From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"That's a long story, Mr. Rousseau."

Lawrence smoothed his hair and said with a smile:

"To put it simply, Mr. Paoli resigned as the Governor of Corsica and I took over. Mr. Paoli went to enjoy his retirement life under the guise of General General of Corsica."

Although Lawrence personally does not care about others labeling him as someone seeking power and usurping the throne, for the sake of the reputation and legitimacy of the current Corsican government, Lawrence still declares that what happened in Ajaccio on April 1 was just a conspiracy. Just a peaceful change of leadership.

After all, Pauli himself had accepted this rhetoric under pressure from Lawrence, and cooperated very cooperatively to confirm to the Corsican people and the army that Lawrence was his legitimate successor.

"Is that so?"

After hearing this, Rousseau looked a little lonely and sighed.

Because in Rousseau's eyes, Pauli could be called an outstanding leader. He not only led the Corsica people to overthrow the oppressive rule of Genoa, but he was also one of the few rulers who appreciated his talent.

Hearing that such a figure had sadly passed away from the European political stage, Rousseau couldn't help but feel a little complicated.

What made Rousseau even more worried was that since he received the commission from the Corsican ambassador to formulate the Corsican constitution, he devoted almost all his efforts to this work.

The formulation work has not yet been completed, but unexpectedly the Corsica government has changed.

Although he already knew that the young Corsican ruler in front of him had read his works, Rousseau was not sure what his attitude was towards his work of constitution-making.

If the other party didn't want him to complete this unfinished business, then Rousseau knew that all his hard work over the years would be completely turned into a pile of waste paper.

Thinking of this, Rousseau sighed slightly, looked at Lawrence with a complicated expression, and decided to test his attitude first, so he said insinuatingly:

"It turns out that I have only been back in Paris for a few days. I have been staying in England before, and there is very little news about the place where I live. However, I would like to take the liberty to ask, since you are the Governor of Corsica, why do you appear here? Paris? How come you also hold the position of the French royal family?”

Lawrence nodded. For someone like Rousseau, who had just returned to Paris, it would be very strange to see a Corsican governor who also held the position of the French royal family appearing in the Paris dungeon.

So Lawrence slowly explained to Rousseau how Corsica was about to give up the republic and honor Louis XV as king.

"this"

Rousseau's face briefly lost its composure. He frowned, bit his lip hard, then took a breath and said:

"A great republic is going to restore the monarchy? With all due respect, Your Excellency, this sounds a bit unreasonable. The people of Corsica shed rivers of blood to allow this island to embrace freedom and independence. How can you ask them to turn around and just To surrender to a king you have never met?”

"With all due respect, M. Rousseau."

Lawrence didn't care about Rousseau's slightly offensive remarks and said slowly:

"I cannot be an idealist like you. I have the interests of all the Corsican people on my shoulders. If I didn't do this, the Corsica you see on the map now would be It has become a province of the Republic of Genoa or the Kingdom of Sardinia, and of course it is more likely to be a colony of the British. "

After that, Lawrence then gave Rousseau a brief summary of the treaty between himself and the Duke of Choiseul, telling him that the people of Corsica still have a high degree of autonomy, and that the king's power will also be restricted by the Corsican Constitution. .

"if it is like this"

Rousseau said with sudden realization, and a trace of surprise subconsciously appeared between his brows. Only then did he realize that he had just made a mistake.

He thought that Lawrence had given all the power of Corsica to the French, but he did not expect that the young Governor of Corsica could retain Corsica's autonomy and independent existence during negotiations with France.

At the same time, Rousseau himself was not a complete idealist, let alone a paranoid old stubborn. Although he admired democracy and republic and advocated that France should become a country with sovereignty among the people, he was not completely opposed to monarchy.

For example, Rousseau’s attitude towards the enlightened despotism implemented by the Kingdom of Prussia under the leadership of Frederick the Great was quite ambiguous and vague. On the one hand, he believed that absolutism limited the power of the people, but on the other hand, Rousseau also recognized the enlightened despotism as the Kingdom of Prussia. Brought an efficient government and a strong military.

In other words, from an idealistic perspective, Rousseau's political proposition was to establish a democratic republic that completely abandoned monarchy, which was different from the "enlightened constitutional monarchy" propositions of his contemporaries Voltaire and Montesquieu.

But from a practical perspective, Rousseau had not foreseen the occurrence of the Great Revolution, so he also knew that the complete abolition of the monarchy was still an elusive goal.

Therefore, after learning that Corsica was going to implement a constitutional monarchy, Rousseau's mood eased a lot.

He also knew in his heart that this was the optimal solution under the real political situation, otherwise Corsica would really become an oppressed province of a surrounding country as Lawrence said.

"I'm sorry, sir, I was abrupt just now."

Rousseau apologized sincerely and had great admiration for the Corsican governor in front of him. Allowing Corsica to be protected while also allowing the Corsican people to retain a high degree of autonomy and independent existence was already extraordinary in Rousseau's opinion.

What excites Rousseau even more is that he also heard from the conversation just now that the future constitution of the Kingdom of Corsica is still in the preparation stage.

That means there'll be plenty of room inside to spread your wings.

Rousseau thought excitedly that if he could really join in the formulation of the Corsican Constitution, it would be a great good thing for him.

This means that his theory has been recognized and accepted by real politics, and his reputation can be spread again in the academic world. Rousseau's standing among French scholars had declined since he fell out with Voltaire and was expelled from Paris. This was an opportunity to revive his reputation.

Moreover, in addition to concerns about fame, Rousseau also had concerns about livelihood.

Thinking of this, Rousseau couldn't help but look down at the old patched dress he was wearing.

Although Rousseau, who had been wandering in exile for eight years, had become very indifferent to his living conditions, he was also a family man with a wife who loved him deeply and shared weal and woe with him.

"I'm fifty-eight years old. But I can't even save a hundred livres for my family, and I can barely make ends meet by copying music scores every day."

Thinking of his wife and the children who were sent to the orphanage, Rousseau suddenly felt very heartbroken and guilty.

Lawrence silently looked at Rousseau in the cell. Although the other party didn't say anything, the subtle expressions on Rousseau's face already proved that he was engaged in an extremely important meditation.

After a moment, Rousseau raised his head and said to Lawrence as tactfully as possible:

"By the way, Your Excellency, I don't know if Mr. Pauli has mentioned to you that I have been working on the formulation of the Corsican Constitution. I don't want to boast, but I have to say that I really put 80% of All my hard work has been concentrated on this job.”

In Rousseau's view, Lawrence had already come forward to get him out of this prison. This already owed him a huge favor. At this moment, he had the shamelessness to ask him for a job. This made Rousseau feel a little bit. ashamed.

The smile on Lawrence's face became even brighter after hearing this. He immediately heard that Rousseau wanted to take the initiative to get closer to him, so he nodded enthusiastically and said:

"Of course I have. Although Mr. Pauli and I have not mentioned you too much, Mr. Pauli must be very satisfied with your work. And to be honest, the new constitution of the Kingdom of Corsica is about to begin It has been formulated, and I also want to recruit outstanding scholars like you to join in this formulation work."

"Are you serious?!"

Rousseau's eyes lit up and he said in disbelief. Just now he was still thinking about how to ask Lawrence for this matter, but he didn't expect that the other party would take the initiative to send out the invitation.

"Nature is true. I have read your book, Mr. Rousseau, and I believe that your ideas can bring something unique to Corsica."

Lawrence nodded seriously and invited:

"I will soon be returning to Corsica to form a Constituent Assembly, and I would like to invite you to be its Speaker, if you wish."

"President of the Constituent Assembly? Oh my God."

After hearing this, Rousseau couldn't help but open his mouth and was stunned for a while, then quickly closed his mouth and swallowed, a little unbelievable.

He originally thought that Lawrence would let him do some independent, off-site clerical work like Pauli did before, but he did not expect that Lawrence would be so generous and directly grant him a real political position.

Moreover, Rousseau knew very well that generally speaking, this kind of constituent assembly will be converted into a formal parliament after completing the formulation of the constitution, which means that he will serve as the future Speaker of the Corsican Parliament.

Even Judge Jackie on the side couldn't help being stunned when he heard Lawrence's invitation. As an assistant judge, he knew better than Rousseau how important the speaker was.

This is not to say that the Constituent Assembly of Corsica is such a powerful institution, but that as the speaker of the Constituent Assembly, Rousseau can become the person next to Bonaparte.

"Damn it, I really envy this book writer. With Monsignor Bonaparte's status in Paris and Versailles, he really takes advantage of him."

Judge Jackie stared at Rousseau in the cell with envy and jealousy, only hating that he was not the one invited by Monsignor Bonaparte.

"What do you think? Mr. Rousseau."

Lawrence asked, but relying on his memory of Rousseau's experience, he knew that Rousseau, who was already in his twilight years, would not refuse such an invitation.

Even if it were not for fame and fortune, but simply for ideals and ambitions, Rousseau would definitely be willing to serve in the Corsican government.

After all, the core of Rousseau's "Social Contract" is to discuss how to build a democratic and free society and government. If the fifty-eight-year-old Rousseau missed this opportunity, he would have no chance of putting his thoughts into practice for the rest of his life. Practiced.

"Words cannot describe my joy, Your Excellency."

Rousseau was so excited that he kept saying:

"I cannot find any reason to refuse you. I am more than willing to return to Corsica with you to serve as Speaker of the Constituent Assembly."

"Very well, Mr. Rousseau, you can find me at the Corsican Embassy on the Champs Elysées during these days."

Lawrence said with satisfaction, then turned to ask Judge Jackie:

“How long will it take for the High Court to complete its review of Mr. Rousseau?”

Judge Jackie smiled bitterly and said:

"Since the case is still doubtful, I think Mr. Rousseau will be released soon and we will send him a certificate of innocence after proving his innocence."

"Yes, Judge Jackie, I will remember you."

After Lawrence dropped an empty promise, he looked at Rousseau again, nodded and said:

"Well, M. Rousseau, I'll see you soon. I hope you'll like the Corsican surroundings."

"I will definitely do it, Your Excellency. I will devote the rest of my life's energy and efforts to the land of Corsica."

Rousseau said with uncontrollable excitement.

After Rousseau accepted the invitation as expected, Lawrence left the ancient prison in a happy mood. He did not expect to find such a talent here.

As for Count Falcone in the ancient prison, Lawrence had no interest in him at all.

Lawrence then waited alone in the reception room for some time until Justice Maupe returned to the Palace of Justice.

"I heard that you were looking for me, Monsignor Bonaparte."

Still in the private office on the top floor of the main building of the Palace of Justice, Justice Mopp looked at Lawrence in front of him expressionlessly and said.

Although his tone was very cold, Lawrence could feel that Justice Mopp was much less hostile to him than the last time they met.

It is not surprising that Lawrence's fatal blow to the Duke of Richelieu may have made the justice a little scared.

Moreover, after this incident, Justice Maupp also expressed doubts about the value of Duke Richelieu's cooperation, believing that there was no longer a need for an alliance between the two.

Justice Maupp was also worried that if he continued to side with the Duke of Richelieu, he would be involved in those shameful events.

There is no deep hatred between Justice Maupe and Lawrence, so there is no need to deliberately strain the relationship between the two.

After all, in politics, friends and foes can turn around faster than anyone imagined.

"Yes, Your Honor."

Lawrence nodded and said:

"His Majesty the King is already dissatisfied with the progress of our negotiations. In addition, you should also know from your information channels that I will be leaving Paris for a while soon, so we'd better negotiate the details as soon as possible."

After hearing this, Justice Mopu did not raise any objection, but just nodded lightly.

Lawrence was not surprised by Justice Mopp's cooperation, and the two began the negotiation work in harmony.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was evening, and the blood-red sunset poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office, pouring down on Justice Lawrence and Mopp.

"It looks like it's almost time. It's been a fulfilling afternoon, Your Honor."

Lawrence squinted his eyes and looked at the dazzling sunset outside the window, and said with a smile:

"Then we'll see you tomorrow afternoon. I'll take my leave now."

Justice Maupe did not answer Lawrence, but stared at him indifferently.

Lawrence arranged the documents on his own, stood up, nodded to Justice Mopp, and then walked out the door.

"Your Excellency Bonaparte."

When Lawrence's right foot had already stepped out of the door, Justice Mopp suddenly called out to Lawrence and said in a deep voice:

"Let me give you a heads up."

Lawrence froze, turned to look at Justice Mopp, and did not answer aloud.

Justice Mopu closed his eyes and said in a low voice:

"Don't think that you have defeated the Duke of Richelieu. There is a dagger hidden in his sleeve. It is poisoned, extremely sharp, and shining with cold light. It is a dagger from the British that can easily cut you and The chest of Duke Choiseul can make you fall from the tower to the bottom of hell."