From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

As the police force and the city defense army simultaneously gave up suppressing the riot, no force in the entire city of Paris could stop this group of high-spirited demonstrators from gathering towards the Tuileries Palace with great momentum.

At the same time, in front of the Tuileries Palace.

"Huhu. I'm so exhausted."

Madame Du Barry gasped out of breath. This noble lady had not run like this for a long time.

She and the Royal Guard soldier ran almost all the way from Tuileries Pier to the palace gate, not daring to stop for a moment for fear of being suspected by the citizens on both sides of the road.

And all the hard work was worth it. At this moment, standing in front of the Tuileries Palace again, Madame Du Barry felt a sense of peace of mind that she had not seen for a long time.

Although Madame Du Barry looked down and dirty like a gypsy woman at this time, she was no longer despairing as she had just stood on the trial stand, but was full of calmness and calmness.

She pulled off her cloak and no longer concealed her identity as Countess Du Barry, and then expressed her sincere gratitude to the soldier:

"Thank you so much, sir. Please tell me your name. I will never forget this kindness."

The soldier was stunned for a moment, as if he still needed to think about the answer to this question:

"My name is Yinmo Alanburu, ma'am."

Madame Du Barry nodded, indicating that she had remembered the name, and then invited:

"Just go with me to see His Majesty the King, just in time for His Majesty to know what happened along the way."

The soldier stood there in embarrassment. After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly said anxiously and wisely:

"I'm sorry, madam. Now that you have arrived at the palace safely, I think I should immediately report the situation on Ile de la Cité to my superiors. They don't know what happened there yet."

Madame Du Barry frowned slightly, but said nothing more to her savior, and simply allowed the soldier to carry out this more urgent task.

The two parted in front of the palace, and the soldier quickly turned into an alley and completely disappeared.

Madame Du Barry also quickly forgot about this weird soldier. There was only one thing in her mind now, and that was to see His Majesty the King immediately and tell His Majesty the injustice and shame she felt today. .

After being identified by the guards, Madame Du Barry walked straight towards the main hall.

She pushed open the closed palace door and, as usual, shouted loudly as the mistress of this palace:

"Come here, help me change my clothes, and then take me to see His Majesty the King!"

However, no one in the palace responded to her call, and Madame Du Barry could only hear her own echo echoing back and forth in the empty hall.

Madame Du Barry also immediately noticed this strange scene. There was no one in the hall. She was the only one standing alone at the door, letting the eastern sun stretch her shadow into a thin line stretching deep into the palace. .

The normal Tuileries Palace is not this cold and lonely at all. Every corner here should have courteous servants who are always ready to show their hospitality.

"Damn it, where have all those servants gone? They are a bunch of lazy idiots!"

Madame du Barry went into the hall cursing, but still she saw no one.

And just when Madame Du Barry was extremely confused about this, she heard a burst of neat footsteps on the spiral staircase leading to the second floor of the palace.

What came next was a slightly childish but majestic scolding:

"Please don't make any noise in the hall, madam."

Madame Du Barry was startled and quickly turned to look at the stairs. She saw two captains of halberd guards slowly walking down the stairs, surrounded by a couple.

As for the faces of the couple, they are one of the faces that Madame Du Barry will never forget in her life:

"Her Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Her Royal Highness Mary"

Madame Du Barry was a little panicked. In front of the two halberd guards, the sense of security she felt in the Tuileries Palace disappeared without a trace at this moment.

Because almost every court noble knows that the Countess Du Barry and the Crown Princess Marie Antoinette have an extremely hostile relationship.

But Madame Du Barry also couldn't figure out why Her Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess sent away the servants, and why they specially brought two teams of guards to wait here, as if they were specifically waiting for the arrival of someone.

Although she didn't have any clue, Madame Du Barry followed etiquette and lifted up the hem of her long muddy skirt, gritted her teeth and saluted:

"Your Highness, please forgive me for my gaffe. Maybe you can't tell, but I am Jeanne Béqué, Countess of Dubarry. You two should still remember my voice."

Crown Prince Louis stared at the disheveled Madame Du Barry indifferently, without concealing the contempt in his words:

"No need to introduce yourself, Countess Du Barry, I recognized you at first sight. Calling you lady is just to express my disgust for a thief."

"Little thief? Your Highness, I will never accept such vicious slander, even from a noble person like you!" Madame Du Barry screamed subconsciously.

Hearing that this woman dared to quibble, Prince Louis quickly walked down the stairs angrily, pointed at Madame Du Barry's nose and yelled:

"Slander? Then tell me! Where did the seven million livres I donated to the people of Paris go?!"

A few days ago, when news spread in Paris that Madame Du Barry had embezzled the seven million livres, Prince Louis was already very worried about the use of this donation.

The day before yesterday, Crown Prince Louis specifically asked Jonah in private about the movements of the money, but His Royal Highness only got an appalling fact - Madame Du Barry had indeed misappropriated the seven million livres as rumored. you.

It is said that the young and energetic Crown Prince smashed an entire tea set in the office of Director Jonah on the spot, vowing to make that ignorant woman pay the price.

Therefore, when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's loyal attendant Laurence Bonaparte wrote a secret letter requesting His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to secretly cooperate in getting rid of Madame Du Barry, the still-furious Crown Prince Louis agreed to the request almost without hesitation.

Crown Princess Marie stood demurely on the steps, looking at Madame Du Barry with disdain like she was looking at a bug, curled up her lips and complained in German:

"What a shameless woman. I don't know how the French court tolerates such a person."

Madame Du Barry turned pale and shouted incoherently:

"I, Your Highness, I don't! That money really has nothing to do with me, I can explain it, let me go to see His Majesty the King, and I will explain all this in front of His Majesty the King!"

But Crown Prince Louis no longer wanted to be entangled with this hateful woman. He waved his hand to summon the halberd guards and directly signaled the guards to control Madame Du Barry, and at the same time said:

"You will meet His Majesty the King, but not now. Grandfather has not had time to receive you."

After saying that, the guards directly escorted Madame Du Barry down, completely ignoring her screams like ghosts and wolves.

At the same time, on the top floor of the main hall of the Tuileries Palace, in the King's Suite.

Louis XV was still unaware of everything that happened in the Palais de Justice, the Île de la Cité, and the entire city of Paris, including what had just happened in the main hall.

Throughout the morning, he met with Foreign Secretary Caesar Gabriel and listened to reports on the recent diplomatic situation as usual.

Although Louis XV has never been very concerned about national affairs, he is rarely absent from such routine diplomatic reports. After all, diplomatic mediation is a country's top priority.

"In addition, the situation in Eastern Europe does deserve your attention, Your Majesty. Since Catherine II of Russia forced the Polish Parliament to elect a pro-Russian king seven years ago, Russia has begun to covet the land of Poland. But Prussia and Austria seemed unwilling to see the Russians monopolizing Poland and wanted a share of the pie.”

Caesar Gabriel looked at the notebook on his lap, pointed at the map on the table, and talked:

"King Frederick of Prussia recently proposed a plan to carve up Poland. Maria Theresa of Austria and Catherine II of Russia seemed to be very interested in this plan. Diplomats from the three countries also discussed it in Berlin. We have met many times. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that, as expected, the three countries are likely to reach an agreement to jointly divide Poland.”

Louis XV glanced at the map with disinterest and yawned:

"Poles, who cares about Poles."

Caesar Gabriel reminded seriously:

"The Duke of Choiseul believed that Russia must be prevented from acquiring large tracts of land in the Eastern European plains. He planned to instigate the Ottoman Turks to launch a new round of offensive against Russia. Anyway, their Russo-Turkish war has been going on for more than a hundred years."

Hearing the name of Duke Choiseul, Louis XV cheered up a little. He made thoughtful gestures on the map of Europe on the table, gritted his teeth and sighed:

"Let Choiseul do it, the Russians. We really can't let these traitors have a happy life."

Because during the Seven Years' War, Russia betrayed its allies France and Austria late in the war and joined Prussia and England, Louis XV still hates the Russians.

"Understood, Your Majesty."

Cesare Gabriel meticulously recorded the oral instructions of Louis XV.

Louis XV glanced at the clock in the corner, rubbed his eyes tiredly, stood up and said:

"Then let's get here first. It's almost noon."

After listening to reports all morning, Louis XV also felt a little exhausted physically and mentally. After all, he came to Paris to visit the mountains and rivers, and did not want to be entangled in these complicated government affairs.

However, the Foreign Minister, who was always obedient, did not stand up immediately. Caesar Gabriel was still sitting in his seat, hesitating slightly nervously for a while, and said repeatedly:

"Please wait a moment, Your Majesty, there are still some things that need to be reported to you."

Louis XV put on his cashmere shawl, frowned and said:

"I'll report it next time. I'm starving. Let's go to the banquet hall and have something to eat."

"No, Your Majesty, it won't take long. These situations are also very important and concern Italy." Caesar Gabriel insisted, as if he didn't want Louis XV to leave the king's suite prematurely.

Louis XV felt a little baffled, but he didn't care too much. After all, it was very gratifying for the king to see his ministers taking their duties so seriously.

The king sighed softly, took off his shawl, sat back at the desk and asked:

"Okay, okay, what happened in Italy again?"

Caesar Gabriel flipped through his notepad quickly, as if he wasn't quite ready yet. He paused for a while before saying:

"First of all, the situation in northern Italy, our neighbor, the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont"

"The Kingdom of Sardinia? What happened to those bastards?" Louis XV asked in a bad tone.

Since the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont occupies most of the territory of the Savoy region, and France has always claimed Savoy, this territorial dispute involving the core territory has made the diplomatic relations between the two countries not much better. go.

The Kingdom of Sardinia has always regarded the defense of the French as their first defense goal.

"They have become very close to the British recently."

Caesar Gabriel said in a deep voice:

"News came from the Mediterranean Fleet Command, confirming that a British fleet was briefly stationed in Cagliari, Sardinia, and there may also be British Army assistance in the defense of Piedmont."

"The British again?" Louis XV couldn't help frowning and smacking his lips and asked:

"They are stationed in the army and in Hong Kong. What on earth do the damn British guys want to do?"

"On the surface, the Kingdom of Sardinia should have chosen to cooperate with the United Kingdom in homeland defense to prevent French invasion. As for whether they have other purposes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do its best to find out for you, Your Majesty."

Caesar Gabriel looked through his notepad, slowly moved his finger from Piedmont on the map to Naples, and said with emphasis:

"Then there is Southern Italy and the Kingdom of Naples. The famine spreading throughout the kingdom is still raging. We predict that in the beginning of spring, after the winter food reserves are exhausted, the degree of famine in the entire kingdom will reach a cruel peak. "

"It's so pitiful." Louis XV asked with a sigh:

"What happened to the Kingdom of Naples? Sicily is the granary of the Roman Empire. Unless the Sicilian volcano erupts, I can't think of a reason for famine in the Kingdom of Naples."

Caesar Gabriel shook his head. He and his Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not yet have a clear answer:

"The cause of the famine cannot yet be determined, and the Naples ambassador has also remained silent on the matter. However, the Duke of Choiseul has previously sent an investigation mission to Sicily. According to the letters sent back by the mission, the famine can be preliminarily confirmed. It is not caused by natural disasters, but by a series of government laws and policies; as for the secrets behind these laws and policies, further investigation is needed.”

"Is this famine caused by government decrees and policies?"

Louis XV sighed in disbelief:

"I can't believe that my cousin Carlos of Spain, he was obviously an outstanding king, how could his son Ferdinando be so stupid? I don't think Carlos III should let Ferdinando do it at all. Take charge of the Kingdom of Naples."

Caesar Gabriel scratched his head speechlessly and muttered in his heart:

"It seems that your Majesty's Grain Free Trade Bill is no better."

After finishing his report to the Kingdom of Naples, Caesar Gabriel still had no intention of letting Louis XV leave.

He then reported a series of trivial matters about the interior of the Holy Roman Empire and the small country in northern Italy to Louis XV.

Although His Majesty the King found it a bit strange, he still patiently listened to the trivial matters about the County and the Free City out of respect for his face.

Finally, when Louis XV felt bored and hungry and was about to interrupt Gabriel, one of his palace stewards completed the task for him:

I saw a royal butler rushing to the top floor of the palace. When he ran to the door of the king's suite, he only paused for two seconds, then pushed the door open and barged in, raising his voice and announcing loudly:

"Your Majesty! Outside, outside the Tuileries Palace! Surrounded by a daring mob!"