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After regarding Lawrence as one of his own, Duke Choiseul also breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up, dug out two silver goblets, and poured two glasses of crystal clear brandy.

"Cheers, Your Excellency Bonaparte, I hope you and I will have smooth sailing in our careers."

Duke Choiseul turned around and handed the wine glass to Lawrence, took the initiative to bring his own wine glass up and touched it, and said with a smile.

Lawrence also pursed his lips and smiled, and exchanged glances with the Duke of Choiseul, but he only tasted the strong wine in the glass briefly, and then placed the sprinkling glass on the small table aside.

After all, he and the Duke of Choiseul still had many things to discuss, and Lawrence did not want to be drunk by alcohol.

"Oh, that's right. @ESSENTIAL/SHUGE·Nothing wrong~~"

After Duke Choiseul drank a large gulp of brandy, his face became quite rosy, and he leaned back on his chair a little drunkenly and said:

"You should know what happened between me and Duke Richelieu. That old bastard should have told you about it that day."

Lawrence nodded slightly. Although Duke Richelieu did not mention Duke Choiseul at the Paris Comedy that day, Lawrence still had a good understanding of the struggle between the two men based on his memory.

Duke Choiseul's wine glass was empty, but he did not refill it. He just played with the empty glass and asked:

"Governor Bonaparte, what do you think, between me and the Duke of Richelieu, who will be kicked back to the fiefdom by King Louis in the end?"

Hearing this question, Lawrence frowned for a while, and after hesitating for a few seconds, he answered directly:

"To be honest, unless Duke Richelieu dies suddenly, you will go back to the fief to enjoy your old age."

The room was suddenly surrounded by a depressing silence, but Duke Choiseul continued to play with the silver sprinkling cup in his hand as if he didn't hear it, carefully stroking the complex and beautiful lines on it.

After a long time, Duke Choiseul said in a deep voice:

"This is a very interesting answer. I am the minister in charge of half of France. The Duke of Richelieu has no real power even though he was restored to his post by the High Court, and Madame Du Barry is a lowly ***. You

Why do you think so?"

Lawrence looked at Duke Choiseul, knowing that this was just a test. It was impossible for Duke Choiseul not to know his current situation, so he calmly replied:

"Since you welcome me to your side like this, it means that you have actually discovered that the key to this struggle is not power at all, but only one person..."

The Duke of Choiseul smiled. He heard a satisfactory answer from Lawrence, so he nodded and said in unison with Lawrence:

"King Louis."

Having said that, Duke Choiseul couldn't help but look at Lawrence with a little more approval. He really didn't expect that this young man who had just arrived in Paris for a few days had already seen through the core of his struggle with Duke Richelieu.

Although the current Duke of Choiseul does have a lot of power in his own hands, and can even control and threaten Louis XV to a certain extent, he also knows that once his behavior crosses the line, Louis XV will never

I will tolerate it no longer.

In addition, when the Sun King Louis XIV was on the throne, he built France into a highly authoritarian and centralized country and strengthened the royal power to a new level. As the successor, Louis XV, although not as talented as his grandfather, benefited from

With this political legacy, Louis XV was still able to directly dismiss Duke Choiseul, an important minister, from his post and drive him back to his fiefdom.

Both Lawrence and the Duke of Choiseul who were present knew very well that compared to the Duke of Choiseul, the Duke of Richelieu himself had no real power, and it was completely meaningless to suppress him politically.

Therefore, if you want to bring down Duke Richelieu and Madame Du Barry, you still have to start with Louis XV himself.

The Duke Richelieu and Madame Du Barry undoubtedly knew this, and knew that they could not compete with the Duke of Choiseul in the political arena, so they would inevitably look for opportunities to attack the Duke of Choiseul in the court.

"I know you want to use Corsica to restore King Louis' confidence in you."

Lawrence knew that a shrewd man like the Duke of Choiseul could not be ignorant of these principles, so he went on to say:

"It's just me. (This chapter is not over yet!)

I feel like I can do more.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Duke Choiseul asked with great interest:

"Really, tell me, Governor Bonaparte."

Lawrence sat more upright and gave Duke Choiseul a meaningful look. Then it was time to make conditions.

"I think it is inappropriate to blindly defend Duke Richelieu's attack on you. Although he only has a few years left to live, he can still pose a great threat to you."

Lawrence picked up the glass of wine on the table, took a sip, and said slowly:

"It is a good choice to take the initiative to suppress the forces of Duke Richelieu and Madame Du Barry, and I think I can play some role. You also know that in terms of identity, I am a foreigner after all, and after the establishment of the Kingdom of Corsica,

I am directly responsible to King Louis, so many rules in Paris cannot bind me, which will provide me with a lot of convenience in the future."

"Well...that's true." Duke Choiseul smiled and nodded. After all, Lawrence is still the governor of Corsica. Legally, he is still a foreign ruler, so he will naturally enjoy diplomatic immunity, including diplomatic immunity.

a series of privileges.

Even after the establishment of the Kingdom of Corsica, Lawrence was legally isolated from the French political system. He was directly subordinate to Louis XV, Prime Minister of Corsica.

Although in reality it is certainly impossible for Lawrence to be completely isolated from the French political scene, these legal grounds can already provide him with many privileges.

"It's just..."

Lawrence changed the subject and then said:

"This identity also has its limitations. As a foreigner, of course I cannot participate in French political affairs openly."

"So, you want...?" Duke Choiseul still looked at Lawrence with a smile, already understanding what he wanted.

"A position.@" Lawrence said directly:

"A position that allows me to participate legitimately and legitimately in French politics."

"Since you said that, it means you already have a plan, right?"

The Duke of Choiseul was indeed an old man, and he said with a clear expression.

Lawrence nodded and said:

"I think a tax inspector position is the most suitable. After all, no rich person can withstand a detailed tax investigation. If you are willing, you can find out a lot of black information at any time, which can be used to suppress Richelieu."

The Duke's men couldn't be more suitable."

"tax inspection..."

Duke Choiseul licked his lips and didn't care about the specific position Lawrence wanted. In his opinion, the important thing was to give Lawrence this position to completely bring him to his side, so after thinking for a moment, he said

:

"In this case, a government position is not suitable. After all, you are a foreigner, so you still have to arrange a royal position for you... I think the Wang family tax collector is a good choice."

"The Wang family tax collector..." Lawrence nodded and asked:

"With your ability, you should be able to arrange it, right?"

Duke Choiseul shrugged and said:

"Of course, King Louis is very happy with your behavior. At this time, if I go to say a few nice words for you, he will not refuse such a small request."

"You are very well off, Your Excellency."

Lawrence raised the glass with satisfaction, greeted Duke Choiseul, took a sip, and said:

"However, I have a small request. Of course, this request will be quite beneficial to you."

"Oh?" Duke Choiseul frowned slightly after hearing this, with a bit of displeasure on his face. He didn't want Lawrence to take advantage of the political team to talk to him.

Lawrence also noticed the expression of Duke Choiseul, and then said:

"You should know that the Duke of Richelieu is a member of the French Academy."

"Oh...he does still have this identity, huh, he's just trying to gild himself and pretend to be educated." Duke Choiseul said with disgust.

"But no matter what, Duke Richelieu is well-known in academic circles, although his reputation does not come from his academic ability."

(This chapter is not finished yet!)

Lawrence analyzed it in detail:

"In order to expose this, I hope to go deep into the academic circle. To this end, I plan to join the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris. The previous process can be completed, which is the final vote of the Academy of Sciences committee..."

Duke Choiseul glanced at Lawrence and said calmly:

"Governor Bonaparte, this is just a trivial matter for me, but I hope to see your results."

"You'll see it soon."

Lawrence smiled and said in a neither humble nor condescending manner.@

"Very good, very good, I believe you will not let me down."

After receiving Lawrence's assurance, Duke Choiseul nodded with satisfaction, drank the brandy in the glass in one gulp, let out a hearty breath, stood up and said:

"Then I won't disturb your rest. Please don't forget the hunt tomorrow morning. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess will be here. You also know that this is an excellent opportunity."

"certainly."

Lawrence stood up, bowed to Duke Choiseul and said.

For the Duke of Choiseul and Laurence, these two future kings and queens are undoubtedly the ones who need to win over.

...

In the early morning of June 2, it was still only dawn, and the manor of the Duke of Choiseul was already bustling with activity.

The nobles who participated in the hunt got up from their beds early, took out their beloved hunting horses from the stables, and rode them in groups to a royal forest farm in the northwest corner of Versailles.
To be continued...