On the morning of April 18, four beautifully decorated and rigorously worded resignation letters lay neatly on Lawrence's desk. At the end of each resignation letter, there was the name of the corresponding congressman signed.
After sending the four congressmen back to their residences yesterday, in order to dispel their last bit of luck, Lawrence sent additional people to make several copies of the information about the four of them sent by Xadia and gave them to them.
There is no doubt that when they were stunned to see the paper recording their crimes, they quickly found pen and ink paper in a panic and began to write their resignations.
Although a small part of the records sent by Lawrence were inconsistent with the real situation, the part that could be verified was enough to put them all in the dungeon.
"Not bad..."
Lawrence read the four resignation letters with satisfaction, and then instructed Anna to send someone to make these resignation letters public.
At the same time, regarding the four vacant chairs in the parliament, Lawrence had already planned their ownership:
As the representatives of the Army, Major Cui Farley and Old Sean as the representative of the patrol, as representatives of the two most important forces currently in Lawrence's hands, they naturally deserve two seats.
Lawrence arranged this to motivate the grassroots patrols and Wehrmacht soldiers and increase their loyalty to him.
In addition, for Grosso, an experienced old sailor, Lawrence also intended to take him out of the patrol team and put him into the navy as his confidant. Therefore, Lawrence also gave him a role as a representative of the navy in the future.
seats.
Of course, for the three people who were awarded the seats, they also knew very well that the identity of this member was more symbolic and honorary, because today's Corsican Parliament is entirely Lawrence's word and has almost become a fiction.
Even the extremely important tax reform draft did not go through parliamentary vote at all, and could be implemented only with the approval of Lawrence alone.
As for the last seat, after Lawrence commissioned Carlo Bonaparte to review the Corsican constitution, he found that the constitution did not restrict the governor from becoming a member, so he reserved this seat for himself to strengthen his control over the parliament.
control.
Although formal elections are required to produce new members, for Lawrence now, controlling these processes is just a matter of exerting a slight influence, and the distribution of these seats is already a certainty.
After breaking up the political reliance of the landowners in parliament, although they will still encounter strong resistance from them in further reforms, at least they will not have much opposition to the experimental taxation in May.
After resolving the internal political issues in Corsica, Lawrence was ready to focus all his energy on negotiations with the Duke of Choiseul.
However, on the afternoon of April 18, Duke Choiseul brought quite unexpected news to Lawrence.
...
"Ah, I'm so glad we have reached an agreement on another matter."
In the auditorium of the Governor's Palace, Duke Choiseul's face was filled with a satisfied smile, and he looked at Lawrence opposite and said.
Lawrence smiled politely, and then looked at the agenda in his hand, which was more than ten centimeters thick, with a headache. It would probably take several weeks to communicate all these complicated details.
The sky outside was getting dark. Lawrence turned his head and glanced at the time on the pendulum clock, closed the agenda and said:
"I feel the same joy, but it's almost time today. How about we continue at 9 a.m. tomorrow?"
"Of course...oh no."
Duke Choiseul nodded subconsciously, but then he remembered something. He quickly smiled, shook his head, and said to Lawrence:
"Our negotiations have to be put on hold for a while. There is a more important thing that needs to be done."
"What's more important?" Lawrence looked at Duke Choiseul in confusion. He didn't think there was anything important between him and Duke Choiseul.
"We need to go to Versailles."
Duke Choiseul saw Lawrence showing doubts and explained with a smile:
"King Louis is very pleased with your initiative to lead the Corsican people to surrender to him. He wants to hold a banquet for you before the official coronation ceremony, right at the Palace of Versailles."
"A banquet hosted by King Louis in my honor?"
Lawrence was a little surprised after hearing this, but he quickly calmed down and said:
"This really flatters me."
"Hey, dear Lawrence, in a sense this is indeed an honor, but don't think too much about it."
Duke Choiseul looked at Lawrence, shook his head with a chuckle and said:
"King Louis...how should I say, is very enthusiastic about palace life. Such banquets are held almost every month. Sometimes the reason for holding banquets is just because he thinks the weather today is very good."
Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and then realized that Louis XV in history was indeed a king whose court life was quite corrupt.
A banquet, masquerade ball, or even a card game or a billiards party was held every few days in the Palace of Versailles. King Louis himself was very enthusiastic about participating in these activities, especially with his mistress.
Louis XV specially held this banquet, probably because he just lacked a reason to hold a banquet. In addition, he was very happy after hearing that Corsica voluntarily surrendered to him, so he conveniently made Lawrence the central figure of the banquet.
Although Corsica is a poor and backward barren land, any ruler will undoubtedly feel proud for a while after hearing that the people of a certain place have taken the initiative to submit to him.
In addition, since the Duke of Choiseul in Corsica knew about this, King Louis must have started preparing for the banquet and inviting other guests at this time, and Lawrence, as the central figure, would not be able to refuse.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "After all, it is a special invitation from the king, and I have no reason to refuse."
Lawrence smiled bitterly and said that he would probably regard Louis XV as his king for a long time in the future, so it would be better to leave an unappreciative bad impression on Louis XV in the first interaction.
The Duke of Choiseul nodded without surprise. He also knew that a calculating man like Lawrence would not refuse to attend at the risk of offending the king.
"The banquet will probably be held in early June, and we will be preparing to leave in the next few days."
Duke Choiseul put the agenda aside and then lowered his voice and said:
"Besides, there is a necessary reason for you to go to Paris, Governor Bonaparte."
Lawrence frowned slightly, his first thought was about the National Silver Company, but this was obviously not a necessary reason.
However, after thinking for a moment, Lawrence quickly realized what Duke Choiseul was talking about, and asked in a deep voice:
"British?"
Duke Choiseul looked at Lawrence with some surprise, nodded repeatedly and said:
"Lawrence, you are really witty. Yes, the British are still worried about the things you did. Although they have basically given up on retaliating with force, they still have to struggle at the negotiation table..."
"And in this case..."
Lawrence followed up the words of Duke Choiseul and said:
"Compared to negotiating with the British in Corsica, Paris is undoubtedly a better place to negotiate."
"Exactly, Governor Bonaparte, it's so easy to talk to smart people."
Duke Choiseul couldn't help but clapped his hands and said.
Lawrence nodded solemnly. It seems that this trip to Paris is not just for a banquet and enjoyment. In addition to the negotiations with the British, the National Silver Company matter that he just thought of, and other situations that may occur, this trip may take a long time.
Been busy for a while:
"I understand. I will be ready the day after tomorrow at the latest and head to Paris with you."
...
May 25, 1770
After nearly a month of traveling and traveling, Lawrence and his party finally arrived in Paris successfully.
The straight-line distance from Toulon, where Lawrence and his party landed, to Paris is more than 600 kilometers, not to mention the many twists and turns in the middle of the mountains and hills.
Fortunately, relying on the distinguished status of the Duke of Choiseul, this group of people encountered little obstruction or delay on the way, and finally arrived in Paris before June.
Lawrence did not bring many entourages with him on this trip. He only brought Grosso and Ya'an from the patrol team, and his secretary Anna with him.
In addition, considering that Lawrence is also the head of a country, the Duke of Choiseul also allowed him to bring a small number of guards into Paris. After consideration, Lawrence still took the twenty precision shooters in his hands with him.
With a limited number of people, the role these precision shooters can play is undoubtedly higher than that of other arms, but Lawrence also hopes that there will be no time when they play a role during this trip.
As for the rest, Lawrence stayed in Corsica to maintain the normal operation of the country.
Although he will be away for quite some time, Lawrence is not worried about any trouble in Corsica. After all, the primary factor that Lawrence valued when choosing his confidants was loyalty.
As for the tax reform that Lawrence was extremely concerned about, after Lawrence obtained a compromise from the church and eradicated four landowning councillors, he also believed that Coggello could successfully implement this experimental tax with the help of the patrol.
Finish.
In any case, Lawrence had to temporarily forget about the affairs of Corsica. There were still many troubles waiting for him in this cosmopolitan city in front of him.
...
"Hiss...this is Paris, it feels like this is the center of the fucking world."
Grosso, who was sitting in the carriage, leaned out almost half of his body from the carriage, licked his lips and looked around. After a while, he sat back down peacefully and couldn't help but sigh.
Although Grosso has traveled to many prosperous port cities, this is also his first time to come to Paris, a prestigious city.
Lawrence, who was opposite Grosso, silently leaned against the window frame and scanned the street outside. He only nodded slightly to Grosso's sigh.
Although Paris, with a population of 600,000, is undoubtedly a pearl in Western Europe and even Europe, it is somewhat inferior to those giant cities in the East with a population of more than one million at the same time.
"But anyway, the population of Paris is equivalent to thirty Ajaccios..."
Lawrence thought with a bitter look on his face, and couldn't help but let his thoughts drift back to Corsica. The problem of underpopulation in Corsica has also been included in Lawrence's mind that must be solved.
While Lawrence was thinking deeply about this, Duke Choiseul's carriage team slowly stopped in front of a mansion.
Lawrence turned around and looked at the mansion through the car window. It was a typical Baroque-style building, covering an area of nearly 2,000 square meters with the courtyard; marble bust sculptures were carefully placed on both sides of the path entering the mansion as decoration.
, there is even a four-story fountain in the courtyard.
Not to mention that this mansion is located on the Champs Elysées in the heart of Paris. Standing at the door of the mansion, you can almost directly see the Louvre and the Tuileries Palace not far away, even the palace built by Napoleon in later generations.
The Arc de Triomphe is also located on this street.
However, it is true that only such a mansion is worthy of a lord like the Duke of Choiseul, who has a large and powerful fiefdom and his rich wallet.
The Duke of Choiseul stepped out of the carriage with the support of his entourage, and without saying much, he graciously offered to lend this mansion to Lawrence and his party for a temporary stay.
"Although as the host I should host a banquet to welcome you."
Duke Choiseul introduced Lawrence and the others into the mansion, introduced the housekeeper and servants to Lawrence, and then said apologetically:
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "But I have to go to Versailles immediately. You know, the king is still waiting for me."
Lawrence nodded in understanding. As an important French minister, Duke Choiseul had stayed in Corsica for such a long time. There would definitely be a lot of things waiting for him to deal with when he came back.
"Then, I will send someone to inform you after the time of the king's banquet is fixed, Governor Bonaparte."
Duke Choiseul took out his pocket watch and looked at it. He spoke very hastily. Then he pulled out a middle-aged man behind him and introduced:
"Oh, by the way, this is my equerry Rucci Lund. If you have any questions about Paris, you can ask him. Well, I really have to leave. I apologize to you again, Governor Bonaparte.
, hope you have a nice stay in Paris.”
Having said that, Duke Choiseul hurriedly left the mansion after apologizing again.
Looking at the back of his master who left in a hurry, the attendant Lund could only smile awkwardly, bowed deeply to Lawrence and said:
"I'm very sorry, but the Duke is indeed... trusted by the king, and there are many jobs waiting for him."
Lawrence just smiled silently after hearing Lund's words. Louis XV may indeed trust Duke Choiseul, but he was also very dissatisfied with Duke Choiseul's behavior of manipulating government affairs and advocating war.
In the autumn of this year in history, the Duke of Choiseul was driven back to his fiefdom by the unbearable Louis XV because he tried to encourage France to intervene in the conflict between Britain and Spain.
However, Lawrence still can't tell whether his appearance will rewrite this period of history and the fate of Duke Choiseul.
"In other words... is it in my interest to follow history and allow Duke Choiseul to fall, or is it in my interest to help him maintain his current political status..."
Lawrence stood by the window and watched silently the Duke of Choiseul's carriage leaving the Champs Elysées. He knew in his heart that now that he had arrived in Paris, he would inevitably be involved in the fate of many important people.
Due to his information advantage and the butterfly effect of history, Lawrence can even change the final outcome of a historical figure with just a few words.
The question before Lawrence now is not whether history can be changed, but whether to change it.
To this question, Lawrence already had an answer in his mind:
"Although it sounds secular, interests must be the criterion at all times..."
