March 2, 1770, the southernmost city of Corsica, Bonifacio.

It is a small city that stands on a high, narrow headland.

The city is steep and surrounded by the sea on three sides, two of which are cliffs tens of meters above the sea, and only in the north can small boats dock in the more gentle terrain.

When Lawrence led the special battalion here, he couldn't help but feel that this was indeed a natural fortress that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it was no wonder that the Southern Army chose this location.

After handing over to the local garrison, Lawrence took Major Trefali and Lieutenant Seth to meet with Colonel Silva, the commander of the Southern Corps, in a weather-beaten ancient fortress at the top of Bonifacio.

"Welcome, Lieutenant Colonel Bonaparte from afar, and two more, please take a seat."

Colonel Silva seemed to be looking through some letters, and when he saw Lawrence enter the door, his expression even showed a moment of panic, and he got up to greet the three of them after putting the letters away.

Lawrence nodded, pulled out a creaky chair and sat down, looking up.

This is the top floor of the fort, but it is clear that it has not been repaired for a long time, and moss can be seen everywhere in the interior.

The sea breeze constantly penetrates through the cracks in the stone bricks, bringing with it salty moisture, and sometimes a very high-pitched whine as it blows through some of the finest sized cracks.

The soundproofing is also poor, with the sound of the waves and the noisy chirping of seagulls coming in almost unhindered, sometimes even drowning out the sound of conversation.

The environment here is obviously much worse than the longhouse of General Bastiariarinathan at the time.

"Colonel, please tell me about the situation here."

After taking his seat, Lawrence didn't talk nonsense and went straight to the point.

The day won't be too far away when Paulie and Pitt reach a final deal, and Lawrence doesn't have much time to spend in the South.

Colonel Silva moved his chair closer to Lawrence, and spoke:

"The situation in Bonifacio is not very good right now, and as you know, this is the southernmost city, across the sea from Sardinia, and the first target of the enemy army on Sardinia must be here."

Lawrence turned his head to look at the map around Bonifacio hanging on the wall, and said tentatively:

"But in my opinion, the terrain of this city is very favorable to us, and our 1,000-strong garrison can hold on for quite a long time."

In fact, Lawrence had no intention of stationing in Bonifacio at all, and he only said this to confirm whether his guess about Pauly's intentions was accurate.

Sure enough, Colonel Silva was stunned for a moment, and his eyes rolled aimlessly, as if he was thinking about something.

"Ahem, Lieutenant Colonel Bonaparte, your opinion is quite reasonable, it's just..."

Colonel Silva touched his chin and said in a serious manner:

"If this enemy army abandons the siege of us and instead heads north, towards Ajaccio, it will be a direct threat to the heart of Corsica."

Lawrence listened attentively on the surface, but in his heart he already understood that Paulie had indeed sent himself with the soldiers of the fourth battalion to his death.

Even a layman like Lawrence, who had no serious military training, could see that holding the city was the best and only option in this situation.

And Colonel Silva's words undoubtedly made Lawrence give up the idea of defending the city and take the initiative instead.

"So, what do you mean?"

Lawrence knew that it was useless to argue with Colonel Silva, and Paulie estimated that he had given him a death order, so he followed Colonel Silva's words directly.

"I think that our army must intercept this enemy army in Bonifacio, and for this we may need more aggressive means, even if it will cost something."

Seeing that Lawrence did not argue with him, Colonel Silva suddenly felt a lot more relieved, and directly said his policy in one breath.

The sound of the crashing of the waves and the chirping of seabirds was still coming into the room, and it was even louder because no one was talking anymore.

It was not until half a minute later that Major Trevary recovered from his astonishment, stood up with a frown furrowed, and said anxiously:

"Radical means? Colonel Silva, as far as I know, our army is inferior to the other side in terms of quality and quantity, how can it adopt an aggressive posture?! ”

Lieutenant Seth was not able to stand up and speak because of his low rank, but he nodded his head in agreement with the same thoughts as Major Trefali.

"Tsk"

Colonel Silva smacked his lips with some dissatisfaction and looked at Trefali and reprimanded sternly:

"Major Trefali, as a soldier, I would prefer you to obey rather than question! Please remember, I am the commander of the Southern Army, you just need to take my orders and carry them out! ”

Lawrence cupped his forehead and glanced at Colonel Silva, it was clear that he was not speaking to Major Trefali alone.

So Lawrence turned to Major Trevary and asked him to sit down, then looked at Colonel Silva and asked in a deep voice:

"I want to ask you a question, are these policies of yours your own, or did General Poly give them?"

"Does it make a difference?" Colonel Silva shook his head, not wanting to answer the question.

"Absolutely."

Lawrence deliberately put his posture a little more wanton, leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs, looked down at Colonel Silva and said:

"I'm sorry to say that I don't agree with your approach, and as the commander of the special battalion, I have the right to refuse to obey. But if this is General Pauly's order, even if I don't understand it personally, I have to obey it. ”

"You..."

Colonel Silva looked embarrassed, not knowing what kind of trick Lawrence was playing, and after a moment of hesitation, he said:

"Okay, let me tell you, this is General Pauly's order, but the order document is classified, and I can't confirm it for you."

"Very well, in that case, I will follow the guidelines just now."

To Colonel Silva's surprise, Lawrence did not ask to see Pauly's secret letter at all, but after dropping the sentence, he got up to say goodbye to himself, and left with Major Treffar and Lieutenant Seth without looking back.

Until the footsteps of the three Lawrence disappeared into the fortress, Colonel Silva couldn't figure out what Lawrence was trying to do when he asked this question:

"This Lieutenant Colonel Bonaparte, did he perceive that General Pauly was targeting him, but he had only received verbal confirmation from me, and I had every possibility of deceiving him in order to get him to obey orders, and he could not have been unaware of this..."

Colonel Silva touched his chin and thought about it for a long time, not understanding what Lawrence's intention was in asking this question.

Of course, what Colonel Silva didn't know was. Lawrence didn't even want to confirm from him whether Paulie was targeting him.

His last question was not for himself, but for the two behind him, Major Trefali and Lieutenant Seth.

......

"So, do you get it?"

At the camp site, Lawrence leaned against the wall and asked Major Trefali and Lieutenant Seth with a serious face.

As soon as he returned to the station, Lawrence informed them of the situation between himself and Paulie without concealment, and even briefly stated the agreement between Pauly and the British.

Lieutenant Seth stood stunned, still not relieving himself from what Lawrence had just told them.

And Major Trefali's expression was gloomy and dripping, he never imagined that he would dedicate half his life to the Wehrmacht in exchange for such treatment.

"That is, Lieutenant Colonel Bonaparte, General Pauly now sees you as a thorn in his side."

Major Trefarli gritted his teeth and said:

"This reinforcement is actually just to suppress you and bury the fourth battalion on the battlefield."

Lawrence nodded slowly and added:

"Strictly speaking, it's not to suppress me, it's to suppress me and you, and you, Lieutenant Seth, and all the soldiers of the former Fourth Battalion. In Poly's eyes, these are all my henchmen. ”

Silence was once again the theme between the trio.

Neither Major Trevary nor Lieutenant Seth could accept that General Pauly, whom he had once offered his loyalty, would treat him like this.

After a long time, Lawrence took the initiative to break the silence and said:

"In other words, the three of us are on the same boat, and it is impossible to expect Poly to change his mind, and there is only one way left for us."

Major Trefali asked in a voice that almost trembled:

"Which one?"

Lawrence shook his head and said:

"When I return to Ajaccio, I will let you know as soon as possible, and I will need your help at that time."

The two men in front of Lawrence looked at each other, neither spoke, but nodded firmly, they had no choice.

Although it is not yet known what the path Lawrence spoke of, Major Trefali and Lieutenant Seth were able to foresee it:

Corsica, I'm afraid it's going to change.