From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

In the dim light and shadow, Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe could not help but frown.

He took a long breath, stared closely into Lawrence's eyes, and said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty Bonaparte, you might as well speak more clearly."

For Jacques Philippe, the number two figure in the Choiseul faction, he was quite hostile to Justice Maupp.

Even if the Marquis de Maupe has chosen to part ways with the Duke of Richelieu, it can only slightly dilute the hostility in Jacques Philippe's heart.

After all, the root cause of the confrontation between Justice Maupp and the Duke of Choiseul was not the issue of Maupp’s own alignment, but the judicial reform that Justice Maupp continued to promote and the suppression and reorganization of France’s thirteen higher courts.

The army and the High Court are the two legs that support the Duke of Choiseul to stand at the pinnacle of French power. Naturally, the Duke and his supporters will not have any goodwill towards Justice Maupp who is keen on judicial reform. Attitude.

This is why Jacques Philippe appeared so cautious and prudent when he heard that Lawrence had personal dealings with Justice Maupe.

He absolutely could not accept that the Corsican prime minister, who was very popular in front of the king, was drawn to one side of the Palace of Justice.

Lawrence also knew what Jacques Philippe was thinking, so he smiled easily, shook his head and said:

"I just reached a small cooperation with Marquis Maup, targeting His Majesty the King's favorite mistress."

Although the conspiracy against Madame Du Barry required a high degree of secrecy, Lawrence knew that Jacques Philippe, as the younger brother of the Duke of Choiseul, also wanted the prostitute to get out of the Palace of Versailles.

"You mean Madame du Barry?"

Jacques Philippe was startled for a moment, then his tense face gradually relaxed, and he said to himself:

"It's no wonder that Mope has been avoiding Madame Du Barry in the Palace of Versailles recently. He must have felt the crisis."

Jacques Philippe, who has been staying in Versailles, is also well aware of the current situation in the court. Naturally, he also knows that Justice Maupe has been having a very unhappy life under Madame Du Barry's unruliness and opposition recently, and even needs to go to Paris to stay temporarily in the Palace of Justice. Avoid the edge.

After learning that the secret meeting between Justice Maupe and Laurence was aimed at targeting Madame Du Barry, Jacques Philippe's expression softened a lot, but he obviously still had a grudge against the Marquis of Maupe and frowned:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, I think there is no need for you to confront that woman. My brother can help you block all Madame Du Barry's methods."

From the beginning to the end, Jacques Philippe regarded Lawrence as a strong follower of Duke Choiseul, and naturally hoped that Lawrence would continue to devote himself to Choiseul's account instead of joining forces with the Palace of Justice. The prostitute at the court took offense.

"The Duke is still far away in Dijon, General Philippe." Lawrence rejected Jacques Philippe's suggestion without hesitation and shook his head:

"And this is a good opportunity to get rid of Madame Du Barry. Once Justice Maupe falls under Madame Du Barry, the judge who takes his place, no matter who he is, will undoubtedly stand by Du Barry. Madam, by that time, even if His Excellency the Duke is in charge of Versailles, it will be difficult, right?"

After listening, Jacques Philippe was silent for a moment, clinking glasses with Lawrence silently, thinking about the current situation while drinking.

Now, what worries Jacques Philippe the most is not the situation that Lawrence just mentioned. In his view, even if Madame Du Barry really supports a new justice, the Duke of Choiseul, who is in the ascendant It's also fully capable of coping.

What made him feel most cautious was Lawrence Bonaparte standing in front of him at this moment.

Although this is just a temporary alliance between Lawrence and Maupp, no one can say whether this alliance will evolve into a strong alliance between Corsica and the Palace of Justice.

Neither the Duke of Choiseul nor Jacques Philippe could accept that the high-profile Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Corsica had joined the side of supporting judicial reform.

However, Jacques Philippe did not want to intervene directly and asked Lawrence to terminate his cooperation with Maupp.

After all, Lieutenant General Philip himself wanted to see Madame Du Barry get out of the Palace of Versailles, and such a tough approach would only damage the close relationship between the Choiseul faction and Lawrence.

"In that case."

Jacques Philippe's eyes darkened, and he slowly put down the wine glass from his lips, already having an idea in his mind.

"I admit that you are right. Madame Du Barry is indeed a troublesome person."

Lieutenant General Philip looked at Lawrence and said seriously:

"It is also my consistent wish to drive this prostitute away from the king. Now is indeed a good time to attack that woman."

"Oh? Do you support what Marquis de Maupe and I are doing?" Lawrence asked somewhat unexpectedly. He thought that Jacques Philippe would express his protest in various ways.

"Of course I support it, but..." Jacques Philippe nodded, and then added in a deep voice:

"As you said, once you miss this opportunity to join forces with the Chancellor, it will be difficult to defeat Madame Du Barry in the future. You must ensure that this operation is successful. Therefore, I will also help you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lawrence couldn't help but look at Jacques Philippe more and sighed secretly:

"As expected of the younger brother of the Duke of Choiseul, his shrewd political skills are not inferior to his military talents."

There is no doubt that Jacques Philippe wanted to represent the entire Choiseul faction in joining this attack on Madame Du Barry, so that he could become the leader of this operation with his status and power. There is no need to worry that Lawrence will get too close to Marquis Maupe.

This is also a decision that achieves multiple goals with one stone. It can not only use Lawrence as the intermediary to win the cooperation of Justice Maupp to deal with Madame Du Barry, but also avoid excessive alliance between Corsica and the Palace of Justice.

Lawrence did not raise any objection when he saw this. Anyway, Justice Maupp's main purpose was to defeat Madame Du Barry, and he would not mind too much about Jacques Philippe joining in the middle, even if it would affect his ability to win Lawrence over to his side. .

Moreover, it is not the time to part ways with the Duke of Choiseul at this moment. There is absolutely no need to reject Jacques Philippe's reasonable suggestion and stand with Justice Maupe.

"I propose a toast to you, for your goodwill." Lawrence raised his glass to indicate that he accepted the other party's joining.

Upon seeing this, Lieutenant General Phillip finally showed a satisfied smile and gently clinked glasses with Lawrence.

After taking a sip of champagne, Lieutenant General Philip paused and suddenly mentioned:

"It's a pity that I can't see that woman being kicked out of the Palace of Versailles with my own eyes. I will go to Lorraine to take office after the year. This is the latest time I can get from the king. By then, my cousin My brother will contact you, I think you should have met him, the Foreign Secretary, Caesar Gabriel."

"Yes, he also did me a big favor." Lawrence nodded. The last time he framed Count Falcone, he relied on the foreign minister to secretly sign an order to move the Champs Elysees Number 10, Rue de Chevre, is set up as the Corsican Embassy in Paris.

Of course, strictly speaking, this should be the credit of Duke Choiseul. After all, the foreign minister is just a puppet supported by him. Lawrence is more willing to deal with this mediocre minister in the future, rather than the extremely shrewd Choiseul. Serre or Jacques Philippe.

"By the way, do you have anything else to do in Paris?" Lawrence suddenly asked, obviously there was something in his words:

"I heard you were due to take up your post in Lorraine in November."

Although both parties knew the answer to this question, Jacques Philippe still turned to look at Lawrence, sighed slightly and said:

"Thank you for your concern. There are indeed some troublesome things. I'm afraid I won't have time to deal with them before I leave Paris."

"How can I help?" Lawrence asked enthusiastically. Since Jacques Philippe deliberately stayed in Paris to further recruit himself, the troubles he mentioned were not really trivial matters.

"Paris Military Academy."

This word suddenly popped out of Jacques Philippe's mouth, and then he slowly explained it amidst Lawrence's doubts:

"The cradle of French mid-level officers, the place where the best military talents are produced, and even many nobles will study there."

Lawrence listened patiently. He still had some impressions of this military academy located on the Champ de Mars in Paris.

Although it is not named after the Royal Family, this military academy is the most outstanding and important military academy in France. In history, Napoleon came here to further his studies after graduating from the Brienne Military Academy.

As Jacques Philippe said, the officers trained here are the mainstay of the French army. Graduates can be awarded the rank of lieutenant after leaving the school, and are subsequently promoted to school-level officers much faster than others.

Of course, if you want to become a general, talent and hard work alone are not enough. You also need to have some noble blood flowing in your veins to have a chance. This is true in feudal monarchies throughout Europe.

If you are from a completely civilian background, in the armies of many European countries, you can only reach the lowest level of officer, lieutenant.

"You should have heard that my brother is a radical military reformer." Jacques Philippe continued to explain:

"The Paris Military Academy was a center of his military reforms. He broadened the admission requirements for civilian children and made it easier for capable graduates to be promoted in the army. The method of promotion changed from blood test to military merit assessment. You Maybe I haven’t noticed it, but I know that there are more and more civilian officers in the French army.”

Lawrence somewhat realized what Jacques Philippe meant, and couldn't help but chuckled and said:

"If I were a civilian officer, I would probably be extremely grateful for this - the great Duke of Choiseul gave me this most glorious opportunity."

Obviously, Duke Choiseul's military reforms not only promoted more outstanding talents to their due positions, but also increased his own influence on the army to a quite huge level.

Those civilian officers who graduated from the Paris Military Academy and were promoted in the army will almost always become solid supporters of the Duke of Choiseul, not only because of this favor, but also because no aristocratic faction will accept them These lowly civilians.

In order to maintain their status, these civilian officers will also hope that the Duke of Choiseul will always be in control of the army.

Jacques Philippe couldn't help but smile: "Although it is a bit exaggerated, it is true. We have a considerable number of supporters in the army."

"So, what's the trouble you're talking about?" Lawrence asked.

"In addition to serving as the commander of the Paris City Defense Force, I also hold a teaching position at the Paris Military Academy." Jacques Philippe patiently explained:

"As you know, this is to better recruit future officers. However, if I leave Paris, I will need someone to help with this job."

At this point, Lawrence completely understood what Jacques Philippe meant.

On the surface, he is asking Lawrence to help him with something, but in fact it is a perfect job.

Although Lawrence was recruiting those military cadets for the Duke of Choiseul, these future mainstays of the army would still first establish a deep social relationship with Lawrence personally.

In other words, Jacques Philippe wanted to use his influence in the French army as a gift to win Lawrence over to firmly side with the Duke of Choiseul.

In Lawrence's view, Lieutenant General Phillip indeed had a good plan.

If you stand firmly on the side of the Duke, then the stronger your influence in the army, the Duke of Choiseul will naturally become more powerful; and if you leave the Duke one day, then Jacques Philippe can also Easily rely on the Choiseul family's power in the army to dismantle and suppress Lawrence's acquaintances in the army.

In other words, Lieutenant General Philip gave a gift that can be taken back at any time.

"What do you think, Monsignor Bonaparte?" Jacques Philippe narrowed his eyes and smiled:

"This is not a difficult thing. It is also very simple to establish a good relationship with those civilians. It's just that I really don't have time to do it. I can arrange a teaching position or an administrative position for you, or if you are willing If you want to be condescending, you can just be a student and mingle with them. After all, you are still so young, hahaha, just kidding.”

Although he had seen through the other party's ulterior motives, Lawrence still nodded calmly and said: "Since it is your request, I will naturally do my best to help."

"Hahaha, that's great, thank you very much for your kindness." Jacques Philippe laughed heartily, patted Lawrence's shoulder twice enthusiastically and said:

"The new students of the Paris Military Academy will enroll at the end of January. I will write a letter to the principal and arrange a professor position for you. After all, I recently heard that you are also an academician of the French Academy of Sciences."

"No, there's no need to trouble you so much, General." Lawrence suddenly shook his head, as if he really didn't want to cause trouble to Lieutenant General Philip:

"I think it's best to get along with them as students, but if possible, I hope you can provide two letters of recommendation. I want a friend to also enter the Paris Military Academy."

"Student? This." Jacques Philippe scratched his head in embarrassment. He was only joking just now. He had never really thought about letting the prime minister of a kingdom go to a military school to be a student. He even felt that it was not suitable for him to let Lawrence become a professor. identity.

However, looking at Lawrence’s firm and confident face, Jacques Philippe nodded, shrugged and smiled:

"Okay, if you insist, I will prepare two letters of recommendation for you. The principal will also say hello to you. You may not need to say hello. After all, who doesn't know your name, Lawrence Bonaparte? Ha ha."

Jacques Philippe was in a very happy mood. In his opinion, he not only gained the initiative to take action against Madame Du Barry, but also used a recyclable bargaining chip to obtain Lawrence's loyalty, which was a great gain.

"Then, please excuse me for a moment. I have to go see little Elvie. Oh, it would be great if she got married, so I don't need to accompany her every day." Lieutenant General Philip said goodbye with a smile.

Watching Jacques Philippe's leaving figure, Lawrence raised the corner of his mouth, chuckled and murmured:

"General Philip, once I get what I have, you will not be able to take it back."