From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"I don't know when you got the hobby of playing riddles."

Lawrence slowly turned around, walked back to Justice Mopp with a chuckle and said.

It can be seen that the Lord Chancellor also thought deeply about his position after learning that Duke Richelieu had lost power.

"This is no riddle, Monsignor Bonaparte."

Justice Mopp glanced at Lawrence. His expression was not as relaxed as Lawrence's face. Instead, he said solemnly:

"Just a kind reminder. The Duke of Richelieu is not that vulnerable. There is a reason why the Richelieu family has been able to stand for these two hundred years. He also has a back-up that is fatal to you. "

Lawrence gradually stopped smiling and stared directly into Justice Maupe's eyes.

In fact, Justice Maupp reminded Lawrence that he also remembered that when he and the Duke of Choiseul went to the Palace of Versailles for the first time, they bumped into the Duke of Richelieu and the British Ambassador Baron Bertula walking together.

At that time, Lawrence had already deduced that there must be some conspiracy between the two, but even now there is no sign of it.

"If there is any indication, it would be the British fleet in Gibraltar that Duke Choiseul mentioned."

Lawrence frowned and thought for a while, then looked at Justice Mopp and asked:

"You want to reveal some information?"

"No, I don't know what Duke Richelieu's back-up plan is, and he hid it from me."

Justice Mopu shook his head slightly and said:

"All I know is that it has something to do with the British."

"British"

Lawrence leaned back in his chair, unconsciously tracing the outline of the Western Mediterranean with his fingers on the table, thinking quickly in his mind:

"The famine in Naples, the British fleet in Gibraltar, and the Duke of Richelieu's conspiracy. Are these three independent? Or are there links between two things? What if it is the worst case scenario?"

After thinking hard for half a minute, Lawrence temporarily put away these thoughts. In any case, sitting thousands of miles away in Paris, he couldn't come up with a result. All the answers had to be found after he returned to Corsica. Explore.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Honor."

Lawrence stood up again and asked in a friendly and knowing way:

"I don't know how you became so kind today."

Justice Mopp, who was behind the desk, ignored Lawrence's joke, and there was no ripple on his gloomy face. He still said seriously:

"I just reconsidered my position, but you, Your Excellency Bonaparte, when will you also take time to consider your own?"

Lawrence glanced at Justice Mopp without replying, then put the heavy document bag under his arm, put the seat back in its original position, and walked straight out the door.

It wasn't until he reached the door that Lawrence suddenly shook his head and said:

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"No, of course you know, you definitely know."

Justice Maupp did not stop Lawrence from leaving, but just sat behind his desk and said to Lawrence:

"Following the Duke of Choiseul is a good choice. You can achieve your current status in just a few months, and most of the credit goes to him. But what happens next? The Duke of Choiseul will be like a There is a ceiling above your head, and no matter how hard you try, you can't get past his position. If you want to continue to move up, the only way is to break the ceiling."

The two people in this office are both at the top of the Paris political scene. Lawrence also instantly understood what Justice Maupp meant when he said breaking the ceiling, and even more clearly understood what he meant by saying this at this moment. .

Lawrence stopped where he was, shrugged and said:

"Thank you for putting yourself in my shoes and thinking so much for me, but it's a pity that I can't share my thoughts with you."

"Of course you can keep your opinions, Your Excellency Bonaparte, I am just imparting some experience to you as an older man."

Justice Maupp didn't care about Lawrence's lukewarm reaction, but said to himself:

"What I want to tell you is that politics is about making more and more friends and fewer and fewer enemies. And you, Monsignor Bonaparte, you don't seem to have many friends in Paris, especially When you are about to break the skylight, you will be even more helpless. I think you will need a capable and loyal friend to help you, right?"

"Well said, Your Honor. A capable and loyal friend."

Lawrence chuckled, shook his head, and joked:

"It's not easy to find such a person. I'm struggling to find such a person. If you happen to know someone, be sure to introduce him to me."

Hearing Lawrence's words, Justice Mopp couldn't help but frown. He completely understood the implication of Lawrence's words. He was accusing himself of not being a so-called capable and loyal friend.

After all, Justice Maupp had just parted ways with Duke Richelieu, and he did not provide any help when Duke Richelieu was invited to Versailles for house arrest. For these two points alone, Justice Maupp was praised. The superior is both disloyal and incompetent.

"That's enough, Monsignor Bonaparte."

Anyway, there were only two people here, and Justice Mopu didn’t want to play word games any more, and said directly in a deep voice:

"I suggest you think carefully about what I said. We can become very, very good friends, even better friends than you and the Duke of Choiseul, because the two of us have no conflict of core interests."

"Core interests?" Lawrence narrowed his eyes and asked.

"Your core interests are in Ajaccio, and my core interests are in Paris and Versailles. There will be no conflict between us." Justice Maupp said confidently, knocking on the table.

Lawrence glanced at Justice Maupe with a smile, then pretended to take out his pocket watch, took a look at it, and said in surprise:

"Oh my God, it's already this point. I'm really sorry that I can't chat with you anymore. Your Excellency, there are urgent matters waiting for me."

Justice Mopp nodded slightly and said nothing more. He had already said everything that needed to be said, and he also believed that Lawrence would consider and accept his proposal. Unless Lawrence is willing to stand still in his political position until the death of the Duke of Choiseul or the accession of Prince Louis to the throne.

After leaving the Palace of Justice, Lawrence sat in the carriage on the way back. He closed his eyes and meditated on the talented words of Judge Mopu.

"As expected of the future chief minister in history, he has a very good grasp of my current situation."

Lawrence closed his eyes and whispered softly:

"It's just that your Lordship is still wrong in one thing. My core interests are not just in Ajaccio. Paris, Versailles, Ajaccio, I want to hold them all in my own hands."

In the following days, Lawrence continued to go to the Palace of Justice every afternoon to continue with Justice Maupp to complete the treaty of Corsica's submission to the Bourbon royal family.

However, in the next few negotiations, Justice Maupp did not mention the matter between Lawrence and the Duke of Choiseul, but focused all his attention on the negotiations themselves.

And on all the controversial clauses in the negotiations, Justice Mopp also made active concessions.

Lawrence was also well aware of Justice Maupe's little thoughts, so he accepted these small favors quietly.

During the negotiation, Rousseau, who was deeply valued by Lawrence, was quickly released from the ancient prison of the Palace of Justice. He personally took his wife to visit Lawrence on the Champs Elysées, and was invited by Lawrence to stay here temporarily. Prepare to return to Corsica together in a few days.

On the second day after the treaty was completely completed, King Louis' official order was also conveyed from the Palace of Versailles. The nominal request was for Lawrence to immediately return to Corsica to prepare for the coronation ceremony.

The Duke of Choiseul was also urged by the king's official order to immediately go to Dijon to conduct an inspection of the judicial environment. This was also the responsibility he had assumed for himself at that banquet.

Of course, the king's actual intention was also clear to senior figures in the political world, which was to check and balance the Duke of Richelieu and the Duke of Choiseul and prevent the balance from tilting too much towards one faction.

By July 10, Lawrence had finished explaining all his affairs in Paris.

At present, the most important Corsica National Silver Company, Lawrence entrusted Mr. Montmartre and Lord Merry to take care of it. Of course, for this completely empty shell company, the so-called care is just playing with some reports. It's just a trick to fool investors.

Both Mr. Montmartre and Lord Melly have been deeply involved in the Corsican National Silver Company. They take this company more seriously than they take their own industry, for fear that this financial bomb will be destroyed in advance. Exploded in his own hands. With such a link of interests, Lawrence is quite reassured about the two of them.

In addition, Crown Prince Louis will stay in Paris for a long time. He is also nominally the shareholder representative of this company. With him staying in Paris, Lawrence will not worry about any problems with investor confidence.

As for Jean Dubary, whom Lawrence had recently spent a lot of effort to tame, Lawrence had reached a consensus with the Duke of Choiseul and decided to use him as a weapon in the next attack on the Duke of Richelieu.

Therefore, Lawrence secretly transferred it to the Duke of Choiseul's men, kept him under house arrest and occasionally appeared in public to confirm that Du Barry was not kidnapped at all, but only to deal with personal financial issues. So it’s just been quite busy lately.

Apart from this, Lawrence has nothing important to do in Paris. After all, he has only been in Paris for two months and has no power of his own. Other matters can be left to the Duke of Choiseul. The subordinates do it.

On the morning of July 10, Crown Prince Louis personally rushed from the Tuileries Palace to the Champs Elysées to see Lawrence off.

Hearing that his closest friend had only been with him for more than ten days and was about to leave Paris, Crown Prince Louis also felt a little reluctant to leave. He couldn't tell when the next time the two of them would meet.

Crown Prince Louis even wanted to write a letter to his grandfather requesting that Lawrence stay in Paris, but Lawrence quickly stopped him. After all, it would be embarrassing if King Louis misunderstood that he was instigating it.

"Oh Lawrence, I don't even know what to say."

On the Champs Elysées, which was cleared and guarded by the Royal Guards, Crown Prince Louis, dressed in white casual clothes, personally took Lawrence's hand and walked towards the carriage, sighing repeatedly:

"Alas, thousands of words are swirling in my throat, but when they come to my mouth, I don't know what words to spit out to describe my sadness properly. Maybe I should bring the court poet with me, so that you can fully understand How I feel at the moment. Oh, farewell.”

The sincere and sentimental voice of Crown Prince Louis echoed in the deserted Champs Elysées. Even the guards holding halberds on both sides of the street couldn't help but look sideways at the Crown Prince, and they all sighed in their hearts that this was the first time they had seen such a person. Such a sentimental look from the royal family.

"Your Highness, I will be back in Paris soon."

Lawrence smiled helplessly, held Prince Louis' hand and explained:

"And I still have my people in Corsica, and I can't stay in Paris forever."

"I know that's true, but I still feel a little sad. I can foresee that Paris will become boring in the next few months."

Prince Louis smiled bitterly and nodded.

Then Prince Louis suddenly remembered something, reached out and took off the exquisite pure gold cross he was wearing around his neck, and stuffed it directly into Lawrence's hand, and said worriedly:

"I also heard the Duke of Choiseul mention the situation around Corsica, saying that there might be some instability in that area. Dear Laurence, this is the Holy Cross blessed by Pope Clement XIV, I hope God will bless you and return safely, and you must take care.”

Lawrence took the still warm gold cross necklace and hung it solemnly around his neck. Then he hugged Prince Louis and got into the carriage that had been prepared, following a long motorcade. Heading out of Paris.

That afternoon, in the west wing of the Palace of Versailles, in a simple small building near the back garden.

"Your Excellency, someone has come to visit you."

The attendant wearing a silver wig and a meticulous expression walked into the small study room of the small building and reported to Duke Richelieu who was taking a nap.

Duke Richelieu woke up with a start and asked tiredly:

"Visit? Who is coming?"

"British Ambassador, Baron Bertula."

The valet said tepidly that as a valet directly assigned to Duke Richelieu by King Louis, he was more of a spy on Duke Richelieu than serving him. Who the duke talked to and what, the attendant had to report truthfully to the king the next day.

"Baron Bertula, tell him to come in."

A gleam flashed in Duke Richelieu's eyes, but he quickly concealed it with a tired look.

Soon, Baron Bertula struggled to squeeze into this narrow study, and the attendant just now was also present.

"Baron Bertula, why do you want to visit me, an old man who is about to be buried today?"

Duke Richelieu greeted politely, and at the same time cautiously squinted his eyes at the attendant who was responsible for surveillance.

Baron Bertula also understood and knew that Duke Richelieu was under surveillance, so he said with a smile:

"You are joking. But I came here today to say goodbye to you. I am leaving Paris for a while. I thought that since I have received a lot of care from you, it is necessary to say goodbye to you in person."

"Leaving Paris temporarily?" Duke Richelieu immediately sat up and asked with narrowed eyes:

"Why do you, an ambassador, suddenly want to leave Paris?"

"As you know, there are still some disputes in the armed conflict between Corsica and Britain that have not been completely resolved."

Baron Bertula said, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally:

"Our government has entrusted me with the task of diplomatically resolving this incident, and I learned that the Governor of Corsica had left Paris this morning. In order to resolve this conflict as soon as possible, I had no choice but to follow him on a trip to Corsica. ”

The armed conflict that Baron Bertula was referring to was the massacre of civilians in Ajaccio by the officers and soldiers of the Reasonable on April 1 and the burning of all the officers of the Reasonable by Lawrence.

Although Lawrence and Baron Bertula reached an agreement and Britain exchanged St. Kitts for their former prime minister, the hundreds of British sailor prisoners of war on Corsica have not yet been found.

Therefore, it is completely understandable that Baron Bertula is so anxious to follow Corsica. At least the attendant who is monitoring it feels completely understandable.

"That's right, you have to work hard for a while."

Duke Richelieu nodded with a smile, waved his hand and said:

"Okay, okay, I understand. You can go about your business. We'll see you when you return to Paris."

The attendant watched solemnly as Baron Bertula left the small building, then returned to his room and began to record this meeting, which sounded very normal and had no problems.

In the dark little study, Duke Richelieu was recalling the information brought by Baron Bertula. He couldn't help but clenched his fists and murmured in a low voice:

"Finally, the wheels are starting to turn."