From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Save Corsica?" After hearing this, Pauli immediately waved his hand, completely lost interest, and said without mercy:

"Young man, you should be lucky that your brother is a member of the Carlo Council, otherwise I would have thrown you out as a lunatic."

Carlo on the side was also full of worry, fearing that Lawrence would do whatever he wanted and end up not even getting the position of vice-captain.

Lawrence took a breath pretending to be calm, and what he said next was completely a gamble:

"Governor Pauli should have noticed that the Genoese have become much more passive recently in both intrusions and attacks."

"Um?!"

Pauly, who had lost interest just now, immediately raised his head, stared at Lawrence, and asked, "How did you know? Carlo, did you tell him?"

Carlo waved his hands with a confused look on his face. Even he himself didn't know about this: "No, I don't know either. Only the Governor can check the military reports."

Lawrence ignored Pauly’s question and said to himself:

"If I guess correctly, the supply frequency of the Genoese fortress has also become lower."

Paulie was silent for a moment, looked at Lawrence incomprehensibly for a while, and then admitted:

"Yes, in the past six months, the frequency of Genoa's supply ships arriving has changed from twice a month to once a month."

"So, the Genoese are preparing to withdraw from Corsica?!" Carlo said excitedly on the side. In his opinion, all these signs indicate that Genoa has given up on continuing to fight with the Corsica people.

Seeing Paulie's silence, Lawrence added: "Indeed, the Genoese are likely to abandon Corsica, but this is not necessarily a good thing for Corsica."

"Isn't it a good thing? Why?" Carlo was stunned and asked subconsciously.

Lawrence did not speak, but glanced at Pauly, who had a few cold sweats on his forehead.

"So... do you have any definite information?"

After what seemed like a long struggle, Paulie finally sighed and asked Lawrence.

Lawrence stopped trying to be mysterious at this moment and answered directly:

"If the status quo remains, the Genoese will reach an agreement with the French in May. Within this year, the French will try to land on Corsica."

After Pauli heard this, there was another silence. He had already guessed this possibility from various signs before, but he had never been sure.

"Where did you get the news? Is it accurate?" Paulie asked cautiously.

Of course, Lawrence couldn't say that this was written by later generations of history, so he made up the reasons in advance:

"A gathering of nobles in Florence, to be sure."

"Oh, I remembered. The Bonaparte family is a noble of Florence. This is normal." Paulie nodded and said, recognizing the accuracy of the news.

At these parties, aristocratic gentlemen would always drink too much wine and eventually reveal shocking secrets while drunk. This is nothing unusual across Europe.

The Bonaparte family is a low-level noble in Florence, and this identity was also recognized by the French Civil Service in history.

"Wait, wait, what do you mean, how does this have anything to do with the French?"

Seeing the two chatting away, Carlo quickly asked questions in confusion. He had neither the historical knowledge of Lawrence nor the information channels of Governor Pauli, so he listened with confusion.

Paulie did not answer Carlo's question directly, but slightly nodded at Lawrence, indicating that he would explain.

Pauli also wanted to take this opportunity to see what this young man had to say about the situation in the Northern Mediterranean.

Seeing Pauly turning the conversation to him, Lawrence did not refuse and directly analyzed:

"Five years ago, in 1763, do you remember what happened?"

Carlo shook his head blankly. He was only seventeen years old at that time. Paulie nodded with understanding and replied:

"You are talking about the war between the British and the Prussians against the French and Austrians. It lasted for seven years. It was not until five years ago that a peace treaty was signed."

"Yes, France, as the defeated country in this war, lost almost all of its overseas colonies, including all of Canada and French India, as well as large tracts of land in North America." Lawrence continued:

"The loss of overseas colonies forced the French to turn their attention back to Europe. At the same time, due to the disastrous defeat in the war, the prestige of King Louis XV also plummeted, and domestic public opinion was boiling. When the internal conflicts of the French continue to deepen, they will inevitably Turn it into an external contradiction.”

"Internal contradictions turn into external contradictions." Pauli repeated this sentence in surprise. He had not heard such profound words for a long time. Especially coming from an eighteen year old.

Moreover, Lawrence's analysis of France's internal conflicts exceeded Pauli's expectations. Although he thought that the French might take over Corsica, it was only after hearing Lawrence's analysis that Pauli realized that he might have underestimated the French's acquisition of Corsica. Chia's determination.

"So, what is your conclusion?" Paulie asked impatiently.

Lawrence was well prepared for this and responded skillfully:

"Louis XV needed to expand his territory in Europe to regain his prestige. Corsica, which was poor and weak and abandoned by Genoa, was his best choice."

As soon as he said this, the study fell into a brief silence.

All three of them knew that the French would not be expelled as easily as the Genoese. The French line infantry regiments would ruthlessly destroy the Corsican resistance.

Pauli knew even more clearly that if Lawrence's news was true, then the chance to save Corsica would be in the few short months before May.

"How is it? Governor Pauly?" Lawrence looked at the silent Pauly and asked tentatively.

"What you said makes sense, so how do you think Corsica should deal with it?" Paulie looked at Lawrence with some eagerness and commented with praise.

Although Pauli has been in charge of the Republic of Corsica for thirteen years, he did not think of a reasonable countermeasure for a while.

In front of the behemoth of the Kingdom of France, with a population of only more than 30,000, the small island of Corsica is really like a lonely boat.

Looking at Paulie's eager eyes, Lawrence secretly rejoiced that his words had not been wasted.

The information and analysis he provided had successfully attracted Paulie's interest, so it was time to bring the topic back to the original issue of public office.

Lawrence has no feelings for this land yet. Compared to the future fate of Corsica, he is more concerned about his own safety and interests at this moment.

"To tell you the truth, Governor Pauli, I do have some ideas, but"

Lawrence deliberately prolonged the ending, causing Paulie to frown and quickly ask: "Just what?"

"It's just that I, the deputy captain of the patrol, actually gave advice to the Governor. I'm afraid it's a little inappropriate." Lawrence said with pretense of regret.

After hearing this, the corner of Pauli's mouth couldn't help but twitch a few times. He didn't expect that this kid was still thinking about his official position.

But after all, he had something to ask for, so Pauli could only laugh twice, nod his head and said:

"This is an oversight on my part, and I have neglected a scholar like Mr. Lawrence. Well, I have decided to appoint you as an additional adviser to the Governor's Palace. You can enter and leave the Governor's Palace freely like Senator Carlo, and you can meet with me for advice at any time."

Although this staff position seemed like a false position with no real power, Lawrence's eyes lit up.

At the current stage, as long as you have direct access to Corsica's political center, it doesn't matter whether you have real power or not.

However, Pauley still had a hand in hand and forcibly gave Lawrence the position of patrol deputy captain, which also restricted Lawrence's development in the political arena.

After another round of pleasantries, Lawrence agreed to come back to give Pauli detailed advice in the near future, and then left the Governor's Palace with Carlo.

"Oh my god, dear Lawrence, I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable." Carlo was walking on the road, holding in his arms the two appointment certificates given to Lawrence by Pauli.

If the position of deputy captain was obtained through Carlo's connections, then the position of staff officer was obtained entirely through Lawrence's knowledge and eloquence.

Although Carlo was extremely excited on the sidelines, Lawrence was completely unmoved.

He knew that a so-called staff officer of the Republic of Corsica was an extremely small figure in this era.

Even his name will not appear in any history books in the future.

Lawrence still has a long way to go if he wants to make his mark in this era.