From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Time came to the next day leisurely.

In the early morning of July 2nd, judging from the cloudless sky, it would be a beautiful sunny day.

Colonel Giovanni got up early and put on his full uniform in his bedroom.

The coat, trousers and high boots of his uniform are all pure black, which is very different from the iconic blue and white uniforms of the French army, because he belongs to the Paris police system.

The Paris police force was created a hundred years ago by order of Louis XIV.

In 1667, Louis XIV personally appointed a lieutenant general of police to maintain law and order on the streets of Paris.

However, the French police system in this era was not the police in the modern sense.

They are more like a branch of the military. Their main tasks are to control riots and arrest rioters rather than to actively investigate cases. It may be more appropriate to call them military security forces.

Historically, it was not until 1800, after the Revolution, that the police system and the army were completely separated, and Napoleon founded the modern Paris Police Department.

Colonel Giovanni nervously adjusted his scarf in front of the mirror, then picked up a gilded letter on the bedside table, frowned at it, and went downstairs to sit in front of the dining table.

"Good morning, my dear."

Colonel Giovanni's wife had already prepared breakfast and was cleaning the frying pan. When she saw the colonel coming down from upstairs, she greeted casually:

"Why are you still reading that letter? It's like it's been glued to your hand since yesterday afternoon."

"Oh dear, of course a housewife like you doesn't understand." Colonel Giovanni shook his head, his eyes still on the letter, and sighed:

"This is from the Duke of Richelieu himself."

"Duke? He is such a big shot. Why is he writing letters?" The wife stopped what she was doing and turned around in surprise.

"A wealthy property owner named Du Barry disappeared, and people saw that Du Barry was finally taken away by the Corsican governor."

Colonel Giovanni explained patiently:

"The Duke of Richelieu asked me to take people to search the governor's mansion, and said that Du Barry must be in the mansion."

The wife wiped her hands with a towel, sat down opposite Colonel Giovanni, and said worriedly:

"Wow. That sounds dangerous."

"Danger? It's not that serious. We do have the right to search the residence of the Governor of Corsica, because people have seen that Du Barry was taken away by him before he disappeared." Colonel Giovanni shook his head and said.

"No, dear, I mean," the wife said still worriedly:

"The Governor of Corsica is also a big shot, right? It sounds like you are going to be involved in the struggle of the people above. Can't you refuse the Duke's request?"

"Honey you don't understand."

Colonel Giovanni smiled bitterly and shook his head, pointing to the bright light blue ribbon on his sleeves, which was the symbol of his colonel rank, and then he said helplessly:

"The reason why I can wear this is because of the promotion of Duke Richelieu. Although he has no real power, he has people in various departments and agencies, including the military and police. How could I refuse his request."

"Okay. Huh?"

The wife nodded helplessly, and was about to get up and go about her own business. Suddenly she saw from the window a luxurious four-wheel carriage slowly approaching her door, and said in surprise:

"My God, who's here to visit you? What a luxurious and beautiful carriage."

Upon seeing this, Colonel Giovanni quickly turned to look out the window, then stood up all of a sudden, not even paying attention to the breakfast on the table, and said continuously:

"The red inverted triangle coat of arms on a white background is unmistakable. It is the carriage of the Richelieu family. This must be Count Falcone. The Duke told me in his letter that the Count will also join him. Under search."

"Sounds like you're under surveillance," his wife said with a frown.

"Who says it isn't?"

Colonel Giovanni shrugged and said:

"This count is the grandson of the Duke of Richelieu, and he is the commander today. Well, I have to get out quickly. I heard that this count has a bad temper, and I don't want to keep him waiting."

Colonel Giovanni jogged all the way to Count Falcone's carriage, and was allowed to enter the carriage after identifying himself to the stableman on duty outside the carriage.

Count Falcone was the only one in the carriage;

"Are you Colonel Giovanni?" Count Falcone glanced at the slightly nervous man in front of him, then closed his eyes and asked rudely.

"Yes, lord count," Colonel Giovanni replied cautiously.

"Okay, you should know very well what your mission is." Count Falcone suddenly asked:

"How many people can you command in this operation?"

Colonel Giovanni quickly replied:

"A normal investigation only requires a team of five people, but since this time it is against someone as high as the Governor of Corsica, I think we should bring a team of twenty people."

"No!"

Count Falcone suddenly opened his eyes, punched the wall of the carriage hard, and asked frantically and irritably:

"I'm asking you how many people can you command at most!"

Colonel Giovanni was startled by the sudden sound, but he quickly lowered his head and said:

"Yes, Lord Earl, I can mobilize up to two hundred police officers."

"Two hundred hums are enough." Count Falcone curled his lips and smiled sinisterly, which made Colonel Giovanni feel a chill on his back.

"Listen up, Colonel." Count Falcone pointed directly at Colonel Giovanni's nose and gave the order:

"I want you to bring all these people to me, everyone must be fully armed. After gathering, march through the streets of Paris for an hour, and then rush to the Champs Elysées. I want to do it in front of everyone Expose the ugly face of that bastard Bonaparte and let people see what a despicable and barbaric person he is, hehehehehe.”

"This Count," Colonel Giovanni said cautiously:

"Wouldn't it be embarrassing if we didn't find M. Du Barry in the palace of the Governor of Corsica?"

"impossible!"

Count Falcone glared at Colonel Giovanni fiercely, as if he felt that such a question was disobeying him, and then said disdainfully:

"We have bribed a servant in the Bonaparte mansion and know that Du Barry is inside. The Champs Elysées are all set up with spies. Even if they get the wind and want to move Du Barry, they can't escape our surveillance. . Humph, not to mention that poor Bonaparte didn’t know that he was only one step away from the dungeon of the Palace of Justice. He probably thought that the kidnapping of Du Barry was perfect, idiot. "

"Okay then, Your Majesty, follow your instructions."

Seeing Count Falcone's assurance, Colonel Giovanni had no choice but to make up his mind to accompany him, lowered his head and said:

"I'm going to gather my subordinates right now."

"Well, just take my carriage. I want to watch all this happen with my own eyes. I can't miss a second."

Count Falcone licked his lips and let out a hideous laugh.

It was almost noon, Lawrence's mansion on the Champs Elysées.

"So how's your work going?"

During lunch, Lawrence casually asked the two auditors at the Bank de France who worked for him.

One of them quickly put down his knife and fork and replied:

"There is still a lot of work to be done. After all, Du Barry has a lot of properties under his name. Those account books can fill both of our rooms."

Another added:

"But Du Barry's account books, to be honest, are too shoddy, full of loopholes and traces of fraud. He should really hire a more skilled accountant who knows how to make false accounts. Er, I mean an accountant who can reasonably avoid taxes. "

Lawrence nodded, probably guessing why Du Barry was so careless financially.

He probably relied on the Duke of Richelieu as his backer. The tax officials did not dare to do anything to him, so they did not bother with the accounts at all.

Of course, Lawrence was also happy to see Du Barry take the initiative to reveal these clues.

At this moment, the old housekeeper of the mansion suddenly ran into the dining room in a hurry. Without saluting, he ran straight to Lawrence and even almost bumped into a servant carrying a dinner plate.

This old butler is usually gentle and unhurried. This is the first time that Lawrence has seen him in such a hurry today.

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, there are two things I need to report to you."

The old butler leaned over and whispered in Lawrence's ear:

"First of all, there is news from the Tuileries Palace. The safe you sent yesterday has been opened. Inside is Mr. Du Barry's diary, private accounts, letters, and a lot of jewelry and land deeds."

"Really? Find time to arrange for someone to bring the contents back." Lawrence nodded and ordered.

After getting Du Barry's personal safe yesterday morning, Lawrence sent it directly to the Tuileries Palace. A master locksmith like Crown Prince Louis would have to make use of it.

Crown Prince Louis himself did not think Lawrence's request was an act of disrespect or transgression.

Instead, he felt that being able to help with the investigation of the attack would somewhat alleviate his guilt towards Lawrence. After all, in the Crown Prince's view, the source of all this was Lawrence's desire to stand up for himself.

"What's the second thing?" Lawrence asked immediately. It seemed that it was the second news that made the calm old butler lose his temper.

"Your Excellency Bonaparte," the old butler said solemnly:

"I just received news that hundreds of policemen gathered on the streets of Paris. They swaggered through the city and attracted the attention of many citizens. They did not hide their purpose. They said they were coming to search the mansion to investigate the disappearance of Mr. Du Barry. ”

"Hundreds of police officers? What a big scene."

Lawrence took a sip of the broth slowly and said with a smile.

Grosso, Ya'an and Anna on the table couldn't help but put down their tableware and frowned at Lawrence and the old housekeeper.

"Hey, what happened? What police?" Grosso asked directly and carelessly.

"The Duke of Richelieu is making some moves."

Lawrence chewed the stew nonchalantly and said:

"Said hundreds of police officers were sent to investigate Du Barry's disappearance."

"You mean now? Hundreds of police? Darling, this is a bit difficult to deal with."

Grosso was stunned for a moment, then quickly scratched his head and said:

"That boy Du Barry is still unconscious in the basement. Let's move him away quickly. If it is confirmed that Du Barry's disappearance was caused by your boy, then we will not stay in Paris and flee back to Corsi." Jiaba.”

"No, there is no need to move. There must be a lot of eyes watching us outside."

Lawrence shook his head and said flatly:

"And remember what I said, I will block all Du Barry's escape routes, including the one he most desires."

Grosso took a breath, rubbed his head anxiously and thought for a while but still couldn't understand, so he could only smack his lips and said:

"Okay, so what do you want?"

Lawrence picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, then stood up and said to the two auditors:

"Sorry you two, lunch has to end early. Please go back to your room first."

The two auditors nodded quickly and stood up to leave. They did not want to get involved in the political struggles of these upper-class figures, especially after hearing that hundreds of police would soon surround the place.

After the two auditors left, Lawrence continued to give instructions:

"Yan, summon all precision shooters, distribute muskets and ammunition, and stand ready; Grosso, wake up Du Barry and take him to a room on the second floor so that he can see the situation outside; Anna, return to Do you understand your French lessons in the room?”

The three of them nodded in unison to show their understanding, and then they all stood up and carried out Lawrence's arrangement.

"Well, I'm here"

Jean Dubarly woke up from his coma again and slowly opened his eyes.

And he was shocked to find that the scenery in front of him was no longer the same dark basement.

"Damn, finally woke up."

Grosso slapped Du Barry on the head mercilessly, pointed to the window in front of him and said:

"Lawrence asked you to watch what's going on outside. Take a good look. There aren't many opportunities like this for you, huh."

"Outside.?" Du Barry put his eyes to the window in confusion, looking out of the gate of this mansion through the gap in the tightly blocked window curtains.

I saw that the usually deserted Champs Elysées had unexpectedly gathered a dark crowd.

It can be seen from the body orientation of the crowd that everyone's attention is focused on this mansion.

The most eye-catching among the crowd are undoubtedly the Paris police officers wearing black uniforms and wide-brimmed hats.

All of them were fully armed, carrying sabers and muskets on their backs. They lined up neatly, just like a small army.

And this small army is now tightly surrounding the mansion, as if it wants to capture a town within easy reach.

"God, that's...!"

Du Barry's eyes wandered impatiently on the Champs Elysées, and soon found the person he wanted to see most at the moment, so he couldn't help but exclaimed to himself:

"That's Count Falcone! I saw him, he came to get me out! I knew I would be saved! I can get out right away!"

After saying that, Du Barry suddenly turned his head to look at Grosso, laughed crazily and said:

"Have you seen it! You inhumane pirate leader, you have been surrounded! In half an hour I will leave this hell under the protection of those policemen, and the next time I meet you will be in the dungeon ! You are in there, hahaha. Now, you damn barbarian, please untie me, maybe this will save you a few months in jail!"