In the last few days of January, Lawrence had a rare few quiet moments.
The dockworkers union's revenge will not come for a while. As long as Lawrence no longer puts himself in danger and enters their territory in Xicheng District, those gang leaders will not foolishly come to Beicheng District to attack Lawrence.
Such a blatant challenge to Corsican law and order will definitely offend many powerful people, including Pauli.
After being free, Lawrence went to the patrol team to supervise the work step by step every day during the day. At night, he read quietly with Anna's company. Occasionally, Mrs. Dora would invite Lawrence and Anna to have dinner.
On the pay day at the end of the month, the patrolmen also received their first share in addition to their salary. Although the monthly amount was not much, everyone couldn't help but smile when looking at the gold coins lying on their hands.
He became more and more supportive of Captain Bonaparte.
Although Lawrence occasionally wished that he could live peacefully like this forever, he understood that the turning point in the fate of the entire Corsica would be in the near future, and such a leisurely time would not last long.
Sure enough, in the early morning of the last day of January, there was a hurried knock on Lawrence's door.
Anna is still sleeping soundly, and Lawrence, who got up early, is sitting in the living room reading a book, a second-rate chivalry novel with mediocre writing skills.
Hearing a knock on the door, Lawrence put down his book and stood up. When he opened the door, he saw a man in a dark green coat. On his chest was a badge with the flag of the Republic of Corsica on it.
Lawrence recalled for a while and remembered seeing this man in the Governor's Palace. He seemed to be someone sent by Pauli.
"Come in." Lawrence turned sideways and extended his hand to greet him.
"No need," the man shook his head, showed his identity and said:
"I am the secretary of Governor Pauli. I am here to inform you that the Corsican Parliament will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow, February 1st. Governor Pauli requires you to attend the meeting as a staff officer."
Lawrence nodded solemnly. According to convention, the next regular meeting of the Corsica Parliament should be in early March, but Pauli obviously couldn't wait. He must decide on a plan for the survival of Corsica as soon as possible.
"Tell Governor Pauli for me that I understand."
"Yes." The man's expression was also very serious. As Pauli's secretary, he must also know something about the dangerous situation in Corsica.
Pauli's secretary left in a hurry after delivering the letter, probably because he had other work.
Lawrence, who returned to the living room, also sat on the sofa and fell into deep thought:
At present, only his plan is most suitable for the current situation, so Pauli must be on the same side as Lawrence. But Lawrence does not know the attitude of other congressmen with ulterior motives.
Whether it is for Corsica or for his own interests, Lawrence must ensure that this plan is passed. As long as he becomes the person in charge of the plan, the political capital gained and the resources mobilized are immeasurable.
Even so, Lawrence had no suitable solution for the time being, so he had to go into the study, unfold the letter paper, pick up a pen and write a letter to his brother, Congressman Carlo, hoping that the other party would stand with him by then.
With the brotherly feeling between the two and the inside story that Carlo knew, he would not refuse.
As for how to win over or intimidate other congressmen, Lawrence hunched over his desk and thought hard for a long time, and finally came to the conclusion:
We must start with Poly!
Although at the beginning of the establishment of the Republic of Corsica, Pauli dispersed political power into the hands of parliamentarians in order to win over local forces and maintain order.
But there is no doubt that if Pauli, who has the army in his hands, wants to have his own way, no one in Corsica can stop him.
By then, the opinion of the parliament may not be important.
"Sir, are you hungry? I'm going to prepare breakfast."
Anna rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked down from the second floor, still wearing a loose silk pajamas, and said to Lawrence in the study.
Lawrence glanced sideways, then quickly moved his eyes away from Anna's exposed white skin, coughed twice pretending to be calm, and said:
"Ahem, wait a moment, change your clothes and help me deliver this letter to Congressman Carlo Bonaparte in Dongcheng District."
Anna nodded, took the envelope with both hands obediently, turned back to the room and started to change clothes.
Lawrence, on the other hand, tilted his head, thinking hard about how to persuade Governor Pauley to carry out their plan.
The next day, early morning, seven o'clock in the morning.
Although the parliament would not officially start until ten in the morning, it was Lawrence's first time to attend such a major meeting and chose to arrive earlier to get more information.
Since he was attending parliament as a staff officer today, Lawrence did not wear the uniform of a patrolman, but chose a decent gentleman's uniform given by Carlo.
The guards at the Governor's Palace had also heard about the famous Captain Bonaparte, and they allowed Lawrence to enter after only a simple inspection.
When Lawrence walked into the door, he could still faintly hear the conversation of the guards behind him:
"That's Captain Bonaparte. He's really young and promising."
"It would be great to work under him. I even envy those patrols."
"that is"
...
Hearing such a conversation, Lawrence could only help but smile. It seemed that the two thousand gold coins were well spent. Even the soldiers in other posts had spread the news.
The Corsican Parliament is located in the Governor's Palace, and there is an auditorium next to Paoli's residence. It was also built during the Genoese period and has a typical post-Renaissance architectural style.
The layout of the auditorium has been changed for the purpose of holding the parliament. There are six rows of seats near the main entrance for citizens who come to listen.
According to Corsican law, citizens have the right to observe the parliament when it is in session, but today, because it is an emergency meeting, it is not open to citizens.
Further inside is a long horseshoe-shaped table facing the door. This is where the MPs and participants are seated. The top seat is undoubtedly reserved for Governor Pauly.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! At the front is a speaking table, reserved for the speaker who presides over order and members who need to make long speeches.
When Lawrence entered the auditorium, Governor Pauley was already there.
Because his official position is that of national general, Pauli did not wear a silver wig today, but wore a dark green military uniform with a dazzling gold medal on his chest.
Behind the speaking table in front of Pauli is an old man with bright eyes. He wears a low white bishop's hat and a white robe. It seems that this is the bishop of Corsica.
Just judging from his position, it seems that he also holds the position of speaker.
"Lawrence, you're here."
Paulie was discussing something with the bishop, his expression was very heavy. When he saw Lawrence coming, he just turned his head slightly and motioned for him to come over and sit down.
The status of the two people in front of him was much higher than his own, and it was difficult for Lawrence to interrupt, so he patiently listened to the discussion between the two.
What I heard the two people arguing about was Pauly and Lawrence's plan.
This plan was divided into two parts. One was to withdraw troops from the north to lure the Genoese to go south, and the other was to spread the news that there were large silver mines on Corsica.
Since the latter requires a high degree of secrecy and does not require much official cooperation, Pauli did not intend to tell the parliament, but was prepared to proceed directly and secretly with Lawrence.
But for the former, such a large-scale troop withdrawal cannot be concealed or explained. Pauli originally wanted to cancel it from the agenda, but the bishop refused on the grounds that the troop withdrawal was related to the interests of the people in the constituency, and requested that it be submitted to the parliament for discussion.
The two argued with red faces, but the bishop never gave in. As for this representative of church power, Pauli had nothing to do with him for the time being.
In addition, this matter was indeed his fault. If it was exposed, public opinion would be very unfavorable to Pauli. Pauli had no choice but to compromise and agreed to add troop withdrawal to the agenda, preparing to think of a solution during the meeting.
Lawrence, who had been listening on one side, gradually became clearer in his eyes. As long as he confirmed that Pauli was determined enough to withdraw his troops, everything would be easy to handle.
Lawrence had countless ways of mobilizing troops around Parliament.
"And...deliberately letting Parliament veto the withdrawal may be more beneficial to me."
Lawrence's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but lick his upper lips, thinking this.