On the morning of April 18, four beautifully decorated and well-worded resignation letters lay neatly on Lawrence's desk, each with the name of the corresponding congressman at the end.

After sending the four councillors back to their residences yesterday, Lawrence, in order to dispel their last bit of luck, sent someone to copy a few copies of the information about the four of them sent by Shadia to them.

Undoubtedly, when they were stunned to see the paper on which their crimes were recorded, they hurriedly took out the pen and ink paper in a panic and began to write their resignations.

Although a small number of the accounts sent by Lawrence were different from the real situation, the one that could be verified was enough to send them all to the dungeon.

"Not bad, not bad..."

Lawrence looked at the four resignations with satisfaction, and then instructed Anna to send them public.

At the same time, Lawrence has already planned their belonging to the four chairs vacated in the council:

Major Trefali, as the representative of the Army, and Shaun Sr., as the representative of the patrol, naturally deserve two seats as representatives of the two most important forces in Lawrence's hands at present.

Lawrence also made this arrangement to motivate the grassroots patrols and Wehrmacht soldiers to increase their loyalty to him.

In addition, for Grosso, an experienced old sailor, Lawrence also intended to take him out of the patrol and put him in the navy as his own henchman, so Lawrence also gave him a seat as a representative of the navy in the future.

Of course, for the three people who were granted the seats, they also knew that the status of this councillor was more symbolic and honorary, because the current Corsican parliament was completely Lawrence's word, almost a fictitious one.

Even the most important tax reform was not put into practice by Parliament at all, but by Lawrence's dictation.

As for the last seat, Lawrence, having consulted the Corsican constitution with Carlo Bonaparte, found that it did not restrict the governor from being a member of parliament, so he reserved it for himself in order to strengthen his control over the parliament.

Although the election of new members of parliament is still subject to formal elections, for Lawrence, manipulating these processes is only a matter of marginal influence, and the allocation of these seats is already a certainty.

After breaking up the political support of the landlords in Parliament, they had little to oppose at least in the experimental taxation in May, although there would be a strong backlash from them in the face of further reforms.

Having settled the political problems within Corsica, Lawrence was ready to concentrate on negotiating with the Duke of Choiseul.

However, on the afternoon of April 18, the Duke of Choiseul brought Lawrence rather abrupt news.

......

"Ah, I'm glad we agreed on another matter."

Duke Choiseul in the auditorium of the Governor's Palace had a satisfied smile on his face, looked at Lawrence opposite and said.

Lawrence also smiled politely, and then looked at the agenda table in his hand with a little headache, which was more than ten centimeters thick, and it would probably take a few weeks to communicate all these tedious details.

It was already getting dark outside, and Lawrence turned his head to glance at the time on the pendulum clock, closed the agenda, and said:

"I'm in the same joyful mood, but it's almost time for today, how about we continue tomorrow at nine o'clock in the morning?"

"Of course... Oh no. ”

The Duke of Choiseul nodded subconsciously, but then remembered something, and quickly shook his head with a smile, and said to Lawrence:

"Our negotiations have been on hold for a while, and there is something more important that needs to be done."

"More important?" Lawrence looked at the Duke of Choiseul in bewilderment, he didn't think he had anything important to do with the Duke of Choiseul.

"We need to go to Versailles."

Seeing Lawrence's puzzled expression, the Duke of Choisell smiled and explained:

"King Louis was very pleased with your initiative to lead the Corsicans to his subjection, and wanted to give you a banquet before the official coronation, right at Versailles."

"King Louis' banquet for me?"

Lawrence was a little surprised when he heard this, but he quickly calmed down and said:

"I'm a little flattered by that."

"Hey, dear Lawrence, it's an honor in a sense, but don't overthink it."

Duke Choiseul looked at Lawrence, chuckled and shook his head, and said:

"King Louis, he... How to say, he was quite enthusiastic about court life, and such banquets were held almost every month, and sometimes the reason for the banquet was even just because he felt that the weather was good today. ”

Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and then immediately reacted that Louis XV in history was indeed a king with a rather corrupt court life.

Every few days at the Palace of Versailles, banquets, masquerade balls, and even card gambling or billiards were held, and King Louis himself was very enthusiastic about participating in these events, especially with his mistress.

And Louis XV specially held this banquet, probably because he just lacked a reason to set up a banquet, and he was happy after hearing that Corsica took the initiative to surrender to him, so he easily set Lawrence as the center of the banquet.

Although Corsica is a poor and backward barren land, any ruler will undoubtedly be proud for a while when he hears that the people of a certain place have voluntarily submitted to him.

In addition, since the Duke of Choiseul, who was far away in Corsica, knew about this, then King Louis must have already begun to prepare for the banquet and invite other guests, and Lawrence, as the central figure, could not refuse.

"After all, it's a special invitation from the king, and I have no reason to turn it down."

Lawrence smiled bitterly and said that he would probably have to worship Louis XV as his king for a long time in the future, so it was not good to leave a bad impression on Louis XV at the first meeting.

The Duke of Choiseul nodded unexpectedly, knowing that a calculating man like Lawrence would not risk offending the king by refusing to attend.

"The banquet will be in early June, and we'll be ready to leave in the next few days."

The Duke of Choiseul set aside the agenda, then said in a low voice:

"Besides, there is a necessary reason for you to go to Paris, Governor Bonaparte."

Lawrence frowned slightly, and the first thing that came to mind was the matter of the National Silver Company, but this was obviously not a necessary reason.

However, after thinking for a moment, Lawrence quickly reacted to what Duke Choiseul was saying, so he also asked in a deep voice:

"British?"

The Duke of Choiseul looked at Lawrence with some surprise, nodded again and again, and said:

"Lawrence, you're so witty. Yes, the British are still angry about what you did, and although they have largely given up on retaliation, there is still some entanglement at the negotiating table..."

"And in this case..."

Lawrence followed up with the words of the Duke of Schwarseul:

"Paris is undoubtedly a better place to negotiate than to negotiate with the British in Corsica."

"Exactly, Viceroy Bonaparte, it is so easy to speak to a wise man."

Duke Choiseul couldn't help clapping his palms and said.

Lawrence nodded solemnly, it seems that this trip to Paris is not just for feasting and pleasure, the negotiations with the British, counting the matter of the National Silver Company just thought of, and other situations that may occur, this trip will probably be busy for a while:

"I see, I'll be ready to go to Paris with you the day after tomorrow at the latest."

......

May 25, 1770

After nearly a month of traveling, Lawrence and his party finally arrived in Paris.

The distance from Toulon, where Lawrence and his party landed, to Paris is more than 600 kilometers in a straight line, not to mention the winding winding around many mountains and hills.

Fortunately, relying on the dignitary status of the Duke of Choiseul, the group was almost unhindered and delayed on the way, and finally reached Paris before June.

Lawrence didn't bring much of his entourage with him, just Grosso and Yaan from the patrol, as well as his secretary Anna.

In addition, since Lawrence was also the head of a country, and the Duke of Choiseul allowed him to bring a small number of guards into Paris, Lawrence took his twenty precision marksmen with him after consideration.

With limited numbers, these precision marksmen are undoubtedly more useful than the other classes, but Lawrence also hopes that they will not be used during this journey.

As for the rest, Lawrence was left in Corsica to maintain the normal functioning of the state.

Although he will be away for a while, Lawrence is not worried about what will happen to Corsica, after all, the first factor that Lawrence values when choosing a henchman is loyalty.

As for the tax reform, which Lawrence was very concerned about, after Lawrence was compromised by the church and eliminated four members of the landowning class, he also believed that Cojero would be able to successfully complete the experimental taxation with the help of the patrol.

In any case, the affairs of Corsica had to be put aside by Lawrence for the time being, and there were still many troubles waiting for him in this world city in front of him.

......

"Shhhh This is Paris, and it feels like it's the center of the fucking world. ”

Grosso, who was sitting in the carriage, leaned almost half of his body out of the carriage, licked his lips and looked around, and after a long time sat back in his seat, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Although Grosso has traveled to many bustling port cities, this is also his first time in the prestigious city of Paris.

Lawrence, opposite Grosso, silently leaned against the window frame and scanned the street outside, only nodding his head slightly to Grosso's exclamation.

Although Paris, with a population of 600,000, is undoubtedly a pearl in Western Europe and even the whole of Europe, it is somewhat inferior to those megacities with a population of more than one million in the East at the same time.

"But in any case, the population of Paris is equivalent to thirty Ajaccio..."

Lawrence thought bitterly, and couldn't help but drift his thoughts back to Corsica, where the problem of underpopulation had been put on Lawrence's list of problems that had to be solved.

And just as Lawrence was pondering this, the Duke of Choiseul's motorjourney came to a slow halt in front of a mansion.

Lawrence turned his head to look through the car window at the mansion, a typical Baroque building, with a courtyard should occupy nearly 2,000 square meters; Marble busts are elaborately placed on both sides of the path leading into the mansion, and there is even a four-tiered fountain in the courtyard.

Not to mention that the mansion is located on the Champs-Élysées in the heart of Paris, and you can see the Louvre and the Douilleur Palace almost directly from the door of the mansion, and even the Arc de Triomphe built by Napoleon is located on this street.

However, it is true that only such a mansion is worthy of a lord like the Duke of Choiseul, who has a large fiefdom of real power, and his rich wallet.

The Duke of Choiseul stepped out of the carriage with the support of his attendants, and without saying much, he generously offered to lend the mansion to Lawrence and his party for a temporary stay.

"Although, as the host, I should have a banquet to welcome you."

The Duke of Choiseul led Lawrence into the mansion, and introduced the housekeepers and servants to Lawrence, and then said apologetically:

"But I have to go to Versailles at once, you know, the king is still waiting for me."

Lawrence nodded in understanding, the Duke of Choiseul had been in Corsica for so long as a French minister, and there must be a lot of things waiting for him to deal with when he returned.

"Then, I will send for you to inform you when the time of the King's banquet has been determined, Governor Bonaparte."

The Duke of Choiseul took out his pocket watch and looked at it, and said it very quickly, and then pulled out a middle-aged man behind him and introduced:

"Oh yes, this is my squire Ruffy Lund, and you can ask him if you have any questions about Paris. Well, I really have to leave, and I apologize to you again, Governor Bonaparte, and I hope you have a good time in Paris. ”

With that, the Duke of Choiseul hurriedly left the mansion after another apology.

The squire officer Lund looked at the back of his master who left in a hurry, and could only smile awkwardly, bow deeply to Lawrence and say:

"I'm sorry, but the Duke does... He is trusted by the king, and there is a lot of work waiting for him. ”

Lawrence only laughed silently when he heard Lund's words, Louis XV may have trusted the Duke of Choiseul, but he was also very dissatisfied with the Duke of Choiseul's manipulation of the government and his advocacy of war.

In the autumn of this year, the Duke of Choiseul was driven back to his fiefdom by Louis XV, who could not bear it, for trying to incite France to intervene in the conflict between England and Spain.

It's just that whether his appearance will rewrite this history and the fate of Duke Choiseul, Lawrence is still unclear.

"Or... Is it in my interest to follow history and let the Duke of Choiseul fall, or is it in my interest to help him maintain his current political position..."

Lawrence stood by the window and watched the Duke of Choiseul's carriage leave the Champs-Élysées, knowing in his heart that now that he was in Paris, he would inevitably be involved in the fate of many great men.

Because of his information superiority and the butterfly effect of history, Lawrence can even change the final outcome of a historical figure with just a few words.

The question before Lawrence is no longer whether he can change history, but whether he should change it.

And Lawrence has long had an answer to this question in his heart:

"As worldly as it sounds, you have to take your interests as the criterion at all times..."