According to Lawrence's request, Anna will focus on filtering out the news about Xicheng District and the Governor's Mansion at the party:
"There are several grocery stores in Xicheng District that have not been extorted by gangs for protection money this month..."
"The patrol team eradicated several small gangs in Xicheng District, but some people were also injured during the operation..."
"People coming in and out of the Dockers Union headquarters have been more frequent than usual recently..."
...
Lawrence squinted his eyes and crossed these records with his fingers. If you look at these records together, it is obvious that Grosso and Ya'an still caused a lot of trouble for the union in Xicheng District, causing some gangs to behave in a bad way.
Keep a low profile.
However, judging from the last record, Ciro Russell must be planning something, and it seems that he is about to take action.
Lawrence then looked at a few records from Xicheng District, and they were basically able to support his guess.
However, the records about the Governor's Mansion are very trivial. After all, the source of the information is a gathering of children and teenagers. Even if these people can serve in the Governor's Mansion, most of them are lowly servants and have no access to valuable information.
Gently placing these records on the table, Lawrence spread the jam on the bread and asked casually:
"Besides these, are there any other rumors recently?"
Anna put her index finger on her chin, looked at the ceiling and thought for a while, then said with a smile:
"One thing that most of Ajaccio knows is that you, sir, captured a Genoese general alive on the battlefield."
Lawrence smiled helplessly and shook his head. He wanted to say something modest, but then he thought that this was a perfect opportunity to strengthen his prestige among the people, so he said seriously:
"Anna, tomorrow you contact the leader of the party and ask him to do his best to publicize this matter. I want this matter to be the topic of discussion in all the taverns in Ajaccio for the next week."
"Ah, I understand, sir." Anna nodded emphatically. Since it was a task assigned by Lawrence, she would do her best to carry it out even though she didn't know the reason.
"Any other news?"
Lawrence said, brushing the crumbs off his hands.
"Uh..." Anna pouted and thought for a while, then said:
"There is a rumor."
"What rumors?"
"A huge silver mine was discovered in Corsica."
"Huh?" Lawrence couldn't help but frown after hearing this. This was obviously the second step in his plan with Governor Pauli. It seemed that Pauli didn't want him to gain more power with the help of this plan, so he directly sent people to carry out it himself.
But it is also because the task of spreading rumors is relatively easy, and Pauly can complete it without Lawrence's assistance.
After all, no matter in any era, spreading rumors is much easier than spreading the truth.
After roughly understanding the situation, Lawrence chatted with Anna for a while, then simply took a bath and went to bed. A day of jolting on horseback really made Lawrence a little tired.
On the morning of February 23, Major Trefarley came to visit Lawrence in person, and the two of them went to the Governor's Mansion to return to duty.
There were no changes in the Governor's Palace. Lawrence and Trifali were released after showing their IDs without being searched.
The two of them belong to the military system, and the guards in the mansion have no right to conduct body searches.
Pauli's secretary arranged for the two of them to wait in the restaurant for a while and have some breakfast. About half an hour later, the secretary informed them that they could meet with the governor in the study.
"Ah, Lawrence, Major Trefarley."
Governor Pauli smiled and asked the two to sit down. He stood up and took out two sets of cups and saucers for them from the vertical cabinet, poured them black tea and said:
"I have to admit that you did a great job in Bastia."
"This is what we should do." Major Trifali responded seasonably, and Lawrence nodded in agreement.
"Especially you, Laurence, now everyone in Corsica knows about your capture of Bellerin alive."
Although Paulie smiled, he always looked at Lawrence thoughtfully when he spoke.
The meaning behind this sentence is also very obvious. It is an accusation that Lawrence's prestige among the people has grown too fast, which has made Paulie feel a little threatened.
As smart as Lawrence, he instantly understood what Pauli meant, so he picked up the cup and saucer with a smile, took a sip of the hot black tea, organized his words at the same time, and then said:
"Indeed, some of the circulating versions have simply become fairy tales, but I think this is not bad."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
Governor Pauli frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice. He thought Lawrence would make concessions after understanding what he meant, but he didn't expect that he would go along with what he said.
"The people don't know that we withdrew our troops deliberately. In their eyes, the Northern Army was repulsed by the Genoese army."
Lawrence and Paulie looked at each other and said slowly:
"Instead of letting them panic because of this kind of news, it is better to let them immerse themselves in some unrealistic legends."
"Of course..." Lawrence then shrugged helplessly and added:
"Although I hate to be someone who is overly praised, I am willing to make this sacrifice for the benefit of all Corsica."
After hearing this, Governor Pauli was very unhappy, but after thinking about it, he admitted that what Lawrence said was very reasonable. If the news that the Northern Army was repelled was spread widely, it would be detrimental to his governance.
"Really? That's a lot of trouble for you." Paulie glanced at Lawrence with a slightly resentful look and said:
"Then it's time to get back to the business of today."
Lawrence and Cui Farley met with Pauli this time, mainly to report on the withdrawal mission. Now that the mission has been successfully completed, the duties of the two men and the handling of the fourth battalion need to be rearranged.
"First of all, I have already drawn up a commendation plan for the two of you."
Pauli said, taking out a beautifully printed and signed order from the desk drawer, and handed it to Lawrence and Cui Farley for review.
The order briefly described the merits of Lawrence and the soldiers of the 4th Battalion in the operation, and stated at the end that Lawrence and Trifalli were awarded the Corsican Combat Hero Medal of the First Class, which is the highest that a school-level officer can obtain.
Honor.
In addition, considering that Lawrence's command was meritorious, Pauli also ordered that Lawrence be promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. For the soldiers of the fourth battalion, the order also gave twenty places for the third-class Combat Hero Medal.
Lawrence and Major Cui Farley circulated and read the commendation order. They both had to admit that Paulie's commendation was very generous, especially the promotion of Lawrence to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
You know, Lawrence was only awarded the rank of major at the beginning of this month. Paulie promoted him so quickly, and I am afraid he also suffered a lot of pressure from the army.
Lawrence, who knew this well, could not help but frown. He knew that Governor Pauli would not give him a big gift for no reason.
"I have no objection."
"Me too."
Both Lawrence and Trifalli said they had no objections to the order.
"Very good." Governor Pauli nodded and put away the commendation order, then held his chin in his hands and said in a deep voice:
"In addition, regarding your future duties and the handling of the Fourth Infantry Battalion of the Northern Army..."
Lawrence listened silently. He knew that the previous commendation order was only a small one, and the focus of this meeting was entirely on Paulie's handling of the two men and the fourth battalion.