"Uh, well, I know, you are..."

Lavoisier was stunned, understood what Lawrence meant, and nodded with a wry smile.

After all, for Lawrence, he still has the survival of Corsica and the interests of tens of thousands of people on the island on his shoulders, but he is not in a position to ignore the affairs of the window and concentrate on scholarship like a scholar like Lavoisier.

For the sake of Corsica, Lawrence did not hesitate to abandon the so-called scholarly ethics and resorted to some despicable methods.

"But I'll have to make it clear to you beforehand."

Lavoisier was still a little uneasy after agreeing with Lawrence, reminding worriedly:

"Although I can try my best to help you get the matter of academician recommendations and academic works, the final committee vote is not something I can control, and if it is not passed there, the previous efforts will be in vain."

"It's okay, I'll figure out how to vote by myself, and even if it doesn't pass, I won't blame you."

Lawrence waved his hand in relief and said:

"It's the previous process, the joint recommendation of the three academicians is no problem for you, right?"

"Oh sure, I'll take care of it."

Lavoisier patted his chest and confidently assured:

"I'll count one myself, and then I'll try to convince some of my friends, and my mentor, Mr. Geita Etienne, who will surely help you too. In fact, I'm going to see him in a moment. ”

"Geita Etienne..."

Lawrence searched his mind for the memories of Lavoisier's mentor, and finally remembered that this was a mineralogist who was well-known in academic circles and society at the time, and that he was also a member of the Royal Society.

Six years ago, Gueta and Lavoisier collected and collated the mineral information of all of France, and drew up the first detailed and clear map of France. This achievement also gave Gueta a high status in Parisian academic circles.

Although Gaita didn't make much of a splash in history and the history of science, Lawrence's eyes lit up when he heard the name:

For the National Silver Company, it would be more appropriate to borrow the influence of this Monsieur de Geta, rather than the influence of Lavoisier, who had not yet become fully famous.

"Ah, the time spent talking to you flies."

Lawrence turned his head to look at the wall clock on the wall, and said regretfully, they had been talking here for more than an hour, and most of that time Lavoisier was demonstrating his experiments to Lawrence.

"That's right, I'm sorry to bother you, it's time for me to leave, Mr. Geita is still waiting for me."

Lavoisier quickly glanced symbolically at the wall clock, then stood up embarrassedly and bowed to Lawrence.

"Is it urgent?"

Lawrence also stood up, patted Lavoisier on the shoulder, and asked with concern:

"Do you want me to let the stables in the house take you there?"

Lavoisier waved his hand again and again and said:

"Oh, you're so polite, it's not a rush, it's just a club party. You know, no Parisian would hate salons and parties. ”

"A club party? Sounds interesting. ”

Lawrence looked at Lavoisier with great interest and said:

"There's no such thing in Corsica, and I'd love to see it."

"You'd like to attend?"

Lavoisier looked at Lawrence in surprise, and after a moment of serious consideration, decided to accede to Lawrence's request.

There is no problem in joining that club as Lawrence, and any club member would welcome a high-status person like Lawrence to join, after all, it will also indirectly raise the status of this club.

In addition, Lavoisier was still a little uncomfortable with convincing his mentor Geta, so he decided to bring Laurence to the club as well, so that Laurence could communicate with Gaetta first, so that it would be much easier for him to seek Gaita's support.

"Great, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you."

Lavoisier said with some excitement.

Lawrence smiled and nodded, and called the old butler to tell him to prepare the carriage.

......

Lavoisier said that the club is located in the Góborin district, where most of the city's middle class live, and the environment is not as orderly as the Champs-Elysées.

There are hundreds of such clubs in Paris, and gentlemen are keen to wear smart clothes and wigs to attend such parties, which not only expands their network, but also is a great form of entertainment.

When Lavoisier walked into the club with Lawrence, the party had clearly begun for a while.

The room was filled with the smell of wine and a bit of smoke, and people gathered in twos and threes, lazily and relaxedly on the sofa, talking and laughing with others.

The waiters stand nervously in place, their eyes keenly observing each guest and figuring out their needs, ready to provide meticulous service.

At this time, I heard the welcoming waiter at the door suddenly shout loudly:

"Gentlemen, let us welcome the arrival of Monsieur Lavoisier, Academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris..."

Most of the partygoers just glanced at the door, showing little interest in the late Academician, except for a few academics, including Geta, who waved to the door and told Lavoisier that they were here.

"And..."

The greeting waiter continued to shout:

"Viceroy of the Republic of Corsica, His Excellency Lawrence Bonaparte."

The sound of conversation in the room almost disappeared with the voice of the welcoming waiter, and people subconsciously stopped talking, twisted their heads, and stared at the door.

Lawrence Bonaparte? The Governor of Corsica, who was close to the Duke of Choiseul?

The people looked at Lawrence in disbelief, wondering how this Lord Bonaparte could have attended such a mid-range party, when he should have been present at the duchess's salon.

But, doubts aside, all the gatherers in this room understood the heat of His Excellency Bonaparte.

They hurriedly sat up from the couch, straightened their somewhat messy clothes and wigs, and then rushed to Lawrence's side, and hurriedly introduced themselves:

"It is an honour, Your Excellency Bonaparte, that I am the manager of the Comécéle Française, Andres Stravinsky, and I ask you to accept my business card..."

"Your Excellency! I'm the editor-in-chief of the Paris morning paper, Azino Paredes, and that's my calling card..."

"Take it, Lord Bonaparte! I'm Second Lieutenant Fyodor Otto, and I serve in the Paris Mounted Police..."

...

In the face of the crowd, Lawrence had to keep smiling and nodding to everyone who introduced himself, and then took the beautifully printed and gilded business cards from their hands, even though he already had a large pile in his hand.

"Oh my God."

Lavoisier, who had just stood beside Lawrence, was suddenly pushed into a corner by the crowd that had rushed up.

Looking at Lawrence in the middle of the crowd, Lavoisier could only sigh and smile wryly, he had never been treated like this in this club for so long.

"Hey, Lavoisier, you're finally here, what's going on?"

A musculent man with a big beard stepped forward, patted Lavoisier on the back, and asked with a fiery look in his eyes.

"Mr. Geta."

Lavoisier looked back at his mentor, reluctantly pointed at Lawrence, who was swallowed up by the crowd, bowed his head, and said apologetically:

"I went to-day to meet His Excellency Bonaparte, and he also wanted to attend this meeting, so I brought him here. I'm sorry, but I didn't expect Lord Bonaparte to be like this... Popular. ”

"Oh no, no, no, you don't have to apologize, young Lavoisier."

Mr. Gueta put his arm around Lavoisier's shoulders excitedly, but his eyes were fixed on Lawrence in the middle of the crowd, and said excitedly:

"Remember what I told you before, what is the most important thing about the study of natural philosophy?"

"Uh... Determination to pursue the truth? Lavoisier said tentatively.

"Of course, determination is also important. But the most important thing..."

Gaita looked at Lawrence, licked her lips and said:

"It's still money. Unlike the philosophers of the French Society, who only had to hold the tome and see it all night, we had to be busy with all kinds of experiments day by day, and all those raw materials and equipment were expensive. ”

Lavoisier frowned, hesitated, and said:

"Don't we have the patronage of the Royal Academy of Sciences?"

"Sponsorship... Sponsorship is only for certain projects, and the money is not enough. ”

Mr. Gaitan waved his hand and said in defense.

Lavoisier glanced at his wealthy mentor, sighed, gave up arguing with him, and asked:

"So you're thinking...?"

"Hey, hey, this Lord Bonaparte must be a rich man, if only he would be willing to finance us."

......

It took Lawrence more than ten minutes to finish the partygoers in front of him, and his pockets were stuffed with dozens of business cards from people from all walks of life.

Although the guests at this mid-range party were not of high status, they were indeed the backbone of their respective industries, and Lawrence might need to contact them under certain circumstances, so Lawrence decided to keep the business cards in his pocket.

After the party was over, Lawrence found Lavoisier in the corner of the room, where he was chatting casually with Geeta and several other scholars.

Lavoisier, seeing that Lawrence's side was finally over, also stood up and took the initiative to introduce:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, this is my mentor, Geita Etienne, and these are my colleagues, so I won't introduce them one by one."

"Fortunately, Lord Bonaparte, please come and sit here."

Gaita smiled and stood up, beckoning Lawrence to sit beside her.

"You're Mr. Geita, I've admired you for a long time."

Lawrence looked at the bearded man in front of him, smiled politely, and sat directly next to him and said.

"Oh? Are you also interested in natural philosophy? Then we'll have something to talk about. ”

Gaita replied with a smile.

Lavoisier on the side hurriedly added:

"In fact, His Excellency Bonaparte is a very accomplished scholar, and he is also interested in joining the Royal Academy of Sciences, with whom I have just discussed this."

"I see..."

Gaita's smile widened, knowing that this was a good opportunity to make a profit, so she stared at Lawrence and said:

"Since even Lavoisier, a young man of great talent, says that you are highly attained, I have no reason to doubt you at all. I would happily recommend you to join the Royal Academy of Sciences, and perhaps we can find another time to talk about it. ”

Lawrence glanced at Geta, and unlike Lavoisier's hesitation, this Mr. Gaita did not hide the greed in his eyes at all.

"Of course, but I have something more important to talk to Mr. Gaita, maybe you..."

Lawrence said with his legs crossed, glancing around the people around him, signaling that he wanted to talk to the two of them alone.

Lavoisier stood up in confusion, it stands to reason that Lawrence had just learned the name of Gaeta from his own mouth, and how could he have something important to discuss with him so quickly.

However, the surrounding people stood up with great amusement, and gave the area to Lawrence and Gaita.

"More important? What are you talking about, Lord Bonaparte? ”

Gaita was surprised, but his nose could already smell the coins from Lawrence's words, so he asked with interest.

"You should know that two years ago Corsica discovered a silver mine of considerable size." Lawrence explained with a smile.

"Oh... I have an impression. ”

Geita rubbed his temples and remembered for a moment, as a mineralogist, he already had additional memories of these news, and after a while he remembered:

"I remember it was around Ajaccio. Geologically speaking, it is not surprising that Corsica itself has a large mountain range that runs from north to south. ”

"That's right, you have a good memory."

Lawrence went on to say:

"As you know, as the ruler of Corsica, I also attach great importance to this silver mine, so I am ready to establish the Corsica National Silver Company with the French royal family to speed up its development."

Gaita's eyes lit up when he heard this, as long as it involved a business aggregate like a company, it would be a lot of money to make a handful of money in it.

"Silver Company, is it? I can understand that it's for early fundraising, right? ”

Gaita suppressed the excitement in her heart and hurriedly asked:

"But does that have anything to do with what you're talking about?"

"Of course, it's true, the Corsicans really don't have experience in mining such a large vein."

Lawrence sighed deeply and said very sadly:

"I think the National Silver Company needs a knowledgeable advisor, and I think you are the right person to be as a well-known mineralogist, Mr. Geita."

"Advisor?! It's a... Exciting position. ”

Mr. Geita almost jumped for excitement, but he knew very well that this so-called consultant was really just a name, and that he would not even have to visit the silver mine for the rest of his life, and a large salary would be sent to his home.

Not to mention, it's a fitting appointment to work as a consultant in a company with a national and royal background.

However, Mr. Geita was not carried away, he knew that Lawrence could not prescribe such a good advantage just for his own recommendation of him to become a member of the Royal Academy, there must be other conditions.

"It's a position that really appeals to me."

Mr. Gaita couldn't help but rub his hand stamp, coughed twice, and asked:

"But what do I need to do as a consultant?"

"You just have to do something very easy and don't even have to live in Corsica, and our questions will be sent to Paris for answers."

Lawrence seductively said:

"It's just that you'll be a little busier in the early days of the company, and I need you to produce an appraisal of the Ajaccio silver mine before you join the company."

Mr. Geita raised his eyebrows, it was not the first time he had done such a shady deal, and as soon as he heard Lawrence's words, he knew that the price he had to pay was the assessment report of the Ajaccio silver mine.

"Assessment report? What kind of report do you need? ”

Mr. Geita asked after narrowing his eyes at Lawrence and quietly taking a sip of white wine.

Lawrence chuckled lightly, lowered his voice and said:

"As a future advisor to the company, I hope that you will make some information in your report on the state of the Ajaccio silver mine on an objective and impartial basis. Positive adjustments. ”

"Ah, I see what you mean."

Mr. Geita said with a look of satisfaction, as I understood:

"I've had a hard time lately, and I should be going to Corsica in a few months to complete that assessment for you."

"In a few months?"

Lawrence frowned slightly, his tone was a little cold, he looked at Gaita and said:

"I don't think I have a few months."

"Huh? When do you need to receive this report? Mr. Geita was stunned for a moment, and quickly asked.

"I'd like to think," Lawrence closed his eyes and snorted for a moment, and said casually:

"Maybe in ten days?"

"Ten days?!"

Mr. Gaita's eyes widened and he said incredulously:

"I haven't even left Paris in ten days, how can I finish the report for you?!"

"Well, maybe you can speculate about the Ajaccio silver mines in your own study?" Lawrence said with a shrug.

"Sir Bonaparte, Paris is nearly two thousand miles from Ajaccio, if you want to speculate, you might as well find a gypsy wizard!" Mr. Geita protested with an ugly face.

Lawrence glanced at Gaita, turned his head to face him, and said in a cold voice:

"What do you mean... You don't have what it takes to complete this report? Then I would have to regret looking for another consultant. In fact, I am optimistic about your student Lavoisier. ”

"But—" Mr. Geita was speechless for a moment, and then said:

"But isn't the report written like this a complete nonsense? I've never even seen an Ajaccio silver mine. ”

Lawrence, however, just smiled and shook his head, and Mr. Rigeta, who was seated, came closer, and whispered:

"It's a complete nonsense report to you, but if it's signed by the name of the famous mineralogist Geta Etienne, everyone will believe it, especially the investors."

"I... You... You mean, falsifying a fictitious report...? Mr. Geta's face was a little pale, and he said hesitantly:

"If something goes wrong, I'm going to be ruined..."

Lawrence shook his index finger and said with a sly smile:

"What's wrong with the National Silver Company? It is held jointly by the Corsican government and the French royal family. ”

"Shhh

"I see."

After some further deliberation, Mr. Geita gritted his teeth, looked at Lawrence, and said:

"I will complete the report you asked for within ten days, and I promise that you will be satisfied."

"That's great."

Lawrence nodded in satisfaction, then stood up, patted Mr. Geeta on the shoulder, and whispered in his ear:

"By the way, since you're going to make up a report, I think you might as well use your imagination, especially when it comes to some statistics. Of course, it's an upward divergence. ”

"As you say, Lord Bonaparte..."

Mr. Geita nodded heavily, he could already have predicted how much a super-silver mine on paper would shake the investors in Paris.

"In that case, I'll take my leave, you know where to find me."

After Lawrence said his last words to Mr. Guetta, he waved goodbye to Lavoisier and the rest of the club, and left the place first.

......

Sitting in the carriage back to the mansion, Lawrence turned his head to look at the club, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh:

"This kind of thing is proper financial fraud, and the investors who are treated as leeks are unaware of it. Oh, and poor Mr. Geta, I'm sorry I deceived him, and then the National Silver Company will not only have problems, but huge problems. But if he's doing to my liking... Maybe I'll pull this scapegoat then. ”