From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

If such a treasure had been placed in the Dark Middle Ages, two powerful dukes might have launched a bloody war over its ownership.

Franche stood there at a loss. In front of such a treasure, he would never dare to boast that he would be able to help Monsignor Bonaparte recover it.

Even Grand Captain Erwin, who had experienced many vicissitudes of life, frowned and kept sucking in the cold air.

Even though he was the Grand Master of the Knights who came from the Medici family, he had never seen the kind of sacred objects Grosso mentioned, but just listening to the series of descriptions, Grand Master Erwin also knew that such a The treasures cannot be described as priceless at all.

Several people stood outside the banquet hall, all confused and at a loss. Everyone's forehead was covered with fine drops of water.

Franche is the most nervous and anxious among the people. As the captain of the knights' guard, he should be responsible for all cases in the castle.

If that damn precious cross is really missing, Franche himself will be the first person responsible. Even because he talked to Lawrence for a long time yesterday, he will be listed as the first suspect.

Although Captain Erwin would certainly not suspect his nephew of committing such an act, if Governor Bonaparte were to pursue him, France was not sure whether his uncle would hand him over to settle the matter.

And just when the atmosphere was so tense that it was about to freeze, Lawrence's voice suddenly came from above the stairs:

"By God, I found it, it fell into the crack of the bedside table, thank God."

Franche and Grand Captain Erwin quickly turned to look at Lawrence, only to see Governor Bonaparte walking towards the banquet hall with a fearful look on his face. At the same time, in his hand, he was holding a golden pure weapon. Gold cross.

Looking at the shining golden light of the cross, Franche, who had been so anxious just now, suddenly felt that his legs were a little weak, and his whole body felt like a paralysis after a disaster.

In his eyes, what shines on the cross is not the golden light, but the dawn of God’s redemption.

Grand Commander Erwin felt almost the same way. He patted his chest repeatedly and lamented over and over again that it was good that he had found it, otherwise it would be really difficult to explain to Governor Bonaparte today.

Lawrence walked up to the crowd holding the cross, bowed apologetically and said:

"I'm really sorry for making you worry."

"Where is it?" Captain Erwin quickly smiled and helped Lawrence up, but his eyes were fixed on the cross in Lawrence's hand.

Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, Grand Leader Erwin is also very curious about what the heirloom treasure Grosso talks about looks like.

Franche's eyes were also fixed on Lawrence's hand, but compared to the curiosity of Grand Captain Erwin, his eyes showed more greed, and he couldn't help but secretly thought:

"If I had such a treasure, why would I wear it? If I took it to Italy and exchanged it for money, I could buy hundreds of thousands of hectares of land. Maybe I could even buy back my title of nobility. Alas, it is a pity that such a treasure is not with me."

Captain Erwin looked down at the cross and couldn't help but ask: "Is this the holy object? It is indeed extremely exquisite."

Lawrence nodded, generously put the cross directly into Grand Captain Erwin's hand, waved and said:

"I'm not sure about its origin, but since it was a gift from Prince Louis, it must not be an ordinary item."

Captain Erwin quickly took the cross with both hands, glanced at Lawrence gratefully, and then carefully lifted it up to look at it, making admiring comments from time to time:

"It's really excellent workmanship. This style is indeed from the goldsmiths of Rome. There seems to be an engraved icon on the back! This is the personal coat of arms of Pope Clement XIV. He must have given this sacred object Engraved before being given to the House of Bourbon.”

The priest has been the number one master of European knowledge for a long time. In addition, Grand Master Erwin received a good education from a noble family in his early years. His knowledge is definitely considered to be well-informed.

He was certain that this cross must have come from the Holy See of Clement XIV. Combined with Grosso's description, he believed that this was indeed a sacred object that had been passed down by the Holy See for thirty-four generations of popes.

Franche on the side heard his uncle confirming the value of the cross, and his eyes suddenly became more intense. He wanted to take it off on the spot and put it in his pocket.

But Franche also knew that this crazy idea could only be imagined in his mind. In reality, he could only watch Grandmaster Erwin return the cross to Governor Bonaparte after playing with it with admiration. .

Grand Captain Erwin carefully returned the cross to Lawrence. Even though he knew it was pure gold, he was as cautious as if he were dealing with glass products. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"Your Excellency, now that the incident has been resolved, let's go to the banquet. The dishes are almost cold."

"Of course." Lawrence tied this priceless treasure around his neck and nodded to accept the Grand Leader's invitation.

As Lawrence guessed, this luncheon was purely for the three Lawrences invited by the Knights out of etiquette.

During the banquet, Grand Master Erwin did not take the initiative to mention the matter of dealing with the Royal Navy. Instead, he kept the topic focused on religion and history, full of biblical allusions and the past experiences of the Knights Hospitallers.

Even if Lawrence tried to test Grand Leader Erwin's follow-up plan by making insinuations, the other party cleverly avoided it, and the only direct answer he gave was that they were still discussing.

However, Lawrence also knew in his heart that with the prestige and power of Grand Leader Erwin, as long as he made a tough decision, even if the other five people opposed it, it would be useless.

Therefore, as long as the trust of the grand leader is gained, all subsequent plans will be just smooth sailing.

As for the key to gaining the trust of the grand leader, Lawrence turned his head and glanced at Franche at the dinner table.

Even during the meal, the captain of the guard could not help but glance at the cross on Lawrence's chest. Whenever his eyes collided with Lawrence's, he would quickly turn his head to the side and pretend that nothing happened, but no Ten minutes later, he would subconsciously look at the immeasurable sacred treasure.

Lawrence, who witnessed all this, also smiled slightly, knowing that the guard captain was already a big fish that had bitten the bait.

The dull lunch ended quickly. Lawrence and the others went to the port in the afternoon to visit and inspect the soldiers on the ship, and learned from several captains that their identities had been well hidden so far.

Although the citizens and ships on the dock were very curious about these large merchant ships, they were not surprised. After all, such merchant ships occasionally docked at the Port of Valletta in Malta.

The soldiers on the ship also disembarked in batches to carry out activities, and strictly abide by confidentiality regulations. No one in Valletta Port except the top brass of the Knights knew the true purpose of these merchant ships anchored here.

The three of them then returned to their residence in Marnoburg, where they rested and waited for the right time.

Around seven o'clock in the evening, darkness gradually enveloped the island of Malta.

Perhaps it was because the monks in the monastery often skipped dinner for the sake of asceticism, so Lawrence and the others did not receive an invitation to the Knights' dinner. Instead, the dinner was delivered to everyone's room by the attendants carrying trays.

After a simple dinner, Lawrence summoned Grosso to his room to meet with him.

Grosso closed the door tightly, stretched out, picked up the golden cross that Lawrence had placed casually on the bedside table, played with it, and couldn't help but smile:

"Lawrence, you have to be careful tonight. I think the guard captain is eyeing this thing, hahaha."

Lawrence reluctantly took the cross back from Grosso, smiled and shook his head:

"It's not that your acting was too amazing. I almost believed it when I was watching it."

"I didn't act according to your instructions." Grosso curled his lips and shrugged.

"That's true." Lawrence rubbed the cross as usual and said with a smile:

"Fortunately, the gift given by Crown Prince Louis really came from Clement XIV of the Holy See, otherwise the Grand Master might have seen through it."

Although the cross presented to Lawrence by Crown Prince Louis is not the rare holy object described by Grosso, its workmanship and origin are impeccable, and it can be called a treasure.

With Grand Master Erwin's background and knowledge, if Lawrence tried to fool him with an ordinary solid gold cross, he would most likely be found out.

"But..." Grosso suddenly thought of something, licked his lips, and asked worriedly:

"This is a farewell gift from the crown prince to you. Wouldn't it be bad for you to use this to bribe the captain of the guard?"

"No problem"

Lawrence shook his head without hesitation and said:

"When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince learned that I had given him an entire island of Malta in return, he would not care about this small cross, and...if he could march to Rome one day, these so-called holy objects It’s not up to us to take it or take it away.”

"Really?" Grosso leaned against the wall, suppressed his smile, and looked at Lawrence with complicated eyes.

If it were in the past, when he heard Lawrence say such wild words, he would only laugh and tease Lawrence.

But today, as he watched the young man in front of him step by step from the deputy captain of the Ajaccio patrol to the governor of Corsica and a minister of France, Grosso couldn't help but start to think about whether what Lawrence had said before was really just nonsense. That’s it.

Looking at the time on his pocket watch, Lawrence knew that it was almost time to close the net, so he ordered Grosso:

"It's time for the captain of the guard to come back from Valletta Port. Go and invite him to talk to me. Remember to make up a reason for the meeting so that the servants in the castle can hear it, so as not to make the captain suspicious. "

Although Franche, as the captain of the guard, theoretically all the monks in this castle were under his management, considering the prestige and status of Grand Master Erwin in the knights, Lawrence decided to act cautiously and let Grosso make up the story. A reason to confuse the Grand Leader's eyes.

"I know." Grosso responded and went out to invite Franche. With his ability in dealing with people, this little thing was naturally easy.

Only a few minutes later, France, accompanied by Grosso, knocked on Lawrence's door.

"Please come in."

Franche opened the door carefully and did not rush in. Instead, he glanced sideways at the knight guard at the other end of the corridor who seemed to be observing the room intentionally or unintentionally. Then he glanced at Grosso and said loudly and understandingly. :

"Ah, Your Excellency Bonaparte! I heard that you came to me to arrange a better residence for your personal guards? This is a bit difficult to handle in terms of rules. Please listen to my explanation."

After speaking, Franche and Grosso walked into the room and closed the door tightly and locked it.

"I'm sorry to invite you over so late, Mr. Guard Chief." Lawrence casually pointed to the empty seat next to him and said with a smile:

"Didn't it disturb your rest?"

Franche hurriedly sat next to Lawrence, with a flattering smile already on his face, waving his hands and saying:

"Wherever it goes, Your Excellency Bonaparte, I am happy to accompany you at any time, but I don't know why you invited me here this time?"

Lawrence also knew that Franche could not stay here for a long time, so as not to make Grand Commander Erwin suspicious, so he got straight to the point:

"In yesterday's meeting with the Knights, you seemed to be the only one who supported the Knights seeking protection from King Louis?"

"Well," Franche smiled and said a little embarrassedly:

"I'm just a little afraid of actually going to war with the British. Don't laugh at me now. I can't even hold a knight's half-sword steady, and I've never used a musket. There's such a thing as commanding an army to fight. It’s still too far away from me.”

A dandy like France who only cares about eating, drinking and having fun is naturally unwilling to face a bloody siege.

"How could I laugh at you? Peace-loving is everyone's nature. If everyone didn't take up arms, wouldn't the world be at peace?" Lawrence pretended to have an expression of admiration and consoled him nicely:

"I see people like you, captain of the guard, as the practitioners of peace."

"Hahaha, right?" Franche scratched his head in embarrassment.

"It's a pity." Lawrence changed the topic and suddenly inserted himself into the real purpose of this conversation:

"Your uncle, Grand Master Erwin still seems to have a wait-and-see attitude. I really don't know what decision he will make in the end. What if his final decision drags the entire knight order into an abyss. I can be safe. We left Malta by boat. It’s a pity that a peace lover like you can only leave your name and bones in the Knights with the Grand Master.”