From Corsica to the Fourth Rome.

Chapter 370: Rift Between the Emperor and His Subjects
End of May 1771
In a small monastery near Versailles, France.

Since the end of the Paris riots and the worsening of Louis XV's illness, when he declared the Duke of Orleans regent, this quiet and secluded monastery has become the King's permanent residence.

Although retiring to the monastery was just an excuse for Louis XV to give the Duke of Orleans regency and thus check and balance the Richelieu faction, since he had promised in front of all his ministers to serve God for the rest of his life, Louis XV simply moved into the monastery.

Anyway, for this old king who was becoming increasingly weak and suffering from illness all the time, the music and dance of the Versailles Palace that he was once accustomed to was now a dying candle in the wind and he could no longer enjoy it.

The old king knew very well that in his remaining short life, there was only one thing he had to do - clean up the mess made during his 56 years of ruling France and pave the way for the crown prince to succeed to the throne.

It was also for this purpose that Louis XV, who lived in the monastery, had no intention of cultivating himself in peace and quiet. His attention to political affairs was no less than when he was in the Palace of Versailles.

Even if the news of the war was as far away as the Mediterranean, Louis XV was definitely the first person in and outside Versailles to know it:
"You mean, after successfully repelling the Sardinian army, the Corsican army went south and occupied Sardinia?"

Louis XV, dressed in a plain white silk robe, sat on the bed with a slightly tired look, listening to the report from a servant beside him, with a very focused look on his face.

The attendant unconsciously raised his voice several times, and reported the victory news from Sardinia to His Majesty the King with a joyful look on his face:
"Yes, Your Majesty. Lawrence Bonaparte defeated the last resistance in Sardinia in Cagliari, and then accepted the oath of allegiance from the Governor of Sardinia in the city of Cagliari, and announced that Sardinia would become a province of the Kingdom of Corsica."

In the eyes of this servant, such rare good news will surely make the exhausted King happy for a while.

However, after listening to the report, Louis XV just nodded expressionlessly without saying anything, then closed his eyes and leaned against the bed to rest.

The servants beside the bed could not help but look at each other in bewilderment at the sight. According to their experience, His Majesty the King would be very happy to hear news about Lawrence Bonaparte, especially this kind of good news, which should be able to make His Majesty smile.

The silence in the room lasted for a long time before Louis XV opened his eyes and gave orders to his attendants.

The king's command was brief and his voice was weak:
"Send me the regent, the Duke of Orleans, at once."

After receiving the order, the Duke of Orleans, who was in the Episcopal Palace, only pondered for a short while at his desk, and then immediately put down all the government affairs in his hands and rushed to the bedside of Louis XV.

Louis XV did not exchange many pleasantries with the Duke of Orleans. He only said a few casual greetings and then went straight to the point:

"Philip, have you also received the news from Sardinia?"

The Duke of Orleans's answer was flawless and without any subjective color. He simply repeated the facts:
"I just received news from the Admiralty this morning. Lawrence Bonaparte has secured Corsica and occupied Sardinia to the south, announcing the establishment of the Sardinian Province."

"What do you think?" Louis XV asked expressionlessly.

Although the Duke of Orleans had no interest in politics, he was an excellent politician. He immediately saw that the King was worried, so he responded tentatively:
"Lawrence Bonaparte's approach is somewhat unsafe. Let's not talk about whether the Kingdom of Corsica can still keep Sardinia after the war. Even if the Kingdom of Sardinia is forced to cede Sardinia, he should not arbitrarily bring it under the rule of the Kingdom of Corsica without consulting the court."

Hearing this, Louis XV nodded approvingly, then sighed deeply, his sigh full of displeasure and depression:
"You say exactly what I'm thinking, Philip."

The Duke of Orleans, who was praised, was not proud. As early as when he was informed that His Majesty the King had summoned him, he had already guessed the reason for this meeting.

Sardinia is different from the poor and backward Corsica. Although its prosperity is still not as good as Sicily, the rich mineral resources on Sardinia are enough to make a king jealous.

Especially the Argentiera silver mine near Cagliari, which is a giant vein that has been mined for hundreds of years without being exhausted, and its scale is far larger than the rumored Ajaccio silver mine.

Even without considering the strategic value of Sardinia, its economic and trade value alone was enough to make Louis XV feel excited, especially when France's financial crisis was becoming increasingly severe.

But if Sardinia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Corsica as Lawrence Bonaparte had planned, although Louis XV would then be nominally the monarch of Sardinia, neither he nor France would be able to gain any benefit from the Silver Island.

After all, when Lawrence led Corsica to submit to Louis XV, the two countries had already reached a clear agreement that the Kingdom of Corsica enjoyed a high degree of autonomy and economic independence, and the same was naturally true for Sardinia, which was under the governance of the Kingdom of Corsica.

"Alas, Laurence Bonaparte."

Louis XV sighed again and complained:

"He is an outstanding and loyal minister, but this is the second time he has displeased me in this period of time. The matter of him arbitrarily mobilizing the Mediterranean Fleet to Corsica two months ago is not over yet, and the British ambassador is now accusing us of violating the treaty and intervening in the war."

Two months ago, Lawrence used the Duke of Choiseul's connections to relieve the siege of Ajaccio and used the French Mediterranean Fleet to force back the Sardinian army that was attacking Ajaccio.

Louis XV was naturally very unhappy about this. The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Corsica's unauthorized mobilization of the French Mediterranean Fleet was a serious overstepping of authority, and this move was likely to directly drag France into the quagmire of the Italian War.

If a conflict really broke out between the Sardinian fleet and the French Mediterranean fleet, Louis XV would probably recall Lawrence to Versailles at all costs to bring him to justice.

Listening to the King's complaints, the Duke of Orleans took the initiative to speak after a moment's silence:

"Your Majesty, the incident of Prime Minister Bonaparte's unauthorized mobilization of the fleet has been basically resolved through diplomatic means. Count Vergennes is indeed an excellent foreign minister. Moreover, Prime Minister Bonaparte's actions can be said to be excusable. I heard that the situation in Ajaccio was extremely critical at the time, and the entire city was almost reduced to ruins by the fire."

Although it was not stated explicitly, the Duke of Orleans's implication was very clear - the Kingdom of Corsica suffered such great losses in order to fight for France, so there was no need to blame it too much on these things.

"You have said these things to me before." Louis XV waved his hand in annoyance:

"I also know that the Kingdom of Corsica responded to the call of Spain and Naples on behalf of France and waded into the quagmire of war for us, so I did not pursue this matter with Lawrence Bonaparte, but this time the matter of Sardinia."

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

"Is there any way to convince Lawrence to turn Sardinia into a direct territory of the royal family?" "That's probably difficult. The ownership of Sardinia has not yet been officially determined, and the end of the war is still a long way off. If you directly ask Prime Minister Bonaparte to return Sardinia at this time, I'm afraid he will be disappointed."

Louis XV nodded silently, agreeing with the Duke of Orleans's statement. It was indeed too hasty to covet Sardinia now.

The Duke of Orleans added:
"And if the Kingdom of Corsica does eventually get Sardinia, it would be a good choice to temporarily hand over Sardinia to the Corsicans for early integration."

Louis XV turned his head and looked at the Duke of Orleans, motioning him to continue.

"Italians have always been resistant to French rule. If France directly rules Sardinia, it will probably provoke a local uprising, just like the Vespers War four hundred years ago. It is better to let the Corsicans integrate Sardinia at an early stage, and France can seek the opportunity to take over Sardinia later."

"After that? My time is running out."

After closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, His Majesty the King took the initiative to change the subject, tacitly agreeing to the other party's suggestion, and then asked the Duke of Orleans about other government affairs.

Towards evening, the Duke of Orleans left Versailles and returned to the Episcopal Palace in Paris, where Duke Charles had been waiting in his study for some time.

"Father!"

Before the Duke of Orleans could take off his frock coat, Duke Charles rushed forward impatiently to ask about the conversation in the monastery:
"Did the king summon you about Lawrence? What's going on?"

The Duke of Orleans slowly took off his coat and hung it on the hanger, his face not looking particularly good.

Because his son had a good personal relationship with Lawrence Bonaparte, and the Duke of Orleans also admitted that Prime Minister Bonaparte was an excellent partner to make friends with, he had just tried his best to defend Lawrence's position in front of Louis XV.

But even so, the Duke of Orleans could still feel that an inevitable crack had appeared in the relationship between Louis XV and Lawrence Bonaparte as monarch and subject.

Although Louis XV decided not to deal with the ownership of Sardinia for the time being under his persuasion, the Duke of Orleans was not sure whether the old king would take any other actions in the future.

“The situation is not particularly optimistic”

The Duke of Orleans walked to the desk and sat down, holding his forehead and said in a deep voice:
"His Majesty the King is very dissatisfied with Lawrence Bonaparte's unauthorized establishment of the Sardinia Province. The resources and population of Sardinia are incomparable to those of Corsica. Even a king would be tempted by it."

Duke Charles could not help but frown upon seeing this. He regarded Lawrence not only as a friend, but also as a great ally after he inherited the House of Orleans and entered the political world:
"Perhaps Lawrence and the king can reach some agreement? For example, the Kingdom of Corsica cedes part of its tax revenue and directly remits it to the French treasury."

"No, no, no, kid, that's not the point."

The Duke of Orleans interrupted the Duke of Charles's counsel and began to patiently teach his extremely intelligent but still too young heir:
"Your Majesty values ​​not only Sardinia, but also Lawrence Bonaparte himself."

"itself?"

“If the Kingdom of Corsica really annexed Sardinia, then Lawrence Bonaparte’s own power would far exceed your Majesty’s expectations, and this would inevitably cause your Majesty’s concerns.”

"What do you mean?" Duke Charles didn't react for a moment.

The Duke of Orleans looked out the window at the setting sun and said earnestly:

"The reason why His Majesty the King was confident in letting Lawrence Bonaparte become the whip of the Fleur des Irises and lead His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's party was not only because of the friendship between Lawrence Bonaparte and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but also because Lawrence Bonaparte had no political foundation in France. He had no choice but to be loyal to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"But Lawrence still rules Corsica."

"It's just a poor, backward, and insignificant island. Compared with aristocratic families like us, Bonaparte won't have much say in the kingdom just based on his influence in Corsica. But what if Lawrence Bonaparte also governs Sardinia? That would be a completely different situation. The military and political power of the two islands are in his hands. Which governor in the kingdom can have such power as him?"

Duke Charles was extremely intelligent, and he reacted instantly, sweating profusely:
"At that time, Bonaparte held the military and political power of the two islands. Even without the influence of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, his power in France would not be inferior to that of the princes and dukes."

The Duke of Orleans sighed with relief:

"His Majesty originally hoped that Lawrence Bonaparte could stay by His Royal Highness's side as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Corsica, manage the court and command the ministers for His Royal Highness. However, according to the current situation, Bonaparte will be both the head of the court and a frontier official in the future. His power will far exceed that of Choiseul and Richelieu today. Even if His Royal Highness has no objection to this, how can His Majesty tolerate the birth of such a powerful minister?"

"But Lawrence Bonaparte is loyal to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and even His Majesty the King has praised his loyalty many times." Duke Charles still refused to give up.

"Your Majesty does not doubt Bonaparte's loyalty, but what about Bonaparte's descendants? What about his successors? Who can guarantee that they will always be loyal to the royal family? As a king, Your Majesty will not tolerate such instability in his kingdom."

"Then what will your majesty do?"

"Your Majesty will not take any action against Bonaparte during the war, and once the war is over, Bonaparte will only have two options."

The Duke of Orleans closed his eyes and said skillfully:
"Either leave Paris and Versailles forever, leave His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and be his governor in Sardinia and Corsica, or give up his power in the two Mediterranean islands and stay with His Royal Highness and lead the inner court wholeheartedly."

"What will Lawrence do?" Duke Charles asked as if talking to himself.

The Duke of Orleans shook his head:
"I should ask you this question. I don't know that young man. Based on your relationship, what choice do you think he will make?"

Duke Charles lowered his head and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he said something that even he himself found incredible:
"I think he will choose the third way."

The Duke of Orleans glanced at his child calmly without making any comment. He just repeated calmly:
"A third way?"