At two o'clock in the afternoon, the bell of the bell tower rang again in the Governor's Palace. The attendees in the auditorium returned to their seats with a red face after a lunch break, and it seemed that the dining hall of the Doge's Palace was really rich.

However, Governor Paulie still looked exhausted, whether it was listening all morning or Lawrence's last words, Paulie couldn't be idle for a moment, always thinking.

"Governor Poly, how are you resting?"

Lawrence asked with a seemingly concerned question, but in fact he was hinting at what Paulie thought of his words.

Paulie also understood Lawrence's words and said:

"Didn't take much rest, previewing the afternoon motion."

The most important item of the afternoon's bills was undoubtedly the last one, the bill on the withdrawal of troops. The implicit meaning of Poly's words is also obvious:

"I'll leave it aside for the time being, and we'll see what the attitude of parliament is to the withdrawal."

Lawrence nodded, and didn't ask any further, he also understood what Paulie meant.

"Ahem" the bishop cleared his throat and loudly announced the official start of the afternoon meeting:

"The next bill is about cutting the budget allocation for the Ajaccio orphanage."

......

In the second half of the meeting, the topics were basically focused on Ajaccori, and the discussion became much more intense.

Regardless of the fact that the farmer councillors represent their home cities, they all live in Ajaccio like Carlo, so they have a stake in these issues as well.

Although the bill mentioned Ajaccori's affairs, Lawrence didn't pay much attention to it because he didn't have the right to vote and it didn't have much to do with him.

I don't know how long it took, but the bishop clapped his hands and announced aloud:

"Well, the discussion of the bill on the renovation of the streets of the northern city has been concluded, and since the number of votes for and against is the same, it will be discussed again at the next regular session of the parliament. Now for the next motion! ”

The bishop said, glancing at the agenda, and then said with a strange expression:

"The next bill... It was proposed by the councillor of the Ajaccio West District, Ciro Russell..."

"Huh?"

Lawrence looked up and was in good spirits, and after coming into contact with Ciro head-on, Lawrence had to take every move he made against the sweet-mouthed conspirator.

No one knew that perhaps an inconspicuous matter would become a key node in the web of intrigue woven by Ciro.

The other councillors present also felt a little weird.

Because in their impression, this Ciro Russell rarely even participates in the parliament, and every time he gives up his right to vote for various reasons, he rarely appears in everyone's field of vision.

Today, Ciro not only attended the parliament, but also submitted a bill, which surprised and curious everyone.

"Uh... Councillor Ciro proposed, "The bishop glanced at the compendium, and his face was even more strange, and declared:

"Discussions on increasing the size and authority of the Ajaccio Patrol."

"What?!"

Most of those present, including Lawrence, were surprised, and everyone knew that Lawrence, as the de facto commander of the patrol, had a deep grudge against the union.

Not only were union members publicly executed, but the one-eyed leader of the union was imprisoned in the patrol's dungeons. Ciro did not retaliate, but instead wanted to help the patrol expand its size and authority?

"Could it be that Councilor Ciro took the initiative to show favor to Lawrence, regardless of his past suspicions?"

"I guess so, it seems that Councilor Ciro is really a noble person."

"Yes, Lawrence Bonaparte was also a young man of excellent character, and the two of them will surely settle their old suspicions in the future."

......

Some councilors began to whisper to the people around them, they didn't know that Ciro had a terrible reputation in the underground world, and thought that Ciro took the initiative to ask Lawrence for peace, and they all sighed.

"Something is wrong..."

Lawrence touched his chin and vaguely sensed something unusual, he was sure that Ciro could not be kind enough to help him expand his power, let alone ask for peace with him.

"Silence! Quiet! ”

The bishop calmed down the ramblings at the top of his voice, and then began to read aloud the outline of the motion:

"Councillor Ciro wants to double the size of the patrol to about 100 people. At the same time, in view of the very bad law and order situation in Xicheng District, his patrol team was able to enter Xicheng District to maintain order and law and order. ”

"In addition," the bishop continued, reading:

"Due to the extremely high unemployment rate in Xicheng District, Councillor Xiluo suggested that all new members of the patrol team be recruited from Xicheng District."

"Huh... Sure enough, it was not good. ”

Lawrence pursed his lips, seeing through Ciro's thoughts at a glance.

Expanding the size of the patrol, but having to recruit from the West Quarter, is undoubtedly Ciro's attempt to cram his own men under Lawrence. In addition, Lawrence must treat the new players equally, so that they can share the same wealth as the old players.

If Lawrence doesn't want to cut the share of the veteran players, he will have to pay out of his own pocket to subsidize the new players, which he would never be able to do at his current level of income.

Finally, requiring patrols to be stationed in Xicheng District was a challenge for Lawrence.

The gang forces in Xicheng District are intricate, and maintaining law and order is not easy to say. As long as Lawrence can't do a little bit, coupled with Ciro's secret provocation, not only will he not be supported by the people, but he will be spurned by him.

Not to mention that it is the base camp of Xiluo, he will inevitably send people to obstruct it in every way, and Lawrence is afraid that it will be difficult to move an inch in Xicheng District.

"Naked conspiracy... This damn Ciro has some means. ”

Lawrence's eyes were cold, and he glanced at Ciro, who was smiling falsely at everyone, and thought so.

Since Lawrence was attending the meeting as a staff officer, he did not have the right to speak or vote, so he had to sit quietly and observe the debate of the parliamentarians.

After a heated discussion, the legislators finally began to vote.

Fortunately, Lawrence gave Carlo a look and motioned for him to vote against, and the final vote was four in favor, four against, and one abstention.

Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief, at least so that he could drag the issue until the next meeting.

"Have the MPs confirmed their vote? If it is confirmed, then this item is reserved for ..."

The bishop was speaking at the lectern table, when he was suddenly interrupted by two coughs.

Everyone immediately focused their attention on the top of the long table.

"Ahem, I'd like to have some opinions, too."

I saw that it was Governor Paulie who interrupted the bishop and got up and said.

Lawrence frowned slightly, with some bad premonitions.

Although Pauli did not have the right to vote, he, as the supreme governor of Corsica, could certainly have an opinion on the motion:

"I think this bill is still very valuable, and if it can be passed as soon as possible, it will be of great benefit to the development of Corsica."

When he said this, Poly also pronounced the word "as soon as possible", the implication is already very obvious, and he hopes to pass the bill now.

The parliamentarians were not stupid, and immediately understood what Poly meant, and raised their hands to signal to the bishop, indicating that the vote had not yet been finalized, in order to show goodwill to Pauli.

Even Carlo, after seeing that his continued negative vote was to no avail, made an apologetic gesture to Lawrence and confirmed his vote in favor.

Lawrence sat down expressionlessly and nodded at Carlo, who didn't care about Carlo's normal speculation.

As for Paulie, this old fox must have seen what Ciro meant, and deliberately used his influence to make the bill pass, thus knocking Lawrence.

"At the same time," Paulie continued:

"The vice-captain of the Ajaccio patrol, Mr. Bonaparte is also in the meeting, and we may as well listen to him."

Lawrence couldn't help but roll his eyes secretly, Paulie was obviously afraid of hitting himself too hard, so that he would completely fall into the disadvantage in the fight against Ciro, so he wanted to take the opportunity to put forward some more conditions.

"This old fox is really good at balancing with one hand." Lawrence thought to himself, then got up, bowed to the crowd, and said:

"I very much agree with the views of Councillor Ciro and Governor Poly, but at the same time, as the vice-captain of the patrol, I also propose that this bill be amended: in order to ensure the quality of the patrol, I hope that the patrol will be able to select the right people for itself when recruiting for the scale."

Paulie nodded, knowing that Lawrence's purpose was to prevent Ciro from interfering with Lawrence's hands, which was not an excessive condition, so he said:

"Mr. Bonaparte's suggestion is very reasonable, Congressman Ciro, what do you think?"

"I agree." Ciro said that he also saw that Poly was trying to check and balance him and Lawrence, so he directly accepted Lawrence's proposal.

Seeing that Ciro, the proposer, and Governor Poly agreed with Lawrence's proposal, the other members of parliament followed suit, expressing their approval of Lawrence's amendment to the bill.

Paulie sat back in his seat and whispered to Lawrence beside him:

"It's for the good of Corsica."

Lawrence smiled and didn't speak.

He didn't think that Pauly's behavior was a betrayal, but silently praised it as an excellent check and balance, and if it was himself, maybe the means would be more intense.

"It's just—" Lawrence thought to himself:

"Your Excellency, if it were for the benefit of Corsica, I would not hesitate to take your place when one day I needed to sit in your chair."