From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

This grand celebration banquet lasted until late at night.

Now that Lawrence has finalized the follow-up plan, Justice Maupe and Lieutenant General Philip have also given him full trust. After all, this young man only achieved a complete victory over Madame Du Barry in the afternoon.

Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe got very drunk at the banquet, and even Justice Maupe, who did not drink often, drank five large glasses of brandy in the excitement. It was not often that this kind of celebration made Madame Du Barry feel deflated. have.

In addition, the two of them got a piece of bombshell news from Lawrence - His Majesty the King's official mistress was once a street prostitute. This made the two of them, especially Justice Maupe, a lot more excited.

Although this leverage could not completely defeat Madame Du Barry, Justice Maupe had begun to feel grateful that he had chosen the right ally, which made his eyes look at Lawrence much more enthusiastic.

At midnight, the drunken two people left the mansion on the Champs Elysées with the help of their respective entourages, and Lawrence personally sent them to the courtyard gate.

"Well, General Philip, we'll see you another day."

Lawrence cooperated with the stablemen to lift the sturdy Lieutenant General Philip into the carriage. He glanced helplessly at the drunken general and said:

"I will let you know in advance when I need your help."

Lieutenant General Philip, who smelled of alcohol, muttered something incoherently, to the effect that he would wholeheartedly help.

Although Justice Maupp behind him was also a little dizzy under the influence of alcohol, he was not as delirious as Lieutenant General Philip. He said goodbye to Lawrence in a low voice:

"Farewell, Monsignor Bonaparte, the balance of the Palace of Justice is always with you."

After saying that, Justice Maupe also climbed into his carriage tremblingly and slowly left the Champs Elysées.

Watching the two carriages driving away one after another, Lawrence also yawned a little sleepily.

At this moment, Lawrence suddenly noticed that there was an inconspicuous and simple two-horse carriage parked not far from the courtyard gate.

The carriage was completely dark, and there was no painting on the walls. If it weren't for the oil lamp hanging on the carriage, it would be difficult for anyone to notice its existence in the dark night.

"Um?"

Lawrence frowned and glanced at the carriage, but felt that the style was very familiar. After briefly recalling it, he remembered that this should be the standard carriage specially used for the palace that he had seen in Versailles before.

"People from the palace? Are you here to find me?"

As if to answer Lawrence's question, or perhaps because he saw General Philip and Justice Maupe's car driving far away, a somewhat frightened man jumped out of the black carriage and walked hesitantly towards Lawrence.

"His Excellency Bonaparte"

When the man came closer, Lawrence could see clearly that he was wearing a dark blue robe, which was very similar to the judge's robe of the High Court, and the royal iris coat of arms was embroidered on the chest of the robe. It shows that he is an official affiliated with the royal family.

After staring at the man's very familiar face for a while, Lawrence suddenly remembered that he had seen him at the party before Christmas.

This is the royal treasurer who was scolded by Madame Du Barry in public.

"Did we meet at the Palace of Versailles?" Lawrence stretched out his right hand and said:

"At that party in the Marble Courtyard before Christmas."

"Ah yes, I did attend that banquet. Thank you so much for remembering me."

The man quickly squeezed Lawrence's hand. His hands were very cold, and his ears were red from the howling winter wind. It seemed that it was not warm in the carriage.

After saluting enthusiastically, he continued to say excitedly:

"I am Jonah Adrien de Dauphinel, one of the palace supervisors of His Majesty the King. I am mainly responsible for taking care of his treasures for His Majesty the King. I'm sorry to disturb you so late, but Can I discuss something with you?"

Lawrence glanced at the carriage parked not far away. It seemed that Director Jonah had been waiting at the door of the mansion for a long time.

Since the other party was so sincere, Lawrence could not refuse, so he nodded and took the initiative to invite Director Jona to come in for discussion.

Sitting next to the warm fireplace, Director Jonah let out a big breath of relaxation. The heat radiated by the jumping flames made his frozen limbs feel much better.

Lawrence brought two cups of hot tea, placed one cup in front of Director Jonah, and greeted patiently:

"You seem to have been waiting for a long time? The weather outside is not warm today. Let's warm up for a while."

"Oh! Thank you, generous lord."

Director Jonah quickly took the tea cup and took a sip. Then, he turned around and looked around, shook his head and said:

"It is indeed a bit cold today, Your Excellency. After all, it snowed last night. Fortunately, I didn't wait too long, no more than two hours."

"It's a bit hard to stay outdoors for two hours on a winter night like this." Lawrence glanced at the snow covering the banks of the Seine outside the window and agreed casually.

"It's indeed a bit difficult. But" Director Jonah suddenly sighed, with a sad tone, and said pointedly:

"Fortunately, I only have to survive these few hours, but many people have to survive the entire winter like this."

Lawrence frowned slightly and did not answer rashly, but after hearing this sentence, he immediately surmised the purpose of Director Jona's visit to him.

Seeing that Lawrence didn't speak, Director Jonah continued to sigh:

"It is not uncommon for people to freeze to death in Paris in the winter, especially this winter. Alas, after a week or two, the wind and snow will intensify. I don't know how the citizens living in thatched houses and shacks can survive."

Lawrence took a sip of tea and said slowly:

"I heard that His Majesty the King does not issue subsidies to those people every year? This should make the situation of those people much better, right?"

Hearing Lawrence take the initiative to cut into the topic, Director Jonah quickly put down the teacup and said excitedly:

"Yes, yes, there will be subsidies issued in the name of His Majesty the King in previous years. This is really a great policy that reflects His Majesty's kindness. Only this year, Your Excellency Bonaparte, have you read the recent newspapers? Especially The Daily Observer.”

"The Daily Observer? I've read some of it, right?" Lawrence shrugged.

"Ah, great, then you must know that the Countess Du Barry, the woman who bet against you, embezzled all the funds used for subsidies from me." Director Jonah was filled with grief and anger, clenching his fists The complaint states:

"And I can tell you privately that the amount Madame Du Barry misappropriated was not about three million livres as reported in the newspaper, but a full four million livres! Alas, even His Majesty fully supports that woman."

Lawrence glanced at Director Jonah with some sympathy, knowing that his current situation was indeed very embarrassing and dangerous.

Although the misappropriation of relief funds to Madame Du Barry was approved by Louis XV himself, Director Jonah did not dare to ignore it and turned a blind eye to the cancellation of winter subsidies this year.

In case there are some more serious consequences due to the cancellation of subsidies, whether it is protests, rallies, or even riots, Director Jonah, as the financial head of the royal family, is very likely to be used as the first scapegoat.

After all, the reason why subsidies cannot be issued is that there is no money. As for why there is no money, Louis XV will not admit that he used the money to buy jewelry for Madame Du Barry. Almost no king would be willing to take the initiative to blame himself for the mistake. , this is not simply a matter of face, but a fundamental issue related to the legitimacy of rule.

This principle is the same in Eastern dynasties. The emperor on the dragon throne will not make any mistakes. All mistakes are caused by treacherous ministers and villains.

At that time, the king will only blame all this on Director Jonah, who is the person in charge of finance. If necessary, he will even accuse him of several unfounded charges to guide public opinion and quell public complaints, such as "the king's original intention" It's good, but Director Jonah failed to execute it" and so on.

Therefore, even if Supervisor Jonah knew that Louis XV knew that Madame Du Barry had embezzled the relief funds, and even if he also knew that the people knew that Madame Du Barry had embezzled the relief funds, he still did not dare to be a hands-off shopkeeper. The group of people who are most impatient for the aid money.

However, despite having an insight into Director Jonah’s situation, Lawrence still cooperated and feigned admiration:

"I didn't expect you to be such a noble person, Mr. Director. I'm really ashamed to say that I didn't even notice those poor people."

"No, no, no, you have said it, Your Excellency." Faced with Lawrence's overflowing praise, Director Jonah also hurriedly declined:

"Actually, I also have some selfish motives of my own. If some serious consequences arise due to the inability to pay the winter subsidy, I'm afraid you will only be able to find me in the cemetery of Staffan Church in the future, His Majesty the King. I will definitely be blamed for the royal family’s financial deficit.”

"So, what do you mean?" Lawrence asked calmly.

"The top priority now is to raise the funds to issue subsidies. The citizens had already made a big fuss over the subsidies years ago. If the subsidies are really canceled by then, there might be some trouble, not to mention His Majesty the King. I will stay in Paris for a while, which will be a big problem.”

Director Jonah's tone was very anxious, and wrinkles full of worry appeared unconsciously on his cheeks. His body even trembled slightly. I don't know whether it was because of the chill that had not faded away or because of the fear that lingered in his heart:

"Now I can only ask you, your kind Lord Bonaparte, the royal family still holds half of the shares of the Corsican National Silver Company. If these shares are liquidated, it will be enough to issue this year's subsidies. Please. , Your Excellency, this is not only for my humble life, but also for the tens of thousands of civilians who are struggling on the edge of life and death."

Lawrence glanced at Director Jonah, then closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, neither accepting nor rejecting.

Supervisor Jonah, who was standing by the fire, stared attentively at Lawrence's every move. A few drops of sweat leaked out of his clenched fists due to nervousness, and even his heartbeat accelerated rapidly.

In the view of Director Jonah, the National Silver Company of Corsica is a cash cow for His Excellency Bonaparte. If he sells the company's stocks on behalf of the royal family, it will undoubtedly shake the market's confidence in the National Silver Company.

Investors will begin to wonder whether the national silver company has broken away from the royal family, or whether the royal family has some inside information that led to the massive sell-off.

Once such rumors spread, the share price of National Silver Company will inevitably fall to the bottom. After all, a considerable number of investors make generous donations because of the company's strong political background.

However, even though he knew that this was a very unfavorable proposal to Lawrence, Director Jonah really had no other choice.

Whether it is seeking help from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, trying to borrow funds from other accounts, or even seeking loans from commercial banks at the expense of personal reputation, these methods are either a drop in the bucket and simply not enough to fill the winter subsidy hole; or they are a waiting period. It would be too long, and it would be impossible to raise funds before the cold wave hits in mid-January.

Only the shares of the Corsican National Silver Company in the hands of the royal family could be liquidated very quickly as securities assets, and the scale of the assets was large enough to make up for the lack of subsidies.

Moreover, the person in charge of the royal family's assets in the National Silver Company is Crown Prince Louis, who came to Paris to learn business knowledge. As long as Director Jonah persuades Lawrence to agree to sell the equity, then by virtue of Lawrence's status as the first attendant and his personal relationship with Prince Louis, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will also directly agree with Jonah's management of stock cashing out.

"Your Excellency Bonaparte." Director Jonah's lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something to persuade Lawrence, but he didn't know how to make the other party accept such an unfavorable plan.

He felt that he was a humble royal manager. Although he seemed to have a very famous name in front of outsiders, he was actually just a higher-level domestic slave in the royal court. He could not offer anything of value to impress the prime minister of a country. His Excellency Bonaparte.

His only hope at this moment is that the Monsignor Bonaparte in front of him is really a good person as the rumors say.

"Compared to this, Mr. Supervisor." Lawrence opened his eyes, but changed the topic and said:

"I have some questions to ask you. If you feel inconvenient to answer them, forget it."

Director Jonah seemed to be grasping a life-saving straw and said with a trembling voice:

"You can ask, as long as I know something, I will tell you nothing."

"You can't be so absolute, Mr. Supervisor." Lawrence smiled, shook his head, and asked softly:

"Since Madame Du Barry has embezzled money from the royal family's accounts more than once, then you should have records, or evidence, of her embezzlement, right?"

Director Jonah was stunned for a moment. This was indeed a very private question, but he still gritted his teeth and nodded, and responded in a deep voice:

"Yes. Your Excellency, Madame Du Barry is deeply favored by His Majesty the King. Many of the funds she used to purchase jewelry villas were even directly approved by His Majesty, so I have all the vouchers and records there."

"Very well, Mr. Director, then we might as well make a deal."

Lawrence held his chin up with his hands, narrowed his eyes and said with a smile:

"I need those records and vouchers in your hand, and maybe you need to do some extra little things; and in return for you, you won't have to worry about the subsidy this winter, you will see enough within a week Livre appears on royal accounts."

Listening to Lawrence’s suggestion, Director Jonah couldn’t help but open his mouth:

"You mean to reveal Madame Du Barry's secrets about the royal family."

"Compared with leaking secrets and losing your head, which one do you prefer?"

"You're right, you're right, I. I." Director Jonah gritted his teeth, thinking of Madame Du Barry's hateful face, and promised in a solemn voice:

"I accept your proposal. I will prepare what you want as quickly as possible. During this time, I will also be staying in the Tuileries Palace with the royal family. You can come to me at any time."

Looking at Director Jonah's resolute expression, Lawrence also stood up with satisfaction and shook hands with him again:

"I'm glad you made the right choice, Mr. Director. You'll get what you want soon."

"I believe you, Your Excellency."

Director Jonah nodded heavily, raised his hand to drink the hot tea in the cup, then said goodbye to Lawrence and left the mansion.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Lawrence watched Director Jonah's carriage slowly leave amid the flying snowflakes, with a slight smile on his lips.

The appearance of this supervisor saved him a lot of troublesome preparations for his plan.

As for solving the problem of winter subsidies for the poor in Paris, this is what Lawrence planned to do. After all, as long as it is supplemented by a little proper operation, this is a great opportunity to win people's hearts. The deal with Director Jonah seems to be a Unsolicited gifts delivered to your doorstep.

Of course, Lawrence would not raise funds by selling off the shares of the National Silver Company as Director Jonah said. He did not want any problems with this company before Lawrence drained the last bit of value out of this shell company.

As for who should spend this huge sum of money, Lawrence already had suitable candidates in mind - those capitalists with unprecedented wealth:

"Come here, give a message to Mr. Montmartre of the Bank of Commerce of France. Hasn't he always wanted to squeeze into the aristocratic circle? Now he has a chance."