From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Stay here and you will die!"

This idea suddenly came to Earl Isaac's mind as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

His self-confidence and nobility had collapsed and shattered in despair. The gunshot wound and blood flow in his calf constantly reminded him of the fact that his proud noble status and ministerial title could not deter this madman at all.

Only then did one of the count's personal servants regain some consciousness from the shock, and hurriedly helped up Count Isaac who fell to the ground.

"Guard! My Guard!"

The pain from the gunshot wound on his leg made Count Isaac's face extremely ferocious, and he roared at the dozens of sweaty guards like a crazy beast:

"Get these rebels out, get them all out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the pale Earl Isaac, with the support of his servant, tried his best to escape backwards without looking back, and did not dare to stay here for a moment longer.

He had already seen that Charles Bornaba was a madman, a complete madman.

He must escape from here first no matter what. As long as he can survive, Earl Isaac boasts that he has a thousand ways to torture this idiot who doesn't know the heights of heaven and earth to death.

The manor guards who received the order all bravely stepped forward with grim expressions, trying to prevent the student soldiers from pursuing their master.

The guard captain held the halberd tightly in his hand. Under the aim of more than two hundred pistols, the half-chest plate armor on his body could not provide him with the slightest sense of security. He had to grit his teeth and shout:

"Young people, stop doing stupid things. If you dare to use force in Yuehu Manor, it is an absolute death penalty! If you leave within one minute, you may not have a chance to repent."

"Gentlemen" Lawrence drew his sword out of its sheath and interrupted in a cold voice:

"If you surrender within one minute, you might not have a chance to survive."

When the guard captain saw this, he stopped talking nonsense, gritted his teeth and roared, and immediately led a group of guards to rush forward.

Surrender is impossible for these guards who share the honor and disgrace of the nobles. If something unexpected happens to the earl, these guards who surrender without a fight are destined to not have a good end.

Their only solution is to give it a go and fight like hell. If they can survive this battle, they may be able to escape subsequent punishment.

"Charlie! You and Ludwig retreat to the rear."

Lawrence's eyes darkened, he quickly gave instructions to Duke Charles and Prince Louis, and then loudly ordered:

"Fire!"

At the command, gunpowder smoke rose instantly like morning mist, and the pungent smell of gunpowder filled the air.

What came immediately after was the heart-rending screams of a group of guards.

Although the breastplates they wore could provide good protection, in the face of such a large number and distance of firepower, the violent rain of lead bullets still instantly fell more than 20 people into a pool of blood.

Without the need for Lawrence to give another order, these students put away their pistols in a familiar manner and took the initiative to face him with their swords.

Many of them were outstanding people recommended by various local military academies, and their basic combat qualities almost crushed this group of pampered and idle noble guards.

Although the guards' equipment was advantageous, and the halberds in their hands were far better than the standard swords in the hands of the students, their lack of experience and training still put them at a disadvantage.

Especially after suffering the round of shooting just now, the morale of these frightened guards collapsed and they could no longer maintain their basic formation. The only captain with command ability also fell in a pool of blood after the first round of shooting. .

The consequence of fighting independently was that many guards only waved their halberds indiscriminately. After exhausting all their energy, the student soldiers who patiently dealt with them found the opportunity and stepped forward to seal their throats with a sword.

In the mist-like smoke, swords and swords flashed constantly. On this moonless night, blood and mourning became the theme of Moon Lake Manor for the first time.

Lawrence also personally joined the battle with a sword. Relying on his numerical advantage and two other students, he was patiently surrounding and killing a guard who collapsed and shouted.

And just when Lawrence was cautiously keeping a distance from his opponent, he saw a figure as bright as a swimming dragon rushing out from beside him in an instant, as fast as a swooping goshawk, rushing to the guard in the blink of an eye. .

His steps were ghostly, and he easily dodged the guard's full-strength chop with just one dodge. The rapier in his hand immediately penetrated the guard's heart like a poisonous snake coming out of its hole. Everything seemed too easy.

Not only the two students next to him, but also Lawrence didn't react for a moment.

Among the students, the only one with such strength was Duke Charles, who was unparalleled in swordsmanship.

"Charlie? Didn't I ask you to protect Ludwig from behind?" Lawrence glanced at the guard who was struggling and fell to the ground, frowned and scolded.

Duke Charles easily and freely pulled out the rapier from the vulnerable opponent's chest, pointed to a short distance with his chin, curled his lips and said with a smile:

"The idiot said he didn't want to stay behind. It just so happened that I also had itchy hands."

Not far away, Prince Louis himself joined the siege with a sword.

However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still looked cowardly. He just stood on the edge with a sword. He seemed not to be fully mentally prepared, and even his body was trembling slightly.

It wasn't until another student secretly assassinated the guard from behind that His Royal Highness dared to close his eyes and rush forward, using all his strength to slash the dying guard several times.

Lawrence looked up and looked around. All the battles were coming to an end. He sighed helplessly:

"What nonsense."

Duke Charles carelessly took out his handkerchief and began to wipe the sword blade, laughing softly:

"This will never happen again, First Attendant."

Faced with the huge advantage and the corpses on the ground, the last few guards gave up their resistance and knelt on the ground with their heads in their hands to express surrender.

The student soldiers paid almost no price in this battle. Only about ten people suffered some injuries, but none were serious. Lawrence immediately ordered the people to take the wounded back to the military school for treatment in advance.

And with the collapse of Earl Isaac's personal guards, there was no longer anyone in the entire Moon Lake Manor who could resist the student soldiers.

Many domestic servants and tenant farmers who had just received the news began to flee, and Lawrence also learned from a fleeing servant that Earl Isaac had just escaped back to the main building of the manor.

"Damn damn it."

In the study room of the main building of the manor, Earl Isaac gasped with a pale face. He had just returned here, and before he even had time to deal with the gunshot wound on his leg, a servant brought him even more desperate news:

His well-equipped and expensive personal guard only lasted for more than ten minutes in front of that bunch of young boys. Now, that madman Bornaba had led his men to fight under the main building.

"Master," a servant reported tremblingly:

"Charles Bornaba said that if you open the door, he can still talk to you, otherwise, he doesn't mind burning down the entire manor."

Earl Isaac huddled in his chair in despair, as if he had not heard the servant's report.

After a long while, he yelled like crazy:

"What a joke! They want to kill me, they want to kill me! Can't open the door, please guard it for me, everyone go downstairs to guard it!"

The servant hesitated for a moment and then carefully persuaded:

"Sir, it seems that Charles Bornaba is here just for his friends. Maybe communication is still possible."

"Idiot!" Earl Isaac was furious and completely lost his mind. He directly picked up the ink bottle on the desk and threw it at the servant:

"They want my life. They are a group of lunatics. Go and guard the door for me!"

Under Count Isaac's strong order, more than a hundred domestic servants in the main building of the manor were forced to pick up sticks, brooms, shovels and pitchforks, and tremblingly guarded the main door outside the main building.

Even the cook in the kitchen, who was over fifty years old, was forced to pick up a pan and stand at a loss with the other servants.

There is no doubt that such a rabble does not pose any threat to the student soldiers.

Especially when Lawrence publicly promised not to harm the civilians of the manor, the already panicked servants instantly dispersed and fled this land of right and wrong.

In this way, more than two hundred student soldiers took over the entire main building of the manor, taking control of the last group of cronies still loyal to Count Isaac, and immediately launched a search for Chairman Berthier.

However, due to their unfamiliarity with the structure of this building, the students did not notice Berthier for a while.

After a round of search, the students only found Count Isaac who locked himself in the study and reported it to Lawrence.

"Charlie, Ludwig, you go in with me, the rest of you will stay outside."

After confirming that Earl Isaac was in the room, several students worked together to open the flashy door. Lawrence also deliberately rejected the other students and led Duke Charles and Crown Prince Louis into the room.

The light in the room was dim, with only the two candlesticks on the desk providing the only source of light. The dim light was not enough to reflect the faces of the three Lawrences, and could only barely reflect the outlines of their figures.

The trembling figure huddled behind the desk is undoubtedly the desperate Count Isaac.

As soon as the three Lawrences entered the door, Earl Isaac screamed uncontrollably and screamed:

"You crazy people, rebels! Do you know what disaster you have caused? This is treason!"

Lawrence ignored the other party's hysteria and stepped forward to ask:

"Where is Berthier, my lord count?"

"Don't come here, don't come here! Ahhhh!"

Earl Isaac had already lost his mind. He was yelling, pulled out the drawer in front of him, and grabbed a very delicate but dusty flintlock pistol. The muzzle of the gun floated erratically on Lawrence III. People move.

Duke Charles twitched his eyebrows and immediately pulled away to protect Prince Louis.

Lawrence's steps only stopped for a moment.

He quickly looked at the pistol. Judging from the dusty barrel and gunpowder hole, Count Isaac probably hadn't had time to load the lead bullets and gunpowder yet, and was just bluffing.

So Lawrence continued to step forward towards the muzzle of the gun, and reprimanded in a deep voice:

"You dare to point a gun at us? Do you know what disaster you have caused?"

Earl Isaac was stunned. He watched Lawrence step forward and watched the young face slowly walk out of the night and appear in the dim candlelight.

Since it was already dark, he couldn't see clearly the other person's appearance at the main entrance just now. This was the first time that Count Isaac saw the appearance of Charles Bornaba.

However, this face gave Count Isaac an indescribable sense of weirdness.

He seemed to have seen this person somewhere, but his only sense told him that there was no way that adult was standing in front of him wearing a student uniform at this moment.

After a brief panic, Duke Charles also discovered that the other party had an empty gun in his hand, so he breathed a sigh of relief and followed Lawrence together with Prince Louis.

As the faces of these two people also appeared in the candlelight, Earl Isaac's brain completely shut down.

He finally remembered where he had seen these three people, but he was unwilling and unable to accept this fact. Just over a month ago, at the imperial meeting, he was crowded in the back row and was filled with awe. I looked up at these young faces.

But he could never imagine that these three adults would stand in front of him in this capacity tonight.

Count Isaac, whose mind was blank, looked at Lawrence, even his pupils were trembling slightly. He confirmed the other person's appearance again and again, and kept murmuring:

"Your Excellency Bornaparte Bornaparte Bonaparte"

Then he mechanically turned his head to look at Duke Charles: "Your Excellency the Duke."

Finally, he looked at Prince Louis standing behind him with a pale face, as if his heart was bleeding, knelt down and said in a voiceless voice:

"Your Highness."

"You still have some eyesight." Duke Charlie glanced at Earl Isaac with disdain. To be on the safe side, he stepped forward and knocked the pistol out of Earl Isaac's hand with his sword.

Lawrence pulled out a chair and sat down on his own, sighing to Earl Isaac:

"I should have given you a chance, right? Lord Earl?"

Count Isaac on the ground woke up from a dream, and he couldn't care less about his face. He cried and begged:

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency Bonaparte, I... I really don't know who you are. If I had known earlier, I would not have dared to do such a stupid thing even if I was shattered into pieces. Misunderstandings are all misunderstandings! Please , give me another chance!”

Lawrence nodded slightly. With these words, the subsequent conditions would be easy to explain.

After all, it is impossible for Lawrence to really execute a powerful earl with the title of Minister of State, let alone Charles Bonaparte, even Lawrence Bonaparte cannot afford it. Even His Majesty the King cannot afford this consequence.

An assassination without leaving any trace would be feasible, but tomorrow morning, most of Paris would know that Count Isaac's estate had been attacked by cadets from the Paris Military Academy. In this case, it would be impossible for Lawrence to kill him openly.

Today, Lawrence has a hundred ways to deal with Earl Isaac, and executing him on the spot in front of everyone and without concealment is undoubtedly the stupidest one among them.

What's more, Lawrence doesn't want to make this incident too big. If it gets into the palace, although Louis XV will definitely step in to calm the incident, there is a high probability that he will be disgusted with Lawrence's arrogant behavior.

And Earl Isaac also knew this truth.

The moment he recognized Lawrence, he knew that his life would definitely not be in danger tonight. Charles Bornaba was not a lunatic at all.

However, whether I can sleep peacefully in bed for thousands of days and nights from now on depends entirely on the three adults in front of me.

If he could not seek forgiveness from the three of them, Count Isaac would not know how he could continue to live in Paris while offending His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the heir to the Orleans family, and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Corsica.

"Then I'll give you one last chance, Lord Earl."

Lawrence nodded, already prepared for the lion to open his mouth.