From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Crown Prince Louis looked at Lawrence with admiration and said excitedly:

"Excellent, Lawrence, you are truly my best friend."

Ask yourself, Crown Prince Louis claims to have a better status and connections than Lawrence, but he has no confidence in raising the seven million livres for disaster relief so easily.

"It is an honor to serve you, Your Highness." Lawrence smiled humbly.

"but."

While admiring, Crown Prince Louis also stared at Mr. Montmartre's empty seat and thought thoughtfully for a while, and said slowly:

"These bankers are really rich. They can spend seven million livres at once, and he said there are many people richer than him."

"Oh? Your Highness, what do you mean?"

Crown Prince Louis sighed: "I heard that the kingdom's financial problems have not been solved and are getting worse. If it can be solved with these people's money, right?"

"Well, it's better not to, Your Highness." Lawrence resisted the urge to twitch the corner of his mouth.

"Really? Why is this?" the crown prince asked curiously.

Lawrence certainly could not say that this decision led to the outbreak of the Revolution and sent His Highness to the guillotine, so he patiently explained:

"Your Highness, this time we are touching the bourgeoisie's cake just for temporary expediency. But if you want to plunder the bourgeoisie's social wealth for a long time, it is tantamount to killing the goose and taking the eggs; industry and commerce will only be suppressed by you. The world will become more and more withered, and the wealth you plunder will become less and less. At that time, with the economic crisis caused by the decline of industry and commerce, the national finance will completely collapse. "

"That's really bad." Prince Louis nodded in understanding, with a rare hint of deep worry on his fair face.

Even for this pampered and carefree Crown Prince, France's fiscal deficit is already a problem that cannot be ignored any longer. He was in a daze for a while with deep thoughts, and then continued to ask:

"But France's financial problems. What do you think, Laurence?"

Lawrence did not speak rashly, he looked up at the rose window above his head, and looked at the beautiful transparent glass in deep thought, watching it emit a colorful hazy light under the afternoon winter sun.

"I have also mentioned this issue to the Duke of Choiseul, Your Highness." Lawrence recalled, shook his head, and sighed with a smile:

"At that time, I proposed to the Duke of Choiseul to levy the simplest per capita tax on the nobility and clergy. As a result, the Duke said that my idea was simply crazy, saying that it would plunge France into a civil war within three months. Quagmire.”

"Taxing nobles and clergy? Hahaha, this is really not an idea that you would propose if you were smart." Prince Louis did not agree with Lawrence's meaning. Instead, he regarded it as a funny joke and couldn't help laughing. :

"I think Duke Choiseul is right. Tax exemption is their inherent right, and the stable rule of the kingdom cannot be separated from their help. They are their own people."

"No one is our own when it comes to national interests, Your Highness." Lawrence gradually stopped smiling and said in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Prince Louis took a small breath of air-conditioning, frowned and asked:

"Are you serious? Laurence? I don't think I should offend the owners of those towns and churches. I need them to help rule France."

Obviously, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who has lived in the Palace of Versailles since childhood, does not want to infringe on the interests of those aristocratic companions who have been with him day and night.

Just like Louis XVI in history, although he was diligent in government affairs when he took the throne and promulgated several drastic reform plans in a short period of time, none of them related to the abolition of the first and second class interests.

In addition to Louis XVI's personal emotions, this is probably also because he really did not have the ability to touch the two deep-rooted classes.

Lawrence, who knew this well, sighed silently and said nothing more. He did not expect that an after-dinner conversation could change the traditional concepts formed by the palace education that His Royal Highness had received for more than ten years.

Moreover, even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince cannot choose the right path in the future, the people of France will make the right choice for him.

After all, if a reform cannot be carried out from the top down, it can only be carried out from the bottom up.

Whatever form that change takes, Lawrence vows to be the leader.

"Ahem."

Crown Prince Louis also noticed the slightly awkward and tense atmosphere, so he took the initiative to put aside the topic and said:

"Oh, by the way, Lawrence, now that the banker has promised to fund, should we immediately release the news to the outside world? I read in the newspaper that people in Paris are going to be in trouble these days for subsidies. Announce this good news quickly and let them feel at ease as soon as possible.”

"I understand how you love your people like your own children." Lawrence rolled his eyes and said with a smile:

"But please don't be too anxious. This fund needs a little work to achieve the best results. Of course, this will not take long. I swear that this money will be fully distributed to all those who are suffering before the cold wave arrives." In the hands of poor people.”

Unlike Prince Louis, Lawrence does not want the boiling public opinion in Paris to end early.

After all, only muddy water is good for fishing, and only dark and windy nights are suitable for murder and arson.

"Operation? Okay, I believe you, Lawrence, but please make sure those poor people can get the money as soon as possible."

After all, Lawrence had fought for this huge sum of money, and Prince Louis didn’t say much, just a few kind words of advice:

"If there is anything you need my help with, just say so, Lawrence, I do want to do something for those people."

Lawrence nodded and said with a smile:

"You are really a kind lord. In fact, there is something I hope to get your help from, Your Highness, in a few days."

After more than half an hour, this simple lunch for two officially came to an end.

The two of them, who were full of wine and food, stood up from the dining table while chatting, and walked out of the hall together while laughing and talking.

Rather than saying that this is a pair of master and servant, it is better to say that this is a pair of truly close urban friends.

And just when the two of them stepped out of the gate of the side hall, a palace servant came forward impatiently.

He has obviously been waiting here for a long time:

"Your Majesty Bonaparte! One of your attendants arrived at the Tuileries Palace twenty minutes ago. He wanted to see you immediately. But since you were dining with His Royal Highness, I asked him to stay in the waiting room in front of the garden first. Stay tuned."

"Attendant?" Lawrence's face also became condensed, and he waved his hand directly to interrupt the verbose servant and asked:

"Which attendant? What is his name?"

"It was a very strong Italian who called himself Grosso Bruno."

"Grosso? Is he in a hurry?"

Lawrence frowned slightly, but he didn't have time to think too much. He simply said goodbye to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and then quickly headed to the waiting hall in the direction pointed by the servant.

At the entrance of the waiting hall not far from the gate of the Tuileries Palace, Lawrence saw Grosso with a serious face.

"Lawrence, there's something wrong with your small newspaper." As soon as they met, Grosso motioned for Lawrence to walk out and explained with a stern face:

"The president sent someone to the Champs Elysées for help, saying that they were being targeted by the police force. Others don't know your relationship with this newspaper, so they can only wait for you to make the decision yourself."

Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and then immediately realized that this must be the extremely angry Madame Du Barry instructing the Paris police force to take revenge on President Hailsham.

However, there was no trace of worry on Lawrence's face. Instead, he chuckled and said to himself

"They came just in time. I was worried that they wouldn't come. In this case, the overall plan can move forward one step further."

At about the same time, Main Blvd.

The location of the Daily Observer

This remote and barren street was now surrounded by water. Hundreds of police soldiers with loaded guns blocked the entire Main Avenue.

There were even three large prison vans converted from freight carriages parked on the street, demonstrating the determination of the police force in this action.

People living nearby were peeping at the scene on the street from their windowsills with horror and curiosity. The police and soldiers seemed to have only one target for their actions - their beloved Observer Daily.

Due to its low price and ability to speak out for the people at the bottom, the Observer Daily has been a favorite daily reading for ordinary citizens in recent days.

But now, people on both sides could only watch helplessly as the police and soldiers rushed into the two-story building of the newspaper office, and listened to the heart-wrenching sounds of smashing and smashing coming from inside.

The people were in mourning for a while, as if they were leaving a rare friend. As for the brutal and rude police soldiers, residents and passers-by complained about their barbaric behavior.

Perhaps because he did not want to face criticism from the public, as the commander of this operation, Colonel Giovanni did not come to Main Avenue in person.

He sat in a café on the corner of the street, waiting with a depressed expression for the end of this absurd arrest.

Although he also knew that this was to protect his family, this feeling of doing things without conscience still made Colonel Giovanni feel tortured every day.

He has authorized the command of the scene to a captain and non-commissioned officer. After all, this time it is just to arrest a group of harmless newspaper staff. If the Duke of Aiguillon had not requested that it be done in such a loud manner, Colonel Giovanni would have even Not taking more than a hundred police soldiers with them.

At this moment, inside the Observer Daily office.

The tied-up President Hailsen stared blankly at the mess in front of him, and two lines of tears fell unconsciously from his cheeks.

The originally clean and tidy office has long been turned into a garbage dump made of shredded paper and sawdust. The printing area on the first floor is even more deformed. The stinking thick ink is spread all over the floor. Even the valuable machine The large printing presses were also smashed to pieces.

Even so, the police and soldiers still refused to give up. They searched in the ruins and smashed all the usable items with batons. As for the valuable small items, they ran into them without hesitation. in the pocket.

Seeing that his hard work of more than ten years in business was turned into a puddle of mud and ruins, President Hailsen could no longer suppress his emotions, buried his head in his knees and cried bitterly.

"Fuck, cry, cry, cry, why are you crying?"

The fat captain glanced at President Hailsen's tears, smiled contemptuously, put his baton against Hailsen's chin and mocked:

"Why didn't you think about today when you were using those reactionary remarks to attract people's attention? Huh?"

"Reactionary remarks?" President Hailsen said with red eyes and gritted teeth:

"Is there any deviation in our report? Isn't the harsh truth not the truth? You just don't admit it. You don't admit that there are such a group of people who are suffering in this country. You can't even accept their appearance in black and white in the newspaper. superior!"

"Who the hell cares about you! I'm just following orders."

The captain snorted and kicked Hailsson hard in the ribs, causing him to retching and curling up in pain.

Seeing Hailsen struggling in pain, a smile appeared on the captain's lips, and he said happily:

"Hmph, you should leave this kind of nonsense to the prison inmates and tell it to the inmates. You will stay there for the rest of your life. Oh, by the way, your employee just mentioned that this newspaper seems to have a shareholder. ?”

President Hailsen lay on the ground, struggling and asked: "What shareholder? I don't know."

"Damn it, don't pretend to be stupid!" The captain swung his baton and hit Hailsson on the back, threatening him in a cold voice:

"The order I got is to capture and take away all the people involved in this reactionary newspaper. The shareholder must not be able to escape his involvement. Tell me quickly, what is his name and where does he live?"

Hailsham, who was suddenly hit hard, screamed loudly, but other than that, he made no other sound.

Although Hailsham had already requested assistance from the Champs Elysées, he didn't know whether His Excellency Bonaparte would actually help him, a humble little president.

Prior to this, President Hailsham still kept his original promise to Monsignor Bonaparte - not to reveal the relationship between the newspaper and Laurence Bonaparte.

President Hailsen closed his eyes tightly and spat out a sentence weakly:

"I have no idea."

"What the hell, the president doesn't know who his shareholders are? Huh?"

The captain suddenly lost his temper and swung his baton again, ready to hit Hailsham on the head.

At this moment, a police soldier suddenly went upstairs and reported in a hurried tone:

"Sir! A carriage broke into our blockade and stopped downstairs. The person on it claimed to be an investor in this newspaper."

"Oh? Hahahahaha, it's delivered to your door!"

The captain officer was stunned for a moment, then he laughed loudly and put his baton back on his waist, picked up Hailsson's chin and mocked:

"You want to try again if you don't know that shareholder? Hey, I have decided that I will put you and that shareholder in the same cell in the future so that you can get to know each other well."

After saying that, the captain officer waved his hand and motioned to his subordinates to bring the person up.

President Hailsen paid no attention to the fat captain. He just stared at the stairs with his eyes blankly, and a few hot tears welled up from the corners of his eyes again.

Soon, Lawrence and Grosso arrived on the second floor of the newspaper office, surrounded by several police officers and soldiers.

Looking at the increasingly prosperous newspaper office turned into ruins in front of him, looking at the scarred President Hailson, Lawrence's face instantly turned cold, and his sharp eyes stared directly at the captain and police officer.

"Oh, he's still a young boy."

Since Lawrence only wore casual clothes when dining with the crown prince, the captain's eyes suddenly turned contemptuous after taking a look at the clothes of Lawrence and Grosso, and said in a frivolous tone:

"Kid, don't look at me like that. If I'm unhappy, it won't be easy for you in prison."

Lawrence ignored the captain and looked directly at President Haitham on the ground. He frowned and asked, "Mr. Haitson, are you okay?"

"It's nothing serious, Your Excellency." President Hailsen nodded with a wry smile.

"Hey, kid!"

When the captain saw that he was being ignored by the two prisoners, he shouted angrily:

"Don't be arrogant to me! Let me tell you, you are in big trouble. You are inseparable from the many crimes this newspaper is suspected of! Huh, but since you are not the main culprit, I will let you go. It’s not impossible, it depends on whether you are sincere or not.”

Faced with this inferior bribe-demanding technique, Lawrence snorted coldly, spread his hands and said:

"Then what if I'm not sincere?"

"Boy, you have to think about it. Since you are a shareholder of this newspaper, you must not be short of those thousands of livres, right? If you go to jail, huh." The captain's face became more and more gloomy, and he didn't understand the rules. , The brazen and domineering brat is a bit intolerable.

"So what if I've thought about it?" Lawrence sneered:

"I'm standing right here. If you have the guts, you can try to catch me."

"Okay, okay!" The captain finally couldn't bear it anymore and roared loudly:

"Come here! Come here! Tie these two people up and put them into the prison car with other prisoners!"

After giving the order, the police officer did not forget to mock triumphantly:

"What an idiot. The order to arrest this person was given by the Duke of Aiguillon. So what if you have some background? Why, you are older than the Duke of Aiguillon?"

After that, the captain officer put his hands on his hips, looked at Lawrence confidently and laughed, he bet that this brat who didn't know the heights of heaven and earth would kneel down and beg for mercy within ten seconds.

However, he obviously couldn't see this scene.

Lawrence stood calmly and allowed the police and soldiers holding ropes to approach. Even Grosso, who subconsciously wanted to draw a knife to resist, was held in place by him in time. The two of them were like docile lambs. They were tied up quietly by the police and soldiers.

"Damn, this kid is still pretending. Forget it, I'll see how he keeps pretending after he enters the cell. I have plenty of time to play with him."

The captain police officer spat in disappointment and ordered cursingly:

"Listen up! Put the prisoner into the prison car! Put a seal on this newspaper. Also, go and inform Colonel Giovanni that our mission has been completed."