From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

1770, August 23

Ajaccio, inside the Governor's Palace

"Report, Lord Governor, except for a small number of necessary garrison troops, the Northern Army has all arrived in the Ajaccio Military District and accepted your command."

In Lawrence's study, Major Cui Farley stood upright in front of Lawrence, saluted briefly and then reported.

Next to Major Trifalli was Major Serrurier, who after the same salute reported in fluent Italian:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, the French garrison in Corsica is ready to go. You can give orders at any time."

After listening to the reports of the two men, Lawrence nodded with satisfaction.

As a result, all the strength of the entire Corsican Defense Force was concentrated in Ajaccio.

"Today, the strength of the National Defense Forces in the Ajaccio Military District has reached 4,000. If the French army is included, we now have a total of 6,000 troops at our disposal."

Major Trifalli skillfully took out a terrain map around Ajaccio, pointed to the camp where the army was stationed, and introduced it to Lawrence.

Lawrence looked down at the map. Although the French army under Major Serulier was not under his command in terms of organization, he would still regard himself as the actual commander of the two thousand French troops in this incident against the landlord group.

After all, Major Serurier had pinned his hopes of leaving the island and continuing his promotion on Lawrence, so giving up his command was nothing.

"Six thousand people. The other party must be able to recruit more than this number."

Looking at the distribution of military camps on the map, Lawrence sighed slightly.

Although almost all the power of the Corsican military has been assembled, the military strength is still much lower than that of the landlord group.

Listening to Lawrence's sigh, Major Trifari nodded heavily to show his approval:

"Indeed, even if the other party only sends strong men to the station, I estimate that the number will be around 10,000. But the good news is that the army they temporarily formed will be very poor in terms of quality of soldiers and weapons and equipment. We still There are big advantages.”

However, although Lawrence also knew this truth, in frontal combat the National Defense Force must have a great advantage against the improvised mob, but defeating the landlord coalition on the frontal battlefield was not the best choice.

Putting aside the small but real risk of defeat, even if the enemy's coalition is defeated once, the other party may be able to organize a subsequent counterattack based on its deep-rooted foundation in the southern plains.

Even in the worst case, this civil war may evolve into a long-lasting guerrilla war, which is unacceptable to Lawrence, who demands absolute stability within Corsica.

Moreover, there is always a faint worry in Lawrence, whether the unknown factors causing the current tension in the Western Mediterranean will also affect Corsica, which is at the cusp of the crisis.

"Conquer the enemy without fighting."

Lawrence suddenly thought of this old saying. What he should consider now is how to send the landowners who resisted him to the gallows at the minimum cost.

Just like in the last civil war, Lawrence led the Ajaccio garrison against the Northern Army commanded by General Nathan.

At that time, Lawrence took advantage of his high reputation in the army and Paulie's wonderful performance, and finally took over the Northern Army without a single blow.

Only this time the situation is obviously different.

The soldiers of the opposing army were basically serfs from the southern plains. Unlike the citizens of Ajaccio and the soldiers of the National Defense Force, these people had not witnessed Lawrence's deeds with their own eyes, nor had they been directly benefited by Lawrence.

Even in some remote areas, farmers deep in the mountains and forests may not even know that Governor Pauli has abdicated.

For these people, the name Governor Bonaparte may not have as much appeal as the priest in the village.

"Your Majesty Bonaparte, here's my opinion." Major Serurier stretched out his finger and slowly traced the map of Corsica, and suddenly interjected:

"Now that all our troops have been assembled, we should immediately go south to clean up the enemy forces. We cannot give them too much preparation time."

After hearing this, Lawrence first nodded and approved Serurier's train of thought, then shook his head in denial and said:

"Although this truth is correct, we still cannot rush to send troops before thoroughly investigating the opponent's true and false intentions. I have assigned subordinates to explore the intelligence of the southern plains, and we should have a conclusion in the next two days."

"But...!" Major Serurier frowned, seeming to have regarded Lawrence's remarks as a form of indecision:

"We don't need to be so cautious when dealing with those pitchfork-wielding farmers. I swear it only takes three volleys to make those farmers who have never seen a gun drop their weapons and kneel down and admit defeat!"

After all, in the eyes of this meritorious major who personally experienced the Seven Years' War, his commanding ability and military vision must be much higher than that of the young governor in a remote rural area in front of him.

"If the other party is really just a farmer wielding a pitchfork and a hoe, it won't hurt to give them a few more days." Lawrence's face darkened and he said slowly:

"I'm just afraid."

"Afraid?" Major Serulier's face was full of doubts. He really didn't know why he needed to be cautious when facing a group of rabble.

While the three people in the study were discussing the war that would determine the future fate of Corsica, Lawrence's personal secretary Anna suddenly opened the door and entered.

She knocked gently on the door twice to interrupt the conversation between the three of them, and then reported in a soft voice:

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but Lieutenant Seth has requested your audience. He seems to be in a hurry."

"Lieutenant Seth? Let him in."

Lawrence frowned slightly and waved to Anna to bring Lieutenant Seth.

Major Cui Farley on the side couldn't help but feel a little confused, and briefly added:

"I remember that you asked Lieutenant Seth to be responsible for collecting intelligence on the situation in the southern plains. It seems that there is something going on on the other side?"

Lawrence glanced up at the calendar hanging on the wall of the study room, and nodded slightly:

"It has been several days since the landowners got the news. It would be strange if there was no movement."

"makes sense."

While the two were talking, Lieutenant Seth, dressed in regular uniform, rushed into the study room impatiently, holding a stack of yellowing papyrus in his hand.

Looking at Lieutenant Seth who was sweating and panting, Lawrence also knew that he must have received some latest news before rushing to the Governor's Mansion, so he asked calmly:

"Don't worry, Lieutenant. If you have anything to say, please speak slowly."

Lieutenant Seth was breathing heavily, and his salute movements were somewhat deformed. After nodding his head several times, he raised the papyrus in his hand, glanced at it, and said intermittently:

"Excuse me, Lord Governor, there is news from the south. There is news from the southern plains. More than a dozen big landowners gathered in the town of Figari, and they all seemed to obey the orders of a local big landowner named Justin. Their men also began to recruit serfs. , purchasing food and weapons. According to our scouts, there are at least 6,000 soldiers serving Justin in the town of Figari."

Listening to Lieutenant Seth's sonorous voice, none of the three Lawrences showed any surprise. These actions of the landlord group were just expected.

The only valuable information is the number of soldiers in Figari Town, which is similar to Lawrence's estimate. If the opponent continues to recruit soldiers at this rate, the number of enemy troops should be around 10,000 by the time of the decisive battle.

"Is that all there is?" Lawrence asked Lieutenant Seth while gesturing to Major Trifali to mark this information on the map.

If it was just this kind of routine information, this reliable lieutenant would not be so anxious.

Sure enough, Lieutenant Seth took a deep breath, glanced at the message recorded on the papyrus in his hand again, and reported slowly and heavily:

"Also, Mr. Governor, our scouts saw with their own eyes that the soldiers in the town of Figari are already conducting live ammunition training! They have built an arsenal on the outskirts of the town, and most of the rebels have been equipped with muskets. "

"What did you say?!" Major Trifali and Major Serulier were both shocked. They looked at Lieutenant Seth with wide eyes and couldn't believe their ears.

If this is the case, their assessment of the military strength of the landlord group will be completely re-evaluated.

After all, the biggest advantage of the musketry is that it is easy to train. Even on the European battlefield, a group of conscripted farmers can set foot on the battlefield after more than ten days of training.

Although they are still far behind those veterans who have experienced the baptism of war or the standing army who are diligent in training, these quick-fire musket soldiers can still be said to have a certain combat effectiveness.

"Sure enough, it's not that simple." Although Lawrence didn't show too much surprise, he admitted that this was in line with the worst situation he expected.

It was impossible for those landowners to be able to produce thousands of muskets and corresponding ammunition from Corsica in such a short period of time.

Even the arsenal of the Corsican Defense Force does not have such a large amount of weapons and equipment in reserve.

In other words, they must have obtained these supports from the outside world.

"The best case is that these landowners contacted some smugglers and bought a batch of arms. The worst case is that"

Lawrence held his forehead with his right hand, closed his eyes and pondered the current situation.

At this time, Major Trifali and Major Serulier also quickly realized that the source of the weapons of the landlords could not be from the island.

Major Serurier gritted his teeth, pointed to the Corsica coastline on the map with a heavy expression and analyzed:

"Damn, they must have bought the muskets from smugglers outside Corsica. Your Excellency, Bonaparte, we must send out the navy to block their supplies!"

Before Lawrence could speak, Major Cui Farley shook his head in the negative, and then sighed:

"Major Serurier, this is not France. Our navy cannot easily blockade an entire island like yours."

As a native soldier who has experienced Corsican independence, Major Trifali understands the current situation of the Corsican Navy very well.

Under the year-round blockades and attacks by the Genoese Navy, the Corsican Navy had very few ships left.

In addition, Corsica's coastline is inherently complicated and has many natural harbors that can berth ships. It is a complete fantasy to rely on the navy's two third-class ships and a dozen patrol ships to block the entire southern coastline.

"This" Major Serurier couldn't help but be startled after hearing this. Then he turned his head and looked at Lawrence, who was still deep in thought. A look of shame suddenly appeared on his face.

Just now, he was urging Lawrence to go south directly and defeat the rebels. Unexpectedly, he immediately received news that the rebels were not as weak as he had estimated.

Although the strength of the Corsican military is still higher than that of the landowner group's rebels, if they suddenly go into battle with such an attitude of underestimating the enemy, it might really cause a catastrophe.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency Bonaparte, I was reckless just now."

Major Serurier sighed and quickly lowered his head to apologize. Only then did he realize how correct Lawrence's decision to first investigate the enemy's situation was.

Lawrence, with his eyes still closed, just nodded slightly and continued to think in his mind:

"If it is really the worst case scenario that I expected, then it will be more than just these thousands of muskets that arrive in Corsica. No, the variables in a head-on battle are too great, and the battle on the battlefield must be used as a last resort. I What I want most is to let this rabble defeat itself."

After a moment, Lawrence, who was silent, finally came up with a preliminary plan.

He suddenly opened his eyes, nodded firmly to the two majors in front of him, indicating that today's interview would end here, and then ordered Anna who was waiting outside the door:

"Ana, ask Mr. Coggero from the Ministry of Finance to see me immediately."

Meanwhile, in the south of Corsica, in the municipality of Figari.

On the plains in the outskirts, thousands of serfs threw down the hoes and sickles in their hands, walked out of the manors in the fields, and joined, or were forced to join, the army of the lords.

Each of them had received a brand-new, shiny, standard musket that was even coated with gun oil a few days ago. At the moment, they were lined up in rows of loose and sloppy formations, under the command of more than a dozen instructors with bad accents. , practicing with this completely unfamiliar weapon.

On a hill in the plain that overlooks the entire training ground, Justin, a group of landowners, and a gentleman in a black dress and woolen hat are sitting here to watch the training on the field.

The gentleman in black coat - even the landowners did not know his identity, they only knew that Sir Justin called him Sir Robert. He was sitting next to Sir Justin, and the two were talking in a low voice.

"Sir Robert, thank you so much for your generous funding." Mr. Justin stared closely at the wisps of smoke rising from the training ground and said with some worry:

"However, you have to know that these mud-legged guys are as stupid as pigs. Although you have brought many instructors for training and we have a numerical advantage, I am still not 100% sure that we can break into Ajaccio."

Sir Robert also watched the situation on the court seriously. When he heard Master Justin's concern, he just sneered and said in not fluent Italian:

"Don't worry, friends, you just need to resist the offensive of the Wehrmacht and buy enough time. More aid will continue to arrive at your warehouse. If we really want to fight a protracted war, Bonaparte will not be able to consume you. of."

Hearing this, Master Justin's eyes suddenly became hot, and the worries just now were swept away. He couldn't help but rub his hands and said with a smile:

"Okay, great, don't worry, I have sent people to build earthen forts around the town of Figari. With our understanding of the terrain and your assistance, we can guard the town of Figari. Until I die! I don’t know how you can be so generous!”

Sir Robert chuckled twice, then closed his mouth and avoided Justin's last question.

I am afraid that no one except Sir Robert himself will know that he was ordered to come to this island with only one mission:

"Let Corsica be plunged once more into permanent confusion, and Laurence Bonaparte be restrained from leaving the island."