From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"List?" Lawrence asked with a frown.

"The list of future ministers of the Kingdom of Corsica." Justice Maupp explained with a smile:

"At the coronation ceremony, they will join you as representatives of the Corsican people to pledge allegiance to His Majesty the King, and accept the king's appointment in public to officially become ministers. This is a highly anticipated moment, and His Majesty the King needs to review the list of ministers in advance. to decide whether to appoint them.”

A trace of suspicion flashed in Lawrence's eyes, and he scanned Justice Mopp's face carefully, but could not see anything from his flawless mask-like expression.

Although according to the latest Charter of the Kingdom of Corsica, Louis XV did have the power to refuse to appoint the list of ministers submitted by Prime Minister Lawrence, both Rousseau and Lawrence felt that this power would only remain on paper.

After all, the previously drafted merger treaty has clearly stated the autonomy of the Kingdom of Corsica. In addition, the relationship between the two countries is now in a complete honeymoon period. Louis XV will not be able to serve as minister. Pointing fingers at the list.

Therefore, in Lawrence's view, Justice Mopp's so-called reason for requiring early review is completely untenable.

Normally, this list would only flicker in front of Louis XV's eyes, and it would soon be stamped with His Majesty the King's personal seal and approved. After all, none of the Italian names on it was familiar to His Majesty the King.

Lawrence slowly licked his lower lips and glanced at Justice Mopp's warm smiling expression again.

Although he still didn't know why the Lord Chancellor came so urgently to request this list of ministers, which was insignificant in his eyes, Lawrence still motioned to the waiter beside him to move his personal suitcase.

No matter what, one thing is certain, that is, no matter what purpose Justice Maupe had, Louis XV behind him must have known and acquiesced, otherwise this staunch royalist justice would not dare to use it fraudulently. who came to ask for the list in the name of the king.

"That is to say, his request for this list was authorized by Louis XV."

Lawrence thought for a moment and rejected the possibility that Justice Mopp wanted to use this list to harm himself, so he rummaged around in the suitcase and said tentatively:

"His Majesty the King wants to review these ministers in advance? Okay, but I don't think His Majesty will know these common people from Corsica. None of my ministers come from prominent noble families."

After waiting patiently for a moment, Justice Maupp took the gilded cardboard handed over by Lawrence, glanced at it casually, and stuffed it into the inner pocket of his robe. As Lawrence said, the names of these civilians did not exist at all. Anything special.

"This is His Majesty's decree, Monsignor Bonaparte."

Justice Mopu shook his robe and ensured that the list was safely in his pocket. Then a smile broke out from the deep wrinkles on his face and he pretended to be mysterious:

"But don't worry, this is a good thing for you, a huge good thing."

"Good thing?"

Lawrence secretly pondered what Mopu said, but did not ask any more questions.

Since Justice Mopp is so secretive about this, it means that this information must be something that he cannot disclose at the moment. Otherwise, Justice Mopp, who has always wanted to win over Lawrence, would not mind using a piece of information to show his sincerity.

"So, your work is done?" Lawrence asked aloud as he watched Mopp stuffing the list of ministers of the Kingdom of Corsica into his chest.

Justice Mopu smiled to himself, relaxed and lay down on the comfortable sofa, turned around and looked around the bright and luxurious living room, and joked:

"What? Your Excellency Bonaparte, do you have any other guests to meet? I still want to chat with a young talent like you for a while."

"Small talk?"

Although Justice Maupe talked about small talk, for people of his and Lawrence's status, so-called small talk is when the two people put aside all politeness and temptation and say something truly meaningful to each other. Lawrence naturally also Understand this truth.

After understanding what the other party meant, Lawrence also raised his hand to signal and dismissed the waiter in the living room.

A flock of geese patrolling south passed by outside the window. Lawrence leaned forward and whispered:

"Well, Your Excellency, I have nothing urgent to do. It is also an honor for me to talk to an important minister like you."

"Don't praise me, Prime Minister."

Justice Maupp lay down on the sofa very relaxedly, looking out at the sparkling Seine River not far away through the crystal-clear panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, with a wry smile on his face that he didn't know was true or false, and shook his head repeatedly:

"Not only am I not an important minister of the imperial court, but contrary to what you said, I was not very comfortable in Versailles during this period."

Lawrence also knew that Justice Maupp was referring to something. After all, as the chief minister of France in history and a justice deeply trusted and respected by the king, Maupp was among the group of people with outstanding status even in the Palace of Versailles. , he will not live an uncomfortable life in the palace.

"Is there anything else that can bother you?" Lawrence asked with concern and cooperation.

Justice Mopu was silent for a while, and the expression on his face became much more serious, as if he was personally presiding over a Supreme Court trial, solemn and majestic.

Even though he and Lawrence were alone in the living room, Justice Mopp still sat up and lowered his voice:

"It's nothing, Monsieur Bonaparte, it's because of a certain person, a certain woman."

Having said this, Lawrence couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and stared at Justice Mopp for a moment.

There is probably only one woman in the Palace of Versailles who can make the Lord Chancellor feel troublesome and troublesome - the Countess Du Barry.

Justice Mopp knew that Lawrence understood what he meant. After saying this, he closed his eyes and fell back on the sofa chair, quietly waiting for the other party's reply.

Lawrence did not respond hastily, but stood up and walked to the wine cabinet, took out a bottle of champagne from Bordeaux and poured himself a small glass. At the same time, he quickly sorted out the relationship between Madame Du Barry and Justice Maupe in his mind. Relationship.

Historically, the relationship between the two was quite close, because Madame Du Barry strongly supported Justice Maupe's reforms and restrictions on the thirteen high courts.

Of course, for Madame Du Barry, who was not interested in politics, her motivation for making this decision was probably half due to instructions from the Duke of Richelieu, and the other half to please Louis XV. After all, the High Court has always He stands on the opposite side of the royal power.

"only"

Lawrence looked at the bubbles floating in the crystal cup and thought silently:

"Now that Maupp has left Richelieu, Madame Du Barry may no longer have the same support for the justice as before. She even said that the two are already on opposite sides."

Since the Count Falconet incident, Justice Maupp has betrayed his cooperation with the Duke of Richelieu. Madame Du Barry will naturally not give him subsequent support in the future, and in order to retaliate against Justice Maupp's betrayal , this narrow-minded woman would probably have to target Mopp everywhere in the Palace of Versailles.

At the beginning of the incident, Madame Du Barry might have been dormant because of the uproar caused by the house arrest of Duke Richelieu. But now that a few months have passed, it is time for Madame Du Barry to jump out and start her revenge.

It’s no wonder that Justice Maupe appeared in Paris instead of staying with the king in Versailles, most likely to avoid Madame Du Barry, who made the energetic Louis XV place all his love on this place. On women.

After sorting out these thoughts, Lawrence sat back on his seat holding the goblet, took a sip from the wine glass, exhaled and said:

"You mean Madame Du Barry? I thought you and Madame were quite close friends."

Justice Mopp did not reply directly. He knew that Lawrence had already understood the current situation in his thinking just now, so he stared at Lawrence's wine glass for a while and shrugged:

"Shouldn't you pour your guest a glass of wine first?"

Lawrence stood up, found a wine glass, and smiled casually: "Working hours?"

"The work is over, and this matter is a hundred times more important than work."

Justice Maupp took the champagne handed by Lawrence, poured nearly half of the wine into his mouth, touched his wet beard and gasped:

"The Countess du Barry, her presence has made the entire court and the entire country no longer peaceful."

Although he had anticipated the current situation, Lawrence was still somewhat surprised to hear that Justice Maupe treated Madame Du Barry, a former ally, as his number one enemy:

"However, given your status with the king, you are also afraid of the threat of that woman?"

Justice Mopu held the wine glass tightly, shook his head and sighed:

"The fundamental reason why His Majesty the King values ​​me is that I have been striving to reform the High Court. As you know, Madame Du Barry still maintains her support for the reform, but she just changed the object of her support to someone else. "

After listening, Lawrence also understood what Justice Mopp was worried about.

After all, what Louis XV needs is a minister who can restrain the thirteen high courts in the judicial field. Justice Maupe is currently the most suitable candidate, but he is not the only candidate.

Madame Du Barry was not stupid enough to stand on the side of the High Court in order to oppose Justice Maupp, which would only incur the wrath of Louis XV; on the contrary, she still supported judicial reform, but she no longer supported Justice Maupp. That’s all.

With the aristocratic power of Madame Du Barry and the Duke of Richelieu, it is not completely impossible to support a prestigious high court judge who supports reform. After all, the high court is an ally of the Duke of Choiseul, and Richelieu. The Duke has many candidates who stand on the opposite side of the High Court.

Once such a thing happens, Maupe's status will undoubtedly be greatly affected, and he may even be completely replaced by the judge who was supported by Madame Du Barry's instigation.

"In other words, the king needs a judicial reformer, and this reformer will definitely be reused by the king. Before, this person was Moppu. Now that Moppu has left Madame Du Barry and the Duke of Richelieu, this person The two then planned to control this position, which was highly valued by the king, in the hands of their own faction. "

After drinking a small glass of champagne, Lawrence almost sorted out the current situation and asked while pouring the wine:

"However, since you told me this, it means"

Although it was a question, Lawrence also knew what the other party's purpose was.

Justice Mopp nodded heavily, took off the wide-brimmed hat on his head and put it aside, and said in a deep voice:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, as I just said, we cannot let this woman continue to harm the entire country. Our spears must be pointed in the same direction. This is for the royal family and for France."

The warm sunshine of late autumn was shining brightly, and several gondola boats were rowing calmly on the calm Seine River. I am afraid that the handsome men and beautiful women on the cruise ship could not have imagined that on the Champs Elysées on the banks of the Seine River, There was a plot against His Majesty the King's official mistress.

"Aiming at His Majesty the King's chief mistress? That sounds a little stupid." Lawrence calmly shook the drink in his glass, as if he was discussing the weather in Paris with someone.

Justice Mopu continued to lower his voice and said:

"That's why I went out of my way to find you and not anyone else, including the Duke of Choiseul."

Lawrence gently put down his wine glass, already understanding what Mopu meant.

Although Madame Du Barry was quite influential in the political world, she was not a political figure after all. All her power, wealth and status came from only one source - the king's favor.

As long as King Louis still loves this woman, no political means can defeat her. However, once Madame Du Barry falls out of favor, she will be as fragile as papyrus that has been weathered for thousands of years. All it takes is a gentle push. It will turn into powder.

Unlike the dukes, ministers, and aristocrats in court, Madame Du Barry did not have any political background, and everything relied on the favor of Louis XV.

Therefore, if you want to target Madame Du Barry, the key lies in His Majesty the King personally.

This is why Justice Maupp specifically found Lawrence. Among the many figures in Paris and Versailles, only the young Corsican Prime Minister has recently won the favor and love of His Majesty the King. There are even rumors in the palace that Said that King Louis would subconsciously smile whenever he heard the name of Laurence Bonaparte.

The rest of the aristocratic ministers, such as the Duke of Choiseul, may have a political background many times deeper than Lawrence, but when it comes to the ability to please the king, no one can compare with Lawrence who has made many achievements during this period. .

Now that he knew that he had an irreplaceable position for Justice Mopp, Lawrence was not in a hurry to give an answer, but asked with a smile:

"So, what do I get?"