From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the bells of the bell tower rang again in the Governor's Mansion. The participants in the auditorium returned to their seats with flushed faces after taking a lunch break. It seemed that the restaurant in the Governor's Mansion was indeed sumptuous.

Governor Pauli, on the other hand, still looked exhausted. Whether it was listening all morning or Lawrence's last words, Pauli couldn't take a moment to relax and was always thinking.

"Governor Pauli, how are you resting?"

Lawrence asked seemingly concerned, but in fact he was hinting at how Paulie had considered his words.

Paulie also understood what Lawrence was saying and said:

"Didn't take much rest. I was previewing the afternoon's motion."

Among the bills in the afternoon, the most important one is undoubtedly the last one, regarding the withdrawal of troops. The implicit meaning of Pauli’s words is also obvious:

"I will not consider it for the time being and wait and see what the parliament's attitude is towards troop withdrawal."

Lawrence nodded and did not ask any more questions. He also understood what Paulie meant.

"Ahem!" The bishop cleared his throat and announced loudly that the afternoon meeting had officially begun:

“The next bill is about cutting budget allocations for the orphanage in Ajaccio.”

The topics in the second half of the meeting were basically focused on Ajaccioli, and the intensity of the discussion also increased a lot.

Even though the farmer councilors represent their home cities, like Carlo, they all live in Ajaccioli, so these issues also involve their interests.

Although the motion mentioned all matters related to Ayakshali, Lawrence did not pay much attention to them because he did not have the right to vote and these matters did not have much to do with him.

However, for some reason, Ciro, like Lawrence, did not care about these bills and only expressed strong opposition to the bill to reduce the budget allocation for orphanages.

I don’t know how long it took, but the bishop clapped his hands and announced loudly:

"Okay, the discussion on the bill to repair the streets in Beicheng District is over. Since the votes for and against are the same, it will be discussed again at the next regular meeting of the parliament. Now move on to the next bill!"

The bishop said, glanced at the agenda, and then said with a strange expression:

"The next motion is proposed by Ciro Russell, the member of the West District of Ajaccio."

"Um?"

Lawrence immediately raised his head and braced himself. After the face-to-face contact with Siro, Lawrence had to take seriously every move he made for this conspirator who spoke softly and was full of swords.

No one knows that maybe an inconspicuous matter will become a key node in the web of conspiracy spun by Siro.

The other congressmen present also felt a little strange.

Because in their impression, this Ciro Russell rarely even participated in parliament, gave up his right to vote for various reasons every time, and rarely appeared in everyone's sight.

Today, Siro not only attended the parliament but also submitted a bill, which made everyone a little surprised and curious.

"What Congressman Exiluo proposed is," the bishop glanced at the outline, his expression became even weirder, and he announced:

“Discussions on increasing the size and powers of the patrol in Ajaccio.”

"What?!"

Most of the people present, including Lawrence, were surprised. Everyone knew that Lawrence, as the actual commander of the patrol, had a deep hatred for the union.

Not only were the union members publicly executed, but One Eye, a prominent leader of the union, was imprisoned in the patrol dungeon. Instead of retaliating, Silla actually wanted to help the patrol expand its size and authority?

"Could it be that Congressman Ciro took the initiative to show his favor to Lawrence regardless of the previous suspicion?"

"I guess so. It seems that Representative Ciro is really a noble person."

"Yes, Laurence Bonaparte is also a young man of outstanding character. The two of them will definitely resolve their differences in the future."

Some congressmen began to whisper to the people around them. They didn't know Siro's terrifying reputation in the underground world. They thought it was Siro who took the initiative to ask Lawrence for peace, and they all sighed with emotion.

“Something is wrong”

Lawrence touched his chin and vaguely noticed something strange. He was sure that Silla could not be kind-hearted to help him expand his power, let alone ask for peace with him.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

The bishop raised his voice to calm down the chatter below, and then began to read the outline of the motion:

"Member Xiro hopes to double the size of the patrol team to about a hundred people. At the same time, given that the security situation in Xicheng District is very bad, he hopes that the patrol team can be stationed in Xicheng District to maintain order and security."

"In addition." The bishop continued to read:

"Due to the extremely high unemployment rate in Xicheng District, Councilor Xiro suggested that all new members of the patrol team be recruited from Xicheng District."

"It's true that he has bad intentions."

Lawrence curled his lips and saw through Silla’s thoughts at a glance.

Expanding the size of the patrol team, but having to recruit from the West City District, this is undoubtedly Siro’s intention to stuff his own people into Lawrence’s hands. In addition, Lawrence must treat the new players equally and let them share the wealth with the old players.

If Lawrence does not want to reduce the share of the old players, he must subsidize the new players out of his own pocket, which is absolutely impossible with his current income level.

Finally, requiring patrols to be stationed in Xicheng District is an even bigger challenge for Lawrence.

The gangs in Xicheng District are complex and maintaining law and order is not easy. As long as Lawrence fails to do something well, coupled with Ciro's secret instigation, not only will he not get the support of the people, but he will be spurned by them.

Not to mention that there is Silla's base camp, and he will definitely send people to obstruct it in every possible way. Lawrence may not be able to move even an inch in the Xicheng District.

"A naked conspiracy. This damn Silla does have some tricks."

Lawrence's eyes were cold, he glanced at Silla who was showing a fake smile to everyone, and thought so.

Since Lawrence was attending the meeting as a staff officer, he did not have the right to speak or vote, so he had to sit quietly and listen to the debate among the members.

After some heated discussion, members finally began to vote.

Fortunately, Lawrence glanced at Carlo and signaled him to vote against it. The final voting result was four votes in favor, four votes against, and one abstention.

Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief. At least this issue could be postponed to the next meeting.

"Did all members confirm their votes? If they all confirmed, then this issue will be left to..."

The bishop was speaking at the speaking table, but was suddenly interrupted by two coughs.

Everyone immediately focused their attention on the top of the long table.

"Ahem, I also want to express some opinions."

It was Governor Pauli who interrupted the bishop, stood up and said.

Lawrence frowned slightly, having a bad feeling.

Although Pauli does not have the right to vote, as the highest governor of Corsica, he can certainly express his opinions on the motion:

"I think this bill is still very valuable. If it can be passed as soon as possible, it will be of great benefit to the development of Corsica."

When saying this, Pauly also pronounced the word "as soon as possible" repeatedly. The implication is very obvious. He hopes to pass this bill now.

The congressmen were not stupid people. They immediately understood what Pauli meant. They raised their hands to signal to the bishop that the vote had not been finalized yet, as a way to show their goodwill to Pauli.

Even Carlo, seeing that his continued vote against the bill was to no avail, made an apologetic gesture to Lawrence and confirmed his vote in favor.

Lawrence sat expressionlessly and nodded to Carlo. He didn't care about Carlo's normal speculation.

As for Pauly, this old fox must have figured out what Ciro meant, and deliberately used his influence to get the bill passed, thereby beating Lawrence.

"At the same time." Pauli continued:

"The deputy captain of the Ajaccio patrol, M. Bonaparte, is also at the meeting. We might as well listen to his opinion as well."

Lawrence couldn't help but secretly rolled his eyes. Pauly was obviously afraid that he would be beaten too hard and that he would be completely at a disadvantage in the fight with Silla, so he wanted to take the opportunity to put forward some conditions.

"This old fox is really good at balancing." Lawrence thought to himself, then stood up, bowed to everyone, and said:

“I very much agree with the opinions of Representative Sirro and Governor Pauli, but at the same time, as the deputy captain of the patrol team, I also propose an amendment to this bill: In order to ensure the quality of patrol troops, I hope that when the recruitment is expanded, the patrol team can be The team selects suitable candidates independently.”

Paulie nodded, knowing that Lawrence was doing this to prevent Silla from inserting people into Lawrence's hands, and that it was not an excessive condition, so he said:

"Mr. Bonaparte's suggestion makes sense, Congressman Ciro, what do you think?"

"I agree." Ciro said. He also saw that Pauli was trying to balance him and Lawrence, so he directly accepted Lawrence's proposal.

Seeing that both Ciro, the proposer, and Governor Pauli agreed with Lawrence's suggestion, other congressmen followed suit and expressed their approval of Lawrence's amendments to the bill.

Paulie sat back in his seat and whispered to Lawrence next to him:

"This is for Corsica's benefit."

Lawrence smiled and said nothing.

He did not feel that Pauli's behavior was a betrayal, but silently praised it as an excellent check and balance method. If it were him, the method might be even more drastic.

"It's just" Lawrence thought to himself:

"My Lord Governor, if it is for the benefit of Corsica, when I need to sit in your chair one day, I will not hesitate to take it."