Amid the polite applause of the audience, the performers on stage bowed to the audience one last time, and then the dark red curtain slowly closed, announcing the end of the morning performance.

"Let's go to the theater lounge for a drink?"

The Duke of Richelieu stood up with his cane and smiled and invited Baron Betula.

Baron Betula did not react for a long time as if he had lost his soul, until the Duke of Richelieu came to his senses, and quickly stood up and bowed, saying:

"Oh sorry, I got distracted, what did you just say?"

The Duke of Richelieu smiled indifferently, waved his hand and said:

"You don't have to be so shocked by what I just said, it's not going to be another Seven Years' War."

"Well, of course I believe you, but..."

Baron Betula shrugged and said:

"I don't think you can take any war lightly, and this time is no exception, and I think I'll have to ask for advice from home."

"Of course, it's a good thing to be vigilant, Mr. Ambassador, you can ask the mainland for instructions, it's still early anyway..."

The Duke of Richelieu stood before Baron Betula, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a serious voice:

"There are also many people in your government who want the fall of Choiseul, and they will not oppose this plan. And, if Choiseul falls, you will be the architect of peace between England and France, which is no small credit. ”

"That's right... I understand. ”

Baron Betula nodded approvingly and said that if he could really change France's foreign policy from radical to conservative, Baron Betula was very likely to be transferred back to his post in China with this merit, which was much brighter in terms of political future than serving as an ambassador abroad.

The Duke of Richelieu also nodded with great satisfaction, his plan was beneficial both in the personal interests of Baron Betula and in the national interests of England, and Baron Betula naturally would not refuse.

"Then I'll wait for good news, the play is over, let's go have a drink together?"

Duke Richelieu said with a smile and walked slowly towards the door.

Baron Betula also nodded hurriedly and followed, and walked out with the Duke of Richelieu along the uncrowded flow of people.

As soon as the two walked out of the theater together, they saw an official who had been waiting for a long time greet them.

He directly ignored the Duke of Richelieu on the side, and said directly to Baron Betula:

"Excuse me, Mr. Ambassador, but Minister Choiseul invites you to tea."

Baron Betula and Duke Richelieu glanced at each other, and they couldn't help frowning slightly, but they didn't expect to bump into Duke Choiseul just now.

"Is this a coincidence, or..."

The Duke of Richelieu silently guessed in his heart, but he still said with a smile on his face:

"It seems that I can only miss the company first, and you can't refuse the invitation of the Duke of Choiseul."

"Yes, thank you for your understanding."

Baron Betula scratched his head and said to the Duke of Richelieu with some embarrassment.

Although it has been decided to devote himself to the defeat of the Duke of Choiseul, before that, Baron Betula, as the ambassador to France, still needs a large degree of cooperation from the Duke of Choiseul, and he does not dare to make the relationship between the two too stiff.

After all, the Duke of Choiseul had the right to request a change of ambassador to France.

The Duke of Richelieu was an excellent diplomat in his early years, and of course he knew this stake, so he waved his hand at Baron Betula without care, and then left first.

Walking on the way to the back garden of the Palace of Versailles, Baron Betula frowned and asked the official who led the way:

"Why would the Duke of Choiseul suddenly invite me to tea? What's going on? ”

The official who led the way did not want to say more, but said with great pity:

"You will know when you go, His Excellency Bonaparte, the Governor of Corsica, is there."

"Governor of Corsica? I see—" Baron Betura's eyes flashed with imperceptible anger, nodded slightly, and then silently followed the official who led the way.

......

In the back garden of the Palace of Versailles, in a corner near the Grand Canal, Baron Betula found the Duke of Choiseul at a secluded long table.

The midday sun was brilliant, shining on the green waves of the Grand Canal, but Baron Betula's mood did not improve in the slightest because of the beautiful scenery.

For this hard-line Minister of War who was in charge of France's foreign policy, Baron Betula did not want to spend a moment with him if it were not for the requirements of his duties.

"Ah, Mr. Ambassador, you are here, please take a seat."

The Duke of Choiseul saw Baron Betula from afar and waved to him.

Baron Betula forced a smile as he cautiously surveyed his surroundings:

It seemed that there were only three of them present in this garden, and there was not even a single servant to serve, which was not normal in the Palace of Versailles. It seems that the others were deliberately withdrawn by the Duke of Choiseul, which means that the next thing they will discuss is definitely not what the weather will be like today.

After confirming this, Baron Betula took a deep breath to adjust his thoughts, then turned his gaze to the young man beside Duke Choiseul, and said:

"Thank you for the invitation, Your Excellency, then... This is the famous Lawrence Bonaparte, right? ”

Lawrence also looked up at Baron Betula, but did not speak to him, just smiled and nodded, and ignored Baron Betula.

Baron Betula couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth when he saw that Lawrence completely ignored his greetings, in his opinion, this so-called governor of Corsica was not even as good as a great chief of the Americas, and he dared to be so snub to himself, the ambassador to France.

If Duke Choiseul had put up with his attitude, Baron Betula could not accept such contempt from a yellow-haired boy of such status.

Despite his displeasure, Baron Betula looked at Duke Choiseul with some jealousy, and managed not to have a seizure.

When the Duke of Choiseul saw the two simply greeting each other, he was the first to speak:

"Mr. Ambassador, my rash invitation shouldn't have disrupted your arrangement, right?"

Baron Betula took his attention away from Lawrence and said with a sophisticated and familiar smile:

"Tea with the Duke of Choiseul is far more important than my arrangements."

"Is it?" said the Duke of Choiseul, looking at Baron Betula with a smile, meaningfully:

"I heard that you were going to accompany the Duke of Richelieu, and I hope the old fellow won't be angry about it."

Baron Betura's expression froze for a moment, but he immediately adjusted, and he laughed twice to directly omit the question.

Lawrence, who had been observing, also noticed the strangeness of Baron Betula's moment, and probably believed in his heart that there was indeed some secret between the ambassador to France and the Duke of Richelieu.

So Lawrence gave Duke Choiseul a secret look, suggesting that he would still bring the topic to today's topic, and that there was no point in continuing to probe the secret between Baron Betula and Duke Richelieu, and Baron Betula's mouth must be locked.

The Duke of Choiseul nodded understandingly, judging from his dealings with Baron Betula over the years, the ambassador to France was not so capable that he had reached the passing line, and he was not so stupid as to reveal these secrets in a few words.

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Ambassador, there is still a dispute between England and Corsica that has not been resolved."

Duke Choiseul glanced at Lawrence, rubbed his throat and said:

"It just so happens that the Governor of Bonaparte is here, so why don't you come and communicate?" I think both of you can negotiate on behalf of your respective countries, right? ”

Baron Betula nodded unexpectedly, it seems that the main purpose of today's tea party is to preliminarily solve this problem.

It's just that after mentioning this Corsica incident, Baron Betula couldn't help but feel a little more resentful in his eyes when he looked at Lawrence.

The young man in front of him not only deprived the Kingdom of England of an almost accessible base in the Mediterranean, but also caused the former Prime Minister of England and a Royal Navy third-class warship to collapse on the island.

Not to mention that the current Corsica, relying on the protection of France, basically cut off the possibility of British retaliation by force in a short period of time, even if the British will liquidate Corsica in the future, it will be a matter of the Year of the Monkey.

Although Baron Betula felt a little humiliated by these facts, as a qualified diplomat, he tried his best to control his personal emotions and pondered how to settle the matter at the table with the Corsican governor.

Lawrence, on the other hand, was unhurried, waiting very leisurely for Baron Betula to speak first.

Lawrence's William Pitt and the sailors on the Reason were full bargaining chips, and Lawrence did not have to worry about the retaliation of the British for the time being after obtaining French asylum, so it was Baron Betula's side that was anxious at the negotiating table.

"Ahem, since I am negotiating with Governor Bonaparte, I have a presumptuous proposal..."

Baron Betula coughed lightly, still looking at Duke Choiseul with some fear, and said in a deep voice:

"Since this is a negotiation between the ambassador of England and the governor of Corsica, it is not appropriate for His Excellency the Duke to be here, and if so, I hope you can avoid it for a moment."

For Baron Betula, if the Duke of Choiseul were to join in the negotiations, the difficulty would undoubtedly rise a notch, which he did not want to see.

Of course, Lawrence would not allow him to make this request, after all, it was one of the conditions for the two to let the Duke of Schwarcel assist him in the negotiations with the British, so before the Duke of Schwarcel could speak, Lawrence took the lead in smiling and said:

"I don't think it's necessary, it's not a formal negotiation, it's just an ordinary tea party, but our topic happens to be between two countries."

Duke Choiseul smiled and nodded approvingly at Lawrence, not standing up to avoid it.

Seeing this, Baron Betula had to grit his teeth helplessly, he was not capable of driving Duke Choiseul away.

"Well, Governor Bonaparte, then we'll be casual."

With a slightly stiff smile on his face, Baron Betula said slowly:

"My appeal is simple, the Earl of Tatum of England, His Excellency William Pitt must be released, including the sailors of the ship Reason. At the same time, the Government of Corsica must apologize and make amends for the incident, both in the name of the Government of the Republic and in the name of the Royal Government. In addition, the former senior members of the Corsican government, including Pasqualai Pauli, who were subjected to your ****, also need to be released and guaranteed their freedom......"

Lawrence always maintained a shallow smile on his face, and silently listened to Baron Betula's baronious words with a lot of demands, without interrupting him.

"I guess I should have made it clear."

Baron Betula talked for a full two minutes, did not close his mouth until his mouth was dry, and after taking a sip of hot tea, he looked at Lawrence and asked for his opinion.

Lawrence stared straight into Baron Betula's eyes and said:

"Your conditions are quite detailed, but have you forgotten that Corsican people are the victims of this incident?"

"Victims? No kidding. Baron Betula snorted coldly, shook his head as if he had heard some funny joke, and said:

"You have killed dozens of loyal officers of the Royal Navy in such a brutal way that you claim to be victims? If it weren't for the Duke of Choiseul sitting next to you, you would have been at the London Military Court by now. ”

Lawrence's smile gradually dissipated, and he looked at Baron Betula and said coldly:

"Have you forgotten what kind of atrocities the sailors and officers of the Reason did against the civilians of Corsica?"

Baron Betula shook his head directly and said:

"I have reason to believe that it was the Corsican civilians who were the first to attack the officers and men of the Reason, and that they were merely defending themselves."

"You're saying that unarmed civilians took the initiative to attack heavily armed soldiers?" Lawrence asked, tapping lightly on the table.

"Anyway, I trust my sources more." Baron Betula ignored Lawrence's arguments and insisted on his opinion.

Lawrence tapped the table more and more slowly, and his expression became more and more cold, and after half a minute of silence, Lawrence said slowly:

"That being the case, I also have reason to believe that the former Prime Minister of your country, Mr. William Pitt, was involved in the massacre of Corsicans, and that I would immediately ask the Corsican courts to try him for war crimes and, upon conviction, burn him at the stake in the same way as the officers of the Reason."

"You!

You are pushing three countries to the brink of war! ”

Baron Betula really didn't expect Lawrence to say such taboo words, his face immediately turned red, and he slapped the table and scolded angrily.

If William Pitt really died in Corsica and was executed by the Corsican government, then Baron Betula's diplomatic action can be said to be a great failure, and he may even be recalled to the country and kicked directly to the House of Lords for retirement.

The Duke of Choiseul on the side did not mean to be nervous in the face of the tension between the two, but smiled and watched the confrontation between the two.

Seeing that both of them were silent, the Duke of Choiseul took the initiative to mediate and said:

"Okay, okay, two, it's just the three of us here, you might as well speak more directly."

Baron Betula nodded reluctantly, he actually knew that the sailors of the Reason were slaughtering the civilians of Corsica, but admitting such a fact would put him at a disadvantage in the negotiations.

Lawrence, on the heels of Duke Choiseul, said:

"Then I will no longer hide it, Mr. Ambassador, your demands are mainly twofold, one is the release of His Excellency Pitt and the captured soldiers, and the other is an apology to the British Government. As for the release of Poly and the others you mentioned, I think you also know that such regulations are just a make-up of numbers, and I can't accept them. ”

"That's right." Baron Betula confirmed through gritted teeth.

"The most important of these is your former Prime Minister, William Pitt, right?" Lawrence asked with a smile.

Baron Betula's teeth creaked, but he said stiffly:

"In fact, His Excellency Pitt is not that important, our current Prime Minister is stepping on William Pitt's position as Prime Minister, and the two of them can be regarded as political enemies, so you don't expect our Prime Minister to take His Excellency Pitt very seriously."

"But the British government can't accept that their former leaders are imprisoned in a foreign land, right? Especially being imprisoned by a small country. Lawrence saw through Baron Betura's trick at a glance and shook his head.

Baron Betula was silent for a moment, then nodded very slightly.

"For such an important person, you must be willing to pay some price to redeem him, right?" Lawrence said with a shrewd businessman's posture.

Baron Betula sighed slightly, and asked with some irritation:

"Well, you want a ransom, don't you, Corsicans are just the same as kidnappers, tell me, how much do you want?"

"I don't want money." Lawrence shook his head.

"Don't want money? So what exactly do you want? Baron Betula frowned slightly, not knowing what Lawrence wanted to do.

The Duke of Choiseul also looked at Lawrence with interest, and he did not know in advance what Lawrence was going to talk about with Baron Betura.

Lawrence leaned closer, stretched out his index finger, and said slowly:

"An island, I want to exchange William Pitt for an island with the Kingdom of England."

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