From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

While the French are ecstatic about the return of Nice, Genoa City, the concession of the Kingdom of Corsica, and the Saint-Marshall district.

Since the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Corsican Army reached a comprehensive ceasefire two weeks ago, the Corsican Army, which returned from victory, has taken the opportunity to station itself southward in Genoa City, where they are resting and planning their next move.

Although the formal delivery of this concession would not officially take place until December 1, the frightened Genoese did not dare to refuse Lawrence's request for garrisoning troops, and unanimously handed over control of the St. Marshall District to Corsi. Jiajun.

Governor Batista personally led the large and small bureaucrats outside the city gate to welcome the triumphal march of Lawrence Bonaparte's army.

After learning that this army had defeated the Republican Guard and then marched north non-stop to defeat the powerful Kingdom of Sardinia, the governor further strengthened his belief that he could not confront the Corsicans.

The Corsicans, who were once regarded as slaves and beasts, are now holding their heads high in Genoa City as masters. This really makes many Genoese citizens feel a dream-like sense of unreality.

"Please sit down, brother, it's been a hard journey all the way here."

In the Corsican Embassy in the Saint-Marshall district, Lawrence personally poured a cup of hot tea for his brother, Carlo Bonaparte, who had come from afar.

More than three months ago, after the crisis of the siege of Ajaccio was resolved, Lawrence, who returned to Corsica, immediately ordered Carlo Bonaparte to go to the Province of Provence as the second-level governor, a position that Lawrence and Maupe shared. The chancellor cooperates to get rid of Madame du Barry's reward.

Although he was only a lieutenant-governor, with Lawrence's influence in Paris and Versailles, Carlo Bonaparte quickly established his own power in the Province of Provence and arranged a group of Corsicans according to Lawrence's instructions. in a confidential position in the province.

A few days ago, it was Carlo Bonaparte who, after learning the news that Prince Vittorio insisted on attacking Nice, immediately led a militia force to Nice to lift the siege and put all the members of the Bonaparte family away. The prestige reached its peak among the citizens of Nice.

After settling various affairs in Nice, Carlo Bonaparte also learned about Lawrence's garrison in Genoa, so he came to meet his brother after a long absence.

"Oh thank you, I'll just do it myself Lawrence."

Carlo Bonaparte quickly took the porcelain cup and took a look at the splendid room and the bustling Port of Genoa outside the window, feeling dazed for a while.

Three years ago, Carlo Bonaparte would never have imagined that as an insignificant Corsican parliamentarian, he would one day sit in the Corsican Palace of Genoa City with the title of Second-level Governor of Provence. Drinking tea in the Xijia Embassy.

Especially after hearing that the building under his feet was the official residence of the Admiralty of the Republic of Genoa not long ago, Carlo Bonaparte felt even more incredible.

The Genoese navy, once regarded as the number one enemy and invincible by the Corsican people, now even their department official residence has become the territory of the Corsican people. This was simply a dream in Corsica three years ago.

As for defeating the rich and powerful Kingdom of Sardinia on the Po River Plain and bringing Sardinia Island into the kingdom's territory? Those are words that only two types of people are likely to say - lunatics and drunkards.

But now all this has become an indisputable reality, and this shocked Carlo Bonaparte no less than when he witnessed Lawrence staying at the Governor's Palace in Ajaccio.

"How was your stay in Aix?" Lawrence interrupted Carlo Bonaparte's thoughts:

"Are Maria and the kids still getting used to it?"

"Ah, of course, everything is great. Maria is so happy. She has changed from a Corsican country girl to the wife of the Governor of France. She has to attend salons and balls with her ladies every day. Although I think she In French I can only say thank you and you’re welcome”

Carlo Bonaparte came back to his senses and nodded with a wry smile:

"The children are also very healthy. Joseph and Napoleon are growing up very fast. I hired a French teacher for them and they all miss you as their uncle. Unfortunately, I have to lead the army this time and I can't bring them with me."

Carlo talked endlessly about his life after moving to Aix, and his tone was full of gratitude. He certainly knew what he relied on to become the powerful deputy governor respected by everyone.

Lawrence also listened with interest. He was very concerned about his relatives in this world, especially his young nephew.

Part of the reason why Carlo Bonaparte was asked to serve as the second-level governor of Provence immediately after the siege of Ajaccio was that Lawrence hoped that Carlo and his family could stay in France, which was relatively stable.

Although after the surrender of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the security of Corsica itself has basically been assured, but in this Italian war that does not know when it will end, Lawrence cannot guarantee that Corsica can always remain peaceful.

Carlo Bonaparte's decisive action in leading troops to rescue Nice a few days ago also convinced Lawrence that he was capable of holding this position.

After all, his brother had served as Pasquale Pauli's military adjutant. With his support, there would be no big problem in establishing a foothold in the Province of Provence.

The two chatted about family issues for more than half an hour, and then Lawrence suddenly asked:

“What is the situation with Corsican employment in the province of Provence?”

Carlo Bonaparte's face became more solemn. He also knew that his younger brother arranged for him to serve as deputy governor not just to allow himself to live a good life. Even before he took office, he knew that he shouldered the responsibility of controlling Important responsibilities of the Province of Provence:

"The progress is still very fast. In more than two months, I basically controlled the public security affairs. This time I was able to directly lead the militia to Nice thanks to this."

Since the militiamen were subordinate to the local security forces in the command system, Carlo Bonaparte was able to lead his troops to Nice without consulting Paris and Versailles this time, risking a conflict with the Sardinian army.

Now that Carlo Bonaparte has become famous for his actions in recapturing Nice, Paris and Versailles will naturally not punish him for his unauthorized actions. From this point of view, Carlo Bonaparte's His political judgment is also really excellent.

Lawrence was also very satisfied with this result. Although public security affairs have a low status in the administrative system and are a tricky department with a small budget and large responsibilities, they were able to put this power in the hands of the Corsican people in more than two months. It's already very good.

"I have two things to ask of you, Carlo." Lawrence said after thinking for a moment:

"First of all, I hope that the province of Provence can raise a batch of grain for Corsica as soon as possible. The bigger the better."

"Food? Are you preparing for the war in Sicily?" Carlo Bonaparte also heard about the famine in Sicily that has not yet ended.

"Well, Mayor Josip and I ordered half a million livres of black beans and bread, but that number is nowhere near enough to feed Sicily."

"That's no problem, but the cost of purchasing a large amount of grain in a short period of time will definitely be high, and Corsica's fiscal revenue may be affected." Carlo Bonaparte hesitated.

Lawrence shook his head. Although he had just received two high sums of war compensation from the Republic of Genoa and the Kingdom of Sardinia, he did not intend to waste this income on the grain market in Marseille:

"No, you can raise this batch of food in the name of war aid for the Kingdom of Corsica, and France will pay for it."

Now that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Vergenin, is obeying his words, and the regent, the Duke of Orleans, is also leaning towards him because of Duke Charles and the Golden Iris faction, Lawrence believes that Versailles will not refuse his request for food aid, not to mention that he has just been in The Kingdom of Sardinia returned victorious.

Of course, although this additional expenditure will definitely worsen the financial situation of the Kingdom of France, which is already unable to make ends meet, compared to turning those white silver coins into jade plates of delicacies and clear sky fireworks in the Palace of Versailles, it will still feed Sicily. The hundreds of thousands of victims are even more important.

Seeing that Carlo Bonaparte was still hesitant, Lawrence added:

"This matter can be left to the mayor of Marseille, Josip, and you can provide him with political support within the province."

Of course, Lawrence did not forget the ambitious but restrained mayor of Marseilles from humble origins.

On his previous trip to Ajaccio via Marseille, Laurence took the time to meet with the alderman and hinted to him that his brother Carlo Bonaparte would not remain as Viceroy of Provence forever.

As for who would be left with the position of Lieutenant Governor when Carlo Bonaparte was promoted to a higher position, it was naturally decided by Lawrence.

With this level of interest, Lawrence also knew very well that Mayor Yosip would not refuse his request. Further power was an irresistible temptation for the mayor.

Carlo Bonaparte nodded carefully after hearing this. Since his brother had already planned everything, he only needed to execute it:

"I understand. I'll do it as soon as I get back to Aix. What's the second thing you want me to do?"

Lawrence's expression suddenly became solemn, and he gently put down the tea cup. Even though all the attendants and guards in the room were undoubted confidants, he still kept his voice very low:

"You just mentioned that you have taken control of the public security affairs in Provence. Carlo, the militia there are also under your command?"

"Yes, the one who nominally commands the Provence militia is a colonel commander."

Carlo Bonaparte was a little confused, but he still answered truthfully:

"But I have elected a retired officer of the Corsican Defense Force to take over the Provence militia. I have known him for many years and he is undoubtedly one of our own."

After receiving the affirmative answer, Lawrence nodded slightly and commanded in a deep voice:

"Then, Carlo, I hope you will expand the strength and armament of the Provence militia as soon as possible and reorganize this force according to the standards of a regular army. The bigger the better, and it is best to maintain a scale of more than five regiments."

"What?!"

Carlo Bonaparte raised his head suddenly, barely holding the tea cup in his hand:

"Expanding the militia? Do you need to train it according to the standards of the regular army? Lawrence, you can't possibly not know what such behavior means in the Kingdom of France!"

Treason, no doubt treason, a treason that no French king could accept.

As a highly centralized autocratic monarchy, the Kingdom of France undoubtedly has extremely strict restrictions on military power in various places. Any large-scale military operation, even a simple troop movement, needs to go through level-by-level authorization review.

The reason why local militia forces are able to stay outside this regulatory system is simply because the militia forces are sparse in strength, loosely organized, and insignificant in terms of combat effectiveness.

And Carlo Bonaparte also knew very well that once he followed Lawrence's instructions and expanded and trained the militia troops according to the standards of the regular army without official authorization, such behavior would be no different from raising private soldiers.

"Lawrence, what do you want to do?!" Carlo Bonaparte suddenly panicked. Even with his experience and knowledge, he couldn't help but panic at this moment.

Lawrence was silent for a moment, then avoided Carlo's question and said to himself:

"You can request the Versailles court to expand the militia on the grounds that the security situation in the Nice area is dire at the beginning of the return. My friends in the court will approve this request, and then you will have a legitimate reason to expand the army; as for armaments, you We can leave part of the arms to assist the Kingdom of Corsica, which should be enough to arm an army of ten thousand people."

"But, but!"

Carlo Bonaparte's speech speeded up unconsciously. He just wanted to persuade his brother to give up this stupid idea:

"Even if the Palace of Versailles agrees to expand the army, it is impossible for me to expand the militia to more than five regiments, let alone train them like a standing army. Once His Majesty the King discovers such behavior, our entire family will be in catastrophe. !”

Lawrence shook his head:

"Even if the king discovered the anomaly in Provence, it would be several months later. It would take more than a year before he sends envoys to investigate clearly."

"This is not a long time, Lawrence! One year, twelve months, and three hundred and sixty-five days, they just go by in a blink of an eye!"

"But His Majesty the King may not have that time."

Lawrence uttered these words expressionlessly, then stared into Carlo Bonaparte's astonished eyes and said word by word:

"After the Italian war ends, France will not usher in any peace and tranquility. The situation will only become more chaotic. By then, I will need an army, Carlo."