It was approaching noon, more than an hour had passed since Lawrence's public execution, but the square outside the station was still crowded with people.
Many citizens who missed the execution came here to check on the situation, including poor people from Xicheng District and gentlemen from Dongcheng District.
"Well, it feels much better to be regarded as a hero than as a villain."
In the hall of the station, Lawrence sat at the table and said to a group of patrols.
Although the protagonist of this execution was Lawrence, the other patrols also received respect and admiration from the citizens. In just over an hour, a large number of citizens spontaneously piled flowers at the gate of the station.
At the same time, Lawrence also knew that although this execution brought great prestige, it was only temporary. To win the long-term respect of the citizens, it still depends on the future performance of the patrol team.
Therefore, how to correct the bad style in the patrol team is also an urgent problem that gives Lawrence a headache.
The patrols all scratched their heads and were embarrassed to reply to Lawrence's words. Although they did not do any evil on weekdays, they still took a lot of advantage from the citizens. Today, they were cheered by them, which really made the patrols feel a little guilty.
Seeing all the guards lowering their heads in shame, Lawrence continued:
"You have seen the people's expectations of you, don't let them down."
Although Lawrence did not expect to change their minds through a few words, taking this opportunity to strike while the iron is hot could have a considerable educational effect.
Just when Lawrence wanted to continue speaking, the door of the station was suddenly pushed open, and then two burly middle-aged men walked in.
Both men were wearing uniforms, similar in style to Lawrence's patrol uniform, but green. They also both carried muskets with bayonets on their backs, and looked well-trained.
Lawrence glanced at them and recognized that they were soldiers from the army of the Republic of Corsica, and they seemed to be coming for him.
The military power of Corsica was firmly in the hands of only one person, Governor Paoli, who held the position of General of Corsica.
Therefore, it is self-evident who these two soldiers represent.
"Mr. Bonaparte, Governor Paoli has invited you." As soon as the two soldiers entered the door, they said to Lawrence concisely.
Lawrence glanced at the clock on the wall and said casually: "Can you be late? I have something to do later."
At noon, Lawrence also made an appointment to meet Anna, a girl from the slums. Although she was of low status, Lawrence did not want to break the appointment because of this.
"Sorry, Mr. Bonaparte, we have received an order to invite you to the Governor's Palace immediately." The soldier shook his head and said firmly.
After hearing this, Lawrence frowned slightly. It seemed that Governor Pauli was not satisfied with the big battle he had created.
If he refused, the two soldiers might use force to "invite" him.
"Okay, okay, let's go." Lawrence waved helplessly and told Old Sean to control the situation, and then followed the soldiers to the Governor's Mansion.
The second time Lawrence met the Governor was still in the study. When he opened the door and walked in, Paulie was holding an exquisite teapot and pouring black tea into a white porcelain cup.
"Ah, Lawrence, you're here." Paulie said hello briefly when he saw Lawrence coming in.
Lawrence nodded, walked to the desk, pulled out a chair and sat down. At the same time, he looked at Paulie's face, and he was indeed quite unhappy.
So Lawrence took the initiative to smile and said: "What's wrong, Governor Pauly, you don't look very good."
"Humph." Paulie snorted coldly, and smashed the teapot on the table in a rude manner, causing a lot of hot black tea to splash out.
"You have only been in office for a few days and you have already caused such a big thing." Pauly rolled his eyes at Lawrence and said.
Lawrence responded easily: "Isn't it good? The people are very supportive."
After hearing this, Pauli's beard was so angry that he said: "You executed those prisoners without going through the court trial. Based on this alone, I can remove you from your post now!"
Faced with Paulie's threat, Lawrence remained unmoved. He knew that Paulie was a smart man and that he was now famous, so Paulie would not forcefully remove him from office against the will of the people.
Even if Paulie wants to deal with Lawrence, he will wait until the storm calms down, and by then, Lawrence believes that he will have other means to contain Paulie.
"This is indeed my fault, but those three people are all guilty," Lawrence responded.
"Guilty? Do you want to execute a person just because he is guilty? You don't even look at their identities!" When Pauly heard this, he became even angrier, pointed at Lawrence and said repeatedly:
"If the King of France is guilty, will you also push the King of France to the guillotine?"
Lawrence glanced at Paulie with a strange expression, thinking that he was not a prophet, and replied casually: "Of course, maybe you can still see that scene in your lifetime."
Seeing that Paulie was about to get angry, Lawrence quickly brought the topic back to business:
"Ahem, what did Governor Pauly mean when he just said to check the identities of those people?"
"Hmph, didn't they tell you before they died?" Paulie snorted dissatisfied.
Lawrence thought about it and said, "I think I said he was a union member or something."
"That's right!" Paulie slapped the table and said, "And it's the dock workers' union. Do you know what kind of organization that is?"
Seeing Lawrence shaking his head in confusion, Paulie added:
"That's a group of hooligans and gangs that occupy more than 80% of the port's work. The captains who load and unload cargo in Ajaccio have to give them some benefits."
Lawrence nodded thoughtfully. This kind of dock gang is not uncommon all over the world. Even in later generations, some ports in backward areas still maintained such organizations.
The three people that Lawrence shot today were all union members, and it was by virtue of this status that they were able to remain in the patrol dungeon instead of being tried by the court.
At this time Lawrence also understood why Paulie was so angry:
This dock union is also a troublesome existence for Governor Pauly, and Lawrence is the deputy captain promoted by Pauly. Today Lawrence shot three union members, which can easily be misunderstood by the union as an order from Pauly and regarded as hostile.
Signal.
"Okay, I understand, which means that the Governor has taken the blame for me." Lawrence said sincerely.
After hearing this, Paulie lost some of his anger. At the same time, he was surprised by Lawrence's quick thinking, and he could understand the interest relationship behind it in a moment.
"Humph, for the sake of your brother and your kindness in providing information last time, I won't pursue you here, but there will never be a second time!"
After saying that, Pauly paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said:
"In addition, I would like to give you a kind reminder. Although I can come forward to block you from the official pressure of the dock union, their union is not monolithic. There will definitely be people who will avenge their brothers. You should be more careful, you don't want you to be like this.
Let the young and clever heads be cut off and thrown into the sea."
Lawrence nodded solemnly, expressing his gratitude to Pauly for the reminder.
After hammering Lawrence, Paulie quickly turned the conversation to the issue that concerned him most - the fate of Corsica.
There is only less than half a year left in May when France and Genoa reached an agreement as Lawrence said!
