Let Napoleon Do What He Ought to Do

Earl Buttafuoco then seized the opportunity and had Girolamo push through a bill in Parliament to disqualify Paoli Faction members.

Bartorio naturally gave his full support to this – by eliminating the Paoli Faction members of parliament, most of these Parliament would likely fall into the hands of his own faction.

On the other hand, the Paoli Faction naturally wouldn't sit idly by.

They quickly joined forces with the Neutral Faction to fight together in Parliament. The neutrals were also worried that if the Paoli Faction fell, they would be next.

However, even if they joined forces, they did not have a third of the seats in Parliament and could not stop the bill from passing.

Unless, of course, some other force comes along to help them.

Just then, Earl Buttafuoco appeared.

"Therefore, I can assure you that my people will not vote for a bill to disqualify you from your seats."

In the lounge of the Ajaccio tennis stadium, Earl Buttafuoco smiled at the group of people in front of him. After they expressed their gratitude, he continued, "As you know, I have just become Governor, but there are many people vying for this position."

"If we can work together to pass a bill that eliminates the National Guard, an armed group that constantly causes trouble for the government, then my position will be more secure."

Although the National Guard, as the armed force of Restoration Organization, is designated as an illegal organization by the French Government, it is recognized by the Corsican Parliament. This is an important reason why the Guard has been able to maintain the support of the Corsica.

Giuseppe and Eliok exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads resolutely. "Absolutely not!"

"You are taking advantage of our vulnerability. Even if we want to deal with Bartorio, we cannot use the Guard as a sacrifice."

Earl Buttafuoco smiled. "Once you lose your seats as councilors, the National Guard will belong to Bartorio. What's the point of you trying to protect it then?"

Both the Paoli Faction and Neutral Faction remained silent.

How many of these Restoration Faction genuinely wanted to establish Corsican Republic? Corsica had no illustrious history, and nationalism hadn't yet taken hold. Weren't their separatist movements simply a means for them to become "founding fathers" and remain in power forever?

However, now they are about to be ousted, and once Bartorio takes control of the Guard, they will have no chance of turning things around.

Finally, Giuseppe took a deep breath and nodded, saying, "Okay, I accept your suggestion."

Eliok, the leader of the Neutral Faction, thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "Count Excellency, even if we support you, the three of us combined won't have enough seats for two-thirds of the Parliament."

The Bartorio Faction holds 35% of the seats in Parliament, while a 66% majority is required to pass the decree.

Earl Buttafuoco calmly nodded. "You don't need to worry. As long as your people vote in favor of banning the Guard, the agreement will be fulfilled."

Just kidding. With a flick of his finger, Chamos, this big spender, could easily sway a few Bartorio Faction members of parliament by allocating a little funding.

In addition, there is Speaker Girolamo, who also has his own influence in the Bartorio Faction and can serve as a backup vote.

The second floor of the Tuileries Palace.

Joseph smiled as he looked at the report that the Governor of Corsica had just sent.

According to the letter, although the Corsican Parliament has not yet started voting, given the current political landscape, the passage of the bill to ban the National Guard is a foregone conclusion.

All that's left is to send troops to wipe out this illegal armed group.

Without the protection of legitimacy, this Skirmishers will find it difficult to gain support from the Corsica people—a decision made by the Corsican Parliament that carries significant weight locally—making them relatively easy to deal with.

After losing its armed forces, the Corsican Restoration Organization, which was also extremely divided internally, would no longer pose much of a threat.

Whether they are assimilated through repeated political maneuvering or outright banned under some pretext, the problem of Corsica separatism will be completely resolved.

Joseph stuffed the report into the envelope, pondering who he should send to eliminate the illegal armed groups.

He suddenly found it somewhat amusing. Historically, wasn't this job usually Napoleon's favor? He figured he should let him do it this time; he knew the ropes and wouldn't mess things up.

Moreover, once Napoleon personally dealt with the Guard Corsica and witnessed the misdeeds of his idol Paoli, as well as the disorganized state of the Restoration Organization, he would likely lose heart regarding the restoration of Corsica.

Thinking of this, he immediately picked up his pen and wrote an order to the General Staff Headquarters —ordering Major Napoleon Bonaparte to lead a battalion, along with all the Corsica garrison, to be responsible for clearing out the Corsican National Guard. After the mission was completed, Bonaparte was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed acting commander of the Corsica garrison.

Joseph knew that Napoleon was very ambitious, and that if he could obtain a high-ranking position like the commander of the Corsica Restoration Organization, the idea of becoming a true France would take over.

Once Corsica was fully incorporated into French Government, he no longer had the opportunity to launch any Restoration Movement.

At that time, this formidable general will truly be brought under our control.

Joseph finished writing the order and handed it to the messenger, then picked up another document from the table to read.

This was sent by the Tax Bureau, which basically means that local Tax Bureau have completed preparations and the handover with Tax Farmers is basically finished, and they can take over tax collection work at any time.

Joseph rubbed his temples. There was less than a month left until the end of the year, and the total funds raised so far amounted to only 80 million Franc, leaving a significant shortfall.

Although he has initiated a "payment and foreign exchange reform" in the banking sector to prevent large sums of money from fleeing abroad, so far only Charles, a Tax Farmers, has pledged allegiance to him.

Those big tycoons are really patient. Joseph couldn't help but shake his head. If there's still no progress by next week, he'll have no choice but to start offering high-interest loans.

Just then, Eman's voice came from outside the door. "Your Highness, Mr. Fouche has arrived."

"Oh, please let him in."

The Intelligence Bureau strode into the room, bowed to the Crown Prince, and said, "Your Highness, the Lender has something important to discuss with you."

The Lender? Joseph's eyes lit up at the mention of that. That was the code name of the "insider" he had bribed at the Tax Farmers Guild, but he hadn't heard from him since, and had almost forgotten about it.

I never expected him to suddenly want to see me. Could it be that he's made some breakthrough?

Joseph nodded and asked, "Where is he?"

"Madame Bertrand's home."

More than half an hour later, Joseph met the "The Lender" at Madame Bertrand, who was the Bank of England Gordmide.

The latter had been waiting there for some time. Upon seeing the Crown Prince arrive, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness, the Crown Prince. I apologize for inviting you here, but I have some good news to tell you."