On the morning of March 9, 1770, two days after the Battle of Bonifacio.

Ten miles away from Ajaccio, I saw a mighty procession a mile long marching slowly and orderly on the official road.

This was the battalion led by Lawrence and the nearly 1,000 soldiers of the Sardinian army who had been captured.

After repelling the Sardinian army at a terrible cost, Lawrence ordered the soldiers of the Southern Army to garrison Bonifacio, and he immediately led the special battalion back to Ajaccio.

Although he did not have much time to consolidate his position in the Southern Legion, Lawrence was well aware that in a short period of time, the soldiers of the Southern Legion would treat their orders as the only orders that needed to be carried out.

"Lieutenant Colonel Bonaparte, we're going back to Ajaccio this time, will we..."

Major Trefali shook the reins, drove the horses closer to Lawrence, and whispered.

As he drew closer to Ajaccio, Major Trefali became more and more uneasy, and the words Lawrence had spoken to him and Lieutenant Seth that day were still in his heart.

In Major Trevary's view, although they returned with a big victory this time, it may only make Pauly continue to increase the pressure on Lawrence's faction.

Because of this, Major Trefali even proposed a crazy plan to Lawrence on the way: to directly lead the Southern Army to occupy Ajaccio.

However, this plan was quickly rejected by Lawrence.

Because Ajaccio's garrison, including Pauly's cuirassiers, is a very elite force in the Wehrmacht, even if Lawrence has those precision marksmen, it is difficult to take Ajaccio with complete certainty.

Even if Lawrence was able to take Ajaccio and imprison Pauli, Lawrence would not have the strength to confront the British, Sardians, Genoese, or even the Northern Army led by General Nathan.

In addition, it was also because Lawrence did not want to turn his struggle with Paulie into a turmoil that endangered all of Corsica.

Lawrence, on horseback, shook his head affirmatively and whispered:

"We are Corsican heroes, and Paulie will not do anything to us anytime soon, at most he will do his best to transfer us away from Ajaccio, as he did this time."

"It's... Quite right. Major Trefary, though still a little uneasy, chose to trust Lawrence's judgment.

"That's right"

Lawrence's face suddenly became solemn, and he turned his head and waved at Lieutenant Seth, motioning for him to lean in as well, and then said in a voice that only three people could hear:

"I told you last time, my plans after returning to Ajaccio..."

At this hearing, Major Trevary and Lieutenant Seth immediately burst into full spirits, and looked nervously at Lawrence, expecting every word he said.

After a whisper, under the shocked gaze of the two, Lawrence nodded to himself and rode a few steps as if nothing had happened.

......

In the afternoon, in the auditorium of the Governor's Palace of Ajaccio.

"Your Excellency Pete, today's meeting went well too."

After finishing the routine meeting with Pete, Paulie smiled and put away the papers on the table, got up and invited:

"Going to my garden for a cup of tea?"

Pete just smiled politely and nodded, and followed Paulie to the garden of the Doge's Palace, supported by his attendants.

The two took their seats at a small round table, on which a matching tea set was prepared.

Pete directly picked up the teacup and took a sip, looked up at the flowers and herbs around him, and said casually:

"The garden is nice, Governor Paulie."

"Thank you for the compliment."

After a polite remark, there was a brief silence between the two, and then the insurance rate spoke first:

"By the way, don't you really care about that young man Lawrence? He should be back soon. ”

Although Pauli did not receive any letters from Bonifacio, Lawrence should have returned to Ajaccio in disgrace with a group of defeated men in the next few days.

In Pauly's mind, using Lawrence's defeat to strip him of his authority and then sending him back to England with Pitt was the best outcome.

Pete nodded with a smile and said meaningfully:

"You didn't just call me for tea, right?"

"Your Excellency is indeed very witty." Poly was not surprised, and said with a smile:

"As you mentioned some time ago, the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia has landed in Corsica, and if you guessed correctly, at this moment they have occupied the south of Corsica."

Pete glanced at Paulie with some dissatisfaction, frowned and said:

"That's not a good thing for you as a leader, is it? The alluvial plains of southern Corsica are the island's most important breadbaskets, not to mention the fact that it is farming season. ”

"Hehe..."Poly smiled awkwardly and said:

"Not necessarily, if the Sardinian army occupies a large part of Corsica, although the Kingdom of Sardinia has not yet submitted a declaration of war, such an act is already a real war."

"So what? What do you want to say? Pete's brow still didn't loosen, and he asked as he put the teacup back on the table and looked at Paulie.

Paulie straightened his back and looked around, although he knew that there were only two people in this garden, Paulie still said with some humility:

"I hope that the English army will be able to land in Corsica, and then I will publish a treaty with you, so that England can join the war and occupy Sardinia after repelling the Sardinian army, and bring Sardinia under Corsica's rule."

Despite the sunny days in the garden and the refreshing chirping of all kinds of rare birds, Pete's face instantly became gloomy, and he said sharply:

"You gave up a third of Corsica to the Sardinians just to get a pretext to occupy Sardinia? Governor Pauli, although I am an Englishman, I would like to ask you if you have considered the people of southern Corsica? ”

Paulie didn't look Pete in the eyes, just shook his head and said:

"The people... Those peasants must be proud that they are qualified to make sacrifices for Corsica. ”

Pete propped up the table and stood up dissatisfied, shook his head uncontrollably, and said:

"Forgive me for sacrificing Corsica, Governor Pauli, I think they died for your title of Duke of Sardinia and Corsica."

For Pauli, if he was only made Count of Corsica, such a title could no longer satisfy Pauli's desires, and once he took Sardinia, he could be made a duke by virtue of the historical title of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica.

Seeing that the atmosphere in the garden was becoming difficult to end, Pauly's secretary suddenly burst in.

"What's wrong? Didn't I say that no one should be allowed in the garden? ”

Paulie immediately turned to his secretary and asked, ending the argument with Pete by the way.

"I'm sorry, Lord Governor, but..."

The secretary glanced in Pete's direction, as if he wanted to say something.

"Say it quickly, Your Excellency Pete is one of his own." Sensing the secretary's hesitation, Paulie ordered impatiently.

Although Pete can also understand Italian, Paulie does not let Pete avoid it in order to show his generosity.

"Yes—" The secretary swallowed, glanced at Poly with some trepidation, and hesitated for two seconds before he said quickly:

"Lawrence Bonaparte has returned to Ajaccio with the commission, and... They repelled the Sardinian army and returned with a thousand or so prisoners! ”

"What?!"

Poly froze in place, couldn't stop taking a few steps back, and directly knocked the round table full of tea sets to the ground, making a crackling sound.

Pete was no less shocked than Pauly, and he knew how weak the Corsican Southern Army was compared to the Sardinian army, and even as a decorated leader who had won the Seven Years' War, Piet was not confident that he could do the same thing as Lawrence.

"Lawrence... Where is he now! Poly didn't pretend at all, and said angrily.

"Total... Lord Governor, who is now marching through the streets of Ajaccio with his soldiers and prisoners, is receiving the cheers of the populace. ”