"Eight were in favor and one abstained."

The bishop glanced at the councillors, struck the table twice with his mallet, and said:

"Ajaccio Patrol Expansion Act passed."

The lawmakers clapped symbolically in celebration, and Lawrence raised his hand and patted it twice, but with a very solemn expression.

"Ciro Russell... The first confrontation was set up for me. ”

Lawrence glanced at Ciro, who was still going his own way, and felt that he had previously despised the conspirator who was one of the few conspirators in the Ajaccio Underworld.

"But... Ciro's design was also an opportunity. Lawrence propped his head and began to make plans for the future.

In any case, the doubling of the number of soldiers under Lawrence's command is a real increase in authority, and it must be put to good use.

"In terms of financial problems, we can only hope that the leaders of the western district are as wealthy as One-Eye, and in addition, the unexplored silver mine on Corsica must also find a way to hold on to it."

A gleam flashed in Lawrence's eyes, and he nodded in affirmation of his plan.

However, the most important thing at the moment was to persuade Paulie to order the withdrawal of troops as soon as possible, so Lawrence put aside his future plans in Xicheng District and focused on the current council.

After the passage of the bill to expand the patrol, a series of proposals were trivial and insignificant, and even fewer were unanimously approved by the legislators.

Lawrence waited patiently, knowing that only the last item on the agenda was the highlight of the day.

Finally, after vetoing a ridiculous proposal to force all Corsicans to wear uniform clothing, the bishop cleared his throat with a look of seriousness that had never been greater.

Some of the legislators who got the news couldn't help but sit upright, and even Ciro, who had been lazily leaning on the back of his chair, dragged his chin with his hand with a solemn face, it seems that the main purpose of his coming to the parliament today is to withdraw the troops.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the last item on the agenda of today's meeting is a proposal to withdraw the northern Corsican front to the south. It was proposed by the general of the state, Pasqualai Pauli. ”

"What?! Never! ”

When a councillor from the northern region heard this, he immediately stood up and said with an excited expression:

"The people of my constituency are in the north, and if we withdraw, will they be allowed to be ravaged by the Genoese?"

"That's right!"

"Unacceptable!"

Two other MPs from the same constituency in the north also stood up one after another and firmly objected.

The councillor who stood up first shouted at Poly:

"Governor Poly, please accept my inquiry! We have driven the Genoese to the northern coast, why withdraw! ”

Instead of getting up, Paulie gestured to Lawrence and motioned for him to explain.

Lawrence nodded and got up, facing all the councillors, and said:

"As a staff officer to the Governor, allow me to explain: this is for strategic reasons, and the details are confidential and cannot be disclosed."

"But—" The councillor was speechless for a moment, military power and intelligence had always been in the hands of Paulie, and they didn't know what the strategic needs were.

Seeing that Lawrence's military secret blocked the mouths of this group of parliamentarians, and the situation reached an impasse, Ciro suddenly straightened his clothes, got up and said with a smile:

"May I chime in for a few words?"

"Of course." The parliamentarian who had just been speechless was running out of words to speak, and when he saw that Ciro wanted to speak, he hurriedly sat down.

Lawrence frowned, this Ciro always gave him unpredictable feelings, and he didn't know what he wanted to do.

"May I ask you, Mr. Staff, although I strongly support Governor Pauli's judgment, what should I do with the people living in the northern region?"

Ciro asked the question that was of concern to everyone.

And Lawrence was also prepared for this, and replied confidently:

"People who are at the front of the new front will be evacuated by us and given corresponding financial compensation."

"Can they all be evacuated?" Ciro asked with a burst of blood, directly pointing to the crux of the matter.

Lawrence shook his head and said frankly, "No guarantees." ”

"Look! Fellow parliamentarians. Ciro's voice became excited, and he waved his arms and looked around at the councillors present:

"How can we accept such disregard for the lives of Corsican people. The parliament promised today the withdrawal of troops from the north, and tomorrow it will be able to promise the withdrawal of troops from the south, and all this requires only a slogan of military secrecy. ”

After that, Ciro stared at Lawrence again, and said exaggeratedly and pretending to be alarmed:

"Mr. Staff, you won't dissolve the council the day after tomorrow on the grounds of military secrets, will you?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't, and don't have the right to reveal more."

Lawrence ignored Ciro after leaving this sentence, returned to his seat and sat down, and then whispered to Pauly:

"I'm sorry Governor, I can't say much more about the plan itself."

Poly nodded, but suddenly said casually:

"That's true, but I've heard you're much better at speaking than you were before."

Lawrence smiled awkwardly and sloppily:

"Maybe it's just a misinformation."

"Is it—" Paulie glanced at Lawrence with a slightly meaningful look.

Lawrence sat in his seat, gritted his teeth quietly, and thought:

"This old fox must have sensed it, and I don't want the council to agree to withdraw the troops at all."

That's right, after talking to Paulie, Lawrence has determined that Paulie will definitely follow through on the plan, and if the council opposes the withdrawal, then Paulie and Lawrence will have to use other means to bypass the council in private.

At that time, in order to prevent the plan from being exposed, it is highly likely that Pauly will put Lawrence in charge and lead this withdrawal.

In this way, Lawrence has the opportunity to reach into the army, a forbidden land that is completely under Paulie's control.

While Lawrence was thinking, there were a few more arguments on the field, but all the parliamentarians from out of town expressed strong opposition to the withdrawal.

In this process, as the initiator of the motion, Poly always leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, not saying a word, as if nothing on the field had anything to do with him.

"A show of hands will follow." The bishop interrupted the parliamentarians by clapping his hands, indicating that the voting phase had begun.

After a brief count, the bishop proclaimed:

"Three votes in favor, one abstention, five votes against, the proposal did not pass!"

The opposition votes were all from MPs other than Ajaccio, and even those in the south were touched by Ciro's words, fearing that the interests of their constituencies would not be guaranteed if such a precedent was set.

And the Ajaccio MPs, with the exception of Ciro, who abstained, all voted in favor, and they basically relied on the people of the Pauly faction.

Listening to the bishop's announcement that the bill had been rejected, Paulie just sighed slightly, not knowing what he was thinking.

Lawrence remained silent, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, everything was in his plan, and those parliamentarians other than Ajaccio would not have agreed to such a proposal.

After the last bill was rejected by the Parliament, today's meeting was also declared closed, and the MPs walked out of the auditorium chatting in pairs.

"Lawrence, come to my study." Paulie opened his eyes and said to Lawrence.

The two returned directly from the auditorium to Poly's study, and Poly then closed the door to make sure that no one suddenly broke in, and was the first to speak:

"Is there anything you can do?"

Lawrence pulled out a chair and sat down, saying:

"It's still the same sentence, the army is in your hands, not in the hands of the council."

"But I need to listen to the council." Paulie rubbed his forehead wearily.

"But your army doesn't."

"Ahh

Lawrence, like Noon, did not speak, did not move, just waited quietly for Paulie to think.

Time seemed to stand still, and the two men who were about to decide the fate of Corsica were as motionless as two stone statues, without saying a word.

I don't know how long it took for Poly to speak slowly, as if he had exhausted all his strength, and said:

"You're right, for the sake of Corsica, it has to be like this."