From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

After Lawrence's persuasion and comfort, Berthier finally accepted the reality - he would become the new president of the Paris Military Academy Student Association.

Although this important task was a real challenge for the eighteen-year-old Berthier, he soon realized that it would give a huge boost to the development of the Charles Gang.

Taking advantage of the huge power and influence of the Student Association, all the cadets in the military academy will have a strong interest in the Shire Gang, which actually controls the Student Association, in order to seek asylum. In this way, the gang's growth is just around the corner.

Of course, Lawrence did not forget to remind Berthier of the standards for recruiting new members - out-of-town students with good conduct are the best choices. The purity of the gang must be ensured and black sheep like Faure cannot be allowed to affect the reputation of the gang. and unity.

Just as Berthier was about to continue discussing gang affairs with Lawrence, the door was suddenly pushed open violently and hit the wall with a loud bang.

Berthier frowned and glanced at the door, immediately jumped up from his chair in panic, stood at attention in panic and saluted:

"Sir!"

The person who came was none other than Lieutenant Colonel Shadis, the devil instructor who made all the students of the 21st batch frightened.

Lieutenant Colonel Shadis was holding on to the door frame with one hand and a cane with the other. He was still breathing heavily and seemed to have rushed into the school building dragging his lame right leg all the way.

He nodded to Berthier with a frown on his face, then carefully looked at Lawrence who was sitting where he was, and asked with a long sigh of relief:

"Char, your boy's student union president didn't do anything to you, did he?"

When Lieutenant Colonel Chardis, who was far away at Les Invalides, heard the news that Charles Bornaparte was going to meet with Chairman Faure, he immediately put aside all his affairs in a hurry and rushed back to the Paris Military Academy without stopping.

Lieutenant Colonel Shadis, who loves talents, doesn't want a rare good talent to be lost in the hands of the Student Association, not to mention that Charles is also the one designated by the school committee to take care of.

Lawrence stood up and saluted without haste, and then repeated what he had just said to Berthier.

"What the hell are you doing here, kid?"

As soon as he heard this, Lieutenant Colonel Shadis's face was already full of questions. He looked at Lawrence with suspicion, thinking that he was listening to a poet singing in a tavern.

He didn't believe that a new student had the ability to expel the chairman of the student union, and he could also help his companion to become the chairman of the student union after having a pleasant chat with General Barol.

However, considering the instructions given to him by the school committee, Lieutenant Colonel Shadis only thought that this boy did have some background, scratched his bald head and muttered:

"Damn it, I guess this little bastard is the illegitimate son of some general."

No matter what, after seeing that Lawrence was safe and sound, Lieutenant Colonel Shadis finally relaxed his tense nerves and cursed:

"Forget it, as long as you're fine, it's just a waste of time for me to make a trip from the Invalides. Get some rest early. We'll resume training tomorrow."

After saying that, Lieutenant Colonel Shadis glanced at Lawrence again to make sure he was not injured, then cursed and walked away with his cane.

Before leaving, the Lieutenant Colonel still seemed a little worried. He stopped again, turned to Lawrence and added:

"Also, you'd better stay at school on weekends. That bastard Count Isaac must still have a grudge. That old turtle will probably come to trouble you after he finishes what he's doing."

As the heavy footsteps of Lieutenant Colonel Shadis disappeared completely in the corridor of the school building, Berthier relaxed, covered his chest and said with some emotion:

"Lieutenant Colonel Hu seems to be tough on the outside but soft on the inside. It takes more than two hours to get to the military academy from the Invalides."

Lawrence nodded. Over the past week or so, he could tell that Lieutenant Colonel Shadis was very protective of his students in front of outsiders.

However, what concerned Lawrence more was what Lieutenant Colonel Shadis just said:

"The lieutenant colonel lives in Les Invalides? And it sounds like he also has conflicts with Count Isaac."

Regarding the information about Lieutenant Colonel Chardis, Berthier had already inquired very clearly before enrolling in school. After all, his father was also a lieutenant colonel in the Île-de-France Military Region:

"That's right, and Lieutenant Colonel Shadis also has a very high status within the White Shirt Army. The White Shirt Army has been having a quarrel with Earl Isaac recently, so his relationship with Earl Isaac is definitely not much better. ”

"The White Shirts?" Lawrence asked curiously. After all, he was not a native Parisian, and he did not know all about these unknown organizations.

"A group composed of retired officers within the Invalides, and occasionally recruit retired officers from outside. They act very low-key, but their influence in the army is not low. My father is planning to join the White Shirt Army after retirement."

Berthier explained succinctly:

"Recently, Count Isaac seems to want to occupy the land of Les Invalides. My father said that the White Shirts are somewhat helpless about this, because the Ministry of Finance has tacitly agreed to reduce the expenditure of Les Invalides. Lieutenant Colonel Shadis must also be interested in Iraq because of this. Count Sack was furious."

"That's right." Lawrence nodded thoughtfully.

Combined with Berthier's explanation, he understood the whole story after a little thought.

The cost of providing free retirement care for thousands of veterans at the Invalides is certainly not a small amount. The Ministry of Finance is probably very dissatisfied with this, especially when the fiscal deficit remains high every year.

Although this expenditure is only a drop in the bucket compared with the extravagance of the royal family and various government expenditures, budget cuts usually start from the most vulnerable groups. The Ministry of Finance will neither target itself nor dare to target them. Royal surgery.

With the support of the Ministry of Finance, Count Isaac can easily transfer the land of these veterans to his own town. Even though the White Shirts have a good status within the army, they are also very concerned about such financial matters. Hard to get a word in.

After all, the military's own financial allocation is also limited. If more is given to the Invalides, less will be allocated to each military region.

In addition, the high-level generals of the army do not need to go to the Invalides for retirement after retirement. These noble men can rent or buy a manor based on their salary and salary alone, so they have less motivation to help the Invalides. .

"Oh, I pity those veterans." Berthier lamented:

"Suddenly hundreds of acres of land have been lost. I'm afraid most of the people will pack up and leave the Invalides. Those people can't lift their hands or shoulders. I really don't know what they will do after leaving the Invalides."

"Maybe there will be a turn for the better." Lawrence closed his eyes in thought and said casually.

Berthier sighed, thinking this was an unrealistic prayer:

"I hope so. If there really is someone who can help the Invalides solve this crisis, let alone the white-shirted soldiers. Even I will be grateful to him. My father and I hope to enter the Invalides for retirement."

Three weeks later, March 24

It has been a month since the start of the Paris Military Academy, and for the senior trainees, the changes that have occurred in this first month are things they have never seen in the past few years.

What is most unbelievable to the students is undoubtedly the withdrawal of the notorious and evil Chairman Faure.

No student could have imagined that Chairman Faure, who was already a sixth-year student, was about to graduate and be awarded a medal, and was about to have a smooth future with his resume as chairman of the Federation of Students, would leave the military academy without any warning, and would not be seen since. news.

Even members within the Federation of Students knew nothing about Chairman Faure's whereabouts and had no idea what was going on.

The only thing the students knew was that before he dropped out of school, Chairman Faure had met with Charles Bornaba, with whom he had a rift. From then on, Chairman Faure's life and death were uncertain as if he had disappeared from the world.

All kinds of rumors soon spread in the military academy. Although the expressions of the rumors were all kinds of strange, their core contents were similar - the famous Chairman Faure, who had a gang background, had long been turned into a skeleton. Died tragically at the hands of Charles Bornaba.

Almost overnight, Charles Bornaba's name surpassed Chairman Faure and became a recognized presence among the military academy cadets who must not be messed with.

Many senior students even saw students from the 21st batch walking on the road and couldn't help but quicken their pace and leave quickly, for fear of offending the freshman camp commander.

What shocked the students even more was that just three days after Faure disappeared, a freshman named Berthier, a companion of Charles Bornaba and a founding member of the Charles Gang, actually crossed the More than a dozen highly qualified contenders took the position of chairman of the Federation of Students in one fell swoop.

According to information within the Federation of Students, this appointment was issued directly by the principal, General Barol, through the school committee, leaving no room for discussion or rebuttal.

The military academy did not explain the whereabouts of Chairman Faure. Instead, it directly ordered Charles Bornaba's companion to take over the position of president of the Student Association. This move made the students think more deeply and believed the rumors even more.

The good news is that the newly appointed Chairman Berthier seems determined to clean up the Federation of Students.

He forcefully expelled all the old members of Chairman Faure who had been helping the tyranny, and replaced them with members of the Shire Gang in all important departments of the Federation of Students.

This move also made the Shire Gang become the most well-known organization in the military academy. More and more students, regardless of origin, grade, or purpose, began to inquire about the situation of the Shire Gang with great interest. and seek to join.

In the past few weeks, Berthier has received a snowflake of application letters almost every day. After all, the power of the student association can bring a lot of convenience in the military academy.

However, following Lawrence's instructions, Berthier was extremely cautious when accepting new members. Faced with more than 400 application letters, he ultimately only selected more than 120 people to join the gang. And affirmed the strict discipline requirements.

As a result, the style of the new student association has been greatly changed compared to the past. In just a few weeks, students can already feel this change from the words and deeds of the members of the student association.

After solving the organizational problems, the second major issue after Berthier took office was the issue of bursary distribution left by Chairman Faure.

In this regard, after discussing with Lawrence, Berthier deliberately distributed each fund in the form of cash to applicants who met the requirements under public witness. This open and transparent behavior also smoothly provided benefits to the Federation of Students and the Charles Gang. Won a wave of reputation.

Especially those who have received scholarships and the students of the 21st batch. Although they deserve this money, they also know that if it were not for the Charles Gang and Berthier, they would never be able to get that heavy sum. The money bag was tucked into his chest.

Relying on the prestige of getting rid of Chairman Faure and the reputation of solving the issue of scholarships, Lawrence, as the commander of the 21st cadet battalion and the leader of the Shire Gang, also deservedly won the heart and heart of the cadets in the same period.

On the evening of March 24, Lawrence, Crown Prince Louis, and Duke Charles finished their afternoon swordsmanship training and were returning to the school building together.

After a month of military school life, Prince Louis has really changed a lot. The fat all over his body has become firmer, and there are a lot of calluses on his palms. The most important thing is that his innate Most of his cowardice and timidity have faded away.

Although Crown Prince Louis would still be stabbed black and blue by Duke Charles in swordsmanship lessons, he now has a bit of an officer's temperament.

"Damn it Charlie."

Prince Louis rubbed his blue left cheek and glared at Duke Charles fiercely:

"In a while, you will be the one lying on the ground."

Duke Charles made a gorgeous sword dance with the blunt sword in his right hand and sneered:

"Come on, idiot, I give you both hands and you can't stab me."

"Charlie! You told me not to call me that!" Prince Louis immediately became angry and was obviously very dissatisfied with this nickname:

"It's all your fault. People in the gang now call me stupid. How does this give me any authority in front of new members? I'm still the founder!"

As for the Shire Gang, Crown Prince Louis really likes this group. This is the first time that he has been recognized by others on his own, rather than gaining false respect as His Royal Highness.

Duke Charles chuckled and sheathed his sword:

"Isn't it normal for those guys in the gang to call each other by nicknames? Charles and I didn't say anything."

Prince Louis rolled his eyes and said with disdain:

"You are Master Charlie, he is Battalion Commander Charles, and I am Silly Ludwig."

Duke Charlie impressed everyone with his superb swordsmanship in the swordsmanship class. Even the instructor recognized him as a swordsmanship master, so he got the nickname "Master" and was brought into the gang.

Lawrence's nickname came from the early members of the Shire Gang. They were basically all students of the 21st batch. They used to call Lawrence the battalion commander, and the senior students who followed him also continued this habit.

As for the nickname "Stupid Ludwig", it is even simpler. It is purely because Duke Charlie talks about "Stupid Ludwig" all day long and leads many gang members astray.

Lawrence watched the quarrel between the two with a helpless smile, not knowing whether they were friends or enemies.

Just when Lawrence was about to step forward to dissuade him, he saw a member of the Shire Gang suddenly approaching.

He was panting, holding an envelope in his hand, and shouted:

"Battal Commander. Battalion Commander! Something happened!"

Prince Louis and Duke Charles, who were fighting, also stopped instantly and frowned at the student.

Lawrence took the envelope from the other party smoothly, but was not in a hurry to open it and asked first:

"Take your time, tell me slowly, what happened?"

"It's Chairman Berthier." The student was breathing heavily and seemed to be running very fast:

"He left school at noon to be responsible for signing for a batch of materials from the Federation of Students, and he has not come back since then."

"You didn't come back after leaving the military academy?"

Lawrence frowned slightly and glanced down at the envelope.

The quality of the envelope was very good, the paper was bright, and it had a hot stamping texture. The seal was very rounded with paint, and there was a simple icon printed on it. It looked like the coat of arms of a certain noble, but Lawrence didn't recognize it.

Obviously, ordinary civilians cannot afford such gorgeous envelopes.

As for who sent the letter, Lawrence already had a name in his mind instantly.

The student pointed at the envelope and explained:

"Then I just found this letter in President Berthier's office. It said it was for you by name."

Lawrence, Crown Prince Louis and Duke Charles looked at each other, then opened the envelope directly, took out the letter paper inside and read it with the three of them.

The content of the letter is very short:

"Dear Mr. Bornaba, I am very sorry that there have been some conflicts between you and your friends and my eldest son. I sincerely hope to negotiate with you to resolve this troubling issue. I hope that you and your friends can resolve this issue today." In the evening, we visited the humble house - Moon Lake Manor in Torcy, Paris.

One of your friends has already come here as a guest, and I sincerely hope that you and the other two friends can also come to the appointment on time, so as to save a lot of unnecessary trouble. Sincerely, the noble and honorable Earl Isaac. "

"As expected, Count Isaac"

Lawrence squinted his eyes after reading the letter, then remembered the address on it, then crumpled it into a ball of waste paper and threw it on the roadside, with a fierce look in his eyes:

"If he comes directly at me, I can laugh it off, but if he attacks my people, that's it."

The student's face was ashen and he gritted his teeth and said:

"It was Count Isaac who took away Chairman Berthier!"

Crown Prince Louis and Duke Charles also had serious faces. During this month, they also recognized Berthier's abilities and established friendship with him. Naturally, they were very worried about this friend's safety.

Although both of them knew that if they revealed their identities, Berthier would definitely be sent back unharmed, but that would also mean the end of the military school life that had just begun.

However, if he continues to act as a military cadet, Prince Louis really doesn't know how to rescue Berthier from Count Isaac.

After some weighing and struggling, Crown Prince Louis gritted his teeth and pulled Lawrence's arm:

"Char, how about I come forward?"

For the kind-hearted Crown Prince, the safety of his friends is undoubtedly higher than anything else in military school life.

Lawrence put down Prince Louis’ hand, shook his head and said softly:

"It doesn't have to be like that. Berthier won't have any problems in a short time. He is the son of a lieutenant colonel after all. Count Isaac can't kill him directly. I can just go there myself."

Hearing this, the student quickly tried to dissuade him. He was also a student of the 21st batch:

"Battal Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Shadis has repeatedly stressed that you should not leave the school alone because you are worried about Count Isaac's revenge. How could you still take the initiative to bump into him!"

Lawrence glanced at the three people in front of him, then kicked the ball of paper he just dropped and said in a deep voice:

"I don't plan to go alone. Didn't Earl Isaac say he wants to entertain my friends? Unfortunately, I have a lot of friends. Let's see if he has the ability. Give me my order."

"Yes! Battalion Commander." The student responded quickly.

"Emergencyly gather all the 21st batch of student battalions and the entire Shire Gang. Within two hours, we will line up with swords in the Knights Square and wait for deployment."