"But..."

Mr. Cogello is still a little resistant, and in his opinion that printing a pile of waste paper and then having the government recognize their effectiveness is like a child's play:

"What's the use of such banknotes? I mean, it's not exchangeable to gold and silver coins, and it doesn't have any guaranteed purchasing power. Even if the Ministry of Finance admits that it is the official currency of Corsica, no one will take it seriously. ”

"Its greatest use, Mr. Cojero, is to silence these greedy and shameless landlords."

Lawrence pressed the report that brought together the grant requests, and said in a deep voice:

"Don't they want money, we give them money, and we print as much as they want. Even... More than that, enough to buy all their land. ”

"You mean...?!"

Mr. Cojero looked at Lawrence in shock, and then he finally understood what Lawrence meant:

"You're going to buy the landlords' land back with this pile of waste paper?! Oh my God, this is no different from Ming robbery, how could they possibly accept such a request?! ”

The only difference between Lawrence's approach and the open robbery is that he went through a process, grabbing the landlords' land with one hand and stuffing them with a pile of waste paper that they couldn't even use to wipe their buttocks.

"They don't have the right to choose whether to accept or not to accept, and that's the reality that has to be accepted." Lawrence ignored the shocked Cojero and said stubbornly.

"You... You may be right, but—" Cojero gestured for a long time before he said incoherently:

"I mean, anyway, the landlords are citizens of Corsica, right? In this case, their property is also protected by law, and it is not a bit morally inconsiderate for us to do so. ”

"Mr. Coggiero, we are the government, we are the government of the people of Corsica. We will do whatever is good for the people of Corsica. ”

Lawrence looked at Mr. Cogiero in dismay, raised his eyebrows, and said:

"If you want to talk about morality, you should try your luck in the church, because morality is never talked about in government. By the way, there are probably not many people in the church today who discuss morality. ”

"I... I understand. Mr. Cogiro wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded quickly.

He knew that if he persisted in his dissent in front of this tough governor, he would really be able to spend the rest of his life in a monastery.

Lawrence looked at the obedient Mr. Cojero and nodded in satisfaction.

It is not that Lawrence does not listen to advice, but that on the land question, which is a matter of the very foundation of the Corsican nation, Lawrence must use his power to break down all resistance, both internal and external.

And for such an important functional department as the Ministry of Finance, Lawrence is also more willing to see a Ministry of Finance domesticated by himself.

Seeing that Mr. Coggeiro had no more opinions, Lawrence finally concluded by instructing:

"Very well, you go down and start printing this batch of banknotes. In addition, the trial of the land tax system has been extended to the entire administrative district of Ajaccio and the surrounding municipalities. ”

"The entire Ajaccio range... I understand. ”

Mr. Cogiero had another sigh in his mind that the administrative district of Ajaccio and its surrounding municipalities were the equivalent of the whole of central Corsica, which meant that the establishment of a land tax system would have to take a big step forward.

At the same time, Mr. Cogello foresaw that the expansion of the pilot zone would inevitably be met with strong resistance from local landowners and those in the south who feared that it would hurt him.

After confirming Lawrence's orders, Mr. Cogello walked out of the Governor's Palace with trepidation.

Just as the last time he learned of Lawrence's plans for agricultural tax reform, Mr. Cogello once again felt that he was at a turning point in Corsica's fortunes.

If Lawrence's reforms can be successfully completed, it will be the most dazzling achievement of the Treasury in more than a decade, and no future generation will be able to surpass it even in the next few decades.

However, if Lawrence ends up losing to entrenched local powers, then Mr. Cogello also knows that in the worst case, it will be time for a new master in the Doge's Palace.

"The tide of the times... I'm just a little bigger splash in this wave. ”

Mr. Cogiro clenched the memorandum in his hand and said to himself with a wry smile:

"Governor Bonaparte is the one who stands at the top of the wave... Rather, he is the wave itself..."

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...

In the Doge's Palace, a few moments after Mr. Cogello had left, Lawrence was still sitting in his study, covering his brow in contemplation.

Despite being so tough in front of the Treasury Department, Lawrence did not take his enemies lightly.

It is not for nothing that these local landlords can continue to exist in Corsica to this day, and even make Poly jealous of them.

Lawrence's attempt to eradicate the landlord class was, to some extent, a sword that would set himself on fire and set himself on fire if he was not careful, so that the Governor's Palace, a symbol of supreme power, would have a new owner in just a few months.

However, this does not mean that Lawrence's move is a complete death.

In Lawrence's eyes, the landlord class, although it was a huge figure in terms of human and financial resources and political influence, was a behemoth in front of the Corsican government, but they still had a fatal weakness.

This weakness was deeply rooted within the landlord class, and at the same time it was the greatest reliance of the landlords - the thousands of serfs imprisoned by the lease of the title lease.

It can be said that these serfs are the greatest source of power for the landlord class, and those landlords who account for one percent control these ninety-nine percent of serfs, appropriating the fruits of their labor and driving their labor power to satisfy their endless greed and build their own small kingdoms.

These serfs themselves were the most desirable group in all Corsica for freedom and their own land, and as long as Lawrence could mobilize the power of the masses, even by force to overthrow the entire landlord class, it was not empty talk.

And that's why Lawrence insisted on settling the land issue as soon as possible in the early days of his presidency.

Because once the government of any country has been in power for a long time, the ruling class itself will be assimilated by the traditional landlord class, just like the nobles and kings of various countries, who are themselves the largest landlords in the country, and naturally it is impossible to attack themselves.

The current Corsican government is essentially a military junta in terms of its source of power.

Although Lawrence was also supported by the Corsican populace, it was the army and the soldiers who enabled him to sit and secure the governor's chair.

However, Lawrence also knew in his heart that this military dictatorship would not last long, and that the Corsican government would eventually return to a normal democratic government.

Therefore, Lawrence had to use this time to immediately attack the landlords, and once the time passed, the landlord class infiltrated and integrated into the new government, and then it would not be so easy to reform inward.

"At the end of the day, it has to be done as soon as possible, but not in a hurry. One step into the void will be doomed. ”

Lawrence pinched his slightly sweaty palm, looked at the map of Corsica hanging in his study, and muttered softly.

Although he had decided to take a tough stance against the landlords, it did not mean that Lawrence was going to be unreasonable and directly plunder their land like a robber.

Although what Lawrence wanted to do was essentially no different from plunder, since he was acting in the name of the government, he naturally could not act so directly, and he had to take into account his reputation abroad.

That's why Lawrence instructed the Treasury to print a batch of banknotes, at least nominally, as if the government was buying up the landlords' land.

It's just that such a name is still too thin, and I'm afraid that even immature children can't be fooled.

"No, I still need an excuse to take advantage of the landlords, or... Allege. ”

Lawrence in the study stared at him, and suddenly had an idea, and shouted loudly to the door:

"Anna, I need Shadia to come to me immediately!"

Since he was going to do something shady, Lawrence naturally immediately thought of Shadia, who he had appointed as the future head of the secret police.

...

It was almost an hour or so before the thin girl in the linen robe quietly slipped into Lawrence's study. Her steps were so light that Lawrence wouldn't have even noticed her arrival had it not been for the creak of the door being pushed open.

"Look for me, Monsieur Bonaparte." Shadia said with great regret that she hadn't changed much from a few months ago, but her body was finally no longer as skinny as before.

Lawrence nodded slightly, looked at Shadia, pointed to the chair in front of the desk and said:

"Sit down, how are you and your bread going on?"

Shadia sat down in the chair half her body with some difficulty, and then said calmly:

"Everything is going well, and the bread club is going from strength to strength, thanks to your donation. We are already thinking about expanding beyond Ajaccio. ”

After that, Shadia looked at Lawrence again and added:

"Of course, everything is according to your wishes, my lord. We will always be your most loyal eyes and the most stealthy dagger. ”

Since Shadia's pledge of allegiance to Lawrence, with the financial backing of the Corsican government and the covert help of the Ajaccio patrol, coupled with Shadia's capable leader, this original civilian intelligence organization has also ushered in a period of rapid development.

And Lawrence also needs such an intelligence agency presence that is directly accountable to himself.

"How has Ajaccio been for this time, and is there anything special in public opinion?" Lawrence asked, nodding.

Although both Mr. Cogello and Major Trefalli had briefed him on the current situation of Ajaccio and Corsica, Lawrence still had to hear the details from an intelligence agent like Shadia who was personally rooted in the civilian population.

Shadya nodded lightly and replied skillfully:

"The most discussed thing in recent months is the establishment of the Kingdom of Corsica, and people have accepted this fact, but there are still many people who are resistant. But rest assured, the bread people have been manipulating public opinion, and the vast majority of people have now accepted that this is the price of peace, and that only a very small number of people are extremely opposed to the monarchy. ”

"Yes, I can see your results as well."

Lawrence nodded approvingly, saying that on his way back to the Doge's Palace, he did hear many citizens praise the peace he had brought about, and it seemed that it was inseparable from the work of Chardia.

Originally, Lawrence was a little worried about whether the submission to Louis XV would be understood by the majority of Corsicans.

After all, the populace is also somewhat ignorant, most of them will not be interested in knowing what kind of powerful enemies are around Corsica, and they will only resist a king who rides on their head out of thin air, and may even cause a thorny unrest.

But now, it seems that with Shadia's work, Lawrence's worries can be put aside.

"Other than that, it's about you founding the Corsican National Silver Company in Paris." Shadia continued:

"The citizens are very supportive of this, and we have contributed a little bit to the betterment of the people of Corsica. But that's not the most important thing... The important thing is that since the news reached Corsica, there have been more people in Ajaccio..."

"More people?" Lawrence asked with a frown.

"That's right, all from the Corsican countryside came to Ajaccio, clearly rustic, and naturally living in some vacant house, I suspect..."

Shadia's eyes were calm and sharp, and she said slowly:

"This is not a normal peasant going into the city, there should be someone behind them."

"The countryside... It must be the spies sent by the major landlords in the south to Ajaccio to inquire about the news. Lawrence nodded unsurprised.

"Landlord...?" Xia Di asked with some doubts, although this girl has a special talent in intelligence, but in politics Xia Dia's knowledge is much weaker, and I don't know why those landlords suddenly sent people to Ajaccio.

Lawrence didn't know how to explain it to Shadia, so he said simply:

"A group of people who are going to become enemies, and soon we will have to fight them to the death."

"Yes, do you need to do anything with these spies, my lord."

A cold light flashed in Xia Dia's eyes, and she lowered her head and asked:

"Most of the people inside are under our surveillance, ready to be apprehended."

"No, do these people have criminal motives?" Lawrence asked suddenly.

"Crime... It hasn't been discovered yet, they are inquiring and exchanging messages every day. Shadia thought for a moment and shook her head.

"In that case, we'll have to put a hat on them and the master behind them."

Lawrence looked at Shadia and asked in a deep voice:

"The bread club should be able to fabricate some accusations, right?"

"Absolutely, sir." Shadia said without hesitation:

"What kind of charges do you need to weave against those people?"

"Hmm... That's the most serious one. Like what... Attack on the Doge of Corsica? ”