From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

1770, August 25

All officers of the Corsican Defense Force were ready to go after two days of rest in the Ajaccio Military District.

It was also today that the Governor's Office issued a formal notice to the Defense Forces and major cities in Corsica:

The hard-won peace is now teetering on the edge of war, and the cloud of another civil war hangs over the entire island of Corsica.

Justin Bartley, a landowner from the town of Figari in the southern plains, and more than a dozen landowners from the south, large and small, gathered their servants, recruited serfs, and formed a temporary army of ten thousand people in a short period of time. Nearly half of the entire southern Corsica territory was built, and earthen ramparts were built at various traffic arteries in preparation for long-term resistance.

Administrative agencies across the south have become ineffective, and local officials are completely unable to control the local situation. They must either bow down to the local landowners and clans, or flee north to Ajaccio overnight to seek asylum.

The Governor's Palace issued a symbolic letter asking Justin and other landowners to disband their troops and take the initiative to go to Ajaccio to surrender for their crime of attacking the Governor of Corsica.

Of course, in the current situation where an arrow is on the string and has to be fired, this ultimatum is naturally regarded as waste paper and thrown into the furnace by Mr. Justin.

The landowner group also issued an announcement stating that the latest series of bills introduced by the Ministry of Finance have seriously threatened their inherent rights. Unless the instigator of all this - Lawrence Bonaparte - is handed over, their army will Marched on Ajaccio with the goal of disbanding the Corsican government.

At the same time, they also called on more landowners and industrial owners to join this struggle to avoid being plundered by the government like them in the future.

However, this alarmist call had almost no effect. Only some small landowners near Ajaccio were still hesitant, not knowing whether to go north or south.

The war of words between the two sides was not intense, because even the most eloquent people had to kneel before the iron and blood of the army.

The final outcome of this civil war will depend on which side ends up with the head on the ground.

In the Ajaccio Military District, outside the National Defense Forces station, Lawrence and two majors rode on horseback to inspect the soldiers of several battalions.

"Lord Bonaparte, the army is now in good condition and its morale is high. It is a good time to take the initiative."

After returning to the command post surrounded by enthusiastic and excited soldiers, Major Cui Farley was still thinking about the review activities just now. As soon as he took his seat, he excitedly suggested that Lawrence send troops.

After personally finding a detailed topographic map of Corsica and spreading it on the table, Lawrence nodded in disbelief.

In the review just now, he did see the desire of the war-torn National Defense Force soldiers for peace and their anger at the broken peace.

Especially in the face of a civil war against those domineering landlords, the soldiers were even more angry and gnashing their teeth.

After all, most of the people who join the army are poor people at the bottom, and many of them were once serfs from the countryside. They will never forget the vicious faces and cruel exploitation of those landlords, no matter how long they stay in the army.

Now that they heard that these human-eating vampires were actually trying to start a civil war, the Wehrmacht soldiers couldn't help but grip the barrels of their guns tightly.

However, Lawrence did not rush to order an attack. Instead, he pointed to the area between the southern plains and Ajaccio on the map and analyzed in a slow voice:

"Morale is high, which is a good thing, but we should not act too hastily. Every decision we make is tantamount to dancing on the edge of a cliff. Once we make a mistake, we will definitely fall into a point of no return. We must proceed with caution."

Major Trifali and Major Cerulier looked at the middle area on the map pointed by Lawrence at the same time, and asked in unison:

"what do you mean?"

"Here, almost sixty miles south of Ajaccio, at the northern end of the southern plain, this is almost the very edge of the landowner group's sphere of influence."

Lawrence picked up a quill on the table and dipped it twice in the ink bottle, then drew a circle on the map and explained:

"In this middle area, the power of the central government and the local clans is almost balanced. In the current confrontation between the two parties, local officials and landowners must also be wavering on the issue of which side to take."

"That is to say." Major Serurier nodded with sudden realization, leaned down and looked at the map and analyzed:

"Are you planning to control this middle area first? This is indeed a good decision. Judging from our current intelligence, the enemy is actively building fortifications and hoarding food. They should want to defend their core interest areas, so they will not It is possible that we will take the initiative to send troops to compete with you for this marginal area."

Major Cui Farley's eyes lit up and he added with great approval:

"Yes, as long as our troops are stationed here, the local small landowners will not dare to have any objections. If we provide them with some small favors, we can definitely easily win the local landowners to our side."

The two majors exchanged a look of understanding, and it was clear that they both thought of something together.

In their opinion, the safest approach at the moment is to send troops to station in this middle area to frighten the local landlords and clans, and at the same time offer generous terms to win them over to stabilize the local situation.

At the same time, this will also allow the small landowners in the landlord group to understand that they still have united front value with Governor Bonaparte. This will also be a big blow to the cohesion within the enemy's army.

The two of them couldn't help but smile on their faces, and looked at Lawrence in front of them at the same time, just waiting for the Governor to nod and make the perfect decision.

However, facing the proposals of the two adjutants, Lawrence only nodded slightly and did not seem to be very interested.

After a short moment of silence, he slowly spoke and said in a deep voice:

"I agree to immediately send troops to station in the local area to stabilize the local situation, but I will not waste a penny of national wealth on those vampires to win over them. On the contrary, I will bring the "Edict of the Land" to that land , starting from there, the landowners must spit out all the ill-gotten wealth they have gained over thousands of years."

"this!"

Major Trifali and Major Serulier looked at each other again, but this time, their eyes were full of overflowing doubts and consternation.

"Monsieur Bonaparte!"

Major Cui Falali took a breath of air, opened his mouth wide but said nothing for a long time. After a while, he organized his words and hurriedly advised:

"If we do this, it will unite the landowners in the south and make them more determined to fight against us."

"That's right, Your Excellency Bonaparte." Major Serulier also frowned, tapping the table with his fingertips anxiously, and echoed:

"The most important thing now is to defeat the rebels first. The reform plan you mentioned can be carried out slowly after the war."

In the eyes of the two majors, implementing what Lawrence called the "Land Edict" in this swing area meant using force to completely deprive the local landowners of the land they valued.

If such news spreads to the south, it will only make the landowners unite more closely to resist the deprivation from the Corsican government.

And in the face of such a war that is related to the future destiny of Corsica and the outcome is uncertain, how can we deliberately give up those forces that have the value of united front and can unite?

Facing the persuasion of the two adjutants, Lawrence still shook his head slowly but firmly:

"You two, from a military strategic perspective, your plan can get full marks. However, from a political perspective, this plan is unacceptable to me."

Major Serurier and Major Trifali were startled for a moment. As natural-born soldiers, they really did not understand the political angle of what Lawrence was talking about.

Seeing the blank expressions on the two people's faces, Lawrence didn't explain much. He just kept marking on the map and explained succinctly:

"This war. On the surface it is a civil war between the central government and local powers, but in fact it is a class war against the entire landlord class."

"Class War."

Major Trifali and Major Serulier were stunned again. They couldn't help repeating the word in their mouths, as if they didn't fully understand its meaning.

"Since it is a class war, we must know who our enemy is and what strength we should unite with."

Lawrence said, clenching the quill in his hand, and finally drew a big cross in the middle area on the map.

Although Major Serurier was still a little confused, he quickly noticed something keenly and asked quickly:

"Wait a minute, Your Excellency Bonaparte, what do you mean by the power of unity?"

Before Lawrence could answer, a messenger suddenly ran into the command post.

After the routine salute to the three officers, he announced in a loud voice:

"Reporting to the Governor, Minister Kojero of the Ministry of Finance has arrived at the camp with his subordinates and is waiting outside."

After hearing this, Major Cui Fali frowned and muttered in a low voice: "People from the Ministry of Finance? What are they doing in the military camp?"

As a soldier, Major Cui Farley has a natural resistance and distrust towards those civilian officials. In addition, he was once a quartermaster of the National Defense Force and had many dealings with the Ministry of Finance, so he felt even more that these greedy people Bureaucrats are very unpleasant.

After hearing the news from the messenger, Lawrence straightened up from the map table, inserted the quill back into the ink bottle, and then waved to the soldier to bring Mr. Coggello in.

Soon, Mr. Kojero, the Minister of Finance, was led to the command post by the messenger.

He was slightly hunched over, looking a little timid and restrained, as if he was very restrained in front of these armed soldiers and soldiers.

It wasn't until he walked into the command post and saw Lawrence that he breathed a sigh of relief, and raised his hand to greet the three of them stiffly.

"Here you are, Mr. Cogello." Lawrence pointed to a wooden chair next to him and motioned for Mr. Cogello to sit down, then looked at him and asked:

"How did things go?"

Listening to the Governor's inquiry, Mr. Coggello did not dare to be negligent. He stood up as soon as his butt touched the chair and responded neatly:

"In accordance with your instructions, I have personally selected a group of reliable and outstanding officials from the Ministry of Finance. They have also packed their bags and are ready to set off with the army at any time."

After hearing this, Major Cui Farley looked at Lawrence with confusion and couldn't help but interjected:

"The bureaucrats of the Ministry of Finance also want to go south with the army? Monsieur Bonaparte, is this going to...?"

After all, in Major Cui Farley's view, he was going to lead the army to defeat the rebels, and these Ministry of Finance bureaucrats were just a bunch of burdens in the military camp.

Major Serrurier, on the other hand, did not speak. He just stared at Mr. Coggello thoughtfully, as if he was still thinking about what Lawrence had just said.

"As I just said, Major Trifalli, this is a class war."

Lawrence did not blame Major Trifali for his contempt, but patiently explained:

"To eliminate the enemies on the battlefield, we need violence, muskets and daggers; but to eliminate the enemies on the class level, we can shed less blood."

"You mean?"

"These officials from the Ministry of Finance will measure the land, census the population in the areas under our control, and ultimately ensure that the farmers who work hard are pouring their blood on their own land instead of being turned into the mouths of hereditary vampires. Wine and preserves are the fundamental purpose of this war.”

The sonorous and powerful words echoed in the command room. The two majors couldn't help but fell into deep thought. Even Mr. Coggero, who knew and always implemented this plan, couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

On the land of Corsica, no, even on the land of the whole of Europe, no ruler has dared to stand up and say:

"My people will never be bound to the fields by the ground beneath their feet."

In the last afterglow of the feudal era, the nobles were still a decisive force in the European countries.

And as long as this class still exists, it means that thousands of serfs who have been trampled under their feet with land deeds and leases are still alive.

Now, several people in the command post clearly understood that Governor Bonaparte wanted to completely smash the invisible shackles that had bound the Corsican farmers for hundreds and thousands of years.

Major Cui Falali felt a gurgling heat in his body, as if his blood was boiling.

Born in a rural area, even though he has been in the army for decades, he still can't forget the feelings he had while working in the fields in his early years:

"All the working people are like skinny walking zombies, while the non-working people are all full of fat and full of fat."

Will such a scene never appear in Corsica from now on?

Major Trefarley didn't know.

But all he could do was to place all his faith on the young man in front of him, on Lawrence Bonaparte, the Governor-General who had created countless miracles.

"Well, if there is no objection"

Lawrence glanced at everyone's expressions, pointed at the marks on the map and ordered:

"Inform the whole army to march to Propriano immediately."