From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

August 22, 1770, the third day after Lawrence returned to Ajaccio.

For ordinary citizens, the frenzy caused by the return of the beloved Governor Bonaparte has finally come to an end. Apart from feeling a little relieved because Lawrence is in Ajaccio, the lives of the citizens are nothing compared to the past. the difference.

However, for those spies who were assigned by their masters or masters to come to Ajaccio to find out information, their lives were not so easy.

On the edge of the market in Nancheng District, at an inconspicuous open-air stall, a bearded stall owner wearing straw sandals was lazily leaning on the wooden platform, chatting angrily with a naked man in front of the stall, wearing only one piece of clothing. Men in leather aprons communicate something.

Placed on the stall were a bunch of wild fruits of poor quality, all very small in size, as if they had been picked randomly from the woods in the suburbs, and many of them had already shown a dark color of decay.

Presumably no citizen of Ajaccio would stop in front of such a stall for too long, and no one would deliberately pay attention to the conversation between these two people.

"Brother, you have to be careful lately." The stall owner half-squinted his eyes and said in a low voice to the man in front of the stall.

The man was stunned for a moment, then picked up two wild fruits and asked in a low voice:

"What happened?"

The accents of both people have a very obvious rural flavor, and it seems that they have only recently entered Ajaccio from the countryside.

"The fat man, the thin man, and Yellowbeard, many of the people sent to Ajaccio by the gentlemen have disappeared."

The stall owner stepped forward and said in a deep voice:

"I'm afraid he was captured by the patrol."

"Arrested?! How can you explain this? We didn't do anything. We just eat and drink in Ajaccio every day to get news."

The man's face turned pale in an instant. He squeezed the wild fruit in his hand so hard that the juice splashed everywhere, and then said angrily:

"Is this against the law?!"

After hearing this, the bearded stall owner patted the back of the man's hand gently and scolded in a low voice:

"You kid, don't be stupid. I see, this is Bonaparte having trouble with the gentlemen, and he is demonstrating to the gentlemen."

The man nodded, wiped a handful of his leather apron, and muttered:

"So Bonaparte is really brave. There are many people sent by the masters, and he actually caught them all."

The stall owner waved his hands, as if he didn't want to talk to the man for too long, and said impatiently:

"Okay, okay, don't worry about the big shots, mind your own business, and don't get imprisoned by the patrols on some grounds. That little bitch might be watching us right now. ”

"Little girl" The man couldn't help but shuddered and looked around with some fear.

As for the legendary woman named Shadia who monitored the entire Ajaccio, these spies absolutely did not want to attract her attention.

"Thanks for the message, man, I'm leaving now."

As the man spoke, he quickly put a few wild fruits into his arms, then threw a silver coin at the stall with some distress, and then disappeared into the crowd.

At the same time, in the dungeon where the Ajaccio patrol was stationed.

"Damn. Why does my head hurt so much? Where am I?"

In a cell near the back, the fat man held his forehead in pain, slowly opened his eyes, and sat up.

The fat man only remembered that he drank all night in a pub last night. After all, it was a rare opportunity to leave the barren countryside and come to the most prosperous town in Corsica. Of course, the fat man wanted to have more fun in the name of seeking information. sky.

However, when the fat man opened his eyes with difficulty, he realized that in front of him was no longer the warm yellow ceiling of the tavern, but a dark and damp dungeon.

"This! Where is this?!"

The fat man trembled all over, and the remaining drunkenness in his mind disappeared without a trace in an instant. He looked at the cell he was in with fear and fear.

The patrol patrolling the corridor soon discovered the fat man who woke up, but did not say anything to him. He just left for a while, as if to inform someone.

After a while, a stooped old man stood outside the fat man's cell, accompanied by two patrols.

The fat man who was sitting there looked up at the old man, the look of fear between his brows became more intense, and he said tremblingly:

"Are you Old Sean from the patrol?"

Although Fatty had never been to Ajaccio before, since he was assigned to inquire about the news, Fatty certainly knew about the important people in Ajaccio beforehand.

The old man in the patrol uniform in front of him is undoubtedly Old Sean, the number two person in the Ajaccio patrol after Lawrence.

The fat man turned around and looked at the cell he was in. He couldn't help but feel a thump in his heart. He was basically sure that he must be in the dungeon of the patrol team.

"Damn it, what happened to me? Why did I let old Sean come to my cell in person?"

The fat man swallowed a big mouthful of saliva and thought uneasily. He didn't think that a little serf like himself could attract the second-in-command of the Ajaccio patrol to personally take action.

Outside the cell, Old Sean just nodded with a serious face, admitted his identity, and then sternly reprimanded:

"You shameless thug! I suggest you confess everything you know before being interrogated, so that we can all save a lot of trouble."

"Thug...? What do you mean? I'm just a good and honest farmer!" The fat man's mind went blank and he asked subconsciously.

"Hmph, you have come to this point, do you still want to resist?" Old Sean snorted coldly, stared at his eyes and shouted loudly:

"I really don't know where you got the courage! How dare you plot to attack our beloved Governor Bonaparte! I really want to shoot you here and there!"

The fat man opened his mouth wide and was speechless for a moment.

Old Sean's words turned into bullets and pierced into the fat man's head. The words "attack Governor Bonaparte" made the fat man unable to recover for a long time.

"Wait a minute. Mr. Sean, Sir Sean! I don't know how you made such an accusation, but I definitely don't have any ill intentions towards Governor Bonaparte. You can investigate everything about me. I am absolutely innocent. !”

The fat man who came back to his senses suddenly sat up from the ground, grabbed the iron fence frantically and shouted.

Although Fatty didn't know what happened yet, once the charge of attacking Governor Bonaparte was mentioned, Fatty immediately felt as desperate as falling into an ice cave. Once such a charge was confirmed, it would be a proper death penalty. Even before death, he would You have to go through a period of torture that is worse than death.

Before Old Sean could respond, a patrolman behind him stepped forward, slammed the cell door with the handle of his saber, and yelled:

"Shut up, you evil thug! Your residence has been searched by us, and we found a large number of muskets and ammunition inside, as well as letters about the criminal plans of you and your accomplices. This evidence is enough to put you on the guillotine!" "

"Musket...? Ammunition? Letters? It's impossible to have those things in my residence?!" The fat man was startled at first, and then shouted even more hysterically.

"Enough, enough!"

Old Sean looked at the fat man with a gloomy face, then pointed to a row of cells behind him and said in a deep voice:

"All of your accomplices have been arrested by us. If you don't cooperate, we can always find someone who is willing to help."

Looking in the direction that Old Sean pointed, the fat man discovered that all the prisoners in that row of cells were spies who were assigned to Ajaccio by various landlords like himself, but he seemed to be the first to wake up. Came here.

There were even a few people inside whom Fatty didn't even know. Unexpectedly, they were all under the control and surveillance of the Corsican government.

Old Sean's words instantly awakened the fat man. He knew that if he wanted to survive, the only way out was to follow Old Sean's wishes, so he nodded quickly and said:

"I am willing, I am willing, I am willing to cooperate, what do you want me to do...?"

Seeing the fat man nodding like a chicken, a smile finally appeared on Old Sean's face, he nodded and said:

"Okay, I want to ask you some questions."

"Please ask, I can't wait to put aside my belly and show you everything I know." The fat man said eagerly and excitedly.

Old Sean suppressed his smile and asked in a low and slow voice:

"First of all, who instigated your plan to attack Governor Bonaparte?"

The fat man in the cell was immediately stunned. He still didn't know what the so-called attack on the governor was about, and how he could possibly know who instigated him.

"I, I, I don't know." The fat man said solemnly.

"Don't know? Huh?" Old Sean snorted again and said in a cold voice:

"We investigated your background. You were a farmer in the southern plains, right?"

"That's right." The fat man lowered his head and whispered.

"An ordinary farmer came to Ajaccio without any job and wandered between pubs all day long. He also lived in a two-story building near the Dongcheng District. You said there is no one behind you? Huh?"

Old Sean looked at the fat man closely and threatened:

"I advise you to think about it again. For such an attack on the Governor of Corsica, our patrol team is determined to find the mastermind behind it. And no one like you will care about you. How to deal with it, so if you cooperate well, maybe."

The fat man opposite had already stayed where he was, digesting Old Sean's advice rapidly in his mind.

Only then did he finally realize that it was not that he and the other spies had gotten into any big trouble at all, but that the other party's original goal was the old man behind him.

The spies were simply involved in a struggle among the upper echelons.

In this situation, Fatty, who had already fallen into the hands of the other party, knew that if people like him wanted to survive, there was only one way to go.

"I"

The fat man's voice suddenly became hoarse. It took him a while to get used to it, and he said slowly:

"I am a serf from the town of Figari. I came to Ajaccio on the orders of my master. His name is Justin Bartley, we all call him Master Justin, and he is also nicknamed 'Little Duke'"

"Little Duke? What an arrogant nickname. There has been no Duke in Corsica for a long time." Old Sean curled his lips and said.

"Yes, yes, it's gone a long time ago, but most of the land in the entire town of Figari is owned by Mr. Justin."

The fat man said carefully:

"I have been a serf in Master Justin's family for as long as I can remember. The farmers there are basically like this. It can be said that Master Justin is the lord of Figari. It is said that he has one or two thousand people under his command, so the title of Little Duke has gradually spread. opened."

"Huh, anyway, it's this Justin who sent you to Ajaccio, right?"

Old Sean obviously didn't want to listen to the fat man bragging about how rich and powerful his father was, so he waved his hand and said:

"Then your plan to attack Governor Bonaparte was also instigated by him?"

The fat man gritted his teeth and squeezed out a trembling syllable from between his teeth:

"right"

"Okay, very good." After hearing this word, Old Sean finally showed a satisfied smile and said continuously:

"Cooperate well with us and you won't stay here long."

After that, Old Sean pointed to the row of cells at the back and ordered the two patrols behind him:

"You all understand what was done, right? When these guys wake up, we will interrogate them and find out who instigated it."

"Yes!" the two patrolmen responded respectfully.

By the evening of that day, all the spies imprisoned in the patrol dungeon had been interrogated.

These serfs, who had never seen the world, had little room for resistance in front of the interrogating patrols. There were only a few who were as smart as the fat man at the beginning. Most of them heard that they were being attacked with a helmet. The Governor was so frightened that he confessed the landlord behind the scenes without hesitation.

After all the interrogations were completed, Old Sean immediately compiled the confessions into a report and immediately sent it to the Governor's Mansion.

"The 'Little Duke' of Figari, the 'Tribune' of Sota, and the 'President' of Conca. Each of them has a very resounding name. They should be the largest landowners everywhere."

In the study, Lawrence casually flipped through the fresh report in his hand, smiled and said to himself:

"It's just that these people have united together to want to kill me. It's really heartbreaking. Anna!"

As soon as Lawrence finished speaking, Anna who was waiting outside the door immediately pushed the door open and responded softly: "What are your orders, sir?"

"Notify the Corsican Defense Forces to request the Northern Army to immediately move south to Ajaccio to accept my command; notify the French garrison in Corsica to request Major Serrurier to hand over command on the grounds of emergency."

Lawrence stood up and ordered in a deep voice:

"In addition, I would like to inform the Ministry of Finance that I have officially approved the land decree and it will take effect immediately."

"Yes, sir." Anna responded with a tap of her chin, and then left the study quietly.

After Anna left, Lawrence slowly walked to the display cabinet in the study, took out a ceremonial sword decorated with gold powder, held the cold hilt, and said to himself:

"It's time, you worms, I want you to spit out everything you have eaten, including your teeth and blood."