From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"No, no why is this happening!"

Du Barry, who was watching all this from his room on the second floor, was looking down with blank eyes at the moment, watching the Paris policemen who were so majestic just now getting out of the hole one by one in embarrassment.

Even Count Falcone, whom he regarded as his savior, was like this. After uttering some insignificant harsh words to Lawrence, he hunched up and left the mansion with the police, and did not stay for a moment, and soon He got into the carriage and disappeared on the Champs Elysées.

The courtyard of the mansion that was full of gunpowder just now was completely calm at this moment. Only the severely distorted mansion door proved that a fierce conflict had occurred here.

The onlookers gradually dispersed, excited but still unfinished.

When the police force forced their way into the mansion, they thought the balance of victory had tipped to Count Falcone.

But no one expected that Lawrence could completely resolve this crisis with just a piece of paper.

Especially after people learned that this place was actually the Corsican Embassy in France, they couldn't help but sympathize with Count Falcone.

No matter how powerful the Richelieu family is, Count Falcone is destined to be unable to escape the charge of instigating police forces to attack other countries' embassies.

And those people with quick minds felt a chill down their backs after learning the news. They vaguely realized that this must be a trap deliberately set by the Governor of Corsica for Count Falcone.

After all, the documents for the establishment of the embassy had been signed for several days, but Lawrence deliberately chose today to announce it, especially after Colonel Giovanni and others forced their way into the mansion.

This kind of timing also made people shudder, and they all lamented that the young foreign governor was really good at it.

As for Jean Dubarry, who had witnessed all this, he was already in a state of disbelief and had mixed feelings.

He didn't know what was going on below. He only saw Lawrence sending someone to hand a fluffy document to Colonel Giovanni, and then the Paris police force pressing down on the border left the place without stopping, as if they were avoiding the plague.

This man who had been tortured for three full days never expected that Count Falcone, whom he had high hopes for, would actually fall under that piece of parchment.

The reason why Du Barry was able to persevere during these days of torture was because he firmly believed that the Duke of Richelieu could send someone to rescue him.

Now, this belief is like a glass ball falling from a high altitude, shattered into pieces.

The residue was still raging in Du Barry's mind like a blade, making him feel the pain and despair of a knife all the time.

If there is anything more despairing than despair itself, it is undoubtedly seeing hope first and then seeing that hope shatter before your very eyes.

"Yo, Monsieur Du Barry."

Grosso came up with a playful smile, grabbed Du Barry's collar with one hand and pulled him up like a kitten, and said with a smile:

"It seems you have to stay with me, the pirate leader, for a while, huh?"

Du Barry turned his head to look at the scar on Grosso's face, his pupils trembling uncontrollably.

Even when he personally experienced the torture, Du Barry had never been so frightened.

Because before he believed that these sufferings were temporary, but now, he only saw endless torture waiting for him.

"You two seem to be getting along very well."

The door was suddenly opened, and Lawrence was seen pushing the door open, looking at Du Barry with a smile and saying.

"Hehehe, I'm quite happy. You can ask him yourself how he feels."

Grosso grinned and patted Du Barry on the shoulder, smiling happily.

Du Barry was in no mood to pay attention to Grosso's joke. He looked up at Lawrence with a pale face and asked desperately:

"Why did they leave?"

Lawrence pulled out a triangular chair and sat down, crossing his legs and saying easily:

"Your good friend Count Falcone found out that this was the Corsican embassy in France, so he left."

"What did you say?" Du Barry murmured in a daze.

As a prisoner who was personally held here, Du Barry knew very well that this was not some bullshit embassy at all, just a private residence for Lawrence and his party.

But regardless of the actual situation, as long as this area is given the status of a diplomatic embassy, ​​the sovereignty here is held by the Republic of Corsica.

Du Barry also reacted instantly, which meant that he who was imprisoned in this mansion would have no hope of rescue.

From the Paris Parlement in the judicial system, to the Foreign Minister Cesare Gabriel in the diplomatic system, they are all people of the Duke of Choiseul, that is, people who side with Lawrence.

Even if everyone knew that Du Barry's disappearance was closely related to Lawrence, no agency or department could investigate Lawrence based on this.

Du Barry's eyes gradually became cloudy, as if he had aged ten years in an instant, as if he was aging and tired, and his whole person was shrouded in despair.

Lawrence silently stared at Du Barry's passive and desperate look, knowing that another of his goals had been achieved.

"Huh? You mean this place has been designated as an embassy? No wonder your kid was so confident a few days ago."

Grosso nodded in enlightenment, threw Du Barry aside, stepped forward, put his arm on Lawrence's shoulders and said with a smile:

"Then I am considered a diplomat or something. I heard that diplomats have some kind of immunity. They will not be arrested even if they kill someone or set a fire on the street."

Lawrence rolled his eyes helplessly, waved his hand and explained:

"We all do count as diplomats, and we do all have diplomatic immunity. But you have to remember that this power is held by the state, not the individual."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Grosso blinked twice quickly and asked in confusion. He was not interested in the minutiae of international law.

"That is to say, if you really kill people and set fires on the street, I have two choices."

Lawrence went on to explain:

"Either we can strip you of your immunity in the name of the Corsican government and hand you over to the French for trial normally; or you can retain your immunity in the name of the Corsican government, but that means your actions are subject to The Corsican government supports it. I don’t think I will support you in the name of the government in killing people on the streets of Paris.”

"Well, I understand. I thought this was such a useful privilege."

Grosso curled his lips in disappointment, shrugged and said:

"But having said that, what are we going to do with this boy Du Barry? If he really disappears for too long, people will definitely doubt us. Although they can't confirm it, it won't be good for our reputation, right?"

Lawrence nodded slightly. If Du Barry really disappeared from the public eye for a long time, the citizens would definitely regard Lawrence, who finally took Du Barry away, as their primary suspect.

Although suspicions may never be confirmed, Lawrence didn't want his reputation to be affected by this egregious kidnapping.

What's more, Count Falcone came today under the guise of investigating the disappearance of Du Barry. If Lawrence could put aside himself and Du Barry's disappearance, it would also be a powerful counterattack against Count Falcone.

The best way to put aside suspicion is undoubtedly to let the protagonist of this case come forward and speak out.

"What to do with Mr. Du Barry? I think the answer to that question must be decided by himself."

Lawrence stood up, walked to the dejected Du Barry, and said softly:

"Mr. Du Barry, you should still remember what I mentioned to you before, right?"

Du Barry's eyes regained a glimmer of light, and he certainly remembered Lawrence's ridiculous self's request to accuse the Duke of Richelieu.

But in this desperate situation, he had to think over this request in his mind again, then looked up at Lawrence and nodded weakly.

"Very good" Lawrence said with a smile:

"Actually, to be honest, Mr. Du Barry, I don't want to force you into a dead end. Although there are so many shady things about your personal finances, even though you personally ordered the attack on me, even though the basement of your home There is such a perverted secret, although there are many things recorded in your diary and private accounts that are enough to get you hanged on the gallows."

Hearing Lawrence read out his reasons one by one, Du Barry's body couldn't help but tremble.

He knew that any one of them alone would be enough to make him completely disappear from Paris, not to mention that so many incriminating evidences were listed together, which would allow him to try all the execution methods in France.

Lawrence said that he didn't want to force Du Barry into a dead end, but in fact he was telling him that his life was in his hands.

"I'm so sorry for talking so much."

Lawrence spent a lot of time before he finished listing Du Barry's evidence. Then he looked at the slightly trembling Du Barry and continued:

"In short, although you are a heinous villain, there is no conflict of core interests between the two of us, right? I have no interest in brothels and bathhouses."

"I'm quite interested," Grosso said casually, rubbing his head.

"You mean..."

Du Barry said tremblingly:

"As long as I respect the Duke of Richelieu"

Lawrence nodded directly in response:

"Of course, as long as you cooperate with us sincerely, I can turn a blind eye to your guilt. I am not a partner of justice, and I have no time to busy supporting justice."

Du Barry lowered his head, and the trembling in his body gradually subsided.

Now there are only two paths before him, one is to be loyal to Duke Richelieu until death, and the other is to cooperate with Lawrence and stand on the opposite side of Duke Richelieu.

No matter which one it is, it is extremely gloomy in Du Barry's eyes, but only the one that cooperates with Lawrence still retains a glimmer of hope for his survival.

Looking at Du Barry on the verge of collapse, Lawrence whispered in a timely manner:

"As long as you agree, we will be partners. I think it's time to give you some treatment that a partner deserves, such as a soft bed, delicious food, freedom from torture, and a little bit of limited freedom. ”

These things that Du Barry once took for granted have now become complete luxuries. He listened blankly to every word Lawrence pronounced.

When he heard the word freedom, Du Barry could no longer bear the torment in his heart. His throat gurgled and he uttered a brief sentence:

"I promise you."

This short sentence seemed to drain all the energy from Du Barry's body. After spitting out the last syllable, he collapsed on the ground.

However, judging from the smile that unconsciously appeared on Du Barry's lips, his soul, which had been tortured for several days, was greatly relieved.

More than half an hour later, the residence of Duke Richelieu was still in the Duke's study.

"call"

The Duke of Richelieu took a deep breath from a brass pipe, and then exhaled a puff of white smoke with a relaxed expression.

"Ahem."

Justice Mopu, who was sitting opposite him, covered his nose and coughed a few times, frowned slightly and said:

"Your Excellency, my friends at the Royal Society of Medicine say smoking makes you sick."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, but an old man like me doesn't have many years to live."

Duke Richelieu put aside his pipe and said in a good mood:

"What you can enjoy in this world is to enjoy it more, especially on a great day like today."

"Yes, it's such a great day, it's worth my special trip to celebrate with you."

Justice Mopu nodded, laughed twice in agreement and said:

"Celebrating the day when that smart-alecked Laurence Bonaparte dug his own grave for kidnapping in Paris."

Duke Richelieu savored the smell of tobacco in his body cavity and said smugly:

"I'm not surprised at all. I'm not surprised that barbarians from places like Corsica can do anything. They were quite impressive at first, but as time went by, their prototypes were revealed, because their brains They are all different from us. You should ask your friend at the Royal Society of Medicine to study it and maybe publish an outstanding paper. "

Justice Mopu was so amused by this joke that he waved his hand and said:

"Hahaha I will tell him the next time I see him, maybe your name will appear among the co-authors hahahaha."

Duke Richelieu was also amused by his own joke, and his beard trembled with laughter. It took him a while to recover, and he said with a smile:

"I think it's almost time. It's time for Falcone to bring back that damn guy Jean Dubarly."

The two of them chatted and laughed for another ten minutes, and then there were two heavy knocks outside the door.

Before the Duke of Richelieu could say please come in, the expressionless Count Falcone pushed open the door and walked in.

"Ah, dear Falcone, you are back."

The Duke of Richelieu stood up with his support on the table and said with a smile:

"Where's Jean Du Barry? Let him come in too. I regret that I didn't see Bonaparte's ashen expression with my own eyes. Maybe you can tell me about it. I'm sure Justice Maupe would like to hear it too." Listen, sit down."