On the stage covered with rose petals, male actors with lead powder on their faces and in pompous and elegant costumes recited in front of a packed theater audience:

"Juliet, this is our new house. Your beauty has transformed a cave into a hall of light. Ah, my love! My wife! Death has taken your life, but it has not taken away your beauty, and you are my most beautiful bride..."

The audience stared intently at Romeo on stage, as if he had broken the fourth wall and entered the world of the play, and the sentimental young lady could not help but take out a handkerchief and began to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.

This is the Paris Comédie, the first national theater in France, built in 1680 by the Sun King Louis XIV, and it is definitely the most artistic theater in Paris.

The people who could sit in such a theater were all members of Parisian high society, after all, the average ticket price of fifty livres was enough to keep the common people out.

Even most of the time it was hard to get a ticket, but merchants who had money to spare were willing to pay five times as much for a ticket to a play in an attempt to get in touch with a certain elder.

Of course, the gap between people is unimaginable, and for some of the powerful, a few days before every play starts, a theater person respectfully delivers a wad of tickets to their homes, even though they may never go to the theater.

The Duke of Richelieu undoubtedly belongs to this category of people, and is at the top of it. He has a private box on the upper floor of the theater with a bird's-eye view of the entire stage.

"Oh... Young love, miserable and beautiful. It's a shame that Dubari didn't see it. ”

The Duke of Richelieu, who was already seventy-four years old, calmly held up a gold viewing mirror and watched "Romeo and Juliet" performed on the stage with full attention, and couldn't help but sigh with embarrassment.

For the Duke of Richelieu, who had also been in love all his life, this poignant love story naturally evoked a lot of memories for him, even if it was an old British work.

And taking advantage of the end of this scene on the stage, the entourage in the box dared to step forward, for fear of disturbing the Duke's interest in watching the play, and said carefully:

"Lord Dubarry, Mr. Dubarry has returned, but..."

"But what? Why did it take so long for him to pass on a message? The Duke of Richelieu asked with some dissatisfaction with a slight movement of his somewhat sore wrist.

Don't look at Jean Dubarry as a wealthy proprietor with more than a dozen casino brothels in the hearts of the citizens of Paris, but he can only say a few words in front of the Duke of Richelieu by relying on the few things he has with Madame du Barry.

Even today, Jean Dubarry was able to watch a play in a box with the Duke of Richelieu, which was a rare opportunity, but the Duke of Richelieu drove him out with some impatience to talk to Lawrence.

The attendant hastened to explain:

"Because the governor of Corsican also volunteered to return to the theater with him."

"Oh?"

When the Duke of Richelieu heard this, his brows were full of surprise, he thought that Lawrence would choose to stay away from this political storm without hesitation after receiving the reminder, but he didn't expect Lawrence to choose a rather radical approach instead.

After all, it is generally believed that Lawrence is a member of the Duke of Choiseul's faction, and he chose to meet with the Duke of Richelieu at this time, and the news will undoubtedly cause a discussion in political circles.

Seeing that the Duke of Richelieu was lost in thought, the retinue cautiously suggested:

"Maybe he's here to join you, anyway, they've been waiting outside for a while, do you want to meet them?"

"Run to me..."

The Duke of Richelieu muttered to himself slowly, then shook his head and said:

"I don't think so, forget it, bring in the young governor of Corsica."

With that, the Duke of Richelieu glanced at the only two chairs in the box, and added:

"As for Mr. Dubarry, please come back, I don't think he's interested in today's performance."

......

In the lounge area outside the theater, Jean Dubarry sat on a bench with Lawrence very depressed and waited for his entourage to inform the Duke of Richelieu.

"Sir Bonaparte, don't blame me for not reminding you."

Jean Dubarry looked at Lawrence on the side and said displeasedly:

"The Duke of Richelieu is not for everyone, and although you are the Governor of Corsica, you are actually... You know what I mean, right? ”

Lawrence smiled indifferently and stuffed a smoked baby fish sandwich into his mouth, knowing his actual status very clearly.

If it was normal time, the Duke of Richelieu would definitely look down on himself as the governor of Corsica, after all, in the eyes of people like the Duke of Richelieu, the governor of Lawrence is actually no different from a big chief in Africa.

But at this moment, Louis XV was in a state of great pleasure and satisfaction when he learned of Corsica's conversion, and Lawrence's position was magnified.

After all, if the Duke of Richelieu and his faction wanted to completely defeat the Duke of Choiseul politically, they had to let Louis XV deliver the final blow to the Duke of Choiseul, and they did exactly that in history.

In the case of Corsica's surrender, the Duke of Choiseul also played an indelible role, and in the Duke of Richelieu's view, Louis XV was likely to restore trust or ease his dissatisfaction with the Duke of Choisell because of the Corsican affair.

In this way, the Duke of Richelieu will have to make another effort to bring down the Duke of Choiseul, and even the Duke of Richelieu, who is already in his seventies, may not see the fall of the Duke of Choiseul until the moment he closes his eyes.

"That is to say, I am now the key to the Duke of Choiseul's favour with Louis XV, and Madame du Barry's faction naturally knows this."

Lawrence silently analyzed in his heart, which is why the Duke of Richelieu showed unusual importance to himself, and immediately sent Jean Dubarry to spread the word after learning that he had appeared in the casino.

"Hmph... Don't blame me if you don't see the Duke of Richelieu for a while. ”

Jean Dubarry, a businessman, naturally did not know where Lawrence got his confidence, but he muttered dissatisfiedly as if he was making a big fuss.

The two waited outside for a few more moments, and then saw the Duke of Richelieu's retinue tiptoe out of the theater.

The attendant bowed slightly to Jean Dubarry, and said very tactfully:

"Mr. Dubarry, the Duke said... Say that you are also very tired from running the industry, so you don't need to spend time watching the play with him, you can leave first. ”

"What?! Lord Duke, how is he...! ”

Jean Dubarry said in disbelief, almost crying out, he had put a lot of effort and money into order to get this opportunity to be alone with the Duke of Richelieu, and he had not expected to be driven out like this.

The attendant ignored Jean Dubarry, who was stunned, and then bowed more deeply to Lawrence, and said respectfully:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, the Duke of Richelieu wants to see you, so please come with me."

Lawrence nodded, slapped the crumbs off his hand, shrugged his shoulders at Mr. Dubarry, who was still stunned, then stood up and tidied up his shirt a little, and followed the attendant into the theater.

......

When Lawrence pushed the door open and walked into the box, he was greeted by an old man with gray temples and gorgeous clothes, who was holding a glittering golden theater viewing glass, staring at the stage with great interest, and whispering from time to time:

"Oh, beautiful Juliet, you are so heroic."

Lawrence stood in the doorway and observed the old man silently, not interrupting him without making a loud noise, while searching his mind for memories of the Duke of Richelieu.

Known in history as Duke III of Richelieu, he was a brilliant diplomat and soldier who fought in major wars such as the War of the Austrian Succession, the War of the Polish Succession, and the Seven Years' War, and was promoted to Marshal of France in 1748 by virtue of his exploits and family power.

Of course, a large part of his status comes from his uncle, the first Duke of Richelieu, Cardinal Richelieu, who was famous throughout the history of France as the Prime Minister of France under Louis XIII.

Including during World War II, the largest battleship in the history of the French Navy, the Richelieu-class battleship, was named after him.

Therefore, under the protection of his uncle, the Duke of Richelieu enjoyed a very high position in the court from birth, and the Sun King Louis XIV was his godfather, and the current King Louis XV was his best friend in his early years.

Although he had been estranged from Louis XV because of his feud with Madame de Pompadour, his mistress, and was dismissed from office by the High Court; But after Madame de Pompadour's death, he was not only reinstated by the High Court, but also had a fairly close relationship with Madame du Barry, Louis XV's new mistress.

With the blessing of these positions and connections, the old man in front of Lawrence can definitely be said to be the group of people who stand at the top of the Versailles court and even the whole of France.

As long as he brought down the Duke of Choiseul, he would have a chance to stand out from that group, and perhaps even reach the status of his uncle, the original Duke of Richelieu.

For such an old man, who was not inferior to the Duke of Choiseul, Lawrence also showed due courtesy, and waited for the break between the performances on the stage before bowing and saying:

"Your Excellency the Duke, it is an honour to meet you, I am Lawrence Bonaparte."

The Duke of Richelieu slowly put the mirror back in his pocket, turned his head to look at Lawrence with interest, then patted the empty seat next to him and motioned for Lawrence to sit down, and waved to his entourage to let them go out first.

After Lawrence was seated, the Duke of Richelieu turned his head to look behind him again, and made sure that only the two of them were in the box before he spoke casually:

"I heard you want to see me, Governor Bonaparte."

"Yes."

Lawrence nodded, and lay down in the soft sofa chair very relaxed, squinted at the play that had reached the end of the stage on the stage, and continued:

"You sent me a very puzzling reminder, of course I have to ask you about it."

"Oh? Pretty puzzling, isn't it? ”

Duke Richelieu's eyes narrowed almost into a slit, and he looked at Lawrence with a smiling smile, he did not believe that a young man from a small aristocratic background, but who could become the lord of a country at the age of twenty, could not understand such a hint, so he crossed his legs and asked:

"So what do you not understand?"

"You kept me away from the Duke of Choiseul, but he is the envoy in charge of signing a treaty with me, and if I do as you say, won't the treaty with which I and he have worked so hard for so long be null and void? It's a hassle to find someone else to negotiate..."

Lawrence feigned distress and asked a question that seemed to be of a very low level.

However, after hearing this, the Duke of Richelieu's mouth rose even more, and he was already a diplomat, and he was already familiar with the tricks hidden in these words, and when he heard it, he understood what Lawrence meant:

The young man was testing himself, and if he did what he said, whether the exchange of interests he had made with the Duke of Choiseul would be compensated or recognized.

Having understood the meaning of this, the Duke of Richelieu chuckled and looked at Lawrence, as if the climax of the stage no longer attracted him, and said like a kind elder:

"You don't have to worry, even if the envoy to the negotiations with you is changed, the treaty concerning the Kingdom of Corsica will not change. Of course... If there is a special clause, it is a different matter. ”

After hearing this, Lawrence frowned slightly and looked at the Duke of Richelieu, to be honest, in Lawrence's opinion, his answer was definitely not sincere.

Since the treaty concerning the Kingdom of Corsica had already been almost completed, and it would have been a similar result to anyone who had negotiated, what really made Lawrence value were the two things that the Duke of Choiseul had promised him personally:

One was to help the Corsican National Silver Company to list on the Paris Stock Exchange, and the other was to help Lawrence deal with the negotiations with the British.

These two things were undoubtedly the special terms of the Duke of Richelieu's mouth, and from his point of view, it seems that he did not want to recognize and compensate Lawrence for the private agreement he had made with the Duke of Choiseul.

"You were a great diplomat and you were involved in many treaties."

Although Lawrence was already a little dissatisfied, he still said quietly:

"So you should know that those special clauses are the most complicated part of the treaty, and if these are not guaranteed, I think..."

"You are right, Governor Bonaparte."

A cold light flashed in Duke Richelieu's eyes, and he lowered his voice and said:

"But for Corsica, the most important thing is to obtain the protection of France, right? Otherwise, you would not be sitting here now, but in the dungeons of the Kingdom of Sardinia. As for the special terms, you shouldn't mind too much. ”

"If that is the case, it will be much more convenient to continue with the Duke of Choiseul to complete this treaty, and I think King Louis will be happy to see it completed as soon as possible."

Lawrence also looked at the Duke of Richelieu without flinching and said, and directly moved Louis XV out.

The Duke of Richelieu was silent for a moment, the name of Louis XV really had to make him cautious, but from the bottom of his heart, he still completely despised the little Corsican governor in front of him.

In the eyes of the Duke of Richelieu, as long as Louis XV passed this period of excitement, then Lawrence's status was not even comparable to that of a real count.

It's really not worth paying extra for such a small person.

"I must tell you, Governor Bonaparte."

The Duke of Richelieu's tone was already a little unkind, and he said directly:

"I need you to stay away from the Duke of Choiseul for a purpose, but that doesn't mean I can only rely on your help to achieve that goal."

Lawrence looked at the Duke of Richelieu silently, admitting that he was right, the Duke of Richelieu did not want the Duke of Choiseul to restore Louis XV's trust through the Corsican affair, he naturally had quite a lot of means, but it was the easiest to start with himself.

And after this sentence was uttered, the negotiations between the two were completely broken.

Lawrence wanted to test the attitude of the Duke of Richelieu's side, and if the conditions they gave were suitable, Lawrence was more than willing to stand on the opposite side of the Duke of Choiseul, driven by interests.

But judging by the attitude of the Duke of Richelieu, it is clear that he does not want to give Lawrence this opportunity.

"Well, I'll be careful what you mean."

Lawrence said to the Duke of Richelieu, glancing at the actors on the stage who were on the curtain call, and said casually:

"It just so happens that this drama is over, please allow me to leave."

The Duke of Richelieu did not hinder Lawrence's departure, and only when he reached the door did he suddenly say:

"Young man, maybe next time I'll invite you to a full play."

Lawrence stopped at the doorway, turned his head and said slowly:

"Actually, I'd rather be on stage than go to a play, and I believe we're already there."

The Duke of Richelieu also turned his head to look at Lawrence, and both of them read the same meaning in each other's eyes:

Since the return of the Duke of Choiseul and Lawrence to Paris, the actors of this Versailles court struggle have all stood on the stage; Soon, the curtain will be lifted by Louis XV himself.