Lawrence finally spoke. This was the first sentence he said to everyone when he entered the big meeting hall:
"Genoa and Corsica, our five hundred years of grudges will be settled today."
Everyone's expressions changed again. Could it be said that the day of revenge for the Corsican people has finally come?!
"Finished..."
Governor Batista swallowed hard. He still didn't know what the end in Lawrence's words meant.
Signing a contract and shaking hands to make peace between the two countries is the end; letting soldiers loot Genoa for seven days and nights, and destroying the entire city of Genoa with fire is also the end.
Lawrence left this choice to themselves:
"Here are two documents that I have drafted for you..."
As he spoke, Lawrence motioned to a Privy Knight beside him to hand over the two documents:
"One is the official declaration of war by the Republic of Genoa against the Kingdom of Corsica. If you feel that you have been humiliated today, you can sign the declaration of war and see you on the battlefield; the other is the peace treaty between the two countries. With just one line of ink, we and I
The countries have settled their old grudges and become friendly neighbors from now on; whether it is war or peace, please do as you please."
Governor Batista solemnly took the two documents, but without thinking, he tore up the declaration of war on the spot, holding on and laughing:
"Since the founding of the country, Genoa has adhered to the motto that peace is the most important and peace brings wealth. Since Your Excellency Bonaparte is willing to lead your country to reconcile with our country, of course we will not be unappreciative."
Even the most radical representatives of powerful people would not take a second look at the declaration of war. Now that the Republican Guard has been completely destroyed and the Corsicans have already entered the Palace of the Governor, what else can they do to fight with the Corsicans?
war.
At this point, Governor Batista also knew that it was impossible to regard Corsica as an overseas territory of his country in the future, and his address to Lawrence and Corsica immediately changed to "Your Excellency and Your Country".
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! As he spoke, Governor Batista opened another peace treaty. Although the final treaty still needs to be agreed upon by the two countries, he still needs to take a look first.
What are the main demands of the Kingdom of Corsica?
However, as Governor Batista's eyes slowly moved downward, his expression became even more ugly. After reading the entire treaty, he even forgot that he had dozens of muskets pointed at his head and screamed.
shouted:
"No, no, no, it's impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"
The children of the aristocratic families present were startled and quickly looked at Governor Batista, fearing that the governor had offended Laurence Bonaparte and his soldiers.
At the same time, they were also very curious as to what exactly was written in the treaty that could make Governor Batista, who was always calm and in his sixties, cry out in anger.
Several bold representatives jumped on the stage and stood behind Governor Batista to take a look. Their faces instantly turned livid, and they dared not speak in anger.
"Your Majesty the Governor..."
Lawrence spoke:
"Since this is a meeting hall, you can read the contents of the treaty to everyone."
Governor Batista nodded, suppressed his gaffe, jumped directly to the specific content of the treaty, and read aloud:
“First: formally recognize the Kingdom of Corsica as an independent and sovereign country, and renounce all legal claims to Corsica and its affiliated islands. The two countries will establish normal diplomatic relations, build embassies and send ambassadors to each other.
Second: Unconditionally grant most-favored-nation trade status to the Kingdom of Corsica. Tariffs must not be levied on imported Corsican goods, Corsican-registered ships must not be seized, and free trade activities of the Kingdom of Corsica must not be interfered with.
Third: The Saint-Marshall district of the Port of Genoa is ceded as a concession of the Kingdom of Corsica. Corsican citizens and French citizens in the concession enjoy extraterritorial rights. The Republic of Genoa has no right to interfere in internal judicial cases in the concession; Corsican citizens and French citizens can
You can invest freely within the concession, and all properties within the concession do not need to pay taxes to the Republic of Genoa.
Fourth: Grant the armies of the Kingdom of Corsica and the Kingdom of France permanent military rights of passage in the territorial waters of the Republic of Genoa, grant the navy of the Kingdom of Corsica and the navy of the Kingdom of France permanent port rights in the port of Genoa, and allow the Kingdom of Corsica to operate in the concession.
and troops stationed inside the embassy and consulate.
Fifth: Transfer all the equity, ownership, management rights and other rights of the Genoa government to the Bank of St. George to the Kingdom of Corsica.
Sixth: Compensation for the previous exploitation and rule of Corsica. The total amount of compensation is 630 million livres, paid in ten years. The total principal and interest is 700 million livres, which means that the Kingdom of Corsica needs to be paid every year.
Pay compensation of seventy million livres or its equivalent in gold and silver.
Seventh: Corsican citizens in Genoa are allowed to participate in the political activities of the Republic of Genoa; the parliamentary seats in the concession of St. Marshall District should be reserved and Corsican citizens serve as members.
Eighth: The treaty came into effect at 0:00 on December 1, 1771, and the annual war reparations should be delivered no later than December 1.
Ninth: The Kingdom of Corsica will retain all powers, including military means, to ensure the smooth implementation of the treaty."
...
The content of the treaty was drawn up by Lawrence himself, so there were no minute legal details. Governor Batista read the entire content in only three or four minutes.
And when the representatives in the chamber listened, their faces instantly became as embarrassed as Governor Batista's.
You must know that the reason why the Republic of Genoa can be regarded as a rich and prosperous golden country throughout Europe is that the foundation of its founding is the income brought by the two major industries of trade and finance.
In the peace treaty submitted by Lawrence, the two clauses that granted Corsica trade most-favored-nation status and ceded the Saint-Marshall district would undoubtedly completely destroy the trade industry of the Republic of Genoa.
After all, Liguria is already poor in products, and the zero-tariff policy on Corsican products will inevitably lead to dumping by Corsican merchants to Genoa. This is something the Republic of Genoa, which has always practiced trade protectionism, absolutely does not want to see.
.
The Saint-Marshall District is the largest and most prosperous port area in the Port of Genoa. Allocating this large area to the Corsicans means that the Republic of Genoa will lose the huge income and profits brought by the Port of Genoa.
If these two clauses are implemented, I am afraid that there will be hundreds of corpses on the Tyrrhenian Sea the next day. They are all Genoese businessmen who committed suicide in the sea because of complete bankruptcy and despair.
And Article 5 of the treaty, regarding the cession of the rights and interests of St. George Bank, made Governor Batista almost unable to hold back and start a lawsuit.
Over the past hundreds of years, the Bank of St. George has always been one of the most important financial institutions in the entire Republic.
Due to the restrictions of the political system of the Republic of Genoa, this country cannot have overseas territories in name. Therefore, the Republic of Genoa manages its overseas territories, including Corsica, under the assets of the Bank of St. George.
, this is very similar to the British East India Company.
From this, we can also imagine what an astonishing amount of wealth the St. George Bank has accumulated in these hundreds of years of overseas trade and exploitation. Even the government of the Republic of Genoa, their equity in the St. George Bank is
Only less than 20 percent.
If all the rights and interests of the Bank of St. George are transferred to the Kingdom of Corsica, Governor Batista can fully expect that the financial industry of the entire republic will be completely monopolized and controlled by the Corsican people.
The golden river that once flowed to Genoa will now change its course to Ajaccio in Corsica.
Not to mention the requirement for war reparations, 70 million livres per year, which is a huge sum of money that would have to drain the national capital of the entire republic to repay it.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Let’s not talk about the clauses involving military politics and national sovereignty. The three clauses involving finance, trade and war reparations have already made Batis
The governor of the tower turned pale and was speechless for a long time.
If he signs his name on this treaty, Governor Batista knows that he will be nailed to the pillar of shame in the history of the Republic, because in less than a year, the Republic of Genoa will have nothing to do with the impression of prosperity and wealth.
It has been completely reduced to a cash cow that provides blood and money to the Kingdom of Corsica.
Governor Batista wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, tremblingly, and wanted to say something more:
"Your Excellency...please do not doubt our determination to seek peace, but this treaty..."
"You still have eight hours."
Ignoring Governor Batista's embarrassment at all, Lawrence looked at a golden clock in the chamber and said to the hands on it:
"There are still eight hours until midnight. If you don't sign this treaty before then, I will take it as a signal that your country intends to fight again, and the treaty you get at that time will not be in hand.
Having accepted this offer, I think my lord, Louis XV, would be happy to see the territory of France extend to Liguria... Cherish the little time you have, everyone."
After saying that, Lawrence led the guards out of the large meeting hall without looking back, leaving only a team of Corsican Jaegers here to monitor the venue and maintain order.
As they watched the demonic executioner leave the hall, the expressions of the powerful representatives not only did not relax at all, but became even more frightened and uneasy.
Eight hours, are they going to decide the fate of the Republic of Genoa in these eight hours?!
It is true that the hundreds of powerful representatives in this chamber at this moment can already make decisions on behalf of the entire Republic of Genoa. After all, the seats in the Republic's Parliament are basically in the hands of the families and forces behind them.
But eight hours was too short for a diplomatic treaty. It was so short that they had to start making decisions immediately before they even had time to recover from the shadow and fear left by Laurence Bonaparte.
Governor Batista's face was even more ashen at this moment, and he naturally heard Lawrence's threat before leaving - Louis XV would be happy to see France's territory expanded to Liguria.
The implication of Lawrence's words is very obvious: if the Republic of Genoa rejects this treaty, the second treaty received will be the annexation request of the Kingdom of France.
Count Vergenin, the French Foreign Minister, was supported by Lawrence. He would naturally cooperate with all Lawrence's requests. The dignitaries of the Republic of Genoa also knew this very well.
The reason why Governor Batista had the confidence to bargain with Laurence Bonaparte and ask for careful discussion of various terms was because Governor Batista got one point right:
Even though the Kingdom of Corsica achieved a complete military victory, the Corsican people still did not have the ability to annex the entire Republic of Genoa.
There are dozens of intricate and criss-crossed interest factions within the Republic. The difficulty and cost of governance in this tiny place are far greater than those in Sardinia, and it is by no means something that the Kingdom of Corsica can handle easily.
If the Corsicans insist on annexing Liguria, what they will get is a Liguria full of rebellions and low public morale.
To be continued...