Chapter 113 On behalf of all Corsican people, I disagree (Part 1)
"Thank you for your wonderful speech, Mr. Congressman."
In the auditorium of the Governor's Palace, Corsica Bishop Ecobert smiled and nodded to a congressman on the podium. Then he walked onto the podium calmly, faced the guests who filled the auditorium solemnly, and continued.
Host the agenda below.
Bishop Ecobal has not changed much from two years ago. He still serves as the representative of the church in parliament and serves as the speaker of the Corsican Parliament.
It's just that today, Bishop Aikobel's dress is different from the past. He is seen holding a scepter and a white crown on his head. Even the robes on his body have been specially changed into purple robes that show his identity as a bishop.
As for the reason why he dressed up so grandly, you can understand it just by looking at the packed auditorium.
Almost all the rich and famous people in Corsica were invited to attend this parliament. Without exception, they are all very influential figures in their respective industries.
From upper-level politicians, wealthy businessmen, and landowners to lower-level craftsmen, fishermen, and shop owners, representatives from all walks of life sit here. Even Lawrence’s landlord and neighbor, Mrs. Dora, was famous for her expertise in the art of clothing.
Invited due to reputation.
And Pauli's purpose of going to such great lengths to gather these people here is also very clear, as long as he can win over or threaten these representatives in the parliament and make them accept the resolution of Corsica's annexation to England.
Then with their influence in their respective fields, this merger can be completed quite smoothly.
The most conspicuous position in the entire auditorium, the front end of the long horseshoe-shaped table, is undoubtedly reserved for the two most distinguished people, Governor Pauli and His Excellency Pitt.
It was also the first time for Peter to attend the parliament of another country. He was also very interested in the speeches of the members and listened attentively.
"To be honest, I quite like your council here."
After silently listening to the last congressman's speech, Peter leaned back in his chair and said casually to Pauly:
"It's just that the level is really poor. Any passerby from Westminster, London, would be better than them."
"You can't blame them." Pauli shrugged nonchalantly and said:
"There are two rural congressmen who can't even read the alphabet. Every time I send them meeting minutes, I have to send someone to read them to them."
After hearing this, Peter couldn't help but grin, shook his head and said:
"But you also have advantages. This place is much more orderly than the House of Commons in England. When I was Prime Minister, every time I went to the House of Commons to speak, it was as noisy as a vegetable market. It made me want to send the army to tie them all up."
After hearing this, Paulie just smiled and said nothing. You must know that the Corsican Parliament is as noisy as a vegetable market on weekdays. The reason why these members are so orderly today is because they know that the previous bills are not important at all, and the main event is yet to come.
.
After Peter finished speaking, he immediately laughed twice at himself, sighed and said:
"However, I haven't been to the House of Commons in two years. The House of Lords is full of a bunch of dim-witted old cucumbers and people with Alzheimer's disease. It's worse than the House of Commons."
Since being awarded the peerage of Earl Tatum, Pitt has lost the qualification to act in the House of Commons and can only stay in the House of Lords to retire with other politicians who have lost power like him.
Paulie looked at Peter with a smile and said:
"Maybe things will turn around after you return to China this time?"
"Who knows."
"Haha..." Paulie laughed twice, lowered his voice, and said slowly:
"I went to London then, and I hope you can give me some support."
Pete put on a funny expression, glanced at Pauly, and said vaguely:
"Let's talk about it after we return to China. Let's take care of the current matters first."
...
Compared to the orderly speeches of the congressmen at the front of the auditorium, the crowded representatives and guests at the back of the auditorium were much more lively, and whispers could be heard endlessly.
For them, there are few opportunities to bring together representatives of various industries in one place, so many savvy businessmen have begun to chat with people around them to expand their network of contacts.
Even in these short few hours, several business orders were negotiated on the spot at the back of the auditorium.
But for most guests, the topic of their discussion is undoubtedly today's unique parliament.
Why did Governor Pauli summon them all here?
"I heard that the parliament has something big to announce this time."
"Big thing? What big thing?"
"Did you see the man next to Governor Pauli? I heard that he was a British man. This matter should be related to the British."
"The British... are interesting. Do you know anything else?"
"How can I have that ability? This little bit of news was just revealed two days ago."
...
Time is ticking by, and the hands of the big pendulum clock in the auditorium have clearly pointed at a quarter past eleven.
Paulie frowned and glanced at the congressman who was still speaking on the podium, waved slightly to call his secretary, and whispered:
"Tell the various members of Congress and Bishop Aiko Baier to speed up the process, otherwise it will be too late to hang the St. George's flag on the Governor's Palace at 12 noon."
"That...I understand." The secretary hesitated for a moment before responding, and then glanced at Paulie with a slight dissatisfaction. She didn't expect that he had gone to this extent to please Pete.
Under pressure from Poly, the remaining bills were voted on without much discussion.
The guests at the back also noticed this anomaly and stopped their discussions one after another, staring at the front with all their attention. Some guests in the back seat could not help but stand up and looked nervously at Governor Pauli.
Finally, Bishop Aiko Baier, who was standing on the podium, turned to the last page of the agenda. Although he had already known about the motion before the meeting, at this moment, he couldn't help but confirm it on the podium for a while.
"Then, the last motion today..."
Bishop Aiko Baier took a deep breath, slowly placed the agenda on the table, looked around with a solemn expression at the congressmen and guests, and said loudly:
"It was submitted to the Parliament by Governor Pasquale Paoli: whether to adopt the Treaty of Merger between Corsica and England. The contents of this treaty have been notified to all members of Parliament in advance and will not be repeated here."
The expression of astonishment spread to every guest's face like a contagion following Bishop Aiko Baier's words, followed by a death-like silence.
Even those who got some wind of it had no idea that the grand finale of the parliament would be such a shocking bill, and that it was proposed by Governor Pauli himself.
Although the guests did not know the specific terms of the treaty, they knew from the name that Corsica would become a territory of the Kingdom of England.
"Ahem..."
Bishop Aiko Baier cleared his throat. He also saw the shocked expressions of the representatives. He also had the same expression when he learned the news.
In the end, it was His Excellency Peter who promised that he would not harm the church's interests in Corsica, which made Bishop Icober agree to the treaty on behalf of the church.
"Then, please invite Governor Pasquale Paoli to come on stage and explain his proposal."
Bishop Aiko Baier said, nodded to Governor Pauli, and stretched out his hand to motion for him to come forward.
Pauli stood up under everyone's gaze, closed his eyes and straightened his clothes, then turned around and bowed to the congressmen and guests, then stepped forward to the podium.
At this moment, everyone's hearts were in their throats, and even the most stupid people realized that these few dozen minutes would be the time to decide the fate of the entire Corsica.