From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Among the crowd, the Duke of Orleans suppressed the smile that often hung on his lips, and looked at Louis XV on the throne with surprising seriousness, not knowing what he was thinking.

Unlike those duke ministers who still had some illusions, he had already received a secret letter from the king and knew that his cousin and old friend was going to entrust him with this arduous task.

Although the Duke of Orleans was not willing to give up his leisurely life and get involved in the political struggle in Versailles, his shrewd and sharp mind quickly realized after receiving the king's secret letter that he was indeed the king's current king. The best candidate.

In view of His Majesty the King's kindness and the friendship of his old friends, the Duke of Orleans immediately agreed to Louis XV's request. After receiving the news, he immediately rushed from Orleans to Paris, more than two hundred miles away.

"So, do you have any thoughts on the candidates for the regent?"

Although the candidate had been decided the night before, Louis XV still symbolically asked his ministers.

The Duke of Aiguillon still refused to give up. He seemed to feel that Louis XV would not give up his support for the Richelieu faction, so he tried to test it:

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Richelieu is an excellent candidate. His sophisticated experience is absolutely suitable."

"I don't think so, Armand." Louis XV directly interrupted the Duke of Aiguillon, shook his head in denial:

"I know my old friend very well. He is much older than me. He is already too old and frail. I cannot trouble him with such a heavy responsibility."

Foreign Secretary Caesar Gabriel also sounded the test, although he also knew that this was unlikely:

"Then, Your Majesty, the Duke of Choiseul is definitely energetic."

His Majesty the King also firmly objected:

"The burden on Choiseul's shoulders is already heavy. He is in charge of the army, in charge of diplomacy, and is also very concerned about financial issues. No more burdens can be placed on him."

Seeing that the king immediately rejected the leaders of the two major factions, Duke Aiguillon and Caesar Gabriel also frowned. Both of them vaguely realized that the weather in Paris was about to change suddenly again.

"Are there any other candidates?" Louis XV asked calmly.

The ministers all fell silent. Since even Richelieu and Choiseul could not get the king's attention, there was no need for them to do the stupid thing of self-recommendation.

Lawrence also stood silently among the crowd. Although he had already guessed the candidate in the king's mind, there was no need to show off his cleverness on such occasions.

For Lawrence, what he was more concerned about was how much trouble the Duke of Orleans' arrival in Paris would cause in this lake that was about to calm down.

And what kind of benefits can I seek from this wave of chaos.

"If you have no other ideas." Louis XV waited for a while, then nodded to the Duke of Orleans below, and solemnly announced:

"I think that another old friend of mine, Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, will fulfill his duties as regent with distinction."

The attention of the attendees immediately focused on the Duke of Orleans. When people looked at this graceful, kind and kind Duke, their faces instantly showed expressions of enlightenment.

This is really because of the Duke of Orleans' extremely good popularity. Many of the attendees present were once guests of the Chatres Castle, and they all had drinks and chats with this wise and cheerful Duke, and they all liked him from the bottom of their hearts. a friend.

Lawrence glanced at everyone's expressions and nodded slightly. This was indeed a major reason why Louis XV chose the Duke of Orleans. With the Duke's reputation in the aristocratic circle, his appointment as regent would hardly arouse any opposition or hostility from anyone. .

Of course, Lawrence could also foresee that this reputation would not be maintained for a long time.

The former Duke of Orleans could attract the favor of a large number of guests with his political neutrality and indifference, but as he personally entered the quagmire of the struggle and touched the interests of other parties, with the regent's prestigious position, I am afraid that he will soon be will establish the first batch of political enemies.

"At that time, maybe it will be an opportunity for me. An opportunity to join the team again." Lawrence thought silently.

In the throne room, although the participants were very surprised for a while that the Duke of Orleans, who had long been aloof from political affairs, became the regent, but as they calmed down, everyone recognized His Majesty the King's decision, and no one raised any objections.

Even the unwilling Duke Aiguillon just gritted his teeth and said nothing. After all, he had previously been very fond of the Duke of Orleans.

As for whether this good impression can be maintained, it is not a matter of personal interaction, but depends on the exchange of interests and mediation between the factions behind the two.

Seeing the nobles looking at the Duke of Orleans with great admiration, Louis XV also nodded with satisfaction. This was exactly the effect he wanted:

"Louis Philippe, my brother, remember that it was your grandfather who served as my regent and led the kingdom out of darkness when I first came to the throne and was ignorant; now that I am old, frail and sick, I It’s really a fate to need the help of the Orleans family again.”

The Duke of Orleans walked out of the queue under the gaze of everyone, knelt down on one knee towards the king on the throne and said:

"The glory of my family comes from the king's blood. Your Majesty, I hereby swear that I will do my best to defend the dignity of the king's blood and serve you with all my talents. During the period when you serve a higher existence, I am willing to exercise it on your behalf. Your divine authority until the moment You command it to cease.”

Listening to the Duke of Orleans' oath, Louis XV stood up with difficulty despite his physical weakness, and then waved to summon a ceremonial officer who was already waiting aside.

The ceremonial officer knelt down with utmost respect, lowered his head tightly, raised a very old ivory scepter with a ring of rubies embedded above his head, and presented it to the king.

Louis XV held the scepter in both hands, staggered to the Duke of Orleans, and handed the scepter to him:

"This is the scepter your grandfather used when he was prime minister and regent. May God grant you the same loyalty and courage as him."

The Duke of Orleans took the scepter, stood up solemnly, bowed his head and blessed:

"May God bless you and God bless the King."

Louis XV held the Duke of Orleans' hand and smiled bitterly:

"God bless France."

After this brief and solemn ceremony, Louis XV patted the Duke of Orleans on the shoulder to show his trust, and immediately ordered another ceremonial officer to present a prepared edict document, and solemnly signed the edict. Named and stamped with the Great Seal.

This detail also made the ministers more convinced that His Majesty the King had indeed already appointed the Duke of Orleans as his regent.

Louis XV handed the signed edict to the Duke of Orleans on the spot, and also announced in front of all his courtiers that he had officially handed over the power of regency to the distinguished Duke of Orleans.

The Duke of Orleans, who received the scepter and edict, respectfully retreated into the crowd, but Louis XV did not sit back on the throne.

He glanced at Duke Charles beside the Duke of Orleans, seemingly unintentionally but also intentionally, and asked as if casually:

"Ah, the one next to you is your eldest son, Duke Charles, right? He shouldn't have held any position yet, right?"

The Duke of Orleans nodded. He had no political ambitions and naturally did not want his heir to be involved in the power struggle. Therefore, he did not seek any local or military positions for Duke Charles.

Louis XV seemed to have known the answer to this question for a long time, but he still pretended to think about it for a moment, looked at Duke Charles and smiled:

"What a talented person, and very young, about the same age as August. Since you don't have any position, I want to appoint you as August's personal attendant. I think you can become very good friends. "

Duke Charles obviously did not expect this appointment, and was stunned for a moment and felt at a loss:

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's Attendant? This"

The attendees in the Throne Hall were also a little surprised. After all, the news that Duke Charles was not getting along with the Crown Prince and his wife was not a secret.

Duke Charles, who was full of blood and deeply influenced by Enlightenment ideas, looked down on the cowardly and shy Crown Prince Louis at all, and he was also very at odds with Marie Antoinette.

For this reason, Duke Charles in history became one of the very few nobles who did not live in Versailles. During the later Great Revolution, the reason why he approved the execution of Louis XVI in the National Assembly was probably because of the situation. It was also because he had been at odds with Louis XVI when he was a boy.

Even Crown Prince Louis was hesitant to speak and wanted to step forward to stop his grandfather. He did not want to stay with the rude and rude Duke Charles.

Although Lawrence was a little surprised, it only lasted a few seconds, and he suddenly understood Louis XV's intention.

His Majesty the King probably intends to allow the Orleans family to further take the stage until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne. He also hopes that the heirs of the Orleans family can continue to be the most loyal and powerful right-hand man of the royal family.

"But this is good news for me."

Lawrence thought silently. As the first attendant of Crown Prince Louis, he already had the power to manage and dispatch other attendants. However, because most of the crown prince's attendants had honorary titles, Lawrence had not used this authority. .

Louis XV obviously hoped that Duke Charles could take this opportunity to establish a deep friendship with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince so that he could become the right-hand man to assist the new king in the future.

In this way, it gave Lawrence many opportunities to contact Duke Charles.

"If I can win him over to my side, I might be able to exert considerable influence on the regent, the Duke of Orleans."

Lawrence looked at the father and son standing closely together in the front row, smiled slightly and shook his head, already having some ideas in his mind:

"As for the means to win over a Duke who is deeply influenced by Enlightenment ideas and is a follower of Rousseau, then he should not refuse a salon attended by Mr. Rousseau, the Speaker of the Corsican Parliament."

In the throne room, the Duke of Orleans quickly understood the king's intentions. He sighed softly. Although he did not want his son to get involved in these difficult political affairs, he had no choice but to do so due to the situation. .

He secretly poked Duke Charles, who was still in a daze, and signaled him to take the job that he could not refuse.

Seeing Duke Charles nodding and accepting the appointment, Louis XV also nodded with great satisfaction, turned to Lawrence and said:

"Well, Lawrence, I hope you can help Duke Charles adapt to his job as a squire as soon as possible. You and August get along very well. It would be great if he could be like you."

"Yes, I will do my best, Your Majesty."

Lawrence responded respectfully, and then looked at Duke Charles, who looked unhappy.

At least in name, this noble king-blood noble is his subordinate.

After completing the appointment of the Duke of Orleans, this sudden royal meeting came to an end.

Afterwards, Louis XV asked a few questions about state affairs symbolically, and then announced the adjournment of the meeting. With a tired face, he took the lead to leave the throne room with the support of his attendants.

The ministers did not stay in this solemn place for too long. They all left the Tuileries Palace with solemn faces, carefully thinking about what impact the Duke of Orleans would have as regent on the political situation in Paris and their own status.

However, Duke Charles did not seem to have any intention of leaving in a hurry. He reluctantly came to Lawrence and greeted him unkindly:

"Then you are Laurence Bonaparte, and perhaps I shall call you Your Excellency?"

It can be seen that Duke Charles is quite dissatisfied with serving as the attendant of Crown Prince Louis, especially since he has to accept the command and dispatch of a Corsican like Lawrence in name.

Lawrence was not angry at Duke Charles's hostility. After all, this young and energetic Duke was the key to exerting influence on the new Regent, so he nodded in reply without missing a beat:

"You and I both work for His Highness the Crown Prince, so naturally there is no hierarchy."

"Huh, serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and that cowardly and incompetent August."

Although there were still some nobles lingering in the throne room, Duke Charles still showed his hostility towards Prince Louis without hesitation:

"My father said that you are a rare talent, Mr. Bonaparte. I also admit this. A man who can walk from the countryside of Corsica to the Palace of Versailles cannot be mediocre. But if you use all your talents, Come and work for that August, huh, that’s a waste of money.”

Lawrence shrugged helplessly. Duke Charles and Crown Prince Louis were both the ones he needed to win over, but it seemed that it would take a lot of effort to get the two of them to live in harmony:

"I'm going to see His Highness, do you want to come with me?"

Duke Charlie was stunned for a moment and shook his head in disgust:

"Forget it, I don't want to waste my time getting along with that kind of incompetent person. I'm going to realize my ambition. After today, I finally have the opportunity to show off my talents."

"What are your ambitions?" Lawrence asked casually, even though he had heard about Duke Charles's radical political tendencies.

The vigorous Duke Charles was also outspoken, perhaps because he felt that people like Laurence Bonaparte were really qualified to listen to his great ideals:

"Don't you think that the entire kingdom has been rotten to the core? Mr. Bonaparte, all the status quo must be changed, otherwise the future of the kingdom will be gloomy; we must first start with the group of rotten old stubborns in the High Court, and we can no longer let This bunch of rubbish is blocking progress."

"I didn't expect that you were still on the side of consolidating the monarchy." Lawrence commented with some surprise, thinking that Duke Charles was trying to strengthen the monarchy by suppressing the High Court like Justice Maupe.

"Kingdom? Are you kidding? I will not accept the return of the power of the High Court to the hands of the royal family!"

However, Duke Charlie frowned, shook his head firmly and objected:

"If you have ever been around more members of the royal family, you will know that they are all a bunch of incompetents, like your lord, and putting greater power in their hands is a complete disaster; the power of the monarch should be limited Constrained by the Constitution, the people who really govern this country should be a group of well-educated, noble and outstanding elites, who will be the helmsmen of the entire country!”

Lawrence glanced at the frightened nobles around him and couldn't help but sigh. This young and vigorous Duke is worthy of being the heir of the Orleans family. Otherwise, ordinary people would not have the guts to stand in the throne room of the Tuileries Palace and say this. Rebellious words.

After listening to Duke Charles's goals, Lawrence could also confirm that the 23-year-old Duke had undoubtedly become a loyal supporter of Jean Jacques Rousseau.

The elite republic under the constitutional monarchy he advocated was a radical variant of the enlightened autocracy advocated by Rousseau in The Social Contract.

It’s no wonder that this Duke voluntarily gave up his distinguished title of Duke of Orleans in history and joined the Revolution as a member of the Jacobins.

"What do you think, Mr. Bonaparte?" Duke Charles looked at Lawrence seriously and asked.

Of course, although Lawrence still recognized Duke Charles ideologically, but limited by his current status and situation, Lawrence only nodded vaguely, pretending to be confused and changed the subject:

"I am an Italian, Your Excellency the Duke. I don't have any say in the political affairs of France. All I know is to serve His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with all my heart."

Duke Charlie frowned slightly. He naturally heard the perfunctoriness in Lawrence's words, so he sighed slightly disappointedly, waved his hand and turned around:

"That's all, Mr. Bonaparte, I still have something to do, so I'll take my leave now."

And when Duke Charles was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly stopped, turned around and added:

"I think we can accomplish great things together, M. Bonaparte. You can come and visit me when you are free. My father and I both live in the Bishop's Palace in the Montpensier district. My father admires you very much. He must It will be very enthusiastic.”

The Bishop's Palace was originally the prime minister's residence of Cardinal Richelieu. It was later given to Louis XIII by the first Duke of Richelieu, and then was awarded to the Orleans family by the Bourbon royal family. The prosperous commercial center became became the private property of the Orleans family.

Lawrence smiled and nodded without saying much, especially when there were many eyes staring at the two of them.

After Duke Charles walked away, Lawrence sighed softly, and then politely greeted the nobles around him who were spying on the conversation between the two, and then prepared to visit Prince Louis.

Lawrence now knows very well that although the Orleans family's entry has once again made the situation in Paris chaotic, no matter how the situation changes, the first thing is to grow his own power.

Only when you are strong can you not be forced to wander between major factions like a duckweed in the wind, and can you control your destiny in your own hands.

"It is only a matter of time before the province of Provence falls into my hands. The local power has finally been established."

Lawrence thought as he walked:

"As for the political level in Paris, as long as I maintain the relationship with the Crown Prince and win over Duke Charles, I am destined to have a place in the political situation in Paris. Coupled with the support of Choiseul and De Moppe, as long as the political situation does not happen If there is a sudden change, there will be no worries in the short term, then the next step will be..."

Based on his experience in gradually coming to power in Corsica, Lawrence knew very well what his next goal should be:

"Although it won't be helpful in a short time, I must start to establish my influence in the French army."