From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Are you familiar with him? This is Duke Charles."

Lawrence stared at the young Duke thoughtfully for a while, and then suddenly asked Justice Maupe.

Although Marquis Maupe was a little surprised as to why Lawrence was so interested in Duke Charles, he still nodded lightly and said:

"I have only had some academic and literary contacts. I have to say that this young man has many new ideas, but they are all too radical. I can't even give you examples here, otherwise they will be heard by others and spread to His Majesty. It’s not good in the ears.”

After laughing to himself twice, Marquis Maupe concluded in a low voice:

"But overall, I still like this Duke. He has very enthusiastic support for my judicial reform. Unfortunately, before he inherits the title of Duke of Orleans, his support is of little value."

Lawrence understood this very well after hearing this. Duke Charles, who had been exposed to Enlightenment ideas, would naturally be disgusted with the decadent and conservative interest group of the High Court, and it was reasonable to support Justice Maupe's progressive judicial reforms.

If it weren't for his position, even Lawrence would support limiting the power to suppress the high court. After all, the high court is the bulwark against all progressive reforms.

In this sense, a considerable part of the blame for the outbreak of the French Revolution was thrown at the High Court. If they had not blocked the road to all moderate reforms, I am afraid that it would not have led to the final violent revolution.

"He is indeed an interesting noble young man, but you'd better not have anything to do with him."

Seeing that Lawrence had shown a strong interest in Duke Charles, Justice Maupe couldn't help but remind him again:

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not be happy to see you and Duke Charles chatting happily."

"Thank you for your advice." Lawrence also knew that Marquis Maupe's reminder was out of good intentions.

However, as a Duke who was quite enthusiastic about Enlightenment thought, Lawrence felt that he might get along well with him. At least, he would definitely get along well with Rousseau, Speaker of the Corsican Parliament.

While Lawrence was talking to the Marquis de Maupe, the members of the royal family also followed their usual practice and began to walk slowly on the carpet to greet the guests on both sides.

Soon, the royal family's team arrived in front of Lawrence.

"Ha, this handsome face doesn't often appear in the Palace of Versailles, but I always miss this face."

Louis XV held Madame Du Barry's arm, stopped in front of Lawrence with a joyful expression, laughed and patted Lawrence on the shoulder:

"My dear Lawrence, now I have to call you Mr. Prime Minister. The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Corsica is really a good name. Oh, by the way, maybe I can also call you the Captain of the Guard. Hahaha, I am still your Grand Commander. Woolen cloth."

It can be seen that Louis XV is very satisfied with the title of Grand Master of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. At least this title can make him look more majestic in front of those bishops.

Lawrence laughed in agreement, leaned down, and said humbly:

"No matter what title I am given, I am your loyal subordinate."

"Loyal minister, outstanding minister." Louis XV personally dusted off the dust from Lawrence's clothes and said with emotion:

"You have done a great job on the island of Malta, Lawrence. You will soon be rewarded to match your merits. I swear you will be satisfied."

"Thunder, rain, and dew are all your grace." Lawrence leaned lower: "Where does the difference between satisfaction and dissatisfaction come from?"

"Hahaha, clever words, I like it." After hearing this, Louis XV couldn't help but laugh so hard that he would have fallen to the ground without Madame Du Barry's support.

After suppressing some of his smile, Louis XV turned to look at Justice Maupe and greeted kindly:

"Mopu, you are here too. I am very happy to see you and Lawrence standing together. Both of you are my rare ministers."

Obviously, Louis XV was very happy to see the royal faction loyal to him united.

Louis XV was also very happy to see that Justice Maupe and Laurence Bonaparte, who had been at war with each other before, could stand together amicably. This meant that he no longer had to spend energy racking his brains to mediate between the two. There is a conflict between people, otherwise both sides are their favorite ministers, and it will be quite difficult to mediate.

Of course, if His Majesty the King knew that these two loyal ministers stood together to defeat his favorite mistress, I am afraid Louis XV would not be so happy.

Although Madame Du Barry on the side did not speak, her woman's intuition still noticed something was wrong. Her originally charming fox eyes were now full of doubts, and her eyes also moved back and forth on Lawrence and Mope, as if she had realized something.

The king and Madame du Barry did not stay in front of Laurence and Maupe for too long. After all, this was a huge dinner party. If the king chatted with everyone for a long time, the guests would have to stand here until midnight. .

Crown Prince Louis, who followed closely behind, saw his relatives and friends who had been away for many days, and gave Lawrence a warm hug when he came up:

"It's so nice to see you again, Lawrence. After I finish greeting the Dukes and ministers, I will talk to you about the story of the South. God, I really want to know where you are on the island of Malta. How to deal with the British."

"With great pleasure, Your Highness." Lawrence hugged the crown prince equally enthusiastically.

Crown Prince Louis wanted to say something more, but Crown Princess Mary was already urging him to move on:

"Okay, don't block the way of the people behind you, Your Excellency Bonaparte, I am also very happy to see you return to France. With a good person like you in Versailles, I feel that the air here is much fresher."

Nearly half an hour later, the royal family members ended their greetings and greetings to the guests. Most of them could not even say a word to the king, and only received a brief handshake. A person like Lawrence who could shake hands with It is an extremely rare privilege for the king to have a few words with him.

Subsequently, Louis XV delivered a short and casual speech under the watchful eyes of all the guests. The theme was also very ordinary. He hoped that all the guests could forget their worries and enjoy the banquet.

With the end of the king's speech, the banquet returned to its previous appearance. People continued to hold wine glasses and exchange interesting or valuable news with their friends and colleagues in their circles.

The crown prince and his wife followed the king in greeting several nobles, which is also a necessary political etiquette.

While Lawrence and Justice Maupe were chatting to pass the time, they heard a sharp roar from behind them, and it was Madame Du Barry's voice:

"What? That necklace is a gift promised to me by His Majesty the King! Why haven't you prepared the money yet?! My face has been completely ruined by you incompetent officials!"

Laurence and the Marquis de Maupe turned to look at Madame Du Barry at the same time. Many guests also cast curious and cautious glances. They didn't know what happened to make His Majesty the King's mistress so angry.

I saw Madame Du Barry reprimanding an official in blue robe. She seemed to be aware of everyone's gaze and realized her gaffe. So after whispering a few harsh words, she hurriedly joined another scene with a glass of wine. In the midst of the ladies' conversation.

"That seems to be an official of the royal family." Justice Mopu looked at the blue-robed official who was at a loss and was worried at this moment, frowned and said:

"It's a financial director of the palace. I have a bit of an impression on him. I'm going to ask what's going on."

After a short while, Justice Mopu came back with a worried face.

"A very difficult thing?" Lawrence asked.

"Yes and no." Justice Mopp sighed and explained concisely:

"His Majesty the King purchased a diamond necklace worth two million livres for Madame Du Barry. However, the payment for the necklace has not yet been settled to the craftsman. Just now, Madame Du Barry was questioning the finance director why she was so late. Grant money to buy this necklace.”

After hearing this, Lawrence couldn't help but shake his head: "A necklace of two million livres? I do know what the French tax money is spent on."

"Well, the problem is that the financial director does have a fund, but it is used to relieve the poor around Paris." Justice Maupp was also very helpless:

"You may not know that every winter, food prices in Paris rise rapidly. It is difficult for the poor at the bottom to survive this long winter night without relief."

Due to the influence of Physiocratic economists, Louis XV loosened control over grain trade in terms of policy. Although this depressed the price of grain most of the time, once winter came or there was a disaster, Food prices will rise sharply and uncontrollably.

Louis XVI, who continued to inherit this policy, suffered a lot. Due to severe droughts and frosts in 1785 and 1788, food prices throughout France increased by nearly 50%. This was also considered the beginning of the Great Revolution of 1789. One of the fatal triggers.

"You mean, Madame Du Barry is going to use the relief funds to buy her necklace?" Lawrence glanced at the sparkling diamond necklace on Madame Du Barry not far away, frowned and asked:

"Two million livres, if all this money can be given to the poor, even at the price of goods in Paris, it can be guaranteed that no one will die of hunger throughout the winter."

The entire population of Paris is 600,000. Even if half of the citizens here need relief, these two million livres are enough to keep them alive through this winter.

Justice Mopp sighed helplessly:

"In Madame Du Barry's view, money is money. She doesn't care about the poor people with sallow faces. She only wants her diamond necklace. I am afraid that in her ears, the praises of noble ladies are far more pleasant to the ears than the praises of the poor at the bottom. ”

"Really?" Lawrence's eyes focused on the tasseled necklace around Madame Du Barry's neck, and he said slowly:

"But this may also be an opportunity to let this necklace become a fuse."

Just when Justice Maupe wanted to ask Lawrence what he thought, a waiter suddenly came and interrupted the conversation between the two, saying that His Majesty the King had summoned them.

Louis XV was chatting and laughing with several guests. Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe and Miss Elvy, including Duke Charles, who Lawrence cared about very much, were also beside the king.

Madame Du Barry was also called back by Louis XV. This woman who was furious and bossy just now was as docile as a white fox, leaning on the king's arm submissively.

"Ah, Lawrence, you are here." Louis XV smiled and waved to Lawrence, pointing to several nobles and ladies beside him and said:

"I just talked about you with a few friends, and they were all very interested in your story on the island of Malta. Maybe you can tell us about it in person?"

As a soldier, Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe was also looking at Lawrence with great interest at this moment; Miss Elvy was even more expectant, almost starry-eyed.

Although the young Duke Charles said nothing, he stared at Lawrence as closely as the other guests. It was obvious that he was also full of interest in this famous peer.

When Lawrence saw this, he did not refuse. After simply organizing his words, he spoke vividly:

"This is my honor, Your Majesty. It all started when I noticed the British man's ambition."

In the process of telling the story, Lawrence naturally ignored the deal with Baron Bertula and the little tricks on the island of Malta, and instead focused on the description of the roaring battlefield. After all, those who had never been on the battlefield The nobles and ladies like to listen to these military stories.

"After that, my soldiers, together with the knights, faced the bombardment of the naval guns and launched a charge against the British. In the dilapidated ruins and the rain, it was really an unforgettable bitter battle. Gentlemen, Ladies, you can find all your cruel imaginations about war there, but fortunately, we still achieved the final victory. The British guys ran around like moles in the light, but the only direction they could escape was in that direction. The boundless sea. In this way, I successfully defended the island of Malta.”

As Lawrence's story ended, the few nobles and ladies who had been fascinated came back to their senses and expressed their heartfelt admiration and praise to Lawrence. After all, not everyone has the courage to command under artillery fire. The army launches a hand-to-hand charge against the enemy.

"What a dangerous battle, Your Excellency."

"My God, even if I knew the outcome in advance, when I heard that the British were coming back, I couldn't help but sweat for Monsignor Bonaparte."

"It's so outstanding. When I was twenty years old, I couldn't even hold a sword steady."

Listening to the praises of several people around him, even Louis XV couldn't help but have an expression of satisfaction on his face. After all, in the king's view, an outstanding minister like Laurence Bonaparte also took the initiative because he admired his reputation. The more sincere people's praise for Lawrence is, the more it will reflect their reputation.

And just when everyone was praising Lawrence's courage and resourcefulness, a delicate voice suddenly sounded:

"Mr. Bonaparte has done a great job, but I don't know if what you said is true?"