From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Miles was about to open his mouth to remind several colleagues, but after two seconds of hesitation, he chose to shut up.

He knew that reminding the three colleagues at this time was just asking for trouble. These civilian members who had already fallen into ecstasy would never listen to any of his persuasion.

"I think you all will accept this reward, right?" Lawrence asked with a smile.

The three congressmen on the back seat stood up neatly and responded without thinking:

"certainly!"

"no doubt!"

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty the Governor!"

"very good."

Lawrence did not ask Millers for his opinion, but looked at the three people in the back row with a smile, as if he suddenly remembered something:

"By the way, you three, if the charter vote in the afternoon does not pass, the time for the three knights will have to be postponed a lot. If anything happens in the meantime, the knighthood that will be handed over to King Louis will be There is no guarantee that your names will be on the list."

Before Lawrence could finish speaking, one of them hurriedly patted his chest and said urgently:

"Don't worry! Your Majesty the Governor, I have always admired the talent of Speaker Rousseau. The charter compiled by him must be the most suitable for the people of Corsica. I will vote in favor without hesitation!"

"me too!"

"Me too!"

The three scrambled to give Laurence their word, fearing that any delay would cause Governor Bonaparte to change his mind.

For commoners like them who come from humble backgrounds, getting an opportunity to squeeze into the aristocratic class is already a God-given opportunity, and they will never let this opportunity slip away in vain.

Anyway, they will be granted nobility and enter the House of Lords in the future. At this time, the three members no longer care about how harsh the parts of the charter regarding members of the House of Commons are. As Lawrence said, those provisions have nothing to do with them.

"That's great." Lawrence smiled and nodded, then glanced at Representative Millers who was sitting dejectedly on the chair, and asked softly:

"Congressman Millers, what do you think?"

Miles' eyes wandered aimlessly, completely losing the determination and confidence he had when he argued with Lawrence just now.

He leaned weakly on the back of the chair, slowly raised his head and looked at Lawrence who was looking at him with a smile, then turned to look at the three happy colleagues, and sighed heavily.

Now counting Carlo Bonaparte's vote, there are already four confirmed votes in the five-person parliament. No matter what vote I, the Dongcheng District Member, make, it doesn't matter.

For Millers, a politically ambitious congressman, accepting the knighthood reward given by Lawrence is undoubtedly self-destructive. What his family needs is a congressman who shines in the political world, not a man who works in office every day. The aristocratic gentleman who plays house in the House of Representatives.

However, at this moment, Milles has lost his greatest support - the four united Ajaccio MPs.

The three congressmen who were talking about standing together just now have completely fallen under the sugar-coated bullets of Governor Bonaparte. They are different from Millers in having such grand political pursuits. What they pursue It's nothing more than fame and fortune.

And Lawrence also took advantage of the inconsistency in the final pursuits of several people. He only used an illusory and almost worthless promise of a knighthood to disintegrate this newly formed small political group from within.

"Very well done, Laurence Bonaparte."

Miles glanced at Governor Bonaparte who was waiting for his answer with deep fear, forced himself to sit up straight, and after a moment of confusion, he replied in a deep voice:

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Governor, but I still want to stay with my constituents and serve them to the end."

Although he could no longer prevent Laurence Bonaparte from restricting the power of the members of the House of Commons, Milles decided that he could not throw himself into the House of Lords, but must stay in the House of Commons to make subsequent plans.

After hearing this, the three congressmen on the back seat looked at Millers in surprise. They couldn't understand why Millers would give up such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Lawrence nodded without changing his expression and said with a smile:

"Okay, I respect your choice, Mr. Millers. It's almost noon. You haven't had lunch yet. I won't disturb your meal and rest. Please go back."

Soon, the dejected and dejected Millers left the study together with the other three congressmen who were happy.

As soon as he stepped out of the door of the study, Miles sighed and left his three colleagues behind, and quickly left the Governor's Mansion.

"Excellent, Your Excellency Bonaparte." After the four congressmen left, Rousseau looked at Lawrence with admiration and said.

Rousseau himself was not an extreme idealist. He could somewhat understand Lawrence's behavior of manipulating parliament and members. After all, he himself supported enlightened autocracy.

Xia Diya also leaned in the corner, lowering her head and looking thoughtful.

As the author of the charter, Rousseau was very aware of how insignificant the status of the nobility would be in Corsica in the future. He abolished almost all the privileges of the nobility in the charter, and it was infinitely close to being a pure honorary title.

Especially now that all the land has been nationalized by Lawrence, these newly minted nobles have neither legal privileges nor the possibility of using the land to make money to occupy social wealth. What they have is just some disposable income. It's just a negligible influence.

In other words, Lawrence obtained four titles in exchange for Parliament's approval of the kingdom's charter. This was a sure-profit deal. All Lawrence needed to do was submit a list to Louis XV. That’s all.

King Louis would not refuse to entrust a large number of nominal barons with no real power as honorary titles. He has been doing this in France for decades. The wealthy bourgeoisie can even buy counts and ministers of state. title, it’s no wonder that on the eve of the French Revolution, 95% of the nobility were actually from the middle class.

The most important thing is that these four congressmen are the forces supported by Poly to support themselves in the parliament. Although they have been very docile since April 1st, there will still be people like today for their own benefit. Interests coalesced to revolt against Lawrence.

Lawrence is also planning to use this to give these remnants of Pauli a decent baron title, kick them all to the House of Lords to take care of themselves, and let Pauli's old army completely disappear from the Corsican political stage.

Listening to Rousseau's heartfelt praise, Lawrence shook his head humbly and smiled:

"Just a little trick learned from the British."

Since the future system of the Kingdom of Corsica is very close to the British constitutional monarchy, Lawrence will naturally use some techniques commonly used in upper-level political struggles in Britain, including the techniques Lawrence just used.

Former British Prime Minister William Pitt, who now lives in the Government House, was defeated by this move. Four years ago, King George III of England awarded him the title of Earl of Tatum in order to weaken his influence, allowing him to enter the Government House. to the House of Lords.

Although the British House of Lords still had considerable power at this time, William Pitt's greatest advantage lay in his outstanding reputation in the House of Commons. After losing this advantage, William Pitt soon ended his career on the British political stage. So much so that I came to Corsica in an attempt to exchange a huge contribution for the opportunity to be on stage again.

"But, Lord Bonaparte." Xia Diya in the corner suddenly said:

"That Miles didn't accept your reward. Is this a hidden danger?"

"He."

Lawrence pondered for a moment. Regarding this member who would rather accept many constraints to stay in the House of Commons with real power, Lawrence could naturally see his ambition, so he thought for a while and then ordered:

"He is a talented person who has the courage and ability to incite and call on members of parliament to resist me, but I will not retain such a talent. Xia Diya gradually releases his dirty information to the outside world to reduce his influence on public opinion. Once If he crosses the line, he will be directly arrested by the patrol team, and there is no need to report it to me."

Lawrence wanted to see a compliant Congressman rather than a capable Congressman.

For this Miles, Lawrence also felt that he had done his best. If he still wanted to rely on his influence to cause trouble in the parliament in the future, Xiadia would make him realize how terrifying the anger of an autocratic ruler could be.

"knew."

After giving a concise response, Xia Diya put on her hood, hiding her delicate face in the shadows, and immediately turned around and left the study to carry out Lawrence's order.

"Then, Your Excellency Bonaparte, I have to prepare for the afternoon vote." Rousseau glanced at the time, adjusted his dress slightly nervously, said goodbye to Lawrence, and went to make preparations.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, in the auditorium on the west side of the Governor's Palace.

This auditorium used for holding parliament was open to the public for the first time in the past few months. The entire eight rows of audience seats were filled with citizens who came to watch the voting. There were even many spectators without seats. Stand on the aisles on both sides.

People were talking enthusiastically about the charter that was about to be voted on. During the lunch break, most people had already circulated and read the summary of the kingdom's charter.

Those who are interested in coming to the Governor's Palace to observe the parliamentary vote, except for a few citizens who are simply watching the excitement, are mostly middle-class people who are very interested in politics. They can naturally see from this summary what Rousseau wanted to do. The central idea to be expressed:

Take back power from the king and nobles, and return it all to the people of this country.

"Hey man, what do you think?"

"To be honest, it was really beyond my expectation. I thought that the king and the nobles would once again become a big mountain weighing on their heads. But from this charter, it seems that this is not the case at all. I hardly see anything about the nobles. privilege."

"Who says otherwise? I heard that in the future the size of the House of Commons will be several times larger than the current parliament, and all Corsican citizens can run for election. I was thinking that I might also be elected."

"That's not all. In the future, even the chief executives of various localities will have to go through local elections to be appointed. I kind of want to go back to my hometown and run for a public office."

"Hey, did you see it? It says that the property of priests must also be taxed in the future. It's so damn right. Those clergymen all eat fatter than pigs, and the monastery is about to become a treasure house. It’s time to take action against these moths.”

"This charter is a surprise. As expected of Governor Bonaparte, I thought he would hand over national interests to the French."

"That's your short-sightedness. I believed from the beginning that the Governor would not let us down."

The entire auditorium was filled with lively and noisy discussions, and the expressions on the faces of the citizens were almost uniformly high-spirited and enthusiastic.

They all know that according to this charter, the path for citizens like them to participate in national politics will become wider. Whether they are citizens in cities or farmers in the countryside, the political power of these ordinary people will be gained. Great enhancement.

Many viewers in the auditorium began to spread the word:

"Our power in the Kingdom is even greater than our power in the Republic."

Correspondingly, the name of Laurence Bonaparte was frequently mentioned by the audience, and people praised this wise ruler for bringing them a peaceful and enlightened Corsica.

Especially with the lifting of the Genoese trade blockade on Corsica, the establishment of the de facto customs union between Corsica and France, and the implementation of the "Land Act" and the "Agricultural Tax Reform Act", Corsica, regardless of Both foreign trade and internal economy have ushered in a new period of vigorous development.

The recovery of economic prosperity, diplomatic peace and stability, coupled with today's enlightened political rule, have all pushed the Corsican people's support for the young governor to new heights.

"Governor Bonaparte has arrived! And your Excellency Rousseau, President of the Constituent Assembly, and gentlemen of the Constituent Assembly!"

Accompanied by the loud and neat announcements of the two guards at the entrance of the auditorium, the noisy parliament auditorium instantly fell silent, and the expectant eyes of the citizens were also focused on the door.

After the briefing, two guards stepped forward and opened the door of the parliament auditorium with a solemn expression.

The warm autumn sun shines in through the door, casting a bright halo like a spotlight inside the originally dark auditorium.

The first person to step into the door of the Parliament was Governor Bonaparte, who was loved by the citizens. He walked briskly on the dark red carpet, smiled and waved to greet the audience and citizens on both sides.

The bright golden sunlight shines on Lawrence's blond hair, as if weaving a natural golden laurel crown, dazzling and majestic.

The silence in the auditorium did not last long, or in other words, from the moment Lawrence stepped into the parliament, a tsunami-like cheer resounded throughout the building.

Excitement and excitement washed over people's minds like a tide, and the citizens rushed to their feet to welcome the arrival of Governor Bonaparte.

Many citizens who had never seen Lawrence in person staggered to the front row, wanting to see with their own eyes what kind of character brought them Corsica today.

Even Carlo Bonaparte, one of the members of the parliament, was warmly welcomed by the audience on both sides of the house. Before this, he had never received such excited applause and cheers from the people in any public parliament.

Thinking of this, Carlo Bonaparte couldn't help but be distracted as he looked at the back of Lawrence, who was walking in the forefront with his head held high and receiving cheers and crowds from the citizens.

I recall that three years ago, he wrote a letter to Lawrence in Florence with some sympathy, telling his down-and-out brother that he could come to Ajaccio to join himself as a member of the parliament.

But now, this brother who in Carlo's eyes still needed his protection has become the ruler of all Corsica, and is leading all Corsicans on an unprecedented bright road.

Although on April 1st, Carlo already had this dreamy and unrealistic feeling.

But at this moment, looking at Lawrence bathed in the golden sunshine, watching him calmly accepting the cheers and supporters of the people, Carlo couldn't help but feel this unreal feeling again, as if the kind and solemn Bo Governor Nabal was not his younger brother, but a born ruler.