From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Grand Captain Erwin walked over the ruins of a wall in despair, with a pale white color appearing on his already pale face.

The smell of blood in the air that even rain can't wash away, the painful wails of the wounded soldiers, the broken limbs scattered on the ground, the ruins and shells everywhere, all of this seems like the siege of Malta two hundred years ago. The same, the same cruelty and shock.

Port of Valletta, this prosperous trading port famous throughout the Mediterranean, now has almost no trace of its former glory.

Fisherman's Street, St. Michael's Church, Maria Children's Asylum, and the Merchants' Guild Headquarters, all of which are well-known to the citizens of Valletta Port, have now been devastated by the bombardment.

If a Maltese who had been wandering for many years returned to his hometown at this time, he would never recognize that these ruins were the place where he grew up.

Grand Captain Erwin closed his eyes gently, his whole body was a little limp, and allowed the two knights beside him to drive him towards Lawrence and his party.

He no longer wanted to see the miserable state of the land under his rule.

After forty years of serving as Grand Master and forty years of hard work in running the island of Malta, all the achievements were destroyed by British artillery fire in just one day.

"His Excellency Bonaparte"

Feeling that the two knights around him had stopped, Captain Erwin opened his eyes slowly and with difficulty. He looked at the senior knights and Lawrence and his party gathered here, and sighed longly:

“The Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem will never forget your aid, and your holy words will live on in the Order forever.”

The knights present, including Archbishop Giotto, all looked at Lawrence with gratitude and reverence.

Let's not talk about Lawrence's behavior of leading troops to rescue Malta. In the battle just now, he was able to stand on the same battlefield with the knights and soldiers despite gunfire. Such courage and morality have won the knights. of respect.

Lawrence nodded slightly to show that he accepted this honor, then took a look at the devastation left by the war on the island, sighed and asked:

"Your Excellency, Grand Master, the island of Malta can no longer bear the trauma of such a war, and the British ambition to covet the territory of the Knights will never be cut off. Do you have any response?"

The corners of Grand Leader Erwin's eyes instantly drooped, and two lines of clear tears slowly ran down his old and withered cheeks. He took a deep breath, raised his breath, and said to everyone present:

"It was my indecision that caused all this, if I had accepted Monsignor Bonaparte's proposal from the beginning"

"Grand Master!" Archimandrite Giotto stepped forward, looked at the leader who was respected by all knights with a complex expression, and said:

"No brother questions your decision. Your wisdom always guides us. Even at this moment, we are still standing on the land of our ancestors."

Listening to Giotto's comfort, Grand Captain Erwin just nodded feebly and continued:

"No matter what, the matter has come to this, and I cannot absolve myself of the blame. If I had hesitated to move forward at this time, the blood of so many brothers would have been shed in vain."

The knights' eyes were fixed on Erwin. It was only then that they realized that the grand leader who had always been calm and majestic in their impressions was already as old and tired as they saw.

For these knights who left their families at a young age and joined the monastery alone, Grand Master Erwin was like a father, respectful and stern, but never lacking in care and love.

Grand Captain Erwin smiled bitterly, lifted up the heavy armor on his body, gently shook off the two knights supporting him, looked around at the knights present, and said loudly:

"These are my last orders as Grand Master, and I hereby remove France de' Medici from the post of Captain of the Guard, in favor of Laurence Bonaparte of Corsica; I am relieved of my duties. , the position of Grand Master of Erwin de' Medici is succeeded by King Louis of France; if there is no objection, this order will be implemented immediately!"

As the last word came out clearly from Grandmaster Erwin's mouth, a look of relief finally appeared on the old man's face.

As for the knights present, they seemed to realize at this moment that Erwin de Medici, this fatherly old man, was no longer the grand master of the knights who led them forward.

The rain washed away the cheeks of the knights, and also washed away the tears from the corners of their eyes.

Archimandrite Giotto remained speechless, sitting down on the stone pier next to him and burying his head in his chest. Even the bloody battle with the British just now on the battlefield did not make this warrior lose his composure.

Lawrence was also stunned for a moment. He did not expect that Erwin would succeed Franche as the captain of the guard to him.

However, after thinking about it for a while, Lawrence also felt that Erwin's approach was very reasonable.

After all, Franche came to Erwin as a down-and-out nobleman. Once Erwin left the Knights and lacked the protection of his uncle, Franche, a playboy with no ability and qualifications, would definitely not be able to Tolerated by other senior executives.

It would be better to dismiss him decently at this moment, and also do a favor by the way, and use the position of captain of the guard to thank Lawrence for all he has done for the island of Malta.

Franche in the crowd did not show any special emotions. He did not want to stay in Malta after getting the priceless cross, so Erwin's dismissal of him seemed irrelevant.

Seeing that everyone was silent and did not express an opinion, Erwin nodded heavily twice, walked staggeringly to Archimandrite Giotto, who was burying his head in sorrow, and patted him on the shoulder:

"Giotto, the future of the Knights will be left to you."

Archimandrite Giotto had red eyes and looked up at Erwin: "Yes, Grand Master."

"Just call me Erwin." Erwin smiled, reached out and squeezed Giotto's strong shoulder, like a father caressing his most beloved eldest son before leaving.

After that, Erwin waved to Franche in the crowd and said:

"Let's go, Franche, follow me to Fort Manoel to pack your bags. I also miss my hometown in Florence."

Franche hurriedly stepped forward to support Erwin, and the uncle and nephew walked directly in the direction of Manoel Castle, and their backs quickly disappeared into the rain.

Seeing Erwin's figure gradually being swallowed up by the rain, the knights present finally accepted this heavy reality:

Erwin's forty-year rule on the island of Malta has completely come to an end, and the era of the Bourbon royal family's patronage of the Knights has begun at this moment.

1770, the afternoon of November 1

Ile de France, Versailles

In the heart of the entire French Kingdom, in the Palace of Versailles, at this moment, the king was holding a small private tea party in the back garden with several of his close associates and courtiers.

On the bank of the artificial Grand Canal, Louis XV held an exquisite white porcelain tea cup and watched with interest the gondola boats passing calmly in the canal.

The gentle sunshine of autumn shines on this lush garden, and the faint and refreshing fruity fragrance can be smelled throughout the hundreds of hectares of the garden, making the king and his party feel refreshed.

"Huh, what a wonderful afternoon, cozy and warm. Such an occasion is really rare, right? My old friend, Richelieu?"

Louis XV took a sip of hot tea, exhaled contentedly, and looked at Duke Richelieu on the round table with a smile.

Ever since Count Falcone's attack on the Corsican embassy caused Louis XV to become furious, the Duke of Richelieu had been under house arrest in the Palace of Versailles by the king, prohibiting him from getting involved in political affairs.

Although Louis XV was very dissatisfied with the political brilliance of the Duke of Richelieu, in personal relationships, he and the Duke were good friends who had grown up together.

The Duke of Richelieu was born in the Palace of Versailles. The late King Louis XIV, the Sun King, was his godfather. When he was a child, he and Louis XV were playing around in the Palace of Versailles. Their personal relationship can be said to be a relationship. It's a lot. Duke Richelieu is naturally qualified to attend this tea party.

The other four people on the round tea table are also frequent visitors to the Palace of Versailles - Louis XV's favorite mistress, Madame Du Barry; Crown Prince Louis and Crown Princess Marie; and the Duke of Choiseul's brother, Jacques Philippe Lieutenant General.

Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe was going to Lorraine to serve as governor at the end of the year, so he was specially invited by Louis XV to attend this tea party.

Louis XV also admired Jacques Philippe, who gave up his position as Field Marshal of Austria and chose to join the French army. He specially invited him to the Palace of Versailles before his departure to enhance the relationship between the emperor and his ministers.

Duke Richelieu rubbed the porcelain cup in his hand, smiled kindly and nodded.

Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe drank the black tea from his cup without a smile. As the younger brother of the Duke of Choiseul, of course he was quite difficult to deal with the Duke of Richelieu and Madame Du Barry.

Prince Louis was very carefree, stuffing pine mushroom cake into his mouth without stopping.

Crown Princess Marie next to him didn't seem to have any appetite. Her light blue eyes stared at Madame Du Barry fiercely, without concealing the disgust and hatred on her face. As the most beloved little princess in the Austrian court, she It is completely unacceptable that Madame Du Barry, a prostitute, can appear in the palace.

The most active person at the tea party was King Louis. He was reminiscing about his carefree childhood with Duke Richelieu, chatting with Jacques Philippe about the history and humanities of the Lorraine area, and then lovingly asked Prince Louis where he was. The Parisian financial community learned something, and then immediately looked at Crown Princess Mary and asked her if she had received a letter from her mother Maria Theresa recently.

Although there was no banquet and banquet, the tea party was generally pleasant and comfortable.

Just when Louis XV was losing interest and was about to announce his departure, his press secretary suddenly came over respectfully. Seeing that no one at the table was speaking, the secretary leaned over to report:

"Your Majesty, a messenger came to the Palace of Versailles. He is from the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. He said that the Knights have recently elected you as their Grand Master and requested your audience."

Louis XV couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, touched his head in confusion, and looked at the Duke of Richelieu and Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe on his left and right:

"Oh? A knighthood elected me as the grand leader? What is this?"

The press secretary was still attached and explained:

"Your Majesty, the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem were founded more than seven hundred years ago. They have always been famous for their noble philanthropy and are quite famous in the Holy See. As for the envoy they sent this time, I think it was the incident with the island of Malta. Something related.”

"Island of Malta?" Louis XV was also aroused. A well-known knights suddenly wanted to recognize themselves as their leader. This sounds like a good thing. The title of the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitallers is It can make those priests respect themselves more.

So King Louis turned around and asked with interest:

"What happened to that island?"

The press secretary briefly reported the news he had collected about the island of Malta in recent days. The general idea was that Lawrence led the army to help the Knights resist the British attack, and the Knights unanimously agreed to submit to the great King Louis.

Most of this news came from merchant ships traveling to and from the Port of Valletta. After witnessing the tragic situation at the Port of Valletta, those merchant ships couldn't help but imagine a tragic battle that was no less brutal than the siege of Malta.

Even in many embellished versions of the story, people say that Laurence Bonaparte personally joined the resistance of the Knights with a sword, and fought the British for 300 rounds under artillery fire before winning the Knights' favor. Respect made them surrender to France with sincerity.

After the secretary finished speaking, everyone at the round table also showed different expressions.

Crown Prince Louis was apparently so entranced that he even forgot to chew the cake in his mouth.

When he heard the secretary say that his closest friend Lawrence had successfully driven away the British, the crown prince subconsciously raised the pastry in his hand and cheered. It was not until Crown Princess Mary tugged on his sleeve in disgust that he realized that he was Gaffe.

Crown Princess Mary was also worried as she listened.

She tightly grabbed the embroidered handkerchief in her hand. After learning that the heroic Governor Bonaparte was safe and sound, the Crown Princess breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of her heart, and then tugged on her husband's sleeve to prevent him from dancing around and scattering the cake crumbs. 's everywhere.

As a professional soldier, Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe was even more surprised. Although he had heard that Lawrence had fought several outstanding battles in Corsica in which fewer people defeated more, he heard that he could predict this time. After the Royal Navy's action and the early deployment of troops to Malta, the general also felt that he should continue to improve his opinion of the young man.

As for the Duke of Richelieu, he just picked up his tea cup and sipped the hot tea with an expressionless face, as if these political matters really had nothing to do with him.