From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Of course" Baron Bertula continued to add:

"There are also some personal grudges of mine in this. You may have seen that my cooperation with Colonel Mohan has never been pleasant. If he fails in this operation, I can tell my dear Colonel Mohan Bye now."

Lawrence listened with amusement and was not eager to express his personal opinion.

Although Baron Bertula did give a very convincing argument, whether it was public or private, he did not want Colonel Mohan to successfully invade the territory of the Knights, so he leaked this top-secret information to As the governor of Corsica, Lawrence; however, Lawrence still felt that there was something too strange in this.

Moreover, in Lawrence's eyes, Baron Bertula was a little too eager.

Whether it was the timing of his arrival in Corsica or his generous account of the Royal Navy's attack plan, he revealed all this information without even asking Lawrence in advance to promise to release William Pitt.

In addition, Baron Bertula was indeed on the opposite side of him. Although there was the possibility of cooperation between anyone, Lawrence decided to treat this piece of information with caution.

"How? Monsignor Bonaparte"

Baron Bertula looked at Lawrence warmly, and had even formulated a plan in advance from Lawrence's perspective:

"As long as you lead your army to the island of Malta in advance and convince the Knights to allow you to ambush on the island to protect them, then as long as you help the Knights repel the attack of the Royal Navy, you can gain the trust of the Knights, and the Knights are afraid of the Royal Navy. In subsequent retaliation, they will inevitably choose to seek protection from other forces. When the time comes, you will lead them to surrender to the great King Louis, which will be a great achievement. "

"What a comprehensive and rigorous plan. You must have made a plan a long time ago, right? Mr. Ambassador." Lawrence continued to test Baron Bertula while calculating the pros and cons of this plan in his mind.

"Look what you said." Baron Bertula raised his head and smiled, moved his sore neck, spread his hands and said:

"I'm just providing you with a cooperation opportunity that can benefit both of us. If you really prevent the Royal Navy's conspiracy, I will become a popular figure in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and maybe I can take this opportunity. It would be much more comfortable to be transferred back to England than to stay in Paris. As for you, Monsignor Bonaparte, Louis XV would have rewarded you greatly if he only got a small island of St. Kitts. Knowing that you captured the island of Malta for him, I can’t even imagine what kind of reward you will get from the king.”

Baron Bertula's tone was full of temptation, and it was indeed the case. Louis XV's great successes were well known to everyone. If he could really be crowned with the title of Grand Master of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, His Majesty the King would It must be extremely joyful.

Lawrence is naturally very clear about this. If the island of Malta is really captured, King Louis will be happy about it. The Duke of Choiseul, who is in charge of the French Navy, will also be very supportive of Lawrence's move, and the development of Corsica itself will also be There is a lot to gain from this Mediterranean hub.

It’s no wonder that Baron Bertula leaked the news to Lawrence so readily. After all, once this cooperation was reached, the release of William Pitt would become a trivial matter compared to the benefits Lawrence obtained from it.

"Maybe I need some time to think about our cooperation."

Lawrence narrowed his eyes and looked at Baron Bertula, then stood up and shook hands with the other person, indicating that the other person could leave directly.

Baron Bertula stretched out his hand and shook it with Lawrence forcefully, and whispered:

"The Royal Navy's attack will be in early October. Your Majesty Bonaparte, you only have about a month to prepare. Don't miss it. I have pinned all my hopes on you."

After that, Baron Bertula bowed slightly and saluted Lawrence, then turned and walked out of the study, and was led back to the residence of him and Sir Robert by the waiter of the Governor's Palace.

Lawrence in the study watched Baron Bertula leave, his face gradually calmed down, he closed his eyes and murmured:

"Is he deliberately trying to draw my attention to southern Italy? What good will it do to him and the Duke of Richelieu?"

For ordinary people, the rhetoric that Baron Bertula just said is credible enough, whether it is to prevent the Royal Navy from destroying the work results of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or for personal promotion in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to deal with Colonel Mohan. Baron Bertula had enough reasons and interests to reach this cooperation with Lawrence.

However, Lawrence also deeply understood that Baron Bertula could hold such an important position as ambassador to France in the British Foreign Office, and his city and strategy should never be measured with ordinary people's eyes.

At least in Lawrence's view, Baron Bertula's reasons for deliberately leaking this news to him must be more than just the few things he said verbally.

"Could it be that deliberately giving the island of Malta to me was also a step in his and the Duke of Richelieu's plan? But taking the island of Malta is indeed of great significance to me and the entire Corsica."

Lawrence held his chin in his hands and pondered for a moment, but decided to discuss the various possibilities of the matter with his subordinates first, so he called Anna and gave instructions:

"Anna, send someone to inform Major Serurier of the army and Grosso of the patrol to come see me immediately."

At the same time, in the Governor's Palace, there was a small villa where Baron Bertula and Sir Robert lived.

"Your Excellency, you are back."

Hearing the sound of the door lock turning, Sir Robert, who was looking through the Italian books on the bookshelf boredly, stood up quickly, stuffed the books in his hands back into the bookshelf, and came to the entrance to take off his lord's dress coat.

Sir Robert hung the dress coat on the hanger carefully and asked cautiously:

"How are your negotiations going with Governor Bonaparte? That news about the navy"

Baron Bertula sat on the soft sofa with a relaxed face, put his feet up comfortably on the coffee table, and said casually:

"Very well, Laurence Bonaparte has learned of the Royal Navy's attack on the island of Malta."

Compared with Baron Bertula's relaxation, Sir Robert seemed much more reserved. He slowly sat on the sofa nearby, with a worried look on his face, and said hesitantly:

"But, Your Excellency Baron, wouldn't we be harming the Royal Navy by doing this?"

Listening to his subordinates' worries, Baron Bertula snorted nonchalantly, and then said seriously:

"A failed naval attack is nothing compared to the larger picture. From the moment Laurence Bonaparte takes possession of the island of Malta, he will be trapped in the delicate and tenacious trap we have crafted. Among them, the powerful Duke of Choiseul will be torn from southern Italy with a wound that can make him collapse thousands of miles. I really can't wait to see that day."

Sir Robert looked at his lord speechlessly. Even Sir Robert, as his private secretary, had no idea about his arrangement with the Duke of Richelieu.

"However, if Governor Bonaparte did not get involved in the island of Malta, wouldn't your plan be in vain?" After a moment, Sir Robert asked rigorously.

"No, no, no, you don't understand Laurence Bonaparte." Baron Bertula's words were full of confidence, as if he had predicted the future outcome, and he said confidently:

"I have investigated how he entered the European political stage step by step. It can be said that he is an ambitious and courageous young man. Otherwise, he would still be just an ordinary patrol captain in Ajaccio. That’s all. The island of Malta is just a piece of cream cake at his fingertips. I’ve even put this piece of cake in his mouth on a tray, and he has no reason not to take a bite.”

"I trust your judgment."

After carefully considering his lord's words, Sir Robert bowed his head and complimented him, without making any further objections.

While the two were discussing, Major Serurier of the army and Grosso of the patrol also rushed to the Governor's Palace under Lawrence's order.

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, you are looking for me." Major Serurier saluted Lawrence with a serious expression. He knew that Lawrence summoned him to the Governor's Palace so urgently, there must be something important to discuss.

Grosso had always looked free and unrestrained. After entering the study, he just raised his hand to say hello to Lawrence, then sat aside minding his own business, laughing and complaining casually:

"What happened again? Lawrence? I was just making out with a little girl, and you sent someone to catch her here. Oh, it's really torturous."

Lawrence had no time to pay attention to Grosso's jokes. He called Grosso because this time it involved maritime affairs after all, and he needed the rich experience of Grosso, an old sailor, to assist in decision-making, so he asked seriously road:

"How much do you know about the island of Malta?"

"Island of Malta?" A trace of confusion flashed across the faces of Major Serulier and Grosso. They didn't know why Lawrence suddenly mentioned this little Mediterranean island that had no sense of existence.

After all, Major Serurier was an army officer, and his knowledge of maritime affairs was relatively limited. He only knew that it was a territory of the Knights in southern Sicily, so he did not speak rashly, but turned to look with Lawrence. To Grosso.

Grosso, on the other hand, is indeed an old sailor who has traveled far and wide. He just recalled it for a short while and then said eloquently:

"Are you talking about the pirate knights? I did have some dealings with them, but of course they were all bad experiences. They often send out groups of galleys to rob merchant ships in the Mediterranean. I was there before. My ship, the White Rose, was harassed by these pirate knights no less than five times, and I even killed a few of them with my own hands. Those people wielded their swords as if they were risking their lives."

Listening to Grosso's smug words, Lawrence asked with some surprise: "They also robbed European merchant ships? I thought their targets were only North African Muslims."

It’s no wonder that in the Royal Navy’s plan, once the raid fails, they will use Malta’s robbery of British merchant ships as an excuse to launch a frontal siege. With the poor performance of the Knights of Malta in the Mediterranean, it is really easy to make up an excuse for war.

"Hey, you are a fool if you don't make money. How can you care about that when you are at sea? Africans' money is money, but Europeans' money is not money?" Grosso grinned, waved his hand, and continued:

"Their headquarters is the island of Malta. I have been there several times. Many merchant ships crossing the Mediterranean will stop by the island of Malta to do some small business. After all, there is a shortage of everything on the island and the goods are easy to sell. By paying a high price, you can sometimes buy the goods they plundered very cheaply. Oh, by the way, they also engage in a lot of human trade, and there are many black slaves and Arab slaves."

"Will many merchant ships dock there?" Lawrence keenly captured this information and repeated it softly.

If this is the case, the Royal Navy's combat plan of pretending to be a merchant ship to land on the island may really catch the Knights off guard. As the headquarters of a pirate knights, Malta must not have strict landing inspection procedures, and there are many merchant ships coming and going. , it is estimated that the ship can dock easily.

When Lawrence leads his troops to intervene on the island of Malta, if he wants to hide his actions secretly, he may need to use several merchant ships as a cover to hide the soldiers in the merchant ships and bring them to the island of Malta, so as not to alert the Royal Navy.

"In addition," Grosso held his chin and thought for a while, then suddenly said:

"Oh, and there are quite a few fortresses on the island, and they are very spectacular. The locals said that those fortresses were built hundreds of years ago. Even the Turks had not captured those fortresses before."

Lawrence nodded slightly. The Malta Fortress Group was a very famous building complex even in later generations. The Knights relied on these fortresses to withstand waves of Ottoman attacks. Those fortress groups should also be able to play their role in this era. Good defensive utility for:

"In other words, as long as the Knights can be persuaded to assist them in ambush defense, relying on the defense of the fortress group, there is a high probability that the Royal Navy's attack can be repelled."

Silently remembering this information in his mind, Lawrence also trusted the plan mentioned by Baron Bertula a little more.

After saying this, Grosso thought for a while, then shook his head, indicating that this was almost all he knew.

Major Serurier listened to Grosso's story with great interest, and looked at the rough-faced sailor with a little more respect. He himself had never heard of much of this knowledge.

"Your Majesty Bonaparte, why did you mention the island of Malta?" Major Serurier asked Lawrence in confusion while digesting the information about the island.

In front of two trustworthy subordinates, Lawrence did not hide anything and said directly and seriously:

"The British ambassador revealed to me that their navy will attack the island of Malta in early October."