From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

A week later on March 2nd.

Suburbs of Paris.

Here stands a large, well-proportioned, Baroque-style building complex. There are as many as fifteen courtyards alone, and hundreds of acres of surrounding land also belong to this building complex.

The facilities inside are also all-inclusive, just like a crowded small town. There is even a church, a handicraft factory and a large nursing home inside, which can accommodate thousands of residents living here.

Citizens are all too familiar with this large-scale building complex.

This is the Invalides in Paris, which was built on the order of the Sun King Louis XIV a hundred years ago to house retired and disabled soldiers.

In order to prevent veterans who had experienced the trauma of war from living on the streets and to boost the morale of the army, Louis XIV specially built this Invalides so that the disabled veterans who lived here could not worry about their livelihood. Live the rest of your life without any worries.

Of course, not every soldier can enjoy this level of benefits.

Those who are eligible to live in the Les Invalides in Paris are naturally veterans who have made outstanding achievements but are in difficult circumstances.

Lieutenant Colonel Modise's residence is here.

In fact, since serving at the Paris Military Academy, Lieutenant Colonel Modise's salary has been enough to support him in buying a single-family apartment in the city center, and his private residence is also allocated inside the military academy.

But the lieutenant colonel himself was unwilling to move out of Les Invalides.

Not because he enjoyed the meticulous care and service here, but because Lieutenant Colonel Modise preferred to stay with his comrades who had experienced two wars together.

Most of these old and frail veterans living in the Invalides did not know each other during the war, and were scattered all over the world among their respective regiments.

However, the shared memories of the two wars have closely linked them to this day and become the strongest bond between them.

Whenever these retired officers get together to chat, their topics are basically inseparable from the War of Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, the British, the Battle of Göttingen, and the generally similar but different military life.

Even though they didn't know each other when they were young, this kind of comrades-in-arms feeling that blood is thicker than water still makes the retired officers of the Invalides united and united.

As a result, they spontaneously formed a highly cohesive patriotic rally, calling themselves the White Shirts.

The name comes from the white shirts worn by veterans of the Invalides in their daily lives.

The White Shirts are quite low-key on weekdays, and their activities are basically limited to the inside of the Invalides. Most of the activities they hold are entertainment activities that are harmless to humans and animals, such as dinner parties, theaters, and parties.

However, this does not mean that the White Shirts are just a small organization with minimal influence.

These retired officers in the Invalides were once the mainstay of the French Army. Even though they have retired, they still have considerable influence on the most important grassroots non-commissioned officers and low-ranking officers in the army.

Take Lieutenant Colonel Modis, for example. Although he has long since resigned from the position of commander of the 12th Infantry Regiment of the Alpine Army, two of the three battalion commanders of this infantry regiment are Lieutenant Colonel Modis who have single-handedly fought in the war. They were promoted and trained in the middle school, and the friendship between them is profound.

The same is basically true for the rest of the retired officers. Many of them still maintain contact with their old ministries, and these old ministries have now taken over their positions and become the pillars of the new generation of the French Army.

Even a general of noble birth would never want to offend these white-shirted soldiers who are united and have strong cohesion for no reason.

Of course, the White Shirts also know very well that what retired officers like them should do is enjoy their old age in this magnificent Invalides instead of using their influence to interfere in military affairs.

Otherwise, if the white-shirted troops do not maintain this low-key attitude, I am afraid that the top military officials will cleanse the Invalides regardless of paying a heavy price.

In the early morning of March 2, there was a warm room with a fire in the Invalides.

Several veterans had finished breakfast and were drinking hot tea and chatting leisurely.

"Modis, don't you have to go to the Paris Military Academy today?" A pale-haired retired officer took a sip of hot tea and casually asked Lieutenant Colonel Modise.

Among these old comrades, Lieutenant Colonel Modise, who was originally stern and unsmiling, seemed a little more cheerful. He smiled, shook his head, and stretched:

"You're an old fool, bro, it's the weekend, a holiday."

"Ah, I almost forgot."

The old officer patted his head mockingly and said with a smile:

"I was living so leisurely that I even forgot what day of the week it was."

Another officer sighed and interjected:

"If you have nothing to do, go and help the White Shirts. They have been very busy recently, dealing with that damn Earl Isaac."

Hearing Earl Isaac's name, Lieutenant Colonel Modis frowned and put down his tea cup:

"Count Isaac? That alderman? How did he get involved with our Les Invalides?"

Since he still lived and taught at the Paris Military Academy most of the time, Lieutenant Colonel Modise did not know everything about the Invalides.

"Yes, that's the city official. Speaking of which, his son seems to have entered the Paris Military Academy this year. Forget it, that's not important."

The officer just nodded and explained:

"That bastard count has been here several times in the past few days because there are some land disputes between the town he governs and Les Invalides. He hopes to transfer all the land affiliated to Les Invalides to his town."

Lieutenant Colonel Modis opened his eyes angrily and slapped the table angrily:

"This idiot has an idea for us. This place is already as crowded as a birdcage. How many retired soldiers are waiting to move in? He has zoned the land away and let us all sleep on the street?! He My son deserved that beating!"

"His son? What happened in the military academy?" Several people nearby asked in confusion.

"We'll talk about this later." Lieutenant Colonel Modise shook his head and asked with a frown:

"What's going on with the land now?"

The old officer sighed with a helpless expression:

"The progress is not good. I heard that the current financial situation is not good. The people above think that the expenses of Les Invalides are too high, so they want to take the opportunity to cut expenses. Count Isaac will succeed this time. It's a pity for us people. , he is good at leading troops in battle, and he is good at politics."

Although the White Shirts have considerable influence in the military, this land dispute is essentially a financial issue. Unless the upper echelons of the military support the Invalides, the influence the White Shirts can exert will be extremely limited.

An officer looked to Lieutenant Colonel Modise for help:

"Modis, do you have any ideas?"

Lieutenant Colonel Modis, who is in his fifties, is still young and strong among the Les Invalides. Coupled with his rank of lieutenant colonel, outstanding meritorious service, and teaching position at the Paris Military Academy, Lieutenant Colonel Modis is the most popular in the white shirt. It also has a good status within the army.

Lieutenant Colonel Modis gritted his teeth and pondered for a while. As a professional soldier, his network of relationships was limited to the army, and he seemed very powerless in such political matters.

When he thought about where these old and frail veterans would go after the land reduction, Lieutenant Colonel Modise gritted his teeth even tighter.

He himself could still spend the rest of his life peacefully with his teaching position at the Paris Military Academy, but like these old friends in front of him, they basically have no wives, no children, and no one to rely on. If they were forced to leave Les Invalides, they would probably have only Living on the streets and begging for a living is the way to go.

"Oh, let me think about it again."

Lieutenant Colonel Modise sighed helplessly.

He knew that because of Gul's incident, Count Isaac must also be full of hostility towards him. After all, not only did he not punish Charles Bornaba for doing it, but he appointed him as the commander of the cadet battalion, Count Isaac. I won't be very happy after knowing this.

Of course, Lieutenant Colonel Modis did not feel any regret at all. If he was given another chance to face a scum like Gur, Lieutenant Colonel Modis would even want to go up and punch him twice.

The atmosphere in the room became a lot heavier, and everyone sighed, feeling a little worried about their future fate.

"I'm going to get some air."

Lieutenant Colonel Modise gritted his teeth and drank the hot tea in the cup. Then he took off the flask from his waist and took a swig of strong liquor. He wiped the water stains from the corners of his mouth with his sleeves and then stood up and left the room. .

While Lieutenant Colonel Modise was blowing the cold wind silently, an assistant instructor from the Paris Military Academy found him:

"I found you, Lieutenant Colonel."

Lieutenant Colonel Modise glanced at the other party absently, then looked back, slightly chin-nodding and said:

"Is this a routine paperwork? I'm sorry to bother you."

As the chief instructor of an entire class of students, Lieutenant Colonel Modise naturally had to do a lot of complicated paperwork just like Lawrence, and these documents were also delivered by the assistant instructor every week.

Taking a large stack of documents from the other party, Lieutenant Colonel Modise asked casually:

"Those little brats in school didn't cause any trouble, right? Don't cause any big trouble for me after not seeing each other for two days."

The assistant instructor smiled and shook his head:

"You are worrying too much, but if I have to say it, there seems to be some rumors among the students recently, saying that the Federation of Students embezzled thirteen thousand livres from their current students. Because of this matter, the students seem to be right People from the Federation of Students are extremely dissatisfied.”

"Corruption? The Federation of Students, hahaha, I can't care about this kind of thing."

Lieutenant Colonel Modise immediately understood what was going on. After all, he had also heard about the corrupt practices of the Federation of Students, and curled his lips with a sneer:

"Let that boy Ciel handle it by himself. I think that boy has great potential."

"You think very highly of Charles Bornaba." The assistant instructor smiled.

"Who made that kid speak so loudly?" Lieutenant Colonel Modise took another sip of strong wine:

"However, the quality of this batch of students is pretty good. Charles, Charlie, Berthier, Ji Yaomu, Hugo, Andier, and Sharman are all good prospects. Even that stupid Ludwig There is something extraordinary about Xidu.”

The assistant instructor couldn't help but be surprised when he heard that Lieutenant Colonel Modise had memorized so many names in just one week.

"Okay, I got the documents. You can go back. Is there anything else?" Lieutenant Colonel Modis, who was slightly drunk, asked with a yawn.

However, the assistant instructor did not turn around and leave.

His expression became much more serious. He turned around to make sure there was no one else around, and then lowered his voice and said:

"One more thing, Lieutenant Colonel, this is news that the school committee asked me to bring you. Please be sure not to reveal this matter."

"What are the big guys on the school committee doing?" Lieutenant Colonel Modise asked disdainfully.

The assistant instructor said in a deep voice:

"Please pay close attention to the following three people: Ludwig August, Charles Chartres, and Charles Bornaba. Do not let any accidents happen to these three people. This is an order."

The disdain in Lieutenant Colonel Modise's eyebrows disappeared instantly, and was replaced by deep doubts. After a long time, he nodded hesitantly:

"I see."

At the same time, inside the Paris Military Academy.

Rumors about corruption in the Federation of Students have been fermenting within the military academy for several days.

All the students in the 21st batch are aware of this matter, and even many senior students have heard about this another scandal in the Student Association.

There are few old students who doubt the authenticity of this rumor. After all, they have been accustomed to the domineering and arrogant attitude of members of the Federation of Students during their many days at the Paris Military Academy, not to mention the abuse of power for personal gain and corruption. few.

As the rumors spread, students' dissatisfaction also deepened, and the Federation of Students also responded quickly.

They have obviously guessed that the driving force behind these rumors is Charles Bornaba and the Charles Gang who have recently become famous behind him.

The Federation of Students then sent people to find Lawrence, saying that as long as Lawrence came forward to clarify the rumors, signed the scholarship allocation letter, and disbanded the Charles Gang, they could hand over 3,000 livres out of the 13,000 livres. For the twenty-first batch of students.

Although Berthier was quite excited about this and persuaded Lawrence to negotiate further, Lawrence rejected this ridiculous proposal without hesitation.

Thirteen thousand livres and only three thousand to yourself? Lawrence had never suffered such a loss before the king of France.

After learning that Lawrence had categorically rejected the proposal, the president of the Student Association was said to be extremely furious and immediately ordered retaliation against this group of new students who knew nothing about the world.

"What did you say? Charlie was detained by people from the Student Association?"

Just after the routine morning exercises, Lawrence learned the latest actions of the Student Association from the worried Berthier.

Berthier sighed, nodded and said:

"It's not just Charlie. People from the Student Association put more than thirty students in the same period into the solitary room for violating discipline. There were also many members of the Shire Gang inside."

The solitary confinement room of the Paris Military Academy is notoriously terrifying. Any veteran who has experienced it will never want to recall the extreme loneliness and tranquility. Some students even suffer from severe schizophrenia for a long time after walking out of the solitary confinement room.

Anyone could see that this inhumane punishment of confinement was imposed on more than thirty students at one time, and all of them were students in the same period. Anyone could see that this was a naked revenge against Charles Bornaba by the Federation of Students.

If Charles, as the battalion commander, could not handle this incident well, his status and prestige among his peers would plummet.

"Char, if this matter is not handled well, we will be in the military academy."

Berthier's face was already full of worry. Although he did not complain about Charles's decision to give up negotiations, now facing the extremely powerful Student Government Federation, even Berthier felt helpless.

Lawrence's face was calm, and he squinted his eyes and thought about something.

It was nothing to Lawrence that Duke Charles was detained for a day or two, and the feisty Duke was unlikely to have any problems in the short term.

The key is, according to the arrogant behavior of the Federation of Students, I am afraid that they will soon target Ludwig August.

This is what Lawrence will never allow. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince cannot make any mistakes.

After a brief reflection, Lawrence opened his eyes, nodded slightly and said:

"It seems that we have to take the initiative to take action against these guys."

Berthier was stunned for a moment, thinking he heard something wrong:

"Wait, Charles, take action against them? We can be said to be powerless now. The people in the Student Association can handle most student affairs independently. Without their permission, we can't even enter the gate of the military academy. If you don’t go out, what will happen?”

Before Lawrence could explain anything, a burst of ridicule suddenly came from behind the two of them:

"Hmph, you are quite self-aware, you are as stupid as a straw."

The speaker was a senior student. The most eye-catching thing was that he wore an eye-catching red sleeve band on his right arm with a golden eight-pointed star drawn on it, which was the identity symbol of the student association members.

He ignored the frightened Berthier, but looked at Lawrence with contempt, handed over a note, and said:

"You should be Charles Bornaba. I heard that you are very courageous and talented. Chairman Faure of our student association would like to meet you. The address is on the note. Please come to the appointment on time, boy. ”

Lawrence took the note and glanced at it. The address written on it was very detailed. It seemed to be near the slums in Nancheng District, and the time was tomorrow at noon.

"What if I refuse?" Lawrence asked with narrowed eyes.

Hearing this, the contempt on the student's face grew even more:

"Reject? Should I say that you are foolhardy, or that you are just a brainless fool? If you dare to refuse Chairman Faure's invitation, your friends, your contemporaries, and your little gang are all here. Let’s reflect in the solitary room for a month.”

After saying these words, the student left without looking back, already convinced that this idiot would be frightened by the authority of the Federation of Students and obediently go to the appointment.

Lawrence glanced at the note again and chuckled:

"Chairman Faure, hehe. Then go see him. It will just settle all these grievances."

"Wait a minute, Charles, you absolutely can't go! I asked about Chairman Faure."

Berthier grabbed Lawrence's arm and dissuaded him with great seriousness:

"Everyone says that he is ruthless and resourceful. More importantly, he is likely to have a gang background. He cooperates with the gangs outside to punish those students who disobey him. That's why this person can become a student association member." Chairman: At least we are safe in the military academy. Once we get out of here, we will be..."

"Underworld background? That would be more interesting. Don't worry, Berthier."

Lawrence patted Berthier's shoulder, smiled and comforted:

"I also happen to know some friends from gangs."