearing the servant report about the array Lawrence had set up in the marble courtyard, Louis XV also took the initiative to come there with great interest. The yard found Lawrence.

"Ah, Lawrence, you're here."

Today, Louis XV was not accompanied by Madame Du Barry, and his face was much more serious than usual. He nodded slightly to Lawrence and said:

"I heard that you were attacked on the way here?"

Of course, Louis XV would be the quickest to know what was happening under his nose.

Justice Maupe learned of the attack only after he followed Louis XV. He is still very confused now, wondering who dared to launch an attack around Versailles without knowing the height of the sky.

Lawrence said after saluting:

"Yes, Your Majesty. Fortunately, I am not seriously injured."

Although Lawrence had already speculated on the mastermind of the attack, any accusation now in front of Louis XV would only sound like dirty water.

As the ruler of Corsica, Lawrence was also very aware of the mentality of the superiors. They were basically unwilling to accept the opinions of others and would only accept the conclusions they reached personally.

In other words, Lawrence had to make Louis XV realize that the mastermind of the attack was the best choice.

"Don't worry, Governor Bonaparte."

Although Louis XV had already learned the news in the morning, the mention of it still made him a little angry. He nodded to Lawrence and said:

"I have ordered the Royal Guard to investigate thoroughly. I will never tolerate such thugs raging on French soil!"

"This is also a gift to me, Your Majesty." Lawrence lowered his head respectfully and said.

After seeing that Lawrence didn't use the topic as an excuse, Louis XV couldn't help but soften his eyes when he looked at him. After all, he didn't want to mention such a thing that would discredit his authority.

After giving Lawrence a unilateral guarantee, Louis XV looked at the boxes that almost filled the entire marble courtyard, frowned and asked:

"But, Lawrence, are you here?"

Lawrence did not reply immediately, but winked at his entourage.

After receiving the signal, the followers quickly opened all the more than 100 boxes.

"This is.?"

Even with Louis XV's status, he couldn't help but be stunned when he saw the scene in front of him.

The vast white area is like a large piece of snow, and almost the entire marble courtyard is dyed with this bright silver.

These newly minted silver coins looked very dazzling under the bright sun, making Louis XV couldn't help but squint his eyes. There was even an illusion that the marble courtyard was made of silver.

Even Justice Mopp couldn't help but stay there for a moment, the scene in front of him was also something he had never seen before.

Lawrence then faced Louis XV, lowered his head and said:

"Your Majesty, according to the contract with the Duke of Choiseul, you now own three-eighths of the Corsica National Silver Company. This is the wealth corresponding to your share. In other words, this is your wealth."

Louis XV rubbed his sore eyes twice, suddenly grinned, walked to these boxes with a cheerful expression, personally grabbed a handful of silver coins and looked at them carefully for a moment.

Although the money was only a drop in the bucket to him, Louis XV was still very happy with it. After all, the money came from the hands of financiers who were already extremely wealthy.

On weekdays, Louis XV squandered national tax revenue, which naturally attracted criticism from many newspapers and the public. However, the money in front of him was an upright royal income.

"Not bad, very good, Lawrence, you are really capable, great, you did a good job!"

Louis XV smiled and threw the silver coins in his hand back into the box, sighing from the bottom of his heart.

Especially when Louis XV thought that Lawrence was still temporarily living in the Duke of Choiseul's mansion, without even having his own place to live, but under such circumstances, he first transported the money to the palace, which made Louis XV even more embarrassed. Wu was deeply moved by it.

"Loyal and brave, selfless and remarkable, your qualities simply move me, dear Lawrence."

Louis XV paced in front of these boxes and said excitedly.

"My pleasure, Your Majesty."

Lawrence smiled and nodded, and at the same time glanced at Justice Mopp, whose face was ashen, and said slowly:

"It's just that I suddenly remembered that Justice Mopu seemed to have a lot of criticism about this money."