"From Ancona to Macedonia is only a day's voyage, and Bonaparte may use Turkey to invade India. That is why, after the Treaty of Amiens was signed, the British envoy in Egypt forbade Frenchmen from contacting tribal chiefs—especially since he had surveyed the Suez Canal." In a pitch-dark tavern, a man pointed at a map as he spoke. The people gathered around him nodded repeatedly. "Bonaparte cannot be trusted. He has no sense of honor or integrity. If the British believe him, they will be fooled like those italians who believed his lies. Ancona is merely a pretext, just like what he did when he deceived the Directory."
Alessandro, dressed in civilian clothes, listened coldly from the side. His athletic outfit was far too strange for this era, and he had nothing valuable on him. To get a change of clothes, he had no choice but to become a thief and take someone else's laundry from outside.
Fortunately, he did not need to eat, which gave him time to come to this tavern and "attend class." The speaker was a member of the Carbonari, though they did not yet call themselves that.
The Treaty of Campo Formio had already shown people Bonaparte's true face. He was not Italy's liberator; he had completely thrown in with France and devoted himself to serving them.
The docks were a place where news traveled quickly. While sheltering from the rain in the tavern, Alessandro heard quite a few things. On November 9, 1792, the National Convention issued the Edict of Fraternity. It declared that the National Convention intended to export the French Revolution and promised to "show concern for and assist all peoples who wished to regain their freedom." This also meant overturning the existing order, making it highly suitable for foreign expansion.
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