From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Will you let me be the foreign minister in three days?"

After enjoying a sumptuous dinner and chatting for a long time with His Excellency Bonaparte, it was almost nine o'clock in the evening before Count Vergenin said goodbye and left.

Standing outside the door of No. 10 Champs Elysées, the slightly chilly spring evening breeze sobered up his champagne-intoxicated brain.

At this moment, what lingered in Count Vergenin's mind was Lawrence's seemingly casual yet solemn promise just now.

During the several months he lived in Paris, a strange and indifferent city, Count Vergenin once thought that his political career had been sentenced to death.

He never expected that there would be such a surprise waiting for him at the Corsican Embassy today. Count Vergenin also knew very well that this was a huge favor that he would need to repay throughout his life.

At the moment when the Duke of Choiseul was in control of the government, Count Vergenin had never thought that one day he could become the cabinet minister in charge of the entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, before the celebration really started, Count Vergenin had one last worry in his mind:

"Can Monsignor Bonaparte really do such a thing? Caesar Gabriel, that is the cousin of the Duke of Choiseul."

With these mixed thoughts, Count Vergenin turned his head and glanced at the courtyard of this splendid mansion. In any case, he could foresee that he would be a frequent visitor here in the future.

After Count Vergenin left, Lawrence thought for a long time alone in the drawing room.

He then took pen and ink and wrote two secret letters, called the old housekeeper and gave instructions:

"Please send these two letters out now. Just like last time, make sure they are burned after reading and do not leave any written evidence."

Although the old butler had previously served the Duke of Choiseul, during these days of getting along, Lawrence confirmed the loyalty of this competent butler and knew that the object of his loyalty was essentially to this mansion. The master, not a specific person.

Therefore, Lawrence can safely hand over these secret tasks to the other party.

The old butler accepted the envelope solemnly and simply wrote down the receiving address. As for the specific content of the letter, he did not have the slightest presumptuous interest or curiosity.

Midnight, Versailles.

In a gorgeous and luxurious bedroom that could be called a small palace, Crown Princess Marie Antoinette was lying peacefully on a warm and soft nanmu bed, looking like she had already fallen asleep.

At this time, a personal maid walked into the bedroom cautiously and looked at the sleeping Crown Princess. After much hesitation, she pushed her awake and reported:

"Your Highness, Your Highness"

Crown Princess Mary, who suddenly woke up from her sleep, rubbed her sleepy eyes in confusion, glanced at the clock in the room under the moonlight, and then scolded angrily:

"Oh my God, what are you doing? Is there a fire? Or an earthquake? Or an assassin has come in? Why did you wake me up at this time!"

"Sorry, Your Highness, there is a messenger here to see you." The maid reported with a low eyebrow.

"Messenger? What idiot sent a messenger so late!"

Crown Princess Mary became even more angry. She didn't want to have to get up so late to change clothes, and then spend a lot of time dressing up to see the idiot messenger who couldn't even read the time on his pocket watch:

"Let that man go away. Really, France is such a fool, every one of them is like this. I see more dementia in a day in Paris than in Vienna in a year."

"But." The maid carefully interrupted Crown Princess Mary's endless complaints:

"It should be His Excellency Bonaparte's messenger."

As soon as she finished speaking, Princess Mary's complaints stopped abruptly. She was stunned for a moment, and a sweet smile couldn't help appearing on her lips. Then she covered her mouth with a smile and said:

"Ah, M. Bonaparte? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Help me get up and change my clothes. Let the messenger wait for a while."

After simply changing into a decent long dress, Crown Princess Mary met the old housekeeper in the living room outside her bedroom.

The old housekeeper personally handed the secret letter to the Crown Princess, and followed Lawrence's orders to ensure that Princess Mary burned the letter on the spot after writing down the content.

"It surprised me that."

Crown Princess Mary smiled slightly as she recalled the contents of the letter, and said with a slightly proud and playful smile:

"Mr. Bonaparte also needs my help sometimes."

The old housekeeper asked seriously: "Then what is your reply to His Excellency Bonaparte...?"

"Although I don't quite understand what Mr. Bonaparte is going to do, please rest assured." Crown Princess Marie smiled and nodded:

"I have been indebted to M. Bonaparte many times before, and it is time for me to repay him."

As she spoke, Crown Princess Mary wrote down a location on a piece of paper and handed it to the old housekeeper:

"Just ask M. Bonaparte to meet here tomorrow."

The old housekeeper nodded meticulously, accepted the note solemnly, then tightened his coat, stood up and said goodbye:

"I will convey it truthfully. So, farewell, Your Highness. I'm sorry to disturb your rest."

After the other party left, Crown Princess Mary sat in her original position with her chin in mind for a while. Her expression was very confused, as if she could not understand what Lawrence's intention was.

But in the end, Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess had no choice but to shake her head and sigh, and gave up thinking about those entangled politics and conspiracies. Those things were beyond the ability of this pampered girl to understand.

No matter what, she had agreed to Lawrence's request and just let it go.

Crown Princess Mary called the personal maid and gave her instructions:

"You invite Prince Neo early tomorrow morning. I want to meet with him."

The personal maid frowned slightly and reminded in a somewhat old-fashioned way:

"Prince Neo, are you talking about the Austrian Ambassador? But Your Highness, with all due respect, it may not be appropriate for you, as the Crown Princess, to have a private meeting with the Ambassador. This is politically inappropriate."

Crown Princess Mary interrupted displeasedly:

"Don't forget, Neo Joseph-Diane von Habsburg-Lorraine, he was first my biological uncle, and then the Austrian ambassador to France. Am I not allowed to meet and reminisce with my uncle? ?"

Seeing this, the personal maid had no choice but to suppress her worries, lowered her head and agreed:

"Yes, Your Highness."

And a few hours late at night, in a single-family villa in the Saint-Germain district of Paris.

The sleeping Lord Melly, chairman of the Paris Stock Exchange, was also awakened by a sudden knock on the door.

Although his wife, who was also woken up, complained that it must be just the urchins in the neighborhood causing trouble, Lord Mellie was obviously worried and put on a coat himself and went downstairs. He was then shocked to find that the person who came was actually Bonaparte's. messenger.

"Good evening, M. Melly, here is a personal letter from Monsignor Bonaparte."

The old butler ignored the frightened Lord Merry, directly handed the secret letter into his hand, and whispered:

"Please remember the above content now and turn this letter into ashes."

Lord Melly couldn't help but shudder, and the late night sleepiness was swept away. He quickly opened the envelope in his hand and read it carefully by the candlelight.

Although Lord Mellie's last contact with Lawrence was almost a year ago, the Corsican National Silver Company's bond still bound the stock exchange chairman firmly to Lawrence.

After all, he was fully involved in all the procedures for the fraudulent listing of the National Silver Company, a shell company. Once anything goes wrong with the National Silver Company, the impact on the Paris stock market will undoubtedly be devastating, and he, as the chairman of the stock exchange, will But it’s hard to escape the blame.

Lord Mellie, who knew this well, also knew that he had only one way to go, and that was to stand firmly with Laurence Bonaparte. Only in this way could he survive the financial crisis that was bound to break out in the future. itself.

However, even though he had already made up his mind, when Lord Melly actually saw the contents of the letter, he was still frightened and seemed a little hesitant.

Not to mention how serious the act of forging evidence itself was, just thinking that the target of this forgery was His Majesty the King's cabinet minister made Lord Melly feel extremely embarrassed.

The old housekeeper seemed to notice the other party's hesitation, and a sharpness suddenly appeared in his originally kind eyes, and he asked slowly and unhurriedly:

"What is your reply to Monsignor Bonaparte?"

At this point, Lord Mellie knew that he had read the secret letter, and there was no room for refusal.

A thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, then he gritted his teeth, lit the letter on the candle, and threw it into the fireplace nearby:

"I have indeed received Your Excellency Bonaparte's request. Please tell Your Excellency that I will not let him down."

"I will convey it truthfully."

The old butler nodded lightly, and then left straight away, quickly disappearing into the quiet night of Paris, as if he had never visited this place before, leaving no trace.

Two days passed, May 19th

A regular imperial meeting chaired by the Duke of Orleans was held in the Palace of Versailles, and Lawrence also drove to the Palace of Versailles early in the morning with a small number of escorts.

Before the meeting officially started, the ministers who arrived in advance gathered in the Venus Hall outside the Apollo Hall, where they enjoyed delicious snacks while chatting, or played a few games of billiards, exchanged information with each other and expanded their knowledge. connections.

When Lawrence arrived at the Venus Hall, he briefly became the focus of the ministers.

Many high-ranking figures had vague information about the Golden Iris faction and knew that His Majesty the King was handing over a secret faction to the leadership of the young Prime Minister Bonaparte.

However, as for the specific situation of this mysterious faction, it is information that only a very small number of ministers close to the king are qualified to know.

Many attendees enthusiastically came forward to greet Lawrence politely, trying to get some information from him, but these clumsy words were all rejected by Lawrence without missing a beat.

While Lawrence was dealing with these attendees without losing any etiquette, he saw a middle-aged man wearing gold and purple, who was extremely noble, walking over gently.

Upon seeing this, the other attendees dispersed very wisely, leaving a private space for Lawrence and this man.

"You are Laurence Bonaparte. You are really young and promising." The man put down the sherry glass in his hand and looked at Lawrence with a smile.

Although Lawrence was a stranger to him, based on his clothes, temperament and French accent, Lawrence immediately guessed his identity, shook hands and hugged him warmly:

"It is truly an honor for me to be praised by His Highness the Prince."

This is Prince Neo, Crown Princess Mary's uncle and Austrian ambassador to France, Prince Neo from the Habsburg family. Lawrence has heard this name many times before, and even the Duke of Choiseul praised him as an indescribable person. Testing man.

Prince Neo's smile was a little more playful. He pulled Lawrence and walked slowly outside the Venus Hall. He stopped in a remote corner of the corridor and said:

"Marie has already told me your request. I have to say that it is beyond my expectation that His Excellency Bonaparte, who was supported by the Duke of Choiseul, would turn back at this time."

"I can't help myself, I am forced by the current situation." Lawrence asked directly without explaining too much:

"And Your Highness, you should be able to lend a helping hand, right?"

Prince Neo became more playful and asked with a smile:

"Choiseul is a good friend of mine, and he is also a good friend of Austria. He is a key figure in the Franco-Austrian alliance being able to maintain such stability. Why do you think I will stand on your side?"

Lawrence looked at Prince Neo without changing his expression, knowing in his heart that the prince was just testing him. If the other party really wanted to stay out of the matter, he would not come to the Palace of Versailles in person today.

"From now on, the Franco-Austrian Alliance will not be maintained by Choiseul, as you should know very well, Your Highness."

Lawrence said slowly:

"The marriage of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Crown Princess is the most powerful link connecting two great countries. Even if Choiseul does fall, this alliance will not change. This I can express in the name of my lord Guaranteed to you.”

Lawrence's meaning is also obvious. Although Duke Choiseul is a meritorious figure who created the Franco-Austrian Alliance, his downfall will not mean the breakdown of the alliance between the two countries. Prince Neo need not worry about this.

"Well, that's true." Prince Neo rubbed his chin and nodded in agreement:

"No matter who succeeds Choiseul to guide France's foreign policy in the future, France's diplomatic stance will not change in a short period of time."

Lawrence looked at Prince Neo's face and continued to analyze:

"In addition, if Austria wants to allow Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess to exert greater influence in the court, Duke Choiseul may also be a huge obstacle in the future."

"you"

There was a trace of surprise in Prince Neo's eyes, and he immediately returned to his usual playful mood. He couldn't help but clapped his hands and laughed:

"You are really perceptive. No wonder the king favors you so much."

For Austria, if Marie Antoinette can have a political place in the French court, this will undoubtedly increase Austria's influence on France.

In history, Austria's move can be said to be quite successful. Queen Marie Antoinette was able to greatly influence Louis XVI's decision-making, and could even directly have a decisive influence on the appointment of cabinet ministers.

However, if the Duke of Choiseul can still maintain his prosperous position after the new king takes the throne, then the possibility of Marie Antoinette continuing to control the palace will undoubtedly be slim. After all, even His Majesty the King himself was at that time. Be subject to Choiseul.

Naturally, neither Prince Neo nor Austria wanted to see that situation. The most ideal situation in their minds was that France was under the absolute control of the royal family, and the royal family was under the absolute control of the queen.

"My faction and I are loyal to the royal family and to the Crown Princess."

Lawrence reached out his hand:

"We are on the same side, Your Highness."

"Is it loyalty or ambition? Well, I can't care less."

Prince Neo held Lawrence's right hand firmly, shook it twice, nodded and smiled:

"Then it's a pleasure to cooperate with you, Your Excellency Bonaparte, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France. Consider it a meeting gift from me to you."