From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"I will handle the attack myself. Let's put this matter aside for now. I promise I won't implicate you."

Duke Richelieu swept the blooming flowers in front of him expressionlessly and said in a deep voice:

"The key now is the crown prince."

Although Duke Richelieu was a little annoyed by Justice Maupp's unrestrained rebuttal, he still deeply hid his personal emotions.

This quality of being indifferent to emotions and anger has already been possessed by him decades ago.

Although today's Duke Richelieu has huge influence in politics and aristocratic circles, he does not have substantial power in his hands. Therefore, he still needs the powerful Justice Maupp to stand beside him. side.

When Justice Maupp saw that Duke Richelieu's demotion had given him a higher level, he snorted and ended the topic by saying:

"I returned to Paris yesterday afternoon, and I have no news from the Crown Prince."

"In other words, the crown prince's decision to come to Paris should be a temporary one."

Duke Richelieu reached out and picked up a white lily, put it under his nose, smelled it, turned the stem and said:

"It seems that he was inspired by Laurence Bonaparte. I don't know what means the young man used to convince the king."

Justice Maupp's anger obviously had not completely dissipated. Hearing Duke Richelieu mention the damn Governor of Corsica again, he couldn't help curling his lips and said:

"What other methods could there be? He must have used sweet words to seduce the king. That boy is more insidious and cunning than a cobra in the dense forest, huh."

Duke Richelieu reluctantly threw the lilies aside, moved his neck twice, and said:

"To a certain extent, this is also an advantage. Having said that, the Crown Prince's visit should not be for political purposes. Even if there is a political purpose, it should not be for us."

"Well that's true."

Justice Mopu pondered for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

Both of them understood that King Louis did not want to intensify the struggle between the Duke of Choiseul and the Duke of Richelieu. What he most wanted to see was that the two factions could live in harmony.

Of course, Duke Richelieu would definitely not be happy to maintain the status quo. After all, that would mean that Duke Choiseul would continue to hold power, and he and his family's descendants would be further and further away from the center of politics.

However, since King Louis hopes for reconciliation between the two factions, the purpose of sending Crown Prince Louis to Paris is definitely not to suppress Duke Richelieu's faction, but for another purpose.

This is also the consensus of the two.

"Although it seems that Choiseul and Bonaparte dare not blatantly use the crown prince to fight us, they will certainly not give up the political value of the crown prince."

Justice Mopp put his chin on his hands and analyzed gloomily:

"We will be a little passive in the next period of time."

"It should be like this, it's time to switch from offense to defense."

Duke Richelieu nodded slightly and said:

"However, as long as Baron Bertula and I start executing our plan, everything will be fine."

"Those plots between you and the British Ambassador? All right, I hope you are sure, Your Excellency."

Justice Maupp glanced at Duke Richelieu doubtfully and said in a very frivolous voice.

He no longer trusts and relies on Duke Richelieu as he did before.

On the other side, the Tuileries Palace, which has been stared at by countless pairs of eyes, has become a focus of Paris.

Not only politicians, but citizens from all walks of life are speculating and inquiring about the purpose of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's visit to Paris.

Only a few hours had passed, and many dignitaries had already sent their men to station themselves in the streets and shops around the Tuileries Palace, always paying attention to the movements inside and outside the palace.

Major newspapers are also preparing to report Crown Prince Louis' visit to Paris as a front-page report tomorrow. At this moment, almost all their reporters have been sent around the Tuileries Palace.

Just look at the crowded cafes and restaurants around the Tuileries Palace to know how many people are focusing their attention on this former royal palace.

In the evening, an unexpected carriage suddenly broke into the sight of the spies.

The carriage was all black, very simple, without any exaggerated decorations, and was driving slowly towards the Tuileries Palace.

This carriage is obviously not the vehicle of a certain noble, because there is no coat of arms painted on the side wall of the carriage, and most nobles will not travel in such a carriage without personality and characteristics.

The coachman was wearing white gloves and a gray tuxedo, but he looked nervous, as if it was his first time driving to a forbidden place as deep as the Tuileries Palace.

Finally, the carriage stopped smoothly in front of the palace gate.

Two elegantly dressed gentlemen wearing short cloaks and holding canes stepped out of the carriage and stood in front of the gate together.

They took a few deep breaths on the spot and seemed to be even more nervous than the coachman.

"Huh? That is."

A spy not far away squinted his eyes and looked for a moment. Naturally, people in their profession are well-informed people. He quickly recognized the two gentlemen and said in surprise:

"That's Montmartre and Lord Merry, why are they here?"

After hearing this, several people around him quickly started whispering:

"Are you talking about Montmartre of the Bank de Commerz and Lord Melly, chairman of the Stock Exchange? These two are both people in the financial world."

"Could it be that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's trip has something to do with the financial world?"

"It's hard to say. Let's wait and see."

"I have to report this news quickly."

Of course, the most excited people in the crowd were the reporters from financial newspapers. Being able to see their old acquaintances here meant that there must be big news in the financial world recently.

"I really didn't expect that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would invite us to dinner."

In front of the Tuileries Palace, Mr. Montmartre tugged on his tie nervously and even trembled when he spoke:

"Check it out for me, old friend. Is there anything wrong with my clothes? I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Come on, come on, calm down, Montmartre, you have asked me this question no less than twenty times along the way. My answer will not change at all: very decent."

Lord Melly patted Mr. Montmartre on the back twice to signal him to calm down and said:

"This invitation was sent by His Excellency Bonaparte. He should be asking us about the listing of the National Silver Company of Corsica. Don't screw it up in front of His Majesty the Crown Prince."

However, Lord Melly who said this was not much better than Mr. Montmartre. He was also nervously holding his cane and taking deep breaths to try to calm down.

For these two, it was a great honor to have dinner with the future king.

Of course, both of them knew very well that this invitation was sent by His Excellency Bonaparte. In other words, it was His Excellency Bonaparte who secured them this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

In this sense, they owed Lawrence a big favor.

After hesitating in front of the door for a moment, the two of them managed to calm themselves down and slowly walked into the Tuileries Palace.

The lights in the banquet hall were bright, and everything was decorated according to the specifications of the royal palace more than a hundred years ago.

The sterling silver carved tableware and imported porcelain tea sets shipped from Marseille, the silk tablecloths on the table and the sunken wood seats underneath are all of the highest quality.

This makes Mr. Montmartre and Lord Melly, who live a prosperous life, feel ashamed.

Of course, in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, all these material enjoyments pale in comparison.

Even though they had saluted Prince Louis, Mr. Montemar and Lord Merry, who were sitting in their seats, still felt nervous and kept smiling awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"You two are Merry and Montemar, right?"

Prince Louis didn't pay attention to the trembling looks of the two people, but looked at them with interest and said:

"I just heard about you, the financiers, from Lawrence, so interesting."

Only those pretentious aristocrats haunt the Palace of Versailles, and Prince Louis, who has lived there so far, has not yet dealt with shrewd financiers.

"Well, thank you for the compliment. It's really an honor for us."

The two of them felt flattered and said almost in unison.

Judging from their highly overlapping lines, it seems that they have been preparing for this dinner for a long time.

"Ahem" Lawrence coughed twice and said with a smile:

"The main purpose of inviting you two to dinner this time is to discuss the listing of the National Silver Company. As for why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also there."

Crown Prince Louis immediately answered excitedly:

"I have been appointed as the royal family's financial director by my grandfather, oh no, His Majesty the King, so I have to participate in the operation of this company."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Montmartre and Lord Melly on the other side opened their eyes wide and couldn't believe their ears.

With the intelligence of these two people, they can see that the so-called royal financial director is a false title, and this position did not even exist before. And the purpose of Crown Prince Louis coming to Paris was to participate in the management of the national silver company? !

If Crown Prince Louis had not said this himself, Mr. Montmartre would never have believed that His Highness the Crown Prince would lower his status and come to Paris to manage a company.

Even Crown Prince Louis was not the full owner of the company. The real control was in the hands of the young man next to him, Laurence Bonaparte.

"How much energy does Monsignor Bonaparte have? Not only did he allow the Duke of Choiseul to come forward for him, he also invited His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. This is really..."

Mr. Montmartre couldn't help shuddering and glanced at Lawrence secretly.

He didn't know much about the struggles at the top of Parisian politics, he only knew that Lawrence was able to persuade these two powerful men to work for his company.

Thinking of this, Mr. Montmartre became more determined. He must use the opportunity of the Corsican National Silver Company to climb into the lap of His Excellency Bonaparte.

Lord Melly next to him also had the same idea. He had already decided that the Corsican National Silver Company must be subject to the loosest supervision and must not offend Lawrence.

"Haha. Don't worry, Your Excellency Bonaparte, the process is about to be completed."

Mr. Montmartre said with a smile, and at the same time took out a document bag from his coat and handed it to Lawrence, adding:

"This is the company report we compiled for you. You can take a look at it now. We can also make some adjustments at any time."

Lawrence nodded, took the document bag, opened it, and took out several accounting statements inside.

Crown Prince Louis also hurriedly came over, curiously looking at the dazzling rows of dense numbers on the report.

"What does the balance sheet do?" Crown Prince Louis asked in confusion.

Lawrence patiently explained:

"This is the most basic statement that reflects the financial status of a company. Your Highness, please see, here is the asset item, here is the liability item, and the difference between these two items is the owner's equity item, which is what we commonly call net assets."

The two people on the opposite side couldn't help but have strange expressions on their faces as they watched Lawrence explaining these entry-level accounting knowledge to Prince Louis.

As far as they know, there is no big noble or even member of the royal family who is willing to take the initiative to learn financial knowledge. This is really the first time they have seen it.

But of course the two of them did not dare to disturb Lawrence's lecture, so they could only keep smiling and wait for Lawrence to introduce these statements and some basic financial indicators to Prince Louis.

"Looking at it this way, it's really complicated."

After a while, Prince Louis rubbed his dizzy head and frowned.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who has no financial concept to begin with, found it difficult to accept these things for the first time.

"Learning is a step-by-step process, Your Highness, there is no need to get frustrated by this."

Lawrence said with a smile, put these reports away, then turned to look at Mr. Montemar and said:

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting for so long. I believe these statements will satisfy me and, of course, investors."

"Your affirmation makes me very happy." Mr. Montemar responded with a smile.

Lawrence nodded slightly, suddenly remembered something, and asked with a smile:

"By the way, Mr. Montemar, is the information I provided you a few days ago correct?"

A few days ago, after Lawrence published the news in the Observer Daily that Justice Mopp would control the financial market, the market unexpectedly became pessimistic and ushered in a wave of general value decline.

Mr. Montmartre, who learned the news in advance, naturally made a lot of money, so he hurriedly said:

"Of course you are, I must thank you very much for this. That is really valuable information."

Lawrence smiled and said:

"You will have a chance, but I would like to know more about the attitude of investors in the market now. Their investment strategies should have become conservative, right?"

Although Mr. Montemar didn’t know why Lawrence suddenly asked this, he still nodded and explained:

"Yes, many people have sold a number of stocks and bonds and withdrawn a large amount of funds. The current market is still a bit sluggish, and they should allocate the funds carefully."

"That is to say, there is a large amount of capital in the market now that is eager to flow, which is really good."

Lawrence nodded with great satisfaction, then looked at Lord Melly and asked:

“So, how’s the listing process going?”

"Don't worry, the process has been basically completed." Lord Melly said meticulously:

"You only need to confirm the current equity structure of the company and decide the number of shares to be issued this time, and we can list the National Silver Company. As long as you decide, it can even happen tomorrow."

"Very good, very efficient, Lord Merry." Lawrence nodded and affirmed:

"But there is no need to rush to confirm the date of listing. Before that, there is something I want to trouble you with."

"Of course, of course, just say it directly." Lord Melly replied quickly after hearing that Lawrence was asking for something.

"The stock exchange should be very familiar with various newspapers, right? Especially financial newspapers." Lawrence asked affirmatively.

Lord Melly nodded and said doubtfully:

"Yes, that's right, we will also publish announcements through newspapers."

"I hope you can invite reporters from all newspapers in the name of the Stock Exchange and ask them to gather at the Paris Stock Exchange at noon the day after tomorrow. Don't forget to tell them that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and I will also attend."

Lawrence leaned back and looked at Lord Melly with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Reporters from all these newspapers? Do you want...?" Lord Melly asked in surprise.

Lawrence chuckled, shook his head slowly and said:

"Don't they like news? I'm going to get them some big news."