From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

President Hailsson clenched his fists excitedly and looked at Lawrence with all his attention, not prepared to miss every word that came out of His Excellency's mouth.

The reason why the Daily Observer was able to quickly grow into a new newspaper with a subscription volume that was not inferior to those of the old newspapers, apart from Lawrence's investment regardless of the cost, the most important reason was the exclusive first-hand information that President Hailsham had previously received from Lawrence.

Whether it is the exclusive secrets before the listing of the Corsican National Silver Company, or the gossip and scandals within the Palace of Versailles, or even the story of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's own experience, these are not the news that the established newspapers have channels to obtain.

In order not to miss these exclusive news, the gentlemen of the upper class will naturally add the Observer Daily to their mailing list, while the lower class citizens also appreciate the low price and excellent readability of the Observer Daily. And favored this emerging newspaper.

Lawrence looked at President Hailsson, stopped trying to keep the secret, and said directly:

"Madame Du Barry's purchase of this necklace came from a royal grant, which was supposed to be used to relieve the poor in Paris."

"What?! You mean that necklace was purchased with funds from the winter subsidy?"

As soon as he finished speaking, President Hailsen opened his mouth in surprise and his brows instantly furrowed.

As early as when he founded the Daily Observer, President Hailsen had set a very righteous purpose—to speak out for all the injustices in society.

Therefore, although President Hailsen can be considered a wealthy citizen, he still has a very deep understanding of the lives of the poor at the bottom.

Winter subsidy is a fund specially set up to provide relief to citizens in slums who are struggling for food and clothing in winter.

As early as more than ten years ago, when Louis XV discovered that his physiocratic policy would lead to rising food prices in winter, in order to appease the people, he established this relief policy at the suggestion of the Minister of Finance.

President Hailsen was certainly aware of this policy. During the period when the newspaper was on the verge of bankruptcy and he was deeply in debt, he even received several winter subsidies.

Although only a four-pound piece of moldy black bread and a small bag of firewood are distributed each time, for the poor and poorly clothed people at the bottom, it is absolutely indispensable for many of them to survive to this day without the help of this subsidy.

"I think so." Lawrence shrugged and said firmly:

"Madame Du Barry took this fund from a financial director of the royal family to pay for the necklace. As for whether the royal family can allocate another fund to fill this loophole, I think it is basically impossible. "

Although the royal family's lifestyle has always been extremely luxurious, this does not mean that France's financial situation is very healthy. On the contrary, France's fiscal deficit has continued to worsen for decades.

And if nothing else, as long as the government and the royal family cannot implement tax reforms for the nobility and clergy, this huge fiscal deficit will be an unsolvable paradox, and will continue to worsen until Louis XVI succeeds to the throne.

Therefore, it is almost impossible for the funds used for this winter subsidy to be diverted from the budgets of other departments. The top officials of the government are probably not prepared to do anything about it. After all, Justice Mopp is inquiring about this news. After that, he only expressed regret and regret, instead of finding ways to help the poor who were about to die tragically from hunger and cold.

"This is simply too much!"

President Hailsen couldn't help but punched the coffee table in front of him. After remembering that this was Lawrence's living room, he quickly apologized and said:

"Oh, I'm sorry! Sir, I just think that woman is going too far. The funds for the winter subsidy are not only from financial allocations, but also donations from many kind-hearted citizens; my wife once brought their flyers back At home, I even donated five livres!”

When he thought about his donation turning into a piece of gold in the necklace around Madame Du Barry's neck, and when he thought about how many poor people in Paris would freeze to death and starve to death after a snowy night this year, President Hailsson couldn't sit still. , helpless sighs came out of his mouth one after another.

Lawrence just nodded calmly. In his opinion, this kind of scandal was perfectly normal. Let alone at the end of the 18th century, even in later generations, no citizen of any country could fully understand that all their blood and sweat had turned into nothing. Got something.

"In short, Mr. President, I believe this will be a big news - the Countess Du Barry embezzled relief funds to purchase luxury jewelry. I don't think there are often such reports in Paris newspapers." Lawrence leaned on the sofa, Said slowly.

"That's indeed the case, Your Excellency." President Hailsen's expression became solemn and he nodded heavily.

Tidbits about the royal family are what major newspapers are rushing to report. After all, ordinary citizens are full of curiosity about this ruling group that is above their heads. They are happy to spend a few coppers to spy on the mysterious royal members. of luxury living.

Especially for a woman like Madame du Barry, who is favored by His Majesty the King, her scandal will undoubtedly attract the attention and attention of the citizens, especially the ladies.

Lawrence looked at President Hailsham and asked softly in a soft but irresistible tone:

"I hope this news will appear on the front page of the Daily Observer as soon as possible. There should be no problem, right?"

Faced with this exciting exclusive news, President Hailsen did not immediately respond. Instead, he bit his lip tightly, looking tangled.

Of course he knew that reporting this news would bring another burst of sales to his newspaper.

But correspondingly, this also means that he will completely offend Countess Du Barry.

Although President Hailsen, as a middle-class citizen, did not understand Madame Du Barry's political influence, he also knew that His Majesty the King's official mistress wanted to attack a powerless tabloid president like himself. Getting there is easy.

"I still have a wife and three children. For the sake of my family, maybe I should refuse Monsignor Bonaparte."

President Hailsen secretly glanced at Lawrence's expression. His Excellency Bonaparte in front of him still had a slight smile on his lips and did not continue to force himself to make a decision.

In early winter, the air in Paris is already a bit chilly, but at this moment, President Hailsen still has a thin layer of hot sweat on his brow.

He certainly knew how dangerous it was to lift the bright curtain and reveal the darkness hidden underneath, especially since the curtain also had the royal family's emblem printed on it.

"But if I don't speak out, how will those people in the slums and sewers spend this winter?"

Scenes flashed through President Hailsen's mind, including His Excellency Bonaparte in front of him, including his wife and children, but what finally made him make up his mind were those clothes that were still faintly hurting his heart. The naked poor people at the bottom.

Thinking of their emaciated, underfed faces, and of them digging for voles in the three-foot-deep snow with no clothes on, President Hailsson clenched his fists again, recalled his original intention of founding the newspaper, and immediately gritted his teeth. said:

"I understand what you mean. You will see this news in the morning paper tomorrow morning. Time is tight. I have to rush back to the agency to do editing and typesetting. Please allow me to say goodbye."

After saying that, President Hailsson stood up resolutely and bowed to Lawrence to say goodbye, as if he was afraid that he would regret it.

Lawrence nodded slightly, watched President Hailsham walk out of the living room with a somewhat stiff movement, and admired sincerely.

"What a man of integrity and courage."

Of course he could see why President Hailsham did not agree to his request immediately. Madame Du Barry's revenge was not something that such a newspaper president could bear.

However, what surprised Lawrence was that President Hailsham decided to stand against Madame Du Barry before he promised asylum. This really requires a lot of courage.

After all, for an ordinary citizen like Hailsen, even if he received a promise of asylum from one of the parties, it would still be extremely dangerous to get involved in a struggle between such big figures.

If it were in front of some ruthless decision-makers, I am afraid that after using President Haytham to attack Madame Du Barry, they would directly abandon this little person as a useless chess piece.

Of course, Lawrence still admires the president very much, and will naturally step in to fend off Madame Du Barry's revenge.

As President Hailsson left quickly, the old housekeeper of the mansion walked in again and reported:

"Your Excellency, I have sent someone to take Mr. Hailsham back. In addition, the Academician Lavoisier you want to see has also arrived in the waiting room. Do you want to receive him now?"

"Of course, please bring that talented scholar."

After a while, Academician Lavoisier, who had not seen Lawrence for a long time, sat on the sofa on the opposite side of the living room.

He obviously came in a hurry. He probably set off directly after receiving Lawrence's invitation.

Different from the elaborate dress he wore when he first came to visit, this time Lavoisier only wore a white shirt, a simple brown vest, and a pair of ordinary black trousers, with many unknown items on it. It is not a small hole left by chemical corrosion.

"It's nice to see you again, Your Excellency. Today, uh, the weather is really nice."

Lavoisier greeted Lawrence incoherently, and even after sitting on the sofa, he looked frightened, as if he was not in the drawing room of No. 10 Champs Elysées, but in the Paris High Court. Same as in prison.

Lawrence did not respond immediately, but looked carefully at Lavoisier's messy hair and haggard eyes, and then greeted with a smile:

"It's been a while since I last saw you, Mr. Lavoisier. You look a lot more haggard. The recent experiments were very hard?"

"No, Sir, it's not about research." Seeing Lawrence's kind smile, Lavoisier finally squeezed out a wry smile from the corner of his mouth, and said with self-blame and worry:

"There are some troubles in the Academy of Sciences."

Lawrence glanced at Lavoisier's worried and anxious expression, and chuckled:

"Let me guess, it should be related to me, right?"

"It's Monsieur Bonaparte, about you and Madame Du Barry." Lavoisier looked at Lawrence carefully and nodded.

Thinking about it for a moment, Lawrence could also guess why Lavoisier had been so haggard and remorseful in the past two days, especially when he showed an expression of panic after seeing him for the first time.

After all, it was Lavoisier who helped Lawrence enter the French Academy of Sciences, but now Madame Du Barry has questioned and impeached Lawrence's academician status, and even set up a bet that Lawrence will almost lose. This is even more... Lavoisier felt very guilty.

Especially after meeting Lawrence, Lavoisier was even more worried that the powerful Bonaparte in front of him would blame all this on himself. It was his incompetence that led to Bonaparte's death. Your Excellency is in such a predicament.

Moreover, in addition to the pressure from Lawrence, Lavoisier also received a lot of looks and contempt within the French Academy of Sciences. His colleagues used this to attack him, and some colleagues who had never dealt with him even threatened to Lavoisier must also be impeached and expelled from the French Academy of Sciences.

Although Lavoisier did make this deal with Lawrence in order to expand his tax zone, he did see Bonaparte's foresight in chemistry during his exchange with Lawrence that day.

Therefore, Lavoisier repeatedly stated that he made the recommendation after having academic exchanges with Monsignor Bonaparte and believing that Lawrence had corresponding profound knowledge.

But this weak statement could only become a laughing stock in the end. No one believed that the twenty-year-old Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Corsica still had the knowledge of natural philosophy to become an academician.

"It seems that I have caused you a lot of trouble, and I need to apologize to you for this." Lawrence said softly.

Hearing that Lawrence apologized to himself instead, Lavoisier stood up in panic and said repeatedly:

"No, no, no, how can I accept your apology? Your Excellency, this is all my problem. If I had been more cautious, I might not have dragged you down and left you with these excuses."

"Please sit down, Mr. Lavoisier." Lawrence smiled and comforted patiently:

"Now that the matter has come to this, there is no point in worrying about the previous behavior. It is time to focus on the academic defense itself. Is there any news about the Louvre?"

Lavoisier nodded, his face a little ugly:

"The Academy Committee has determined the time for the defense, which will be three or four days after the New Year."

"After New Year? Only about two weeks?" Lawrence was not particularly surprised. Although this time was a bit tight, it was enough for him.

"Yes, the committee does not plan to give you too much preparation time. They feel that if you are really capable of passing, it won't matter even if you defend tomorrow." Lavoisier sighed and continued:

"And I have bad news to tell you. Because His Majesty the King personally sent someone to supervise the entire defense process, the committee's evaluation standards are much higher than normal. If you continue to use the paper I submitted, I’m afraid it will be very difficult to pass the defense.”

Although Lavoisier did hear a lot of enlightening knowledge from Lawrence, he, like most citizens, did not think that Bonaparte could pass that high-standard defense, especially when time was so tight. , when you have to re-submit an academic paper.

Lavoisier even felt that if such conditions and standards were used to assess members of the French Academy of Sciences, more than half of the existing academicians would not be able to pass.

However, after hearing this, Lawrence waved his hands completely uneasily and said indifferently:

"Submit a paper again? It doesn't matter. I had this plan. I have already conceived the outline in the past two days."

"What did you say?" Lavoisier thought he had heard wrong for the first time and said in great surprise:

"Are you going to write an academic paper yourself, or in two weeks? And use it to participate in an academic defense at the French Academy of Sciences?!"

Not to mention Lawrence, even Lavoisier himself felt that it was impossible for him to write an academic paper of sufficient quality to pass the defense within two weeks, let alone carry out tedious experiments and data collection.

"Of course, I have even designed the experimental device and am entrusting a... er, craftsman to help me build it."

Lawrence looked at Lavoisier's surprised look and said with a smile:

"However, I still need a capable assistant. I wonder if Mr. Lavoisier is willing?"

Lavoisier didn't seem to have recovered from this ridiculous idea. He was stunned for a moment and then asked quickly:

"Of course I am willing to provide you with all help, but please forgive me for asking, what is the object of your research?"

"It's difficult to explain it to you in just a few words, Mr. Lavoisier." Lawrence thought for a while and said slowly:

"To put it simply, it is a brand-new power, a power that can illuminate the entire world. Its power can even make those roaring steam engines withdraw from the stage of history one day."